The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-01 00:00:00

FLANDERS MAIL.

ANTWERP, DEC. 26.—The two English steamers
Trau3it and Gazette, laden with twist, intended for Ger-
many, have, for the first time, taken their places at the
quay Napoleon, between the north musesir of the basin
and Fort St. Lawrence. We were well satisfied at seeing
these steamers so well placed, they landed their heavy
bales with great ease, as well as at the best port in the
world.

The qusy is very extensive, and only wants the pave-
ment to be completed. Two more landing places would
be desirable, then three steamers might easily be placed
there—the railway station being but a short distance
from the quay—the goods might be immediately placed
upon the waggons.
TheHamburgh Journal mentioned an instance of com-
mercial probity which deserves to be recorded. Some
years ago, the house of Schlesinger and Co., of Ham-
burgh, became bankrupt, leaving debt to the amount of
150,000 dollars ; two of the partners went abroad, and
no more was heard of them. One set up a manufactory
at Bradford in England, the other went to Modena, where
he established a commercial house. The third partner re-
mained at Hamburgh, and became a broker. The affair
was forgotten, when a few days ago the creditors were
summoned and paid the whole of their claims. The
manufacturer at Bradford had returned to Hamburgh,
and in concert with the broker, who had likewise been
prosperous in his business, he paid two .thirds of the
debt, and there is no doubt that the third partner will
follow this noble example.
BRUSSELS, DEC. 28.—We hare just received the me-
lancholy news that Mr. Constantine Rodenbacb, Charge
d'Affaires of Belgium in Greece, died at Athens on the
sth of Dec., at nine o'clock in the morning, at the age of
55, in consequence of an apoplectic stroke.
Their Majesties the King and Queen are to leave Paris
on Wednesday morning, and to arrive at Laachen on the
evening of the same day.
The Moniteur publishes a law, dated December 26,
proroguing till the 31st December, 1847, the law of the
18th June, 1842, which authorises the Government to
modify the regulations for the importation of goods in
transit, either direct or through the entrepot.
The Alloniteur promulgates the law, dated December
24, by which the contingent of the army for 1847 is fixed
for the maximum of 10,000 men, who are placed at the
disposal of the Government ; and also the law for grant-
ing provisionally the credit of five millions to the War
Department for 1847. It likewise promulgates the law
for fixing the budget of the Minister of Finance for
1847, at 12,892,020.
It is believed that the King will be obliged very shortly
to set out again for England.—Brussels Papers, Dec. 29.

FEMALE CURIOSITY.
A naval officer, who lately came to reside in Edin-
burgh, having engaged a large mansion on a short lease,
despatched his butler to receive his furniture, and have
the house put in order. The butler engaged a young
woman, residing in the neighbourhood, to clean out the
rooms and arrange part of the furniture ; and he assisted
her himself to carry up a large chest of rather singular
appearance. This gigantic box his master had purchased
as a curiosity ; but, unlike that described in the
song of the " Mistletoe Bough," it did not shut,
but opened with a spring attached to the lock,
which being touched, the lid flew open, and a tall
brawny Highlandman, in full costume, stood erect,
and struck eut his right arm, in which Was a
wooden sword, 'The gentleman purchami it u a
piece of' curious mechanism, and was wont to emus*
his children with it. "That's a heavy chest," said the
woman, as they placed it on the floor. " Yes," answered
the butler, who was a wag of the first water, There's
something heavy in it, certainly ; but there's something
mysterious about it also, for although the key hangs at
the end of it, not one of us is allowed to open it." " Did
you ever see the inside of it ? " replied she, walking
round it. "Never," said he. "It's as much as any of
our place is worth even to speak about it." So saying,
the knight of the corkscrew looked first at the woman,
then at the chest on the floor, and then retired slowly
down stairs, whistling, to work, on the ground fiat. The
girl proceeded to put things to rights in the room ,• but
every time she passed the chest she thought it looked the
more odd. " Frailty, thy name is woman !" She rapped
on the lid with her knuckles--it had a curious, hollow
sound—very! And none of the servants had dared to
open it! What on earth could it contain? Well, it
was none of her business; so she went diligently to
work for five minutes, at the end of which time she saw
herself standing, with her arms akimbo, gazing on the
chest. "It can do no harm to look into it," thought she;
so she quietly took the key from the nail and applied it
to the lock. Of course she heard footsteps on the stairs
—as every one will do when afraid of detection in the
commission of some act they wish to keep secret.
Again she regained confidence, and returned to the
chest ; she stooped, and turned the key. Up
flew the lid; and the wooden Highlandman, kilt,
and philabeg, sprung on his legs with more than
human agility, and fetched the petrified girl a sharp
wh:,ek across the shoulders with the flat of his " Andrea
Ferrara." A prolonged shriek, ending in a moan of de-
spair, indicated that the poor woman had sought relief
in a swoon. In the course of a few minutes the woman
rose on her elbow, looking wildly round the room, till het
eyes caught the Highlandman bending over her. Seeing
nothing but destruction awaiting her, two springs took
her to the door ; down stairs she went, nor did she
slacken her pace till she' found herself standing in the
house of a lady in the neighbourhood. The poor woman
did not recover from het fright for several days.
A 0 P---

N iCEAN _ ENNT POSTAGE.—It iS now some-
what extensively known that in America and on the
continent, schemes have been proposed, the object of
which is to bring letters from any inland town to anj
town on the sea-coast (or the charge of ono penny. Now
suppose this was carried, which it is sure ultimately to
be, is it not an imperative duty incumbent on the Eng-
lish nation to introduce throughout the whole world an
" Ocean Penny Postage ?" Thus, suppose a friend in
tho far west or America wishes to write to a friend in
Newcastle on-Tyne, England. He puts himself in pos-
session of three penny stamped envelopes. On the first
he writes the following. address :—James Green, book-
seller, Newcastle-on-lyre ; that is enclosed in another,
addressed James Green, England ; and that in another
addressed James Green, England, to be sent perlfirst mail
from Boston. Now here for three postage stamps the
letter will be conveyed from the centre of America to
Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and will also be prepaid.
The first envelope to be taken off at Boston, the second
at Liverpool, and the latter enclosed in the third,
wculd reach the owner in Newcastle. No other nation on
the face of the earth is capable of doing this ; some por-
tion of her immense navy might be profitably employed
for this purpose, and thus be the means not only of en-
riching herself, but of scattering the blessings of civili-
sation throughout the whole world. We pay sixpence
for the carriage of 64 lbs, of wheat from America to
England, and can we not, when we take into account the
immense increase there will be in correspondence con-
sequent on such a plan, carry letters from nation to nation
letters weighing only half an ounce, for one penny.—
Essex Herald.

anecdoteoccurred
inappropoiate to the season
" COME AND TRY MY
related to
village of B—. A worthy
the other day within 100 milesohr
asboitaonftththeeprereotftyislpitotsle
in .
sessed of a better half, whose personal proportions are
on a scale of magnitude very superior to those of her
spouse. Of this superiority the lady made too great use
tor the comfort at home of her meek an—
(lquiet partner,
who was thus driven to seek more peaceful society in
the comfortable parlour of the neighbouring tavern .
here he met many hearty good fellows, and on the event-
ful evening of our story mine host's excellent cheer so
f Lr overcome his natural shyness, that in the plenitude of
his valour he invited a boon companion to " come horn(
with me and try my tap," an offer, of course. too good to
be rejected at the time when " stout October" may be
looked fir ; and home accordingly they went. Ar-
rived at the house, " knock," says our hero, and his
friend knocked ; the door promptly flew open, and the
astonished guest was instantly saluted with a tremendous
whack on the head from the doubled fist of the lady or
the house. " There ! how do you like my tap ? that's
what I get every night !" laughed out the successful
practical joker. We regret to hear that the unfortunate
Victim has taken so strong a dislike to our friend'::,
" tap," that he cannot even bear to hear of it.--Lancas-
ter Gazette.

Lord John Russell arrived at his residence, Chorley.
wood, yesterday, front Wyburil Abbey, Bedfordshire,

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SO-
CIETY.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 28.
Lord , Colchester President in the chair.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT BLACKWALL.—Yesterday,
Mr. Baker held an inquest at the Shoulder of Mutton
and Pig, Blaekwall, on the body of Richard Webber,
aged 56 years, a cooper, residing at Blackwall-stairs,
who was killed by the falling of a wall on Wednesday
morning last. Alfred Green, a waterman, stated that
he was standing near Ashton's wharf, plying for hire,
when the deceased passed with his hands in his pockets.
On his arriving outside the wall of the wharf, it sud-
denly gave way and crushed the deceased under the
ruins. Witness immediately cleared the rubbish away
from the &ceased, who was found to be quite dead. A
large quantity of sand had been placed by Mr. Lungley,
the proprietor of the wharf, against the wall, a few
days previously, and there was no doubt that the
weight caused the wall to fall in. Verdict, " Accidental
death."

DurrEs or PROPERTY.—The Earl of Shannon
,mploys at present 400 labourers upon his estate at
Castlernartyr. lie has purchased a stock of Indian meal,
which is retailed to them at a shilling a stone less than
cost price. His Lordship has also caused to be dis-
tributed among his tenantry, to the number nearly of
500, two stone of flour each, and a piece of beef for a
Christmas dinner. At the same time Lady Shannon
devotes her attention to providing clothing for the poor,
and otherwise attending to their domestic comfort.—
OM Examiner.

IRE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY ENE

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 3l.—The Semarang, 26, survey-
ing vessel, Captain Sir Edward Belcher, arrived at Spit•
head late last night, from the East India station, whereon
she has been engaged surveying during the last four
years. Commander Graham Ogle, late of the Royalist,
came home acting as first lieutenant of the Semarang,
and will succeed Commander Brown as commander of
the St. Vincent shortly.
Sir Charles Ogle commences his series of grand enter-
tainments at the Admiralty House. on the evening of the
Bth of January.
The Comet steam-vessel, Lieutenant Commander John-
ston, was at Westport, Ireland, on the 28th instant, on
which day her marines and seamen were ordered to be
landed to protect the stores from a reported descent of
the population. The 26th being St. Stephen's day, many
" parishes" were expected to make a demonstration in
the town and on the Government stores at Westport-
quay. A troop of cavalry from Castlebar were on the
qui vice as well as the military in barracks, but happily
all passed off quiety. " Paddy is much grieved," rays
our informant, "because some of the merchants here will
not lower the price of the Indian meal."
The Rhadamanthus steam transport, Master Comman-
der Aylen, sailed yesterday with a cargo of Indian meal
for Clitden Manninhay, Galway; and Belmullet, Mayo;
half her cargo to be discharged at each place, to which
she is to proceed direct, and afterwards return to Ply-
mouth for further orders.

The Vengeance, 84, was paid advance yesterday.
The Scourge steam bomb-vessel, Commander Caffin,
was hauled alongside the dockyard yesterday to reship
her mortar, &c.

Lieutenant John Denis De Vitri (1781) died on the
29th inst., at Lancaster, in his 90th year. This gallant
veteran's commission, as lieutenant, bears date the 3d of
March, 1781; thus he had been nearly 66 years in that
rank when he died. He commanded the Biter gun brie,
and was wounded in the expedition to Ostend in 1798.
Ile was the oldest lieutenant upon the list, and was on
the pay of 7a. per diem. Lieutenant Robert John Hibbs
(1796 !) now becomes the senior lieutenant on the Navy
List.

PLymotrrn, DEC.3o.—AdEniral Sir Samuel Pym struck
his flag as Admiral Superintendent of her Majesty's
Dockyard, on Monday evening, on board her Majesty's
ship Caledonia, 120, Captain Manby H. Dixon; and Ad-
miral Sir John Louis, as Admiral PS m's successor, yes-
terday morning hoisted his flag, white, at the mizen, with
the accustomed salute.

Admiral Pym is gone to the eastward. On taking his
departure he was greeted by an assembly of all the of-
ficers of the dockyard.
11,T Majesty's frigate Thetis, 36, recently commis-
sioned at this port by Captain Codrington, was towed
yesterday by the Confiance steam tug from Barn Pool to
the Sound, where she saluted the flag of Port-Admiral
Sir John West. Iler salute was acknowledged by her
Majesty's ship Queen, 120, Captain Sir Henry J. Leeke,
The Thetis sailed this morning.

Mr. J.,lt. Lysaght was elected a member of the so-
ciety.
The paper read was the first portion of a very elabo-
rate " Essay on the Nile," by Dr. Beke.
The obscurity which has so long hung over the sources
of the Nile, is now in a great measure dissipated by the
trouble which Dr. Beke has taken to clear up the am-
biguities of conflicting statements, and to re-establish
facts long misunderstood. A careful sifting of the
writings of both ancient and modern travellers, in regard
to the sources of the Nile, together with his own intimate
acquaintance with the country, watered by a great num-
ber of the primitive tributaries of the great river, have
enabled him to unravel the entanglement which obscured
the subject, and to present us with a statement so clear
and satisfactory, as to leave little for further investiga-
tors but a corroboration of his views.

It is impossible for us to go into all the details of this
interesting paper, and we must therefore content our-
selves with a brief notice of the main points.
The doctor first ascends the Tikkasie, the Astaboras
of Ptolemy, and minutely describes its various affluents ;
after which, coining back to the Nile, he ascends it to the
junction of the Blue and White Rivers. Going up the
Bahr el Azrek or Blue River, he comes to a spot where
M. Cailliand speaks of the Hessenn as coming from the
south-east, which Dr. Beke proves to be the Abii of
Abyssinia ; and he at the same time shows that the
river described by M. Russegger as the upper course of
the Bahr el Azrek is, in fact the Dedb6sa, s ri.er which
was first made known by Dr. Beke, and which he now
identifies with the Takiii described by De Barros as the
great western arm of the Nile ; under which name the
Portuguese understood the Blue River, since the White
River, or Bahr el Abiadh, was entirely unknown to them.
After describing all the affluents of the Abai on both
sides, Dr. Beke notices a river, which has, of late years,
appeared in the maps, under the name of Habahia, and
which has been supposed by:some geographers to be either
the upper course of the Kilimaney (Quiliman4) or of the
Bahr el Abiadh, but which Dr. Beke shows clearly to
have no separate existence; it being, in fact, nothing
but the Abai of Abyssinia, called by the Genges Abbaya.
Dr. Beke next discusses the subject of the Maleg, a river
which was crossed by Fernandes in 1613, on his way to
Enarea, and shows that the route taken by the Je-uit
Missionary has been altogether misunderstood by Bruce.
Leving the Abai, the doctor next takes up the Dildh4.3a,
and enumerates its tributaries on both sides, as
he had done with the other two great rivers, the
Takkazie and the Abai. Having thus exhausted the
hydrographic basin of the Blue River, the author,
before commencing the particular investigation of
the course of the White River, enters into a compari-
son of the two great arms of the Nile, the White and
Blue Rivers, and after minutely examining the evidence
both ancient and modern on the subject, concluded in
these words :—" Thus, whether we consider the relative
magnitudes of the two rivers, the directions of their re-
spective beds, or the volume of their waters ; whether
we regard the opinions of the ancient geographers, or
those of modern travellers, or of natives acquainted with
both streams —for the evidence of such as only know one
is, of course, inadmissible—the result is the same. In
all and every of these points of view, the Bahr el Abiadh,
or White River, is the principal stream, and the Bahr el
Azrek, the subordinate or affluent."
This valuable paper will be concluded at the next
evening meeting.

AFFRAY WITH POACHERS.—On the night of Thurs-
day last, the gamekeepers and watchers at Ockeridge
Wood, in the parish of Holt, the property of Lord Ward,
hearing the report of a gun in the wood, went towards
the bottom of it, with a view of meeting the poachers
coming out. The gamekeeper's son (Mr. D. Rawlings)
moved off in another direction, but, not finding the
poachers, he went to the other side of the wood, and
heard another shot in a cover about a quarter of a mile
from Ockeridge Wood; after some considerable search,
he traced the parties in a direction towards the road ;
two men soon afterwards got over a stile, and as they
came up opposite to where he was hid, he observed that
one of them had a gun and a bludgeon ; this man he
immediately collared, and a struggle took place for the pos-
session of the gun. Rawlings was forced down on the
ground, but he would not loose the gun, and, succeeding
in regaining his feet, he renewed the fight, in which he
defended himself with his stick. The poachers at
length got him down again, and jumped on his stomach,
but once more gaining his feet, and making liberal use
of his stick, both the poachers ran away. Rawlings
gave chase to the one whom he supposed carried some
gam-, and when they came to a brook w hien the poacher
could not leap, the latter dropped three pheasants, and
pulling off his jacket, managed to outrun the keeper,
and got away. Rawlings knew this man to be James
Roberts, a labourer, of Gritnley, and the other, whom
he knew by sight, but not by name, proved to be Thomas
Milton, son of a schoolmaster, also residing at Grimley;
and on the following day (Christmas-day) Rawlings, in
company with a policeman, went to the house in which
Roberts lived, who, in the course of conversation, con-
fessed all the transactions in which he and Milton had
been engaged on the previous night. Information was
yesterday laid by Mr. Rawlings, before F. D. Hastings,
F. E. Williams, and J. G. Watkins, Esqs., at the county
petty sessions, who granted a warrant to apprehend the
parties on the charge of night poaching.— Worcester
Journal of yesterday.
EXPLOSION OF FIRE DAMP.—THREE MEN KILLED.
—lt is our painful duty to record another of those
fearful accidents which so frequently spread misery and
death amongst our mining population. It appears that
on the morning of Saturday, the 12th instant, the miners
employed at the Shankrey Muir limestone pit (belong-
ing to Messrs. A. and J. Baird, of Bedley Lime Works),
went down to the pit at the usual time. In consequence,
however, of their entertaining a suspicion that fire damp
bud accumulated in the workings, they delayed pro,::eed-
ing to their work until the arrival of the overseer, who
came down the shank about eight o'clock. On finding
the workmen congregated at the pit bottom, and learn-
ing the cause, he taunted them with cowardice, and told
them to follow him; upon which he and several of the
workmen, with naked lamps, proceeded into the sus-
pected workings, the consequence of which was a terrific
explosion, which destroyed the lives of the overseer
and two of his companions, severely scorched other
three, and by its force tore a part of the pit-head frame
from its fastenings, and threw it to a considerable dis-
tance. It is said that the pit had not previously been
much disturbed by fire damp, but, on the day before the
accident, part of the workings had blasted, by which a
man was burned, which gave rise to the fears of the
workmen.—Airdrie Advertiser.