The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-24 00:00:00

The late Duke of Northumberland.

But a few paces removed from the roar and rattle
of one of the centres of the metropolitan traffic lay
all day yesterday—and will continue to lie to-day—
the remains of one who was great among English
nobles. The mournful progress from the late Duke's
northern residence to the final resting place at West-
minster began on Wednesday, and from the events
of the journey rather than from any display made
at the ducal house in London is to be gathered
a just conception of the position filled by the de-
ceased nobleman, and of the regret awakened by his
loss. The funeral procession moved out from the
feudal castle of Alnwick amid the unmistakable
sorrow of all the Northumberland towns. The local
Volunteer force, to the number of 500, accompanied
it on its way, the Consuls of foreign nations attended
in uniform, so did the officers and crew of one of her
Majesty's gunboats, while the clergy and members
of local bodies, general mourners, and tenants on
horseback contributed to swell the number of those
who concurred in paying this last tribute of respect.
The very list of immediate body-servants, agents,
bailiffs, heads of departments, lodge-keepers, gar-
deners, farm-men, game-watchers, woodmen, &c.,
reads like a regimental muster-roll. When the
hearse had been conducted to the railway station
and the train conveying the remains reached New-
castle all the ships had their flags hoisted half-mast
high ; and at the next halting point, where a delay
of half an hour took place, the great bell of York
Minster solemnly tolled a requiem. Thus, followed
by the regrets of all to whom his worth was known'
the late Duke's body passed on its was to London,
Where its arrival, late at night, excited but little
attention. The deepest sorrow, like the greatest
joy, is lost in the immensity of London life. All
that any event, however striking, can be expected
to accomplish is to give a passing colour to the
feeling of the moment. Residents, however, to
whom the circumstances were privately known, ex-
hibited not less eagerness to show respect for the
memory of the late Duke than any of his tenantry
or acquaintance in the north of England. The ad-
mission to Northumberland-house was exclusively
by ticket, the issue being confined to personal friends
of the deceased, his tenants, and tradespeople. Of
these a goodly number arrived during the day so
that a pretty constant stream of visitors moved at a
foot pace through the dining-room, which had been
hung with black draperies, and otherwise prepared
as a mortuary chamber. On entering this apartment
the gloom was so intense that it was difficult to dis-
tinguish any object beyond the crimson and gold of
the coffin, which was supported in the usual manner
upon trestles, covered with the pall, and surrounded
by tall wax tapers, held in massive si.ver candle-
sticks, arranged in the form of an oval. Little by
little the eye began to discover that a coronet
and cushion rested on the coffin, and that the ad-
miral's hat and sword of the late Duke had also
been deposited there. Some heraldic designs, cover-
ing or drooping from the head of the coffin, indicated
that among other honours inherited or enjoyed by
the favour of his Sovereign the Order of the Garter
had been included. These were the few objects,
and, as far as could be perceived, the only objects
affording any relief to the mournfulness and quiet
of the chamber, at the sides of which a stricter
search discovered mutes standing with as little
motion as their own black wands. The last compli-
ment paid, and a pardonable curiosity indulged few
of the visitors were sorry to pass through the second
doorway into the light of day once more, leaving to
the custody of relatives and of the household, upon
whose faces grief was plainly written, the custody of
him who was sometime Duke and Earl of Northum-
berland, Earl and Baron Percy, Baron Lucy, Poyn..
ings, Fitz-Payne and Bryan, Latimer, Warkworth,
and Baron Prudhoe,
in the county of Worthumber-
land. In spite of the depressing. influences of the
chamber, there was one feeling of gratification in-
separable from the occasion. The late Duke was
not only one of the richest men in England, he was
one of those who knew how to use his riches best.
Near the door of the last room in his
own house
that he will ever have occasion to occupy, a gigantic
h
ent was suspended, and the eye of the visitor
readtaatet lilinilvith pleasure the sentence interlacing the feet
of the heraldic supporters, and lying, as it were, at
the base of the escutcheon. The motto was one
affording a key to many of the late Duke's actions,
and it applies to all, whatever their dignities or in-
indignities. Three short words composed the sen-
tence.---"
Esperance en Dieu."

BERGEN, Feb. 9.—A bottle has been found to the
Westward of this place, containing a note. The following
is a copy :-4, Sept. 3, 1864.-1 bop the finder of this will
report it when found. The schooner William and Susan
of Buckhaven, in a sinking state. The mate and two hands
washed overboard. Wind N.E., about 40 miles Off Hartle-
pool. We have now five feet of water in the hold. The
vessel is sinking fast. ---, master."
. . .

At a meeting of the Middlesex magistrates yes-
terday a communication was read from the Home Office
pointing out that the Coldbath-fields Prison was utterly
inadequate to the accommodation of the prisoners who are
confined there, and recommending that that prison should
be enlarged and a new one built. The subject will I.)°
taken into full consideration at another meeting of Ow
magistrates.