The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-31 00:00:00

THE BRAZILIAN MAIL.

LISBON, July 31.
The Royal Mail Steampacket Company's ship
Oneida has arrived here from the Brazils, and will
leave at 4 p.m. to-day for Southampton with £14,328
in specie, 1,852 bags of coffee, 300 barrels of pioca,
150 rolls of tobacco, 222 packages of sun tadries,

and 107 passengers.
The Shannon, with the outward mail of the 9th
July, was at St. Vincent (Cape Verds) on the 20th
instant.
__-..............................

The Island of /lel goland.

Mr. Frank Buckland writes as follows in Land
and Water:—" By the kindness of the Governor
of Heligoland, the Hon. Lieut. Col. H. Fitzhardinge
Masse, I have received a very interesting curiosity.
It is the barrel of a soldier's musket, fished up
by au oyster-dredging boat near this little island.
The Governor thinks that it must have been lying
at the bottom of the sea since the time of our
French war. The musket has been broken in
half ; one piece is 191 inches long, the other 1G
inches. The wood portion still remains perfect,
only stained with oxide of iron from the rust of the
barrel. Around the greater portion of this musket
a firm hard concrete has formed, and gives a
famous illustration how common sea-shingle, when
in contact with iron at the bottom of the sea, will
form a 'pudding-stone,' almost harder than any
cement we know of. I think this fact may bo use-
ful to engineers in building breakwaters, &c. Around
the lower end of the musket was a great lump of the
natural concrete, but wishing to make out the form
of the lock, and with great difficulty, and the spoil-
ing of many tools, I managed to chisel off most of
the concrete, taking as a guide an old Waterloo
musket, so as to make out the anatomy of this
pseudo-fossil lock. I found, however, that the lock
was entirely absent, nor could I nd any traces of
the powder-pan or other parts ofif the machinery.
I was also anxious to ascertain if the musket
was still loaded, but the barrel being full of con-
crete I could not pass down a ramrod, nor can I
well cut into the iron. Of course it is impossible
to say with accuracy how long the musket has been
under water. I find, however, that on the conclusion
of the peace in 1814 England retained possession of
the island. I do not know when there was any fight-
ing there. Will any of our own correspondents kindly
give us information on this point ? In his letter to
me the Governor gives the following interesting
particulars relative to the sea-fishery I am glad
to see that Land and Water has taken up the deep-
sea fishery. My island has now become the head-
quarters of a large fleet of Hull cutters—what fine
boats they are ! They generally come in 30 to 50
in number on Saturday nights. Tbey will be here,
probably about 100 of them, all the summer, and,
like last year, ice is brought out to them from Eng-
land once a week. They make, or made last
latter
year,
tremendous hauls of cod, sole, turbots, &c., the
particularly fine. I heard, however, lately that they
are now obliged to go as far as the coast of Jutland.
It is impossible to overrate the position of this island
as of great importance to our mercantile and fishing
interests, and as an outpost for coal, &c., in case of
war, commanding as it does the Elder, Elbe, and
Weser. The Prussians would give their eyes for it ;
but though our official language, and school ditto,
is necessarily German, the Heligolanders are a com-
pletely distinct Fresian branch, and have their own
complete distinct language (unwritten). They
would scout the idea of being annexed to Prussia.'
The Governor has also kindly sent me some speLa •• -
mens of oysters from Heligoland. It was much sur-
prised with their appearance ; the shell is very white,
and by no means so heavy as that of ordinary deep-
sea oysters. On opening them I was much sur-
prised at their being so plump and white, as, living
in the deep sea, it is contrary to the rule that they
should be plump. Upon reflection I think I find
the reason of this. They must have been dredged
up from bOIIIC portion of the sea coast to the
eastward of the island, and the bed from whence
they come could not, I think, be far away from the
estuary of the Elbe. This is one of the largest
rivers in Germany, being about 710 miles long, and
has an estuary of several miles in width. The tor-
rent of water coming down such a river as this would
extend its influence very far out to sea, and thus the
oysters over a large extent of sea-bottom,
even
though at a considerable distance from the laud,
would assume the characteristics, not of deep-sea,
I but of estuary oysters, which live in water more or
less diluted with fresh springs from the laud. May
not this fact be turned to account by the inhabitants
of Heligoland ?"

COURSING.
COURSING MEETINGS TO COME.
SEPTEMBER.
Name. Judge. Days of Running
Brampton, Cumberland Mr. Warwick
OCTOBER.
Ancaster and Willoughby,
Lincolnshire Mr. Sp3.fford