The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-14 00:00:00

NEW MUSIC.

Battle Cry. By James Orton, Esq. Music by R.

P. Stewart, Mus. Doc. Cramer and Co.
A thrilling war song, closing at each versa with
a resounliog chorus—trumpet-toned and full of
enthusiasm. The composition evidences both on
the par:, of the Poet and of the Musician that the
heroic tidings brought from India to this country
have not been heard of here in vain ; but that the
daring at Delhi, and the cruelties- at Cawnpore,
and the long agony of hope and fear at Lucknow
have been mused over at home with throbbing
hearts and tearful eager eyes. Certain are we,
that the earnest words of Mr. Orton, and the me-
lodious notes of Doctor Stewart, cannot be heard
anywhere in England, Ireland, or Scotland, in
combination, without kindling emotions among
their hearers generously and fervently sympathetic.

Tfes CORK PROFESSORSHIP.—There is a talk, we ob-
serve,
vacantin tne
chairlrish newspapers,
on
fe
Historys pa per
and English Literature
in the University of C.rk, by no other than the far-
famed Jonathon Freke Slingsby. Otherwise—calling a
very accomplished man by his right name, his own pro.
per patronymic—Doct .r John Francis Waller, author
of the " Slingsby Papers," and once upon a time editor
of the Dublin University Magazine. The nomination of
Dr. Waller to this vacant chair could hardly do other-
wise, in truth, than give universal satisfaction. For
everybody who knows anything at all about those
admirable and brilliant "Slingsby Papers," admires the
author of them heartily—poet as he has proved himself
to be throughout them, artist, critic, and humorist.
There is a rumour afloat among our Irish contemporaries
to the effect that Dr. Waller may, notwithstanding ail
his great claims upon his fsliow-eountrymen, find in one
Mr. Rushton a more fortunate competitor. The accuracy
of this rutncur, however, appears to us in the highest
degree improbable. Mr. Rushton may be a very gifted
man. We won'tjgainsay that be is that, or that he is
other than a gentleman entitled to the highest considora-
ti to Bat we do certainly conjecture, at the same tim6s
that Irishmen gensrally will look for the nomination o
Dr. Waller to the vacua appointment. As eaturally
as everybody looks no watlays for the fitting of the square
men into the square holes, and the round men into the
round holes. As inevitably as the more discerning had
looked previously to the nomination of Mr. Denis
M'Carthy to the Chair of Poetry at the Dublin Univer-
sity ; of the Right Hon. the Lord Macaulay to the
High Stewardship of Cambridge ; and of the re-electioc
of Sir Ed "card L, tton to the Lord Rectorship of the
University of Glasgow.
CRYSTAL PALACE CHRISTMAS REVEL.— under-
We .
st-,nd the directors have entered into arrangernentswi
Nelson Lee, the great pantomime writer, fora juvenile
the
fete for the Christmas holidays.
'
" bring the
is
to
required right man in the right place," andllweeishacve no doubt
will prove that the great thing
million there. When once at Sydeuham there is plenty
to amuse ; the grand secret is to find brains to provide
the attraction to draw them there. In this instance, we
certairly think the "right nail has been hit on the
right head."

THE INDIAN AWTINIE&.

THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW.

The following is an extract from a letter written
by M. de Banneroi, a French physician, in the ser-
vice of Mussur Rajah, and published in Le Pays
(Paris paper) under the date of Calcutta, Oct. 8 :
"I give you the following account of the relief of
Lucknow, as described by a lady, one of the rescued
party On every side death stared us in the face ;
no human skill could avert it any longer. We say
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 had 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. I had gone out to try and make myself
useful, in company with Jessie Brown, the wife of
a corporal in my husband's regiment. Poor Jessie
had been in a state of restless excitement all
through the siege, and had fallen away visibly
within the last few days. A constant fever con-
sumed her, and her mind wandered occasionally,
especially on that day, when the recollections of
home seemed powerfully present to her. At last,
overcome with fatigue, she lay down on the ground,
wrapped upin her plaid. I sat beside her, promising
to awaken her when, as she said, 'her father should
return from the ploughing.' She at length fell into
a profound slumber, motionless and apparently
breathless, her head resting in my lap. I myself
could no longer res.st the inclination to sleep, in
spite of the continual roar of the cannon. Suddenly
I was aroused by a wild, unearthly scream close to
my ear ; my companion stood upright beside me,
her arms raised, and her head bent forward in the
attitude of listening. A look of intense delight
broke over her countenance, she grasped my hand,
drew me towards her, and exclaimed Dinna a e
hear it ? dinna ye hear it ? Ay, I'm no dreamin',
it's the slogan o' the Highlanders ! We're saved,
we're saved !' Then, flinging herself on her knees,
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 effeet 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 nothin 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, bat the Campbells are comin' ? 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
tears, " Should auld acquaintance be forgot," drc.
After that, nothing else made any impression op.
J
me. I scarcely remember what followed. essie
was presented to the General on his entrance into
the pipers marched
long asps. --.Terser Times, of
the fort, and at the officers' banquet her health was
drunk by all present, while
round the table playing once more the familiar
air of ' Auld
Dec. 10.