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

THE CAMP AT CLIO. 13-a412-, OMMON.

Yesterday the troops enjoye d a Well-merited day of
rest after the fatigues of the p natooeing operations at
Virginia Water. On all such holidays as these the
camp presents a scene of inter( we tines ?animation, which
is as characteristic and picturesq .ie as can well be ima-
gined. Before most of the m e n's tents is a kind of
extemporaneous clothes-rack, in s,a le of a small fir tree,
with its branches lopped off sh,ol
attr,
slant:lad Ltsaruodetcisottuhceki
in the ground. Upon this saes,
of all kinds hang out to dry or a in; and the aspect of
the ground thus seen at a distinct /, covered with habili-
ments of all colours fluttering in the breeze, gives an
extraordinary appearance of gaiet y 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 nts on a holiday are
thronged with busy thousands, cis el in every variety of
costume, and engaged in every variety of occupation or
amusement which can charm th-3 eye or interest the
general spectator. Here is a littl group of sun-burnt,
hardy veterans, reclining full lei sgth in file shade of
their tents, enjoying the luxury of the fragrant weed,
and criticising, with rather more than military freedom,
the whole of the manceuvres of th e previoui day, or else
scanning, with an offended aspet s the civilians who
loiter about the lines affecting be pity the hard-
ships of a soldier's life. Ott,* rs again may be
seen collected in a circle, round soma serjeant or corporal
of their company, mending up wit ,11 t careful hands such
parts of their uniforms as may hay. 3, sustained a rupture
in the shifts of camping—while t he serjeant, seated
in the midst, with a newspaper thret or four days old,
reads aloud from its columns the account of their
achievements on a field day. On those occasions, if the
name of their particular regiment ha ppens to be praised
for its martial appearance or superi or disci Aline, there
is a general pause while the flatten ng paragraph is re-
read again, when each man smile t and I ooks more
proudly round, and seems to feel at t if the ;yes of the
nation were upon him. On the opera space between the
general line of tents and those of the quieter guard,
crowds of the soldiers collect to indulge in those athletic
games which are so much encouraged by their 'command-
ing officers as tending to keep the men i; a cheerful
spirits and good health. The English soldiers as a body
have always been renowned for their great, physical
powers, and certainly the :feats of strength an? I activity
which we have seen them cisplay in their spot •ts at the
camp would do honour to the athlae of ancient Rome.
The various nationalities of the regiments are !strikingly
displayed in their respective. sports. With lottd shouts,
and occasionally a strong expletive, the English indulge
in their favourite games of cricket and foot-ball—the
Irish, with all that energy of excitement pecti'dar to the
natives of the sister isle, have fiercely-contested games
of " hurley," or leaping and running niatche s— while
the cool and cautious Scotchmen collect in litle knots
to put the stone, or toss the caber, and witrsess with
unmoved countenances the most stupendous throws,
reserving their admiration until the precise number of
inches the stone has been tossed beyond the mark is
ascertained, when their applause at the e xploit is
given with the same slow *tpunctual accuraca, as the
measurement by which the' length of the throw was
decided. But the hardy Scot is not always VO phleg-
matic, when the " pipes are up," and th e. air of
some favourite fling or reel is struck up, the fierce ani-
mation with which he indulges in the pleasr ryes of a
dance has something in it, which, if not beautelul, is at
least strangely fascinating. Such scenes as .Vaese we
have attempted to describe meet the spectator of the
camp on a holiday at every turn.
Then) is a kind of settled comfortable look, which
seems to increase about the camp every day ac cording
as the men get more thoroughly at home in the it quar-
ters. This cleanly—if we may use the expression—ap-
pearance of permanency, is more observable in the
quarters occupied by the household regiments 'than in •
any other part of the field. We stated a few days since
that their ground was decidedly the neatest and the
best drained and dyked in the camp, and a more minute
inspection has only confirmed this opinion. This : locale,
when the Guards first pitched their tents, was m idoubt-
edly worse than that assigned to any other brit ;Ade, it
being nothing more than a mere morass. Any person
who visits it now can scarcely imagine it to be the same.
Deep broad drains intersect their ground in every di-
rection, which are here and there bridged over , when
they cross a roadway, with much strength and neatness.
The drains round the tents are neatly cut, amd kept
carefully clear of obstruction—the latter piece of neat-
ness being one which appears to be quite overlocZked 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 insight, in
course of time, entitle these gallant cultivators to other
and more pacific medallion decorations they all) ever
likely to meet with than in the field of Mars. Sesteral 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 much d erided ;
but among the officers of the household troops at least
the example has been pretty generally imitated ; and this
incident, slight as it may at first sight appear, 1.z.1s not
been so trivial in its consequences, for to its exam] )le we
believe may be traced the superior order and nea Ltness
of the Guards' ground. We, however, merely rat :lotion
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 permit. 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 are 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 appearai ice.
All military men look anxiously forward to the :result
of the present encampment to relieve the soldic rs 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 5i Contentsof knapsack 22 li
Pouch and belts 6 5 Pouch and belts
... 6 7

Ammunition 6 7
Greuadier cap 2 7
Cooking kettle 2 4
Canteen (full) 6 0
Rifle and bayonet l4 0
Blanket 3 11

_ .
Ammunition 6 7
Grenadier cap 2 7
Rifle and bayonet l4 0

51 63
Odd blanket 3 11

Total 76 761 T0ta1............ 55
Now wo believe that the total of heavy marching
does not include the weight of the gre'coat, and it
most certainly does not count the weig,llt of the three
days' provision which every man cai'ries 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 bo as much
as the blanket 31b. 11 or., and the three days' -prevision
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 heavymarching 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 :--

42n HIGHLANDERS.
Heavy Marching Order. Light Marching Order.
I lb. oz. lb. oz.
Contents of knapsack 18 0
Bonnet ' , 2 3
Belts 4 2
Haversack and ammu-
nition 6 15
Musket . l4 0

Contents of knapsack,
(including tho blan-
ket) 2B 6
Canteen (full)
Cooking kettle
Bonnet, belts, haver-
sack, and ammuni-
tion l3 4
Musket

45 4

63 141
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 Haydc!zi-
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 not the least interesting sight to observe
how skilfully not only the barrels but heavy•laden trucks
are raised with great rapidity by
means of hydrauliccranes to the higher tiers of the warehouses. By this
means a cast amount of labour is saved, and the process
of loading and unloading greatly simplyfied. The com-
pany having inspected this portion of the warehouses,
were conducted through the cellars, lars, where might be seen
tier after tier of large casks piled up in endless succes-
sion. Some idea easy be formed of the business done,
which Dr. Johnson, in reference to another celebrated
brewery, termed •` the potentiality of boundless wealth,"
when it is known that the stores in Haydon-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 OF A PORTRAIT BY RAPHAEL.—A person
at Nimes had for a long thne, 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 2f. 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 Muscles. 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 he the
portrait of La Foramina, by Raphael, and was esti-
mated as being worth, at the lowest, 10,000 f.