The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-05 00:00:00

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HER MAJESTY.

The royal yacht Victoria and Albert, Captain
H.S.H. Prince Leiningen, left Portsmouth yester-
day afternoon for Cowes. To•day she will proceed
to Antwerp, which port, according to present
arrangements, bar Majesty will leave on the morn-
ing of the 9th inst., and the yacht will anchor the
same night at the Nore. On the morning 'f the
10th the Queen will embark on board the royal
yacht Fairy, Staff-Commander Welch, and proceed
to Woolwich Arsenal, where her Majesty will land
and proceed to Windsor.

The Fairy will leave Portsmouth this morning
and proceed to Woolwich, to await her Majesty's
return from Antwerp.
Admiralty instuctions were yesterday received at
Woolwich by Commodore •Superintendent Sir F.
W. E. Nicolson, directing the Admiralty steam
vessels Black Eagle, Staff-Commander Whillier,
and the Vivid, Staff• Commander Allen, to leave the
harbour early on Sunday morning for Antwerp, to
form part of the royal squadron which will convey
her Majesty and the Royal Family to England.
It is expected that her Majesty will disembark at
the Royal Arsenal Pier, where the recent arrange-
ments made still remain ; but any order issued on
the subject will, it is understood, emanate direct
from the War Department.

THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES.—On
Monday the Prince went to the Glen of Girnock
deer-stalking, and was very fortunate in securing three fine
stags, with this wonderful coincidence, that respectively
the three carried eight, ten, and twelve points. At five in
the afternoon the Prince returned home, cheerfully chatting
with Mr. Grant. Although from half-past 12 it had rained
in perfect streams, his royal highness declined the use of his
horse, preferring to walk along with his men, and one of
the tropies of his day's sport. In the evening the three
antlered kings of the forest were exhibited to the Princess
and suite by torchlight, and Peter Robertson having
"tuned his pipes, and gar'd them skirl," the torch bearers
tripped it lightly on the green in real Hielan' style, to the
great delight of the whole royal party. The Hon. Mrs.
Cook left the castle in the forenoon, Mrs. Bruce (who is to
supply her place) reaching in the evening. On Tuesday
morning, the Prince end party went to the moors for a few
hours, and in the afternoon, along with Mr. Phipps and the
other members and attendants, went deer-stalking. Tues-
day was the Princess's birthday, but the occasion passed off
very quietly.—Dundee Advertiser.

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
of Wales are expected to arrive at Marlborough House
shortly, from Scotland, en route to Sandringham, his royal
highness's seat in Norfolk.

We understand that Prince Frederick of Den-
mark is entered at Christ Church, and will become resi-
dent in Oxford at the commencement of the ensuing term.
The Rev. Mr. Kitchen, of Christ Church, junior proctor,
has been appointed tutor to the young Prince; and the
residence of Mr. Alderman Randall, at Grandpont, has
been engaged for the accommodation of himself and suite.
The Duke and Duchess of Samerset leave the
Admiralty early in the ensuing week for Maiden Bradley,
the family seat in Wiltshire.

The Duchess of Argyll left Stafford House, St.
James's, where the duchess has been staying with the
Duchess (Dowager) of Sutherland, last evening, to join the
duke and family at Inverary Castle, Argyleahiro.

The Earl and Countess of Scarborough will
entertain a select party at Sandbeck Park, Yorkshire, during
the forthcoming races at Doncaster,

Viscount Palmerston arrived in town last evening
from visiting his property in Wales.

Lord Edward St. Maur has recently returned to
town from Paris.
Lord and Lady Dufferin leave Dufferin Lodge,
Highgate, on Monday next, for their seat in Ireland.

During the last week there has occurred the
deaths of four ladies of the highest rank, and whose
families belong to the oldest of the great aristocracy
La Marquise de Mortemart° nee Anne de Montmorency;
2. La Comtesse de Bethune nee Flamini° Doris; 3. La
Comtesse de Moray ; and, 4. La Marquise de Gratnmont
(non Gramont), daughter of the Due de Crillon, the last of
the French descendants of the noble friend of Henri IV.
It must be borne in mind that the Grammonts are altogether
a different family from the Gramonts to which the Due de
Quiche and the Duo de Caderousse belong, although they
arc often indiscriminately written, pronounced, and gene-
rally confounded. It is generally believed that the Mcnt-
morencies descended from the first Christian baron aro ex-
tinct ; but there are two ladies who still represent the elder
branch—La Comtesse de la Chartre and La Marquise do
Biencourt. The branch of Montmorency Luxembourg still
exists in the person of the duchess who bears the latter
title.

FASHIONABLE FLOWERS.---One of the most sin-
gular phenomena in the horticultural world is the
fashion for certain fi ,wers which suddenly comes in, and
gradually works itself up into a perfect "rage," or mania.
The passion of the ancient Romans for roses, and that of
the Dutch for tulips, is matter of general history, and there
is no saying whether our own times may not supply similar
instances of enthusiasm. During the last 100 years, how-
ever, the feeling has not taken an extreme form. We have
paid £2OO far orchids, but what is that in comparison to
the thousands once willingly given for a single tulip The
modern fashion for any kind of lower is very fickle. At
the utmost it lasts a few years, and then turns out a new
favourite. About 60 years ago auricular, picotees, carna-
tions, and pinks were gt nerally grown. Balsams were also
greatly in vogue. About 1819 pansies were coming into
fashion. The first of the red geraniums was raised about
1822, by Mr. Davey, in Chelsea, and the other geraniums
became fashionable about 16 or 15 years ago. The red va-
riety of the Indian azalea was brought into notice about
1825. The fuchsia is said to have been introduced by a
Captain Firth, in 1788, but there is a sentimental story
connected with it which enabled Messrs. Lee, of Hammer-
smith, to bring the plant prominently before the public.
Dahlias began to attract attention in 1821, but the fine
double varieties did not come up till 1830. The scarlet ver-
benas were becoming general about 1836. Cape heaths,
proteas, and bulbs, Australian plants, and American cac-
tuses had all their day. At present we seem to have fixed
our attention principally upon fine " leaf plants." This
phyllomania can be traced directly to Japan, where plants
distinguished for their elegant or remarkable foliage have
for ages been great favourites. The Dutch acquired it
from the Japanese, and gradually imparted it to the conti-
nental nations, and ultimately to ourselves. The ferns, of
which about 1,000 species are cultivated in our gardens,
owe part of their popularity to their elegant foliage. The
rage for orchids seems to be on the wane ; the great
growers begin to act upon the pernicious principle of " se-
lection, not collection," and its application is always a sign.
that real enthusiasm is cooling down.—Athenceum.

A STRANGE STORY INDEED !—The Morning Pose
publishes the following extravagantly romantic
story on the authority of a Warsaw correspondent of the
Sonntags Zeitung:—" All the attempts of the Russian Go-
vernment to discover the leaders of the Polish revolt having
hitherto been in vain, the Russian agents abroad were
dire3ted to leave no means untried to discover the names of
those persons to whom diplomatic reports from abroad are
addressed in Poland. 'Some time since a Russian spy suc-
ceeded in gating possession of a document which Prince
Czartoryski had forwarded from London to Warsaw ; and
on learning the name of the addressee, who was a Catholic
priest in a village near Warsaw, this priest, Dodicki by
name, was arrested and brought for examination into the
castle at Warsaw. A search made through his house pro-
duced nothing compromising, and the priest strenuously
denied having taken any direct or indirect part in the in-
surrection. The Russian Committee of Public Safety knew
not how to dispose of their captive, for his personalty did
not seem adapted for a diplomatic agent, and yet the details
of the spy were so exact and precise that the man must surely
be more than he seemed to be. Dodicki was able, however,
to clear himself from all suspicion, and was on the point of
obtaining his release, when the agent reported that great
consternation reigned among the London committee on ac-
count of the seizure of the priest, as he was the confidant
of the secrets of the National Government, and possessed
important documents. It was now endeavoured, as threats
availed naught, to extract a confession by means of enticing
promises. A prebendal stall, with a rich benefice, was held
out as a reward. This modified the stern resoldtion of the
hitherto inflexible man. Re swore most ,solemnly on the
crucifix to make revelations, yet he stipulated that a con-
fessor should be sent to him previously, who should grant
him absolution and release him from the oath he had sworn
to the National Government. A priest was soon found.
Dodicki remained alone with the holy father in his cell, and
the committee anxiously awaited the moment when the con-
fessor would leave the captive. As, nevertheless, the in-
terview lasted too long, an entry was made into the cell,
and a horrifying spectacle presented itself to view. Dodicki
lay a corpse upon the ground, and the priest who was to
have granted him absolution lay near him in the agonies of
death. All restoratives were in vain, as the confessor hod
taken a large dose of prussic acid. This priest, whose name
was Czerwinski, always passed for a faizhful dependant of
the Russians, and had at an earlier period given proof of
his attachment to the Czar. The curpees were interred in
the castle itself. Dodicki is said to have played an impor-
tant part. He looked very simple, and no one would have
credited him with those talents which fitted him to act as
chief commissioner of the Nation 4 Government