The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-26 00:00:00

THEM:LON ETER.

This day at Two o'clock .................... 56
Barometer-30.00.

wind—North-West ; moderate, and very fine.

SAUL

LONDON, MONDAY, ocr. 26, 1863.

_ ----
As a strategist General LEE stands at the present
at the very head of his noble and gallant profession.
His pre-eminence in that:way is frankly recognised
alike by the soldiers of the old world and of the new.
His greatness as a Captain in the Fiald is rendered
conspicuously visible even to the unprofessional
multitude, less by the number and the splendour of
b.
have victories, than by the fact that his lieutenants
proved themselves so many paladins, and that
yet all this
while, even the most illustrious amongst
them,
are men whose • •
still.. fame Is but subsidiary to his
no!, those
reputation. Paladins, arc they
and of division:antssuch of
LEE?--leaders of brigades
srON, and BRAGG, andas BEAUREGARD, and JOHN
glorious
JACKSON, and last, but not
least in the
The feat but Baocitalogue, General LONG
STREET,
by LONGSTREET_accor:;.ryil recently accomplished
as the one intrusted to ed by him, remember,
carry out the pro-
found and daring strategica
Great Confederate conanilder designs of the
moment, as we feel tolerably certain it
at this
it
will
long
an
remain hereafter, unparalleled in the
The Greatest Soldier of modern times,nals of war.
perhaps
any times, meaning, of course,NAPOLEON the rof
is so
—and it is not we who so speak of him, hut he reat
spoken of in a classic masterpiece by th„,
- grand",
military writer who ever lived, one as eloqe„t 6 ,
TACITUS and as enthrall:Pg. as PLUTARCII, the
veteran historian of the Peninsular cvor,

MEADE, in effect, we now learn, had found

no alternative but to escape from a disas-
trous discomfiture by an instant retreat. The
Federal army had withdrawn bodily and with

such precipitation that all that could not
be carried away with them had to be burnt. They
have recrossed the Rappahannock, They have
withdrawn, en masse, northwards. LEE resuming
his old position upon that field already twice fatal
to the Federals, as the scene, for them, of two dis-
astrous Yankee Battles of the Spurs—the now
world-famous field of Bull Run. Such is the latest

" situation," in respect to the relative position of
the main armies of the American belligerents. Such

is the latest result of the warlike designs of that
great master of strategy, General LEE. His an-
tagonists have had to beat a hasty retreat. He him-

self takes new ground upon old ground—at Bull
Run. The Confederates will fight there with the

prestige of victory—the Federals with a damning

recollection ofdefeat. Let MEADE turn out to be beaten

there at Bull Run—as is prob Able—and the capital

of Washington will be open to the Confederates.
Like the Centurion in the Gospel, LEE has but to say
to any among these lieutenants of his, " Go there
and he goeth, do this and he doeth it." And certainly

the one who has been of late the most conspicuous

of them all in the faithful fulfilment of his great
leader's designs, the most conspicuous amongst
them, at least, since the lamented death of glorious
" Old STONEWALL," is that LONGSTREET, who
(certainly as yet) knows no turning !

The memory of a great man must be ranked
among the noblest possessions of his country, and
it is a possession common to all his countrymen.
The more numerous and distinguished the names
in her annals, the higher rank a country holds
in the story of the past, and the prouder the
position she occupies in the present. England is
rich in great men in arms, in arts, in science, in
literature, in statecraft, in philosophy, in philan-
thropy, and the names recorded on the memorial
tablets in her great cathedrals may bear com-
parison with those of any nation in the civilised
world. Sometimes she has not known or acknow-
ledged their merits until the recognition was too
late to do them service ; often the panegyrics on
their tombstones were the first words of public
praise that reached them. Envy and prejudice,
poverty and misfortune have too often stood in
the way of those born to rule or inflaence their
kind ; but some, more fortunate, if not more gifted,
have won the applause of their fellows while still
living to hear it, and have been placed among the
seats of honour while yet the position was of
value. They have received the meed of well-
earned confidence and distinction during their lives,
and over their graves men of all ranks, creeds, I
and parties have united in tributes of approval
and expressions of regret. Such sentiments are
never more appropriate, or more impressive than
when uttered at the birth-place of the one who
\
has gone to his grave full of honours. The fact
that the career which has filled a marked place
in the history of tha time opened unpretendingly
among themselves gives to the speakers a per-
sonal interest in i
meets 'd* i ian and its close. The
remembrance that
the great man who has since
ht•
played a busy
partt
in the broad arena of war, or
politics, tooks
first faltering steps along
their streets gives
an individual share • to each of the citizens
subsequent achievements.
They feel with in
his
satisfaction that when his fortunes
are traced in coming years
men will look with in-
terest on the unattractive 67
known as his birthplace and y,
or the
e quiet village.
rly home T
proud of the reflected honour, end, . hey are
hasten to adorn
their streets with his effigy and to call their' build-
ings with his name, to show to strangers
that he
whose fame has crossed the seas Perhaps Was born
among them. With some such feelings the 1,61,6
inhabitants of the county of Lanark -
pal assembled
last week in the Merchant's Hall, at Glasgow, with
a view to do honour to the memory of Lord CLYDE.
I
The monument which they proposed to erect to him
was not intended to be especially costly in its
nature, but was meant to include a largo number of
subscribers, with the view of giving expression to
the widespread respect and admiration for the brave
be meet-
Scottish chieftain now laid to his rest. r.O
ing was large and unanimous, as befitted
such an
assembly in Sir COLIN CAMPBELL'S native city. A
fitting oration for such an occasion was delivered
by one who was no unworthy chronicler of Lord
CLYDE'S fame and achievements. Sir AECLIIBALD
AL 'IsON, in an eloquent address, alluded to his own

the late General Sir Wieueet FRANCIS personal friendship for the departed soldier, and
PATRICK NAPIER—the Greatest Soldier of modern paid dem honour to his memory. Not at such a
times, perhaps of any time (HANNIBAL being ' time 'or place, he said, could he give a summary of
the only Great Captain who is seriously the i leeds of the late Fie d Marshal, or even men-
brought into comparison with him) NAPOLEON— tior I the chief events in a career which extended
performed miracles in the field, particularly in his "1:rom the time when ho joined the British army in
first campaign and in his last campaign but one, in Y.. 808, amidst the wooded cliffs of Portugal, on the
his first Italian campaign in 1797, and in his won-. eve of the battle of Vimiera, to when he trampled
derful campaign upon the soil of France, the earn- under foot the last embers of the Sepoy insurrec-
paign of 1814, by what was called "multiplying his tion beneath the shadow of the mountains of Ne.
forces" by the marvellous rapidity of his movements. paul." But although Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON did
If by the late achievements of LONGSTREET still not attempt such a task as this, he could dwell on
greater wonders in that way have been no corn- the personal characteristics and substantial virtues
plished, it is attributable, of course, to th,e fact of his friend ; he could testify to the simplicity, the
that now there is, in aid of the strategist, what generosity, the absence of all those mean and en-
NAPOLEON had not in his time—the railway sys- ViollB feelings which sometimes shadow the nobility
tem l None the less admirable is the daring of the of men who have achieved eminence. He could
designs of LEE as a strategist, in transferring to dilate upon the high sense of duty which animated
and fro, along a distance of four hundred miles, the Lord CLYDE, his promptness and willingness to
whole corps of troops under the command of LONG- act in his country's service ; his modesty, which
STREET. To and fro, over a distance in all of not was so great as to lead to misapprehension and pre-
muehless thane thousand miIes,LONGSTREET'S corps vent him from doing himself justice. Sir ARCHI-
has been whirled like a tremendous shuttle. And, BALD could also dojustice to the merits of the Gene-
withsoperfect aconcealment of the design 'meditated, ral who, ever ready to haza'd his own life, was
and with such a ready swiftness in the execution of always sparing of his soldiers. The young officer
it, that in this moving to and fro of a whole corps of who led the forlorn hope at St. Sebastian was the
troops, between LEE'S main army on the banks of same leader, it is true, whose " thin red line" es-
th© Rapidan and BRAGG'S army four hundred miles cited the wonder of friends and foes at Balakiava,
away on the southern frontier of Tennessee, it has but he was also the commander who exhausted
been like the passing hither and thither, quietly at every combination in his endeavour to accomplish
LEE'S bidding, of a solitary messenger. The oppo- a necessary end with the least possible sacrifice of
nent of the two Confederate armies has in each men. His capacities as Commander-in-Chief can
instance been surprised. ROSENCRANZ has been only be estimated by the last act in his long mili-
driven back, his army routed in part, the rest of it tart' career—the final subjugation of the Sepoy
being fairly "trapped" at Chattanooga. MEADE four mutiny. Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON cited several in-
hundred miles away from Chattanooga (himself con- stances to prove that, however influence or preju-
fronting the main army under LEE) has scarcely dice might succeed in putting others before him
realized to his dismaythe predicament into which his when times were fair, in the moment of emergency
brother Federal RosENCRANZ has been outmance• and peril, when real efficiency was needed, he was at
uvred—when BRAGG'S auxi iarY having accom- once turned to. The most remarkable occasion of
plished his purpose at Chattanooga is back this sort is fresh in all our recollections, and we all
again with his chief, corps and all—and remember, too, the characteristic reply to the ques-
the Federal Commander awakes suddenly to the tion, when he could be ready to start for India—
knowledge that what LEE had contrived by " To-morrow morning." Arrived there, there was
the aid of his lieutenant LONGSTREET, no sign of haste or rashness to be found in the im-
in regard to ROSENCRANZ, LEE has again contrived petuous soldier. Some, indeed, blamed him for
no less effectually and by the very same agency in dilatoriness and over-caution, but he heeded them
regard to MEADE himself. Insomuch does this now not, but went on his way steadily till the end was
actually turn out to be the case that upon the re- won. It was an office of no small responsibility and
turn of LONGSTREET'S corps—that is to say upon danger, for, in the words of his eulogist at the
the forward movement at last, in a body, by order Glasgow meeting, when marching from Cawnpore
of LEE, cf the whole Confederate army on to Lucknow, "He bore the fate of India on his
the banks of the Rapidan, upon the forward sword's point, for he was marching with 6,000 men
movement of LEE'S whole army from the Rapi- —our last reserve—to assail 60,000, intrenched to
dan northwards (LEE doing this directly his the teeth, in the capital of Oude, with 15,000 vie-
lieutenant LONGSTREET has returned from the torious rebels threatening his rear and communica-
borders of Tennessee), the unfortunate Federal tions." Such recollections may well animate his
Commander-in-Chief finds himself outmanoeuvred countrymen to do honour to his fame, and in no
still mote completely and unmistakeably than more fitting spot could they raise his memorial than
by LEE'S designs had even been ROSENCRANZ. in the streets of his native city.

Among social improvers there ere few who rank
higher, or whose rank exercise a more beneficial
influence on the community, than those who address
themselves to the wants and privations of the in-
mates of workhouses. There is no class of institu-
tion at present existing in the metropolis or through-
out the country that stands in greater need of care
and attention than these receptacles for the desti-
tute. It may be said of them, lasciente opal
speranza vir ch'entrale. While hospitals are price-
less boons to the poor and suffering, and while even
prisons and gaols are often rendered positive places
of relief, as regards physical comforts, it has been
proved by close investigation and attested by not-
able witnesses that the werkhouse is per se, as it
were, among those establishments that receive a
large share of our population. This inferiority is
especially to be regretted, because for the most part
those who become denizens within its walls are com-
pelled so to do in consequence of great misfortunes
having befallen them, or of sickness depriving them
of the means of supporting themselves. The paper
read by Miss TWINING at the Social Science Con-
gress at Edinburgh goes far to show the great neces-
sity that prevails for some remedial measures to be
adopted. It seems a strange and a sad thing that
in this wealthy and benevoleut land, so many
charities should abound, and yet that by
some unaccountable mischance no provision
should be made for a class that particu-
larly deserves our commiseration. There are
many painful ordeals to be gone through in the
treatment of disease, many anxious moments of sus-
pense to be endured during its fluctuations, but
nothing else can so afflict the sufferer as to be told
that hope is past. The human mind naturally
shrinks from the contemplation of such a dreary
and dismal prospect. It seems hard, then, to reflect
that there is no alleviation whatever afforded to
those unhappy beings who are dismissed from the
hospital as incurable. They are compelled, almost
without exception, to proceed to the workhouse,
where their condition is truly deplorable. There is
great truth in the remark of Miss TWINING that it
"certainly seems strange that, thoughtful and
liberal as we have been in these countries about the
temporarily sick, we have bestowed so little thought
in inquiring what becomes of all those incurably
sick persons who are annually dismissed from hos-
pitals." It is of no use to question the records of
the past, but it will be of the most service if we avoid
the recurrence of this unfortunate neglect for the
future. It stands to reason that one of the first
evils to be rectified is that glaring error mentioned
in this paper referred to, namely, the practice of em-
ploying untrained pauper nurses, and these, too, with.
out a superintendent to watch their proceedings.
Hapless is the lot of the unhappy victims to lingering
maladies, to be subjected to so many of those minor
agictions which, in the time of sickness anti de-
pression, assume a form of magnitude, and are a
grievous burthen. The Workhouse Visiting S3eietv
has endeavoured to relieve some of the sufferings
alluded to by timely snggestions, and the introduc-
tion of sympathising visitors. Also an admirable
proposal was made, which, in some instances, has
been found to be most efficacious—namely, to place
the incurable in a separate ward, where they might
obtain more attention and voluntary relief, without
creating jealousy among the other inmates. The
plan suggested by Miss TWINING bids fair to miti-
gate the worst part of the evils now so prevalent.
It is that a ward should be set apart for those who
are able to pay a small sum, or whose friends can
pay for them. Here they would have nearly all the
ad vantages of an hospital, and with the continued
care that cannot be afforded in those institutions,
many of the poor sufferers, whose recovery is now
deemed hopeless, would very likely be restored to
comparative health, or be enabled to gain their
own livelihood. At present there are many
in this position, and if they contribute
their
small stipend to their support, they
afflicted members
receive no " distinction whatever" from those who
Pay nothing.
The neurable wards, before refereed
to, -.De 1 partially supply the wants of the destitute
class, andthus these
numerous and grievously
more than of the community will be in a
fair way of seeing
better days. Surely if one class
another claie .
in workhousms our pity, merits our con-
sideration, and deserves our exertions, it is the in-
curablesituated, in too many
cas As at present they are
ea they seem enduring a
state as monstrous, and a position as forlorn, as any
that can •effliet humanity. e A
night everlasting
has shut them from day," so far as regsArd, the com-