The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-04 00:00:00

THE BALTIC.

The decree by which the Senate of Bremen, like
those of Hamburg and Lubeck, forbids the fitting
out of privateers, their entrance into Bremen
ports, and the sale of supplies to them, has been
published.
The following letter is from an officer of the fleet
to a friend in England. it is dated—
" ELFSNABBEN HARBOUR, April 27. —A very nice
young fellow in the Royal George, Freeland, of the
Marines, was found dead in bed on Tuesday morning.
He was buried with military honours in a small church-
yard on the Island of Nlusca yesterday. We left Kiuge
Bay on the 12th, and have been cruising about the en-
trance of the Gulf of Finland, performing all kinds of
evolutions, cha-ing strange sail, and making a few prizes.
We have heard from some vessels, boarded. that the ice
will not be broken up about Cronstadt until about the
middle of next month. The Porcupine has joined- us,
but strange to say we got no letters by her. The ad-
miral has been to visit Stockholm ; steamers are con-
stantly coming down loaded with hundreds of Swedes,
visiting the Duke of Wellington. They are all amazed at
tier vast proportions and beautiful order. It is thought
the Swedes may juin us in this force against Russia.
However, this is doubtful ; yet some think so. It
would be a good thing if they did. One of our marine
officers of this ship, Naylor, is ordered overland to
make his way to England with despatches. I take ad-
vantage of his going to tell how we are all getting on.
It is said that we leave here to-day, and are going to a
place called Hango, at the entrance of the Gulf of
Finland. It is said that we are going to take it, but
I know nothing of it. Some news have arrived here,
saying that Odessa has been taken by the Black Sea
squadron. We are thirsting for English news. It is
most extraordinary that no letters arrive for the squad-
ron. There can be no doubt there are some thousands
for such a squadron, but they are evidently detained
some where."

The following is an extract of a private letter
from one of her Majesty's ships :
"April 19, at Sea, lat. 59 N., long. 20 30.—We have
had two good cruises, which has tended to break the
monotony, in embarking the Consul-General of Ham-
burg► arid the English Minister at Copenhagen, since
which we have been cruising towards the scene of action.
Parted company with the Commander•in•Chief for a
couple of days, and were under Admiral Corry's orders.
Sir C. Napier, wi h his division, joined again last night,
and told us by signal that the French liner, with the
James Watt, were at Kings. Some half-dozen vessels
have been taken and sent to Faro Sound ; whether they
will turn out prizes to our advantage I can't tell you.
We are daily looking out for something, and I dare say
you in England are equally anxious that something
should be done. The sooner we have the Belleisle the
better, for there are no sick lists, and there are a great
number of cases that might be advantageously sent to a
hospital ship, to render our seamen in a much better
condition for fighting. We continue happy and comfort-
able in this craft."

VISIT OF ADMIRAL NAPIER TO STOCK-
1101,,M.—PUBLIC FEELING IN SWEDEN.
The following is from a correspondent of the
Daily News :
" STOCKHOLM, April 26.—As anticipated in a pre-
vious communication, Sir Charles Napier met with a
very friendly reception in this capital, where there is
much sympathy for England, and not a little hostility
to Russia. Yesterday, towards noon, the gallant ad-
miral, accompanied by Mr. Grey, the British chargé
d'affaires ad interim, had an audience of the King, who,
on its termination, introduced the distinguished visitor
to all the members of the royal family, assembled for
that purpose in the Queen's apartments in the northern
side of the palace, where there is an extensive and
delightful view of the numerous islands which deck
the many water approaches to this city—a view which
was pointed out to the honoured guest. The palace, one
of the finest in Europe, contains a valuable library,
one rich in old works amongst which may be named
a translation of the Edda, and Luther's own Bible, in
the Vulgate. The picture galleries display many a
Raphael, Rubens, Claude Lorraine, and Correggio, and
two or three Murillos. As may be easily imagined, the
palace possesses many mementoes of Charles XII ,
amongst others his cradle and toys. Sir Charles ap-
peared much gratified with the attention bestowed on
him, and partook of an elegent dejeuner offered him by
their Swedish Majesties. After taking his leave, he
returned to the fleet at Elfsnabben Bay, in one of th e
Government steamers. I informed you in yesterday's
letter that he will soon put out again to sea, and I have
only to repeat that statement. On quitting the palace
Sir Charles was greeted with loud cheers by more than
one thousand persons who had assembled near the edi-
fice, and who manifested the utmost eagerness to see
him. One of the Stockholm journals, the Aftonbladet,
asserts that if his presence in this capital had been gene-
rally known, there would have been a far larger crowd
of spectators. This morning the question one hears on
every side is Will the admiral come here again ?'
That he will re-appear in this city is not improbable,
but that will be only after he has taught Russia a lesson
which will not be easily forgotten.
" Mr. Marks, the purser of the Duke of Wellington,
and one of his messmen, Mr. Gent, will leave to-day for
the fleet, for which they have successfully catered, so far
as supplies are concerned, but prices are high. Three
steamers, crowded with passengers, went down this
morning to the fleet, and others are advertised for to-
morrow. I fear the latter will be too late for the fair.'
One of the former steamers was exclusively hired for the
use of numerous students from the University of Upsala
—the oldest university of this kingdom, and one noted
for its rare collections of Scandinavian manuscripts, as
well as for its many mementoes of Linnaeus. Previously
to their departure from Upsala, the students exercised
themselves during several hours in singing English na-
tional airs, particularly God Save the Queen' and 'Rule
Britannia.'

" Since Sunday last two other English steam corvettes
and one steam frigate have arrived in Elfsnabhen, and
on Monday another steam frigate passed Furnsund and
Arnholm, on the Gulf of Bothnia. On the 18th several
large war ships were seen from Ystad, a Swedish town
nearly opposite the Danish Island of Bornholm, but
they were too far distant to be further distinguished.
" The Prussian mail steamer, which left the other day
for Stettin, conveyed to that town -a number of Finnish
captains and sailors, who will have to pass through
Prussia and a portion of Russia, in order to reach their
own country, the blockade of the Finnish ports being
now rigorously enforced.
"The following extract from one of the Stockholm jour-
nals, the Svenska Tidningen, will find an appropriate
place here :

" It was in the old war-bay of Elfsnabben that the
fleets of Eric XVI. and of Gustavus the Great lay at
anchor. The waters of that bay have bathed the sides of
the mighty Mars Jutehataren (the Mars of the Jut-
landers), surnamed the Makalos (the Incomparable).
the largest vessel of those times. What life and
movement formerly on those now deserted strands !
As we left Elfsnabben, we gazed again on the p wer-
ful vessels which belong not to us but to another
people, who have taken our place (son?, intagit var
plats) on the Baltic. In other days, it was the Swedes,
the Danes, and the Lubeckeri, who struggled for
supremacy in that bay. Now, it is the English and
the Russians. Which of them will be the victors ? What
will be the result of the great contest—one inspiring
general alarm ? Will that result be one favourable
for civilisation, humanity, and the peace of the world ?
These are questions which can alone be answered by
Him who holds in his hands the destinies of mankind.
Meantime, it must be a high gratification for every one
who follows the events of his times to have beheld the
mighty preparations for the war, as well as the men who
are to take part in it, and particularly the still vigorous
hero who is their leader, and whose life is also an ex-
ample for them. (Liksom harts lefnad dermas foresyn) '
" J may remark here that up to a very recent period
the journal from which that extract is made was not in
any way remarkable for sympathy with England, but it
is probable that, in accordance with public opinion, it
will display a more friendly feeling towards that power
—a feeling which is indirectly manifested in the above
extract.
"The following is an extract from another Stockholm
journal, the Folkets Rost, of this day :
" Who does not wish that England's gallant admi-
ral may take possession of the Aland Isles, destroy Swea-
borg, bombard Cronstadt, and level Petersburg with
the dust? Our blissful neutrality, forsooth, will, how-
ever, prevent us from applauding guch events.'
" And apropos of the neutrality of Sweden, one of the
leading papers of Norway, the Nyhedsblad of Chris.
tiania, urges the necessity of an alliance, offensive and
defensive, between Sweden and Denmark, and of the,

opening of all the ports of those countries to the British
and French fleets ; and declares that if Russia take
offence, all that the Scandinavian states have to do is to
side at once with their natural allies—the Western
Powers. The above journal then proceeds as follows :
" As for us, Norwegians, we should be literally starved
to death (swalta Apo were the English and French
fleets to enforce a strict blockade on our coasts and de-
stroy our maritime navy, and they could do all that
without being under the necessity of landing any troops
on our shores. A war with Russia, on the contrary,
would be far less dangerous to us ; and even if we should
experience any loss in advancing the good cause (for den
goda sakens beframjande) such loss would be less severe
and more honourable for us than that of dying of hunger
for the sake of Russia.'

" The above extract, which no doubt expresses the
feeling of the Norwegians in general, is also copied into
the Stockholm Allmanna Didningen of this evening,
and the latter journal does not forget to express its ap-
probation of the tendency of the entire article.
" I shall conclude my extracts by the following one
from the A ftenbladet of last night :
" It was only towards evening that the majority of
the inhabitants knew that Sir Charles Napier had paid
a visit to this city. Had timely notice been given an
enthusiastic reception would have been given him by all
classes. We know that the harmonic clubs established
among the working men had been for some little time
past practising, God save the Queen,' awl Rule Bri-
tannia,' in order thereby to manifest their respect for
the illustrious naval hero who now represents on the
Swedish waters the Rae- of Great Britain. We can
truly say that Sir Charles's arrival created, when fully
known, a deep sensation in this city.'
" P.S. I open this letter to state that there are grounds
for believing that the Alaud Isles, in the Gulf of Both-
nia, have not been evacuated by the Russian troops,
and that large additional numbers have arrived. The
next destination of the fleet will be partly the above gulf
and partly the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. Several
English vessels have brought large cargoes of coal to
the Island of Faro."

A private letter from the fleet off Gottske Sound,
and dated the 19th inst., contains the following re-
marks, which may not be without general interest
at present, and which the following are extracts :

" Most of our time has been spent in cruising, blockad-
ing the various passages through which strange vessels
can possibly sail into the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland,
and in practising the men at the great guns and exer-
cising them with small arms, and, during all spare hours,
this practice is continued with the utmost cheerfulness
by the crews of the ships. The scene is such, at times,
that any one might readily imagine he is witnessing a
review at Portsmonth ; the smoke is so abundant that
nearly every object is concealed from our sight. Nor
are the officers less active trying their revolvers, and the
best gunpowder for them ; equally in casting a sufficient
quantity of balls, in preparation for coining events.
Nor are swords and cutlasses forgotten, as all of thew
are well sharpened and ready for action.
" We have sleet, snow, and frost, but which have not
hindered any of our cruisers from examining and taking
as prizes any vessels passing through the fleet and at
other points ; and we frequently have the pleasure of
seeing many of these captured ships proceeding in charge
of our crews to the appointed places destined for them.
We have ourselves often had our share in chasing such
vessels, and always with success.
" The Admiral took a start the other night, no one
but those on board of the ships in company with him
knowing where he was bound.
"On the 18th, however, about 2 p.m., some vessels
were perceived a long way off. All men were sent
aloft, a good look-out was kept ; but for some two hours
they could not be made out for smoke. At length, how-
ever, at four o'clock p.m., they were distinguished, and
found to be the Admiral returning with the ships that
went with him.

"On the 19th a signal was made from the Admiral to
ascertain how long we (the paddles) could go full speed
without requiring a fresh supply of coal. Since sailing
from Spithead the fleet has been gradually advancing to-
wards the enemy i❑ a most systematic manner. Every
movement has been well calculated by our noble admiral;
and, now that we are so near, and within only a few
hours' sail of the enemy, the countenances of every man
and officer indicate anything but that they are on the
point of a sanguinary battle. Contentment and happi-
ness and a feeling of certainty pervade the whole fleet.
The men are so well trained, that everything goes on
like a piece of machinery ; certain hope and glory before
us all ; and, as Sir Charles said in his address that he
would make quick work of it, so it will be by all ; for,
from the gradual, certain way we are progressing, every
one feels that the moment the enemy is in sight they
Must, without a chance, be crushed. And, while such
confidence exists, the wooden walls of Old England and
her jolly tars defy the world. As letters must be sent
away in half-an-hour, I have only time to say, you may
soon hear from me again if I escape the balls of the
enemy ; and I hope we shall be able to give our country
a signal proof of our goodwill and capability under the
command of such an admiral."