The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-20 00:00:00

THE GLOI.R.E.

A correspondent of the Scotsman, signieg himself
P. M. F., gives the following account of this ter-
rible frigate :—But while giving these facts your
readers may suppose that I have entirely overlooked
that gem of the French marine, that iron-plated
invulnerable Gloire, about which all the scientific
minds of Britain have been hazarding all sorts of
opinions. Whatever notions may exist in England
regarding the strength or sea-going qualities of
this vessel, people in this quarter of the globe have
no misgivings on the subject. The Gloire was
admirably. tested in the recent Algerian trip of
Napoleon 111. I have spoken with men who assisted
in the working of the ship to the African coast,
and they declare that not even the Imperial yacht
itself, light and trim cut as she is, behaved so well
during the heavy gales which the squadron encoun-
tered as soon as it had left the French coast. I
know that during these gales the steamers from
Cette were 'enable to leave port in consequence of
the frightful state of the sea, and that no fishing
squadron in any of the Mediterranean ports durst
attempt to leave its moorings. The Gloire—
heavily charged with her full amount of ammuni-
tion, with all her guns, with provisions for some
months, with her tremendous engines, and her 44
inch coat of mail—the Gloire cut through those
giant billows with a steadiness little less than the
Great Eastern herself when she breasted the gale
in the English Channel during her first sea voyage.
I do not judge of the capabilities of the Gloire by
hearsay alone. A few days ago, when walking on
the rockbound coast near the Isles of Hyeres, some
miles to the eastward of Toulon, I watched the
Gloire as she steamed out of Toulon Rade on an
experimental trip, and passed the isles, making
fast towards the Italian coast. The sea was
high, and the surf dashed fiercely against the
Hyeres rocks, rearing their frothy heads some
60 feet above the ocean level. Yet though the
ship passed quite near enough the land to enable
me to see the helmsman at the wheel, I could dis-
cern scarcely any roll or pitch. Indeed, the length
and ponderous weight of the vessel enables her to
stride colossus-like over the Mediterranean waves
with almost perfect ease. Few heavy ships—as
instance the return of the Hero and Ariadne from
America—can behave steadily in a seaway, and
though the enormous rollers of the Atlantic have
little in common with those of the Mer du Midi
when the storm winds " hold tyrant sway," yet I
am convinced that the Gloire will conduct herself
in the deep waters off Finisterre, as well, ceteris
paribus, as she does in the tideless sea. I asked
one of the men who were in charge of her • during
the Algerian voyage whether guns could be fired
from her portholes as conveniently as from the
wooden Ville de Paris during a rough sea, and his

reply was in the affirmative, the man observing
that he had paid particular attention to the way in
which the sides of the Gloire " dipped" both on her
outward and return voyage. Now, the French
people are not slow in finding faults—even with
their own institutions—and having heard generally
expressed approval of the capabilities of this frigate,
from high and low quarters, I cannot but consider
that she is about as perfect as such a heavy-cAsed
ship can be. It is the intention of the Marine to
send her to Brest, where the almost constant pre,
valence of rough weather will put her qualities re
a much severer test than they have yet under&-vine.
In appearance, the Gloire, which is far larvr than
any of the other five fre rtes bhndees, does r,ot con-
veyidea of either aeluoetwr_y,oshriemavvyaidneodrtya.uavneenhretyl:
to you the
Her lines arc so deli,attp, and sym-
metrical,hree taper masts so 1;
powerful ship.her t
the most -
like that were it not for her
short,
I'orL might while
which tells of vast machinesimagin imagine
she was a huge
ing war-ships. The Toulon
cruising
pleasure . roundboat
notanbder,
formidable of exist-
ing are proud of her,
and every fine day the pleasure-boats which line
the broad merchant
•
quay sally out with visitors
and swarm around her with wasp-like pertinacity.

A few curious relics were sold by auction, in
Edinburgh, a few days ago :—The embroidered• cap and.
handkerchief worn by Charles I. on the scaffold, carefully
preserved by the Hyndford family, the descendants of
Lord Carmichael, who was a faithful subject and servant
of Charles I. fetched £3O ; Cardinal York's scarlet coat and
vest, worn by the Cardinal when he was a. field marshal,
£l2 ; a white satin coat, richly embroidered in silver gilt
and cloth of gold, also satin vest to correspond, which be-
longed to Prince Charles, and were afterwards the property
of Mr. Edgar, of Keithlock, so long attached to the Stuart
family, in the capacity of secretary, £2s.—Scots9nan.
VALUE OF A. NEW RIVER SllARR.—"YesterdaYt
at the Auceon Mart, Messrs. Hammond and Eiloart offered
to public auction two 36th parts or shares in the King's
moiety of the New River Company, being virtually an or'A•
ginal half share. 'I he auctioneer stated that the underbjs-
gwascommenced in 1608 and completed in 1613, and. the
resources of Sir Hugh Myddleton being exhausted 1-,e'fore
the work was completed, he applied to the Crown fr ,r addi-
tional money to carry out the work, and, made ovvx half the
property in return for half the expenses being pa;_cl. In 1636
Charles I. granted his moiety back to Sir Hug'aMyddleton
on condition of an annual payment of £.„500.., v:hich payment
is charged on tie King's shares , and distributed over them
by the company before paying adividen6. For 18 years after
the undertaking was completed there wins no dividend paid,
and the share wereven away gratis. In 1793 Pennant
given
says the shares sold for £lO,OOO. The dividend last year
amounted to £441 Gs. Bd. per share, and the auctioneer
stated that when the leases of the house property belonging
to the company expired, • end as the metropolis increased,
the income of the company would be enormously increased.
The lot sold for £8,760, making the value of a whole share
£17,400. This makes the value of ithe " adventurers"
shares in the property, from not being charged with the
payment to the Crown, about £20,000.,