The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-02 00:00:00

ARRIVALS, &c., AT MALTA.

MALTA, Sept. 26.—Our report under this head by to-
day's mail is void of interest, except the arrival of the
Courier, Brooking, Samuel, Riverdale, and Tanjore,
with naval and ordnancp stores, from England, for
Malta and the East ; for which latter destination the
Courier and Brooking have already proceeded. Her
Majesty's steam-transport Supply arrived from Ply-
mouth on the 24th, also with stores, and left for the
Black Sea on the 25th. Eight sailing vessels in the
French transport service have also arrived, bringing 150
horses, 16 mules, and 170 officers and non-commissioned
officers and privates, for the French army. Most of
these have already proceeded onwards. The Telemaque'
steamer, from Marseilles, bound to Constantinople,
brings lE7Ogyrpatnil,:n and file.
raid Djehaat arrivedle:
The
rui
14,t. li ahma
vpitnogn
oyne
bs toear
id,
(la yL,
oradndandleLayaedsy Htoa-ddadyo and
the lion. G. Gordon
AfrolemxanSS
, proceed'
og to Egypt to recruit
their health. l

The Nubia, front Alexandria, has just arrived with•
the India mails, with the heavy portion of which she
proceeds to Southampton this afternoon. The Valletta
leaves immediately with the Overland mails for Mar-
seilles. She will have a clean bill of health, no new
cases of cholera having been reported here for several
days,

INT wspivput
"?,
THE MEN OF THE TIGER IN fOS ._ 4
MENT AT ODESSA.
A few days after our landing, as the empty 4-1-A0
magazine was not considered by the medical boa34-to'
a healthy residence, the men were all removed tci+largoi
house which had been occupied by a school, and was ca-
pacious enough to accommodate the whole of the ship's
crew. The scholars had been transferred to the country,
in the environs of the city. This establishment was
about a quarter of a mile from the place still occupied
by the officers, and outside the ruined fortress, at the
foot of the gfacis ; it formed the corner of a large
street in the suburbs of the city. Sentinels were
posted in front of the two sides, and a strong guard
was established on the opposite side of the street,
facing the • entrance. There was abundant room
in this building, one floor remaining unoccupied ; and
the courtyard before the house afforded space in which
the men could take the air, and exercise themselves with
the school-boy games of their early days. One great com-
fort was a pump of good water, which gave the men
an advantage over their officers, the latter being
supplied with this element in casks brought to them
daily. The town of Odessa is scantily supplied with
good water, which the inhabitants are obliged to buy
from carriers, who bring it in barrels from some little

distance.
The scholars' bedsteads, although rather short, were
not otherwise objectionable to th• men, who accommo-
dated themselves on them, being accustomed to shorten
their stature whilst sleeping in their hammocks. A
piano, found in one of the rooms, was soon taken pos-
session of by those who could play on it ; and, with the
assistance of a violin bought by subscription from a player
in the orchestra at the Opera, and a flute that one of the
men had brought away with him, a smart little band was
organised, to which they danced merrily of an evening,
whilst enjoying their pipes ; and thus whiling away the
tinae, like true Jack Tars, made the best of their inac-
tion.

As a remarkable proof of the power of excitement on
the physical strength of the sailor, it may be stated, that
often, after a hard day's work, the sound of the fiddle
will bring out some young votary at the shrine of Terp-
sichore, who will go through such rapid evolutions with
his feet as to astound the looker-on, persisting therein
for 20 minutes or half an hour, as if his very life depended
on them, and concluding without evincing any over-
fatigue after such violent exertion ; and others will then
get up and emulate, if not surpass, the first dancer. It
was fortunate that the men could have recourse to such
innocent and healthy diversion, as it checked any ten-
dency to brooding over their fate, and useless longing
after their homes.
We were critically situated, as we could not be in-
formed of the probable duration of our detention ; and were
thus left in 21 blank state of mind, easily conceived by
any one who has felt the emptiness of uncertain expecta-
tions. As no Russian prisoners of war bad at that time
been made by the English, we had no reason to hope
for release by exchange of prisoners.
The good effects of habits of order and discipline were
strikingly shown, and in a manner very creditable to
the men. As they were deprived of the surveillance of
their officers, who were in another building, at some
distance, and could not see them without a written
permission, they appointed, of their own accord, one
of the petty officers, who could speak French, as su-
perintendent ; and he, in conjunction with the others,
established regulations for the cleanliness and order
of the rooms, arranged the messes, abolished smok-
ing in the bed-rooms, and prescribed the ex-
tinction of lights at ten o'clock at night. These ar-
rangements—which tended greatly to their personal
comfort, and secured the goodwill of those to whose care
they had been consigned—were submitted to the first
lieutenant for his approval, and any infringement of the
rules was reported to him. Culprits might have been
treated according to the Russian scale of punishment ;
but the authorities kindly permitted the officers to im-
pose such penalties as they thought sufficient. It was
found that exclusion from the society of their messinates
for a few days was sufficient to bring any of them to a
proper sense of their misconduct. The quarantine regu-
lations rendered solitary confinement impossible, as a
guardian must always be in the same ward with the
guarded.
Besides the sentries stationed in front of the building,
there was always a great many of the people of the town.'
hanging about till a late hour, to satisfy their curiosity by
the sight of the prisoners. Among these many kind-
hearted women brought bouquets of flowers, throwing them
into the rooms, to the great amusement of the men, and
establishing a telegraphic communication by signs and the
recondite language of flowers. As an instance of the for-
bearance and good nature of the Russian soldiers, I may
relate that on one occasion, as the women pressed too near
the building, at the windows of which the men were
standing, they were ordered off by the sentry, and the
men were signed to retreat within ; one of them did so,
but returned with a glass of water, which he poured
over the astonished functionary, much to the amusement
of the bystanders. One might have expected some dis,
turbance or remonstrance onthe part of the soldiery, but
no notice was taken of the affair, either by them or by the
ruling authorities, who attributed the deed rather to
Jack Tar's inherent delight in a joke than to any mali-
cious or improper feeling.
As an instance of the satisfaction of the men felt at
the kindly manner in which they had been treated, I
would mention the fact of their having, at the end of
their 21 days' probation, subscribed, of their own accord,
to present a ring to one of the commissaries of quaran-
tine—a fine, hale old man of eighty-four, who had spent
his life in that branch of the service.— A Personal Nar-
rative of the First Lieutenant of B.D.S. Tiger, by Alfred
Royer, Lieut. R.N.