The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-07 00:00:00

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occur if General Meade pursues his intention to
force the retreating army to fight.
" A despatch was received at Newbern, North
Caroline, on the 20th from Beaufort, stating that
our troops were then in entire possession of Morris
Island. No intelligence of this fact comes from any
other quarter.

expedition has
3.4 th ()Ho rn. force
ounted,
"Another important cavalry
A cavalry
tuankdeenr pcl so cl
oeni
enl liT
nt eertin, Vo
fi r
tghi neia
iafantry, end Colonel Powell, of the 2d Virginia
cavalry, sent by Brigadier-General Foeninion from
Charleston, Virginia, to cut th... Virginia and
Tent essec B.:trims:l at Wytheville, has been suc-
cessful. They captured Wytheville after a severe
fight, took 120 prisoners, two pieces of artillery,
end 700 stand of arms. Our loss was about 65.
killed and wounded. Colonel Tolland and Captain
de Law, of Cincinnati, were killed, and Colonel
Powell severely wounded. The enemy lost
17 killed and 5 wounded. Oar troops were fired on
by the citizens from the houses. The town was
totally destroyed. The command reached Fayett-
villa on Thursday after a hard march. The Con-
federate guerilla General Morgan appears to be
hunted like a hare through the South part of Ohio.
The main force of his band having been captured
he made his escape from the state, bat the pursuit
of our troops was crushing. He was met by the
militia under Hall, after crossing the Muskingum
River, but escaped iuto Guernsey county, where he
tore up the railroad, &c., and burned the depot.
After this he went to the town of Washington.
The latest accounts we have of his movements state

that at 11 o'clock yesterday he was driven out of
Washington, and had proceeded to Winchester on
his route to the Stenhenville and Indiana railroad,
pursued by our forces."
The subscription for the poor negroes who suf-
fered by the riots exceed 27,000 dollars.

The following is the congratulatory order issued
by Governor Seymour to the New York militia:—

" STATE OF NEW YORK.

" Temporary Head-quarters of the Commander-in-

Chief.

New York City, July 24.

" The governor and commander-in-chief of the
military forces of the state of New York, upon the
return of those regiments of the National Guard,
who, upon his order, with a promptness and ala-
crity which excited the admiration of the whole
country, went forth on a sudden call of danger to
other states, expresses to them his thanks for their
gallant and successful service, which has been alike
honourable to them and to the state, whose name
and arms they are proud to bear.
" By the ready and vigorous assistance thus ren-
dered, the soil of Pennsylvania was relieved from
the presence of the invader, and aid was given to
the national armies which helped to win the victory
at Gettysburg. The people of the state of New
York will remember with pride and honour with
praise their fellow-citizens who had prepared them-
selves for this great work by a long period of
drill and discipline at a time when general en-
couragement was withheld. It required no
little moral courage to uphold our militia system
when it had fallen into disrepute ; but this
has been done by the citizen soldiery of
New York, who have nobly maintained their
organisation, and by their example and zeal revived
a martial spirit throughout the state which we
must regard as our surest protection in the hour of
danger. It has shown the utility of that section of
our national constitution which declares that a
' well-regulated militia being necessary for the
security of a free state, the right of the people to
keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' So
careful were our fathers upon this point that they
exempted the musket from seizure and sale before
they placed the tools of the mechanic and the im-
plements of husbandry beyond the reach of the cre-
ditors' grasp. They confided the safety of the re-
public to the hands of the citizens, end secured to
them the musket as they did the ballot. for the de-
fence of their rights and the protection of their in-
terests. 'lime has demonstrated their wisdom.
" If our militia system is allowed to decay, all our
institutions are weakened. The militia is the main
strength of the executive to maintain the laws, put
down insurrection, and repel invasion. Within 30
days the unformed militia of this state have gone
forth to assist their brethren beyond our limits and
have returned to put down riot, arson, and robbery
at home. They have aided in defending the na-
tional flag and honour upon the battle-fields of other
states; and, that done, their tread upon the pave-
ments of this great city brought back a sense of
security to its disturbed and endangered inhabit-
ants. It would neither be just to those gallant
soldiers, nor true to the occasion, in commending
their prompt obedience and honourable service, not
to add an expression of the gratitude due to them
for their just appreciation of their constitutional
duties, and the labour and time they have given to
preparation for the work of usefulness and honour
which they have now accomplished. The state of
New York has already furnished 226,000 volunteers
to the national service. It now contains within its
limits more than 300,000 persons liable to service
in its militia.
The proper organisation of this great force will
not only preserve the power and safety of the state,
but enable it to be even more beneficial in its aid to
the nation and to other states than it has beenhore-
tofore.

A FRENCH DAVID COPPERFIELD AND " BETSY
JANE"—As seen in the record of the Birth of Victor
Hugo in place of the expected but for ever apocryphal
Victorine I says Madame the Biographer in one of the
earliest pages of that charming memoir of her illustrious
husband, already reviewed in The Sun--" Victorine was
expected, but Victor came, and when he made his appear-
ance one would have said that he knew he was not
wanted. He seemed even to come into the world
reluctantly. He had none of the good looks of his
brothers; he was indeed so small, so delicate, and so puny,
that the accoucheur declared he was not likely to live.
I have often heard his mother relate the history of his
birth. She said he was not longer than a table.knife.
him
ing dressed him in swaddling clothes, they placed hitin fn
an arm-chair, where he occupied so little space t there
would have been room for a dozen more of
so
:ahraaa size.
His brothers were summoned to look at He was
being,
ugly,' said his mother, and was so unlikeilauw
month,
old, their fine boy Eugene, who was only eighteen
when he saw him,
old, and could hardly speak, cried out
.8 raoribund state he
"Oh, what a little animal
was taken to the Mairie. The
of a boy, born at half-
treetigilters of the first section
an X. de la Re pub..
of Besancon attest the
past ten at night SepPreseirn
under the name and we-
lique' (26th FebruarY, 18
0.
tidio2),entOse,
ugakingThe moribund did not die.
names of Victor Marie H
©f himself, What pure
what vows, what love, were lavished upon
He has since said,
milk, what care, a twofold sense, the child of his and made him, in
per-
tinacious motherh
Tl'
general aspect of Iceland is one
IcELAND.---e
of utter desolation. The mountains are destitute of
herbage, and the valleys are filled with cold morasses.
Grass springs on the slight elevations above the swamps,
in the dells, and around the lakes. By drainage, a large
per centage of marsh might be reclaimed ; but some must
always remain hopeless bog. The extraordinary amount
of swamp is due to the fact that the ground is frozen at
the depth of six or eight feet, so that when there
is a thaw, the valleys are flooded, and the water, unable to
drain through, rots the soil. In many places a stream is
thus completely abs Abed, and a considerable tract of land
rendered impassable where the labour of a few weeks
would give it a channel and transmute marsh into pro-
ductive meadow land. Many bottoms are filled with an
amazing depth of rich soil, the wear of volcanic rock,
abounding in the constituents necessary for vegetable
life. Yet the ignorance of agriculture prevailing in the
island has deterred any from turning them to advantage, by
draining off the icy water which nips and destroys the ten-
der grass, ready enough to spring. Besides these swamps,
there are stone bogs on all high land, caused by the break-
inb up of the tufa rocks, through the united action of frost
and snow ; a bed of soft mud and stone is thus formed,
which is particularly trying to the horses, who sink in it
to their knees and cut their hoofs with the rocky splinters.
—Bar ing-Gould's Iceland.
CANADIAN MAILS.--The MOtitreai Oeeam Steam-
ship Company's screw steamer Hibernian sailed yesterday
from Liverpool for Quebec. Besides the Canadian mails she
took out a large cargo, and had 40 cabin and about 200
steerage passengers.