The Sun.
London, England, 1832-12-24 00:00:00

HAMBURG PAPERS.

BERLIN, DEC. 18.—Baron H. Von Knoblesdorf, Prussian
Resident at Cracow, died there on the 4th of this month. Not-
withstanding the short time he had resided there, he had
gained general esteem and regard. He was buried on the 6th
with great pomp; the Members of Government and the Au-
thorities attended.

CUXHAVEN, DEC. la—A Dutch East Indiaman, which
arrived in the Elbe yesterday, was indeed visited by the Eng-
lish, who sent an officer on board, but was allowed to land
passengers, received provisions and an English pilot, and pro-
ceeded unmolested on its voyage. It was under Danish
colours. Besides this ship originally bound to Rotterdam, the
Russian ship Adrianople, Captain Janssen, from Archangel,
also bound to Holland, has returned from that coast to the
Elbe, because the Captain could not obtain a pilot on the
Dutch coast, and was unwilling to expose himself to danger
in the North Seas, far all the buoys and sea-marks are removed,
and no lights in any of the light-houses. It may be expected
that the ships bound to Holland will come to the Elbe, though
the English have rather relaxed their proceedings against the
Dutch both in the channel and on the Dutch coast.

Thus they lately allowed a Dutch ship, under Danish colours,
sailing in company with two Americans, to proceed to its desti-
nation in Holland.

LEIPSIC, Dec. 13.—The Senior of our University, Dr.
Christian Daniel Beck, Professor of Roman and Greek Litera.
ture, died this morning at the age of 76, after a most dis-
tinguished Academical career of nearly 55 years.—Hamburg
Papers, Dec. 18.

I'ETERSBURGH, DEC. 7.—By an order of the day of the
the Ist inst., his Majesty the Emperor was pleased to tes-
ty this entire satisfaction to all the general officers of the
corps of the Caucasus, who took part in the late expedition
against the rebellious mountaineers, and by their intrepidity
contributed to the complete destruction of the bands of
the rebel, Kazil Monlla. His Majesty was also pleased to give
to the subalterns and privates a donation of a silver rouble each
man.

The navigation of the port of Cronstadt has ceased. It has
been open 214 days, five more than last year.—Journal of St.
Petersburgh, Dec. 8.

ANTWERP, FRIDAY Noom.
The last act of the siege has begun. The breach battery,
armed and fully prepared, began at half-past it o'clock, the
work of destruction on the left face of the bastion Toledo.
This battery consists of six 24-pounders, the balls of which
strike the wall at the water level, and shattering the old bricks
of which it is composed into pieces, raise clouds of dust. The
firing is vehement on both sides, for the besieged, whose only
defence has hitherto been not art, but the strength of their
guns, are now compelled to make a last, and, as all allow, a
fruitless effort to repel the attack. The battery plays hori-
zontally upon a width of about 15 yards, and from a distance
of about :34 The sounds are, therefore, such as have not yet
been heard during the siege, from their frequent and forcible
detonation.

(The counter batteries also direct their fire on the flanks of
the Fernando and Pacietto bastions. It is feared that some
halls may fly over the esplanade to the next street of the town,
called Rue de la Cuilliere, which has produced the departing
of the persons resident therein. Sentinels are placed to prevent
all passage through that street.
This commencement of the breach has silenced all the doubts
of the adherents of the King of Holland; the citadel must soon
yield—opinions vary within what period, from three to seven '
days. Rumour speaks of a final summons having been sent
by Marshal Gerard this morning, to demand the surrender, be-
fore the breach batteries opened. It is not easy at this mo-
ment to learn the truth on the subject, particularly as it might
be supposed to have the appearance of fear. Such summons,
it is asserted, could not have been sent until the breach be
practicable.

4 O'CLOCK, AFTERNOON.
The great Liege, or, as it is now called, monster mortar, has
been tried to-day, and has succeeded. It is placed on the
counter-guard, between the Mechlin gate and the fort Monte-
bello. The first enormous shell thrown by this mortar during
its approach to the citadel, revolved as it were on its own axis,
and fell upon and sunk into the rampart of the citadel, near the
gate of the Esplanade. After a delay of about three minutes
it burst, and scattered an immense quantity of earth on all
sides. The second shell, from some fault in the fusee, broke in
the mortar, and bursting at 100 yards, threw the fragments for-
ward. A delay of two or three hours then followed, during
which the shells were examined. I saw a truck drawn by two
horses, and sufficiently laden, bear two of those huge masses of
metal to their destination. At 4 o'clock four or five more were
thrown with precision into the citadel,—a distance of more than
1,000 yards.
The appearance of the citadel is hourly growing more hideous.
The little turret of the chapel, long one of the distinguishing
features of the place, has fallen, as well as a great part of the
building itself. A fire broke out this morning among the ruins,
as if to leave no vestige of the works of olden time. A shell
also fell among some Dutch shells ready charged near the
masked mortar battery, in the interior of which it caused at
least a dozen of them to burst, and of course to do even more
mischief than those thrown by the French.
Yet General Chasse, who is the passive instrument of the
Dutch King, is compelled to hold out, and to run the risks of a
useless siege. To account for this extravagance, I must men-
tion a statement given to me on respectable authority this
evening, that the Dutch King has been buoyed up in this foolish
resistance by the explicit assurances of certain high Destruc.
aa t c
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3 o'cr.ocK.
There has been considerable firing on the river. The
French have guns of heavy calibre stationed, one at Burcht,
and the other on the opposite side, which have discharged a
considerable number of shot against the Dutch gunboats in
the Scheldt, near the citadel, to cut off, as it is said, the corn.
munication with the Tete de Fland res. The distance was too
great to produce any effect. It is also asserted that there has
been a heavy cannonade down the river towards Lillo, but the
haziness of this rainy weather prevents all chance of distin-
guishing the places. It is asserted that the arrangements of
the French corps under Generals Sebastiani and Achard are
such as to interrupt effectually all communication down the
lower part of the Scheldt. The execution of the howitzers on
board the ships has alarmed the Dutch. If the " monster
mortar" be placed on the bank so as to throw one of its shells
into a frigate, the Dutch will have to boast of more than one
Van Spyk,

I saw the King, Leopold, attended with a brilliant staff ride
on horseback along the road to Berchem about two hours ago,
on his return to Brussels. The rain nor the dangers of the
road did not cause him to hasten his usual pace, although
,all
the Belgians
nagl
rtehaadtyc hr
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efe ahro
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ea
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injury The Royal carriage fo I _
lowed, into which the King, after having paid a visit to the
head-quarters of Marshal Gerard, entered, and drove off.
During his stay in Antwerp, his Majesty has visited all the
hospitals, and made inquiries into the cases of all the wounded,
even of the Dutch prisoners. He also rode through every part
of the city, which his presence contributes to console at this
critical period. His return here is stated to take place early
next week.
The number of killed and wounded of the French now
amounts to about 600; the latter are treated with great kind.
ness and attention ; those who are not seriously wounded are
removed to the neighbouring towns, gulch as Mechlin, Louvain,

&c., while such as are incapable of being tranTorted -;o far,
are received in the hospitals, &c.. of this city. Yesterday af-
ternoo❑ Marshal Gerard, with some staff officers, visited the
military hospital here, when with a soldier's frankness he con-
soled the wounded, and told them that their King, Louis
Philip, in order that nothing should be wanting even in the
smallest degree to their present comfort, had sent 10,000 francs
for their use.

8 O'CLOCK.

Great stress is laid by some favourers of the policy of Hol-
land an the semiofficial report of the siege, published in the
Staates Courant Dutch paper of the 18th inst. It professes to
have been written in the citadel ; and, although it does not
bear the signature of General Chasse, it is by those persons
attributed to him. It admits the loss up to the 15th, of GO
killed, 194 wounded, and 67 missing, being the prisoners taken
by the French. Among the killed and wounded are several
officers.

After having given a detail of the advance of the French to
the capital of the bastion Toledo, which detail does not vary
from those already published, the report contains a description
of the taking of the Lunette St. Laurent, which it concludes
with the following remarkable passage, which, as worthy
of public attention, I transcribe in the original :—" Het
strekt echter tot trost, dat doze lunette het cerste buiten_
werk is, dat door cen zoo magtigen vijand na reeds 16 dagen
tie tranchee de hebben geopend, genommen is." "It however
is a consolation that this lunette is the first external work
that has been taken by so powerful an enemy, after the
trenches had been opened 16 days." Dutch consolation, in_
deed ! There was no other external work to be taken, and it
was taken, as the French official report states, with 3 killed and
30 wounded. If such consolation be satisfactory, it is to be
supposed that the Dutch King and people will not prove in-
consolable when the citadel and General Chasse shall next week
he taken also.

This report is by the Dutch partisans most oddly contrasted
with the simple statements of the French Marshal, as if the
disclosure of the Dutch loss, from a superior force, in this, to
them, fruitless contest, could excite commiseration or pity.
They paint the citadel as ploughed up by 40,000 shells, and yet
they forget that it is because the Dutch will not hear justice.
Let the Dutch act fairly with their neighbours, by giving
freedom to the Scheldt, and restore what does not belong to
them—the Belgian ct tadel and forts, and accept peace on just
terms, and they may have tranquillity and commerce with all
the world.

It is amusing to find a society in Rotterdam now contribu-
ting to buy 297ilbs. of smoking and 3751b5. of quid tobacco, to
be distributed among their soldiers and sailors now defending
Lief kenshoek and Lillo. They do not think, as it would ap-
pear, of those who defend the citadel, yet they will, it is pre-
sumed, take care to send tobacco to them, and also to their
friends in England for consolation, and as repayment for their
fine assurances.

DEC. 22, SATURDAY MORNING, F.IOIIT O'CLOCK,

There was during the night a cessation of the battering
cannon, although the fusilade continued brisk. The cause of
the former is conjectured by some to arise from the flow of the
tide into the ditch of the citadel, which prevented the con-
tinuance of the horizontal cut; some think it arose from the
darkness. The ditch of the citadel being six feet deeper than
that of the town, water must necessarily remain in it, and at
high water there are consequently several feet more. This
intermission of the breaching fire must delay the assault for
some days more. Others suppose that General Haxo has been
at work in mining some part of the bastion. The firing has
recommenced at a brisk rate.

At 3 o'clock yesterday there were four distinct vertical cuts
in the brick work of the scarp of the bastion ; at 4 o'clock
these cuts were said to have reached the earthy sand forming
the rampart. After which there was to be a horizontal cut
formed at the lower part, just above the level of the water.
When this is completed, there are to be salvoes fired into the
masonry to shake it down, and a few shells into the earth, to
make the breach there practicable. The ditch is to be filled
up. The counterscrap is mined, in order to be thrown into it.

10 O'CLOCK.

The French appear to have given up the intention of attack-
ing the demilune near the bastion Paccietto, which, as the
passage leading from it into the citadel is destroyed, can be now
of no avail to the besieged, and can be taken when useful by
the besiegers.

11 O'CLOCK.

On the river this morning nothing new. The gun-boats
opposite to the citadel have not suffered from yesterday's fire,
which is described as ton distant from them. The fleet at
Lillo cannot be distinguished from the quay, on account of the
weather. Some of the balls fired from the counter battery at
the flank battery of the bastion Fernando have fallen into the
river between the Tete de Flanders and the Fort Austruwee).

Christmas continues to be stated as the nearest possible
time for the assault of the citadel.

12 O'CLOCK.

I have just heard that the Belgian staff has sent three young
officers of the engineers to Venloo. Their object is stated to
he to labour in the repairs now going on in that fortress.

The breach is considered now as nearly completed, and
probably by tomorrow morning the passage into the ditch will

The number of killed and wounded during the night has
been very great. The weather is cloudy. K.

BRUSSELS. SATURDAY NOON.
ne suojosnea orncsat" announcement, ....
the commencement of the battery in breach out of all question
--you will find in the annexed accounts with what effect, eve❑
in the tirsefewihours. From the accounts which reached later,
it appears that there was some cessation of the battering in
breach during the night, but that it was resumed this morning
with most destructive effect. Many officers here think that a
breach will be practicable on Monday, and that everything will
be ready for the assault on Christmas day. (The French are
fond of the eclat of great efforts on fete days.) A paper of
this morning talks of a summons being sent to Chasse before
the opening of the battering in breach ; I cannot trace it to
any authority better than that of the paper itself, and I am in-
clined to think it is a mistake. lam informed that it is the
practice to send a summons after a breach is practicable, but not
before.

The following are from the morning papers :
(From the Moniteur Beige.)
(OfficiaL)
TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF THE SIEGE.

ANTWERP, DEC. 21.
The fire of the batteries Nos. 1 and 2 of the second
parallel, was warmly kept up during the night of the 20th.
The besieged replied to it by their mortars, their flank pieces,
and their rampart fusils.
The batteries in breach and the counter batteries opened
their fire at eleven this morning. The first fired by salvoes,
which greatly damaged the scarp of the left front of bastion
No. 2.

The fire will be continued until a breach is made in that side
of the bastion near the salient.

lhe first bomb from the great mortar fell in the centre of
bastion No. 1, against which it was pointed. It exploded in
its passage, owing to the fusee. Every preparation for the
descent of the fosse is now ready, and every means have been
adopted to open immediately a communication between the
covered way and the breach, when the latter becomes prac-
ticable.

(From the Emancipation.)

This morning at 11 o'clock the battery in breach, armed
with six 24-pounders, and placed at a distance of about 50
metres from the scarp of the bastion Toledo, and supported
by several other batteries, making together a force of 36
pieces, opened its fire with great vigour ; the effect was most
satisfactory. The solidity of the walls is not as great as was
expected; the bricks are large, and in some places joined
with a cement of so soft a_nature, that the balls pierce it.
On the average it may be said that every shot displaces two
bricks. The battery in breadth itself will discharge about 6,000
bullets in the day. For in such a service the cannon are used
very frequently, but there are also other pieces brought near
the battery to be ready in case any of the others should for a
moment become unserviceable; so that the fire will not for an
instant be relaxed until the breach is practicable.
We may therefore now calculate that in 48 hours the fa-
tigues of the army wiil be brought to a close. It is now six
months since Marshal Soult required from the engineer de-
partment a plan of the attack projected against Antwerp.
That document, which is still extant, pointed out the 28th or
29th day from the opening of the trenches, all the preparations
for the assault would be ready. The event has come within
24 hours of the calculation of the engineer.
The commandant of the battery in breach, M. litrunet, has
been wounded by the bursting of a howitzer shell. He cannot
remain at his post, but his wound is not of a serious nature.
The large mortar cast at Liege was placed in battery this
morning. A great many officers were present at the trial. It
was served by Belgian artillerymen.—(There must be a mistake
here, as the Belgians have not taken since the commencement
any part in the service of the cannon against the citadel.) Of
two bombs thrown, the one hit its object, the other burst in the
air. It is not, however, necessary, in the present state of the
siege, to have recourse to such a piece of artillery, and it will
not be farther used.

Another account says that the second bomb exploded as it
left the mouth of the mortar, to the imminent risk of those
present, though, as it happened, no mischief was done. To
guard, however, against similar accidents, the use of this mor-
tar has been abandoned for the present.
Marshal Gerard paid a visit to the hospital yesterday , and
evinced the greatest anxiety for the situation of his wounded
men. He said to one man," Have courage, my good fellow ;
I myself was once a private soldier." "It must be confessed,
General," replied the other with great naivete, that you have
had a fine promotion of it." The Marshal consoled another
by telling him that he should have a pension of 300 francs.
" Oh," said he, " I am quite reconciled ; I know very well that
one cannot make omelets without breaking eggs."

(From the Union.
BERCHEM, DEC. 21, 3 o'cLocK, AFTERNOON.
The Duke of Orleans has claimed his turn in the trenches,
and he takes the command on the 25th.

5 O'CLOCK.
The tire is well kept up on both sides. i have been on
the tower, and while there, remarked that every bullet from
the besiegers hit the bastion, and dislodged some bricks. To-
morrow the opening will be very deep, and probably the day
after the casing will be quite destroyed.
(From the Indepenclant.)
The lodgement effected by the sharpshooters in the covered
way of the half-moon, in the rear of the Lunette St. Laurent,
is complete. The other works of attack on that point appear
to be abandoned for the present, and will only be resorted to