The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-27 00:00:00

Foster alone could have drawn. Having got
once to this same mention of the Screens, where
so much of the merit of the Old Society's
annual Exhibition again as usual hangs " on view,"
we shall pause now only before one other pic-
ture upon the walls of the gallery. And a very
noble picture it is too—before turning finally to a
survey here of some among the marvellous works of
art suspended on those same four screens. "Pal-
myra" is the subject selected this year by Carl
Haag for the display of his powers as a painter of
Oriental landscapes. And never to our recollection
has that 'wonderful desert scene been depicted
before now in a manner affording the spec-
tator so vivid a notion of the magnificence
of that vast architectural display, even in
ruin. Turning now to the radiant screens lighting
up the gallery with their array of varied master-
pieces painting—we
Exhibitors, two mem-
bers find there con-
spicuously visibletercolour
of the Old Society, who especially vie with
inwaeo
amongur
each other for our admiration. And in such dif-
ferent ways ! Each with such a mastery of his art,
and with such a subtle sense of the true and the bean-
tiful. F. W. Burton now witching the gaze with
his superbly handsome " lostephane,"—(273)—a
mere head (looking of life size), a touch of white
raiment about the neck, the lovely eyelids
downcast, the brown hair sparsely ringed
round with a wreath of purple violets ! Now
with his luxuriant heap of " German Lilacs" (234),
piled on the stool before the kneeling flower-seller
in the old Teuton market place ! Now—" best
beautiful" of all Mr. Burton's three pictures in the
Gallery—a painting without a name, simply en-
titled in the catalogue (239)--

One of a Series of Drawings presented to Edwin W.
Field, Esq., by the members of the Society of Painters in
Water Colours.

This enviable possession of Mr. Field's representing
a sweet-featured, youthful girlish beauty reposing
in an attitude expressive of all the languor of
an invalid upon an apple-green pillow, her golden
yellow hair flowing in loose abundance over it—she
herself gazing with an air of abstraction upon one
faint, trail, delicate sprig of pink blossom in her
hand, type perhaps of herself ! As forW. Hunt's fruit
and flowers and bird's-nests—we are beggared in :an-
guage wherewith to describe the beauty and wonder
of them in any way adequately. They are like the
very things themselves. The down upon the bird's-
nest we could almost fancy stirring with our breath-
ing, as we look at it! The apples, with the
little flecks and spots upon their ripened
rind, we could (it nearly seems to us) eat ! The
primroses tempt us to pull them, not by the sweet
delicate stalks, but roots and mould and all—to carry
away home with us for the transplanting ! They
are nothing less, as all the town knows by this
time, than very marvels of imitative art.
Many other pictures eminently deserving of
notice, we are constrained to leave here unnoticed.
We should be ungrateful, however, were we to
leave the gallery without one word of commen-
dation having been first pronounced upon that
singularly beautiful atmospheric effect which every
one will examine with delight in " Clearing Up "
(157), by Joseph J. Jenkins, the society's gifted
Secretary.

Among those present were the Duchess of Suther-
land, the Marquis and Marchioness of Norman by,
Earl Grey, Lord and Lady John Manners, Lord
Redesdale and the Hon. Miss Mit ford, I ady Char-
lotte Danison, Viscount and Viscountess Chelsea,
the Right Hon. W. F. Cowper, M.P., Lord St.
Leonards, Sir Robert and Lady Phillimore, the
Bishops of Oxford, Winchester, Rochester, and
Ely, the Dean of Westminster, the Dean of St.
Panls sad Mrs. Milman, Lady Rolle, F. North,
Esq., M.P., Thomson Hankey, Esq., M.P., John
Chapman, Esq.,
M.P., Charles Du Cane, Esq.,
M.P., Sir Joseph Paxton, M.P., the Master of
Downing, Sir E. Landseer, Stc.

AN OWER TRUE STORY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Stn.,—Knowing the deep interest you take in everything
relating to suffering humanity, and how ready you are in
lending your columns to give publicity to cases of indigent
merit—thereby causing benevolence to flow into its legiti-
mate channel—l crave the insertion in your valuable paper
of the following melancholy statement :

" On the 10th of April, 18631 I set out with my wife,
house-hunting. We wandered up one street, down
another. Until at last we observed a cottage, having on it a
placard announcing the sale of household furniture, &c.
The door was opened by -- the widow of an old friend,
one of the first artists of the day. It was her furniture
that was for sale, the landlord having distrained for rent.
When her husband died, she succeeded in furnishing this
house, and by letting lodgings had fought her way through
with three children. It had been a hard struggle. A gen-
tleman who had been in India, and had there received a
sun's •stroke, which terminated in softening of the brain,
was her principal lodger, the prop of her house—until his
disease isicreasing in violence, he had
.to be placed in con-
finement as dangerous.: The Savage Club,' of which
:qrs. --'s husband wai a member, got up a benefit for
her, as they had done for the widow of the late Robert
Brough. Poor --, by the way (the husband) was the
most illustrious of the Forty Thieves.' How we used to
joke him about it.? A sum was raised for others by means
of this benefit, but unfortunately all the poor widow had
was mortification and disappointment—the assets barely
covering the expenditure! A few friends got up a memo-
rial to Lord Palmerston, and again there was hope. That
memorial set forth the public services the husband had ren-
dered as an eminent draughtsman and an engraver—that to
his exertions and abilities may be attributed much of the
present importance of the art—not only in its com-
mercial aspect, but as greatly advancing and stimulating
the intellectual progress of the age, by giving a new and
more instructive power to literature, and a wider and more
useful influence to art. It further notified that the follow-
ing works were either originated, established, or materially
assisted by him : Puneh, Illuminated Magazine, Lady's
Jiagazine, Expositor, and a very large number of works
for children. It also set forth that, notwithstanding ---'s
industry and irreproachable character, he was unable to effect
any saving out of a precarious:incomq,'and at his death, on
the let of October, 1860, ho left his widow and family with-
out any provision whatever. The memorial was signed by
upwards of 60 gentlemen well known in the literary and
artistic world, as well as by several members of Parliament.
What was the result ? A. letter signed C. G. Barrington.
I here take the liberty of transcribing it :

"Downing-street, 27th March, 1863.
" Sir,—Lord Palmerston desires me to say, in reply to
your letter of the 24th, that he is sorry that he has no means
of assisting Mrs. --, as there is at present no balance
available on account of the Royal Bounty Fund.—l re-
main, Sir, your obedient servant -O. G. Barrington."
It will be sufficient if I add to the foregoing that benevo-
lent persons desirous of knowing the address of the dis-
consolate widow may apply by letter to D. M. A., at
the Spectator office, Wellington-street, Strand.

P A.MPHILIIIL

CONSECRATION OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
On Saturday a newly erected Roman Catho!ic
church in the Wyndham-road, Camberwell, was consecrated
by the Right Rev. Dr, Grant, Raman Catholic Bishop of
Southwark, The sacred edifice is dedicated to the Sacred

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choir of St. George's Cathedral lending its assistance. The
Right Rev, Dr. Morris, Bishop of Troy, preached.
During the rehearse' of Rossini's " Count Ory"
it the Grand Opera last week, M. Borchardt,
who played Raimbaud, fell dead on the stage, being
attacked with apoplexy. He was only 35 years of age.
BERLIOZ'S last opera, "Beatrice and Benedict"
(Much to do (sic)
About Nothing) has met with
great success at Wiesbaden, under his own direction. The
Queen of Prussia, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Nassau,
complimented the composer of "Romeo and Juliet" very
highly. Berlioz went &so to Lowenberg to direct a con-
cert at the invitation of the Prince of Hohenzollern, who
made himself the programme from Berlioz's work, namely,
" The King Lear" overture, fragments of "The Romeo
and Juliet" symphony, " The Harold" overture (Lord
Byron), and "The Roman Carnival" overture. Berlioz
is a thorough Shakesperian, his first wife being Miss
Smithson, the once celebrated Bnglish actress.—The
Queen.

THE LATE LADY OLIVIA SPARROW.—At the sale
of the effects of the late Lady o;ivia Bernard
Sparrow, at Brompton-park, Huntingdonshire. on Friday,
two ivory inlaid chair®~ taken by Warren Hastings from
the palace of an Indian Prince at the time he was Governor-
General of India, were offered for competition. Mr. Hest-
inzs altogether sent six chairs to En land. Two of them
went into the possession of the Princess Charlotte, and,
after her death and the acceptance of the throne of Belgium
by her husband, they were sold to Lord William Bentinck,
rind presented by his lordship to the late Lady Olivia Spar-
row. The other four are in the possession of the Marquis
of Hertford and Baron Rothschild. The competition for
the coveted chairs was very animatod, and they were sold
for £4lO to Mr. Medland, who, it was understood, was act-
ing on behalf cf the relatives of the deceased lady.
The Exhibition of Sculpture in the Horticul-
tural Gardens will be opened to the public on the sth of

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S EXPRESS.)

THE ATTACK ON CHARLESTON.
The New York Herald of the 14th contains a
letter from its correspondent on board the iron-clad
fleet, from which the following are extracts "
The attack would have commenced an hour or
two earlier than it did, had it not been that the
Admiral was advised to wait for the ebb tide, rather
than sail up with the flood tide, as the former would
be more apt to discover the locality of the obstruc-
tions in the channel, and the tide tamed at eleven
o'clock. During these hours of suspense the eye had
an opportunity of taking the features of the scene
on which the great act was to be played. The blae
waters danced in the bright sunshine, and flocks of
sea birds dipped their white wings in the waves
and uttered their shrill cries as they swooped down-
ward after their prey. Over the parapets of Forts Sum-
ter and Moultrie the rebel defenders were watching
our movements and signalising them ; and even on
the roofs and steeples of the distant city we could
see hundreds of spectators. Distinctly in view were
the numerous batteries, extending from the Wappoo
Creek, on the Ashly river, following the contour of
James Island, down to the Lighthouse battery, on
the south point of Morris Island. On the other
side they were more numerous still. Breach inlet
battery, on the lower end of Sullivan's Island ;
Fort Beauregard, and on up to Fort Moultrie;
while in the centre of the picture, rising, as it
were, from the water, stood Fort Sumter, dis-
playing the rebel flag on one angle, and the Pal-
metto flag on the opposite angle; and beyond, Fort
Ripley and Castle Pinckney, the city filling up
the background.
" Meanwhile the attacking vessels lay at anchor
in the main ship channel, within a mile of the
batteries on Morris Island, without provoking a
hostile shot. The Weehawken was in the van and
the other vessels is the order in which they are named
in the plan of attack. Precisely at half-past 12
o'clock the fleet commenced to move. The distance
to the positions at which they were directed to at-
tack was nearly four miles, and for almost all that
distance they were within range of ~he enemy's
batteries. But again there is a delay. Grappling
irons attached to the Weehawken have got foul of
her anchor cable, and it takes nearly an hour to set
matters right. At list the difficulty is got over, and
once more the vessels are under weigh. Slowly
they move up the ship channel. They pass within
easy range of Fort Wagnor on Morris Island, but
not a shot disputes their progress; they pass the
battery at Cumming's Point, named, I believe, Bat-
tery Bee, but still not a discharge from a rebel gun.
And it is not till the vessels have got fairly between
the two upper points of Morris Island and Sullivan's
Island—which are about a mi!e apart—and are
rounding to make the entrance of the harbour, that
the ominous stillness is broken. Fort Sumter
opens the ball with her barbette guns; Fort Moultrie
takes up the loud refrain. The various batteries
join in the deafening chorus, and the ironelads
find themselves within a circle of fire concentred
from all the rebel guns that can be brought to
bear upon the point. Nor is that all that these
little floating turrets have to contend with. If it
were, they might have held on their way defiantly,
and run the gauntlet of all the batteries that stood
between them and Charleston. The weak side of
Fort Sumter is well known to be its north-west
front. That was the point against which our guns
were ordered to be directed, but that was also the

point which the rebel engineers were determined
that we should not get at. From the north-east
angle of the fort across the channel to Fort
Moultrie were suspended, floating from barrels,
and kept taut by weights, heavy nets and con.
trivances of roping so fixed as to be sure to get
entangled in the propelling apparatus of vesses,
and also connected with torpedoes. Into this net
the Weehawken which led the van fell, and for
a long time her machinery was useless, and she
drifted with the current.

"At last, after great exertions, she extricated her-
self. The other vessels sheered off dnd avoided the
same peril. There was no getting into the required
position in this way. Any attempt to persevere is

that course would have rendered the fleet unman-
ageable, and exposed it to destruction. Belied in
the attempt to get round or past Fort Sumter in
that way, the bulldog Monitors sought another
opening, but even the shoal ground between the
fort and Cumming's Point was barred up with
riles,. In fact, Fort Sumter was found to be the
apex of a triangle, the two sides of which were im
penetrable to our vessels, and at the base line of
which they were exposed to a concentric fire from
Forts Sumter and Moultrie, the Redan, Battery Bee,
and Fortßeauregard. Thus brought to a stand, and
nothing being left but either to batter down Furt
Sumter or retire, the ironolads, went resolutely to
their work. Stretching themselves in a line between
Sumter and Moultrie, and only giving an occasional
shot to the latter work, they plied their guns upon
the walls of Sumter.

" The Keokuk steamed up to within some 300
yards of the fortress, while the other vessels lay
at intermediate distances between that and 600
yards. The Ironsides—the Admiral's flag-ship—
had become entirely unmanageable, refusing to
answer her helm; so that, with the exception of
one broadside which she poured into Fort Moul-
trie, she took no part in the attack, although
she was herself the target for many of the
enemy's largest guns, and was hit some 60 or 70
times, sustaining, however, no material damage.
For half an hour, while our vessels were in the
position I have described, the cannonading was of
the most awfully grand and terrible character. No
words of mine—no words of any man—can con-
' vey a Lint idea of it. It was sublimely terrific.
No less than 300 guns of the largest calibre concen-
trated their fire upon the eight assailants, who had
but 16 guns with which to respond. The contest
was too unequal to be persevered in. The
Keokuk was soon badly damaged. The turret
of the Passaic was so indented as to pre-
vent its revolving, The Patapscoe had her
200 lb. Parrot gun disabled, and besides night was
coming on. Tne admiral therefore signalised the
fleet to retire, and suddenly they fell back from a
contest in which they were so tremendously over-
matched, not, however, without leaving their mark
behind. The north-east front of Fort Sumter, which
was the only one exposed to our fire, was badly
damaged. No less than 11 holes, some of them 3ft.
wide, and two embrasures knocked into one, showed
the effect of the Monitors' guns. But that was all
we effected. That and a dissipation of a popular
error that Charleston could be captured by 9 or 10
ironclads. The signal to cease firing was given
about 5 o'clock. It was obeyed, and the vessels fell
back to the flagship, the parting shot being fired by
the Nantucket as she passed Fort Wagner. And
thus ended the most remarkable conflict that has
ever taken place between war vessels and land for-
tifications—remarkable in this, that the guns of the
forts outnumbered by 10 to 1 those of
the vessels; and yet, after all, to what
is our failure to be attributed P To
the impregnability of the land batteries or the
weight and number of their guns ? Only to a alight '