The Sun.
London, England, 1808-09-10 00:00:00

iit racy gathered from tile following chain- s
stance t—As soon as the battle was over, he gallop-
ed up to Sir ARTHUR who was surrounded by the
ideft;rent Genenil iOfficers, trowding abotit to give
him joy on the event ; andliaving seize 4 him
the hand, tried out hi a burat of the most generous
ekultation;—" 'My dear General, thank God for this
lorious day ! I most sincerely congrattilate you.
'l.'ts all your own—every part of it. The merit is
entirely yours !" General SPENCER is of an antient
and respectable family, and (as_ is Sir Annum
WELi.Est.tv) axe Irishrhan:
The gallantry of Major-General FERGUSON has
gained that Otlicerjutt diStinaion among the Heroes
of noleia and Vimiera. In the affair of the 17th,
At the former place, he commanded the left column
Of the British troops, which drove the enemy be-
yond the mountain passes, and compelled them to
retreat upon Torres Viedras. For his conduct upon
this occasion he received.the pnhlic thanks of the
Commander in Chief. On the 21st,• his condu6t.
was still more prominently marked ; he then corn-
i minded the British left, which so nobly repulsed, at
the point of the bayonet, the enemy's attack upon
t'the heights on the road to Lourinha.
As the French colunin advanced with the utmost
impetuosity to the charge, Supported by a large
body of cavalry, General FERGUSON (accompanied
by his Aid-de-Carrip- Mr. MELLISH, of sporting
celebrity) advanced to the front of his own Brigade,
and pulling off his hat, called out, ." THIRTY-
SIXTH ! Fonritta! SEVEN2Y-FIRSII you are now
to charge the enemy—remember to do your duty I"
He had scarcely said the words, when the enemy,
being come near enough, these three Regiments,
with the General at their head, instantly rushed on,
and forced them to give way, with immense 103 s in
killed and wounded, leaving behind them six pieces
of cannon, the prey of the victors !

`To be continued.

111L7S1CAL FESTIVAL.

The• annual • Music Meeting, at G!oucester, took
place in that' City on Wednesday last, and was at-
tended by a very numerous concourse of Visit Ors
from all the neighbouring towns and counties, inso-
much that hardly a lodging was to be had, and
many individuals were compelled to leave Gloucester
for Cheltenham, immediately after the performances
were finished.:
The Musical Festival was introduced by an excel-
lent Sermon at the Cathedral Church, preached' by
the Rev. Mr. •PROBIN• After the. Litany, Dr.
BoYCE's Anthem, Chorus, &c. was performed by,
Messrs: HARRISON, BARTLEMAN, VAUGHAN, and
Mrs. VAUGHAN ; and after the Sermon, the Coro-
nation Anthetn was also sung by the mule persons,
in a very superior style of excellence.
The Concert Room, in the evening, was crowded
in the extreme, and Mrs. BILLINGTON was received
with rapturous applause. The performances were, -
Alexander's Feast, and a Seleftion. Mrs. BILLING- •
TON sung He chose a mournful Muse, with a recita-
tive accompaniment, and The Prince,unakte to con-
ceal his Pain, with undiminished excellence ; but.
in the Italian Bravura, Oh! Compore, accompanied .
by Mr. F.CRAIVI ER, she displayed a superiority of voice,
judgment, and execution, that drew forth the most
enthusiastic applauses from the audience, and con-
firmed her reputation as the most scientific Singer ill
Europe.
On Thursday morning the Oratorio of The Crea-
tion was performed in the Cathedral, and had a won-
derful effea. The Trio, Ye that in !Paters glide,
was admirably sung by Mrs. BILLINGTON, HAR--
RISON; and BARTLEMAN ; and the beautiful air, In.
sweetest harmony more than divine, also sung by
Mrs. BILLINGTON ; and, 0-magnify the Lord, sung
by Mrs. VAUGHAN, gave general satisfaction ; but
the grand Chorus, He gave them hailstones, etc 7
resounding through the vaulted roof of the Cathe-
dral, had an astonishing etiea upon
,the congrega-
tion, and was most sublime and awful. The seve-
ral other sele&ed Pieces in the Second Aft were as
ably performed, both in the instrumental as well as
. vocal department, and proved an admirable treat to
the lovers of Sacred Music.

The cd Battalion of the 66th Regiment, now on
Dublin duty, are ordered to Cork, to join the Expe-
dition at that place. They are a very fine .body of
men, and are 800 strong.
Government has purchased the late Mr. Winn-
BY'S br:;whouse, and premises adjoining, at Wool-
wich, for the purpose of converting them into bar-
racks for the Royal Marines stationed there. The
purchase-money is to be 53001. for 99 years.
Our readers have heard of the ;;leeping maid of
Cockfield, in Sussex, and of " sleeping beauties" in.
other districts, to the stories related of Ahorn, per-
. haps, they have not given the most implicit credit.
We have, at length, however, got a sleeping maid
of our own county, of Whose trance the following
particulars are communicated to us through a chan-
nel upon which we place the fullest reliance
the afternoon of Wednesday the 31st ult. a little girl,
about four years old, was sent by her mother, who is
in indigent circumstances, to Rightbolt Hall, in the
parish of Pinch'ieck., to beg a bottle of milk. The
retinest was readily granted by Mrs. CAPE, and the
child left the house to return home : she, however,
did not reach her mother's house that night, and the
greatest agitation was excited •in the neighbour-
hood by her not being found for three days.
At length, about four o'clock on Saturday after-
noon, she was seen by a servant of Mr. CAPE'S,
composedly. walking towards the house. , The ut-
most joy was of course -experienced on the re-
appearance of the child; and upon her being in-
terrogated as to where she had bean, and how she
came to'be so long froth home, she replied, that she
lost her way on .returning with the milk to her mo-
ther, and tell asleep in a ditch trench, from which
she got out as soon.as she awoke, which was a short
time before Mr. Cape's servant saw her. She de-
scribed the situation• of the ditch, and.upont he place
,Ding examined, the bottle was foutid, from which
she had drank the milk before she fell asleep, and
the grass and weeds betrayed such' an appearance as
they. would naturally have after being lain upon for
nearly three days and nights. The child was' re-
stored, to her friends, and one of those scenes ensued
which are indescribable. The circumstance is the
subjea of every body's conversation it' the neigh-
bourhood of Spalding, and there seems na reason at
all to doubt that the child really slept from Wednes-
day evening 'till Sarturday afternocm.—(Starafo,d

IV 0LC.410.

A Letter from john B. Dahn'ey, Esq. Consul of OA United
States of America, to a .trienti at St. Michael's.
. .
" Faral*,,t4Aores) lune 2,5, 1808.„
" DEAR SIR—A phenotrienan has occurred here,
not unusual in former ageS, but of occurred
fiai
been no example of late years ; it was well calcu-
lated to inspire terror, and -has been attended with
the destruction of lives and property. On Sunday,
the Ist of say, at one, p. in. walking in the balcony
of my house, at St. Anthonio, I heard noises like
the report of heavy cannon at a distance, and coti7
eluded there Was some sea engagenient,in the vicinity
of the Iskirid &it soon .after, casting my eyes
towardS the
.Island of George's, ten leagues
distant, I perceived a:dense column of smoke rising
to an inimense ; it, was soon judged that a
volcano had burst out about the centre
.of that
Island, and this was rendered certain when night
came on, the fire exhibiting an awful appearance. -
" Being desirous of viewing this wonderfkil exer-
tion of nature,. I embarked on the 3d of May, ac-
companied by the British Consul, and ten other
Gentlemen, for St. George's ; we ran over in five
hour and arrived at Vellas,
,the principal town, at
eleven a. m. We found the poor inhabitants per-
fedly panic struck, and wholly given up to religious
ceremonies and devotion. We learned that the fire
of the Ist of .May had broken out in a ditch, in the
midst of fertile pastures, three leagues S.E. of Vellas,
and had immediately formed a crater, in size about
1.'4 acres. In two days it had thrown out cinders or
small pumice stones, that a strong .N.E. wind had
propelled .southerly; and which, independent:of the
mass accumulated round the crater, had covered the
earth from one foot to four in depth, half a league in
width, and three leagues in length ; then passing the
channel five leagues, had, done some injury to the.
east point of Pico. The fire of this large crater had
nearly subsided, but in the evening preceding our
arrival, another small crater had opened, one league
north:of the large one, and only two leagues from
Vellas.
" After taking some refreshment, we visited the
second crater; the "sulphureous smoke of which,
driven southerly, rendered it impraCticable to at-
tempt approaching the large onp. When we came
within a mile of the crater, we found the earth rent
in every direction, and, as we approached, neater,
some of the chastris'were six feet wide; by 'leap-
ing over some of these chasms, and making wind-
, ings to avoid the 'larger ones, we at length arrived
within two hundred yards of the spot ; and, saw it,
in the middle of a pasture,. distin&ly, at intervals,
when the thick smoke which swept the earth'lighted
up a little. The mouth of it was only about fifty
yards in circumference; the fire seethed Struggling
for vent; the force with which a pale blue flame
issued forth, resembled a powerail steam engine,
multiplied a hundred fold ; the noise was deafening ;
the earth where we stood had 'a tremulous- motion ;
the whole island seemed convtalsed, horrid 'bellow-
ings wereotxasionally heard ffom 'the bowels of the
earth, and earthquakes were frequent..•
" After remaining here about ten minutes we re-
turned to town ;7 the inhabitants had mostly- quitted
their houses, and remained. in the open air•or under
tents. We passed the night at Vellas, and the next'
morning went by, water to Ursulina, a small sea-.
Font town, two leagties south of Vellas; and viewed
that part of the country Covered 'with the cinders
before-mentioned, and which has turned the most-
valuable vineyards in the island into a frightful de-
sert. On the same day, (the 4th of May,) we re-
turned to Fayal, and on the sth and succeeding
days, from 14 to :5' small .volcanoes broke out in
f the fields we had traversed ort the 3d, from the
chasms before described, and threw out a quantity
of lava, which travelled on slowly towards Vellas.
" The fire 'of those small craters subsided, and
the lava ceased running about the ttth ' of May ;
'on which day the large volcano, that had lain dor-
mant for nine days, burst forth again like a roaring
lion, with l.orrid helchings, distiriCtly heard at
twelve leagues distance, throwing up prodigious
large stones, and an immense quantity of lava, Ulu-,
minating at night the whole island. This continued
with tremendous force, until the sth of June, ex-
hibiting the awful yet magnificent spe6acle of a
perfect river of fire 015611 seen from Fayal) run-
ning into the sea. On that day (the sth) we ex-
perienced that its force began to fail, and, in a few
days after, it ceased entirely. The distance of the
crater from the sea is about, four miles, and its ele-
vation about 3500 feet.