The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-05 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.

PORTRAIT OF JENNY LIND. Painted by
Mr. Solomon from a Daguerreotype.
The original daguerreotype from which this ex-
quisite painting has been taken is in the possession
of her Most Gracious Majesty. it presents the only
veritable likeness of Mademoiselle Jenny Lind
that has yet appeared; and the success of
the artist has been greatly facilitated by
the circumstance of his having been favoured
with a sitting by that di,tinguished cantatricc, dur-
ing the course of its production. As a work of art
the picture is singularly felicitous—as a likt 'less it is
altogether inestimable, being nothing short of icri•
similitude. Its resemblance to the Swedish Nightingale
is so vivid as to be absolutely ridiculous It represents
.something more than an exact transcript of features
and complexion—it conveys that expression which is
as it wore the shadow of the soul, and which in the
instance of Jenny Lind renders h-r countenance
peculiarly bewitching. Without having a single
feature that can be called symmetrical—
excepting always her blue, limpid eyes—
Jenny has, nevertheless, suffused over them all an air
of such perfect goodness, and innocence, and sim-
plicity, that her face has a charm infinitely beyond
that of mere beauty. Its sweetness is a fascination.
This " expression " the artist has caught and has
here realised with a truthful pencil upon his
canvass. It is this which renders the pre-
vent portrait the only true likeness of the
glorious songstress yet produced. It has this
additional excellence, moreover, that it has
not the smallest vestige of affectation either in
attitude, or treatment, or in any other particu-
lar. The position of the figure is, on the con-
trary, natural, and the whole appearance perfectly
ladylike. Let the admirers, we had almost said the
lovers of Jenny Lind (and that would include every
one who has listened to her angelic voice, or who
has heard of her equally angelic benevolence), be
glad and rejoice—an engraving of this painting,
taken from a daguerreotype, is now, we believe, on the
very eve of publication.

DOVER BAY AND BREAKWATER,

To THE EDITOR 01 THE SUN.

Ramsgate, April 17, 1849.
Sin,—Your kindness in giving a place in your columns, in
January last, to my observations on the injury likely to
arise to the Esplanade property at Dover, in consequence of
the wasting away of the shingle now in the bay, induces me
to solicit a similar favour to enable me to submit my opinions
on the harbour of refuge to the public; and, in order to
bring the subject fairly under review, I have also to request
your insertion of the accompanying correspondence with the
Admiralty.
. . _ .

The Acuities I have met with in endeavouring to bring
the matter before Parliament, through the efforts of indivi-
dual Members, impel me to abandon that course, and to seek
through the newspapers that publicity which the great im-
portance of the subject, in my estimation, demands.
Having made the drift of shingle on the south-eastern
madt my study for many years past, and having carefully ex-
amined all the localities between Beachy Head and Deal,
where large deposits exist, and there effects on the adjacent
harbours and mouths of rivers, I felt it my duty to address
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and to express,
with all due deference to their Lordships, and to the many
eminent men employed on the Refuge Harbour Commission,
my deliberate conviction that the outlineof the work approved
of by their Lordships, for Dover Bay, and commenced upon
last year, is planned in utter disregard of, and in direct op-
position to, the facts and to the principles involved in these
facts, which are everywhere plainly discernible in the accu-
mulation of shingle on the northern shores of the English
Channel.

I have repeatedly entreated their Lordships to give me an
opportunity of visiting the south-eastern coast, and of reason-
ing upon those facts, with any professional person their Lord-
ships might think proper to appoint; but my applications
have been uniformly disregarded, and the Admiralty have,
by their letter of the 9th March last, declared " that it is
not their Lordships' intention to make any alteration in the
plans upon which the works at Dover are proceeding ;"—a
declaration which necessarily terminates the correspondence.
As regards myself, I am perfectly indifferent to this de-
cision ; but in a matter of such national importance asth
successful formation of a harbour of refuge, at a contemplatedmost
cost of two millions and a half, on a site requiring the
careful application of the engiueer's skill and knowledge, w
of admittedscieneeb?;
must
eeCt Commissioners, men
Public Departments to
ac-
cordance with the usual practice of the
saalyl other practical
mpisesrimonitetrihed
The ordinary courtesy shown to almost
compelled to make
close the door so peremptorily against aelletfuevrtehryeriinnvqeunitreyr.
has
been denied to me, and 1 am. reluctantlythatmy
objections no longer
this appeal, or tacitly to admit that
to the breakwater now constructingn
its fullest force ; and I now
have urged to their Lordship: i
exist. But they do exist, and istill einnterptaoivneervßerayy,owbjbeciethionl
per-
fected agreeably to the presentd nd to be heard. 1 applied to
publicly declare my deliberate
itihlaettitthireewlyorfkal if
as
ra-
harbour of refuge.
of Commons who takes an in-
etevreers3; tad eqiuneb:trioontssttokfetinhal:ne umesce; I applied to the public press for
attempt to obtain inquiry ; and I appeal
support in this just
to the public,wito must pay two millions and a half for what
I conscientiously believe will be dearly purchased at two-
pence halfpenny.
No man can deny that the shingle in its ordinary easterly
drift will be obstructed by the mw.breakwater ; that it will
begin to accumulate at its root, or Junction with the shore;
that successive tides, storms, and years will augment the ac-
cumulation inconceivably ; such must be the case, and that
in n ) great length of time the accumulation will roach the
extremity of the new breakwater. What then? A bar across
the entrance to the harbour, with a furious sea breaking over
it in every south-west gale, precisely when ships want to
run for shelter ; and, worse than all, accessible only for ves-
sels of moderate burden, between half tide and high water.
Tau may suppose, Sir, that I am not willing to peril the
professional reputation I have acquired in a long service, and
that I should be cautious of provoking inquiry upon light
grounds. Most certainly ; but this is not a matter of opinion,
it is a question of facts, capable of mathematical demonstra-
tion. I undertake to make those facts plain to any commit-
pteoeinotfedinoquut will b
inquiry,
thdtoe
resultpro prove Q
e thatproceeding t h e
§clacme, wall the present

I
entirely concur with the Commissioners in the expesliency
Of establishing a refuge harbour in Dover Bay, and I think
Captain Washington's evidence, published at pages 204-5 of
the Appendix to the Report is conclusive in establiShing the
goodness of the holding qualities of the anchorage, within the
limits of the projected breakwaters; bnt I am wholly at issue
with the Lords of the Admiralty as to the nature of the
harbour.
Their Lordships have authorised the construction of a close
harbour, connected with, or joined to, the shore by its eastern
or western breakwaters. My firm conviction is, that no such
harbour can be long maintained in an efficient state, and that
any refuge harbour in Dovor Bay should be formed upon the
principle of the breakwater in Plymouth Sound, so as to
afford shelter to vessels anchoring within it, or running for
the tidal harbour, but having free and ample space for the
action of the waves to drift the shingle along the shore.
I am aware that is not the practice of the London daily
journals to print diagrams, but in order to give those who
may be disposed to pursue the investigation, a clear
understanding of my argument, I transmit herewith a sketch
of Dover Bay, showing the projected harbour of refuge,
copied from the plan appended to the Report of the Rouge
Harbour Commission, on which sketch 1 have marked the
probable, I might say certain, line of accumulation of shingle,
and the bar that must inevitably form across the entrance;
and shall esteem it a great additional favour, if you will per-
n- it that sketch to lay at your office for inspection. lam
exceedingly anxious for inquiry; common - justice requires
that it be conceded.

1 have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
S. 11. WILLIAMS,
Lieut.-Colonel, late Royal Engineers.

(Copy.)
liamsgate, Aug. 14, ISIS.
My Lords,—l respectfully beg leave again to silicit your
attention to the representations contained in my letteis to
your LordAiips, dated March 8, September 8, and Nov. 20,
1847, touching the formation of the national breakwaters at
Harwich and Dover.

In my letter of March 8 I expressed to your Lordships my
firm conviction that the breakwater designed for Harwich
would not only fail to realise the expectations of its projec-
tors, but that it would become detrimental to the existing
navigation of the harbour, and I endeavoured briefly to ex-
plain to your Lordships the principles and the reasoning
which induced me to form these conclusions.

Your Lordships were pleased to state in reply that the sub-
ject should be carefully investigated. The original project
was, however, persisted in, and the breakwater rapidly ad-
vanced to completion.
Reports are in circulation that already serious doubts are
entertained of its efficiency; that an idea begins to prevail
that it may be necessary to take up a portion of the work so
lately dope; and that it will be advisable to construct a large
groyne at Felixtow—information which betokens present
failure, and no little degree of uncertainty as to what may be
the result of the schemes.
Permit me again to assure your Lordships that in what I
urged in former letters, and feel bound now to repeat; lam
not influenced by any vain idea of intuitive knowledge on
such difficult questions, but having, after close investigation,
discovered the true theory by which coast and channel har-
bours should be regulated, where drifts of shingle or sand
prevail, I cannot retrain from evincing great anxiety that a
theory so indisputable should be practically attended to in the
cases under review, in which it appears to me manifest that
the serious difficulties at each of those pdrts, arising from
such drift, can only be overcome by a careful application of
the principles laid down in my pamphlet. This theory has
been before the public ten years, and its truth is univer-
sally admitted.
1 trust, therefore, your Lordships will excuse me when I
reiterate my firm conviction that the harbours of refuge con-
structing at Harwich and Dover must fail, because the laws
of nature have been utterly disregarded in the adaptation of
the works to the features of the coast at both places.
I believe that to be susceptible of the clearest demonstra-
tion; and had I been permitted to trace cause and effect at
each place, in company with the officers to whom the Ad-
miralty has confided the execution of the projects, I have no
doubt whatever that I should have been enabled by local
evidence fully to establish the facts I contend fur.
The confidence your Lordships appear still to place in the
judgment c f others would have deterred me from this last
effort to induce you to pause, were it not that I entertained
the most scrupulous belief of the soundness of my views, and
an earnest desire to guard against a further expenditure of
capital on works of so doubtful a character, aid being of
opinion that it is not yet too late to propose such modifica-
tions of the plans in question, particularly necessary at Dover,
as would remove the objections urged against them by many
men whose judgments are entitled to considerable weight,
and are in accordance with my own.
I have the honour to be, my Lords, &c.
S. H. WILLIAMS,
Lieutenant-Colonel Royal Engineers.
(Copy.)
Admiralty, 25:h August, 1818.
Sir,—Haring laid before my Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty your letter of the 14th instant, I am commanded
by their Lordships to acquaint you that it is not considered
advisable to make any changes in the plan on which the
works at Harwich and Dover are proceeding.
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
(Signed) H. G. WARD.
Lieut.-Colonel Williams, R.E., Ramsgate.
(Copy.)
Ramsgate, sth February, 1819.
Sir,—As the letters I have had the honour to address to
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, expressing my
fears that the harbour of refuge now constructing in Vover
Ilay will disappoint their Lordshil s' expectations, and prove
a failure, have been brought under your notice in the ordi-
nary routine of business, an 1 are accessible for reference, any
repetition of the contents of those letters is unnecessary, but
I am induced to ask yt u to give the subject your early and
special consideration for the toilowing reasons.
The tenor of their Lordships last communication, dated
28th of August, in reply to my representation of the 14th
August, IS4B, precludes me from further efficisl corre-
spondence.

There has been no attempt to deny the accuracy of my
investigation, nor to show that my deductions are invalid,
and firmly believing the former to be perfectly sound, end
the latter to be susceptible of strict proof, and, moreover, that
1 can fully substantiate every head of my argument, 1 feel it
a positive duty to take such 87 Pp* as may appear best calcu-
lated to bring my views 10 the test of public opinion.
The Board has hitherto declined my ollrs to meet. any
prokssimial person or persons It ey might think proper to
r.ppoint to examine and discuss the subject, and by it re-
fusal have hft me only the painful alterrwire of preserving
silence on a question of great national importance, whilst
impressed with the most profound conviction that the trim h
is on my aide, or of appealing to the higbest tribunal in the
kingdom.
1 cannot but feel that an unusual course has been punned
towards me in refusing all inquiry, more particularly as the
Admiralty is aware of the at. ention I have given to this dif-
ficult subject, and has had under deliberation the opinions of
others well qualified to judge of the manner in which I have
treated it.

lam desirous. therefore, with all possible courtesy, of
stating to you that it is my present intention to request a
talented Alember of the Ilouse of Commons to move for an
inquiry into the expediency of proceeding with the harboitr
of refuge at Dover, unless the Admiralty shall he pleased to
sanction the employment of a competent engineer, to hear
my evidence, to view the coast, and to report for their Lord-
ships' information.

Allow me to suggest that Mr. Robert Stephenson be re-
quested to undertake these duties. I will meet Mr. Stephen-
son alone, or in conjunction with Captain Washington, R.N.,
and if their report should negative my allegations, I will
abide by it, and consider my objections finally disposed of.
The inspection and report may be completed in a week, and
surely the trifling expense of such a Commission should be
no obstacle to its appointment, when it must he borne in
mind that the outlay of hundreds of thousands may be
affected by its recommendations.
I have had personal communication with two of the mem-
bers of the Commission appointed by the Treasury Minute
of 2d of April, 1844. Both admit the truth of my theory
en the accumulation of shingle, where the free passage of it
is impeded, and on its ordinary easterly drift in the Channel.
But how do these gentlemen get rid of the dilemma in which
they are placed by such admissions? One sacs—" True, at
the back (to the westward) of the breakwater there must be
an accumulation of shingle, and though it may follow the
pier for a certain distance, it will ultimately be lost in deep
water and pass away." The other Commissioner says—
" When the accumulation of shingle approaches the end of
the breakwater, a horn must be built, to take the drift in
another direction."

In each of those opinions there is an admission of the pre-
mises I contend for, but in neither is the extent of the evil
foreseen. The conclusion is erroneous—the remedy worse
than the disease. Both views, as to what must infallibly
happen, are obscure ; manifest a very superficial acquaintance
with the cause" which give rise to, and govern the drifts of
shingle on the coast, and evince a disregard of the facts as
they exist, and may with care be traced.
Again, what becomes of the shingle when it reaches the
South Foreland, is a question frequently asked. I believe a
satisfactory explanation can be given, and I shall be pre-
parel to offer one suggested to my mind by local observa-
tions whenever the subject shall be fully gone into.
Surely it is advisable to take the highest professional opi-
nion in the kingdom upon the points at issue, and I respect-
fully solicit you to move their Lordships to authorise the
inquiry I now pray for.
It is far from my wish to cause her Yajesty's Government
any embarrassment, and I cheerfully take the course of first
appealing to you—a step suf,gested to me by a naval officer
of rank and eminence in his profession, but who also thinks
it will be imperative upon me to bring the whole subject under
the notice of Parliament, if the proposal herein submitted,
should be declined.

1 have the honour to be, Sir. &c.
S. H. Witlimas,
Lieut.-Colonel late Royal Engineers.
Rear-Admiral J. D. Dundas &c., Admiralty. -
(Copy.)
Ramsgate, March 6, 1849.
Sir,—l bad the honour on the sth ulr. to address to you a
letter, referring to precious communications to the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, relative to the harbour o
refuge constructing in Dover Bay, and as a month has now
elapsed since the date of my last letter, and no reply what-
ever has been vouchsafed to me, I must presume that it is not
easmthenotfitil'eedbrtueaaryrehas reached you.rn‘ •
their Lordships' intention to comply with mpyl,reanqudeatt.
I addressed you with the deference duo to your rank and
ii
eretore
istyathaketeitohlneea'rvame nytdo
letter
efirtehaotaf tyt
the
u will have the goodness to info in
1 have the honour to be,

S. IL Wm:rants,
Lieut.• Colonel late Royal Engineers.
Rcar-Admiral J. D. Dundas, &e.

(copy•)

, arch 8, 1849.
Admiral rundas' compliments tomiralty ColoneMl Williams, and
begs to inform him, he has referred his letter of the 6th of
March to the Secretary of the Admiralty, and Mr. Ward
will, no doubt, cause a public reply to be addressed to Colonel
Williams.
Lieut.-Colonel Williams, R.E.

(Copy.)
Admiralty, March 9, 1849.
S'r,—My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty haring
had under their cc niideration your letter of the 6th instant,
addressed to Admiral Dundas, hare no other answer to give
you than that which they have already sent, on the 24th of
August last, namely, that it is not their Lordships' intention
to make any alteration in the plans upon which the works
at Harwich and Dover are proceeding.
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant.
(Signed) 11. G. WARD.
Lieu'.-Coloriel Williams, R.E., Ramsgate.

RECAPTURE OF A CONVlCT.—Cbarles Lankey, one
of the prisoners who escaped from the Hebe, convict hulk,
on Tuesday morning, was recaptured at Barnet by two con.
stables of the S division of police. It appeared that he and
the other prisoner, Bradbury, slipped through one of the air-
scuttles and plunged into the river. Being an excellent
swimmer, lie swam across the Thames and made for the op-
posite shore, where he landed. The other prisoner, Bradbury,
took to the other side of the river, and from the fact of his
being a very ipdilrerept swimmer, it is supposed that he