The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-29 00:00:00

GENERAL SIR GEORGE BROWN.

Eleven years ago there was a British camp, far
away on a hill-side in Bulgaria where at nights
might be heard a refrain ere the days of sorrow
fell upon the army—
Come pipe-clay your jackets and buckle your stocks,
Away with mustachios and dirt-breeding locks ;
Such dombded ennovations I'll surely put down ;
It's nae up wi' the shakos, cries General Brown !
But there is not a survivor of the storms of pesti-
lence and battle which smote that gallant Light
Division who will not read with sincere regret of
the death of their iron old chief. He drilled them,
pipe-clayed them, shaved and stocked them within
an inch of their lives. The Queen's regulations were
before him, and he dared not disobey that which
was written there as in the chronicles of the law.
But he fed them well in camp and led them nobly
in the field, and never succeeded in drilling and
stocking his heart into complete rigidity and impas-
siveness to their wants and wishes. No one had a
keener appreciation of the folly of choking men with
a leather garotte machine at 80 deg. in the shade,
and perhaps no one felt more keenly the pains and
penalties of the early and close-shaving movement
than himself. It may be doubted if Sir G. Brown
quite approved the shako, but no suspicion can be
Thrown on his belief in pipeclay. But what could he
do ? Was he, a subordinate General, to take upon
himself to set aside the orders of the British army ?
Would it be any justification to his official con-
science for disobedience to the orders to receive the
praise of writers in newspapers or commendations
from independent members of Parliament ? There
was law, practice, order, custom, for divisional
drills in the field, and Sir George knew well that
with some of the regiments in his division it was
not superctogatory to drill them in order to get a
division ready for its duties. And so he drilled
them in the heat of the early Bulgarian morn-
ings. There was a strict regulation that every
soldier should wear a stiff stock of black patent
leather, with a brass buckle behind it. And so he
made them wear it, and wore one himself ; not only
that, but liked it. There was also a strict regula-
tion that every officer and man in her Majesty's
infantry should keep his face shaved, and that his
whiskers should be cut in a line extending from the
tip of his ear to the angle of his mouth. And so
it was that if a British travelling gent or a Turkish
Bashi-Bazouk happened to be passing by the camp
at Devna some time after daybreak any morning of
June, 1854, he would see the stiff, well-knit figure
of an old man, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted,
tightly strapped, dressed in a well-fitting un-
dress blue frock coat, with velvet collar and
cuffs, regulation swordsash, belt, spurs, and
horse trappings of a British general officer, well
mounted and well seated on a regulation height
charger, with his handsome face well set in its
stock, and his chin and check glistening from the
recent razor, careering iu front of his Staff, in the
midst of solid, well stocked battalions,who were un-
dergoing the pains and penalties attached to the
honour of being the Light Division. " Let them
alter the regulations if they please, and then I will
follow the regulations," was his remark to all insi-
nuated remonstrances. It was principally the doctors
who spoke, and the General had imbibed a good deal
of the old Peninsular sentiment respecting medical
officers, and regarded them as the most troublesome
of the impedimenta of an army. At that time the
new theory of camp-pitching was coming into vogue,
and Sir George heard with horror the first mutter-
ings of the heresy that the doctors were to regulate
the choice of military positions by sanitary con-
siderations. He disliked baggage trains, and he
therefore regarded with disgust the newfangled
carriages which were to serve as ambulances.
He set up his back against the doctors, and if
there had been any one less firm than Alexander
to deal with he would probably have had all
timings his own way, for he had sympathetic support
at head-quarters, and, indeed, our long delay in mov-
ing the wounded on board the ships after Alma was
mainly due to the fact that all ambulances were left
on shore at Varna. But when cholera broke out
who more prompt in action, more energetic in com-
mand, more constant in care and attention to his
men than Sir George Brown ? In one thing he was
quite right—in insisting on the military cleanliness,
of which to him the outer and visible sign was pipe-
clay. But the great fault, overborne, as it was, by
many very great virtues, of Sir George Brown was
that he could not understand the changes whichhad
taken place in society, in the world, and in the army
recruited in these isles since he put up his sword on
the peace of 1815 and sat down-at th
ine desk,
his lengthened toils," says Mr. g ,:, "where
drew
him too far in a narrow path," so that " he over-
pliedeas the
old, but wastlhBesb4isltioerian
66
yjust
ises re
idea
if o fw d iePl
areci t discipline."
believe." In
quoted he was accustomed in any difficulty to ask
himself how " the Duke" would have acted under
s
similar circumstances, and so had gathered no wis-
dom from his own experience. When there was no
answer to that question he must have been quite in
the dark.

" Sir George Brown was an officer whose career had
begun, and begun with glory, in the great days under Wel-
lington, but while he was still in his early manhood wars had
ceased, and thenceforth for nearly 40 years he had brought
his strong energies to bear upon the kind of military busi-
ness which used to be practised by the English in peace
time. A long immersion in the Adjutant-General's de-
partment had led him to go even beyond other men in
laying stress upon the value of discipline ; but the practice
of this sort of industry had not at all helped to school
him for the command of a division in war time ; for in
labouring after that mechanic perfection, which, after
all, is only one of many means towards an end, the end
itself had been much forgotten by those who controlled our
military system, and the business of war (as, for
instance, the art of carrying a brigade in line through
enclosures and thick grounds) had been little or never prac-
tised in England.* To a military system which omits to

* Sir Charles Napier, the conqueror of Scinde, used to
press the importance of practising troops in this way, but
without success.

Sir George was one of the useful family of un-
enobled Browns, which in all degrees and parts of
the world have, according to Mr. Hughes, done so
much for the honour and glory of their country.
The family of Browns, of which he is a direct mem-
ber, haslong been settled in Linkwood, Elgin, where
he was born in 1790, and where he died on Sunday,
the 27th of August. He was intended for the ser-
vice, and was educated at the Royal Military Col-
lege at Great Marlow and at High Wycombe,
whence he was launched on his career at 18 years
of age, into the very midst of the war fever, which,
hot or cold, had been on Europe since.l793. The
young Seotchrnan [says the writer in the Times, evi-
dently himself an Irishman .I], who never lost the
twang which distinguishes the speech of Englishmen
born north of the Tweed, was eager in his vocation,
and loved fighting with a keenness not to be damped
by blood or blunted by wounds, and in those days
of fighting he soon came to the front.
A reference to " Hart" will not give much infor-
mation concerning his career. In " War Services
of General Officers " his name does not occur. In
the services of officers of the Prince Consort's Own
Rifle Brigade, of which he was appointed Colonel-
in-Chief the 18th of March, 1863, there is no men-
tion of him, but the following foot-note appears to
his name as Colonel of her Majesty's 32d in that
high authority :
" Sir George Brown served at the siege and capture of
Copenhagen in 1807, in the Peninsula from August, 1808,
to July, 1811; and again from July, 1813, to May, 1814,
including the battle of Vimiera, passage of the Douro and
capture of Oporto, with the previous and subsequent ac-
tions; battle of Talavera (severely wounded through both
thighs), action of the Light Division at the bridge of Al-
meida, battle of Busaco, the different actions during the
retreat of the French army from Portugal, action at Sabu-
gal, battle of Fuentes d'Onor, siege of San Sebastian,
battles of the Nivelle and Nive, and the investment of
Bayonne. Served afterwards in the American war, and
was present at tho battle of Bladensburg and capture of
Washington. Slightly wounded in the head and very
severely in the groin at Bladensburg. He has received the
War Medal with seven claps. Commanded the Light
Division throughout the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, in-
cluding the battles of the Alma (horse shot under him),
Balaclava, and Inkerman (severely wounded—shot through
the arm), and siege of Sebastopol (medal and four clasps,
G.C.8., Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, Ist Class of
the Medjidie, Sardinian and Turkish medals)."

This brief record might be amplified by those
who knew how active and how brave he was in the
earlier part of his career, and how soon he attracted
the notice of his seniors, and, above all, of the Duke
himself, at an epoch when daring actions and per-
sonal qualifications could receive no preliminary
flourish from a high certificate or from figures of
merit in a competitive examination. Indeed, though
he had no reason to be dissatisfied, his reward
might make some grumblers now-a-days ashamed
of themselves. 11e was gazetted to an ensigncy
the 23d of January, 1806, and became lieutenant
in September of the same year, while serving in the
expedition to Sicily, from which he proceeded to the
hotbed of war in the Peninsula, then under the
Duke's own gardening, after a run to the North
with the corps which reduced Copenhagen. But
fruitful in blows, and well-developed actions, and
plenty of glory plants, the Peninsula was not a
particularly favoured forcing-house for promotion,
and so it was that five years elapsed before he ob-
tained his company. In that time he had fought
at Vimiera, Almeida, Busaco, and in the last action
was engaged, it is said, in a personal combat with
an officer of the staff of Marshal Massena, whom he
worsted. Then he rushed into the breach at Bada-
joz, was shot through the legs at Talavera, and
managed nevertheless to see the backs of the Fre.nch
as they retreated from Spain, after a desperate and
protracted resistance, in which Fuentes d'Onor,
Salamanca, Nive, Nivelle, and Orthes had place
and mark. It was his ill or his good fortune to be
sent on the American expedition, and to accompany
Sir Hugh Ross's force up the Chesapeake. Ho
was present at the " Races of Bladensburg," and,
no doubt, saw the burning of the national buildings
and stores at Washington without any very lively
demonstration of satisfaction, for be never approved
severity ; but, as he was severely wounded in the
encounter with the Americans, who so feebly de-
fended their capital, he could have taken no active
part in a measure which has provoked so much cri-
ticism. With Bladensburg his career in the field
terminated till he was called to command his divi-
sion in 1854, but he long remained a regimental
officer, as it was not till 1812 he became Deputy-
Adjutant-General. He had by this time become a
Major-General under the Prince of Wales's Brevet
of Nov. 23, 1841, and his previous commissions
were—Major, May 26, 1814 ; Lieutenant-Colonel,
Sept. 29, 1814 ; Colonel, May 6, 1831. When Sir
John Macdonald died in 1850, the Duke of Wel-
lington appointed General Brown Adjutant-General
of the Forces, and on Nov. 11,
1851, he was made
Lieutenant-General. He resigned his office not long
after Lord Hardinge became General Commanding-
in-Chief, and his resignation was commented on at
the time in Parliament. During his tenure of office
at the Horse Guards he was a faithful and laborious
public servant, and at least on one occasion offered
resistance to measures which he thought contrary to
the interests of the service, and did not hesitate to
tender his resignation rather than consent to them.
A harsh, rude manner was assumed by him in his
dealing with officers to cover real kindness, and
men who received favours from him were often less
grateful than those who were charmed by Lord
Raglan's gracious mode of refusal. It may be
doubted if Sir George Brown was a military re-
former—if, for example, he did not think Brown
Bess better than the rifle ; but what was once
ordered was at once accepted by him. Although
some very old soldiers were passed over because
they were too old, Sir George Brown was called
on to command the Light Division in 1854, perhaps
in memory of his ancient services in the famous
old Light Division of 1812. He formed the Rifle
Brigade, 7th Fusileers, 19th, 23d Welsh Fusileers,
33d, 77th, and 88th into a corps to emulate the
fame of their predecessors. He led the advance of
the British army from Malta to Gallipoli, from Gal-
lipoli to Varna, and from Varna to the Crimea. On
the very day of landing at Old Fort he was in some
danger of capture from a patrol of Cossacks. The
manner in which he led his men at the Alma has
been well described -in Mr. Kinglake's most vivid
manner. His grey charger was conspicuous in the
ruck of fighting men, and when his white plume
disappeared from the summit of the ridge, where his
figure could be seen above the line of bayonets and
through the smoke of the battle, those of the Light
Division who were nigh forgot all but the impetuous
valour of the fiery old leader, and were delighted to
see him at their head once more when ho had got
George
away from his dying horse. In the despatch of the
battleT h
The
ew
modeas
ithus
whichsp ok
Lieutenant-General
Lord
lßaglan:
Sir
Brown conducted his division, under the most trying cir-
cumstances, demands ray warmest approbation. The fire
to which his division was subjected, and the difficulties
be had to contend against, afford no small proof that his
best energies were applied to the successful discharge of
his duties."
During the winter he suffered a little from illness,
but was ever vigilant and energetic, and it was his

Idivision which was first turned out to Meet the
4deadly tide that threatened to sweep the BrAiiih
*Army,. from the plateau of Inkerman ' *on that
• ...“....rhufe sth of November, 1854. Earlyin the
fight he was shot severely, and was removed
from the field with difficulty, but the skill of
his old friend Alexander set him up sufficiently
for a voyage homewards to recruit his strength,
and he returned with all possible speed to his
command before Sebastopol. In compliance with
his desire for active occupation, Lord Raglan
placed the British portion of the expedition to
Kertch and Yenikale under the command of Sir
George Brown, who always felt keenly the imputa-
tions to which he was exposed in consequence of the
destruction of the Museum of antiquities and the
burning of buildings. The excesses which certainly
disgraced the Allies on this occasion he attributed
to the portion of the forces not under his orders,
and he regretted subsequently that he had taken
steps to prevent any publicity being given to the
facts. For the patient duties of a long siege Sir
George had no taste, and he had still less temper
for the endurance of a trial which is the bitterest a
soldier can bear—the promotion of a junior officer
to a coveted command over his head. His failing
health, his wounds, his long services, were grounds
sufficient for the gallant old man's retirement from
the scene wherein he had added much to ancient
laurels and effaced many unfavourable impressions.
Like many good-hearted men, he disliked his own
good-nature, and covered it in with a cloak of
asperity. He would use harsh language to any one
who suspected him of being benevolent. No wonder
if he was the victim of his own injustice to himself,
and created unfavourable impressions which acloser
acquaintance would have removed. On his retire-
ment from the Crimea he received the First Class
of the Medjidie. He was made G.C.B. in 1855,
and Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. He was
invested with the Ortl%. of :,-'4Avoy by the King
.91
Sardinia in the same year. The only Order to which
he belonged before the Crimear War was that of
Knights of Hanover, of which he was created in
1831, but he wore the Peninsular War medal with
seven clasps. He was created General on the 7th of
September, 1855, and was 13th on the list at the
time of his death. In March, 1860, he was ap-
stthetilFlotrhcees,,ifinvlre eyleaanrsd:
panodinthede c ton o tt
hi
neu Ce
do mi
nm tahnadt of
of
rule" caused his retirement in the spring of the pre-
sent year. For some months he had been failing in _
health, and at last he passed away in his native
place, leaving behind him a memory endeared by
many acts of kindness, a name of unsullied honour,
and a reputation of spotless integrity. He married
in 1831 the daughter of Hugh Macdonell, Consul-
General at Algiers, who, we believe, survives him,
but there is no heir male to his honours.—Times.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

LICHFIELD RACES-MONDAY.

Tho Champagne Stakes of 10 sovs each, with 50 added, for
2- yr-olds ; colts, Bst 101 b ; fillies, Bst 71b ; penalties and
allowances. Straight half mile. 14 subs.
Mr. Maud's Maid of Usk, Bst 71b ..(Payne) 1
Lord Uxbridge's Life Guardsman, 9st 31b (in. 71b ox)
(T. French) 2
Capt. D. Lane's Ammunition, Bst 71b (J. Daley) 3
Mr. T. Hilson's Edgbaston, Bst 101 b (Brittan) 4
Betting-6 to 4on Life Guardsman, sto 2 agst Maid of
Usk, and 6 to 1 agst Ammunition, Maid of Usk on the rails
took up the running from the foot of the hill, and won
easily by a length ; the same between second and third,
Edgbaston close up.
The Staffordshire Stakes of 50 sovs, added to a Handicap
Sweepstakes of 10 sovs each ; 5 ft, and 2 if declared, &c. ;
the second to save stake ; winners extra ; 25 subs ; 11

pay ft. About one mile and a quarter.
Mr. J. Barber's Cutaway, 4 yrs, 7st 41b....(J. Grimshaw 1
Lord Uxbridge's Arkansas, 3 yrs, Est 21b (Carver 2
Capt. D. Lane's Blue Mantle, 5 yrs, Bst 31b (J. Daley 3
Mr. J. Billham's Gamecock, aged, Est 121 b (Stagg 4
Lord Bateman's Dean Swift,4 yrs, Gst 81b...(Tomlinson 5
Mr. W. Saunders's Welbeck, 4 yrs, 7st (Ifulme 6
Mr. J. Barber's The Cutler, 6 yrs, Gst 81b (Ward 7
Betting-3 to 1 agst Arkansas, 100 to 30 each agst Cut-
away and Dean Swift, 4 to 1 agst Blue Mantle, and 100 to
15 agst any other. Blue Mantle cut out the work, followed
closely by Mr. Barber's pair, Dean Swift and the favourite
into the dip, where Cutaway headed the lot and won in a
canter by two lengths ; Blue Mantle was a bad third ;
Gamecock fourth; the others tailed off a long way.

The Tamworth Plate of 3 sovs eaeli, with 25 added, for all
ages (Handicap) ; winners extra. The winner to be sold

for £4O, &c. Three-quarters of a mile.
Mr. T. Cliff's Grace Clitheroe, 2 yrs, 6st (J. Kenyon) 1.
Mr. Wallare's Triug, 3 yrs, 7st 81b (J. Grimshaw) 2
Mr. J. Bilham's Humphrey, 6 yrs, Bst 101b....(E. Taylor) 0

The betting opened at 6 to 4 on Tring, and closed at
even on Grace Clitheroe, and 11 to 10 agst Tring. Hum-
phrey jumped round the instant the flag fell, and took no
part in the race. The other two came on in close order to
the enclosure, where Grace Clitheroe headed Tring, and
won easily by two lengths. The winner was bought in for
60 guineas.

The Whittington Welter Plate of 30 SON'S, for 3-yr-olds and
upwards ; weight for age ; certain penalties and allow-
ances; gentleman riders ; professionals extra. Once
Balornock,Overstone,
y,yrs,ss
y111:212
sss ttttl
15191:112bbtl bb,
hb.
(bm)
round, starting from the stand.
rs,
5
3.3 rr A Barter'ss
t I e sr(.
3.1(. x
tE( r
.j( drip.
pt4amanron(
(Owner'
Land'
I‘ll‘'
rrr. TRoper'sharr n o'Ks
Alexander'sinßrighton,
ae Tom,u 0 4r6
03,3:
t
Mr. Plummer's The Bay Horse, 6 yrs, 11st 21b (h b)
r. Dabbs)
Mr. Rickard's Carboro, 3 yrs, lOst 3lb (M
(Owner) 7
Betting-6 to 4 agst Balornock, 2to 1 (at first sto 4)
agst Overstone, and sto 1 agst King Tom. The latter,
with Brighton, the Bay Horse, and Overstono held the lead
until entering the straight, where Balornock, Overstoue,
and King Tom quitted their horses, and had the finish to
themselves, Balornock winning, after a good race, by two
lengths ; King Tom was third, a length from the second ;
the remainder finished as placed.
The City Stakes of 5 sovs each, 2 ft, with 25 added; two-
yr-olds, 7st 21b ; three, Bst 121 b ; the winner to be sold
for £5O. Half a mile.
Mr. Wallace's Shamrock, 2 yrs, 7st 21b (J. Grimshaw) w.o.
The Beaudesert Welter Cup (Handicap), value 100 sovs,
by subscription of 10 sovs each, 5 ft, certain winners
extra; gentlemen riders ; jockeys 61b extra. One mile.
Mr. Mason's Charming Woman, 5 yrs, lOst 1 llb
(Mr. Edwards) 1
Mr. Barber's Donno Canne, G yrs, 9st 71b. (Payne) 2
Mr. Wadlow's Dean Swift, 4 yrs, 9st 51b Bovill) 3
Betting-6 to 4on Charming Woman, 2to 1 agst Dean
Swift. Won by a length and a half ; a length between the
second and third.

TAT TERSALLS'-YESTERDAY.
ST. LEGER.

7 to 4 agst Gladiateur (taken and offered)
7to 1 agst Regalia (taken and offered)
7 to 1 agst The Duke (taken and offered)
9to 1 agst Klarinska (taken)
10 to 1 agst Archimedes (taken)
50 to 1 agst Peeress (offered)

TIIE POSITION OF THE BANK.—On a cursory exa-
mination the return of the Bank of England this week
would seem to show some anomalous figures. At this
date last year the rate of interest was 8 per cent., while
now it is only 4 per cent. Yet at that period the reserve
of notes in the till was actually greater than at this mo-
ment. Some persons look to the reserve as the great key
to the state of the market, and these may fancy that
some unsoundness of management must consequently lie
under the present figures. Others, with better reason,
look to the state of the bullion, and to these the fact that
the total now held is £1,389,378 in excess of the amount
last year, or nearly n per cent., will serve as a sufficient
explanation of the difference between the rate of discount
at the respective periods. The fact is that there are occa-
sionally times when the reserve is the question that requires
attention, but that most frequently the true indication of
the probabilities of the market is to be found in the bullion.
When panic prevails from over-speculation, accompanied
by a tendency to an outflow, and there is a fear that bankers
t
and others may rush to the Bank of England to drafworoalul
tnnhti Fide of the
their balances and hoard them, so as to be
mcoennttinigaetnocigues,arthde
aignadiinspstenausaolahlea cdoueprsleetifooorpbtrhyepaitpcoeetsdttianbglisfhta-
ethnet may
bc he aorhgeeo fkoard d. i srt uonr
ordinary
itooaar
y pe pointri
periods,
,which h
otohfo
contrary,
point for watchfulness is the conddoitoi
that. the stock of bul-
ativei°wnetshaaotf the
lion iscountry
ot the iittehhfiaaforeignmoment ge nations,outidies. firo'hmae net comparative pa
circumstancer
amount of currency in the hands of the public at home is
unusually largo. In this weeks return it is a million and a
quarter in excess of the same date last year. This is not
consequent upon panic or apprehension of any kind. Pro-
bably it is still partly the result of the recent election ex-
penditure. The extra amount is certain to flow back in duo
course, and the least increase of pressure in the discount
market would most likely bring it in rapidly. Conse-
quently, there is no reason that the peculiarity should now
form any material element in the calculations as to the
point at which the rate of discount may be securely placed.
—Travers's Circular.

[ADVERTISEMENT.]-Holloway's Pills.—Bilious affec-
tions and stomach complaints induced by atmospheric heat
or too liberal diet, if not early checked, are often attended
with serious consequences. When any one finds his ideas
less clear than usual, his eyesight dimmed, and his head
dizzy, while he is indisposed for all exertion, physical or
mental, ho may be quite sure that he is in immediate need
of some cooling and purifying medicine. Let him send at
onee for a box of Holloway's pills, after a few doses of
which his head will be clear again, his spirits be elevated,
and all his energies be restored. Printed directions for the
guidance of patients in the use of this admirable medicine
are axed to every box.

1
2
3
4
5

LONDON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1865.

_ .___

On few days in the year will sunshine be more
eagerly welcomed than to-day, if the cheerful beams
will condescend to favour the festivities at Ports-
mouth. Englishmen are said to be always talking
about the weather, and certainly in the midst of
the bustle and excitement of hospitable prepara-
tions it is just now the prevailing topic. Anxious
looks are cast at the clouds, men consult the
weather-glass at every turn, and the old sailors
who are supposed of right to be the most weather-
wise of the community enjoy the unenviable pri-
vilege of being able to damp every one's hopes and
expectations by their dismal forebodings. The re-
cent unkindness of the elements during the visit of
the English fleet to Brest and Cherbourg has per-
haps increased the universal anxiety for fine
weather, lest our gay neighbours and allies should
have their prevailing impression respecting Eng-
lish weather deepened, It certainly seemed as if
our good ships took over a few of our own parti-
cular clouds and showers for the discomfiture of
our light-hearted rivals, and we can only hope that
they will return the compliment by bringing with
them a little of their glowing sunshine. But in spite
of all direful prognosications and misgivings
gthi
neghot:Nsv:
the preparations go busily on,
is filling to an unheard-of extent, and lod
t. The visit
keepers are reaping a fabulous harvest.
of the French fleet will long live in the memory
of
the inhabitants of Portsmouth, for if the pro-
.gramme is at all carried out the next three days
'will be an uninterrupted succession of festivity and
excitement. The Admiralty and the municipality
are competing with each other in their efforts to
make their hospitalities worthy of themselves and
the occasion. Everywhere there is the same cwdial
and courteous desire to do honour to our unwonted
guests, and the same eagerness to show the hearty
goodwill with which Englishmen now regard their
quondam enemies. The very ball dresses and orna-
ments which are filling the shop windows are com-
posed of the three magic colours—red, white, and
blue. The flags and banners of the two countries
aro everywhere flying overhead. Illumination and
decoration are the orders of the day, and the
grand climax is to be reached on Wednesday
night, when the grand Admiralty banquet
is to be given to the French squadron in the Naval
College, and on the health of the two Sovereigns
being drunk the ships of both squadrons are to fire a
royal salute and to illuminate. The effect of this will
be very grand, and the interior o the College has ,

been gaily decorated for the banquet. The dock-
yard, too, comes in for its share of display ; but
after all, there will be no finer sight than that
which is to greet the visitors on their arrival, when
all the English ships in the harbour man. yards as
the Reine Hortense passes. Altogether the spec-
tacle will be a most brilliant one, and the crowds
of visitors who are pouring into the town of them-
selves testify the interest felt on the occasion and
the general desire to do honour to our gallant allies.
Whatever the result of the trouble and expense
which have been lavished on the preparations, and
whatever the fluctuations of the weather during the
festivities, Frenchmen will have at least no right to
be dissatisfied with the warmth or the readiness of
their reception.

It would seem as if it was destined that the tide
of public opinion was to turn against Prussia and
the Prussians at present. A short time ago an
event took place at Bonn which has excited the
greatest indignation among all who have heard of
it. An unfortunate Frenchman, whose reputation
as a cook was very great, had just been appointed
chef de cuisine to Prince ALFRED. He was also en-
gaged to attend the establishment of the QUEEN
during the Royal visit to Germany. In consequence
of these flattering proofs of success OTT gave an
entertainment to his friends, and after supper
he and some of the party were walking
along the streets, when they unfortunately
encountered a party of students. Some dispute
arose, and the consequence was a scuffle, in which
the students appeared to have lost all sense of pro-
priety, and the conduct of a soldier in uniform who
was with them was outrageous in the extreme.
The former struck violent blows with loaded
bludgeons which knocked down the companions of
the Frenchman, while the soldier himself drew his
sabre and attacked Orr. In consequence of this
murderous charge the poor man died two days after
from locked-jaw in frightful agony. No possible
extenuation can be urged on behalf of such an action.
It would have been cowardly enough for a party
of twenty to attack three, but for one of their body
to commit a savage assault upon an unoffending in-
dividual is base act beyond comprehension. The
Prussian cadet who has thus gained an unenviable
notoriety is Count EULENBERG, the nephew of the
Prussian Minister of the Interior. It has come to
something, indeed, if the Prussian aristocracy are
to be permitted thus to give proof of their nobility.
They will soon emulate the notions of the Spanish
hidalgo, who, upon encountering some obstacle, ex-
claimed, " This comes of walking upon the
earth." A more scandalous and barefaced at-
tack could not have been made, for the French-
man was not armed with any weapon, and had
not even a stick in his possession. If anything
could increase the indignation which is naturally
experienced at the recital of this transaction, it
must be the manner in which the Prussian authori-
ties have taken up the matter. They did not even
place the offender under arrest until some time after,
and, worse still, it is thought probable that
no punishment will be dealt to the perpe-
trator of this crime. Perhaps the authorities of
Berlin may reckon without their host, however.
The notion of this freak of aristocratic anger is not
a subject of the land whose monarch rules by divine
right, and whose nobles are privileged to take
any human life if it pleases them so to do.
He is a Frenchman, the subject of the Emperor
NAPOLEON, and his Imperial Majesty is not likely
to brook such an insult to himself and injury to his
subject very tamely. The QUEEN has also been
greatly concerned in this matter, and is supposed to
be taking some steps to obtain redress. The
Prussians evidently think that they may act
with impunity ; but when we recollect bow
they imprisoned and illtreated an English subject
for simply striking an impertinent railway official
with his fist, it seems intolerable that a young Count
should be tacitly encouraged in his vagaries when
he cuts down an unoffending man, who is a subject
of the French EMPEROR and a servant in the employ
of the Queen of ENGLAND.

At the present time it is of the utmost conse-
quence that attention be paid to sanitary laws, and
that the removal of nuisances should be effected in
all possible cases. What might be perhaps tolerated
at ordinary epochs will now become very hurtful,
and, indeed, prove fruitful sources of disease and
death. Yesterday an inquest was held at Bethnal-
green upon the alleged death of a child from malaria.
The proceedings were stopped from the scientific
evidence not being ready, but enough transpired
during the evidence to show that the back of the
premises in which the child died was in a very un-
healthy state, in consequence of the nuisance of the
" collection and retention of blood, for use in the
process of sugar-baking," and that in the hot
weather causes malaria to arise. The medical officer
of health for Bethnal-green handed a report to the
coroner, which had been given to the sanitary com-
mittee, concerning the nuisance in question. From
this statement it appears that the " blood" under-
goes a certain process, which renders it more dele-
terious. It is allowed to remain at the slaughter-
house for some time, when it becomes congealed,
and even sometimes reaches a putrid state of de-
composition. Being unfit for the sugar-refiners
while in that condition, it is broken up by a ma-
chine, and it is this process which is so highly
injurious to health, for, as it • is declared in
the report, " offensive stenches are emitted." No
wonder the medical officer concludes his report by
suggesting that the said business be entirely dis-
continued. Nothing can possibly be more unwise
than to permit the continuance of such nuisances in
crowded neighbourhoods ; and it is dreadful to con-
template the effects which these and similar evils
can produce. It is greatly to be regretted that this
question did not come before the Legislature ; and,
at any rate, no time should be lost in making the
necessary regulations next session. All such trades,
if carried on at all, should be followed in places
where they cannot injure health and become a
plague spot in the neighbourhood. No doubt this
business here referred to is not done differently or
managed worse than many other ones ; but it is
high time that the matter should be inquired into,
and a stop put to practices that threaten
the comfort, health, and even life of the
community.
Children and delicate persons will
be the first victims,
b
or too hardy to be rendeuretd noneimpervious
t too strong
oantg-
tack, for in its train wait many serious evils of a
contagious character. " The painful family of
death, more hideous than their queen," abound and
flourish in such localities," and it is not too much to
expect that some remedial measuresbeaclopted now
juncture.
at this eventful period of this trying
The Government had better look to these matters
without loss of time or giving way to prejudices.
It is idle to talk of preventives to cholera which the
late improvements in drainage will have made, if
the worst evils are invited by these extremely
objectionable trades being pursued in the centre of
a crowded neighbourhood, and amidst those most
qualified to imbibe disease and also to spread it
round quickly. One of the greatest desideratums
at present is the purity of the atmosphere, and such
an attainment is impossible if some wise laws be not
enacted oz the subject of nuisances, such as those

referred to, and if these be not strictly enforced
with zeal and determination. It would be a -very
good thing if sanitary inspectors went the round of
the metropolis and furnished a full and complete
report of their observations. By this means the
worst evils would be made known, and the minor
ones would be kept in check, and perhaps some
offenders might be shamed out of their unwhole-
some trade altogether. At any rate one thing is
certain, while time is being lost and debates and
disputes arise, the deadly work is progressing with
giant strides, and increasing in a rapidly-widening
circle, so that it is difficult to define its exact limits
or to know its number of victims, but we may re-
main convinced that their name is " legion."

The intelligence from India is not very eventful,
but it is not altogether 'unimportant. The most
noticeable feature in the summary, so, far as the
future welfare of Anglo-Indians is concerned, is
undoubtedly the progress of the scheme for supply-
ing Calcutta with pure water. It has long been
universally admitted among civilised people that
pure water is one of the first necessaries of life, one
of the principal constituents of health; yet a wealthy
city like Calcutta, which, from its natural climate
and position, can so ill afford to dispense with any
element of public health, has been suffered to grow
up into a city of palaces without anything like an
adequate water supply. The excuse for this culpable
negligence is certainly not to be found in the geo-
graphical situation of the city, which shows no ex-
ception to the rule that once made a wiseacre won-
der that large rivers always flowed by large towns.
The sacred stream is, indeed, polluted near the city
itself by the Hindoo custom of throwing in their
dead, but it is surely not so difficult in these days of
engineering to organise some means of supply drawn
from a little distance. This is the plan Which is
now at length to be adopted. The water is to be
drawn from the Hooghly at a distance of several
miles, and to be brought down to Calcutta by a
brick aqueduct or an iron pipe. This part
of the business is now under consideration, and the
chief engineer who has been appointed to superin-
tend the works is to visit this country on purpose
to consult the best engineers of the day on the whole
of the details of the scheme, which is likely to ex-
ercise a valuable influence on the general health of
one of the most insalubrious of English built cities.
It is certainly unfair to complain of the unhealthi-
ness of Calcutta ; no attempt is made to supply
what are considered necessaries in every English
town. A tropical climate can hardly be an excuse
for the neglect of sanitary precautions which are
rapidly observed in the temperate zone. The same
disregard of most simple and necessary laws of
health is shown in the want of drainage and other
matters entirely independent of the evils created by
Hindoo superstition and dirty habits. What effect
a little attention and observance of sanitary laws
may have in diminishing the mortality of India may
be guessed from the result—at once painful and
gratifying—of the military reform in these matters.
It is most satisfactory to know that the death-rate
by which our Anglo-Indian forces were steadily
mowed down has rapidly yielded to altered condi-
tions, but at the same time we must be painfully
conscious that an earlier reform in these matters
might have saved thousands of valuable lives. The
civilians have apparently accepted the warning, and,
with the cordial concurrence of the Governor-
General, who is the friend of every practical and
philanthropical reform, many changes for the
better have already taken place, and many more,
which it is only wonderful could have been so long
overlooked, are now in prograss. None, perhaps,
will be more important than this question of the
water supply, which will confer an inestimable boon
on the long-enduring residents of Calcutta.
The military news is less satisfactory. No settle-
ment has been arrived at with the Bhootanese, nor
is any likely to be gained until the cold weather has
permitted the renewal of the war. It is to be hoped
it will be pushed on vigorously, for the slow, hesi-
tating manner in which the business is being done
has proved like most half measures, most extrava-
gant and fruitless. The selection of the posts of
occupation was unfortunate, as in one of them at
least the force stationed has been disabled by fever
and dysentery. This is a distressing and dishearten-
ing thing for the troops, since it exposes them to
the attacks of an enemy whom nobravery can defeat,
no watchfulness circumvent, and the lives of British
soldiers are too precious to be ventured lightly on
such perilous strife. Preparations are, it is said,
being made for a vigorous prosecution of the war
on the return of the cold weather ; and surely it
need not take us very long to bring the Bhootanese
to their senses if the matter is really taken up in
earnest, regardless of expense or any other consi-
deration than prompt and decisive success.