The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-20 00:00:00

GENERAL BEM.

How far Bern was capable of handling a great
army, and conducting extensive and combined
manoeuvres, was a question on which he himself was
by no means confident. On some one saying
how desirable it was that the Government would
intrust him with the chief command of the
Hungarian army, he observed—" No ! no !
A great army and skilful manceuvring, that Dem-
binski's affair. Give me 10,000 men who will never
turn back, and plenty of guns—that is what I like."
We may add that Bern always spoke of Dembinski
with the greatest admiration, and gladly acknow-
ledged his superior qualities us a general. We are
sorry to see that some Hungarians, influenced
perhaps, in part, by jealousy of foreigners, but pro-
bably more by that vulgar prejudice which recog-
nises merit only in succees, have been led to speak of
this gallant soldier and noble-minded man in terms
injurious to him, and anything hut honourable to
themselves. In private Bern was retired in his
manner end habits, silent in company, and re-
served in his communications, even to those nearest to
him. To one of his staff, who inquired what was to
be done the next day, Bern answered—" Can you
keep a secret ?" " Yes." " Ah, so can I." The
cleverest spy could never make out any of his move-
ments. Every morning the troops were paraded in
marching order, and orders were then first given
out. Sometimes they were to march straight to
the field of battle; at others sent back to their quar-
ters, without any one being able to guess, before-
hand, what would happen. Bem would overlook many
faults in favour of a fighting man, but he never par-
doned an officer who retreated, unless he contested
every inch of the way. No one near him dared speak
of the possibility of retreating. His own courage
seemed to consist in an absolute unconsciousness of
danger; and he was often vexed and disappointed
to find that all men had not the same feeling. To
prisoners Bern was humane in the highest degree.
Every Austrian officer was generously treated who
fell into his hands. Bern, although shy and reserved,
was the most gallant of men in his deference to
females. Lady Horatio Weston, the wife of an Eng-
lishman in the Austrian service, had been placed by
her husband, for safety, in the fortress of Karlsburgb,
and on the retreat of the Austrians from Kronstadt,
of course he had followed the army, while she was
left behind. At Captain Weston's request, Mr. Col-
quhoun, our Consul General at Bucharest, sent his ser-
vant with a letter to request Bern to allow him to
enter Karlsburgh and bring Lady Horatio away.
Bem not only complied, but sent up his own car-
riage, paid her every attention in his power,
and appointed an officer of hussars, Baron losika,
to escort her to the frontier. To the widow of the Aus-
trian Major, St. Quentin, who was in Klausenburg.
Bern not only gave passports to enable her to leave
the country, but requested her to make use of his
purse to any extent she may require. To the widow
of Count Mides his letter of condolence was a most
beautiful and touching proof of his kindness of heart,
and delicacy of feeling.—British Quarterty Review.

LOVE, MURDER, AND SUICIDE.
A most extraordinary circumstance occurred re-
cently at the theatre at Oran, in Algeria. Duilog
the performance of the second act of the Vie de Café
the report of firearms was heard in a box on the
highest tiers, and at the same moment frightful shrieks
were uttered by a young woman who was seen to fall
to the ground. The audience shouted "Murder,
murder," and frightful confusion arose. Some persons
hastened to the box, but they found the door fas-
tehed, and while they were attempting to break it
open a man, wearing the uniform of an officer of the
Chasseurs d'Afrique, put his leg over the front of the
box as if to throw himself into the pit. He would have
succeeded in the design if a soldier of the 11th Regi-
ment had not, at the risk of his life, clambered
from the gallery and seized him. The officer
struggled violently and succeeded in getting the
greater part of his person over the box, in doing
which part of his clothes were torn from his back;
at last the soldier only held him by the foot, and by
a violent effort the unfortunate man broke from his
grasp and fell heavily into the orchestrr. The
audience shrieked with dismay, and some persons
hastened to remove the man to the stage. He
had still a pistol in his hand, and cried, " For the
love of God—for pity's sake do not take that pistol
from me. I belong to an honourable family, and let
the save it from dishonour." As he was not much
injured he was ordered to the police office ; but after
proceeding some distance he broke away from the
gendarmies and got clear off. He attempted more
than once to drown himself, but not succeeding went
to the lodgings of a brother officer at Oran, wrote
a long letter to his family, and then discharged
a pistol in his heart. The young woman whom
he attempted to kill was only slightly wounded
by the ball of the pistol, but was a good
deal injured by his having beaten her after
also fell with the pummel of his sword. Neverthe-
less, her state excited no serious disquietude. She is
an actress, had lately belohged to the theatre of 'SIAS.'
taganem, and had been inistrese of the officer, but hail
excited his furious jealousy by abandoning him for
another. On the evening in question she had gone
to the theatre with a female servant and a little child.
The officer had gone up to her box, and sent away
the servant and the child, end after reproaching her

for her conduct endeavoured to murder in the manner
described.

ECLIPSES TO COME.--According to the tables of
the Observatory, we shall have twenty-three eclipses of
the sun in the course of the second half of the nine-
teenth century, as follows:-1851, en the 28th July;
1858, on the 15th March; 1860, on the 18th July; 1861,
on the 31st December; 1863, on the 17th May; 1865,
en the 19th October; 1866, on the 6th March; 1867, on
the Bth Octater; 1868 on the 23d February; 1870, on
the 22,1 December; 1873, on the 26th May; 1874, on
the 10th October; 1875, on the '29th December; 1879,
on the 19th July; 1880, on the 30'h December; 1882,
the 17th May; 1887, on the 19th August; 1890, on the
17th June; 1891, on the 6th June; 1895, on the 2Gth
March; 1695, on the 9th August; 1899, on the Bth
June; 19(10, on the 28th May.—La
How THE ARABS TAKE THE ITYANA.—The
Paris Constitutionnel gives the following account of the
manner in which the Arabs hunt the byama, and of
the intrepedity they display in that dangerous sport,
us related in a letter:—" A few days since, the com-
mandant of a battalion of Turcos (native soldiers)
was informed that a female Hyaena had been seen
in the mighbourhood of Mostaganem, near M3zigran,
and that she had taken refuge in a cave about
one hundred yards in denpth. Orders were immedi-
ately given to carefully guard the entrance to the cave.
Two Turcoa, provided with a simple cord and a small
chain, went into the cave without weapons, and
merely carrying a candle, and, in about halt an hour,
to the great astonishment of the spectators, an enor-
mous hyana appeared muitzled, and allowing
itself to be led along with the docility of a sheep.
According to the account given by the Arabs.
the animal, dazzled by the light of the candle, allows
itseif to be handled and caressed like a young dog, and
during this time the hunter takes care to muzzle it, and
thus prevent the possibility of its doing any mischief:
Two soldiers were, however, two days since seriously
wounded by one of these animals, which suddenly re-
sumed its ferocity, and, after biting through the mer.fee,
took to flight, alter knocking down its two assailants.
It is impossible for anything to equal the courage and
temerity shown by the natives in these sports."
A new form of post-ofice money-order and
advice will be brought into use in all the money-order
offices in April next in the country. Tho new orders
and advices will be of a different shape from the
ones in present use, and the printing on which will
be red. The order before issued will be at-
tached to the advice, and will bear the same
printed number. When issued the former will
be torn from the latter and given to the remitter, and
the latter will be filled in and sent on to the Postmaster
who will have to pay the order. The great advantages
of this plan will be that before an order can be paid,
a postmaster must have the identical advice which
was joined to it before it was issued, because the
counterparts and printed numbers of both advice
and order must agree. As, therefore, the issuing
postmaster will not bo able to use an advice in-
discriminately for any order; and as at the end of the
day ho will have the precise number of separate advices
as of orders he has issued, he cannot possibly forget to
write an advice for every order he grants, and as the
same numbers are printed on the order and advice they
must always correspond. Postmasters forgetting to
write advices, and the number of orders and advices

not corresponding have hitherto been two very fruitful
sources of error, and of consequent inconvenience to the
public.

DEATH /ROM THE BITE OF A MONKEY.— On Sa-
turday last an inquest took place at the Grey M•re Inn,
Whitworth-road, Rochdale, on the body of a child, the eon
of Mr. Gaskell, the landlord of the above house. It appeared
that Mr. Gaskell had purchased a monkey for 18s., and not
anticipating any danger from permitting the animal to remain
in the house, sufficient caution was not exercised, untili a
serious disaster happened. The monkey, quite unex
made a sudden spring, and alighting on the head of the child
bit it so severely that, notwithstanding the utmost attention
pectedy,
of a medical man, the child died from the wound. A verdict
of accidental death was returned. The monkey h
iet
has since
been destroyed.
MONEY MARKET—The quotation of
about 3 per mine discount, which, at the English Mint
anvgold ati'ar_iisicies
of 17s. 141. per ounce for standard gold, ;
ex-
change of 25 10; and the exchange at Pairs o Paris
per centendon at
short being 25.02, it follows that gold
dearer in Paris than in London. BY ady'es from 11 am-
blind' the price of gold is 425:12. per mark, which,
at the Eng-
lish Mint price of 3/. 17s. per ounce for standard gold,
gives an exchange of 13.51; and the exchange at Ham
it follaws that gold
burgh on London at short tieing I
is 0.47 per cent. dearer in London than in Hamburgh.
The course of exchange at New
cent., and
on London for bills at
and the par of exchange
60 days' sight is 110 per c
103 23-40 per cent.,
between England and Americaen being
it follows that the exchangefr is nominally 0.42 per cent. in
after making allowance for differ-
encebut,lra
es
favour of England; of trausport, the present rate
of interest and ch,
leaves no profit on the importationg of gold from the United
States.
QUESTION AN ANSWER. bat is a public
im-
post?
t Why, in certain cases, Ike the
.1 come- t. ax, it is not
going
too far to call such a public impost a public imposture!
—.Punch.