The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-28 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28, 1854.

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE•

The Royal George, 120, screw, Captain Codrington,
is still at her moorings in the Fairway, Sheerness. Au
order has been received for her to go into the basin,
which no doubt she w►ll next spring tides ; in the mean-
time, everything will be done to lighten her now heavy
draft of water. The crew are all to have leave, and will
be paid this week.
The St. Jean d'Acre, 101, (screw), Captain the Hon.
H. Keppel, was taken out of the basin at Keyham
on Tuesday, and placed at moorings off the dock-
yard. She is to be supplied with some fittings for the
horses of the officers of the troops to be embarked in her
for the East.
The foremast of the Monarch, 84, Captain J. E.
Erskine, at Portsmouth, having been found defective,
must be taken out to be examined.
The Majestic, 81, screw, Captain Hope, is in No. 3
dry dock, Sheerness, with her topmasts and lower yards
struck. Her bottom, we believe, is not injured. Yes-
terday morning a diver of the name of Twigg went down
in the diving apparatus in order to remove some obstacle
that prevented the gates being shut in the above dock ;
he bad to ascend in consequence of the iron shoes coming
off that keep them at the bottom. The caisson is
closed, but notwithstanding the dock is half full of
water. Her crew are to have leave, and will, we hear,
be paid to-day, and, no doubt, upon their return, be
turned ever to the barracks.
The Cressy, 81, Captain Warren, is in No. 1 dry
dock, Sheerness, with her topmasts struck and lower
yards down. The after part of her false keel is broken,
and the copper rubbed in several places, &c. ; her bends
are being caulked, and rigging put in order in the loft.
Her crew will get paid to-day, when they will get leave
for either fourteen days or a month ; the men drafted to
her coming from foreign stations will get a long leave of
absence of sixty days. Her crow are all in the barracks
in the victualling department.
The Hogue, 60, screw steam block-ship, arrived at
Spithead on Tuesday night from the Baltic.
The Lnperieuse, 51, screw steam-ship, discharged her
powder and shell yesterday, and is ready to come into
harbour.
The Melampus, 42, frigate, is still in the basin, Sheer-
ness, fitting out as a troop-ship. Her lower masts are
stepped, &c.
The Amphion, 84, screw-frigate, Capt. Key, is still
moored over on the west shore, Sheerness. Her boilers
are very defective, but as yet we have not heard of her
having received any definite orders. The crew will be
paid this week, and get leave of absence, and those
drafted who have just arrived from foreign stations will
have the long leave of sixty days.
The Pylades, 20, screw-corvette, is lying under the
sheers in the dockyard, Sheerness. The Beaver, lighter,
is alongside with her boilers and machinery, which are
being hoisted in. Messrs. Penn and Son's mechanics
are on board, and she is to be brought forward with all
despatch.
The steam-vessels Lizard and African left Sheerness
yesterday for Plymouth, with 100 supernumeraries
draughted from the Waterloo, flagship, for general ser-
vice for ships at Plymouth,
The Adelaide transport got away from Spithead on
Tuesday night.

SHIPS AT PORTSMOUTH.
The following is a list of the vessels of her Majesty's
navy at Portsmouth last night :
Remaining in harbour.—Victory, St. Vincent, Excel-
lent, Victoria and Albert, Illustrious, Blenheim, Pene-
lope, Geyser, Sealark, Rolla, Fairy, Pigmy, Elfin,
Sprightly, Pelter, Fire Queen, Echo, Fanny, and
Cornet.
At Spithead.—Duke of Wellington, Hogue, Lupe-
rieuse, and Arrogant.
In Dock.—Hastings, Pembroke, Raleigh, Black
Prince, and Polyphemus.
In the steam basin.—James Watt, Myrmidon, Oberon,
Centaur, and Salamander,
In the fitting basin.—Ajax.

volunteered in the morning, principally into the Royal
Marines ; and in the afternoon the regiment was again
assembled, when Earl Fortescue addressed the men and
said that an opportunity had now occurred for such of
them as felt disposed to volunteer into regiments of the
line. There never was a time when men had a better
opportunity of distinguishing themselves than the pre •
sent. Upwards of 40 responded to the :weal, making
a total of about 100 volunteers in one day,

LETTERS FROM THE CRIMEA.

We have been favoured with the following ex-
tracts from the letters of one of the Roman Catho-
lic chaplains in the East :
" When I consider the provision the Government
has made for the Catholic soldiers, I, for one, feel
thankful. None can so well understand the full
extent of the boon as the men themselves. Many
a silent prayer for blessings on their benefactors
will arise from the expiring hearts of the grateful
soldiers, who see that, among the many consola-
tions afforded them by this country, that which
they prize the most—their religion—has not been
forgotten. Nor can the
•
exertions of the bishop (Bishop Grant), the sol-
diers' friend, be forgotten : for it is owing to his
quiet and conciliatory manner and action that re-
ligion hero soothes the dying moments of the sol-
dier. . . I spent a short time wish the nuns
here ; they are very comfortable, and look exceed-
ingly well. Such devoted souls must bring a bless-
ing wherever they go. . . . For the benefit of
those who may follow us I would recommend no-
thing but flannel to be provided. Every possible
thing that can be imagined can be procured here
(Constantinople) nearly as cheap as in London. It
seems strange that in the letters sent home this
has not been stated. Money, money, money, let
that be brought ont ; nothing else is required. A
carpet-bag, a good purse, a daring heart, a care-
for-nothing disposition—no more."

"Balaklava, Dec. I.
"I sent you a letter from Constantinople, which
letter I hope-yon.have:roceived ; a fact of which I,
feel much doubt, as things are so miserably man-
aged here. I left that city on the 22d of, last
month' with only one desire, that very soon the
cross might be seen waving on the cupola of St.
Sophia, and the magnificent capital of the Sultan
reduced to a pile of ashes. No great loss, I assure
you, to the world in general, not to individuals in
particular. For, as I told you in my last epistle,
on entering this city, the splendid fabric raised by
bookmakers reduces itsolt to mud and abomina-
tions, chibouques, filthy Turks, and piles of stones
called streets. The Bosphorus, on leaving Stam-
boul; is very beautiful on both the Asiatic and
European side. The sweet waters are, however,
soon changed for the devouring Black Sea—black
truly, for the waters are literally so. On my first
visit to its dominions it professed to be quiet.
It was high time, after swallowing up close to
Balaklava 30 vessels. As the captain of our vessel
had to receive orders from the Admiral of the
Fleet before we entered BAlaklava, I had the op-
portunity of passing before Sebastopol at three
miles distance. For the first time in my life I
saw God's creatures blazing away at each other.
Over the hills, as barren of trees and vegetation as
any desolation of nature you ever saw, the camps
of the allies were thickly scattered. Balaklava in
summer perhaps may be something—l mean when
left to itself and its small Greek population ; but
in winter, with terrible sudden storms howling
round its rocky mountains, its houses half-demo-
lished, its streets, such as they are, pools of mud
and filth, living skeletons of men and horses, all
in the greatest confusion and disorder—l really
cannot toll you what it is. E7erything is mud or
covered with it.

" S— and B-- have had to leave the camp ;
their health requires it. C-- and myself mount
guard there, so that I shall be under fire at last.
I hope I shall be able to jog on, with a tent for
my house, salt pork for my dinner, and the ground,
alas! well saturated, for my bed. What do you
think of that ? This would not suit you. Scutari
is comfort itself compared with the tents up en the
hills of mist and mud. I expect to be there in a
few days. The continued rains have produced a
great amount of sickness—dysentery and cholera.
I shall have an abundance of sick. To be out
here ,for one day would drive many of our
warlike dreamers mad. They talk of the glory
of arms, and with every comfort about them, and
over their good cheer kindle at the splendid
deeds of valour. Let them come here. You can-
not by any contrivance imagine the wants, the terri-
ble endurances, and the awful fatigues of our poor
men. Oh, Londoa, come and behold your Guards
Here : they • are.. .-What do -you- think that half-
starved piece of humanity is, with a bayband tied
round his legs to keep his trousers together, and
with a ragged coat, and a face that saw soap the
last time that it smiled across the Euxice ? Is he I
one of the Guards ? Yes. This unfortunate little
village is now one straggling mass of men and
horses—worse than those that Henry reviewed
before the battle of Agincourt—powder, shot,
&e. Keep on your legs by all means, for
if you are down it is all over with you. I have
been attempting to have my traps taken' to the
camp. It is impossible, for there are not sufficient
horses, such as they are, poor starved things, to
drag food for our men—impossible ; don't think of
it. We have all of us to struggle with impossibi-
lities, and overcome them too, or give up. On
Monday I must leave all my goods behind, and
endeavour to reach the camp, with the prospect of
sleeping under the heavens. You must not believe
any report that speaks of difficulties being thrown
in our way out here. Everything that can be done
for us is. We receive kindness from all, and every
possible facility for exercising our duties. Such a
thing as distinction between Catholic and Protes-
tant is unknown. You will pray for me. When
lam settled in camp—a pretty settlement truly—
I shall perhaps ask you to send me a few things."

The following is an extract from a letter recently
received from a soldier on service in the Crimea,
dated December 7, 1854 : •
" Our hospitals are all got quite full again ; it is
quite a common occurrence to have to take a man
to the hospital in the middle of the night • the poor
fellows get cramped iu the inside from cold, which
strikes to their very hearts. We have only one
blanket to roll round us when we lie 'down, and
our tents, owing to so much rain having fallen,
are very damp. I have seen men after a heavy
rain in the night wake up and find themselves
in a puddle of water. Our men are in a shocking
state here. The French are far before us in
every respect in regard to the private soldiers'
comfort. The French have had warm clothing sent
out to them ; our people have been talking about
doing so, and that is all. What is our boasted
wealthy nation thinking about, allowing their army
to remain in such a wretched state as we are now
in ? Our soldiers do not blame our countrymen
generally for their miserable condition—quite the
reverse ; for they often speak of, and do feel grate-
ful for their generous and noble conduct of our
people in subscribing towards the relief of our
soldiers' wives and families. It is those who have
the management of affairs that our soldiers blame,
and Ido not think they are far out. Many of our
poor fellows have scarcely a bit of shoe to their
feet, many others not a shirt to their backs, and
the consequence is that our men are dying quite
fast—in fact, the whole of our army is in a very
weakly state. . . . The French and English
soldiers are still on the best of terms. We are not
doing much at present. A great number of our
large guns are nearly disabled through being fired
Off so many times, but we are now getting up some
very heavy mortars, and we shall see what they
will do. In my ,humble opinion, however, this
place is only to be taken at the point of the
bayonet ; the Russians will stand firing at until
further orders,' but they will not stand the
bayOnet. The road from hero to Balaklava is in
a dreadful state, and not having sufficient cattle,
we can scarcely get provisions up ; in fact; some
days wo hardly get any rations at all. Our
cavalry have lost a great many horses, owing to
the shortness of corn and Severity of weather.
The poor things have no covering whatever. The
French horses look first-rate.
"P.S.—Each man, has just been served out with
one Guernsey shirt, which is a great godsend I
assure you ; 'we now live in hopes of getting some-
thing more soon. The enemy in our rear has
begun to retire, but what their object is at present
we do not know."

(FROM AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN ATTACHED TO THE
TURKISH CONTINGENT OF THE ARMY IN THE EAST.)
Camp before Sebastopol, Dec. 7.

My dear -, I herewith send you a map of the
country through which we passed on our march
from Old Fort to Sebastopol, in which is also laid
down the position of the different armies. I have
taken it partly from the large map furnished by the
French Government to the head-quarters of each
division, corrected from different sources, and my
own observations ; and although roughly and
hastily done with the limited ways and means one
has in camp, I think I may say it is as correct as
any I have seen. Before I could begin I had to get,
a good door to form a table, and having at last ob-
tained one, I laid my acquisition across au empty
biscuit barrel, and placed another for a chair, with
a smooth stone for a pallette. I hunted at the
bottom of my haversack, and among remnants of
biscuit, rice, salt pork, tin pots, and other divers