The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONIJoN, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 29 1867.

Frost, who, after he had reduced us to a state of
utter wretchedness by freezing our gas, overloading
our roofs, and making water an almost priceless
treasure, marched off as suddenly as he had
come, breaking half the water-pipes in the
metropolis as a final leave-taking. Scarcely
had we done rejoicing at his departure, than
lo ! he was once more among us, and evidently
determined that we should not make too sure again,
for he kept looking in at our doors and windows at
brief and irregular intervals. When at last we
were fairly rid of him, we had a fortnight of early
summer before we had expected the signs and
tokens of spring. But the balmy interval was suc-
ceeded by bleak winds and many other discomforts.
Then when summer suns were due came rain, and
nothing but rain, as our Oriental and Con-

tinental visitors have too mach reason to
remember. But St. Swithin's crowning triumph
was on Friday last, when the rainfall of Lon-
don in
_twenty-four hours amounted to 2.21
inches—a quantity unequalled in the same space of
time during the last ten years. From ten o'clock
on Thursday night till ten o'clock on Friday the
rain came down at intervals, assuming the aspect of
a mitigated deluge. As might have been expected,
such a storm could not fail to produce some notice-
able effects. In the low-lying parts of London the
water has made its way into the cellars and the
basements. The southern embankment has been
flooded, and one, at least, of our railway lines has
escaped a serious accident. In Essex there has
been a flood fo: miles. In Chatham great part of
the town has been submerged. Even in Scotland
the deluge has been busy, and in Edinburgh the
fall of rain in four days was five inches. This is
certainly very exceptional weathQr for the time of
year, and there is reason to apprehend its effect
upon the crops, unless it is succeeded by a few
weeks of fine weather. The hops, indeed,
verifying the old adage about St. James's
Day, are the better for the rain, and
the root crops we may conclude will show
a good season. Still the all-important cereals want
sun, and have had very little sun lately. Farmers
are proverbial gt umblers, but a good many besides
farmers are beginning to look anxiously at the
clouds and speculate about the harvest. Let us hope
that we have had nearly our share of rain for the
prwent, and that the " golden sunlight" which we
are accustomed to look for iu the month of July
may this year shine upon our fields and meadows
in the coming August.

now arrived ; but they will not be exhibited for a 1
few days. They will, however, shortly be in the
Seine, opposite to the Exhibition, among the curious
pleasure boats to be now seal there.
Although there is no probability of any imme-
diate practical result for the recent discussions with
the view to establish uniformity in weights and
measures, there are still communications between
England and. France respecting post-office improve-
ments. There are some curious anomalies. For
instance, The Sun may be sent from London to Paris
for a penny, but, to sent back the same paper from
Paris to London, the charge made by the Post-
office is sixteen centimes—that is to say, three sous,
and the fifth part of a sou. For this purpose the
Post - office gives no less than four stamps.
Three are required to make up the value of
siixteen centimes for the postage. The other
stamp, of four centimes, the sender may
keep for another opportunity. For the
sixteen centimes you must give four sous, or twenty
centimes, and they give you in change a stamp of
four centimes, or four-fifths of a sou. Such things
as centimes really exist, but are seldom seen,
although accounts are reckoned by them, so that
practically a centime is a kind of myth or Mrs.
II arris

The weather is still of a stormy and unsettled
character, but warm. and agreeable.

LATEST INTELLIGENOF.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

rALy.

FLORENCE, July 29.

The statement of the Putrie that the Italian Go-
vernment had satisfied itself of the falsehood of the
versions published relative to the visit of General
Dumont to Ro:ue is declared to be totally without
foundation.

AMERICA.
(Arrival of the Northern Light.)
SOUTHAMPTON, July 29.

The New York and Breme❑ Company's steamer
Northern 'Light, Capt. Jones, from New York on
the 13th inst., arrived here yesterday evening with
65 passengers for this port, Havre, and Bremen,
but no specie.
On the 22,1 she spoke the steamer Malta.

TIIE BOMBAY MAIL.

ALEXANDRIA, July 28.

The Delta left at 9.40 a.m., and the Ceylon at
1 p.m. to-day. The former may be expected at
Marseilles on the 3J, and the latter at Southampton
about the 10th proximo.

VOLUNTEER REVIEW A 7 DERBY.

Volunteers, both at Wimbledon and elsewhere,
have recently had so much cause to complain of the
weather, that notwithstanding a cold wind and a
cloudy sky, the six regiments that assembled for
review at Derby on Saturday may be considered
fortunate. At the least the afternoon was dry, and
the east wind was felt much more keenly by the
spectators on the stand than by those who were
marching and skirmishing in the field. People who
live in Loudon, and to whom therefore the grey and
green uniforms of the metropolitan corps are much
more familiar than the scarlet of the regular army,
may not be aware that in the provinces the volun-
teer movement possesses quite as much vitality as in
the neighbourhood of the City, and that the northern
and midland counties have produced regiments
equal to any in smartness and efficiency. Such,
however, is the impression which any stranger who
saw the review of Saturday would take away with
him. The appearance of the men who represented
Nottingham, Derby, Warwick, and Leicester, was
such as might perfectly satisfy one accustomed to
witness the more frequent reviews of the southern
volunteers. There were not so many regiments pre-
sent as had been expected, but the muster of each
corps on the ground was exceedingly large, and
with few exceptions the manoeuvres through which
the force was put were quickly and neatly executed.
Derby had never seen so great a gathering of
volunteers as was announced for Saturday, and con-
sequently the town had never been so full of sight-
seers. The other day 25 Belgians made an excursion
to the north, and their appearance in Derby was the
cause of the exhibition of numerous flags, some of
which showed the colours of the visitors. The town

looked all the gayer for this display of variouscolours,
which had been allowed to remain until the event
of Saturday was past. It was evident enough that
people were about to take a holiday. At ten o'clock
there was a considerable crowd about the railway
station where were arriving the special trains from
Nottingham and Leicester. In the Market-place,
where the red-coated volunteers of Derby assembled
and their band was playing, there was a still larger
concourse ; and before long there began to appear
the rustics of the neighbouring districts, who seemed
almost too grave and silent to be sightseers, yet
watched everything with quiet curiosity. Two or
three hound passed by and the volunteers from Bir-
mingham, with the Ist Warwickshire and the Robin
Hood Rifles, were drawn up at the station under
their respective commanders. Until two o'clock the
crowd continued to increase, and the bands played
in turns. Now and then an excursion train brought
up a few hundred visitors from a neighbouring
town. But there was no general movement until
two o'clock, when the Birmingham men marched
off to the review ground, followed by the other
corps, and accompanied by several thousand spec-
tators. The ground chosen for the occasion was
the race-course of Derby, which is about a mile
from the market-place, on the further side of the
river. It consists of several large flat meadows
separated by fences. Near the road is a capital
standhouse, larger and more commodious than many
that are to be found on better racecourses. oppo-
site this, at a distance of about a hundred yards,
a large space of level green is enclosed for the pur-
poses of cricket. The surrounding scenery, if not
exactly picturesque, is at least pleasant. Looking
from the top of the Stand the higher buildings of
the town stand out against a background of distant
woodland. The slopes which encompass the race-
c muse are thickly wooded, and to the right the eye
passes over a succession of grassy uplands, which
become loftier as the view recedes. Not until the
review had nearly terminated on Saturday evening
was there a gleam of sunshine ; but though the sky
was cloudy and the whole distance was obscured by a
thick grey hazy, the prospect immediately in front of
the Stand was sufficiently animated to sus ain the curl-
osi tyof amul.itudeof which far the greater number had
never before seen so many men und. r arms. The com-
mittee having charge of the arraelgemeats re-
solved, whether wisely or unwisely it is not neces-
sary to say, to charge the su.n of twopence to each
person passing the gates ; but for one who paid a
hundred leaped the lo .c wall and took whatever
places they chose. The ground was nominally kept
by the Derbyshire Yeomanry Cavalry ; bat as there
could not have been fewer than twenty thousand
spectators, and there was only one horseman for
every thousand, the adequate discharge of the duty
was quite impossible. Most of the spectators seemed
to thick that the best view could be had from in-
side the cricket field, and occasionally a great rush
was made to this place of vantage. Whenever this
occurred the yeomanry spurred vigorously to the
place, dashed amongst the people, and singling
out two or three small boys, drove them back again.
But, on the whole, the arrangements cannot bo
described as satisfactory. A charge of half-a-crown
was made for the Stand, which at one time of the
day was uncomfortably crowded. Two or three
hundred carriages, principally occupied by ladies,
extended iu a long line beside the railing of the
course. Shortly after two o'clock the first regi-
ment made its appearance. This was the Ist Derby-
shire Volunteers, under Lieut.-Colonel Wilmot. It
was followed by the 3d Derbyshire, commanded by
Lieut.-Colonel Cavendish. Each of these regiments
was more than 700 strong, Major Ratcliffe com-
manded about 600 men of the Birmingham regi-
ment. The Robin Hood Rifles were 720 strong,
under Lieut.-Colonel J. C. Wright, there were 500
men of the Ist Warwickshire Regiment, under
Lieut.-Colonel Sir J. W. C. Hartopp, and nearly
700 of the Leicestershire under Major Brewen. The
whole force numbered about 4,000 men, divided
into brigades, the first consisting of the two Derby
and the Birmingham regiments,. under the com-
mand of Lieut.-Colonel Deshon, and the second,
consisting of Warwickshire, Leicestershire, and the
Robin Hood Rifles, under Colonel Wombwell. The
reviewing officer was Colonel Erskine, Inspector-
General of Volunteers.
By three o'clock all the regiments had arrived,
with the exception of the Leicestershire, and were
drawn up in continuous columns near the road.
The scarlet unform of the two Derby corps on
the right contrasted pleasantly with the dark
Lincoln green worn by the Nottingham corps, which
preserves the fame of the chief archer and outlaw
of Sherwood Forest. Between the men of Derby
and Nottingham stood those of Warwickshire, in
light grey with white, and those of Birmingham, in
dark blue with red facings. Colonel Erskine, hav-
ing been received with a salute, rode slowly through
the ranks and carefully inspected the arms and ac-
coutrements. At half-past three, as the spectators
were beginning to get cold and impatient the bands
took up their place opposite the Stand, and the re-
giments marched past in open column, the Ist
Derbyshire leading, and the 3d being second. In
both there were several companies that kept excel-
lent time, and marched with creditable precision and
evenness; but there were two or three companies
rather irregular. Birmingham came next, and after
it followed the Ist Warwick, but the loudest cheers
of the crowd were reserved for the Robin Hood
Rifles, whose marching was in every respect admir-
able, and whose handsome uniform seemed to find
great farour. Making the circuit of the ground
the men returned to the place on which they had
first b.,en drawn up. Just at this moment the
Leice.,t,:rshire regiment arrived, and took its proper
place. Then the leading battalion wheeled, and the
whole went past in double time, the Ist Derby-
shire, the Robin Hoods, and the Leicestershire
moving with a regularity which more than deserved
the applause it received. The force marched over
the rae,t-course to some flat meadows about half a
mile distant from the Stand. Here they took up
their position, the first brigade in front, and the
second behind a large brick building described as
the Colour-Works. The object seemed to be to
drive back an enemy supposed to be approaching
from the road. The I.gt Derbyshire commenced the
attack by throwing out skirmishers, who advanced
quickly over the field, followed by their supports.
The spectators had, in spite of the yeomanry, got so
close to the troops that the movements of the skir-
mishers were greatly impeded. As they came on the
people kept retreating at an equal pace, as if they were
the enemy against whom the volunteers were contend-
ing. Just as the line of red coats came opposite the
Stand a great rush was made to the Cricket-ground,