The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-22 00:00:00

A French Hero.

General Jusuf, who commanded for the last eight or ten
months the military division of Montpellier, died at Cannes
on Friday morning. There are few names, says the Times'
correspondent, when announcing the fact of General
Juges demise, in the French army more remark-
able. It is not clearly known who his parents
were, nor the precise place where ho was born in. I be-
lieve he know as little on these points as the rest of the
world. Neither is the date of his birth known, though it
probably was soon after the beginning of the century. His
own recollections, I have heard, were vague, and the first
thing he well remembered was his living in the island of
Elba in 1810, and his having frequently seen Napoleon in
1814. Ho left Elba for Florence for his education about
the same period, but by whose care is not related. His
adventures began in his boyhood. The vessel in which he
was a passenger was attacked and captured by a Tunis
rover, and in the distribution of the spoil he fell to the
Bey. The Bey took an extraordinary liking to him, from
the very outset, lodged him in his own palace, and, struck
by the natural grace of manner and the quick intelligence
of the youth, bestowed as much care on his education
as was possible under the circumstances. He provided
him with masters, under whom he readily became a pro-
cient in the Turkish, Arabic, and Spanish languages.
The Bey had an only daughter about the same ago
as the young captive. An attachment sprung up between
them. An intrigue was the result. It was discovered by
a vigilant eunuch, who informed his master. The eunuch
was found dead next day, and Jusuf took to flight. He
was pursued by a party of soldiers, four of whom were
killed in their attempt to seize him. With much difficulty
he succeeded in gaining a French ship, the Adonis, when
he was safe from further pursuit. He arrived at Toulon
and enrolled himself as a volunteer in the expedition to
Algeria in December, 1830, under the name of Jusuf
Mameluke. His energy, gallantry, pleasing manner, and
intelligence soon attracted the attention of his superior,
and in less than a year he was promoted to the rank of
Captain in the Ist Regiment of the Chasseurs of Africa.
His knowledge of languages, which he owed to the bounty
of the Bey, was of great service to him. He was employed
in 1831 as interpreter in several most perilous missions.
His daring character was signally conspicuous in the cap-
ture of the citadel of Bona, and his conduct on that occa-
sion obtained for him his first decoration of the Legion of
Honour in 1832. In his despatch to the Minister of
War, Savary, Duke of Rovigo, who then commanded
the army of Africa, thus spoke of Jusuf :--" I know
not to what page of history to turn to find a parallel
for his daring gallantry in the taking of the Casbah of
Bona;" and Marshal Soult declared in the Chamber of
Peers that it was the finest feat of arms that the present
century had witnessed. His promotion continued to be•
rapid. He was named chef d'escadron of the Spahis of
Oran in 1833, and two years later officer of the Legion of
Honour. In 1836 he played a brilliant part in the cam-
paign of Tlemcen, and in the unsuccessful expedition of
Marshal Clausel to Constantine, of which Jusuf had been
somewhat prematurely named Boy. It was in the winter
of this year that ho made his first appearance in Paris,
where the romantic nature of his early adventures, his
daring in the field, and his brilliant military career had
already invested him with great interest, and his graceful
figure and noble bearing made him the hero of the day.
He soon returned to Africa with the rank of Lieutenant-
Colonel of Spahis. In 1842 Marshal Bugeaud demanded
from the Minister of War his promotion as Colonel of the
whole of the native cavalry. The Marshal, in his de-
spatch, remarked that—

" The praise of Lieutenant-Colonel Jusuf's gallantry is
in everybody's mouth. There is not an officer, not a pri-
vate soldier, of the Division of Oran who does not admire
him. No man ever displayed more dashing bravery or more
activity of mind and body. As a light cavalry officer there
are few indeed to be compared to him, and I earnesty en-
treat you to make him Colonel Commandant of the whole
of the Spahis of Algeria."
He became a naturalised Frenchman in 1839. In 1845 he
was named Major-General, andpaid a second visit to Paris,
on which occasion he abjured the Mussubnan faith, became
a Christian, and at the same time married a niece of Gene-
ral Guilleminot. He returned to Africa the same year,
and from that period to 1848 distinguished himself in the
war against Abd-el-Kader, whom he defeated and was on
the point of making prisoner. In 1856 he was promoted
to General of Division, and in 1857 took a leading part in
the second expedition to Kabylia. In 1860 he defeated the
bands of Moorish marauders who had invaded the Algerian
territory. In 1864 ho was charged with putting down the
insurrection of a certain number of Arab tribes, defeated
them in every encounter, and reduced them to submission
at Laghouat. He had been named Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour in 1860. Owing to some cause not
clearly explained Marshal M'Mahon soon after his appoint-
ment as Governor-General of Algeria is said to have
recommended that Jusuf should be relieved of his com-
mand there. He did not long, however, remain without
employment. He was appointed to the military division
of Montpellier, which he retained until his death.

The prospectus of the Central American Asso-
ciation (Limited) has been issued, with a capital of
£150,000, in 30,000 shares of £5 each. The object
of the company is to undertake on a more extended
scale operations similar to those which have been
so successfully conducted by the Foreign Lands and
Mineral Rights Purchase Company, now about to
be dissolved (whose shares, with £145 paid, stand
at £700), viz., to bring English capital to bear
upon the resources of, and to assist in the develop-
ment of enterprise in, Central America." The
board consists of gentlemen connected with com-
panies already in existence and standing well in the
estimation of the investing public. Mr. G. M.
Bowen, Consul for Nicaragua, and Capt. Bedford
Pim, R.g., who is the orignator of the Foreign
Lands, and the Chontales Companies as well as the
Concessionaire of the Nicaragua Transit scheme,
are on the board.

THE PUDDLERS' STRIKE IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
—The dispute between the puddlers employed at the ex-
tensive works of the Messrs. Dawes, at Elsecar, has termi-
nated for the present. It appears that the strike was not
for an advance of wages, but against the quality of the iron,
which did not allow them, in consequence of its great
hardness, to do their six heats per day under 13 hours,
instead of 10 or 11 The masters wished the men to re-
sume work until Easter, when stock would be taken and
an alteration made. On Monday a meeting of the men was
held at a place called Stubbin, when it was agreed to re-
sume work as requested by their employers, and to com-
mence on Tuesday evening, so that there has been a very
slight interruption to the trade.

REPRESENTATION OF WIGAN. —A vacancy has
been caused in the representation of Wigan by the resig
nation of Major-General Lindsay, the Consorvtive mem-
ber, the reason assigned for taking this step being that his
military duties in Canada, where he is at pxesent in com-
mand, render it impossible that ha can discharge his duty
to his constituents. The gallant general had, with a brief
interval, represented Wigan since 1845. Mr. Eckersley, a
banker, has been nominated by the Conservatives, while
the Liberals have decided to support Mr. Lancaster, the
principal proprietor in the Wigan Coal and Iron Company.
THE CANARY BIRD.—Mr. R. E. Alison, in a con-
tribution to the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture on
Teneriffe, says of the canary bird:—"When I saw it first
in its native woods I could scarcely recognise it as the
same species as our domestic yellow warbler, so much is
the latter altered by domestication and repeated crosses.
The native bird is grey on the wings, the belly is green,
and the back a very dark grey. It builds on bushy trees
or high shrubs, lays from four to six pale-blue eggs, and
sometimes batches six times in a season. I was surprised
to find that each flock has a different song. The note is
between that of the skylark and nightingale. The natives
assert that the bird is very difficult to rear, and generally
dies in a couple of years if kept in a cage."