11 FEBRUARY 1854, Page 19

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THE Mount OF THE DANUBE IN SEPTEMBEIL.—On the morning follow- ing our departure from 'Varna, we anchored at about a mile from the mouth of the Danube. There being only six feet of water above the bar, we could not approach nearer. The expanse of muddy water before us was strewed with wrecks. There was something fearfully desolate in the scene. Where the water was shallow, the dark hulls of ships were peering above the yellow tide, like half-covered corpses, and in other places the masts alone of the sunken vessel were seen rising up from the water like the outstretched arms of a drowning man. Stranded on the shore was the large hull of a Dutch- built vessel, rotting in the sun, and close to us were some men in boats, try- ing to fish up the cargo of a vessel which had gone down the day before. Within the bar was another steamer waiting to convey us up the Danube. We crossed to it in a barge, with her sails set, for the wind was fair ; she was, moreover, pulled by six men, and towed by another six-oared boat, with sails also set. In about an hour we reached the steamer wait- ing for us in the Danube, and having breakfasted on board, we THE Mount OF THE DANUBE IN SEPTEMBEIL.—On the morning follow- ing our departure from 'Varna, we anchored at about a mile from the mouth of the Danube. There being only six feet of water above the bar, we could not approach nearer. The expanse of muddy water before us was strewed with wrecks. There was something fearfully desolate in the scene. Where the water was shallow, the dark hulls of ships were peering above the yellow tide, like half-covered corpses, and in other places the masts alone of the sunken vessel were seen rising up from the water like the outstretched arms of a drowning man. Stranded on the shore was the large hull of a Dutch- built vessel, rotting in the sun, and close to us were some men in boats, try- ing to fish up the cargo of a vessel which had gone down the day before. Within the bar was another steamer waiting to convey us up the Danube. We crossed to it in a barge, with her sails set, for the wind was fair ; she was, moreover, pulled by six men, and towed by another six-oared boat, with sails also set. In about an hour we reached the steamer wait- ing for us in the Danube, and having breakfasted on board, we landed for the purpose of looking at the town of Sulina.. . , I counted more than two hundred vessels of different sizes at anchor in the river. Some had been there for three months, unable to get over the bar ; almost every attempt to get to sea had proved fatal since the beginning of the month of June ; and all efforts to cut a channel through the bar appear to have been abandoned. A Russian dredging-vessel was lying idle at the mouth of the river; and judging from the mud with which it was encrusted, and its otherwise filthy and neglected appearance, it must have been unem- ployed for a long time. Close to the dredging-vessel was a Russian gun- boat. The only person on her deck was a long marine, in a mud-coloured greatcoat, hanging over the bulwark, and dropping bits of straw into the tide. According to the treaty of Adrianople, the island of St. George, on which Sulina is built, as well as the other islands of the Danube, ought to be uninhabited. The Russians, however, built a quarantine station at the South-eastern point of Lati Island, and shortly after they raised the little town of Sulina, of which they constituted themselves the masters. At the opposite point of St. George's Island, at the entrance of the channel, the Russians have also built a quarantine station. The rest of the island of St. George is a desolate swamp.-0' Brien's .Danubian Principalities.

THE Unman AT ST. JEAN DE L'OsNE.—The crowd were still increasing, and the excitement becoming intense ; everybody was rushing about here and there, to catch if it were a glimpse only of lea Anglais ' and their 'petite ohaloupe.' Having cleared the boat of her light cargo, we ran her ashore, and commenced carrying her towards the yard. Astonishment was depicted in every face : there was a momentary silence throughout the whole crowd—then a murmur of applause—a general shout, and away the Undine swam as it were upon the heads of the crowd. She was carried off, and there would have been no stopping her had not one of us, running under her whole length, managed to seize her by the bow, and so guide her into the yard; otherwise there is no knowing what might have become of her by this time. When once in the court, and safely laid on her keel, the jab- ber began; for as many as could had accompanied her into the yard, and almost distracted us with the number and variety of their questions. The noise they made was deafening. One would come, and, having his question answered, retire again, and commence a magniloquent discourse to those near lam, taking our answer for his subject. The imagination of the natives of St. Jean de L'Osne is extremely fertile, one word being enough for them to make a tale or even write a history. The Professor was informing seine ladies that we had crossed the Channel in a steamer; an imaginative by- stander instantly caught the word vapeur,' and away he hastened to inform his friends that the three Englishmen had crossed the Channel in their little boat, having exceeded in speed the fastest 'vapeur.'—Our Cruise in the Un- dine.

FINDING A war otr.—Few of our cavalry officers would be stopped by a fence ; but for this they are not indebted to what they learn in the riding-school, but to their being accustomed to ride across country. All foreign cavalry practice at the leaping-bar; yet their officers, when they meet with a wall or a gate, are pounded. I remember a very amusing instance of this. During some manoeuvres in Italy, an Austrian general with his staff got amongst some enclosures, and not wishing to ride back, sent some of his aide-camps to look for an outlet. They peered over the stone wall, rode about, but could find no opening. An Englishman in the Imperial service, mounted on a good English horse, formed part of the staff, and the general, turning to him, said, " Mr. W—k, kindly see if you can find the way out of this place." Ms, W—k, a Yorkshiremau and a good rider, went straight at the wall, cleared it, and whilst doing so, turned in his saddle, and, touching his cap, said, "This way, sir." I need not add, that his way did not quite suit the remainder of the party.-11 Cavalry Remount Horses.

FarransicE OF THE OUATAQUIL.—We were now fast approaching the land, as our course lay towards the entrance of the great river of Guayaquil. Avoiding the sandbanks and shallows of the bar, we enter the mouth of the river, on which large pieces of timber are to be seen stranded, whilst others are floating on the waters, making their way to the sea. The enormous breadth of the river becomes gradually less, and soon nothing is to be seen from the water's edge to the farthest limit to which the eye could reach but one great mass of dense wood. Numerous birds, disturbed from their soli- tudes, scream and dart by us as we slowly proceed against the stream ; and shoals of fish, frightened by the noise of the vessel, plunge and disappear beneath the hurrying tide. The current becomes stronger as we advance, and the steamer is obliged to seek the shelter of the nearest shore. Large trees bathed by the waters spread their ponderous branches in all directions ; and where the mud-banks are laid bare by the receding tide, the alligator, stretched asleep upon the shore, lies basking in the sun's scorching heat, nor quits his slimy bed till, disturbed by the rifle's sharp report, he retires wounded from the scene, and is soon lost in the depths beneath. The giant oak here rears his stately head; and the cedar, mahogany, and banyan— the latter a forest of woody bowers in itself—vie with each other in all their majesty of luxuriant growth.—Bonelli's Travels in Bolivia.

HOTEL CHARGES AT BAUME.—The charge at our halting-place today would supply ample materiel for some of the recent correspondents of the Times on hotel charges. We had a dinner of five courses, beginning with soup and ending with salad, two bottles of wine, one of beer, curacoa after dinner, beds, and breakfast, for three, and another bottle of wine to take with us, for which the total demand, including attendance, amounted to five francs—that is, not one shilling and fivepence each ! We met with several other instances of extraordinary moderation in our hotel bills, but this was the lowest during the whole of our trip.—Our Cruise in the Undine.

THE PROBABLE SEA SERPENT.—Passing over the cliff, along which lay the first part of our journey, we had the calm waters of the bay spread out beneath us: whilst watching from the dizzy heights its mirrored surface, my attention was directed to some strange animal, which I discovered to be one of those enormous sea-horses, to which I have already alluded, in speak- of the island of San Lorenzo. Its appearance, from the great elevation at which I beheld it, was extremely singular. Its body seemed to be of a pro- digious length, and covered with a short, glossy coat. With the exception of two great white tusks, projecting from the mouth on either aide, the form of its head resembled that of a seal. This monster swam about with great rapidity, at times showing the greater portion of his body above the water, and at other times disappearing from view altogether.—Bonellis Travels in Bolivia.

REASONS FOR REFUSING.—In a pantomime called, I think, "Gerard de Nevers," a love-torn cavalier is in deep distress, unbridles his horse to feed him • but his faithful steed, (such is the intention,) sharing his master's grief, refuses the oats that are offered to him ; and after having thrust his nose into them, he lifts his head with a negative shake, to the utter amaze- ment and delight of the audience, who are not aware that the bottom of the basket is stuck full of pins.—Nolan's Cavalry Remount Horses.

PERUVIAN BATHING.—I took a stroll along the beach, and was much amused at witnessing the singular mode adopted by the ladies for the enjoy- ment of a water excursion. The bathing-men are Indians, very stout and robust ; who, being divested of every species of covering except a pair of drawers, take to the water, each carrying a lady upon his shoulders. The men strike out to swim, and do so without inconveniencing the ladies, who float horizontally on the surface of the water. In this way they are carried for a mile or more, and appear to enjoy this novel mode of locomotion ex- tremely.—Bonellie Travels in Bolivia.

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