The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-29 00:00:00

7HE NAVY.

The Ariadne, 26, Capt. E. W. Vansittart, now
bein., fitted at Chatham, is picking up her crew
verffast, about 150 have joined up to the present
time. On Saturday nearly 50 fine seamen from
Sheerness and other naval ports joined, and there is
little doubt that her complement of 400 men will be
obtain2d in a comparatively short time. The
Ariadne still remains in the basin at Chatham
dockyard, but, from the efforts made to complete
her, shells expected to be undocked in the course of
a very few days. Her engines are of 800-horse
power, and are by Messrs. Maudslay, Son, and
Field. She is to be armed with Armstrong guns
of the largest calibre, and is the first vessel of her
class furnished with that tremendous armament,
which will thus be disposed,-24 84cwt. guns, each
9 feet 4 inches in length, on the deck ; and on the
upper deck will be placed two 68-pounders, each of
95 cwt. and 10 feet 2 inches in length.
The screw line-of-battle ship Trafalgar, 91, ar-
rived at Portland on Saturday morning from Ply-
mouth. The Royal Albert, 130, got up steam in
the early part of the day and made a short run in
the harbour, after which she again anchored in her
old place.
The screw steamship Edgar, 91, Capt. James E.
Cator, flag of Admiral Erskine; Conqueror, 101,
Capt. W. C. Clifford ; and Centurion, SO, Capt. G.
E. Patey, arrived in Plymouth Sound yesterday
afternoon. They left Gibraltar Nov. IS: and for
the last two days have experienced very thick foggy
weather. They went considerably to the eastward
of Plymouth before entering.
The screw steam storeship Industry, 2, Comman-
der G. F. Hodges, from Rio and Ascension, arrived
in Plymouth Sound on Sunday morning, and went
into Hamoue for coal.

The Netherlands screw steam frigate Evertson
left Plymouth Sound on Sunday.
The steam vessel Advice, tender to the Nile, is
receiving repairs at Plymouth, which may be com-
pleted by to-morrow, the 30th inst.
All superfluous sails, as spare sails, are to be dis-
pensed with on board her Majesty's ships.
The screw steam sloop Flying Fish, 6, Com. C.
W. Hope, left Plymouth on Sunday for Portland.
It is expected that the screw steamship Nile, 90,
Capt. A. P. E. Wilmot, which left Plymouth abort
a month since, will return there to be repaired.
She sailed for the West Indies, and having lost
sails, boats, &c., and experienced other damage in
the late storms, put back to Queenstown for shelter.
At the request of the Committee of the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution, an experiment with
Mr. Silas's indestructible signal lights was tried at
Blackwall pier on the Ist November, as detailed in
The Sun, but the intense fog preventing the mem-
bers of the committee from judging the distances at
which the lights could be seen, it was agreed that
a second trial should be made last night at the
same place. Lord Shelburne, Rear - Admiral
M'Hardy, Captain Ward, R.N., together with
various gentlemen connected with maritime in-
stitutions in England and the Continent, were
present. Mr. Thomas Baring, M.P., President
of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution,
was also stated to be present. The experiments
commenced after nightfall, when the inventor, ac-
companied by Capt. Ward, crossed the river from
Blackwall-pier, and threw over some of the floating
lights as they passed across. The reflection which
the lights east alofte the river was most remarkable.
Some were lighted on board, and, from the extra-
ordinary brilliancy in and around the boat, it was
supposed by strangers on shore that au accident of
a serious nature had occurred, and that the boat was
on fire. Different trials were made with the same
instruments of a smaller kind, when the indestruc-
tibility of the light. although immersed, was proved
to demonstration. Some of the lights freed from the
float were thrown into a depth. of 30 feet of water
and sank; nevertheless the light was seen reflected
along the surface of the water and underneath the
boats and steamers for a considerable time with
flickering