The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-24 00:00:00

PRICE 4D. STAMPED. SP.

2'.11E PRES.

left the order to General Sistori never to fire firs
on the Neapolitan steamers which come so fre
quently beneath the Garibaldian batteries, not
merely within cannon but even within musket
shot ; of his having sent troops along the Sicilian
shore opposite to Reggio, in order to keep the
attention of the enemy constantly fixed here; of
his never having removed his head-quarters either
from Messina or from the Faro—the better to con-
ceal his departure from the Neapolitans--a depar-
ture so well concealed, indeed, that those only who
accompanied him have been aware of it;
the more effectually to lull suspicion, his head-
quarters have been changed almost every day from
Messina to the Faro, from the Faro to the City of
Aberdeen steamer, and then back to the Faro
aglin, and then again, not to the City of Aberdeen,
but to the Washington. We shall see whether I
am mistaken in my conjectures; but in any case
I think you will admit that they have not been
wholly without foundation. Should they prove
correct, I cannot define where the Neapolitan army
is to take refuge, and I should not be surprised if
it were compelled to surrender at discretion. We
may now look for one of those great military strokes
peculiar to Garibaldi, of those strokes which he
alone is able to perform.
A letter reached this yesterday (I read it myself)
written by a young officer of the Guides, who ac-
companied the expedition to Calabria under Major
Missoll. He writes from St. Angelo, a small town
near Villa San Giovanni, above Foi Scylla, under
date of the 11th. He says that the expedition
against Fort Alta Fiumana failed owing to the
fault of a. certain Cilabrian, called Mussoline. This
Mussolino represented himself to Garibaldi as a
man remarkably well acquainted with Calabria
and capable of guiding any expedition sent in that I
quarter. Garibaldi, who always takes the most
favourable view of men and things, believed bim,
and confided to him the direction of the expedition.
It results from the office.'s letter that Mussolino,
besides displaying an utter ignorance of the locali-
ties, gave unequivocal proofs of cowardice; for as
soon as his men were fired on by the Neapolitan
patrol, he refused to lead the gallant fellows against
the fort. They were not acquainted with the roads,
and it was night. Mussolino led them in the
direction of the mountains 'where they are at pre-
sent. Twenty-eeven of the men are missing, for
they had to go—not by regular roads, but across
ditches and through thickets, and by- spots, seldom
trodden by human foot. In a skirmish which they
have subsequently bad, two have been killed and
three wounded. In the place where they are at
present they are in safety ; for the royal troops,
though possessing the power, have not, it would
seem, the slightest inclination to attack them. Up
to the 11th inst. 200 Calabrians had joined them,
but on that evening, and on the following morning,
they expected a reinforcement of two columns,
which they knew to be already in full march. The
writer adds that there had been a little excitement
amongst the officers, from the general and very
natural wish that the command should be
taken from Mussolino and transferred to Mis-
sori, which there is no doubt will be done.
They are ell in excellent health, and hope to be
soou united with the rest of the army ; for, as soon
as they shall have brought together a corps of suf-
ficient strength, they will assume the offensive.
The poor fellows must have suffered a good deal.
Almost all of them left without their baggage and
without their greatcoats, in order to execute with
greater freedom the movements requisite for the
occupation of the fort. Now, though the days here
are frightfully hot, the nights (particularly the
latter portion of them, immediately before dawn)
are cold enough ; and it must be much worse on the
mountains, where they are at present, which are
never free from mists ; and thus, in addition to the
damp cold, there is the consequent unhealthiness of
all misty regions in Southern Italy. The same
causes come into operation on this side of the straits,
here at the Faro ; for several of the soldiers suffer
from fever, and also from rheumatism in the shoul•
ders and legs; but in the daytime the heat here is
tremendous. This morning, in returning to the
city from the Faro, I shared the carriage with two
gentlemen who have long resided in Egypt, and
they assured me that the heat hers is occasionally
far more troublesome than that felt in Alexandria,
because here there blows now and then a peculiar
wind which burns the countenance, as if you had
steeped a sponge in spirits of w;ne, set fire to it,
and held it close to your face.
It is an inexplicable mystery to me how these
young soldiers can sleep so unconcernedly during
the day on the sand, which, even as you walk over
it, burns your foot—nay, that they can even sleep
soundly beneath the fiery darts of the sun at full
mid-day without any covering. A marvellous
change has been wrought in their appearance; they
are no longer the elegant and perfumed youths who
were wont to lounge in the Corzo of Milan, the
Corzo of Rome, the Contrada and Portici of the .
t Turin, the Piazza Carlo Felice of Genoa, the Via
Calzaioli, the Café Doney of Florence, and the
Square of St. Mark's at Venice. A red or blue
blouse, or rather a blouse which had once been
red or blue, supplies the place of their former
elegantly-cut coats. Thick hob-nailed shoes have
come in lieu of the bright polished boots;
large pantaloons of brown holland, ani a

there came an individual to bid farewell to the
bishop. When the other passengers, who knew
that he was a bishop, saw this Messinese, before
leaving the ship, kneel down and kiss the bishop's
hand, they all—Frenchmen, Englishmen, and
Turks—broke forth into a chorus of hisses, followed
by remarks far from complimentary to the Ultra-
montane prelate. The bishop preserved the most
imperturbable gravity.
Last night, at hal f-past eight, the ca-inon of Fort
Torre Cavallo suddenly began a series of discharges,
in which some Neapolitan gunboats, as well as the
royal frigates, joined. This cannonading lasted
fully two hours, and no one—it was in our imme-
el:ate neighbourhood—could discover the cause. At
first it was supposed that they were firing from the
fort on the Faro, for one heard the whistling of
the cannon balls in that direction; but, then, how
was it possible to suppose an attack necessarily so
unsatisfactory and inconclusive? After the first
shots, the firing deviated towards the right. The
army was already under arms; the gunners, with
lighted matches, were awaiting the signal to fire,
both on Fort Scylla and on several steamers, which
were seen moving backwards and forwards near the
Sicilian shore. All were in a state of extreme anxiety.
Some thought that Missori's band, reinforced by
the Calabrians, had attacked the Neapolitans in
the rear ; but this idea was abandoned almost as
soon as it was con-eived, the firing being in the
direction or the sea. No fresh expeditions for the
purpose of landing in Calabria had started from the
harbour. -What, then, did it all mean? An hour
after the firing, four men came swimming up tothe
Sicilian coast, and the story which they told fur-
nished a clue to the mysterious discharges. A bark
laden with ammunition, coming from Malta, was,
in consequence of the calm, being towed along
by another little boat with rowers. The cur-
rent, which runs constantly in the straits, had
drawn it beneath the fort. It was observed
and hailed by a Neapolitan gunboat, and
as the owner of the bark made no reply, they
fired into it. On the very first shot the crew left
the barque to its fate, and jumped into the sea in
order to save their lives by swimming. They were
12 in all ; four have swam ashore here, and it is
supposed that all the others have reached the oppo-
site coast. The Neapolitans for two hours kept
firing on the empty be-que, which remained tossing
to and fro on the waves, and from which, of course,
no reply was made to the successive summonses
addressed to it. After an hour and a half, in which
two gun-boats and the fort had not succeeded in
sinking this wretched craft, it was finally sunk
by a Neapolitan steamer which came up and
joined in the attack. Not completely sunk after
all! for a part is still sticking out of the water as if
for the pure purpose of spiteing and taunting his
Neapolitan Majesty's military and naval gunners
—the real fact being that there was not water suffi-
ciently deep at the place. The barque was laden
with ammunition bought for the national guard
now organising in Calabria. I will make any bet
that the Neapolitan Government has already tele-
graphed to every Court in Europe that a fresh
attaek has been repulsed, and that its ships and
forts have succeeded in capturing a most valuable
prey ! It will take very good care not to say that
[this insignificant barque was left wholly unde-
fended, and that 100 shots were fired before it could
be sunk. The Neapolitan marine would have
gained more laurels had it allowed the boat to get
off rather'than have disposed of it in such a bung-
ling way.
There have arrived here 17 infantry officers, all
of whom have abandoned the Neapolitan army.
They come chiefly from Reggie, and with them
some who were at Palermo. Some of the Cala-
brian soldiers who formed part of the garrison here,
at the moment of hearing that we were to pass
into Calabria, have deserted, and they say that all
the Calabrians will desert as soon as Garibaldi shall
have landed in Calabria. But Garibaldi and the
whole army are accustomed not to count any longer
on promises of native re'volutions and of native
help. They who have cried most loudly, " Come
over and help us," have shown neither inclination
nor readiness to help themselves. The disenchant-
ment in the Sicilian expedition has been too com-
plete.
Another Sardinian frigate, the Victor Emmanuel,
has arrived in this harbour, so that at present there
are two.
By twos and threes our convalescent- volunteers
now return from the hospitals, and the days of their
returning are days of rejoicing for their friends, who
seem to go out of their senses with delight. I saw
the arrival of one who belonged to the Genoese
Carabineers. His comrades fairly made a rush at
him—they hugged him, they kissed him, they
stroked his head, they patted and played with his
hands—in short, they nearly knocked him over
with caresses after he had just been able to get up
from his wounds. The good feeling and sympathy
diffused amongst all the volunteers are indescrib-
able. The rivalry between the different corps
which is found in all armies appears here to have
no existence. They feel themselves to be, and they
really are, all on an equal footing. They consider
themselves as members of the same military family,
all united by a common love and reverence to their
" father," Garibaldi.
Po

A QUAKER'S WIT.—Mr. Dillwyn's son told me
that his father in his younger days was in a stage coach
with a party of military officers. One of them, a pert,
effeminate young dandy; under'•)ok to quiz the plain Qua-
ker, and, after some indifferent jokes, asked him at an inn
whtre they stopped to hold his sword for a minute, sup-
posing he would consider it an abomination to touch it.
Mr. Dillwyn, however, eyeing the young man from head
to foot, said, " As I believe from thy appearance it has
never shed blood, and is not in the least likely to do so, I
have not the smallest objection."—Lesties AulobiographY•

'II' TO THE
GREAT EASTERN.

(From the Baltimore American.)
The speciality of the Great Eastern yesterday
was the visit of the President and suite. The num-
ber of visitors was large, but the better arrange-
ments enforced prevented a recurrence of the
troubles of the previous day, and beyond the heat,
crowd, inconveniences, and delays always incident
to the transportation of large bodies of people, the
visitors had no cause for complaint. The ship was
constantly thronged from an early hour in the
morning until late in the evening, whilst the fre-
qi,ently recurring arrival and departure of steamers,
the gaily-decked steam and other boats passing
around the great ship, thronged with excursionists,
made the scene in the vicinity one of great anima-
tion.

The President and suite left Washington at a
quarter past 7 o'clock a.m., in a special train pro-
vided for their use. Mr. Buchanan was accompanied
by Miss Lane, Private Secretary Buchanan, Secre-
tary Toucey, Mrs. 0. Taylor, Capt. Lee and wife,
Mr. Riggs (banker) and daughters, Major AleNan-
der and daughter, Commissioner Blake, Col. John-
son (paymaster) and wire, Mr. M'Craw and Mr.
Browne, of the Washington Constitution. At the
Annapolis Junction, J. W. Garrett, president of the
road, and W. P. Smith, master of transportation,
received the President. On arriving at Annapolis,
Mr. Buchanan and his company immediately pro-
ceeded to the Naval Academy, where the President
was received with the usual salute and other
military honours. Halting here for a short time,
the official party, enlarged by the addition of
a number of naval officers, embarked on board the
Government despatch steamer Anacostia, and were
conveyed to the Great Eastern. As the Anacostia
neared the steamship the British ensign was dis-
played from the peak, the American national colours
set, and a salute of 21 guns fired from the heavy
cannon of the- Great Eastern.

The scene presented at this time was one seldom
surpassed in beauty and interest. The Great East-
ern, the centre of the picture, with her flags stream-
ing in the fresh wind, her deck thronged with
people, and the alternate belching forth from either
side of a jet of vivid flame and smoke, out of which
followed the heavy booming roar of her artillery,
presented a grand sight to the passengers on board
the steamers Lancaster and Louisiana, which laid in
the vicinity.
The President was received at the gangway by
Captain Hall and the other sunerior officers of the
ship, and on his reaching thendeck of the ship he
was received with some hear ty cheers. The recep-
tion on the part of the officers of the Great Eastern
was very courteous end hospitable, but not marked
by any formality. There was no speech-making on
either side, and after a brief rest the President im-
mediately commenced an inspection of the ship.
Accompanied by Captain Hall, and followed by a
miscellaneous gathering of visitors, he passed
through all the prominent parts of the ship, listen-
ing to the explanations given, and apparently much
interested in the mechanical wonders of the great
ship. The tour ended with the grand saloon. Re-
turoing to the deck the Pr:sident made himself at
home by conversing with pretty nearly everybody
who chose to aspire to that honour. .
Over two hours were spent by the President on
the vessel,and on leaving the great guns again roared
forth their thunders, and were replied to by the
light battery of the Anacostia, with a diminutive
popping that was almost lost in the louder reverbe-
rations of the monsters heavy metal. The visit of
the President appeared to be mutually agreeable.
Buchanan was in fine spirits, lively, chatty, and
agreeable, and profuse in his admiration of the great
ship, and in expressing the pleasure he had gathered
from the visit. Captain Hail and the officers of the
Great Eastern seemed to be greatly gratified with
the ',sit, and were indefatigable in the exercise of
every possible courtesy which might tend to testify

their respect.
The President returned to the Naval School,
where he was again officially received, and after
spending a short time there, visited the State
House. He returned to Washington in the train
which left Annapolis at half-past six o'clock p.m.