The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-24 00:00:00

REMARKS.

Atmospherical pressures in the north diminished yesterday very
apidly, and readings at Aberdeen and Nairn are still low. On our °the,
toasts pressures have continually increased during the last thirty-six
tours, but on the coast of France a slight diminution is shewu since
restcrday. The difference between readings at Nairn and Penzance
s six-tenths of an inch. Not much change is shewn in temperature,
Me gale of Saturday continued to blow with increas 1 violence
luring the night on our east coast and in the English and Irish
Dhannels, but moderated during yesterday. This morning a north-
•esterly gale is reported from Cape Gris Nez : on our coasts fresh north
westerly winds are now prevalent. Much rain fell in Scotland on
Saturday, and at Nairn a large amount fell yesterday. The w_athe,
s now generally cloudy.

Brigandage in the Italian peninsula is becoming a little
mysterious. The brigands are said to flourish in such
numbers and with such impunity, the troops are so utterly
inactive, mid the people so terror-stricken, that the only
wonder is that the whole nation does not embrace bri-
g-andage as a profession. In the environs of Ravenna, a
Locality which appears to be the Elysium of free-
booters, the guards, the carabineers, besides other
troops, and armed citizens have for the last three
months carried on a war a routrance against the great
plague of the country. But the brigands were in no wise
iffected by this terrible campaign. Their numbers were
not diminished, and their audacity only increased with
iifficulties; At a village in the neighbourhood forty of the
inhabitants were in the habit of forming a grand caravan
►nd proceeding in company to make their purchases.
Against this host it would naturally be thought that
,rganised brigandage of a very high order would be
required. In fact, however, one solitary brigand made
his appearance and went through the usual formula with
the most complete success. The courage of the caravan
was utterly prostrated. The brigand, we are told, went
round, rifle in hand, and the forty delivered up their money
without the slightest show of resistance.
There appears to be no doubt that the popularity of the
Duke and Duchess of Montpensier has accompanied them
in the exile of which they complain so much. There the
idea of an Iberian Kingdom is revived, and a question on
the subject has been asked in the Senate by the Marquis
Mallada. The Marquis appears to have put this question
in a safe form. He asked the President of the Council
whether there was any foundation for the rumour that
Portugal was to be incorporated with Spain. The Presi-
dent of course replied that there was no foundation for the
report ; but that so foolish a report should have attained
consistence sufficient to obtain its mention in Parliament
is not without significance.

The colonisation of Japan is by no means a hopeful
undertaking at present, but it appears that an attempt has
been made. From Yokohama we learn that a ship had
arrived there from Australia with eighteen passengers on
board who had left employment in the colony in order to
seek a fortune in Japan. The local papers strongly urge
dther colonists, however dull times may be with them, not
to take a similar step.

The week just passed has been one of "sensation." On
the same day it fell to the lot of journalists to chronicle
the great railway accident, a boiler explosion causing the
death of five persons, and a painful rumour of an attempt
to assassinate the Queen of England. Unhappily, the full
extent of the first•named catastrophe is not even yet
known. But the rumoured attempt on the life of her
Majesty was an unwarrantable piece of untruth. how it
ever got afloat we can hardly understand. A " crazy"
man is said to have wandered into the royal abode, and
thus raised a hue and cry. Be this as it may,
her Majesty, from all accounts, is still enjoying
her continental sojourn. Tourists have, fortunately
for the Lucerne hotel-keepers, taken a liking for the
neighbourhood in which the " Countess of Kent" is
staying. At first the royal party were mobbed by some
snobs of the true English breed. These, however, have
either been taught better manners or have withdrawn
from the town.

The late Earl of Carlisle, it is now definitely sat' ed, is
to have a monument erected to his memory at Carlisle.
Mr. Foley has been chosen as the sculptor ; his statue of
the deceased earl, now erected at Dublin, being universally
admired. The head and face of the new statue are to be
from the same model as the one at Dublin. The position
and the drapery, I oweve are to be rearrang cl, the robes
of a K.G. being substituted for those of
_a S P.

THE "COUNTESS OF KENT" AT LUCERIVE.

The Daily News has a letter from " an occasional corre-
spondent," now at Lucerne, which contains some interest-
ing details as to the residence of the " Countess of Kent,"
at Lucerne. " There can be no doubt," he says, " that
Lucerne is at this moment inconveniently crowded. All
the hotels are overflowing, their d'epozdances are full, and
travellers who arrive without having secured rooms by
letter or telegraph have no hope but that of obtaining
sleeping accommodation in some neighbouring house
with the privilege of using the saloons of the hotel at
which they are nominally staying (and for, the
complete accommodation of which they will of course
have to pay) in the day-time. Opinions differ decidedly
upon the question whether this influx of visitors is a
natural result of the season, or has been mainly brought
%bout by the visit of the Queen of England. If my judg-
ment inclines in either direction it is towards the view of
those who think that the occupation of the Pension
Wallis by the Queen has led a more thanusual number of
wandering Britons to tutu their footsteps hither this summer.
What can be more delightful than to be able to say, as
many a young, middle-aged, and old laly will be able to
say all through the autumn and winter, when there is
nothing to talk about but the conquests of spring and the
journeys of the summer—" Oh, the dear Queen ! So
;harming, was it not? We were at Lucerne while she
was there, and met her out constantly. (Possibly they
may have seen the back of her carriage.) She lived
at the Pension Wallis, my dear. Quite an unpre-
tending villa residence with two sweet little turrets, and
used to go out nearly every day, either driving or in a
steamboat.' There are a good many tourists of this sort
here now, and I fancy that their stay is a good deal pro-
longed, if their visit is not altogether caused by the plea-
sure which they derive from knowing that they are staying
'n the same town with the Queen of England. One lady
arrived with a couple of daughters the other night, and
almost before the luggage had been deposited in the passage
)1 the hotel demanded of the porter the whereabouts
5f her Majesty in French, which she pronounced us
nearly as I can represent it in the following fashion—` Oo
ay noter rain 1' Every word must be uttered very
broadly, and a good interval allowed between each.
flaying obtained the desired information, her next inquiry,
tittered in the same extraordinary style, was, Poot own
ee alley ?' And if she had not been assured in the most
solemn manner that there was no possibility of getting near
he house, I believe she would have started off immediately
a the hope of being able to look through some window, or to
)btain surreptitious admission at some unguarded door,
M order to get a peep at the Queen and the Princess in
their retirement. The weather has for some days been
very uncertain. Yesterday it rained from noon till late
In the evening. To-day the sky is overcast with clouds,
which descend down upon the slopes of the mountains.
Ft is very disappointing to look higher and find every-
'ling obscured by cloud and fog. Under these
.ircumstances the ascent of either the Rigi or Pilatus
must be little more than labour lost ; and it is
not surprising that the great body of tourists are
trolling about the banks of the lake, wandering upon
the slopes of the nearest hills, or confining their. attention
steamboat trips of limited extent. Even upon these
tpeditions the great proportion of them are provided with
those worthless but pretty-looking alpenstocks which the
swiss shopkeepers provide for the delight of holiday
tourists, and for the destruction of anyone who should be
so foolish as to trust them hi any position of difficulty
where the support of such a stick is really necessary. If
lne might trust to the inscriptions upon their smooth
staves, many of the ladies and gentlemen who are
now dawdling about green Alps and quiet slopes
have dared the perils of many difficult passes, and endured
the fatigues of many a severe ascent on hazardous glacier
expedition. Unfortunately the shops of Lucerne offer to
the purchaser whole bundles of alpenstocks, branded
Nith the names of sufficient ' peaks, passes, and glaciers'
a sufficient numbers and variety to suit the taste of the
most fastidious, and to meet the wishes of the most pre-
tentious ; and I am therefore indisposed to place
entire faith in the certificates of travel which I
tee in the hands of the many tourists whom I
meet. The residence of her Majesty—the Pension
Wallis—is situated upon a green and wooded height, a
short distance out of the town. The hill itself rises rather
from the bank of the Reuss than from that of the lake ;
but both the grounds and the windows of the house corn-
:nand excellent views of the Lake of the Four Cantons,
if the town of Lucerne itself, and of the surrounding
mountains. The house itself is a plain white structure
)f no great size, and presenting no architectural
features except—if, indeed, it is necessary to make any
'xception—a couple of small turrets, which rise only
short distance above the roof, and are generally
lescribed as the two pepper-boxes. The grounds,
as far as one can see from below, are of moderate dimen-
sions, and provided with a sufficient and, in hot weather,
I very agreeable amount of shade. For a day or two after
der Majesty's arrival she was, I am told, too much
fatigued to take much exercise, and confined herself almost
entirely to the grounds of the mansion, and when she was
able to go beyond them she at first suffered a good deal from
;lie impertinent curiosity of the tourists staying here.
Wherever she drove she was followed by crowds of people ;
end so intolerable did the nuisance become, that I
Lin tole: was on one occasion found necessary to engage
lstf oreh and , as f!,r the royal party, all the vehicles in
Lucerne, in order that the public might be deprived of
any means of transport. Whether in consequence of this
hint, or as the result of greater familiarity with the
presence of royalty, I know not ; but her Majesty is now
allowed to drive about the neighbourhood without being
exposed to this kind of unpleasant intrusion. Besides
taking carriage drives nearly every day, she has
made several excursions upon the lake in a steamer which
has been placed at her disposal ; and I am informed by
those who have seen her that her health appears to have
been considerably improved by her stay here. The
Princesses, too, seem to be enjoying their residence in
Switzerland very much, and besides accompanying
heir mother in their drives they take many little excur-
sions on their own account, accompanied by some of the
!adios and gentlemen of the suite. The other
evening they came down into the town to
hear the organ of the cathedral, which is an instrument of
some reputation, and which is played for half an hour
every evening. In honour either of the Queen or of the
English visitors, whose faces and whose purses are as
welcome to the good people of Lucerne as to those of
tither parts of Switzerland, the organist always concludes
his performance by playing the National Anthem."