The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-29 00:00:00

The following extract is from a letter addressed
from Naples, by Mr. Mason Jones, the well-known
orator, to Mr. Walter H. C. Taylor of Liverpool.
It is dated the 19th inst.
" This morning I was at the camp, and saw the
English Legion receive its first baptism of fire. I
went by rail to Caserta, where I heard the cannon
firing near Capua. On arriving at Santa Maria I
found all the troops under arms, and the heavy
guns unlimbered in front, ready for action. Every-
where on the road to St. Angelo I saw traces of the
great battle of the Ist instant—trees cut down and
pierced with shot, and the ground torn up by the
tramp of cavalry and artillery. In company with
some officers of the Agamemnon (91 guns), I
climbed the lofty bill of Irfata, above St. Angelo,
where we found Garibaldi himself and five or six
members of his staff. Irfata is the Di3tates
favourite position for observing the enemy. Fran
the crest of the hill you can look right into Capra,
'and see Gaeta in the distance ; before you is spread
out the whole line of operations down to Caserta
and Maddaloni, with the Volturno winding
through the plain. Standing here Garibaldi can
see every movement of the enemy. While we were
climbing the hill the firing was incessant, and a
shell aimed at Garibaldi burst about GO yards from
our feet. We were in hopes of seeing some fight-
ing, nor were we disappointed. About ten o'clock
the Neapolitans in force attacked the position at
St. Angelo. They marched before the camps before
Capua towards the Garabaldian lines. The
English Legion, which reached Naples last
Monday, only arrived at the camp at
nine o'clock, an hour before the fight began. They
marched from Santo Maria to St. Angelo, and at
once took up their position on the extreme front to
the left, and next to Capua. They were imme-
diately attacked. The legion, commanded by
Colonel Peard (Garibaldi's Englishman), received
their enemies with a shout, and drove them back
in confusion under the very walls of Capua. The
great difficulty of the officers was to restrain the
impetuosity of their men and to keep them back.
Foiled in the'r attempt to break Garibaldi's line,
the Neapolitans now commenced shelling their
victors, when Colonel Peard withdrew his men
under cover. All these operations were anxiously
watched by Garibaldi, and soon after Colonel Dow-
ling arrived and gave the General an account of
the fight. He said the men had behaved splendidly.
I regret to say that Lieutenant Tucker, the cor-
respondent of the Illustrated Tiwes or News, was
killed. He only received his commission this
morning, and in a few hours afterwards he was a
corpse. The Neapolitans left between 50 or 60
killed and wounded on the field, and did not ven-
ture out again to-day. They had evidently got
more than enough of it. I see Mr. Edwin James
has been alarming the public with accounts of
anarchy, robbery, and I don't know what else
besides in Naples. I can only say, from my expe-
rience, that the anarchy exists only in Mr.
James's imagination. The most perfect order
reigns in Naples ; life and property were never so
secure ; you may go for miles around Naples
without a pistol or weapon of any kind; and as
for the roads being infested by brigands, I must
say that the most brigandish looking thing I have
seen since I came to this city is a portrait of Mr.
Edwin James himself in the last number of the
Illustrated London News.