The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-11 00:00:00

THE BALTIC.

A letter from Copenhagen, of the 30th, states
that the Danish squadron had just put out to sea
for an experimental trip on the Baltic.- It was to
visit the isles of Bornholm, Fttalster, Laahand, and
Langeland, and the ports of Tonningen and Apen.
rade, and then return to Kiel. . " The departure
of the squadron," sayS the Patric, "had produced
a great effect on the population, which was mani-
festing more and more each• day its_ sympathy for
the Western Powers, and detestation of the ambi-
tious conduct of Russia."

A letter from Dantzic, to the 3d, states that in-
telligence had been received there that the Rurik
tender, belonging to one of the most influential
members of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg,
and armed for war, had been taken by au English
frigate, not far from Cronstadt.

. SOUNDING IN THE BALTIC.
We extract the following from a letter dated
Dantzic, July 1 :
' "No landsman who has not once in his life lost his
way in a snow-storm, upon a wide common, where he
knew that there were several gravel-pits, of Whose ex-
act situation he was ignorant, can picture to himself
the difficult duty the various vessels of the Baltic fleet
which have been employed in sounding and surveying
have had to perform. In this needful and arduous
duty, which is but little recognised by the public, her
Majesty's steamer Gorgon, Command; r Cracroft, has
-taken a patient and laborious part. The Gorgon-has,
indeed, found no opportunity f"r the exercise of the
fiery energy of the combatant ; no scene in -which the
gladiatorial virtues 'of the fighting man coal be
tested.; n,o field for conquest, and but little hope of
fame ; and while every letter and every newspaper has
been reminding her, 'clly by day, that she is part of that '
fleet from which England expects naval victory, she
has been chained to the inglorious tantalism of heav-
ing the lead and buoying rocks; with the vexing cer-
tainty that all that could mark her labours 'would be;
presently destroyed by skulking foes, who hid them-
selves behind rocks she could not reach and navigated
channels she could not enter.
"In this duty the Gorgon. has not been alone: She
is not the only man of war that, constrained by the pecu-
liar warfare that Russia wages, has been forced to hold
her guns harmless, and to keep her armament silent.
The Driver, Desperate, Basilisk, and many others, have
been compelled to put on the dress of a Trinity yacht,
lumber the decks' with buoys, and content themselves
with the labours of a surveying ship.
"In this particular service the want of means for
effectual performance is painfully felt. A channel of
thirteen feet deep is the only sea-road to St. Peters-
burgh, and the Earl of Aberdeen has sent vessels draw-
ing seven-and-twenty. If Cronstadt were totally de-
stroyed, if, every Russian gun were silenced, and every
Russian soldier killed, the Duke of Wellington could
get scarcely five miles nearer St. Petersbnrgh than she
is to-day; and if every buoy with which the Baltic fleet
is supplied were laid upon the sunken rocks off the Coast
of Finland to-morrow, by next week there would not be
one remaining.
"The Gorgon affords an instance of-the sort of labour-
in-vain work ire which the steamers have been engaged.
After several days unremitting work she was successful
in, discovering three rocks of which she was sent in
search—one of them she bumped'against. She laid down
the three buoys—two near the coast and the other out
in the gulf; and she then accompanied the fleet to Cron-
stadt. Three days afterwards she returned to the same
places, and not a vestige of the buoys was to be seen..
"The Bulldog and Driver ,have been engaged in the
same sort of employment, but with more excitement' and
With more success. On the 28th June they went close
into Cronstadt and surveyed and sounded the mouth of
the harbour."

OPERATIONS BEFORE CRONSTADT.
The following is from a letter date .1 the British
fleet off Cron'stadt, June 30 :
" Vessels are now occasionally chasad which are
found to contain floating villages—men, women, and
Children, with all their goods and chatteis, deserting
• their farms and honies on some little islands; where, had
they remained, they imagined death by shooting or im-
prisonment from -the" ruthless English awaited them.
Those poor creatures become regularly terror-stricken
when boarded, caused in some measure by the usual
Preamble of firing a shot, often more across their bows
to oblige them to heave to. The poor women, like so
many trembling gazelles, are found huddled together in
some little hiding hole. However, the poor things are
soon reassured by kindness, and see that we are not
the brutes they were led to suppose we were. We
Part—no longer enemies, but now real friends ;
much to their surprise they are again set free, and
continue their route without further molestation. On
one occasion we had much ado with the women to
reassure them of our skind intentions. We fired off
our muskets as guarantees, but alas ! good intentions
are often mistaken. It was most decidedly the case in
this instance, for it made them ten times worse—this
'very firing. So much for our ride way of inspiring con-
fidence. . After having stayed a couple of days off Les-
her, the squadron moved on for Cronstadt. The gulf
narrowed as we approached its cu/ de sac. The land on
either side is covered with a sea of r ich waving woods of
Pine-trees, especially on the Finnish shore, which is the
higher ; occasional oases appear in this moving mass of
green, revealing snug hamlets and cultivated fields
Which often slope down to the dark, nasty water of this
great brackish gulf. As we closed with Cronstadt,
and as soon as the tall masts of the Russian ships in
harbour (19 ships of the line and 5 steamers) were de-
scried from our topmast heads, great excitement prevailed
through the fleet. A rumour is set afloat that the Russian
Ships, not expecting us up so high, are at anchor out-
side the forts. Not a breath of wind prevails to
carry them inside under protection of their batteries ;
if such be the case, visions of immediate action, certain
"ve,ictory, and captured Ships, seize upon our imaginations.
Ships are in advance of the squadron, looking out for the
`infernal machines.' All the ships have watches posted'
in their tops, reporting every floating log of wood that
floats near us, bearing any resemblance to a buoy—an
appendage said to be attached to all those submarine traps. We draw closer and closer. A mirage now begins
to tantalise us ; it clears, and a lighthouse of Tolboukin
bow stands out in white relief. The rigging of the ships
becomes more distinct, and, alas, so do the prodigious
te. The men-of-war are skulking under their guns
Vithiu the harbour. The admirals consult. The combined
squadron come to an anchor ; on our approach there was
evidently a great stir amongst the Russian ships. The
steamers in harliour immediately got steam up, and all
seemed on the alert: Our squadron made a sweep, and
retracing its steps a little, dropped anchor about eight or
ten miles off Cronstadt. Seven or eight ships, amongst
which are the Iniperieuse, Arrogant, Desperate, Pene-
lope, Magicienne, Lightning, Driver, &c., have becu
Plaped in a position off the mouth of the harbour, about
three miles. Some boats belonging to ono of those
bniPs was sounding, a few evenings ago, off the island
of Cronstadt, when a Russian steamer, with steam up,
was observed coming out of harbour to cut them off'. The
Desperate quickly got steam up and made a dash to catch
the Russian, who immediately rushed back again into
Port as if the devil was after her. Vessels are constantly
g,oing reconnoitring the place and sketching the fortifica-
-IPOs, which appear to be of amazing strength, and not a
lair match for wooden walls. The lighthouse of Tolboukin
14 abandoned. Several officers have landed, and have
,Tounted the tower, from which point there is a splendid
oird's-eye view of the whole place. Just fancy onr audacity
doing all those things under the very eyes of the Czar,
th whose name invincibility has hitherto been coupled.
Most likely the steamer_which came out, or attempted
°r come out, the other evening, had an admiral on board,
Cr the vessel carried a flag at the fore. Could it have
'been the Grand Duke who was thus forced to an igno-
zoinious flight before the Desperate ? ' Oh, how the
nighty are fallen.' The Driver went up towards the
'ighthouse yesterday, with Admiral Chads and party
11 board. He went to visit the• tower which the Rus-
sians seem to have relinquished in our favour. It is
said there is some intention to endeavour to get at
eof the submarine torpedos. It is currently re-
PitPrted that there are small buoys placed to mark their
°. What fun it will be if- we can manage to get
at them !
"We have got cholera in the fleet. Mr. Graham, a
lieutenant of the St. George, has committed suicide,
()'lt'd his vacancy has been given to Mr. Clarke, mate
tlf the Duke of Wellington. It is a most unfortunate
ling- He shot himself with' A revolver pistol,"

General KalergyGß, the E
GrECEeek Minister of War,
841'e a banquet to. the French and English officers
sc'f the army of occupation and. also to the naval
ttleers of the two powers, and to those of the Ails-
r44/1 rilv on the 22d. A hundred officers of the
Greek army,
or the ancient Philhellenic army,
tsere remarlwd there. The banquet was given in
fr
0 Acropolis; at the Parthenon, and thus borrowed
tal°4l the locality a grandeur which forcibly struck
the foreigners present. In order that the enter-.
tmeeent should have a character exclusively mili-
arY) it was agreed before hand that ,no toasts
oula' be given. The cordiality of sentiments

among the guests, nevertheless, found a means of
expressing itself, and it was with the greatest
warmth of feeling that the Greek Ministers pre-
sent pronounced the names of the Sovereigns who
in taking on themselves '.to re-establish order in
Grexe have saved the counfry froth certain ruin.

FR A_NCE.

A copy of the answer of the Czar was received
in Paris yesterday by the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, but it has not yet been published. It is
considered, notwithstanding the shape in which it
is put, as an absolute refusaal of the propositions of
Austria.
According to the accounts given by the War
Department at Paris, the preteise number of the
English and French armies already assembled at
Varna is 75,000 men.
It is thought that there will be a new levy of
31),000 men ordered in France within the next Lvir
weeks. The new Imperial Guard is to be reviewed
by the Emperor in person on the 15th of August.
Placards are posted in all the streets of Paris, in-
forming tailors that they will find work for the
clothing of the new Imperial Guard.
The Emperor leaves Paris on Wednesday for the
camp at Boulogne, for the purpose of reviewing
the troops about to proceed, under the command
of General Baraguay d'Hilliers, to the Baltic, It
was the intention of the Emperor to have gone in
the first instance, to Biaritz with the Empress,
and to proceed from thence by sea to .the camp 'at
Boulogne ; but the necessity of ' despatching the
troops without delay has forced hint to' change his
plans. The Emperor will be absent a week. He
finally leaves Paris for Biaritz on the 21st. Gene-
ral Baraguay d'Hilliers left Paris for Calais on
Sunday.
The 'auxiliary army which is to be sent out to
the Baltic, under command of General d'Hilliers,
will be much more formidable than is generally
supposed. From official sources we learn it will
amount in a very few days to between 23,000 and
25,000 men. It will consist of the division of
Franck troops which accompany General Baraguay
d'Hilliers, a body of English :marines, and a body .
of French artillerie de la marine and infauterie de
la marine. The 'precise point to which this formid-
able force will be sent is kept secret, and it is said
that the commanders of the eipedition themselves
,will start with sealed orders, which they are not
to open until they are fairly at sea, and which will
reveal to them their destinatioo.
Some officers of the Emperor's
,household have
already arrived at Barrita, near Bayonne,
to prepare for the reception of their Majesties ;
and some carriages and bergelf
s have been sent e
to that .placo.-
The Marquis do Turof, French Ambassador in
Spain passed through Bayonne a few days since
from: the baths of Dax on his return to Madrid._
A letter from Calais says :—" A great movement
of war materiel has taken place here. Gun. car-
riages,- heavy pieces of , artillery, and 'largo
quantities of gunpowder have arrived. A!l
is destined to be embarked for the Baltic. An
English rear-admiral and a French admiral have
arrived in Calais to make the necessary arranae-
m:ants. The movements of the troops are to tale
place in such a way as to enable them to be e
barked on the 14th."

The Ocean of Brest states thht the vessels which
;are fixed on by the -Minister to winter in that
port are the Inflexible, bearing the flag of Vice-
Admiral Parseval ; jemmapes, Tage,
Austerlitz, Breslaw, Duperre, and Trident, ships
of the line ; Psyche, Darien, and Asmod6o, frigates ;
Licorne and Indefatigable, transports.; and Souf-
fleur, Lucifer, Fulton, Brandon, and Dairn,. steam-
corvettes.

The Indus steamer, belonging to the M2asa-
genies Inaperiales, which left, Marseilles f6r Con-
stantinople, on the 6th, carried out 914 men_be-
longing to lifferent 'regiments.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs on Thursday
gave an audience to a deputation on the subject of
the claims of the holders of bonds of the Portuguese
claims of 1833. The Minister, after expressing to
the deputation the interest felt by the Government
in. the affair, assured them that instructions had
been sent to the French Minister at Lisbon to
claim from the Portuguese Government the execu-
tion of its engagement to repay, at least, that part
of the loan of which it had derived the benefit.
The Moniteur announces that the Imperial sub-
commission for the Exposition of 1855 has decided
that the period originally fix,:d for the 15th of July
current for the enregistering by the committees of
the persons who desire to take part in the Exposi-
tion, is prorogued to the 15th of August next.