The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-07 00:00:00

THE CAMP AT CIIOBILAia i COMMON.

Yesterday the troops enjoyed a w ell-merited day of
rest after the fatigues of the poi itoor ing operations at
Virginia Water. On all such boll days as these the
camp presents a scene of intere sting • animation, which
is as characteristic and picturesque a s can well be ima-
gined. Before most of the me:a's tents .is a kind of
extemporaneous clothes-rack, mat le of a small fir tree,
with its branches lopped off short , and its root stuck
in the ground. Upon this accoc itre.nients, and clothes
of all kinds hang out to dry or a ir, and the aspect of
the ground thus seen at a distance,. covered with habili-
ments of all colours fluttering in the breei:e, gives an
extraordinary appearance of gaiet and life,, which can
only be appreciated by those who have seen the camp
thus on a fine summer day. In addition .to this, the
different streets among the to 'ats on a holiday are
thronged with busy thousands, cl ad in every variety of
costume, and engaged in every v ariety of occupation or
amusement which can charm t' ae eye or interest the
general spectator. Here is a li' Ale group of sun-burnt,
hardy veterans, reclining full length in the shade of
their tents, enjoying the luxury- of the fragrant weed,
and criticising, with rather more than military freedom,
the whole of the manoeu-vres of t he previous day, or else
scanning, with an offended aspect, the .civilians who
loiter about the lines affecting to pity the hard-
ships of a soldier's life. Others again may be
seen collected in a circle, round some ser3ean t or corporal
of their company, mending up -with careful hands such
parts of their uniforms as may have sustained a rupture
in the shifts of camping—while the serjeant, seated
in the midst, with a newspaper three or four days old,
reads aloud from its Columns the account of their
achievements on a field day. On these occaosions, if the
name of their particular regiment happens to be praised
for its martial appearance or superior discipline, there
is a general pause while the flattering paragraph is re-
read again, when each man smiles and looks more
proudly round, and seems to feel as if the ( yes of the
nation were upon him. On the open space ketween the
general line of tents and those of the qu tarter guard,
crowds of the soldiers collect to indulge in titose athletic
games which are so much encouraged by their command-
ing officers as tending to keep the men in cheerful
spirits and good health. The English soldier sas a body
have always been renowned for their gre4 it physical
powers, and certainly the feats of strength a nd activity
which we have seen them display in their sp. arts at the
camp would do honour to the athln of ancient Rome.
The various nationalities of the regiments are strikingly
displayed in their respective sports. With It iud shouts,
and occasionally a strong expletive, the English indulge
in their favourite games of cricket and foq t-ball—the
Irish, with all that energy of excitement peg tliar to the
natives of the sister isle, have fiercely-contei ited games
of " hurley," or leaping and running umbel les— while
the cool and cautious Scotchmen collect in 1 ittle knots
to put the stone, or toss the caber, and wit ness with
unmoved countenances the most stupendot is throws,
reserving their admiration until the precise number of
inches the stone has been tossed beyond tb .e mark is
ascertained, when their applause at the exploit is
given with the same slow, punctual accuri icy as the
measurement by which the length • of the :throw was
decided. But the hardy Scot is not alwayi ; so phleg-
matic, when the " pipes are up," and i .he air of
some favourite fling or reel is struck up, the fierce ani-
mation with which he indulges in the plea sures of a
dance has something in it, which, if not beat itiful, is at
least strangely fascinating. Such scenes at ; these we
have attempted to describe meet the Specta tor of the
camp on a holiday at every turn.
There is a kind of settled comfortable look, which
seems to increase about the camp every day according
as the men get more thoroughly at home in their quar-
ters. This cleanly—if we may use the expression—ap-
pearance of permanency, is more observible in the
quarters occupied by the household regiments than in
any other part of the field. We stated a fey/ days since
that their ground was decidedly the mats st and the
best drained and dyked in the camp, and a ni ore minute
inspection has only confirmed this opinion, £his locale,
when the Guards first pitched their tents, wa s undoubt-
edly worse than that assigned to any other brigade, it
being nothing more than a mere morass. 4 Lny person
who visits it now can scarcely imagine it to b• e the same.
Deep broad drains intersect their ground hit every di-
rection, which are here and there bridged over, when
they cross a roadway, with much strength run d neatness.
The drains round the tents are neatly cute and kept
carefully clear of obstruction—the latter piece of neat-
ness being one which appears to be quite overlooked by
the other regiments. Many of the officers of the Guards
have also displayed a taste for floricultural pursuits, which
if properly directed and zealously persevered in might, in
course of time, entitle these gallant cultivators to other
and more pacific medallion decorations they are ever
likely to meet with than in the field of Mars. Several of
them have contrived to make a garden bloom in the
wilderness, by planting flowers in the little spaces of
ground around their tents. Of course such ;floral inno•
vations on stern camp rule were at first mmmh derided ;
but among* the officers of the household tro ops at least
the example has been, pretty generally imitated ; and this
incident, slight as it may at first sight appear, has not
been so trivial in its consequences, for to its example we
believe may be traced the superior order and neatness
of the Guards' ground. We, however, merely mention
it as a symptom of the spirit which exists• among the
household troops to make their allotment as cleanly and
cheerful in appearance and as comforatble in reality as
the rough of camp life will permi'. As might be ex-
pected, after this description of their quarters, the men
of the Foot Guards are also about the cleanest in their
undress uniform of any infantry force in the camp.
The most untidy men, when off duty, we aro sorry to
say, may generally be found in the quarters of the High-
land regiments, though upon parade there are none
which make so orderly and soldier-like an appearance.
All military men look anxiously forward to the result
of the present encampment to relieve the soldiers of
some of the oppressive burdens under which they now
literally groan.

The following table gives the principal of the weights
carried by the Guards, and an ordinary marching regi-
ment, the 42d Highlanders, and we think it will show
at a glance that the memorials which we believe have
been addressed by old military officers for years past to
those high in office, to lighten the men of some of this
packing, have been most unjustly and undeservedly
slighted :

BRIGADE OF GUARDS.
Heavy Marching Order. Light Marching Order.
lb. oz. lb. oz.
Contents of knapsack 35 5. Contents of knapsack 22
Pouch and belts 6 5 Pouch and belts 6 7

Ammunition 6 7
Grenadier cap 2 7
Cook" ng kettle ...
Canteen (full) 6 0
Rifle and bayonet l4 0
Blanket 3 11

Ammunition ri
Grenadier cap...,..,, 2 7
Rifle and bayonet l4 0

51 6i
Odd blanket 3 11

T0ta1............ 76 7i I T0ta1............ 55
Now we believe that the total of heavy marching
does not include the weight of the great coat, and it
most certainly does not count the weight of the three
days' provision which every man carries when in
heavy marching order and upon actual service. It
likewise excludes from the reckoning , the weight
of the knapsack itself, exclusive of the contents,
and which we believe amounts, with its support•
ing-straps, to about 41b. Boz. Taking it, therefore,
at this, and the weight of the great coat to be as much
as the blanket 31b. 11 oz., and the three days' provision
to be 101 b, more, it gives a grand total of 941 b. 181 oz. to
be carried by every man in the household brigade when
in heavy marching order, and exclusive of the actual
uniform or dress in which he stands. _

In the 42d Highlanders the packing is not carried out
so systematically as in the Foot Guards, though it is
still more than sufficient to call for the serious attention
of the military authorities. It is as follows :

42D HIGHLANDERS.
Heavy Marching Order. Light Marching Order.
lb. oz. lb. oz.
Contents of knapsack, Contents of knapsack 18 0
(including the blan- Bonnet
kot) 2B 6 Belts 4 2
Canteen (full)
Cooking kettle
Bonnet, belts, haver- Musket .
sack, and ammuni-

tion l3 4
Musket

6 15
14 0

45 4

63 111
To this heavy marching order, as in the case of the
Guards, must be added 181 b. 3oz. for provisions, great
coat, and weight of knapsack, making a gross total of
821 b. loz., also exclusive of the dress in which they
stand.

It is almost unnecessary to comment on these facts.
To every intelligent and humane reader, or one who has
the true interest of the service at heart, they speak for
themselves.

MESSRS. ALLSOPP AND SONS' BITTER BEER.—Yes-
terday Messrs. Allsopp and Sons formally opened the
new warehouses, which have been erected by the Lon-
don and North-Western Railway Company, in Ilaycr-
square. A branch line of railway in connection with
the East and West India Dock Junction enables
Messrs. Allsopp to convey their beer the entire distance
from the brewery at Burton-on-Trent to Haydon-square
by rail. It is net the least interesting sight to observe
how skilfully not only the barrels but heavy-laden trucks
by
are raised with great rapidity means of hydraulic
cranes to the higher tiers of the warehouses. By this
means a vast amount of la4oUr is saved, and the process
of loading and uuloadinf'greatly shaplyfied. The com-
pany having inspected this portion of the warehouses,
were conducted through the cellars, where might be seen
tier after tier of large masks ,piled up in endless succes-
sion. Some idea may be formed of the business dor e,
which Dr. Johnson, in reference to another celebrated
brewery, termed "the potentiality of boundless wealth,"
when it is known that the stores in Ilaydon-square alone
contain an area of 20,000 square feet, and the quantity
turned over averages per week about 2,000 tuns. The
company then proceeded to Poplar and Blackwall, and
inspected the warehouses there, which are used entirely
for the export trade. The area of the former is 20,000
square feet, of the latter, 25,000 square feet. The com-
pany. then passed over to Greenwich, and partook of the
hospitality of Messrs. Allsopp at the Trafalgar.
DISCOVERY OP A PORTRAIT BY RAPHAEL.—A person
at Npmes had for a long time in his possession a draw•
ing in red chalk, to which he attached so little value
that it was thrown aside among some waste paper. An
amateur having recently seen it, purchased it from him
for 21. The purchaser having brought it to Paris
showed it to some artists, who told him it was an ad-
mirable sketch, and he accordingly presented it to the
director of the Muges. Soon after his return to
Nismes he received a letter of thanks from an inspector
of the Beaux Arts, in which it was stated that after
minute investigation the drawing was found to be the
portrait of La Fornarina, by Raphael, and was esti-
, mated as being worth, at the lowest, 10,000 f.