The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-03 00:00:00

MESSINA.

A letter from Messina, in the Gazette du Midi,
says : " The garrison of the citadel and the inhabi-
tants of the town continued to live in good fellow-
ship until a few days ago, when, the money-chest
of the former being empty, the latter refused to
make any supplies. On that, General Pergola
was about to obtain credit by means of a partial
bombardment, but fortunately two French steamers
chartered by King Francis 11. arrived with
clothing, provisions, and money, and that incident
immediately re-established harmony."

A Frankfort letter says : The Federal army,
without including the Austrian contingent, has
now 35 batteries of rifled cannon made on the
Prussian system. In the largest contingents the
formation in three ranks has been replaced by that
in two, in order to give the troops greater rapidity
of movement. The men of the third rank are to
form a fourth battalion, and the number of officers
is to be increased.

A Berlin letter of the 31st says :—The Prussian
army, according to an approximative estimation,
should contain from 13,00) to 14,000 officers,
whereas the actual muster-rolls only contain 9,600,
of who m 7,000 belong to the regular army and
2,600 to the Landwehr. Though between this and
autumn, the military have to supply 900 more
officers, the number will still be 3,500 less than the
full complement. With respect to the medical
staff, matters are still worse, as there are but very
few surgeons."

The Madrid journals of the 27th, 28th, and 29th
ult.—those of the first two days delayed by the
weather—have arrived. The Clamor Publico,
in the name of the Liberal party, expresses great
Aatisfaction at the appointment of Sir J. Crampton
as English Minister at Madrid. The Espana states
that Messrs. de Rothschild have refused to comply
with a request addressed to them by the Emperor
of Morocco to make a loan sufficient to pay the
indemnity due to Spain.

MOURNFUL INTELLIGENCE FROM THE SOUTH
AFRICAN MrssioN.—A letter from the intrepid missionary,
Robert Moffat, to the London Missionary Society, commu-
nicates some mournful intelligence. It is dated from Kuru-
inurn, Nov. 12, 1360 :—" It is only four days since I for
warded a letter to you, which contained all the information
which had then reached us respecting the Makololo
brethren. It was favourable ; but, alas I alas ! it was only
to lift us up that we might be plunged into the depths of
sorrow. Alas I Helmore, the amiable, the unwearied, and
apostolic Helmore, and his devoted wife, are no more in-
habitants of this lower world. This distressing intelligence
has just reached us by one of our people, who had been on
an elephant hunt as far as the Victoria Falls on the Zara -
beze. He there met with some people from Linyanti, who,
when asked respecting the welfare of the missionaries,
replied, in the phraseology of the country, that they were
all dead with the fever ; and, commencing with the name
of the first victim, said Helmore died, then his wife, next
two of his children, then the suckling of Mrs. Price ; the
next was Malatsi, a man of this station, Mr. P.'s wagg,,n-
driver ; the next Tabe,of Lekatlong, whe had accompanied
Mr. Helmore to render him what assistance he could ;
and the last that seems to have died was a servant
of the Bakhatla tribe. The son of Tabe was
in a dying state, and not affording the slightest
hope of recovery. Just ten days after the relation of
these events to Joseph Aaron (our informant), Dr. Living-
stone arrived at the Victoria Falls, accompanied by his
brother and Dr. Kirk. Dr. Livingstone was, as well might
be expected, deeply affected with the news of the death of
so many of the Mission party, and regretted much that he
had not been able to come at an earlier period, as he pos-
sessed a very efficacious remedy for the fever."
TIIE EMPRESS EUGENIE. The great-great-
grandmother of Eugenie, the Empress of the French, was
born in the old mansion-house of Couston—part of which
is still standing—near Bathgate. She was named Isabel
Sandilands, being the eldest daughter of the Hon. William
Sandilands of Couston, third son of John, fourth Lord
Torphichen (1682). She was married to Sir Thomas Kirk-
patrick of Closeburn, while her only sister married Thomas
Marjoribanks of that Ilk, in the parish of Bathgate. These
facts are attested by an old genealogical paper, dated 164 A,
in the possession of Mr. Durham Weir of Boghead, Bath-
gate, and who farther traces through the Sandilands and
other ancient Scottish families her Imperial Majesty's
descent from Robert IL—Scotsman.