The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-15 00:00:00

The late Marshal Count d'Ornano.

In our yesterday's impression appeared a brief
telegraphic despatch —" Marshal d'Ornano is
dead." The late distinguished Marshal Philip An-
tony, Count d'Ornano, was not one of the great
Napoleon's marshals, but he was the last surviving
general of division; and furthermore, he had the
honour of being allied to the imperial house. Mar-
shal d'Ornano was burn at Ajaccio, in the island of
Corsica, on the 17th of January, 1784, so that he
was in his 80th year. He was the son of Louis
d'Ornano, colonel of the National Guard of Corsica,
by one Isabella Bonaparte. At the ago of sixteen
he was appointed sub-lieutenant in the 9th Dra-
goons, served in the war in Italy, was aide-dc-camp
to General Leclerc at the expedition to St. Dominga,
and was confirmed in his rank of captain given him
for his bravery by General Berthi er. He was ap-
pointed commander of the Corsican Chasseurs, and
seized several cannon at Austerlitz, December 2,
1S05; distinguished himself at the storming of
Lubeck and at Jena (1806), and was nominated
colonel and commander of the 25th Dragoons.
Holding this rank he served in Prussia, in
Poland, in Spain, in Portugal, and was repeatedly
mentioned in despatches, In 1809 the colonel
was remarkable for his exploit in forcing his
passage of the river towards Alba-da-Tornes, near
Salamanca, when his prowess enabled Gen. Keller-
mann to gain an easy victory over the Spanish
forces. He increased his fame at Ciudad Rodrigo,
and at Fuentes D'Onor charged the cavalry with
such ardour and intrepidity that he was named on
the spot general of brigade. As general in command
of the brigade of light cavalry, in the unlucky expe-
dition to Russia, Gen. d'Ornano specially distin-
guished himself at the passage of Niemen, at Alohi-
low, and at Ostrowna, in 1812. After the battle of
Moskowa he was named general of division. When
in command of the 7th Regiment of cavalry, he bore
the brunt of the attack of Het man Platow, at the
head of 10,100 men. Under Ney he did good ser-
vice, especially at Mahn Jaroslavitz (Oct. 4, 1812),
where with 17,000 men he beat back 80,000 of the
enemy with such energy and spirit that the Em-
peror Napoleon, when going over the field of battle
on the morrow of the fight, did not hesitate to award
the honours of the battle to PrinceEngene and Gen.
d'Ornano. The general was left for dead on the
fatal field of Krasnoi, and owed his life to the de-
votion of his men, and to the kindly attentions of
the Emperor himself, who nominated him when re-
covered, Jan. 21, 1813, Commander of the Imperial
Dragoons, at whose head he served in Saxony
against thb coalesced forces of Russia and Prussia.
On the death of Bessieres, the general was ap-
pointed general of the cavalry of the Guard, and
was at the battles of Dresden, Bautzen, Leipsig,
and Henan. In January, 1814, h© took the com-
mandership-in-chief of all the troops of the Imperial
Guard—cavalry, infantry, and artillery ; he helped
to defend Paris, but not all his devotion could save
the fall of the Empire. Under the first Restoration
we find him in command of a regiment of dragoons
of the Guard, then called the " royal" corps.
Daring the memorable Hundred Days he toek ser-
vice again under his old chief, but a severe
wound prevented him from being at Waterloo.
After this battle, General d'Ornano was arrested
during the trial of Marshal Ney, and conducted
a l'abbaye. Two years later he was set at liberty,
but his relation to the Bonaparte family caused en-
forced retirement for some time at Brussels. In
1828 after his return home he was appointed inspec-
tor of cavalry and president of the committee which
determined the admissions to St. Cyr. In 1830 he
received the command of the 4th military division ;
with great energy and tact he managed to put a stop
at once to the emeute in the western part of France
in 1832. Loris Philippe, in return for his services,
gave him a peerage. After the revolution of 1848
the count refused the command of the 14th military
division, and retired into private life. But he was
returned to the constituent and legislative assembly
for the department of the Indre-et-Loire, and held
moderate views. He was appointed Senator, Jan.
20, 1852 ; Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, on
13th August following; Governor of the Invalides
on March 24, 1853; and Marshal of France, after
50 years' service, on April 2, 1861. He was ap-
pointed one of the executors of the first Napoleon's
will, and received his baton when, as Governor of
the Invalides, ho received the ashes of that Per-
sonage on their being transferred from the Chapel
of St. Jerome to the granite tomb in the Invalides.
As guardian of the holy tomb, the Governor of the
Invalides holds a high position, and the office is one
of those most coveted by French generals.
The veteran marshal expired on Monday, after a
brief illness. His Majesty the Emperor took the
greatest interest in the health of his high-minded
friend and relative. He went to the Hotel des In-
valides a day or two back, and was received by the
son of the marshal, Rodolphe Count d'Otranto. The
dying marshal kissed his Majesty's hand, and
thanked the Emperor for coming and paying him
that farewell visit. "For, sire," said he, "we shall
not meet again except in heaven. The Emperor,
much moved, replied—" I shall not say farewell,
but au revoir. I shall come again soon." The Arch-
bishop of Paris administered the last sacraments to
the marshal, and he died in peace, and
without
much pain.
He married, in 1816, the Countess Lrezynska,
widow of the Count Anastase de Colonna Watewski
(mother of Count Walewaki), and by her, who died
prematurely in December, 1817, he had issue a son,
Rodolphe Auguste Count d'Ornano, born at Liege,
in June, 1817, This eon was educated at the Col-
lege of Louis le Grand, and at a school preparatory
to the College of Saint Cyr. At 18 he was attached
to the French Legation at Dresden ; but his inti-
macy with Prince Louis Napoleon, which after-
wards was of service to him under the second
Empire, caused him to be relieved, under Louis
Philippe, from his diplomatic functions. He retired
to Touraine, and published Les Tourangelles,"
Les Echos d'Espagne,"
" Les Napoleoniennes," "
and other works, had a considerable share in " I es
Francais peints par eux memes," and became a
member of several learned societies. He subse-
quently travelled in Corsica, Italy, and S sitzerland,
and visited at Arenenberg the present French Em-
peror, then in exile. He was appointed Prefect of
the Yonne in 1851 ; was appointed representative
of the department in the Corps Legislatif a short
time afterwards, and became subsequently Chamber-
lain and Master of the Ceremonies to the Emperor.
14e was strongly in opposition to the stockjobbing
scandals of 1857, in spite of his position at Court.
lie is an officer of the Legion of Honour, and has
received the Order of Malta. His work of 1860,

";. On the Administration of the Empire," is a mas-
terly one, and had a great sale. lie married in 1845
a daughter of the Marquis Vorger d'Argenson.
Napoleon d'Ornano, a cousin of Count Rodolphe's,
was an officer of the 3d Dragoons, joined Louis Na-
poleon in England, was tried by the Peers, and im-
prisoned at Don'lens, and died Inspector of the
Imperial Palace at Vic•sur-Aisne Dec. 2, 1859.

METROPOLITAN MAIN DRAINAGE.—If we ob-
serve a contour map of London, we shall see the
irregularities and undulations of its surface aro not alto-
gether devoid of a certain method and order, and in the
main resolve themselves into the general valley of the
Thames, like the sloping sides of a double roof towards a
central gutter. It is evident that, if we allow the sewage to
flow laterally down from the highest slopes into a central
main drain, running through the entire length and median
line of the metropolis like an under-ground river parallel
with the Thames, we should require a culvert of enormous
size, to provide not only for the sewage, but the rain-fall of
the whole district, and that the hydraulic pressure upon the
masonry of the culverts would be of the highest tension,
while the liability to aceident would be of the most risky
character. The more, then, we can divide a district, the
smaller the streams of sewage the drains will have to carry,
ry,
and the less the danger from sudden floods when there
several channels for the waters to run off by. Bence the
principle of intercepting drainage. If we wished to stop
the run of water from our roofs into the central gully, two
or three smaller gutters placed more or less diagonally along
their sides would arrest at intervals the water flowing down
their slopes, and convey that which fell on the different
areas, thus isolated from cash other, in separate streams to
the head of the "down pipe" into the streets. On the like
principle the main drainage of the metropolis consists of
intercepting sewers at various levels, so that instead of one
great drain for the whole region,,. there are no less than
six chief lines of sewers; or, rather, there are two distinct
drainage works, or three main lines each ; one system drain-
ing all the districts north of the Thames, the other all those
on the south side of the river,—Poplar Sczence Review.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.—This Day,

NEWMARKET RACES-THIS DAY.
BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH,
SWEEPSTAKES OF 500 SOVS.

Onesander
Light Bob
HANDICAP PLATE.

Revolver
Birthday

Eleven ran,

RUNNING MATCH, ICO YARDS, FOR 500 SOVS.

This sporting match, made some time back between
Captain Machell and Mr. Chadwick, to run 100 yards, took
placo this morning at 10 a.m., over a selected portion of
ground on the Bury road, opposite Mr. Dawson's residence.
Both gentlemen had undergone a severe preparation for
the contest. Captain Machell won easily, and was the
favourite, at 5 to 2, which odds had been laid to a large
amount.

Terrific Explosion at the Chartered Gas

Works at Westminster.

SEVERAL PERSONS SERIDUSLY BURNED.

This (Thursday) forenoon the inhabitants of the Horse_
ferry-road were thrown into a state of the most painful ex-
citement owing to a loud and rumbling noise proceeding
from the immense pile of premises known as the Chartered
Gas Works, situate in the before-named thoroughfare. In
an instant hundreds of the inhabitants rushed out of their
houses in Marsham-street, the main road, and also in
Medway-street, the houses in each street being in such
proximity to the factory that the residents were appre-
hensive that their habitations would be blown down,
as it was imagined that some of the immense
gas-holders, which tower high above the surrounding
dwellings, would blow up. Fortunately such did not
occur, but the circumstances attending the affair are of a
most lamentable nature, and it is feared that the injuries
received by some of the workmen employed by the eom_
pany will disable them from resuming their emplcyment for
a considerable time, and in two or three cases it is expected
that they cannot recover from the burns they have received.
On inquiry made at the works it was with great diffi-
culty that any information as to the cause of the disaster
could be obtained, but one of the men employed on the
works stated that whilst the work people were engaged
putting down a new pipe in the yard, or repairing it, a large
plug suddenly flew out and allowed the gas to rush out in
immense volumes, to the extent of several thousand cubic
feet per second, In the space of a minute or so a
great number of the men became encircled iu fire,
their clothing becoming ignited, and the flames attacking
their arms and faces with full vigour. Several men rushed
to the works and turned off the gas, and the poor fellows
were extricated, and the fire about their clothes was extin-
guished. Mr. Pearce, surgeon, and other medical gentle-
men, attended, but eight or nine of the poor fellows were so
frightfully burned that they were obliged to be removed to
the Westminster Hospital, where everything was done for
them that humanity or surgical skill could devise, but they
still remain in a precarious state. Whether the pipe had
been bladdered or not is not known. This pipe, it seems,
leads to the retort-house, and hence the violence of the ex.
plosion.