The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-21 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—The accustomed quiet of this city has been
turned to bustle and excitement by the arrival and
departure of regiments, and the coming in and
sailing of steamers, men of war, and transports.
Our streets have been gay with the uniforms of
Guardsmen, Riflemen, Liners, Artillery, Engineers,
and Military Train; the first and the last, never
having been seen here before, attracted much atten-
tion.

The first arrival of troops was on the 26th of
December, when the Australasian, foiled in her
attempt to go up the St. Lawrence, steamed up to
the dockyard with the Ist battalion Rifle Brigade
on board. She remained here about a week, the
delay arising partly from the state of the weather
and partly from the fact that the roads in New
Brunswick were blocked up with snow, and the com-
missariat officers had not been able to complete
their arrangements for forwarding the men from
St. John's, New Brunswick. This fine ship had a
very rough passage round to that port, and, asyou are
perhaps aware, the navigation of the Bay of Fundy
is not the safest. However she reached there safely
and landed the regiment in good order. It blew a
fearful gale during the night after she left here, and
as the fierce wind howled without, and the snow
and hail dashed furiously against the windows,
many a family seated round the cheerful hearth
thought of that storm-tossed ship, and the gallant
fellows on board who had come all the way from
Old England to defend us, and many a prayer not
unheard went up for their safety.
The Persia arrived here from the St. Lawrence
on the 31st December; so rapidly did the ice form
in the river that she was forced to depart very sud-
denly, leaving behind two of her officers, a number
of her crew, and most of her boats. She succeeded
in landing at Isle Bic all the Ist battalion 16th Re-
giment, with the exception of one company, which
returned in her to this port. On the same day the
Adriatic came in with the Grenadier Guards on
board, and after the departure of the Australasian
she went alongside the dockyard pier, and the men
were thus enabled to have a run on shore within the
walls. They remained here about a week and left
yesterday morning for St. John's, where they should
arrive in 48 hours. During their stay here the offi-
cers amused themselves with sleigh driving, and
soon became proficient at the difficult task of turn-
ing the corners of slippery streets. I could tell you
of how the swells were at first imposed upon by the
cabbies, and hew soon the former found them out,
and the game was up; of how a captain, driving a
sleigh through the principal street, ran down a
black woman, did not hurt her in the least, paid
£5 damages for breaking the vehicle when the
horse ran away, and said his hands were so
cold he could not hold him—and of the fabulous
prices they paid for bearskins and so-called
Newfoundland dogs, but that your space is
better occupied by my saying how deep was
the impression made by the pluck and
spirit of these noble fellows, who have left
so many pleasures and comforts behind them, to
face the cold of a Canadian winter and the toils
of a long march through the snow, in order to
be ready to defend the national honour. We had
one or two fiercely cold days, which no doubt quite
equalled their expectations, and gave them an idea
of what it might be in New Brunswick where it is
usually colder than at Halifax. The regiment
paraded through the town the day before its depar-
ture, and, of course, excited the admiration of all,
for, though many fine corps have been and are in
garrison here, such a splendid body of men was
never seen in this province before. You, in London,
accustomed to see these fine fellows in the Park,
would hardly recognise the men you are so justly
proud of, in their sealskin caps, top boots, fur mitts,
gray coats, and woollen comforters. They were in
fine order, every man warmly clothed and looking
none the worse for the voyage. I may say they
looked to me healthier and better than I ever saw
them in England. Many a time of a cold March
day I have seen the sentries about the foot of St.
James's-street looking very cold and miserable, but
with the excellent clothing so bountifully provided
for the men on this expedition there was nothing of
that in their appearance. I happened to be stand-
ing near to an American evhen the battalion passed.
He said, " Yes, Sir ! they are fine men, and march
good, and no mistake. I reckon we 'aint got many
boys like those in our army."
The 2d battalion, 16th Regiment, arrived last
week in the Magdalena after a fine passage, were
landed in good order, and took up their quarters in
the Citadel. A few nights ago two privates of the
rgeigaeimis,enatn,
dstuwpeifireedfebaynddriforkoz,
esnantke tdoeasltehe
pthoe
morning. The Cleopatra came in last night with
the Ist battalion of the 17th Regiment on board.
nnethxet