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. Of
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 shop 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 largo 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 Da9res said that what little he had done in the
course of his career in the navy had been amply rewarded.
He believed there was not an officer in the British navy
who, if he had the same opportunities he 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, he 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 p 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 bad heard of, and
which the Americans 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
that noble vessel on Thurday last. The hospitablaeno.frtheyi
the gallant entertainers was well responded. to, and
had the pleasure to welcome upwards of 200
in the
o their
ship, comprising members of the principal familiesngst those pre-
county, including the Isle of Wight. Ain.
ef Portsrnouth,
sent were also the commander-in-
°bland of the ships in
the officers of the regiment in garsrsat
isl;as beautifully fitted
commission at the port.
The taste and effect for which
up, and was decorated with thatbundance of bunting and the
sailors are remarkable.
:every direction, but what was
gayest flags were displayer
s the profusion of beautiful flowers
most admired, perhaps,‘"
deck and other parts of the vessel.
dispersed about the
wi it
well arranged,and was covered with
deck was also
The upper on the poop arrangements mere made for
an awning, while
°dation of the ladies, who were thus enabled to
vthice:i; animated scene presented when d ancing commenced.
The luncheon,
which was of a most excellent description,
e ad on the main deck. In the decoration of the
twaabl s served on
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 Lendesborough, 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 1853 ; and the cup won
for the present lord, by the Albertine, last month, over the
same course, were amongst the more conspicuous objects.
Grimston Hall 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 contributed
to the decoration of the tables. The ship's band, 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-
mationhe from three in the afternoon till about eight in
evening, when the visitors took leave of their gallant en-
tertainers, and were conveyed ashore.
THE NATIONAL SHAKSPEARE C,OMMITTEK.—The
list of members added to the committee duringhhie the current
week includes, over and above the A Archbishop
vice-presidents,
hop of York,
who has accepted office as one
11r. Henry Reeve,
Canon Stanley, Viscount Raynh of
am,
, Dr, Charles Mackay, and Mr. Henry Huth,