The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-18 00:00:00

The Osborne was prepared with great elegance
and luxury for the reception of his Majesty, nor
was the Helicon, on which the Viceroy of Egypt
embarked, at all wanting in taste and care for his
Highness's proper entertainment. As soon as the
Corporation could get off to the Osborne their
address was presented to the Sultan, who received
it with proper consideration ; but the same for-
bearance was not exhibited by many who were im-
patient of the delay inside the waters of the Dock-
yard. It was too much to ask of those who had got
up so early and who had come so far to comfort
themselves with historical parallels while the Mayor
and Corporation of Portsmouth were fulfilling their
functions, or to reflect ou the wonderful changes
since the Crescent and the Star indicated the pre-
sence of the enemies of civilisation and Christianity.
The salute in honour of the Sultan was speedily fol-
lowed by that which welcomed his Lieutenant in
the land of Egypt, and when the Mayor and Cor-
poration had subsided from the deck of the Osborne
into their barge, and were rowed on shore, the pro-
cession of the Sultan and Viceroy was formed from
the harbour, and with the wind whistling through
the rigging, and a cold, leaden-coloured sea, flecked
with white seahorses surging against their bows,
the Osborne and Helicon stood out towards Spit-
head, followed by the Enchantress, flying the Ad-
miralty flag, the Tanjore, Ripon, Syria, and other
vessels which were entitled to take part in the
pageant, and by some non-official steamers. It
needed a good deal of the philosophy which teaches
that our cold, grey weather has a healthy influence
on our race to reconcile even a native of the isle to
the prospect before him. Near at hand were the
hulls of the Victory, Duke of Wellington, and St.
Vincent, with a white bordering of sailors above
the hammock nettings, and a scarlet belt of marines I
on the quarter-decks ; the training ship with its
youthful, joyous crew, whose shrill voices rang
through the pealing artillery and the cheers of the
crowd on shore ; the granite walls with their dull-
pupilled embrasures, which hem the water ; on the
left, masses of people clustering on every point, or
bordering like a black selvage of rock the fretful
line where tide and shingle strive together, all
away from the Saluting Battery round by Southsea
Castle to Fort Cumberland. As the yachts
emerged from the harbour, the long array of the
fleet stretching in double line between Sturbridge
and the main came in view. They were seen as
through a glass mottled with rain or sea mist,
darkly and dimly set in a cheerless sea, reflecting
the neutral tint of the hurrying clouds, which
seemed to come for ever from the sea, and to
have the Isle of Wight as a great fog bank resting
at their base. So rude and rough was the day that
veteran yachtsmen scarce cared to expose the fair
visitors on board their craft to the spray and to the
more substantial power of the sea which must be ex-
pected if they quitted the snug moorings in which
they were nestled off Rhyde and Cowes, like flocks
of clucks in some sheltered nook of a wind-swept
lake. There were few yachts to be seen at sea as
' the Sultan and the Viceroy approached the fleet, and
by that time the shore was almost shrouded from
view by the scud which flew to leeward from the
island. No small boats would venture out ; at
least—for there is nothing a Portsmouth or Gosport
boatman will not face in the way of a sea if he be
paid for it—there were no people desperate enough
to pay for the certainty of being wet and the great
chance of being drowned.

Before the Sultan left the harbour it was not be-
lieved possible that the men could man yards in
such weather, but the life lines had been rove, and
as the flags of the Osborne passed the embrasures of
Block-house Fort the men of all the ships of war
swarmed into the rigging, and kept together in
black clusters near the masts till the order was
given to lay out, when every yard in all the fleet
was fringed with its tall even rows of sailors, facing
gusts of wind and driving showers of rain with as
much steadiness and apparent indifference as if they
stood on deck. It must have been a trial for the
crews, however, for hardly hal each ship executed
this manceuvre with a rapidity and precision that
were machine-like, when the scud hid almost every-
thing from view, and only the black hulls and tall
spars could be seen through the mist, and every
vessel looked as watery and unsubstantial as the
Fla ing Dutchman.
Up to the head of the fleet the Sultan's yacht
came slowly, ploughing heavily through the swell,
and with an amount of motion that might have
been harassing to the feelings of a far more nautical
body of visitors than the Turkish suite. Very few
were visible on deck, however, and certainly all
were wise in keeping as much under shelter as
possible. Closely following the Osborne
came the Viceroy's yacht Helicon, the Admiralty
yacht Enchantress, the Tanjore, set apart for
foreign Ministers and visitors of distinction, the ,
Syria with the members of the House of Lords, and
the Ripon, with the representatives of the House of i
Commons.

flagships did the salute closeere
wuap upon
some-
thing
stately and magnificent in the style in which
white smoke which,
wreathed in clouds of curling
simul-
taneously with each other, till the Channel was
mounting higher and higher as the wind took it
and hulls in its
landward, shrouded alike spars
thick mass—thicker even than the mists which had
portion of the display while it
preceded it. This
most effective part of yesterday's proceedings.
could be seen was pretty, and really constituted the
No matter how thick the smoke, the angry flushes
from the guns could always be seen cleaving the
mass of vapour around them. The effect of this
combined with the terrific thunder of the explosions
and the occasional glimpses caught as the fierce
, wind parted ' the smoke and allowed portions of
masts and yards covered with men to be seen for a
moment, was really grand, and almost the only
spectacle during the day that could be well seen or
was well worth seeing. As a matter of course the
firing only brought the rain more heavily than be-
for
pect e, and
whenw the smoke did clear at last the
as of whole roadstead was cheerless and
wintry-looking in the extreme.
The Sultan and the Viceroy had the great advan-
tage of seeing the fleet from end to end thrice before
the day was over. The first salute was fired so judi-
ciously that the smoke had well nigh cleared off to
leeward before the yachts entered the magnificent
highway formed by the two lines of ships. Round-
ing the leading ship of the port division, the Vic-
toria, with the flag of Admiral Pasley, and passing
between her and the Minotaur, the flagship of
Rear-Admiral Warden, the Sultan and the Viceroy
steamed down the broadpath, with ironcladg on
one side and wooden ships on the other, towards
Osborne, whence there came now and then
distant thuds which gave rise to the hope that
Her Majesty would brave the weather and em bark on board the Royal yacht ; and that there was
any doubt on the subject is the best proof that could
be given of the very unfavourable nature of the day.

As the little squadron with the Turkish and Egyp-
tian ensigns flying and the Admiralty yachts in at-
tendance passed between the lines, the crews out on
the yards—even on the topgallant yards, in spite of
squalls which made the great line-of-battle ships
heel over visibly—cheered with that deep yet ring-
ing resonance which pierces even through the thun-
ders of the cannon. One felt, in looking to the
right and then to the left, as one would do who saw
a race of beings beautiful, graceful, and glorious,
yielding to the brute force of a new generation of
ugly yet tremendous monsters. Impossible to deny
the massive strength and rock-like force of these
beaked monsters; impossible to refuse the praise
due to the combination of strength and speed ex-
hibited in such models as the Warrior, Achilles, or
Valiant. But turn to such a floating grandeur as
the Victoria, or such a combination of gracefulness
and power as even the Duncan, and we must admit
that it needs much love of the sea for the sea's sake
to make our people flock on board the "fleet of the
future." As to the turret-ships, even the satisfaction
of looking like men-of-war at all, and manning
yards accordingly, was denied to them, for they had
no yards to be manned ; but they exhibited formid-
able rows of sailors and marine artilleymen on their
bulwarks, who looked like men sinking with all the
honours at the end of a fight on board ships which
had lost everything that could be shot away. As the
yachts approached Osborne, the Royal yacht could
he discerned through a fresh squall which wiped out
a gleam of sunshine, but it was seen that the Royal
Standard was flying, and soon afterwards it was an-
nounced by some keen-sighted person that the
Queen was, indeed, on board—an announcement
which created the liveliest gratification. There was
a short delay off Osborne, during which the rain fell
with considerable spirit, and the wind falsified the
prognostications that the rain would beat it
down. Soon the standard of the Turk and the
• Royal standard of England flew together from the
main of the Victoria and Albert, and proclaimed
that-the Sultan was in the presence of the Sovereign
under whOse sway there are almost as many fol-
lowers of the Prophet as under his own rule. The
first signal made had put an end to all hope of naval
manoeuvres, and obliterated the most eagerly-
looked for portion of the day's programme. It was
" annul weighing." It was 140 when the Queen's
Yacht moved slowly a head, preceded by the
1 rinity yacht as pilot and followed by the Osborne,
Helicon, Enchantress, and other vessels at the dis-
boyf t visitors.be
desire Arumour o f
ber
jreasnt fromy,
n osalute shi p to ship
should
Ptbreafiat,lred,
and that the yards should not be manned
as she steamed between the lines of the fleet. But
whether this was a false alarm or a momentary lull
in the weather caused a change in the Royal pur-
rease; the cer tlae iand
iint
gi s
vtehs
saetl t hoef Victoriar at n
Dd
iAv eornt, dprreow.
cc
re
se dwisn g
of baeltlwtebeen
men-of-war
ne
-Do
fa-pwhanre
wannrde
thrownllrater wailtochft ,
nt ht
oe
the shrouds, and first a gun from the Dane—the
Poder Skram—followed by another from the Italian
tc s rbv
fleet,ette, ssene
dm
fe
rdo
rat o
sub ni
pl o
to
os e thhi ep
the muzzlesfi r
eofr tahne, Bn
or i-
w
storm,rising inor ,dlytihnuandaweraing yincarabsohartshe, roughrongbthmenrambantring
in
the midst of an angry squall. The effect of the
great masses of men in the shrouds was scarcely in-
ferior to that produced by their tapering ranks as
we had seen them when they manned the yards.
The Poder Skram, ignorant of our signals, sent her
men aloft and laying out upon the yards. Bat the
British sailors, as if determined to show that they
had not in these days of ironclads lost their daring,
though deprived by her Majesty's gracious consider-
tion of the opportunity of exhibiting themselves at
the end of the royal yard-arms, insisted on decorat-
ing the trucks, and to the admiration of the specta-
tors as they passed now the Black Prince, now the
Warrior, men were seen aloft waving their caps or
flying pieces of bunting, and leading the cheers
which were almost lost in the storm. Nor
were the wooden ships behindhand in similar
displays of animated mastheads, and the Vic-
toria offered three specimens of daring humanity
which excited wonder as to the means by which
they were enabled to exhibit such strong physical
loyalty without any apparent means of securing
tbemvlves from the effects of the very evident mo-
tion of her massive hull. The smoke of the salute
had cleared away before the Royal yacht had well
entered the path marked out by the lines of the
fleet, and by the time her Majesty had cleared the
Minotaur and the Victoria there was a profound
silence from one extremity of the armada to the
other. The Queen's yacht slowly rounded the
Serapis, and then stood in towards the island, and
in a
nnrlseiewtptaelaerrfii
enwr
geth,
to engage
veeenhnintgehaialnegtges
gave
signal
enatlehnf le clearedeemmw oyfs. r:ob
fisovtcril
daieer
acA lel
Scarcely
impres-
sion —"
ttbh
ee
of the tremendous force of our new armaments,
was opened, and contin.:ed for nearly 20 minutes.
With the background of a dense dark cloud, which
seemed to stretch like a wall from the Isle of Wight
to the mainland, and against which the hulls and
rigging of the ships were sharply defined, there was
at the commencement of the mock engagement a
striking resemblance in the general effect to one
of those grand pictures of a sea fight which Van-
dervelde has spread upon his canvasses. But as
! the grey bus were warmed up with the incessant
flashes of fire, and the sound of the many can-
non forcing itself against the wind made the
air heavy with its weight and grandeur, there
I came upon one almost the influence which is pro-
' duced by the very aspect of battle, and people forget
for a time rain and spray and drizzling mist in con-
templating the scene before them. As the men were
" at quarters" firing at discretion, and as fast as
they could, it so happened that now and then there
was such an outbreak that men peered through the
smoke half apprehensive that some ship had blown
up bodily. Then, again, came a long rattling roll,
as though of some giant musketry in line, broken
by a salvo, or melting into a slow, dropping
fire, and again from all the line, as if gathering
itself up to deliver an exterminating broadside,
there came a rush of fire and smoke which made
even the iron sides of the cuirassed vessels tremble
at the sounds themselves had made. During this
time the Victoria and Albert was at anchor, while
the rest of the little squadron, much vexed by
adventurous yachts, forged ahead and backed
astern to keep their places.

It was near 3 o'clock when the Queen's Yacht
anchored, and the cannonade seemed to hare pro-
duced a desire to carry out as far as possible the rest
of the programme. The Royal yacht accordingly
signalled, "Is it possible for the gunboats to attack
the forts?" The answer was " Yes," and the at-
tack was ordered by the signal " Weigh, and attack
forts," and this was done at once, with a noisy good
will which left nothing to be desired on the part of
those who had come down to hear a cannonade.

The gunboats, under the command of Capt. Hood,
of the Excellent, began moving about like so many
mosquitoes, and at once proceeded in two divisions
to attack the Portsmouth defences, and to repre-
sent as far as could be done by such small fry an
attempt to force the harbour. They were formed
in two lines thus :

STARBOARD DIVISION.
1. The Stork, 2 guns, 60 horse power, 236 tons.

2. The Fancy, 2 guns, (30 horse power, 235 tons.

3. The Pigeon, 2 guns, GO horse power, 268 tons.
4. The Redwing, 2 guns, 60 horse power, 236 tons.
5. The Clinker, 2 guns, 60 horse power, 235 tons.

6. The Bullfrog, 2 guns, 60 horse power, 236 tons.
7. The Fervent, 2 guns, GO horse power, 233 tons.
8. The Orwell, 2 guns, 60 horse power, 2.1!8 tons.

. _
PORT DIVISION.
C. The Lop, 5 guns, 80 horse power, 431 tons.
10. The bLignet, 2 guns 60 horse power, 238,_ tons.
11. The Ellen-sant, 2 guns, CO horse power, 2.0 a tons.
12. The Hyaena, 2 guns, GO horse power, 236 tons.
13. The Surly, 2 guns, GO horse power, 236 tons.
11. Tho Sandtly, 2 guns, 60 horse power, 236 tons.
15. The llighlander, 1 gun, GO horse power, 233 tons.
16. The Speedy, 2 guns, GO horse power, 273 tons.
Long before these pigmy assailants had made a
hostile movement, Forts Monckton, Block House,
King's Bastion, Portsmouth, Southsea Castle, the
Lumps fort, and Eastney had made everything
ready to give them a warm reception. All the guns
in all the batteries were cast loose, and small de-
tachments of infantry were distributed in most of
them. In all previous naval reviews where this
attack and defence has been represented it has