The Sun.
London, England, 1828-01-08 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 8, 1828.

ANECDOTES OF BUONAPARTE.

The following anecdotes of this extraordinary
man were related to a gentleman, some twelve or
thirteen years since, by a French officer of the
name of Follope, who asserted that he had been
an eye-witness of some of them. Dates, times,
and places, which were stated at the same time,
have been forgotten by the gentleman to whom
they were mentioned:—

It was customary with Buonaparte, when
thinking intensely of any project in contempla-
tion, to take snuff with a degree of immoderate
and inconsiderate rapidity, which he usually did
from a box carried in his waistcoat pocket. On
one occasion just before a great battle, when
deeply immersed in thought, and standing in a
room alone before a fire plying his box as usual,
he suddenly went out to make some inquiries,
leaving his; box on the chimney-piece. Return-
ing a few minutes afterwards, he resumed his
box, but on putting in his fingers to take a pinch,
he fancied the snuff felt somewhat different.
He looked at it, but could perceive no. dif-
ference in its colour or appearance. There
was apparently the same quantity ; the box
was found in the same place ; he had been
absent but a very short time, and there. was
no one in the room when he went out, nor
when he returned. A dog coming in at the
door at the moment, he called him, and gave
him a pinch. Violent 'convulsions immediately
ensued, and the animal died almost directly after-
wards. Hereupon Bonaparte rang the bell, and
inquired if any one had been seen entering or
leaving the room ; but not being able to ascer-
tain that any person had, he simply ordered the
dog to be taken out and buried, wisely thinking
that the eve of a battle was not the most proper
time to have it circulated that his life had been
attempted. However, he took care afterwards to
make his waistcoat-pocket his snuff-box.
Many silly attempts have been made to impugn
the personal courage and military qualifications of
Bonaparte, by certain weak individuals, who ob-
stinately exclude with the term enemy the pos-
session of every good or commendable quality;
no matter of what kind soever it may be. Not
satisfied with depriving the greatest captain, per-
haps, that ever lived, of a quality they would
concede to the meanest soldier, they have even
accused him of timidity and cowardice. The
following anecdote does not certainly affbrd any
proof of that heedless daring which is more allied
to military insanity than true soldierly courage, but
it is one among thousands of instances in the same
character, of that coolness and contempt of sur-
rounding dangers,which are never found unconnec-
ted with the highest orders of military braxery and
enterprise. In the midst of a dreadful can-
nonading, Buonaparte stood leaning, nearly ex-
hausted with several days' hard fatigue, against
the carriage-wheel of a cannon, and was in the
act of taking a pinch of his favourite stimulant,
from the box of an officer, when a cannon-shot
came and killed the latter on the spot. Without
moving a limb or a muscle of his countenance,
except in pity to his fallen friend, Buonaparte
turns to another and asked if he had a box ;
" for," said he, " our poor friend I suppose has
taken his with him."

Buonaparte, it is well known, was an excellent
horseman, and affected to imitate Alexander the
Great in his horsemanship and courage in
bestriding whatever was brought him. On a
particular occasion a fine high-spirited horse,
richly caparisoned, was brought to him, said to
be a present from a certain prince. Buonaparte,
after admiring the beauty, &c., of the animal,
was just on the point of mounting him, when,
contrary to his invariable custom, he ordered a
menial to mount and try him. He did, but
before he had gone far a violent explosion took
place in the saddle, and either killed or much
maimed the hapless domestic.

WASHINGTON.—" He was," he says, " a
man of tall stature, with a calm and cold rather than noble
air : the likeness is well preserved in the engravings of
him. I delivered my letter in silence : he opened it, and
turned to the signature, which he read aloud, with excla-
mation, Colonel ARMAND !' for thus he called, and thus
the letter was signed by, the Marquis de la ROUAIRIE.
We sit down; I explained to him as well as I could the
motive of my voyage. He answered me in French or
English monosyllables, and listened to me with a sort of
astonishment. I perceived it, and said
.with some empha-
sis, ' But it is less difficult to discover the north-west pas-
sag than to create a nation as you have done." Well,
well,' young man !' cried he, giving me his hand. He in-
vited me to dine with him the following day, and we parted.
I was exact to the appointment. The conversation turned
almost entirely on the French revolution. The General
shewed us a key of the Bastile: those keys of the Bastile
were but silly playthings, which,were about that time dis-
tributed over the two worlds. Had WasitlNGTox seen, likj
me, the conquerors of the Bastile in the kennels of Paris,
be would have had less faith in his relic. The gravity
and the energy of the revolution were not in those san-
guinary orgies. At the time of the revocation of the edict
of Nantes, in 1685, the same populace of the Faubourg
Saint-Antoine demolished the Protestant Church at Clia-
renton with as much zeal as it despoiled the Church of St.
Denis in 1793. I left my host at ten in the evening, and
never saw him again : he set out for the country the fol.
lowing day, and I continued my journey."-- Chateau-
briand's Travels.

CAPTAIN RocK IN ROSCOMMON.—We are
much concerned to find that it falls to our lot to announce
the arrival of " Captain ROCK" and his party in the
neighbourhood of Keadue—a place which for some time
past, we considered unusually quiet. It appears that on
the night of Sunday last the house in which Mr. M'SnANE,
agent to the Irish Mining Company, resides at Tinlough
harbour, on the banks of Lough Allen, in this county, was
surrounded by a party of armed men, consisting of upwards
of 20 fellows, who, after breaking into the house, seized
M‘SHANE, and commenced beating him in a most brutal
manner. After inflicting most severe chastisement upon
him, and while lying on the ground, one of the party struck
him a severe blow on the head with an iron instrument,
which had nearly deprived him of life, and which, in all
probability, would have been effected, were it not for the
timely interference of their leader, who, perceiving the
man, ordered his party to depart, and when just leaving the
house, informed the inmates that the cause of their visit
was owing to the liberties which M'SHANE had tak;:n in
of Father MAGLIRE. A female
speaking disrespectfully
servant at this time was about making her escape out of
the windows, but being perceived, was deal: ed not to at-
tempt leaving the place until the party would march off
the ground. Captain Roca then enteved the house a se-
cond time and cautioned ill'Swt: and his family to keep
a " quiet tongue," else he and his party would be under
the necessity of paying a second and a more serious visit:
he then walked in front of the place, ordered his men to
fall in, which, we have heard, they did in the most perfect
good order, and having put them through several military
evolutions, fired a few shots and decamped. We under-
stand Mr. M'SIIANE and his family became so:terrified, that
on the arrival of the Police, they placed themselves under
their protection and have repaired to Keadue, to reside.—
Boyle Gazette.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

LIVERPOOL.

SUNDAY, JAN. 6.—High water 82 minutes past
one o'clock.--Wind E.S.E.--Arrived the Mary Ann,
Smith, from -St. Michael's—Nile, Makinson, from Dublin
—Henry Bell, Spiers, from Gla.srs,ow—Brookline,
from Charleston, sailed Dec. 11—Nimrod, Wilson, from
Havannah—Enterprise, —_, from Glasgow—Java,
Anderson, from Glasgow—Mansfield, Mentu, from Mar-
seilles—Myrtle, Tosh, from Dundee—Catharine, White,
from Dundee—Elizabeth, Donaldson, from Londonderry—
John Clifton, ---, from Londonderry—St. George,
lieany, from Drogheda—Thetis, Post-office packet, from
Dublin, did not arrive until 30 minutes past four o'clock,
p.m., wind blowing very, hard from the Eastward all day
and night.
Sailed the Washington, —_, for New York—Man-
chester, —, for Lima—Armadillo, --, fur
Maranhatia—Oporto, Martin, for Oporto—Richard Wal-
ker,. a for Jamaica—Fredonia, --, for Bal-
timore—Macclesfield, ---, for Charleston—Bounty
Hall, --, for Jamaica—Brothers, Patterson, for Rio
de Janeiro—Astrea, —, for Trinidad—Comet,
for. Naples—Bucephalus, Gurder, for Charente—Mary,
Parnell, for Gibraltar—Wm. Neilson, for New Orleans—
Chita, , for Bilboa-L-Blossom, for Barbadoes—Cy-
rus, Davies, for New Orleans.

Telegraph Office, January 4.
Wind at Holyhead, at high water, West, blowing fresh,
and cloudy ; three a. m. wind N.W. by W., fresh gale,
and squally.
JAN. s.—Nine a.m. wind N.W., fresh gale, at noon
veered round to Northward—three p.m. wind E.S.E.,
strong breeze--Henry Arnott off, from Antigua—Magde-
laine ofl; for Havannah.

MELANCHOLY DEATH.—A few days ago,
at Seafield, near Easkey, Wm. WlNara, Esq. sincerely re-
gretted. The circumstances which caused the death of
this gentleman were extremely singular. In administering
a ball to a glandered horse, he took the infection through
- a slight scratch on his finger ; in a short time he became
affected in both his arms, from whence it communicated to
the whole system, and at length terminated fatally. He
has left an interesting widow and a young family to lament
his loss.— Waterford Mirror.
On Wednesday evening last, as a girl, the
servant of Mr. JAMES, of Webton, in this county, was re-
turning to her master's house from Hereford, she was at-
tacked by several men, who took from her sundry articles
of grocery; and having beaten, and dragged her about the
road so as to endanger her life, left her to her fate. The
little money she had in her possession, was found concealed
in her bosom ; but the poor girl is in a precarious state ;
and we are not aware that any steps have been taken for
the apprehension of the robbers.—Hereford Independent.
STAMPED RECEIPTS.—Certain petty dealers,
within fifty miles of Edinburgh, finding their affairs getting
embarrassed, owing to the pressure of the times, resolved
to pay their debts by composition. Creditors are some-
times very difficult to massage on such occasions ; and as
the law of Scotland gives, perhaps, rather too much lati-
tude for creditors to oppress debtors, the latter frequently
find it no easy matter to get compositions accepted. The
two dealers alluded to knew this, and, though very honest
men, for aught we know to the contrary, knew further,
that honesty and misfortune are but weak arguments to op.,
pose to the wrath of vindictive and disappointed creditors.
To avoid the impending calamities, they fell upon the fol-
lowing expedient :—Having arranged, in their Owlll minds
what composition they thought it would be convenient for
them to pay, they trudged off in company to meet their
creditors. Having been a considerable time in business,
and having at many times paid sums of money, for
which they had received unstamped acknowledgments
in the usual way, they carried these illegal documents
along with them. Having communicated the disagree-
able news, and sustained, as is usual and natural on
such occasions, a violent burst of abuse, the question, " what
do you propose to pay?" was started. Upon naming the
composition, it was declared to be too small. The debtors
now thought it time to unmask their battery. Holding
out the unstamped receipts in one hand, and the composi-
tion contract in the other, they thus addressed the asto-
nished and irritated creditors, " We have dealt long with
you, and given you in our time a great deal of money.
Here are the receipts which you have given us as vouchers.
They ought to have been stamped, but they are all upon
plain paper. Upon our word, as honest men, we have in
no shape defrauded our creditors, and the composition is as
much as we can possibly pay. If you believe us, and ac-
cept of it, we may yet have it in our power, by subsequent
dealings, to make up your loss. If you refuse it, and
abandon us, we will denounce you, as evaders of a reve-
nue statute." This argument was sufficiently dishonour-
able, and very clumsily put into execution. It of coerse
excited rage and contempt. The composition was rejected,
and the receipts, it is rumoured, were actually lodged with
the Solicitor of Stamps. The consequence, it is supposed,
will be, that the moiety of the penalties which those per-
sons are entitled to will be sufficient to pay their debts, or
purchase a settlement.—Edinburgh Observer.

THE WOOLLEN TRADE.—The buoyancy of
this great staple manufacture, and its tendency to right it-
self after the most severe storms of commercial adversity,
have been strikingly demonstrated during the year that has
just terminated. After the shock of 1826, and even during
the latter part of that year, it began to revive, and we
doubt whether in any former year there were ever more
woollens made, and smaller stocks accumulated, than in
the year 1827. At present this branch of trade, as well as
the worsted stuff business, is proceeding steadily, though
not with any great briskness, and the work-people are, in
general, well employed, at rather low wages to be sure,
but (from the moderate rate of provisions) with as many
comforts as they are accustomed to enjoy, and quite as few
privations as the severe season of winter generally brings in
its train. Long wool' are in considerable demand, and
the prices are remunerating; there has, however, been a
declension in price of from 5 to 10 per cent. in the course
of the year; at present rather better prices are obtained
than were given three months ago, and the new year opens
with cheering prospects, both at Halifax and Bradford.—
Owing to the great stock of fine clothing English wool,
and the competition of foreign wools, there has been a
depression since the year 1825 of at least 40s. a pack,
with little prospect of amendment, hence the subject
of a new duty on the importation of foreign wools is
spoken of by the agriculturists; and Sir T. D. Ac-
, LAND is expected to bring the measure under con-
sideration in the next session of Parliament, but the
enlarged views of his Majesty's prosent Ministers, com-
bined with those exertions which the 'manufacturing
interest owes to itself, will, We trust, avert this cala-
mity. The lower qualities of English clothing wools
have not fallen to the same extent as the fine English,
though, for the last three or four months, the demand has
been very circumscribed, owing principally to no army or
East India contract having been given out within that
period. We have reason to believe that there is at present
a large Ordnance Ceotract preparing, which will create
considerable demand for the fabrics in which this kind of
wool is principally consumed. The blanket and carpet
trades do not at present call for any great consumption of
wool in this neighbourhood, and the Scotch are becoming
our rivals in this latter branch of business. The flannel
trade is good, and the stocks low, but the fleece wools have
come so much in competition with the skin wools that the
raw material has kept lowering in the face of a brisk
market. Bockings and baizes are still manufactured freely,
though the demand for the South American market, owing
to the unhappy differences in that region, has suffered great
interruption. An idea prevails amonst the wool growers,
that war will advance the price of wool. A war of com-
mercial interdicts would, doubtless, have this effect; but a
war with Turkey, we apprehend, will have no influence
wbaterer on the wool market. The best security this
country has for a good steady trade is in low prices, and
while wools are cheap, and the manufactured articles sold
at a reasonable rate, both at home and abroad, we have
little to fear. The withdrawal of the small notes will not,
we apprehend, much affect the present price, either of the
waw material or the manufactured article, because there is
little speculation, the stocks are low, and the demand in
general is real. Foreign wools, we mean the German and
gpanish, are in great demand, but the former have fallen
20, and the latter 30 per cent. since 1825. In 1827 there ;
was some fluctuation in these wools in London, but very
little in the Leeds market. On the whole, the prospects ;
for trade are generally considered favourable, and it will
afford us sincere gratification to find those prospects realiz-
ed by a year of prosperity...-Leas Mercury.