The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-18 00:00:00

rHE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EV ENING, OCTOBER 18, 1866.

Sheerness Steam Reserve. The Leander has been
in commission about three years and a half, during
which time she has been employed chiefly in the
Pacific. The continuous-service men have been
granted six weeks' leave of absence, at the expira-
tion of which period they will rejoin the flagship at
either of the naval ports. The Leander goes into
the third division of the Steam Reserve in the Med-
way until again required for commission. The
Royal Marines, under the command of Captain F.
L. David, arrivel at bead-quarters, Chatham,
yesterday morning, the Royal Marine Artillery
being forwarded to head-quarters, Portsmouth.
Under the new system adopted in paying-off her
Majesty's ships at Sheerness, the whole of the crew,
on receiving their pay, were forwarded by special
train on the London, Chatham, and Dover Rail-
way to London and the various ports.
The screw gun-vessel Myrmidon, 4, 200-horse
power, building at Chatham, has had a number of
shipwrights placed on her in order to complete and
bring her forward for launching.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Lieut. Verney L. Cameron to
the Star ; Edmund Swain, master, to the Indus ;
John Bruce (b), chief engineer, to the Star ; James
George. Hill, engineer, to the Star; and John
Richard Hancock, first-class assist.-engineer, to the
Star.

build, and, considering the obstacles which Mr. Cub-
bitt, the engineer, has hadin the way of finding pro-
per foundations, the works have progressed, on the
whole, with fair rapidity. The foundations of the
abutments are carried down to a depth of nearly
30ft. below the bed of the river. The springing of
the ironwork of the arches commences at about 9ft.
above high-water mark. Each arch will be composed
of nine wrought-iron ribs, with powerful wrought-
iron lattice girders crossing them diagonally. Over
these are to be laid what are termed buckle-plates,
which are simply large convex shields of wrought-
iron riveted to the ribs ; over these again will come
ordinary ballast of asphalte and ragstone, and above
all the granite paving. The outer spandrils of each
arch-- that is to say, the portions of the bridge which
will be seen coming up or down the river—will be
beautiful ornamental castings in what is termed the
Lombardo-Gothic style. The balustrade or parapet
which is to surmount the bridge is excessively hand-
some and light in its design. This is to be both
painted and gilded. The joining of the ironwork
between the arches will be hidden by polished
columns of red granite 7ft. in diameter and 12ft.
high. Above these are to be richly carved capitals
of Portland stone, those facing to the west being
decorated entirely with sculpture representing the
birds, plants, and fishes peculiar to the upper part
of the river ; while those on the east side are to be
similarly adorned with carvings of the sea birds and
sea weeds to be found at the mouth of the Thames.
Above all these ornamentations, and breaking the
line of the light gilt parapet, will be stone recesses,
each surrounded by a massive carved balustrade.
It is very hard in a mere description to convey an
adequate idea of thegeneral effect which this superb
bridge will present, and it is not for some months,
and until the spandrils of the arches begin to be
bolted together, that the public will be able to form
a good idea of it. It will probably be 18 months
before they have an opportunity of forming this
judgment, for such works as bridge building pro-
ceed but slowly. No doubt, in this case the works
have been carried forward more dilatorily than they
should have been ; but it is only fair to both the
engineers and contractors to bear in mind that
they had to take down an old bridge before they
began the new, and that most unusual obstacles
have intervened to prevent their finding proper
foundations for their piers.

gium. The King, in a few earnest words, returned
thanks. He then passed up and down the series,
stopping at nearly every one of the 35 to see a shot
fired. All this time the incessant cries of " Vive le
Roi !" " Vive la famille Royale !" rose loud above
even the rifle shots, no voice being silent among
the hundreds of people who lined his path. The
King made minute inquiries respecting the best
shots, and closely examined the bull's-eyes which
had been perforated, as they were produced for him
from the little pigeon-holes to which I referred in
another letter.
The Royal party next proceeded to the long
ranges, where the principal competitors are the
Volunteers, though the Frenchmen, the Dutchmen,
and Belgians also have entered the lists. Imme-
diately on his Majesty entering the ground, the
competing riflemen were drawn up in squads with
arms in hand, and the other Volunteers present were
ranged in a body opposite to the marksmen. A suc-
cession of hearty English cheers greeted the Royal
visitor. Having made himself acquainted with the
distance and the system of marking he expressed a
wish to see some shots fired. Lord Bury, being one
•of those who complied with his Majesty's request,
was fortunate enough to make two centres and a
buil's eye, on which the King warmly congratulated
the noble lord. His Majesty expressed the plea-
sure he felt at seeing foreign riflemen 'competing
with Belgian marksmen, and shook hands with the
French officer, Col. Lindsay, Lord Bury, Sir Paul
Hunter, Adjutant Burgess, and Lieut. Furley. He
then quitted the ground amid renewed cheering.
The following was the scoring from 14 upwards at
the long range during yesterday :-
14 Points—Atfield, 9th Sussex ; Barker, 3d Kent ;
Puckle, Ist Surrey; Russer, 7th Surrey; Levis, 3d Bre-
con; Brown, G., 37th West York; Young, Ist Isle of
Wight ; Chisholme, Ist Surrey ; Baert, Bruxelles ; Hans--
sons, Bruxelles ; Nicholls, Ist Stafford.
15 Points—Wink, 1l th Worcester ; Cooper, sth Lanca-
shire; Musson, Bruxelles; Bartholome, Bruxelles; Jacques,
Mons ; Davies, 6th Hereford ; Noller, 3d Kent ; Price, 3d
Kent ; Dancocks, 2d Middlesex ; Richards, 19th Surrey.
16 Points—Hodgkinson, 32d Stafford; Hopkins, 41st
Middlesex ; Hewitt, 22d Essex ; Bingham, Ist Gloucester;
Ash, 11th Hants; Greenhill, 29th Kent; Scott, 20th Mid-
dlesex ; Basquette, St. Quentin ; Huertz, Bruxelles ; Lan-
quet, Alost ; Andre, Charleroy ; Wilslade, 7th Hereford ;
Moss, Queen's Westminster.
17 Points—Rent, sth Hants ; Ryan, South Middlesex ;
Taylor, 4th Bucks ; Hams, Jas., 29th Kent ; Berry, 29th
Middlesex ; Sankey, 7th Hereford.
18 Points—Bacchus, South Middlesex; Marriner, West
Middlesex ; Bailly, Vincennes.
19 Points—Peake, 6th Lancashire.

I stated in my letter of Saturday that, in conse-
quence of the illness of the Empress of Mexico,
their Majesties would not visit the theatre last
night ; but, yielding to the representations made to
them as to the gratification which their presence
there for even a short time would give to all the
foreigners in Brussels, as well as to their own sub-
jects, the King and Queen, with their generous con-
sideration for others, so far sacrificed their personal
feelings as to attend, and the result was a scene such
as few persons have seen equalled, and none can
hope to see excelled in any place of public amuse-
ment in this or any other city. The Theatre de la
Monnaie, the principal one of Brussels, is, for its
size, one of the most beautiful in Europe. It is not
as large as Covent Garden, nor nearly so large as
the San Carlo at Naples, or La Scala at Milan ; but
in its decorations it exceeds the two former and falls
not far short of the latter. There are ten or a dozen
rows of orchestra stalls richly furnished, and the
parterre is handsome and commodious. A magnifi-
cent balcony runs round the pit,, and over the bal-
cony rise three tiers of boxes, which are surmounted
by a gallery. There are three tiers of private boxes
over the orchestra, and just jutting in upon the
stage. The second of these to the right as you
look towards the proscenium is the Royal box ; and
it is a locale fit for a King. Consisting of a lofty
apartment, it is entered by two large rosewood fold-
ing doors, inside of which are rich scarlet hangings.
In front, above the level of the ceiling, the decora-
tions are in deep purple. From these flow rich scar-

let velvet curtains, and from the front of the box
hangs a gorgeous purple velvet drapery on which are
emblazoned in golden letters L. R. At either side
of the little apartment itself stand two admirably
carved gilt figures of nymphs bearing many-
branched candelabra. The fronts of all the othe
boxes are elaborately carved and studded with

medallions which stand out in fine relief. Such
is the theatre which was crowded from floor to
ceiling last night, nearly 500 Volunteers in
ft.lll uniform sitting in the orchestra stalls, the pit,
the balcony being occupied by officers and ladies,
and the beauty and rank of Brussels having every
spot of sitting ronna in all the tiers of boxes. From
a ceiling itself radiant in frescoes hung a chandlier
of great size, and of a brilliancy that illuminated
the house to its remotest corner. The performance
was the opera of "La Muette de Portici," better
known among us as " Masaniello." At half-past 7,
when the curtain was about to rise, the orchestra
played the " Brabangonne," which was received with
vociferous applause, loudest in which were the cheers
of the Volunteers. The entire of the audience rose
from their seats, the ladies waved their handkerchiefs,
and the enthusiasm was general. " Partant pour
la Syrie" followed, and the French were cheered ;
and then " God Save the Queen," always inspirit-
ing to Englishmen, but never so much so as when
they hear it in a foreign land ; it, too, evoked great
cheering. But the international demonstration was
tame as compared with what occurred when, just as
the second act ought to have commenced, the fold-
ing doors of the Royal box were thrown open, and
Leopold 11. and his Queen walked to the front, fol-
lowed by the Lord Mayor of London, the Bourg-
mestre of Brussels, La Comtesse de Borghrave,
Madame de Benterghen, Le Major Goffinet, and Le
Lieutenant Luriden. The orchestra, in triumphant
blasts of trumpet and beat of drum, thundered
forth the national air of Belgium ; the audience
started to their feet en masse, and with one accord
all joined in a great hurrah whieh resounded
through every part of the building. Accustomed
as their Majesties have been since the King's acces-
sion to an enthusiastic loyalty which seems to
grow day by day in intensity and vehemence, they
were almost overpowered by this reception. Both
bowed low, but with a dignity that added a peculiar
charm to their recognition of the spontaneous and
more than affectionate tribute paid by foreigners
and Belgians to their public character and domestic
virtues. Again and again was the ovation renewed,
and several times over did their Majesties rise and
repeat their acknowledgments. " Pourtaut pour la
Syrie" was the signal for a general compliment to the
French, and when "God save the Queen" came our
Sovereign was cheered in such a manner as to show
how deeply she is respected in the city which is now
feting her Volunteers. The King and Queen of the
Belgians and the entire audience stood while the
British National Anthem was being played. Their
Majesties took their departure after witnessing two
acts of the opera, which was admirably performed.
When they rose to leave the audience rose also, and
the acclamations were continued until the Royal
party had driven away on their way back to Laeken.
The King wore on the occasion his uniform of Lieu-
tenant-General, with the cordon and star of the
Order of Leopold. The Queen's dress was black ;
on her head was a coronet of diamonds, and on her
neck were those splendid brilliants which she wore
at the Mansion-honse some mouths ago.
It appears that by the fire at the Palace on Sun-
day two or three pictures were very much damaged,
and the one totally destroyed was a Vandyke—a
painting of the Redeemer. The Palace had been
for some time under repairs ; and it is a rather re-
tnarkable fact that the day before the fire took
place an inventory was being made of property, in-
cluding that which has been destroyed, for the pur-
pose of insurance. Previously to going to the opera
their Majesties had a dinner party at Laeken, to
which the Lord Mayor, Col. Loyd Lindsay, Lord
Bury, Dr. Eustace Smith, of London, the King's
physician extraordinary, and other gentlemen were
invited.

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