The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONTION, 5ATT.711,13A7 EV

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 2.
The Sidon, 22, paddle-wheel steam-frigate, Captain
Goldsmith, is under orders for the eastward. The Echo
tug has just put on board her at Spithead seamen
riggers from this dockyard, who are to be coso nveyed to
Sheerness, to assist in navigating the Royal George,
120, screw-ship, from that port to Devonport, with the
view of her getting manned quicker.
A screw-frigate of 60 guns is ordered to be built in
this dockyard, on the slip from which the Princess
Royal, 91, was launched. She will be 20 feet longer
than the Princess Royal. She will be constructed on
the lines, or nearly so, of the Agamemnon, with a still
sharper entrance, and to achieve a speed of 12 or 13
knots an hour. She will be named after the old Shan-
non, which fought and captured the Chesapeake.
The Fairy Royal yacht under the command of Cap-
tain the Hon. Joseph Denman, is ordered to be in the
Southampton Docks to-morrow at half-past 1, to embark
the Duchess of Kent and suite, and convey her Royal
Highness to Osborne to visit her Majesty.
Rear-Admiral Fanshawe Martin hoisted his flag (blue
at the mizen) on board the Neptune, 120, ordinary
guardship, in this harbour, at 9 o'clock, and exchanged
salutes with the Commander-in-Chief.

WOOLWICH,
APPOINTMENTS.
Second-Class Assistant-Engineer Charles Tucker to
the Edinburgh, 58, screw steam-Ship at Devonport.
Clerk—Josiah Y. Messum (1846), recently serving as
clerk in charge of the Banshee, paddle-wheel steam-vessel,
to the Excellent gunnery-ship at Portsmouth, vice John
Pittiss, to the BOSCaWeD, 70, at Chatham.
James W. Dennistoun and Robert Kemmis have been
nominated naval cadets.

,EC. 2.

PLYMOUTH, DEC. 2.
The African Mail Company's screw steam-ship Hope,
Captain Bowen, took her departure at 5 o'clock yester-
day afternoon with the usual mails for. Bathurst, Ma-
deira, Teneriffe, Sierre Leone, &c., under the charge of
Lieut. Ward, R.N. She takes out a full general cargo,
and several passengers.
The Charity, which arrived yesterday manning with
the mails from the west coast of Africa, sailed in the
afternoo❑ for London.
The Avon. Yeitch, master, arrived on Wednesday from
Cork, and sailed this morning for Portsmouth, with
supernumeraries.
A large man-of-war frigate passed down Channel yes-
terday afternoon.
The Sir Thomas Gresham, 700 tons, chartered by
her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners, left this port
yesterday for Adelaide, with 252 emigrants.

THE EFFECTIVH FORCE OF THE BRITISH NAVY.
From a careful calculation of the force of the Roya,
navy at the present time, we find that there are 217
ships in actual commission. If fully manned according to
the established scale of complements, each for the ser-
vice for which she is employed, the aggregate comple-
ments of these 217 ships would be above 44,000, of
which number 30,300 may be called seamen, 7,200
marines, and 6,500 boys. But from the great scarcity
of seamen, and the numerous desertions that have taken
place, probably the effective force of the navy does not
amount to above 41,000 of all classes.
THE COAST VOLIINTEERS.—If there are no volunteer
seamen, there is, at least, no lack of volunteer officers.
We hear that the Admiralty have been literally pressed
with applications from officers for appointments in the
coast volunteer force. We have already stated that a
Captain, and not Rear-Admiral Berkeley, is to be the
superintendent, and that Captain Smart, K.H. has re-
ceived his appointment to the office, the head-quarters
of which, for the present, is at an office in Admiralty-
square. We believe the following captains have been
appointed under him :—Captain H. W. L. Sherringham
(1847), who has been employed for many years in the
surveying service ; Captain Jerningham (1851), an
officer who has been most fortunate in receiving shore
berths and emoluments ; and Captain Peter Fisher, pro-
moted this year from the coast guard service.
THE RATES OF EXCHANGE.—We are glad to hear
that the Treasury have under consideration a proposi-
tion on the part of the Admiralty, to provide against the
serious losses to which naval officers serving on foreign
stations are subjected from the commercial fluctuations
of the rates of exchange. In China and the East Indies
the fleet have had to make great pecuniary sacrifices on
account of the high rates of exchange against England.
When the exchanges are in our favour the inconvenience
of cashing bills on foreign stations is most disagreeable,
and frequently expensive to the Admiralty ; but when
the rates are so high as they are and have been in China,
it is some privation, great pecuniary loss, and in some
cases absolute ruin to officers requiring the current coin
of the country or locality. The justice of this proposi-
tion of the Admiralty will be a grateful boon to the
service.
PRIZE-MONEY FOR THE DESTIMEDA.- Messrs. Stilwell
have given notice that an account of the balance of pro-
ceeds and tonnage bounties for the Destimeda, seized by
her Majesty's sloop Ranger, on the 15th of March,
1850, will be deposited in the registry of the High Court
of Admiralty on the 30th inst. agreeably to act of Par-
liament. As by the decision Of the Judicial Committee
of her Majesty's Privy Council, the sentence of condem-
nation passed on the Levin Lank, detained by the above-
named sloop has been reversed, it is intended to appro-
priate the net proceeds of the above bounties in part
liquidation of the legal expenses incurred in the proceed-
ings, by virtue of an agreement between the officers and
company of her Majesty's sloop Ranger, to bear mutu-
ally the expenses of restored vessels ; consequently no
distribution can take place.
PRIZE-MONEY FOR A SLAVER.—Notice has been given
by Messrs. Chard to the officers and crew of her Ma-
jesty's ship Cygnet, Henry Layton, Esq., commander,
that an account of the bounty-money on the tonnage of
the pollacre slave-brig, name unknown, captured on the
I7th of November, 1845, will be deposited in the regis-
try of the High Court of Admiralty on or before the
29th of December next, agreeable to act of Parliament.

GE)9GIi4.PETCAL SObIETY.

A meeting of this society was held on Monday night,
Lord Colchester, R.N. in the chair.
After the election: and admission of new members,
The CHAIRMAN announced to the society that the sub-
scription for erecting a monument to Lieutenant Bellot
had now reached th sum of 1,500/.
A paper by General JOCHMUS, ex-Minister of Foreign
Affairs to the Germanic Empire of 1848, communicated
through Sir Roderick Murchison, was then read, des.
cribing a journey undertaken in September and October
of the year 1847, into the Balkan, or Mount Humus of
the ancients, with an account of the defiles through this
celebrated mountain range, and a comparison of the
routes pursued by Darius Hytaspes, Alexander the
Great, and Marshal Diebitsch. The principal passages
of the paper are as follows :
RECAPITULATION OF DISTANCES.—Serai to Wysa, 4
hours ; do. to Bunarhissar, 8 hours • do. to Jena, 9
hours : do. to Kikkelisia, 13 hours. We proceeded in
the afternoon to Dewletagatch, 7 hours' distance, by the
Turkish village of Ereki (50 fires), 4 hours ; and another,
' Bulgarian (about 45 fires) 6 hours from Kirkkelisia,
_ _ . .

seeing en route a couple of depehs, and having severer
times on our left, as the road meanders through the hil
country before reaching Ereki, a mountain, apparently
11 hours distant, crowned by picturesque ruins, called
Eski, or Saieopolis by the peasantry. Our ride lay over
barren, stony highlands, chiefly covered with underwood
but showing generally along the different rivulets grass
and arable soil, and numerous vineyards in the neigh-
bourhood of the villages. At nightfall, after having tra-
versed a temporary gipsy encampment, we reached the
new Bulgarian colony of Dewletagatch, holding about 40
houses. The village is recovering only slowly from its total
destruction during the late war, although situated in the
rich valley of the T6k6 river, which the traveller is
obliged to cross in its meandering course three times
before he reaches the village from the southern side, and
as often on leaving it, in the northern direction, by the
high road to the Balkan. This main branch of the T6k6
river is the most considerable water-course (not except-
ing the affluent of the same river an hour before Kirk-
kelisia) which crosses the main route from Bunarhissar to
the foot of tke Haemus, in the direction of Aidos and
Misivria • and there can be no doubt that it is the Ar-
biskus of'Herodus, even if its modern name of T6k6 did
not etymologically show the identity. Darius, on his
arrival at the Artiscus, " which flows through the coun-
try of the Odryssae," is said to have fixed on a certain
spot, and to have commanded every one of his sol-
diers to throw a stone as he passed ; this was done ac-
cordingly, and Darius, having thus raised an immense
pile of stones, proceeded on his march (Melp., lib. iv., sec.
92). This pile of loose stones is not to be found near
Dewlet, but just opposite the village, upon the heights
on the eastern bank of the Artiscus, or T6k6, are still
to be seen six large tepehs, or tumuli, and it is likely
that the same spot, as the most conspicuous eminence
of the neighbourhood, was also chosen by Darius for his
head-quarters, and for the erection of the commemora-
tory pile. His army was encamped along the river.
Its winding bed and the adjoining low grounds are cover-
ed in this part of its course with innumerable large loose
stones, a circumstance which probably caused Darius to
give the pre-cited order to his soldiers. The double con-
dition of an immense mass of loose stones in and near the
bed of the only watercourse with propriety called " river"
on the line of march pursued by Darius from Bunarhissar
to the Balkan indicates the immediate. neighbourhood
of Dewletagatch as the station mentioned by Heredotus
in the King's further advance towards the Ister, or
Danube, which was preceded by the defeat of the
Getae, and the submission of the people and towns along
the Black Sea, from Midia or Salmidessus to Mesam-
bria of Misivrio. So far, the general line of operations
of Darius appear to be clear. He crossed the Bosphorus
on a bridge of boats, connecting the two continents at
the site of the present new castles of Asia and Europe
(Gibbon and Herod., Melp. iv., sec. 87), encamped suc-
cessively at the sources of the Tearus (Bunarhissar) and
on the banks of the T6k6 or Artiskus (at Dewletagach),
and following the direction of Burgas and Aiholi, and
submitting the sea towns, he passed afterwards the
Balkan by the defiles parallel to the sea coast, from Mi-
sivria to lowan Derwish, moving thus from south to
north by the same roads which were chosen by Generals
Roth and Rudiger, and by Marshal Diebitsch himself,
from north to south, in 1829. The Russians also, in
1828, and Darius, about 2,300 year before them, passed
the Danube "at that part of the river where it begins
to branch off" (Melp. iv., sec. 89), that is near the
modern Issatscha. Suaday, Oct. 3.—From Dewleta-
gatch, northwards, the country becomes finer. Hitherto
it had a character of rather barren highlands, partly
covered with underwood, and intersected by numerous
rivulets, and now and then by rich valleys. A more
luxuriant vegetation becomes now predominant, and the
cultivation of the soil improves, especiallyas one approaches
Kizilski Klesi, four hours from Dewlet. Park scenery,
chiefly along the banks of a rivulet, for the remaining
hour, conducts to Faky, a post station in times of war, but
now unable to supply us with animals for our onward jour-
ney. Longdisputes arise between my sabti6h Ali Aga and
the tschor-badshis, who are accused by him of having
driven their horses in the woods (most likely being
afraid of not being paid the hire). At last Ali Aga decides
that he will take on our Kirkkelesia horses of far as Aidos,
threatening the tschor-badshis with the wrath of the
Ferik commanding there, in the evident hope of extort-
ing from them a good backshish, if on his return he pro-
mises to be silent. The whole seven hours of our after-
noon's ride from Faky to Rusukastro lie through a fine
oak forest, extending several hours right and left over a
hill country, with occasionally open, but uncultivated,
though naturally rich soil. Half-way we get a cup of
coffee from the dervend guard, established in a log-hut
by the roadside. Like most dervendsides in lonely posi-
tions, these people eke out their scanty pay by furnishing
an excellent and refreshing draught of coffee to the weary
traveller. The sturdy mountaineer, or Albanian guards-
man, armed to the teeth with pistols, yatagan, and
sword, squats down to prepare a cup of the favourite
Eastern beverage, whilst he suspends his musket, ready
for eventual use, on a neighbouring tree. At four hours
from Faky is the Bulgarian village of Carabuner (30
fires), on a ddrd or rivulet running into the Gulf of Bur-
gas. A kind and truly Turkish hospitable reception
awaits us for the night at Rusukastro, a tschiftlik, or
great farm, administered by Ahmed Effendi, for Abdul
Ehad Aga, of Drama, himself an intendant of Wehidgi
Pacha. On the tschiftlik are five Turkish and thirty-
five Bulgarian houses ' • its vast grounds are but indiffe-
rently cultivated. "Rusukastro was plundered and
burnt in 1829 by the revolted rayahs, not by the Rus-
sians," added Ahmed Effendi, " who usually behaved
much better during the war than our own Christian sub-
jects. Sultan Mahmoud, however, forbade us to punish
the latter after the war ; on the contrary, they kept what
they have taken, and they are ready again to rob and
murder the sons of Islam, if the tide of war brings back
here the Russian armies." A report was prevalent at
Rusukastro that there were just now a good many rob-
bers and military marauders in the defiles and approaches
of the Balkan, and especially in the district of Aidos ;
but as the road to the latter place lies over open ground,
I declined an additional escort, very readily prof-
fered by Ahmed Effendi. Distances :—Kirkkelisia to
Erekli, 4 hours ; do. to Dewletagatch, 7 hours ; do. to
Topshiler,* 8i hours ; do. to Kaibilar,+ 91 hours ; do.
to Kizilski Klesi, 11 hours ; do. to Faky,:r. 12 hours ;
do. to Carabuner, 16 hours ; do. to Rusukastro, 19
hours ; do. to Benlis§ 201 hours ; do. to Kutsohuk Ali, II
23 hours ; do. to Aidos, 24 hours. The whole road
from Constantinople to Kirkkelisia, and thence to
Aidos, is a good country road for carts and artillery, ex-
cept in ...the rainy season, when it is soft and muddy,
and eventually nearly impracticable. Oct. 4. The un-
dulating soil between Rusukastro and Aidos is generally
fertile. The waters run off in the direction of the lakes
and marshy grounds towards Burgas. In the " Expe-
dicion de los Catalanes y Aragoneses contra Turcos y
Griegos," per el Conde de Osona, it would appear that
Montaner must allude to Burgos and its marshy neigh-
bourhood when he speaks of an important Byzantine
arsenal on the Black Sea coast, good forty leagues from
' Paccia, Rodisto, and Modico, calling it "Estanara,
pueblo de mucho trato, donde se fabricaren la mayor
parte de los navios de Thracia (in the beginning of the
14th century). Ganado el lugar, acometieron los navios
y galeras del puerto, que afirma Montaner que fueron 150
vexeles. Fu6 notable el espectAculo de aquel dia, porque
turbado el orden de la misma naturaleza anegaren de
tierra, rompiendo algunos diques que detenian el
agua de las ac6quias y en el mar pegaron fuego h los
navios, sirviendo los elementos de ministros de su
venganza, y saliendo de sus limites y jurisdiction para
ruina de BUS contraries, parceian que volvian a en primur
confusion segun andaba todo trocado. Murieron nuchos
quemados en el agua, ostros atrogados en la tierra" (cap.
xlii.) Estanara, from the coinciding three conditions o
the forty leagues' distance, of its arsenal, and its marshy
neighbourhood partially protected by dikes, can only be
identified with Burgas. The Turkish Burgas is the
Greek Pyrgos (tower or castle) ; and the Catalans very
probably gave to the present Burgas (on the Black Sea)
the name of Pyrgos of the Stranjea, or, by corruption,
Estanara. Aidos, the chief place of the card, or district
of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan, is situated
on sloping ground, with its 200 Turkish and 100 Bulga-
rian houses, on the banks of a rivulet which flows into a
lake north-west of Burgas. A plain, with ten or eleven
tumuli, in the neighbourhood of the modern town, ex-
tends for a couple of hours west and east, parallel to the
mountain ridge north of Aidos. With the exception of
the tepehs, known to have been erected by the Turkish
armies, the numerous tumuli strewed over the country
between Constantinople and the Balkan are often seen
in clustnewttrrhistyehotfhehalf a-dozen and more, near the chief
places of modern districts and departments, or in situa-
tions which indicate the sites of ancient towns or resi-
dences of a northern race. The reminiscences or tradi-
tuta°ll°f the
temporary present inhabitantso
r permanentalso connect
occupation the
ofm
(tileleadcobyuy byc
th
iMoscowan s
andor
TShc
ryatchi nations.iaannsm(Melp.
ip .
iv.,
sec. t7hle,
description by Heredotus of the tumuli erected for their
"Ingens aperitur tumulo tellus '
0u r s.—Frombour AidosHours
over' toth
eMAi siidvorsi amt
mountain
roadnta i n
rra( Vi:l(ll:i(zirselig ifei
°r)br.Pys t.l:'
)SveCe"thSlMl3sceat.rnBf)t,i. (30 Turkish fires), and Kara t6P 6
(25 Turkish fires), to Achly (25 Turkish fires), where
again is a cluster of six or !even ancient tumuli—
fine scenery through forests of oak and northern trees,
indicating a considerable elevation of the country,
which is only partially cultivated in the neighbourhood
of the villages. We leave to our right the village of
Glidstra, celebrated for its hot springs, and situate at two-
and-a-half hours' distance from Aidos on the direct read to
Misivria. We change horses at Achly, where an ex-
pdtor ebs
es
po rr
epe ra theroefd fo rGo ouvr e
jronoorro
eoyf
tAo'i
i‘d
to
ise
ihv
raida didd
changethem

* 40 Turkish fires.
t 50 Turkish fires.
65 Bulgarian fires.
§ Simply a well, and generally a Tura' or gipsy encamp-
ment.
II 50 mixed Area,

. -- • -e e
hoeses after.foul .hours.ernarch s.
is always Ag,reeakle,
especially eierTtrrkeyrevizere, the stages are often 8, -10,
and 12 hours. The truth; however, is, that we were '
obliged for this civility to the Governor of Aidos, who
did not like to incur the responsibility of furnishing me
with horses for a three days' journey, although Soliman
had found people ready to let them. In fact the roads
were far from being safe, notwithstanding the repeated
assurances of Ibrahim Bey, that this district was a per-
fect model administration according to Tanzimatschairje
(the good estate), or the reform principles. Two people
had been murdered a few days ago between Carnabat
and Aides ; a peasant assailed and left naked
_on the
road to Misivria, and the news had just arrived that in
the preceding night a neighbouring farm had been plun-
dered of 30,000 piastres, and some women violated.
Notwithstanding the Tanzimatschairj6, a miller had been
established and quietly tolerated at Aidos for several
years, although he was well known to have committed
nine murders and robberies, which had furnished him
the necessary means to build and work his mill. The
ingenuity of the Governor of Aidos—persuaded as he
said that his head would ache him (bashimiz agrareshak)
if anything only unpleasant should happen to his
distinguished musafir (or guest)—was therefore direc-
ted towards finding good reasons for dissuading me
from my projected excursion into the Balkan, without
betraying the real cause of his alarm, resulting from the
unsatisfactory state of his own district, as far as were
concered the life, property, and honour of the Sultan's
subjects, secured by the hatti sheriffe of Gulhane.
Threatening rain, stormy weather, impassible roads, and
want of accommodation having been unsuccessfully con-
jured up, Ibrahim Bey made a last attempt at dissuasion
by assuring me that, in an historical point of view, my
researches would be certainly useless. " Zulkarnein
(the name given to Alexander the Great by the learned
Turks), whose line of march you are tracing," he said,
"never came here. He was a great man ; how could he
have thought of going into those wild and inaccessible
mountains ?" This last piece of historical information,
however, not having changed my mind nor itinerary,
the Governor of Aidos ordered an additional escort, with
directs to insist on having the best possible horses at
Achley, the limits of his temporary domains. From
the latter place to Misivria the roads lies in a fine, po-
pulous, cultivated, and well wooded and watered valley,
running nearly due east, between the forest-covered
main ridge of the Balkan and the Aides branch of those
mountains. Leaving several villages at a distance on
our left, we pass through those of Tatarko'i, Koperan,
Barakly, and Indgekca, but can find no trace of the
lake laid down in the Austrian map immediately south
of those villages, all situated along the southern bank of
a dere or rivulet, coming from the village of Nadir, in
the upper valley, two hours west from Achly, and fall-
ing into the sea a little north of Misivria, where in the
winter and rainy season it forms a marsh of about one
hour long and half-an-hour broad. It was most likely
somewhere near Achly that was fought, in the begin-
ning of the 14th century, the terrible battle between the
Catalans and the Masagetae, retiring by the Haemus
into Bulgaria, from the service of the Greek Emperor
Andronicus, at Constantinople. Misivria, with some
remains of the ancient Mesambria and the ruins of some
medieval churches, is a miserable collection of 300
houses. The principal export trade in wood is mono-
polised by the Governor, Sultan Effendi, so called on
account of his family connection with the house of the
ancient Khans of the Crimea, Dtwlet Gherai. Situated
on a peninsula, Misivria would be a military position of
considerable !importance, if it had a natural supply of
water and a good harbour. Its only two wells, how-
ever, are at ten minutes outside the western wall of the
place ; and the anchorage is so unsafe that the Russians
(in 1829), although they occupied Misivria, preferred for
their shipping the roadstead of Aeholi. This latter city,
of 1,000 houses, is a rising town since the war. Situated
also on a peninsula, three hours south of Misivria, it
presents, in a military point of view, the advantage of
having water in its circuit. Distances—Aidos to Achly,
4 hours; Tatarkei, 5 hours ; Koperan, 5i hours ; Rarakly,
6 hours ; Indesoi, 71 hours ; Misivria, 8 hours. In
order to reconnoitre the important line of the Haemus
or Balkan, which is so little known that the celebrated
historian of the Turkish empire, Herr Von Hammer,
reduces erroneously to seven the number of the passages
or defiles in the principal mountain chain. I intended to
explore the whole ridge, from Cape Emineh (Finis
Haemi) to Tirnova, at the foot of the mountains between
Schibka and Dranova. I have, therefore, traversed in
zigzag, seven times, the principal chain of the Balkan,
viz.:--From Misivria to Sudshiler, from Sudshiler to
Achly, from Achly to Dobral, from Dobral to Carnabat,
from Carnabat to Kasan, from Kasan to Selimneh, from
Selimneh to Tirnova ; and seven times the minor ridges
of the Haemus, viz., from Tirnova. to Osmanbazar, from
Osmanbazar to Kasan, from Kasan to Czalikavak, from
Czalikavak to Koprikel, from Koprikoi to Schumla, from
Schumla. to Paraivadi, from Paraivadi to Varna. Leav-
ing Misivria, accompanied by a trusty guide of Sultan
Effendi's, we crossed the low ground (marshy in the wet
season) extending north of the Misivria, towards the
Greek village of Monastirkei, and having to our right the
scale of Ajanas, at the bottom of a fine sandy beach,
we ascended the steep vine-clad southern declivities
of the Balkan, leaving, right and left, various pretty
and picturesques villages. The highest point of the
mountain chain above Monastirkoi may be estimated at
about 2,000 feet, whilst the pass or dervend itself lies
about 1,800 feet above the sea, leading to Bane, four
hours from Misivria ; the latter two hours and three
quarters through thick forest, chiefly oak, crossed in
different directions by roads for the carts, which take
wood and timber to the neighbouring scales of Misivria,
Ajanas, Kosluck, and Erekly. The northern branch of
the Kamshik is called the Akully or Wise Kamabik ;
its floods being generally more tranquil, and its course
wider. Both branches unite between Buyuk Chenga
and Koprikei' and form the ancient Pamysus, falling
into the Black Sea between the Black and White Capes
(Aspro Bournou and Mavro Bournou). From Isinplu
by Sadowa to Papaskei, the gently rising road, on the
left bank of the Kamshik, leads through the well-culti-
vated tree-clad Balkan terraces. In the whole valley
are seen numerous Turkish and Bulgarian villages, in-
habited by a fine, sturdy, and, to all appearances, war-
like population (especially the Mussulman part). Papas-
koi is a large place, with one hundred Bulgarian houses
in excellent condition, mostly tile-roofed, and one story
above the ground floor, whilst the fifty Turkish families
of the village live in straw-thatched huts of a single
floor. On a height S.W. from this place are seen three
tumuli. Beyond Papaskei begins a splendid oak forest,
and the ascent towards Kasan becomes steeper. We
cross twice the meandering course of one of the affluents
of the of the Kamshik, which runs down from Kasen,
and at three-quarters of an hour before that town we enter
a very strong and deep defile, at first magnificently wooded
on both sides, the river running on our left. A little
later we cross the torrent, and tie mountain gorge
now shows trees only on its western flank, whilst its
eastern side presents a successicn of naked, bold,
precipitous rocks. The scenery is awfully wild an d
grand, but the road, partly hewn is the rock, continues
practicable for carts, and measures still ten feet iu its
narrowest part. On leaving the mountain pass, Kasan
is seen at a short distance, secluded in one of the most
inaccessible vales of the Balkan, and situated in a moun-
tain cahldron, into which descents from the northern or
southern slopes of the mighty Haemus lead only through
defiles of such natural strength that a few determined
men may arrest there entire armies. The industrious
city of Kasan owes its flourishing and prosperous state
to its municipal government, aid to the circumstance
that the Sublime Porte most likely ignores its very
existence, whilst the pro tempole governor of the pacha-
lik, probably too lazy to explore a rugged mountain
region, is satisfied to know that a zabit or police officer,
and under him a dozen of dervendshisor, guardians of
the mountain passes, represent it Kazan the authority
of the Sultan. However, the Bulgarian municipality
manage the privilege of selecting themselves the zabit
and his men. They pick up as many Zinganis, or gip-
sies, as are required, dress them up as Turks, and pay
them handsomely, on condition that they are to claim
no allowance from their soi-disent master, the Pacha,
who is always found to be well pleased with an arrange-
ment which permits him to pccket the annual pay of
the public servants which the Sublime Porte is supposed
to keep in the mountain passes of Kasan for the security
of traders and travellers. If tie Pacha is satisfied with
this arrangement, much more so the inhabitants of Ka-
san, who thus have secured a municipal independence,
unmolested liberty to carry of very extensive coarse
cloth (or abah) manufactures, together with the agri-
cultural and pastoral pursuits connected with this in-
dustry. Kasan, whose immediate vicinity is rather bare
of trees, though the mountains that enclose it are covered
with the secular forest that rovers the whole eastern
Balkan, lies above that elevation where wine can be cul-
tivated, but the wealthy inhabitants of the town have ex-
tensive vineyards near Papaskce. All the houses of Kasan
are tile-roofed, and although :,he general aspect of the
place is not cheerful, the streets being narrow and irre-
gular, yet comparative comfort, and a certain feeling of
security and independence, is perceptible everywhere.
A church, built in 1834, and embellished by a Russian
eagle, a menzil chane, or post-office, and two schools,
are the public buildings.. Bulgarian and Greek are the
languages taught, Turkish being spoken occasionally,
but not studied. Bulgarian is the language of the pul-
pit. The Bulgarians understand the Russian, and vice
versa. The virtually independent community of Kasan
has become since the last Russian war the national and
intellectual centre of Bulgaria, in lien of Tirnova (the
residence of a Turkish Pac:ea), which, however, is
always mentioned, with a feeling of veneration, as the
ancient capital. The Reboots of Kasan furnish numerous
and the best popular teachers for Bulgaria. I admired
particularly the fine handwriting of some young girls of
13 and 14 years of age, and took several samples of it
with me. Books, especially bibles, come in great
quantities from Kiew, and in general the ties of a com-
mon, origin, language, and religion between the Rus-
sians and Bulgarians become daily stronger. General
Montresor, the Russian commander of Kasen in 1829,
is still spoken of with high praise. At this time occur-
red the great emigration of Christian subjects of Turkey
into Russia ; Kasen furnished only a share of twenty
families, because in their mountain recesses they were—
as their chiefs told me—less afraid of the oppression or
vengeance on the part of the Turkish authorities than
the poor people of the plains, and, in case of need, pre-
pared to resist it by arms. Selimneh and its neighbour-
hood has suffered a good deal from the late war ; but as
the Russians kept a strict discipline, and have paid for
all their requisites, they have remained very popular in
the country. General Montresor had had his head-quar-
ters at Mr. lowansho's house, and the latter explained
to me the details of his audacious and successful march
from Selimneh on Kasan. The Russian army being in
possession of Varna and Silistria, and having defeated
the Grand Vizier in the decisive battle of Kislevdsha, had
forced the Balkan on the 16th and 17th of July, by the
defiles of lowan Derwish to Misivria and its plains.
Having established an additional base of operation along
the sea coast from Varna, by Misivria, Aiholi, Burgas,
and Sizepolis, Marshal Diebitsch beat the Turks at
Aidos, and then, advanced on Selimneh whence 4,000 to

50000 „ineri; with ogly four guns, under General Moti-
tresor; -dislodged -en- the 14th' of- August one Solitna,n
Pacha from Kasan, the possession of which place conso-
lidated the insurrection of the Bulgarians of the Balkan,
who had risen in favour of the Russians. Marshal
Diebitsch then advanced safely on Adrianople, where he
arrived on the 20th of August, and concluded there the
celebrated peace of the 11th of September.
After the conclusion of the paper, Mr. HOGG compli-
mented the writer on the additions he had made to our
geographical knowledge of this important district.
Some excellent views of South African scenery by Mr.
Bain, attached to the staff of Governor-General Lord
Cathcart, which were hung round the room, were then
examined by the visitors.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE of YESTERDAY.

WINDSOR-CASTLE, Nov. 25.
The Queen was this day pleased to confer the honour of
Knighthood upon Captain Stephen Bartlett Lakeman,
late Commander of Lakeman's Waterkloof Rangers.

FOREIGN-OFFICE, Nov. 30.
The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. John
Pownall Dale as Consul at Port Stanley for the Free Han-
seatic City of Hamburg.
WHITEHALL, DEC. 2.
The Queen has been pleased to present the Reverend
Frederick Cruickshank to the church and united parishes
of Lethnot and Navar, in the presbytery of Brechin and
county of Forfar, vacant by the death of the Reverend
John Whyte.
BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, MARINE
DEPARTMENT, DEO 1.

The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of
the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have received,
through the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a
translation of a Proclamation (an extract from which is sub-

joined), issued by the Neapolitan Government, giving no-
tice of a law for facilitating the apprehension of British
seamen deserting from British merchant vessels in the
Neapolitan dominions, which has been signed by his
Sicilian Majesty, as a measure of reciprocity for the Order
in Council of the 19th August last, extending to Neapoli
tan merchant vessels the benefit of "The Foreign Desert
era Act, 1852,"
By order,

JAMES BOOM
-* it.

" Art. I. Seamen, not being slaves, belonging to the
Mercantile Navy of her Majesty the Queen of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, who may desert
within our Royal dominions, on either side of the Faro,
shall, upon application to the authorities of the Kingdom
from the Consuls or the Vice-Consuls of her Britannic
Majesty, or from persons appointed by them, be appre-
hended and carried on board their respective ships." *

Naples, September 13, 1853.
WAR-OFFICE, DEC. 2.
10th Regiment of Light Dragoons— Cornet George Sil-
vester Davies, from the 11th Light Dragoons, to be net,
vice Gandell, who exchanges, Dec. 2.
11th Light Dragoons—Cornet Alfred Wall Gandell, from
the 10th Light Dragoons, to be Cornet, vice Davies, who
exchanges, Dec. 2.
4th Regiment of Foot—John Howley, Gent., to be En-
sign, by purchase, vice Honourable A. H. A. Anson,
appointed to the Rifle Brigade Dec. 2.
13th Foot—Surgeon Thomas D'Arcy, M.D., frpm the
30th Foot, to be Surgeon, vice Dowse, who exchanges,
Dec. 2. _ _ _

22nd Foot—First Lieutenant William Dobyns, from the
Ceylon Rifle Regiment, to be Lieutenant, vice John Wm.
Poole, who retires upon half-pay, of the Ceylon Rifle
Regiment, Dec. 2.
30th Foot—Surgeon Richard Robert Dowse, from the
13th Foot, to be Surgeon, vice D'Arcy, who exchanges,
Deo. 2. . _ . . .

44th Foot—Ensign Levett Thoroton, to be Lieutenant,
by purchase, vice Willson, who retires ; Alexander Wm.
Cobham, Gent., to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Thoroton,
Dec. 2. _ . . _ _

53d Foot—Captain John 111'Neill Walter to be Major,
by purchase, vice Lempriere, who retires ; Lieutenant
John Breton to be Captain, by purchase, vice Walter;
Ensign William Henry James Clarke to be Lieutenant, by
purchase, vice Breton ; John Rolle Prideaux, Gent., to be
Ensign, by purchase, vice Clarke, Dec. 2.
54th Foot—William Mitchell Firth, Gent., to be As-
sistant-Surgeon, vice Moorhead, appointed to the Staff,
Dec. 2.
56th Foot—Lieutenant John Pye Pye to be Captain,
without purchase, vice Hanson, deceased ; Ensign Samuel
Henry Harford to be Lieutenant, without purchase, vice
Pye Pye ; Gentleman Cadet John Henry Campbell, from
the Royal Military College, to be Ensign, without pur-
-1 chase, vice Harford; Assistant-Staff-Surgeon Francis Wal-
ters Knox to be Assistant-Surgeon, vice Lawson, deceased,

Dec. 2.
61st Foot—Lieuten ant Edward Shawe Powys to be Cap-
tain, by purchase, vice Frederick Huson, who retires ;
Ensign Thomas Edward Gordon to be Lieutenant, without
purchase, vice Powys ; Ensign John Joseph Paterson Fox,
from the St. Helena Rgiment, to be Ensign, vice Gordon,
Dec. 2.
72d Foot—Mostyn De la Poer Beresford, Gent., to be
Ensign, by purchase, vice Smith, who retires, Dec. 2.
Rifle Brigade--Ensign the Hon. Augustus Henry Archi-
bald Anson, from the 4th Foot, to be Second Lieutenant,
by purchase, vice Hale, who retires, Dec. 2.
HOSPITAL STAFF.—Assistant-Surgeon Thomas Moor-
head, M.D., from the 54th Foot, to be Assistant-Surgeon
to the Forces, vice Knox, appointed to the 56th Foot,
Dec. 2.
Erratum in printing the Gazette of the 25th Nov.:-
34th Regiment of Foot—Fur Francis Richard Hurt to
be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Peel, read, Ensign Fran-
cis Richard Hurt to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Peel.
COMMISSION SIGNED BY THE QUEEN.

Merionethshire Militia—Robert Mamie Taylor, Esq., to
be Adjutant, Oct. 4.
COMMISSIONS SIGNED EY THE LORD•LIEUTENANTS.

Queen's Own Light Infantry Regiment of Tower Ham•
lets Militia—Joseph Erlam, Gent., to be Lieutenant.
West Suffolk Regiment of Militia—John Welchem,
Gent., to be Lieutenant, Nov. 25.