Miscellancous.

New Zealander, Volume 12, Issue 1028, 23 February 1856, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellancous.

'The". PAnssESiNTHE Crimea.—General Rose, our excellent Commissioner to the French army, has been out at Baidar and towards Aiibddr witbtbe French reconnaissances, and the opinion formed after a careful examination of the passes, is, that it would be imprudent to attempt tilforce ibein at present. Killiecrankie is a bowling-green, compared to those high bluffs and tremendous ravines. The outposts are on tolerably good terms with each other, "nut now and then resume offensive operations and fire at each wtih acrimony.

PIIESENT POSH lON OF THE RUSSIANS AT ISeB ASTOPOL. Russians, so far from flying in discemfort over boundless wastes, are canily strengthening their position on the north side. The face of the country bristles with their cannon and their batteries. As I write the roar of their guns is sounding through our cimp, and occassionally equals the noise of the old cannbndes, which we fondly hoped had died into silence for ever. There is no tr-.ce of any attention on their part to abandon a position on which they have lavished so much care and labour. Th-y retired frbfn the south side when it became untenable, shaken to pieces by a bombardment which it is impracticable for us to renew. They have now between themselves arid us, a deep arm of the ses, a river, and tbeisidesofa plateau as steep as a wall.

Thh Romancc or War.—A party of men belonging to different regiments, were patrolling from house to house in search of plunder; In one of the booses they came across a beautiful young female, about 17 or 18 years of age. Of course some ignorance was . shpwn amongst the party, who commenc-d to drag her about, and would certain! v have used vbil»nce to her. had hot a young man belonging to the 18lh takeu a musk-£ and threatened to blow" the first mans bfaius out that laid a" finger on her. whereupon the young woman flew to this young man and clung to him for protection. She followed bim all the wav ba k to the camp, when, coming in sight of his camp, he beckoned for her to return, but no she would not leave him. As soon as he has got there "he was instantly confined for being absent when the regiment was under arms. She followed him to ihe tent, and cried after him; The cbioriel of bis regiment, seeing the affrcion that she bore him, released, : him, and sent them both to General Harris, where an interpreter was got, and she related the whole affair to them. It turned out that she is a general's daughter with some thousands. She was beautillly attired, and carried a gold watch, and wore a set of bracelets of immense value; The -young man is now about to be married to her; She will not leave him upon any count whatever, and if he is not a lucky dog 1 dont know who he is.— Letter fnom a Soldier.

The Doo op the Regiment.—The Musical World translates from a ...■French..'.journal the fallowing rather amusing anecdote, 10 which it gives the title " The Dog. of. the Rsgiment.'' A letter froip the French camp before Sevastopol informs us that Pierre is an ugly dog from the Pyrenees, who has made the campaigns of Italy and Africa with the regiment. In this latter country he was useful in discovering Arab ambuscades, and rendered such important services that bej has since been, looked upon as an old comrade. Pierre will go through the manual exercise for you if you wish, in his epauletted uniform, of which he is prpud.af a peacock, lately the Colonel gave orders that all dogs should be expelled from the quarters. What a misfor tune! To lose Pierre would be to lose everything. With him would depart all the remembrances and joys of the regiment. But there was no help for it. They dressed Pierre in his finest uniform; made out and signed a leave of absence, with an account of • his services, which was enclosed in a tin box, and suspended at his neck; gave him an embrace, and a last pull at bis remnant of a tail, and he departed. But Lets evidently grieved ; his step becomes slower and slower, till suddenly an idea seemed to strike him. and be turn* and goes directly to the quarters of the major, and stations bim-elf on bis hind legs at the door. A brigadier opens the box, and carries the contents to the major, who cannot refrain from laughing. He calls him "in, gives him a bowl of soup, makes out an order authorising him to remain, signs it, and encloses it in the box. Pierre departs joyfully, and retires harking and dancing to his quarters, till he loses off both his epaulettes and his box. Some one.opens it, and fiiidsstbe leave to remain. He is ''■ reinstated:in all bis rights and privileges", sroes to the kitchen alter his soup as usual, and is put in the orders of the day, in which everybody is forbidden to do him an injury.

Three shells have been landed on the Arsenal Wharf at Woolwich, from the Lowmoor foundries, each having a diameter of 3 (eel 9 inches, and a weight 1 of ton 6 c\vt.; an experimental gun, it is sa;d, bas,beeuJo<ftid«i at Liverpool for projecting these enormous missiles. It weighs no Jesi than 20 tons. I The Manchester puhlic were i yited to a biby show at the Pomona Gardens recently, when there wera nearlv 300 competitors for the prizes, and something like s<>(>Q petsms who bad paid entrance fees of fo and 2s each to be present as spectators. The prizes: .were eight, varying from £Z 3s to £l4 14s, 1 gi»)"g a total of rather o*er £6O, so that the speculation has no doubt proved a good one to tbe: promoters. Weiunderstand thai a company has organised a line of steamers to run' between Alexandria and Liverpool These steamers are nearly all new, varying from Bi|o to" 1600 tons, thß passage everging 17 days ; the iarev are moderate, arid we have no doubt the enterprise will receive a fair share oj support:

The-La Hogue.—-This beautiful ship, whose arrival has been for "some days so anxiously "arit icipii'tt-»T," en-' terpd the port iyeSterday morning; under the command of! Captain H. Neatby, so wellknown/as formerly having obargw of the Vimeira and Waterloo, old and regular 'traders"to this port. The.'cha'iac.ter which the gentlemanly .'commander ofthe La Hiigue. hns always won from his passengers rendets it a matter of no siu gularity tlja'j on the present occasion, he has been presented with two testimonials of a valuable nature, as an acknowledgement' of the estimation' in which he was held by the numerous passengers under his care. Although the La Hogue has not, so far as relates to the duration of the voyage quite answered the expectations formed of her, she, has, nevertheless, in the face of some obstacles, performed a very creditable trip of 88 I days. On Christmas-day the passengers were entertained at n gtand dinner, which it was acknowledged eclipsed; in its 'appointments and 'general management, ! the display made inmany firctiate hotels in the city ol ; London. The Mono, able E. Detfs Thomson';" Colonial"' Secretary, and many old residents, have' returned to Sydney by this vessel. It would he useless to dwell j on the superb arrangements of the saloon,-and the ex."! tent to which the entire comfort of passengers has been j talccn into consideration ; it will suffice to say that no- ' thing has been left undone to make the La Hogue as 1 near perfection as possible. The tonnage of t!ie Ln j

Iloguo by the n«w measurement would be l.jrs - | by the alteration in May last it stands at ljyi, 'jj dimensions arc at follows :—Lcngliol keel lor tpna auf : Z>() feet; extreme bn-adtli, to feet; depth 22 feet 3 inches ; length of poop deck, Hj fe«. She has been built for the eminent linn of Messrs. Dunbar an i .Song of London, a* a passenger-ship to Australia. 1„ }, t J construction care has been taken that materials koown for 'heir ami durability should alone be used The frame is entirely of the best oak, and the planking, keelson, beams, ami d.-cks are of East Imiia tea!. ; the scantling and thickness of plank exceed, what is required by Lloyd's rules fur ves eU of highest das*. Although ship, of her length y. ._, great advantages over shorter ships for sailing, and „, good aeabojis, they necessarily require gre.iter C hru in their construction, to overcome the tendency to alter their shape which such great length involves, 'fljfi f r;%me of the La llogue has therefore been trussed v\ith irja bars, extending from the gunwale of the ship, noJ iuniiing at an angle of about thirty ileiT.es Irom the tun towards the end at the bottom on the ouuide, wLils; those on the inside are placed in an opposite direction so as to cross the line of trussing on the outside, and bolted through every trjrne timber, Tue system of inside trussing has been appli d in several instances ; Luc this is the tirst lime, we believe, a has b-vn placed upon the outside of the Irani". The advantages of i: Will lie seen at once when we consider the application of ,-, hoop to an ordinary cask, the outside-trussing operatin •■ in a similar manner in building the whole frame of th ship as the hoop does the staves of a cask. Since thij trussing fitted:to the La Hogue it has been applied to a steamer building in America', for the United States Government, and t\>r which a patent has been applied in that country by the builder. Upwards of twenty tons of copper his b .en used in the bud ling of the Lllogue, and sixty tons of iron knees. Lloyd's Ageals, and Mr. Richard Green, the shipowner of lilackwall, acknowledged this vessel to be the most substantial ever built.— Eihpire, 7th...January; Sermon on NoriHNn.—Freder'ck ths Great being informed of the death of one of his chaplains, a man of considerable learning and piety, determined that his success .r should not be behind him in ibese qualifications, took the following mettled of ascertaining the merit* of one of the numerous candidates for the appoiaiaient:-i» He told the applicant that be would himself furnish bint with a text the following Sunday ..when be was topreaeh at the royal chapel, from which he was to make an er. temptore sermon. The clergyman accepted, the pro|>osition. The whim of such a probationary discourse was spread abroad widely, arid at an early hour the roval chapel was crowded to eices-*. The ting ariyed at the end of the prayers, arid on ; '.tiie candidate's ascending ih e pulpit, one of bis majesty's aides-de-camp presented him with a sealed paper. The preacher opened it, and found nothing therein. He did not, however, lose his presence of mind ; but turning the piper on both sides, be said :—" My brethren, here is nothing and there is, 7 nothing j out of nothing God : created all things;" and J proceeded to deliver a most admirable discourse upca ■ ' the wonders of Creation.

The '■* Maories" or tlie.recent'mee!?.' : t-"' ing of the British Associariou for the Promotion of ' Science, an interesting paper was read in the Geological ; Section, /'giving (says the 'Examiner') an account of ..-.„ BO:ne i canoes dug up ill !!;■• valley of !!:•-• Clyde, several of them in the very <bunda;iohs of the city of Glasgow, and buried twenty feet below the surface in a bed of sand. Not fewer than seventeen of these have been found from 1780 doivn to the present time,—a fleet of twelve in one spot. They consist of the trunks of oaks hollowed out, sometimes by fire, and sometimes by cutting instruments which ap.eav m have consisted of green stone, an axe of which material was found in one of the boats, ." As the construction' of the canoes is v«?ry far below that of the South Sea Islanders; it is certain the people to whom they belonged were arrant i-avages,r probably the cannibal* described byGibboo, on the au hority of a Roman writer, a.3 haying inhabited the sane part of Scotland about eighteen centuries ago; nay in some cases, it is possible, the ancestors of those enterprising; men who now- manufacture calico, build steam-ships, practice their own invention, ' the hot blast,' and occasionally drink celebrated punch of their own making." The I.ady Nurses in the sympathies of England J'or her army in tlie Crimea bave been c<-riaialy proved throughout tbe champaign by .munificent'gift* more than by mere rejoicing for victories ; and above all have they been exemplified by the presence am ng us of those ladies—-those sisters and nurses— to whoss tender helping: hand and smiling cheeiiiig influence" i many a hero confessedly.stands indebted for his: life.; j Many ladies who left their own kith, and kirj. to aid the, soldier when pcstfate through sickness or wounds will never return. Several have sealed their great"mission ■ '.-' tothe East with their lives, and yet more ihay fall. To--: .;='" day intelligence has reached us of another death.; Bliss Cluugh is no more. r She was not with Miss Nighiiagale at Scutari, but, equally yielding to the suggestions of her own good heart, came on to the Crimea from London, arid at Balaklava, at the Hospital of the Highland brigade; she immediatedly devoted alllier skill and : her nntiririg! energy to the alleviation of the sufferings of the sons of Scotland. At last she herself was assayed by the; most prevalent disease in this treacherous ciiine—diarrbcea, ending in dysentery. Apparently re»■.. covered owing to ib j assiduous care of D:. Furlong, of the 42ud Highlanders, she sailed from Balaklara in the, steamer Orinoco, to t ecru it her shattered strength, eager yet again to resume her Samaritan labours! Brigadier General Cameron saw Miss Clough from the Crimean shore to the *hip, remembering the particular attention that lady had paid not only to the brigade generally, : tint 'o !us own regiment, the 42ud in particular, with which, indeed, she long took up her quarters. All longed for her return. Vain hope—she slowly sank under the.lurking effects of the attack and now lies 3000 ; rules from home, in her grave at Scutari. The Highlanders here are especially full of sorrow at her loss, and - 7 the whole camp, indeed, speaks of the deceased lady - in mingled terms of gratitude, and regret The medical men acknowledge ih<' services she rendered, though it seems the G-JVcToment at home do not think too highly of those of the medical men.— -Correspoxdatt of ike Morning Herald, T The CouaT,—After a residence of nearly five weeks > at her Highland home, the Queen Balmoral at 8.30 f f on Tuesday, the IGth October, and arrived at Edinburgh at 6.15 in the evening. So punctual to the time table ,-.., was the royal train that the mean variation %vas only one minute in 570 miles. From thn St. Margaret'a"station, Edinburgh, the-royal pa r ty: drove in a succession * ■ of closed carnages, amidst the cheering of a consi lera— ] ble assemblage,' to Holyrood Palace. Afterdinner, Mr. Mathewson of theßoard of works.had an interview with ' Prince Albert and Sir George Grey regardingthe'eohtemplared improvements at tha Palace and Park of Holyrood. Oo Wednesday morning her Majssty left Meadowbsnk station at 7.45 and shortly after: ort& - o,clock arrived at York, where the' royal" party latiche'd and then, resuming the journey;-reached King's Cross Station, London, at 6.23 the mean variation on -400 miles'v being only;tivo minutes;. 7 ,■"■'.■■ ;, Armi Surgeons.--OwingJo the number of troops embarki ig for the East, the call for medi-jal officers is verv gieat, aud if this pressnre continues, it will be - difficult to supply gentlemen for that duty. A 7 o sooner does a medic tl officer join the General Hospital than ah order from the adjutant-general of ths medical depart- . :met.t arrives, to the effect that be is to prepare"'for enyharkatlon to take uied.c il« charge of trto i js.—i)a% ! Maos. ... . ~ ..-;;.- ~ '

Mohtar Boats Building at G«eenock.-~ John S o*t and Sons have contracted with the Admiralty t<> b aid oix mortar boats; to be readj in the spring of 1856*. They will tie upwards of seventy feet in length" and are to be constructed in a very strong, and sutistaririiT manner, and to have a light' draught' of: water. Their armament wil! consist of a 13 r inch mortar, fitted on a pla for:ti of great strength placed they w'ijj be cu'ter rigged. Tiny will cany little canvas, ns, when brought into use, they will be attended by steamers, which wil! tow tlietn into position.