The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-07 00:00:00

THE VISITORS TO THE FLEET.

Thursday, the weather being very fine, a large number
of excursionists visited the fleet. The Black Prince and
Warrior received the largest number of visitors. The colos-
sal proportions of these vessels, their marvellous combina-
tion of strength and grace, the novel principles upon which
they have been constructed, and the tremendous power of
their armament, give to them an interest which the wooden
walls now fail; to command. To compare the decks of the
Black Prince to a bee-hive would give but a faint descrip-
tion of the animation that prevailed . The spectacle was a
striking one, and must have been admired by every ono
who witnessed it.

Large bodies of liberty men were again seen in our streets,
all of them behaving in a most exemplary manner. 01
course, Jack on shore considers himself as good as his
master, and while many of the officers were being conveyed
in cabs to the residence of Provost Grieve to dine, several
of the tars also got cabs, some of them seating themselves
inside—in the " cabin"—while others got on the seat beside
the driver, to see that he "steered" right. Those who dis-
dained the cabin and got on the upper deck (the top of the
cab) occasionally called to the driver to "lie to" when they
neared a spirit t3hop to enable them to take in some fresh
grog. A laughable scene was witnessed during the evening.
A handsome young fellow, a sheet or two in the wind, en-
tered an ironmonger's shop and purchased a frying pan.
He next proceeded to a flesher's shop and had the pan filled
with sausages, thereafter travelling from shop to shop ask-
ing the use of a fire for a few minutes to prepare his
savoury stew. But to detail the eccentricities of the "jolly
tars" would be an endless task.
The scene at the Tail of the Bank was a very animated
one. Hundreds of vessels, from the large sailing and steam
vessels down to the small punt, were continually plying to
and from the shore.

ADMIRAL DACRES ON THE UTILITY OF SMALL
VESSELS OF WAR.—On Friday evening Admiral
Dacres and the officers of the squadron under his command
were entertained to a banquet by the Corporation of
Glasgow. In responding to the toast of the evening,
Admiral Dacres said that what little he had done in the
course of his career in the navy had been amply rewarded.
He believed thero was not an officer in the British navy
who, if he had the same opportunities ho had had, would
not do as well as he had done, and a great deal better.
Alluding to the ships he now commanded, he said there
were gentlemen present who knew a great deal more of
building ships than he did. But there was one thing he
might speak of with as much confidence as most people
He believed the present was just as well as any other
fleet in the world; and it matters very little whether it
was well or ill, they would manage to fight their way
through some way, and they would get the people on
shore to help if it came to the worst, (Applause.) As
to the Glasgow shipbuilding, ho spoke not as a sailor only,
he spoke of it as a most interesting subject to every
Englishman. The great question in case of war would
not be, how many iron-clads we had, but what nation
would sweep the seas of its opponents? He had seen yards
there that could build a vessel in a year, he meant such a
vessel as the Royal Oak. These, however, were not the
vessels we should want. We should want hundreds of
vessels like the Alabama, that everybody had heard of, and
which the Americana were now suffering from. He did not
mean to reflect on the Admiralty in adverting to this ques-
tion of small vessels. It would be very unbecoming in him
if he did, for he knew that the Duke of Somerset, in a
speech he made recently, was exactly of the same opinion
he had expressed.
BALL ON BOARD SHIP.—The officers of the line-
of-battle ship Duke of Wellington, now lying in
Portsmouth Harbour, gave a luncheon and ball on board
f
that noble vessel on Thurday last. The hospitable offer
the gallant entertainers was well responded to,
santod
had the pleasure to welcome upwards of 200 visitors
intnteh'er
ship, comprising members of the principal fa:10210o
pre-
county, including the Isle of Wight.
Itrac'aPtgrortsmouth,
sent were also the commander-in-
the officers of the regiment in garrison, of the ships in
beautifully fitted
commission at the port. The vesselto
and effect for which
up, and was decorated with
"landaus:se of bunting and the
sailors are remarkable. At!
diaection, but what was
gayest flags were displayedflia:try
profusion of beautiful flowers
most admired, perhaps,vito
deck
and other parts of the vessel.
dispersed about the rniain
80
esvgparranged,and was covered with
The upper deck wasa..
arrangements mere made for
an awning, while on in
the ladies, who were thus enabled to
the accommodation 01.
view the animated scene presented when dancing commenced,
The luncheon, which was of a most excellent description,
was served on the main deck. In the decoration of the
tables a liberal use was made of many handsome cups and
other articles, lent by their owners. Amongst these Were
many beautiful cups kindly placed at the disposal of the
officers by Lord Londesborough, whose brother, the Hon
Albert Denison, is now serving as lieutenant on board the
vessel. The splendid Ascot Cup, won by West Australian,
in 1854; the Emperor's Cup, won by the Ursuline, in the
celebrated match to Cherbourg, in 1838 ; and the cup won
for the present lord, by the Albertine, last month, over the
same course, were amongst the more conspicuous objects.
Griwston Ball had also furnished a supply of flowers and
fruit, which arrived in excellent condition, although it had
travelled from the further end of Yorkshire to Portsmouth.
Several handsome epergnes and centre pieces, supplied by
Messrs. E. and E. Emmanuel, of Portsea, also contiibuted
to the decoration of the tables. The ship's bane, stationed
around the mainmast, soon set in motion the nimble feet
of the happy guests, and, with the necessary intermission
during luncheon, dancing was maintained with great ani-
mation from throe in the afternoon till about eight in the
evening, when the visitors took leave of their gallant en-
tertainers, and were conveyed ashore.
THE NATIONAL SHAKSPEARE COMMITTEE.—The
list ofmembers added to the committee during the current
week includes, over and above the Archbishop of York,
who has accepted office as one of the vice-presidents,
Reeve,
Dr, Stanley, Viscount Raynhato, Mr. Henry
Dr, Charles Mackey, and Mr. Henry Huth.