The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-15 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 1857.

The public interest at this moment is mainly
directed towards Lucknow. There it is that
English women and children are still assailed by
diabolical wretches, anxious to destroy them with
every degree of ignominy and cruelty that could
enter into the most depraved imaginations—in
fact, to have a repetition of the Cawnpore atrocities
on au enlarged scale. This was fortunately ren-
dered impossible by I.lA.veLooK and OUTRAM, who
came to the relief with a desperate resolution that
eclipsed all their former exploits, determined either
to share the fate of the fugitives and their protectors
or to perish with them. England would, indeed,
mourn any catastroph _apart from the ordinary
casualties of war—that might happen to that hero
or to the faithful garrison who so patiently and
the odd.; that could be
devotedly resisted all
brought against them by the whole power of the
rebels !

We have, however, the pleasure of inserting
this day a letter from a young officer at Lucknow,
written on the 27th of October, in the happy and
joyous spirit befitting a true soldier sans pew', et
salts reproche. Lieutenant Moorsom seems to be
just the sort of man required for the service, one
with whom we should wish to be associated at
feast or fray. He gives a graphic and cheer-

ing description of the position occupied by the
relieving force, under HAVELOCK and OUTRI3I.
He says—"We relieved Lucknow from its instant
peril, and are now ourselves occupying a more
extended position in the town, blockaded with
the garrison," After trying to alleviate
the natural apprehensions of some who have
friends at Lucknow, he goes on to show that
there is no danger of failure either of provisions
or ammunition, the only possible dangers that
were to be dreaded. He says, iu his own felicitous
style,—" We have grub abundant, ammunition,
good quarters, plenty of fighting men, stout hearts,
and our GOD on our side ; on the other, our
enemy numerous, but cowardly, with a scarcity
of iron and lead for guns. Had we not many
women and children, and sick and wounded, we
could walk out of the town at any moment. As
it is, we can hold our own and steadily make
small advances until reinforcements arrive."

As he truly declares, the stout-hearted fighting-
men could walk ont at any moment, for the
women and children, the sick and wounded.
These could not be abandoned ; and now that
GRANT and GREATHED have arrived with 5,000
men at Alumbagh, and that the " CsaaßELL's
are coming" in good earnest, Sir Court himself
being at their head, there is but little real danger.
We await patiently, but confidently, the glad
tidings of new victories that will crush the in-
surrection at Lucknow and all through Oude, as
completely as it has already been suppressed at
Delhi, and that will give the "Arch-Demon,"
NANA SA'ltis, the exemplary punishment he so
pre-eminently merits.

Another letter from, or rather relating to,
Lucknow appeared in our impression of yesterday,
which we would earnestly commend to public
consideration. It is a letter from a lady, one of
those fugitives about whom the people' of the
United Kingdom are so deeply solicitous. As the
letter of Lieutenant MoonsoM was that of a gal-
lant young officer just what it ought to be
—the one under notice was from a true-
hearted Englishwoman, who proved herself
to be a real help to those engaged in the
defence. It is one that ought to be
written in letters of gold, and deposited
in the national archives, as it would have been
during the reign of Caliph HAROITN ALnASCHID,
of glorious memory. Never have we perused
anything more plaintively touching than the ac-
count of the feelings with which the first notes of
" the blessed pibroch" were hailed byl the ex-
hausted garrison. The fair writer says :
" On every side death stared us in the face ;

no human skill could avert it any longer. We saw

the moment approach when we must bid farewell
to earth, yet without feeling that unutterable hor-
ror which must have been experienced by the
unhappy victims at Cawnpore. We were resolved
rather to die than to yield, and were fully persuaded
that in twenty-four hours all would be over. The
engineers had said so, and all knew the worst.
We women strove to encourage each other, and to
perform the light duties which bad been as-
signed to us, such as conveying orders to the
batteries and supplying the men with provisions,
especially cups of coffee, which we prepared day
and night."

Poor JESSIE BRowN, whose name will long
survive, first heard the joyous sounds. Her hear-
ing had been sharpened to the utmost extent by
the extremity of peril, and while others were un-
able to distinguish the distant sounds, she recog-
nised the heart-inspiring notes of the Highland
slogan, proving that brave and faithful men had
indeed come to the rescue in the dark hour of
trial, when the world and all it contained were

rapidly passing away.
We shall use the beautiful language of the
writer—simplex munditiis. She speaks of her
comparatively humble companion—dear good
JEssiz—at the first indication. The scene is
thus described :—" A look of intense delight
broke over her countenance, she grasped my hand,
drew me towards her, and exclaimed ' Dinna ye
hear it ? dinna ye hear it ? Ay, I'm no dreamin',
it's the slogan o' the Highlaaiders We're saved,
we're saved !' Then, flinging herself on her knee 3,
she thanked God with passionate fervour. I
felt utterly bewildered : my English ears heard
only the roar of artillery, and I thought my
poor Jessie was still raving, but she darted to
the batteries, and I heard her cry incessantly
to the men, Courage ! courage ! hark to the slo-
gan—to the Macgregor, the grandest of them a'.
Here's help at last !' To describe the effect of these
words upon the soldiers would be impossible. For
a moment they ceased firing, and every soul lis-
tened in intense anxiety. Gradually, however,
there arose a murmur of bitter disappointment, and
the wailing of the women who had flocked out
anew as the colonel shook his head. Our dull low-
land ears heard nothing but the rattle of the mus-
ketry. A few moments more of this deathlike
suspense, of this agonising hope, and Jessie who
had again sunk on the ground, sprang to her feet,
and cried in a voice so clear and piercing
that it was heard along the whole line—" Will
ye no believe it noo ? The slogan has ceased, in-
deed, but " the Campbells are comin' ?" D'ye hear,
d'ye hear At that moment we seemed indeed
to hear the voice of God in the distance, when the
pibroch of the Highlanders brought us tidings of
deliverance, for now there was no longer any doubt
of the fact. That shrill, penetrating, ceaseless sound,
which rose above all other sounds, could come
neither from the advance of the enemy, nor from
the work of the Sappers. No, it was indeed
the blast of the Scottish bagpipes, now shrill
and harsh, as threatening vengeance on the foe,
then in softer tones seeming to promise succour to
their friends in need. Never surely was there such
a scene as that which followed. Not a heart in
the residency of Lucknow but bowed itself before
God. All, by one simultaneous impulse, fell upon
their knees, and nothing was heard but bursting
sobs and the murmured voice of prayer. Then
all arose, and there rang out from a thousand lips
a great shout of joy which resounded far and wide,
and lent new vigour to that blessed pibroch. To
our cheer of " God save the Queen," they replied
by the well-known strain that moves every Scot to
tear 3, Should auld acquaintance be forgot.' "
We cannot add anything to this perfect descrip-
tion. Never was there more cheering music than
the tones of that " blessed pibroch." It told of
home and happjess—of prolonged life and
prosperity, which that amiable lady well deserved,
and which we earnestly hope poor JESSIE BROWN
may also enjoy. Those bravo Highlanders should
receive a suitable ovation on their return.
They have well earned the otium cum
dig nitote on their return home. There is not a
single man of HAVELOCK'S band who ought not
to receive the Victoria Cross, accompanied by a
pension sufficient to support the honours so nobly
acquired.

As we anticipated—(vide our impression of
Wednesday, the 9th of December)—the Extra-
. ordinary Session of 1857 has collapsed, leaving
nothing behind it but the miserable pro forma
Bill of Indemnity. Everything else is coolly given
the go-by—is adroitly shelved—is comfortably
cushioned. Ministers want to have a pleasant