The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-28 00:00:00

cess.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, AUGUST 28, 1865

of the mysterious affair, but this was precluded by
the circumstance of the prisoner pleading " guilty."
It must, therefore, for the present remain in its
incompleteness this confession of CoNSTANCE KENT.
Many will doubtless accept it as full and sufficient,
but some will be found who will desire yet further
particulars. At any rate, the descriptions which
are given in this last version of the affair seem in-
conclusive in some respects, as in the instance of the
night-dress for example. It seems very incompre-
hensible that she should put it into the drawer,
where it would be so readily detected and excite
suspicion, and still more strange that it should
have been really examined and escaped comment
when she herself, upon further observation, deemed
it necessary and expedient to destroy it. Putting
aside these discrepancies, the story which the pri-
soner relates is comprehensible enough, and the
affair was so wrapped in mystery at the time that
it was not likely that it would ever be made per-
fectly plain. A more painful occurrence has sel-
dom, if ever, taken place in the annals of crime,
and fearful as have been some of the incidents con-
nected with the recent murders, it is to be ques-
tioned if the Road House tragedy does not still
bear its sad pre-eminence as the most mysterious
and distressing event of the kind which the present
generation has witnessed.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, AUG. 28.

In the negotiations between the Sovereigns of
Austria and Prussia for the definitive settlement
of the succession question to the Duchies, the fol-
lowing points have been agreed to by both Powers
as the lz.sis for the future organisation of the
Government of Schleswig and Holstein :-
1. Austria and Prussia recognise the Vienna
treaty of peace .as the only legal basis for the
settlement of the question of the sovereignty of the
Duchies. Both Powers therefore form the only
tribunal which, so soon as they shall come to an
understanding on the subject, shall have the
authority to decide on the future political organi-
sation of the Duchies.

2. The duty of defending the Duchies will be
undertaken by Prussia, and whatever ultimate
settlement of the succession question may be arrived
at, the military resources of Schleswig and Holstein
will be placed at her disposal.

CALCUTTA AND CHINA MAILS.

SUEZ, AUG. 27.

The Messageries Imperiales steamer Tigre arrived
here to-day with the India and China mails and
6,080 bales of silk.

SOUTHAMPTON, AUG.-28.

The Peninsular and Oriental Co.'s steamer
Poonah, which sailed hence yesterday with the
Bombay mails, when off Lymington, met with a
slight accident to her machinery. Engineers have
been sent to effect the repairs, and it is expected
the Poonah will be able to resume her voyage
towards evening.

ITALY.
RESIGNATION OF THE MINISTER OF THE
INTERIOR.

FLORENCE, AUG. 28.

Signor Lanza, the Minister of the Interior, has
given in his resignation, which has been accepted by
the King.
The name of his successor is not yet known.

idleness and crime, and solicited for them the indul-
gence and aid of the white people.
The following despatches concerning the Atlantic
cable have been received to-day :
" Aspy Bay, Aug. 15.

" A large vessel hove in sight at 6 this morning.
At this hour, half past 9, she is within four miles of
the shore. Flags are seen gaily flying from her."
" Heart's Content, N.F., Aug. 11,
via Aspy Bay, Aug 15.

" The schooner First Fruit, from Cardiff, arrived
at Harbour Grace, N.F., this morning. She makes
the following report :
" On the 6th August, at 4 a.m., saw steamship
Great Eastern and British war steamer Terrible.
At 6 a.m. saw a beacon buoy with a flag upon it
marked " Great Eastern, No. 5." The Great
Eastern and Terrible were then about five miles
south-east from the beacon buoy. The weather was
quite foggy. The Terrible reported that the cable
parted on the 2d of August. The First Fruit then
laid two sails to the mast and hoisted her ensign.
At noon the Terrible came near the First Fruit and
received from her information of the bearings of the
beacon-buoy. The position of the buoy, by the
account of the First Fruit was in lat. 51.40, long.
38.

" The weather here this morning is mild, but a
thick fog prevails."
It is considered probable that the cable, owing to
some accident, bad been cut and floated by the
buoy, and that it might yet be picked up and suc-
cessfully landed.

Visit of the French Fleet to Portsmouth.

PORTSMOUTH, Aug. 27.
It may be that the reception which is to be given
to the French fleet on its arrival here on Tuesday

and the entertainments which are to take place dur-
ing the few days it remains anchored in those waters
may turn out to be but a poor reflex of the brightly

varied festivities of Cherbourg and Brest. With all
our wealth and the great appliances which that
wealth can command, we may be about to furnish
another illustration of the oft-repeated statement
that in the art of dispensing a hospitality at once

graceful and magnificent we vainly endeavour to cope

with our allies. If this should be so, it will be from
no want of strenuous exertion on the part of our
naval authorities nor from the lack of hearty co-

operation with them on the part of the people of
Portsmouth and its vicinity. For days past, as has

been already notified in our columns, the work of
preparation for the approaching fetes has been going
on with the utmost vigour ; and results have been
already produced which cannot fail to be highly
gratifying to all those who take an interest in their
success. Nor is it by any means a light task which
those have undertaken upon whom the execution of

the necessary arrangements devolves. The pro-
gramme which has been laid down is most compre-

hensive. Balls and banquets and concerts, and re-
views- and fireworks—and these, too, to be carried
out on a scale of unwonted splendour—figure from
one end to the other of the list.

From Tuesday morning until Saturday there isto
be one continued round of sight-seeing and feasting
and dancing, and it will be strange, indeed, if by
the time it is all over the youngest midshipman on
board the united fleets is not ready to admit that he
has had, at least for the present—for youth is all
but insatiable in such matters—his fill of pleasure.
Since the arrival of the Lords of the Admiralty
from Brest on Friday morning a fresh impulse has
been given to the preparations which are being
made in every direction.
The Duke of Wellington, on board which a pri-
vate dinner is to be given on Tuesday evening, by
the Duke of Somerset, to the French Minister of

Marine, M. de Chausseloup-Laubat, and the Admi-
ral and chief officers of the French and English
fleets, is undergoing from stem to stern a process of
lavish decoration. In the quadrangle of the Royal
Naial College, the transformation of which into a
vast and glittering ball-room is being rapidly effected
under the superintendence of Mr. Wood, C.E., of
her Majesty's dockyard, a dinner on a more exten-
sive scale will be given on Wednesday, while on
Thursday the civic authorities of Portsmouth will
entertain, in an immense circular tent, which has
been constructed for the purpose on the square plot
of ground, about two acres in extent, known as
" Governor's Green," the French and English officers
at a banquet, to be followed by a promenade con-
cert and ball. At the dinner ou Wednesday, the
invitations for which will be issued by the Lords of

the Admiralty, four toasts are to be proposed—
" The Emperor of the French," " The Queen id
England," " The French Navy," and " The British
Navy." The moment the health of the two Sove-
reigns is being drunk will be made the occasion of
firing a Royal salute from the combined squadrons,
and of a simultaneous illumination of the several
ships of which they are composed.
A review of the troops in garrison here on Friday
morning, a dinner at the Royal Naval College in
the evening, at which the Lords of the Admiralty
and the principal French officers will be the guests
of Sir M. Seymour, and a ball, to which the ladies
especially seem to be looking forward as the most
brilliant event in a week for them of brilliant promise,
will, it is thought, bring thefetes to what it is earnestly
hoped maybe a successful close. That,however,which
is intended to be the chief feature in the whole round
of the festivities is precisely that as to the success of
which the greatest apprehension prevails. It is
feared that the ballroom, ample though its propor-
tions may seem to be—for it is 165 ft. long by 55ft.
in width—may be so inconveniently thronged as to
render that which is the main object of a ball im-
possible. Should these fears be realised the Admi-
ralty, who have entire control over the arrangements,
will have so far at all events followed the model
which was set them at Cherbourg as to have copied
the only mistake which was there committed, without

perhaps having it in their pow& to point to artistic
triumphs such as those which rendered the ball at
Cherbourg, notwithstanding the inconvenience
caused by overcrowding, a scene rarely splendid.
Any shortcomings in mere decoration would be
more than compensated by the enjoyment which a
sufficiently clear space to dance would afford, at
least so say the ladies, and they have the great ma-
jority on their side. It may here be mentioned inci-
dentally that the bill given on board the Vile de
Lyons at Brest on Wednesday last seems to have
been unusually brilliant. Of the magical process by
which the deck of this vessel was converted into a
floating pleasure ground, with shaded walks and
scented groves, where, in the intervals of the dance,
the cool air and delicious perfume of flowering plants
might be inhaled as in some choicely-stocked garden
on land, those who witnessed the scene speak in
terms of rapturous admiration, mingled with a sigh
of regret at feeling themselves obliged to abandon all
hope that the approaching fetes can be characterised
by anything so fairylike and enchanting. Indeed,
nothing of the kind will be attempted here, for the no-
tion has been completely given up of having a ball of
any description on board the Duke of Wellington or
any of the vessels in the harbour. The work of de-
corating the extemporised room at the Royal Naval
College is, however, proceeding very satisfactorily,
and it is expected that when completed it will form
a ballroom not altogether unworthy of the occasion.
As to the banquets there is every reason to think
they will be very sumptuous, and that as mere culi-
nary displays they will not be discreditable to us as
a nation—a point not undeserving of notice in an
age when every man, and particularly every French-
man, however sceptical he may be in other matters,
at least believes in a cook.
The hour at which it is anticipated the French
squadron will reach Spithead is noon on Tuesday,
and the Lords of the Admiralty will come down
here to-morrow to be in readiness to receive it.
The squadron, which is to consist of nine large
men-of-war and four smaller vessels, will be headed
by the Reine Hortense, with the French Minister of
Marine on board, and will be met at Spithead by the
Osborne, bearing the Admiralty flag. Then will
there be a rare expenditure of powder, as the Eng-
lish ships just returned from the shores of France
thunder forth a welcome to their late companions
on their arrival in English waters, similar to that
with which they themselves were received but a few
days since in the harbour of Cherbourg. The
Reine Hortense, followed by the Osborne, will im-
mediately afterwards proceed into Portsmouth har-

bour, and will be greeted, as she passes the Spit
buoy, with a salute from the Victory, displaying the
French flag at the fore. A visit will, as soon as the
Reine Hortense comes to an anchor in the harbour,
be paid by the Lords of the Admiralty to M. de
Chasseloup-Laubat, which, with that despatch so
laudable in distinguished personages, the French
Minister of Marine will probably return within a
quarter of an hour, after he sees that their Lord-
ships have got safely on board the Osborne. In
short, visiting, and little else, will be the order of
the day on Tuesday afternoon, from the moment
the French fleet has taken up its position at Spit-
head until its principal officers avail themselves of
the invitation of the Duke of Somerset in the
evening.

And now the weather, that most important con-
tributor to the success or failure of any pageant,
great or small, demands a passing word. At Cher-
bourg it neutralized the effect of an imposing spec-
tacle, and sadly marred the success of efforts which
deserved a better fate. A French traveller once
described, on his return home, the year in England
as being made up of eight months of winter and four
of bad weather ; but let us hope that those French-
men, if there be any, who are now about to visit
our shores for the first time will have reason to carry
away with them a more favourable impression of
our climate. To-day, at all events, is as beautiful
a day as can well be, the rays of a hot sun being
pleasantly tempered by a gentle breeze. Should
to-morrow and the remaining days of the week be
equally bright and cloudless there will be an in-
gredient of success present at the fetes here which
no ingenuity on the part of our versatile allies could
supply for their own.