The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-13 00:00:00

LATEST NEWS.

• iVIENNA, WEDNESD A Y ETEN
It liar been definitively settled that Prussia

shall be admitted to the 'conferences.

BERLIN, 3.d.A.Ren 12.

Prussia has been invited, in the name of the
Congress, and for reasons of European interest, to
send representatives to the Paris conferences, and
she will accept the invitation.

Prince Gortsobakoff goes to St. Petersburg, to

take part in the deliberations relative to the diplo-
matic; attitude to be assumed by Russia after the

conclusion of peace.
M. do Titoff, the Russian ambassador at Stud•
gardt, has been summoned to St. Petersburg for
the same purpose.

The Military Tribunal has been charged with
the examination into the duel of M. de Hinckeldy.
M. de Rochow, who had been arrested, has been
set at liberty on giving bail for his appearance if
required.

MADRID, MARCH 11.

The Cortes yesterday adopted the first six
articles of the municipal bill. The discussion on
the budget of receipts will commence to-morrow.
The Gazette publishes the newly reformed tariff%

THE ARMISTICE IN THE CRIMEA.
CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, FEB. 28.
This morning brought us news of the conclusion
of an armistice. The Russians had it first, by tele-
graph from St. Petersburg. At 8 a.m. a boat, bear-
ing a flag of truce, put off from the north side, and
was met half-way across the harbour by one from
the French. The Russians brought a communica-
tion of the armistice from Gen. Luders, and the
mail from Constantinople, which arrived early to-
day, brought its confirmation to the allies. To-
morrow morning at 10 o'clock there is to be a
meeting of the Russian and allied officers at Trak-
tir-bridge, to arrange the details of the truce. It
is believed that this will amount to very little more
than a cessation of fire, and that a line of demarca-
tion will be drawn midway between the advanced
posts, which will limit walks, rides, shooting par-
ties, Asc. People hero seem generally well pleased
that the suspension of arms is to be only until the
31st of March. Previously to that date little could
be done in the way of military operations. Mean-
while, and as if to celebrate the armistice, the so-
called White Buildings were blown up this after-
noon. It became known in the course of the morn-
ing that the exploision was fixed for half-past 3 ;
and that the brig in the Dockyard Creek was also
to be blown up, by way of experiment, and for the
particular gratification of Mr. Deane, " the infer-
nal diver." So, soon after 3 o'clock, spectators be-
gan to assemble at the Redan, in front of Picket-
house-hill, on Catlicart'a-hill, and in other
commanding positions. There was not a very
strong muster at any of these places, for
we are rather bias() in the matter of explo-
sions ; and, although the clay was bright and
sunny, the ground was very heavy with mud and
snow, and the cold too sharp to be pleasant.
There was a certain amount of snowballing among
the pedestrians, which, doubtless, contributed to
keep up a supply of caloric, and one or two base
attacks were made upon unfortunate equestrians
who, not having snow within their reach, or a
supply of ready-made snowballs in their pockets,
had no choice but to charge their assailants or re-
sort to ignominious flight. The majority of the
horsemen sat ruefully awaiting the blow up ; a
canter for warmth would have been desirable, but
the ground was most unfavourable—deep and
spread with a sheet of snow, concealing holes.
Half-an-hour passed ; feet were very cold, noses
very blue, fingers hardly felt the reins, grumbling
was heard :—" It is nearly 4 o'clock ; why the
deuce doesn't it go off ?" Patience is, I fear, not a
very common virtue in the Crimean army. An
impromptu " shave," suggested by the circum-
stances of the moment, was passed about.
" Pelissier is coming ; 'they wait for him." Now,
it so happened that Pelissier was not coming. The
armistice gives him something to do and think of,
and, moreover, he came a few days ago, it having
been notified to him that the White Buildings
were then to blow up, which they did not. So he no
longer put his faith in the unpunctual engineers of
perfidious Albion, but stayed away. Some French
Ind other foreign officers came ; some of them were
in the Redan, and others, who came from the
French head-quarters, were on the slope in front
of Picket-house-hill, just over the ravine, waiting
patiently and confidingly. Another half-hour
passed. A quarter-past four, and no explosion.
Strong language began to be used ; wishes were
uttered whose fulfilment would certainly not
be desired by the engineers, at whose door,
rightly or wrongly, the delay was laid. The
third half-hour had not quite elapsed when a
report spread that the explosion w; a put off. Ac-
cording to some accounts, it would occur in an
hour and a half ; according to others, to-morrow,
while a third party talked of next week; and there
was a general movement campwards. A few Ar-
tillery officers still stuck to the Redan ; Picket-
house-hill was quickly cleared, except of ono or
two obstinate expectauts, and Cathcart's was aban-
doned by many ; when, behold ! just at a quarter
to 5, when few of the weary who had departed
could have reached their quarters, and some could
have been but a hundred or two yards on the wrong
side of the hill-crests, out gushed a small puff of
white smoke from the White Buildings, then a big
puff of black smoke ; there was a slight explosion,
a *grumbling roar ; stones were hurled into the air
and pitched high above the eastern wall into the
docks, and then, after a silence which seemed to
last nearly a minute, came a series of pops and
puffs as the mines went off in rapid succession, and
an immense volume of smoke arose, not in dense
sluggish masses slowly surging up, as at the explo-
sion of Fort Nicholas, but in a thinner cloud,
which rose so high that the summit of the murky
column was visible over Picket-house-hill to persons
some way down the Woronzoff-road, where it
passes through the Light Division camp. When
the smoke cleared off the damage did riot appear
so great as was expected. The walls of the build-
ings still stood, except the north-east corner.
Doubtless the inside had suffered, and, indeed,
there were appearances indicating thatmuch damage
had been done. Later, at about a quarter to 6,
when it was supposed that all was over, and every-
body had abandoned the points of observation,
another series of explosions was heard. Of these
I have not yet ascertained the result. After the
explosion of the buildings Fort Constantine sent a
solitary shell into the French side, so I suppose
the armistice is not considered to be perfect until
after to-morrow's conference.

FEBRUARY 29.

There was a lively and novel scene at 10 o'clock
this morning at Traktir-bridge. At its further end
the white flag was hoisted, and just beyond it were
halted some five-and-twenty Cossacks, who had
escorted thither the Russian General Timoieff and
his staff. The generals, who had met to arrange the
details Of the armistice, occupied two tents, pitched
on a strip of green sward in the rear of the bridge.
At a few minutes past 10 General Barnard and
some staff officers rode down through the ravine
between the two hills on whi3h the battle of the
Tchernaya was chiefly fought, and crossed to the
other side of the river. There were, perhaps, half-
a-dozen other English officers, about as many
French, and a much larger number of Sardinians.
All these went over the bridge, and a sort of frater-
nisation ensued between them and some Russian
officers—that is to say, there was a good deal of
civility, and some ill-treatment of the French and
German languages; but, as to carrying on much con-
versation with our Muscovite friends, it was not an
easy matter, for there seemed a mutual embarrass-
ment as to what subject to pitch upon. Horses
were a natural theme, and the Russians expressed
much admiration,of some of those present, and were
probably rather astonished at their good condition.
But the great object of curiosity to us was the fur
capped Cossacks, around whom the allied officers
assembled, examining their arms and equipments
and entering into conversation, which, in most
cases, was carried on by signs. They were slen-
der, wiry men,—ugly enough, most of them—
mounted on small, rough, active horses, and
carrying, besides sword and carbine, flagless lances,
whose long black poles terminated in a small
but very sharp pointed steel head. They seemed
well pleased to cultivate the acquaintance of theil
enemies, 'and also had evidently an eye to the
main chance. One of the first things I saw was a
Cossack corporal proposing a barter to a Sardinian
officer. The latter bad a tolerably good riding-
whip, for which the astute child of the Don insisted
on swapping a shabby sort of instrument of torture,
of which his pony is doubtless rejoiced to be rid.
The Sardihian hesitated, the Cossack persistedi and