The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-13 00:00:00

[PRICE SD.

French troops off the island. The last of these were
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embarked on Sunday, and all of them are now on
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officers and a colonel. Marshal d'Hilliers went on
• board the Duke of Wellington on Monday, to take
leave of the commander-in-chief. The ships manned
yards and cheered him on coming on board and on
leaving ; both English and French fl • ag-ships saluted
him with 17 guns. He left • immediately afterwards.
About ten transports (the Prince amongst thorn), seven
steamers, two frigates, and one ship of the lice, have
left for France, in addition to those numbers, about 7
or 8 left since Wednesday last. The Sappers who were
on board the Julia have been placed on board the Ajax
(which vessel continues at Bomarsund), and are landed
daily to complete what little work has been left undone.
They are blowing up the new works which were cons—,
menced by the Emperor—such as the new barracks and
the foundations of other forts—which had been in a state
of progress. Some of the guns have been shipped on
board our vessels. In a lottery for seven brass guns,
the French got four, we drew three and a forge. All
the shot has been thrown into the sea. The Edinburgh,
which left this place on the 30th ult., to try the effects
of her broadsides against the walls of the fort, has bad
only a partial trial. She fired against a solitary mass,
which had been left standing, but had been already
shaken by the explosion. Large portions of the wall
came down ; but it cannot be considered a satisfactory
experiment by any means. It is a great pity that
this ship and the fort had not a fair trial at each
other ; and this opportunity no doubt would have
been readily afforded to the Edinburgh by the garri-
son had she only gone in close enough to make the
trial, while the walls were solid, and the Russians
standing by their guns. It would, at the same time,
have saved the Edinburgh a second trip up z syl 'l-
and would have been more thoroughly satisfactory to
the gunnery department of the service. Sir Charles
Napier and Brigadier-General Jones, who went up to
Bomarsund—the former in the Odin, and the latter
in the Lightning—on the 30th ult., returned on Monday
evening in the Lightning, which flew the admiral's flag
pro tem., and is now rehoisted in the Duke. The Bull-
dog arrived on Sunday forenoon with the mail from
Dantzic. The Princess Royal has been detached to the
squadron in the Gulf under Admiral Plumridge. The
transport Balmoral, with bullocks for the French,
en route to Bomarsund ; the Chapman, of London,
and the English yacht Heroine, arrived here on
the 31st ult. The Cruiser has been sent to take
the place of a French frigate, to mark a shoal in
approaching this anchorage. The Holyrood arrived
on the Ist inst., with a heavy mail of seamen's letters,
and several bags of newspapers. The Nicolai left the
same day, with French troops, for Calais. The Gladia-
tor towed the Heroine to Bomarsund (2d). The French
hospital ship was brought down on Sunday in tow of a
steamer. A Prussian steamer also arrived with stores
for the French. Steamers are constantly on the move
now, running up and down to Bomarsund, towing ships
and transports outside, and running in again to the an-
chorage. It puts one quite in mind of some of our home
ports. A small Russian steamer, to the surprise of all
of us, made her way through the islands, and appeared
off Bomarsund in time to see the main fort blown up,
on the evening of the 2d inst. She carried a flag of truce,
but this I consider a piece of expediency on her part. Her
real object, without doubt, was to see what bad been done
to the fortresses, &c. She stated that she left Helsingfors
with the view of embarking the wives and families of
the Russian prisoners, and not having met an English
man of-war in her passage through the Gulf of Finland,
she concluded the blockade was raised, and she pushed
on for Bomarsund ! The admiral was going to detain
her ; but although her conduct was doubtful, he subse
quently allowed her to return.

We expect to bear from Revel in a few days. it
blew furiously last night. Four French ships dragged
their anchors—one got foul of the Duke, and carried
away the dolphin-strike.