The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-09 00:00:00

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ERUPTION OF MOUNT VESUVIUS.

There has been an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
A. letter from Naples says :
" On Thursday we had one of the finest eruptions of
Vesuvius possible to be seen. Toward seven at night
the crater appeared all on fire, long flames suddenly
arose from it, then the lava gushed forth, on a very
broad surface and with very great rapidity, in the direc-
tio❑ of the Fosse Delle Faraone, and in less than three
hours it had run over all the distance that separates the
crater from the Atrio del Cavallq, the place where stand
the Venetian Observatory and the famous hermitage
which serves as a refuge for travellers of all countries,
for no foreigner comes to Naples without making the
ascent of Vesuvius. Thanks to the fine mountain road
that the Government has had made, one ascends easily
in three hours. All the quays of Naples were thronged
with people admiring this beautiful eruption."

MARKET NEWS.—(This Day.)

CORN EXCHANGE.

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THE LOSS OF A RUSSIAN VESSEL OF
TBB LINE AND 826 LIVES.

The Journal of St. Petersburg of the Ist con-
tains the following account, communicated by order
of the Minister of Marine, of the recent loss of a
vessel of the line, the Lefort _ _

"It has pleased Providence I should participate
in one of the greatest disasters that can happen at
sea, and to make me a witness of the instantaneous
and inexplicable loss of one of the vessels in my
fleet. A few minutes have sufficed for a beautiful
ship of the line, thoreughly seaworthy, to be en-
gulfed by the waves during a tempestuous night.
Not a cry of distress reached us from the scene of
the disaster, although we were but 4 cables' length
distant to windward. No one survives to explain
to us the cause of this unparalleled catastrophe.
" On the 28th August (Sept. 9) four ships of the
line, the Imperatrice Alexandra, the Vladimir,
the Lefort of 84 guns, and the Pamiat Asova, of 74
guns, which were in the port of Revel, received
orders to arm and return to Cronstadt. Ten days
afterwards the Pamiat Asova quitted the roads,
towed by a steam-frigate. The three other vessels
were ready to set sail two days later ; they had
water and provisions for a month, and their stowage
was the same as at the end of their cruise in the
preceding year ; the Lefort was thoroughly repaired
at Cronstadt in 1852. I had received instructions
to profit by the favourable weather to set sail, with-
out waiting for the steam-tugs. On the 9th of
Sept. (21st) I got under sail with beautiful weather
and a favourable breeze from S.S. W., the barome-
ter marking 29.79 English. A little later the wind
fi eshened, and abreast of the island of Rothskar we
were obliged to take in two reefs in the topsails. _
At half-past 8 p.m., after passing the island of
Hochland, the fleet was making more than eleven
knots. The wind increasing, I ordered a third, and
then a fourth reef to be taken in. The barometer
being at 29.15, and the weather foggy, we sailed as
close as possible to the wind, endeavouring to keep
our course by short tacks, until morning ; each
time I gave the signal for the manceuvre. At half-
past 11 the wind shifted to the west, at midnight
to the N.W., and at four o'clock to the north, with
squalls and snow. At daybreak we were near the
island of Grand-Tuters. The fleet was on the star-
board tack, the Imperatrice Alexandra a little to
windward, and the Vladimir in the wake of the
Lefort, with four reefs in' her topsails.
"At a distance of five miles from Tuters we
tacked. During our manceuvre the Lefort ap-
peared to us as if about to tack ; suddenly a vio-
lent squall laid her on her side. Though her sails
were let go, she leaned over so much to larboard
that we expected her masts would go, but she con-
tinued gradually to lean over till she foundered in
the short time that the Vladimir took to tack
about. The keel of the Lefort appeared once, and
was then swallowed up in the waves.
" Exclusive of the commander and 12 officers,
the vessel had on board 743 seamen, 53 women,
and 17 children; all perished.

"This disaster took place on September 10 (22),
at 23 minutes past seven a.m., at sti miles to the
N.N.E. of the Wand of Grand-Tuters, at a depth
of thirty fathoms. After this unparalleled catas-
trophe, the wind continuing to increase, we braikd
11,3 the fore-topsails and top-gallant sails, and after-
wards the main-topsails, and decided to anchor at
a depth of 31 fathoms, letting out all the cable of
two anchors. Fifty-three hours afterwards the
wind calmed, and the steamers arriving in the
meantime, towed us to Cronstadt.
" Signed by the Rear-Admiral
NORDMAN I."