The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-22 00:00:00

THE EXPEDITION TO CALABRIA.

We are indebted for the following communica-
tion to a gentleman who has repaired to Sicily for
the purpose of offering his valuable medical ser-
vices in aid of General Garibaldi's volunteers—
services which, as results from the tenor of the
letter, have been at once accepted by the Italian
Liberator:--

"Palazzo Reale, Messina, Aug..l2, 1860.
" I arrived here on the Bth inst., at six p.m. All
the hotels being crowded the authorities accommo-
dated me in the Palazzo de la Cita. This town,
like Palermo, bears the aspect of a camp. There
are rejoicings and hopes, but they are damped to
some extent by the Neapolitan occupation of the
citadel. People have no doubt here that Garibaldi
will have all his own way. They have such con-
fidence in his wisdom and omnipotence that if he
should lose a battle it would be very hard to make
them believe otherwise than that he did it inten-
tionally, for some wise ulterior object. If he did
miraculous thine's with 800 volunteers, what can
he not do with from 30,000 to 40,000 men, with
Sicily in his possession, and the whole of Europe
applauding and rejoicing in his progress. The
general impatient cry is, Avanti !'
" The evening of my arrival I was told that the
Dictator was at the Faro, two hours' ride from this,
where he has gone to embark at the head of the
expedition to Calabria. Being anxious to lose no
time I ran about in search of a cab to go to his
head-quarters ; but to obtain a cab, or anything else
you want, was altogether out of the question. I
obtained one only by the aid of two guards with
bayonets, sent by the authorities for the purpose.
I arrived at the Faro at one dclock in the morning,
and presented myself to the general, who was on
board the steam-ship Aberdeen, surrounded by his
staff. He received me very kindly—l may say
affectionately. ' I heard about you,' said he, and
am very much obliged to you, and am very thank-
ful to the kind English ladies who take such an
interest in our cause.' Whilst he was reading the
letter of introduction, I could Rot help putting my
lenses at the proper focus to scrutinise that hero of
modern history. His portrait in the Illustrated
London News is very correct. He is as gentle as a
dove, and has a mild, placid countenance. He has
rather the gentleness of a woman than the ferocity
of a soldier. He commands in an under tone, and,
when everybody round him is full of anxiety, he is
as cool as a cucumber. His dress is simply a red
flannel shirt rather the worse for the wear, a pair
of grey trousers, and a black wide-awakei beauti-
ful sword; no coat or blouse. He introduced me
to Medici, who was with him at the time, and to
some other officers of his staff. He asked me to
come on board ship with him. I left for Messina
the same instant, to take my luggage, and returned
to his head-quarters at five o'clock in the morning.
" The whole forenoon was spent in embarking an
army of about 5,000 men upon three steamers, but
in the afternoon he gave orders to land them again.
In the evening they went all upon small boats
and advanced towards Calabria, but he gave them
orders to return. Last night and the night
before last they advanced again. Fire opened
upon them from the fort of Calabria and from
six Neapolitan steamers, but our artillery did not
answer ; they returned again to the Faro. There
is no doubt he knows what he is about—it may
be a manceuvre (who knows where he wishes to
land P)—but of one thing I can assure you, that
the anxiety of our volunteers to land on the con-
tinent is indescribable. Now they are more re-
conciled to the manoeuvre ; but the first day, when
they were told to go again ashore, the dissatisfac-
tion was audible. Some said there was a three
days' armistice ; others that he received a tele-
graphic despatch of some negotiations ; but they
all looked very sad indeed. It was quite a pitiful
aspect. Every one of them dreams of his entry
into Naples, Rome, and ultimately into Venice ;
and that strong faith in the heart of the nation
enables these noble fellows to suffer fatigue,
hunger, and all the miseries of camp life, without
complaint or murmuring, but full of hope, and
cheerful in the discharge of their duty. Being the
Surgeon Dello Stato Maggiore of Gen. Garibaldi,
and having subsequently nearly died of hunger and
fatigue (!) at that miserable village, I came into
town to enjoy some hours' repose in the Royal
Palace. I shall try to serve the wounded patriots
as much as will lie in my power.
" As I do not know how soon we may leave, and
when I may have another opportunity of writing
to you, perhaps not before we arrive at Naples, I
send you these few lines.
" P,S,—A report was spread here that, last

evening, an attempt to land at Calabria was made,
and proved abortive, because the boatmen refused
to proceed, not being able to stand the fire ; but 1
was assured by the commander of the embarkation
that the whole affair was merely to harass the
enemy, to keep them awake the whole night, with-
out any intention on the general's part to' make an
attempt to land. We shall see in the course of this
week. He must do something within two or three
days.

" AUGUST 13.

" P.S.—Nothing was done last night. Gari-
baldi's son arrived here two days ago with 1,800
excellent fellows. The Veloce arrived here last
evening with troops, and left this morning."