The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-01 00:00:00

midable fortificatioss, that the Russians can ad
vance. The Turkish army when left to itself has suc-
ceeded in making head against the enemy, and it re-
mains to be seen whether it could be overcome when it
should have behind it and soon united with it the im-
posing reserve sent to the East by the Western Powers.
The situation of the corps of General Luders, who occu-.,
pies the Dobrudscha, will not be long tenable, unless the
Russian Government has decided on allowing the major
part of the men to perish there. Since the commence-
ment of May the malady called the spring fever, caused
by the exhalations from the swamps of the Lower
Danube, has commenced its ravages. The troops, who
are acquainted with this malady, either from having
suffered from it in 1828 and 1829, or for from having
heard of the sufferings and losses which it then occa-
sioned to the Russian army, feel very much discouraged.
The present war is, besides, not popular. The unex-
pected vigour of the resistance of the Turks, the more
and more threatening attitude of Prussia and Austria,
and the approach of the struggle with France and Eng-
land has nothing encouraging for the officers, and as to
the soldiers, although they Are habituated to sufferings
and resigned to all evils, nothing is to be found in their
ranks like the enthusiasm which they have shown at
other times and in different struggles. In 1829, the
spring malady carried off the sixth part of an army of
100,000 men, and the position is now still worse than
it was then, for the corps of General Luders suffered
very seriously in crossing the Danube, and it appears
that it is the object of constant attacks on the part of
a determined adversary, and the number of wounded
is very considerable, nearly one-half of whom never re-
cover. Such at the date of the last accounts was the
state of the army of the Dobrudscha."

EXECUTION OF A RUSSIAN SPY AT
SCHUMLA.

A telegraphic despatch from Schumla, of May
11, says the event that has created the strongest
sensation here lately has been the execution of a
spy. The place where lie was discovered and taken
was Matschin. One of the Turkish soldiers there
went one evening to arestaurant, where he got into
the company of a man dressed as a Bulgarians
peasant. The stranger entered freely into con-
versation with him, and put many questions about
the number of troops, and the other things con-
nected with the defence of the place. All the food
and wine that were called for were freely paid
for by the stranger, who detained his military
acquaintance beyond the time when he should
have been at his post. On his return to his duty •
his commanding officer reproved him for his ab-
sence, and demanded the cause of it. The soldier
told him where he had been, and of the person
with whom he had spent the evening, his questions,
and liberality in money matters. The officer ordered
the soldier to go and bring him. The strange'
was soon found, and conducted to the quarters of !
the officer. The answers he gave were so very un- •
satisfactory that he was immediately suspected o 3
being a spy, and delivered over to the hands OS
justice. On his trial his guilt was clearly esta- •
blished, and, of course, the usual sentence was pro- •
nounced against him. Schumla was selected a: s
the place most likely to give notoriety to hi a
punishment, and to render his case a warning t
(Ahem Three days ago he was conducted by ta.
large body of military from one end of Schumla to,
the other. At a considerable distance came a bandy
of drummers and musicians, playing tunes morel
suited to a triumphal event than to the tragrc&
affair that was so soon to take place. Behind them
came some files of soldiers ; then the condemnod
man, walking, in the dress of a Bulgarian peasant,
his two arms tied with ropes, and held by seven 1,1
kavasses who followed him. A number (.4
infantry, in close column, with bayonets fixed,
filled up the way for a considerable distance..
As the procession moved on, the crowd of people,
swelled to a great degree. The place where it halted.
was that part of the plain where the field artillery
are encamped. The criminal was led out to a spot
in view of all present. Ishmael Pasha and his staff'
alighted. The preparations for execution were very
soon finished—nothing, in fact, having been done
except the binding of the man's eyes, and the tying
of his hands more tightly. No paper was read,
nor anything said explaining the cause of the man's
execution. The Pacha gave the signal to nine
soldiers, who were placed at 25 yards from the
condemned man, to fire. Three fired first, but only
one of their shots took effect. It made him stager
and fall. Another three then fired, but with little
more effect ; after which the remaining three dis-
charged their mutkets at him. Four balls in all
seem to have struck him ; but as he was not dead,.
three other soldiers were ordered to fall out of their
ranks, and to fire upon him. After they had done
so, several men went up to the unkilled man, and
stuck their bayonets into his skull. He groaned
so heavily that the crowd heard him. The want of
precision with which the men fired, and the tardi-
ness they showed in doing their work, were very
reprehensible, and gave much pain to the foreign
officers whu had seen military executions in
other countries ; but the finishing part of the+
business was little else than revolting to their-
feelings. Several Turkish officers went up to the-
mutilated mau, drew their swords across his throat,
and then licked the blood from their sides. During
the whole of the proceedings, Ishmael Paella
was quietly smoking his pipe, and seemed as un-
disturbed by emotion as if he had been witnessing
a review of his troops_ The spy, we understand,
had been formerly in the Russian army, and was a
man •of some intelligence. When brought up
here, he was taken before Omer Pacha, who said,
in German, to those who had charge of him,
" Take him away, and put him in irons." Un-
derstanding the nature of the order, from his
acquaintance with German, he said that he
knew his fate now, and that his only regret
was that he had not died on the field of battle.
After his trial he confessed the part he had acted,
and directed a search to be made in a wood for some
papers that he had left there. They were found,
and contained plans of Schumla and Silistria, with
marks pointing out the weakest parts of these two
fortified places, and showing how successful attacks
might be made on each of them. There appears at
least not to be much sympathy shown at the fate
he met with, the conviction being pretty
general that he was in the pay of Russia. Five
thousand troops left Schumla the other day for
Silistria, which the Russians seem to be seriously
threatening. They have got a number of gun.
boats on the Danube, which may do the garrison
a great deal of injury, in preventing the men from
getting water from the river, the only place where
it is to be found. A number of prisoners taken in
the late affair near Kalafat were brought up here
some days ago. Intelligence has reached us of the
arrival of some of the French troops at Adrianople.
They are expected here in the course of eight days.

THE BALTIC.
COUP D'ETAT IN DENMARK.

COPENHAGEN, May 31.—A coup d'etat has takext
place in Denmark.
All the opposition newspapers, including five in
the provinces, are indicted.
The French fleet has left Kiel. _ _

COPENHAGEN, May 28.—A1l we know with cer-
tainty in this place up to the present date is that
on Sunday last, the 21st inst., Sir Charles Napier
lay before Hango Point, prepared to bombard the
fortress Gustayswarn. The Austerlitz was with
him, and also Rear-Admiral Chads, on board the
St. Jean d'Acre. Rear-Admiral Plumridge, with
the flying squadron, had been sent on special ser-
vice up to the Gulf of Bothnia. Rear-Admiral
Corry lay at Gottska Sandoe. Letters from Stock-
holm to the 23d inst. do not mention anything
about Gustayswarn being taken by Admiral Napier.
The Faedreland, the chief organ of the national
party in Denmark, had yesterday (27th) an enthu-
siastic leading article from the pen of the celebrated
Grundtvig, in favour of an alliance of the Northern
kingdoms with the Western Powers against Russia.
After some remarks about the intentions of Russia
to make Russian lakes, like the Peipus and Ladoga,
of the Baltic and the Cattegat, the article goes
on:

" It is a sad truth that in spite of Czar Peter the
Great, who was, however, in need of our assistance,
having duped us, in spite of Czar Peter 111., of Hol-
stein Gottorp having aimed at our destruction, in spite
of Czar Paul having compelled us to a rupture with
England and then left us in the lurch, in spite of Czar
Alexander having stripped us of Norway, and finally in
spite of Czar Nicholas having forced us to yield to
Prussia, and proved his magnanimity to us by render-
ing the entire Danish kingdom dependent on the Duchy
of Holstein—notwithstanding all this there are people
here who look to the Russian Czar as the saviour of
Denmark, past and future ; and this blindness is the
worst of all our misfortunes.
" Yet rescue is still possible. Providence has made
the conflict between the East and the West unavoidable ;
the tongue of the balance wavers, and the North might
turn the scales to its own deliverance, and to the ad-
vantage of humanity, but the moment is precious.
Without the co-operation of the North, England and
France at last will be compelled to deliver the Baltic
and Denmark up to Russia, and in the case of their
subduing Russia with the aid of Sweden alone, Den-
mark would be the victim. Therefore we must both
sink or swim together."
The Berlingske Tidende, a paper which is con-
sidered to be the half-official organ of the Danish
Government, also has a leading article in its num-
ber of yesterday, complaining of the Ministry being
called Russian," and protsting against Russian
influence in the Cabinet, but at the same time
arguing the necessity of Denmark's preserving a
strict neutrality.
The ,St. Petersburg Journal published the fol-
lowing in an extraordinary supplement on the 22d
May
On :
" the 19th April (May 1), the Turks, to the number
of 15,000, advanced from Kalafat, and encamped near the
village of Bile6chtf. Upon receiving inforwatiou that
a detachment of cavalry of the advanced guard had oc-
cupied the village of Radovan, Colonel Jollouol9lakillot