The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-02 00:00:00

RUSSIA.

The following letter is dated St. Petersburg,
Jan. 22 :—" The Emperor, in consequence of the
intense cold, would not suffer his troops to assist
At the religious ceremony of the blessing of the
waters of the Neva. This is the first occasion on
which the troops were not present. During the
reigns of Alexander 1. and Nicholas the troops were
always present, no matter how severe the cold. It
frequently happened that the office! s, who were not
permitted to wear great coats, were forced to take
to their bed on returning to barracks, and several
severe accidents have occurred. The present Em-
peror is much more careful of the health and lives of
his troops. The winter is becoming terrible; we
have 25 degrees Reaumur below freezing point. At
Moscow the quicksilver has fallen to 34 degrees.
Such extreme cold has not been experienced for the
last five years. Our financial position is deplorable,
notwithstanding the assertion of certain organs who
have more respect for the censors than for truth.
The best commercial paper in Moscow cannot find
discounters even at 12 per cent. You may recollect
that reports were current here some weeks since
that the Russian Mission at Pekin had been treated
with indignity by the Chinese, and that these re-
ports were officially contradicted. The truth was
not, however, told, alai the censors moreover pre-
vented the publication of some curious details.
The facts are, that previous to the affair
of the Peiho the Chinese authorities were most
polite to the members of the Russian Mission.
The Mandarins and other exalted functionaries paid
them ceremonious visits at the Mission, a large
building surrounded by gardens, which are entered
by a multitude of doors, and the Chinese believed
st
that their good friends the ltussians would
Whentlesl
them against the barbarians of the West.
ktlaieowchnecakt exppeekriine,naceeedembypatltileieda I
Chinesee t
exag-
gerated statements, the conduct of t
A crowd of police
au-
thorities became quite changed.
take d
hliyodtinhienval force was
left
despatches
re-
ceived tahgeezhttesmweassofpalalicewdhroouernidterthede gthaerdmenissstioon;the oeowlan.
la
were in a lazaretto. Such was
sespienco was, that even
.the servants quitted the
their position at th
isolated,M issi o
asanifdthtehyee
autses
ofnsthweelraest
from Pekin."

ACCIDENTBnon ivofooAnrTdaaydayor
tw two back,
bAaTe
,Aaß ABERDEEN.—The :Ds
jEdEe:b---ieTniluelawheeraotfht:
morning at Aberdeen being far less violent
tha
white fishers went to sea, and pursued their work success-
fully till about midday, when they prepared to enter the
harbour again. Suddenly, however, a gale sprang up, and
p
just as the boats were entering the bar they were met with
what is known among the fishers as a " fresh water lump,"
and
ruonneateolfy,
L a the e
o boatsalar boatw crewas
pretty of
six
n ewara,sand swamped.
allo
fishurs, with the exception of an elderly man named Alex-
ander Walker, were saved. It was impossible, however,
to save Walker, and the grief for his I,,ss was augmented
in an hour afterwards when another b‘.iit, in making for
the harbour, suddenly capsized, and her crew, six in num-
ber, were pitched into the sea. The scene at thin time on
the pier was most lamentable. The " Square" wheie the
fishers reside close neighbours to each other, is within 200
or 300 yards of the harbour entrance, and the whole of the
families of the various crews were congregated in hundreds
on the pier, shrieking and weeping for the safety of fathers,
husbands, and sons. happily, the lifeboat was at the bar
when the second accident occurred, for had not this been
the case not a soul could have been saved. As it was, only
four of the six poor men could be rescued—the two drowned
being Robert Walker, a son of the old man who perished
from the first boat, and George Forbes. All the unfortu-
nate fellows were married, and have left families. It may
be mentioned that, with rare exceptions, few of the fisher-
men on the Scottish North-Eastern coast can swim.

PROVIDENT CLE.
ASSURANCE

ZKS' MUTUAL LIFE
ASSOCIATION.

Established 1810. .
TRUSTEES.
Thomas Baring, Esq., M.P. William George Prescott, Esq.
I Thomson Hankey, Esq., 31. P. Baron L. de Rothschild, 31.1.
'MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE FOR ALL CLASSES•ro
Annual income
Invested Fund
Rifle Corps.—No extra charge made to Assurers joining
Volunteer Corps.
The balance-sheets for the year 1859 are printed, and can
be had on application at the office, 15, Moorgate-street, E.C.
Feb. 2, IFGO. W3I. T 110 S. LINFORD.

R YA I,

14INGLISH OPERA,
COVENT-GARDEN.
Under the management of Miss L. Pyne and Mr.W. Harrison.
THIS EVENING, a new Operetta, entitled ROMANCE.
Music by Henry Leslie. Messrs. G. Honey and W. Harrison;
Miss Thirlwall and Miss Louisa Pyne.
Condactor, Alfred Mellon.
To conclude with the new grand pantomime, called PUSS
El BOOTS ; or, Harlequin and the Fairy of the Golden
Palms. Messrs. W. H. l'ayne, H. Payne, F. Payne, Barnes,
Tallien, Infants Lauri, and Miss Clara Morgan.
Doers open at halt-past 6—Commence at 7.

THEATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Lessee, Mr. J. B. Bnekstone.
THE LOVE CHASE. Constance, Miss Amy Sed,c,rwick.
After which, the new Haymarket ComieChristmas Panto-
mime, VALENTINE'S DAY; or, Harlequin and the Fairy
of the True Lovers' Knot. The pantomimists the unrivalled
I.eelereqs.

THEATRE-ROYAL LYCEUM.-
Sole Lessee and Directress, Madame Celeste.

Last Nights of the Spanish Dancer, Isabel Cubas,

TIFLIS EVENING, a new Drama, called A TALE OF
TWO CITIES, by Tom Taylor, Esq., from the story of that
name by Charles Dickens, Esq. Principal characters by Mr.
James Viningr, Walter Lacy, Villiers, Rouse, Forrester, J.
Johnstone, T. Lyon, Morton, l'almer, White, 11. Butler,
Clifford, and Fredericks ; Misses Kate Saville, Stuart, Turner,
Mrs. Campbell, and Madame Celeste.
After which, will be produced a new Grand Christmas Ex-
trava.zanza and Pantomime, KING THRUSIIBEA.RD, the
LITTLE PET and the GREAT PASSION. Clown, Mr. H.
Marshall—Columbine, Miss Rosin°.