PERSONAL NARRATIVE.

The Queen, accompanied by Prince Albert and the
royal children, went to Spithead in the Fairy on the
11th, and personally bade adieu to the first division of
the Baltic fleet under the command of Admiral Sir
Charles Napier. Her Majesty led the fleet out to sea as
far as the Nab Light, and returned to Osborne about
five o'clock. On the 16th she again visited Spithead, to
witness the sailing of Admiral Corry in the Neptune.
The Queen embarked at Osborne, on the 17th, and,
passing through the war-ships that remained at Spithead,
landed at Gosport, and proceeded by railway for
London. The Royal party arrived at Buckingham
Palace in the evening.

Lieut. Lord Seaton has been appointed to the Colonelcy
of the 2nd Life Guards, rendered vacant by the death of
the Marquis of Londonderry.

The Rev. G. J. Hill, M.A., who was appointed to the
Rectory of Saltford, near Bath, in the early part of last
year, has placed his resignation of that benefice in the
hands of the bishop of the diocese, and has intimated
his intention of joining the Church of Rome.

A Farewell Dinner to Admiral Sir Charles Napier
was given at the Reform Club on the 7th. Lord
Palmerston was in the Chair. Nearly 200 gentlemen
were present, including Sir James Graham, Sir W.
Molesworth, Lord Dudley Stuart, Sir De Lacy Evans,
Mussurus Bey, the Turkish Ambassador, and other
distinguished persons. Lord Palmerston gave the toast
of the day in an entertaining speech, which was received
with much cheering. He gave an account of Sir Charles's
exploits and adventures. For example—When, in 1833,
he attacked the fleet of Dom Miguel, he boarded a line-
of-battle ship, and a Portuguese officer ran at him with
a drawn sword; but, parrying the thrust, Sir Charles
merely gave his assailant a kick, and sent him down the
hatchway. Another anecdote—The late Lord William
Russell one day heard that Sir Charles Napier was in
the neighbourhood of Valenza, a Portuguese fortress, at
some distance from the squadron. "Lord William
Russell and Colonel Hare (said Lord Palmerston) went
to see my gallant friend, and Lord William told me that
they met a man dressed in a very easy way, followed by
a fellow with two muskets on his shoulders. They took
him at first for Robinson Crusoe; but who should these
men prove to be, but the gallant Admiral on my right,
and a marine behind him. 'Well, Napier,' said Lord
William Russell, 'what are you doing here?' 'Why,'
said my gallant friend, 'I am waiting to take Valenza.'
'But,' said Lord William, 'Valenza is a fortified town;
and you must know that we soldiers understand how
fortified towns are taken. You must open trenches;
you must make approaches; you must establish a battery
in breach; and all this takes a good deal of time, and
must be done according to rule.' 'Oh,' said my gallant
friend, 'I have no time for all that. I have got some of
my blue-jackets up here and a few of my ship's guns,
and I mean to take the town with a letter,' And so he
did. He sent the governor a letter to tell him he had
much better surrender at discretion. The governor was
a very sensible man. and so surrender he did. So the
trenches and the approaches, the battery, breach, and
all that, were saved, and the town of Valenza was
handed over to the Queen of Portugal."—Lord
Palmerston repeated the well-known story of the Syrian
war; and added the testimony of a calm-minded friend
who had been much in the East about that time—that
Sir Charles was not only daring, but a man who calculated
his moves beforehand.—In replying, Sir Charles
Napier said that, as he had been successful in
Portugal and in Syria, so he hoped to be successful
in the coming expedition. "I cannot say we are
at war (said Sir Charles), because we are still at
peace; but I suppose we are very nearly at war, and
probably when I get into the Baltic I'll have an
opportunity of declaring war. Certainly, if I have that
opportunity, I hope it will end in a prosperous war;
for I may safely say that this country never sent out
such a splendid fleet as will sail for the Baltic in a very
few days. And I think that my right honourable friend,
Sir James Graham, deserves the greatest credit for
having, after such along peace, when we had no seamen,
or very few, been able to fit out such a magnificent fleet.
Nor must I forget the services of my honourable friend
the Surveyor of the Navy, who has corrected all the
faults of his predecessors, which for a number of years I
was imprudent enough to point to. But since he came,
I do not think it is possible to point out a single fault in
the construction of the ships. He, in conjunction with
the First Lord of the Admiralty,—and with his
predecessors too, for I must not forget to give the preceding
Board of Admiralty their meed of praise,—the Surveyor
of the Navy has changed the whole style of building
ships: instead of the small ships which were formerly
built, he substituted enormous ships of the line with the
screw; which has altered the character of naval warfare.
We have now a fleet well advanced—I do not say the
fleet is yet in perfect order—but which, I believe,
considering the officers that have been appointed, very soon
will be. And here I have to thank the First Lord of
the Admiralty that he has seldom—no, I ought not to
say seldom—that he has never refused me the appointment
of a single officer that I have asked of him." Sir
Charles proposed the health of "the First Lord of the
Admiralty." In his reply, Sir James Graham said that
he looked upon Sir Charles not only as a gallant but as
a discreet commander: he possessed Sir James's entire
confidence. "He does not go forth under any
hypocritical pretence of conducting a religious war; but to
assert the independence of Europe, to maintain the
balance of power, and to resist—and, I hope successfully
to resist—as lawless a spirit of aggression and of reckless
aggrandizement as ever disgraced any country. My
gallant friend says, when he goes into the Baltic he will
declare war: I, as First Lord of the Admiralty, give
him my free consent so to do. I hope that the war
may be short, and that it may be sharp." This was
loudly cheered.—Sir W. Molesworth then proposed the
health of the Turkish Minister, and the following toasts
were afterwards given: "Namik Pasha," "Admirals
Hamelin and Dundas, and success to the combined
fleets."

Obituary of Notable Persons

JOHN MARTIN, the historical painter, died at Douglas, Isle
of Man, on the 17th ult., in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

VISCOUNT NETTERVILLE died at his residence, Pembroke-
place, Dublin, on the 20th ult., in his eighty-first year.

The MARQUIS of LONDONDERRY died at Holdernesse House
on the 6th inst., in his seventy-sixth year.

The Rev. Dr. JENKYNS, Master of Baliol College, and Dean,
of Bath and Wells, died on the 6th inst., at Oxford, in his
seventy-second year.

SIR JOHN CONROY, Bart., died at Arborfield, near Reading,
on the 2nd inst., in his sixty-sixth year.

The Right Rev. Dr. E. DENISON,  Bishop of Salisbury, died
on the 6th inst., at Salisbury, in his fifty-third year.

Mr. JUSTICE TALFOURD died suddenly at Stafford, on the
13th inst., in his sixty-first year. He was seized with apoplexy
while delivering his charge to the Grand Jury at the Assizes.

The EARL of LICHFIELD died at the family residence in
Stanhope-street, Mayfair, on the 19th inst., in his fifty-ninth,
year.

LORD GILBERT GROSVENOR, a lieutenant on board her
Majesty's ship "Boscawen," died suddenly while the ship
was getting under way for the Baltic, on the 20th inst., at the
age of twenty-one.

COLONEL GORDON, R, A., brother of Sir J. A. Gordon, K.C.B.,
governor of Greenwich Hospital, who had been on a visit there,
left Greenwich on the 15th inst., to proceed by the Birmingham
Railway, and was found dead in the railway carriage on the
following day.

COLONEL ARMINE MOUNTAIN, C.B., Aide-de-Camp to the
Queen, and Adjutant-General to her Majesty's Forces in
India, died at Futtyghur, India, on the 18th of last month.

M. DE VILLELE, the last President of the Council of Ministers
under Charles X., died at Toulouse on the 13th inst.

COUNT THIBAUDEAU, once a member of the National
Convention, subsequently a Councillor of State under the first
Napoleon, and Senator under the presont Emperor, died lately
at Paris, in his eighty-ninth year.

RUBINI, formerly the greatest of Italian tenor-singers, died
on the 2nd instant, at Romano, in Bergamo, aged sixty.

MADAME BERLIOZ, still remembered as Miss Smithson, the
English tragic actress, died lately at Paris.

PRINCESS METTERNICH died, in the Austrian States, on the
2nd inst. She had long suffered from the disease which
eventually proved fatal.

SIR JAMES WYLIE, for a long time Chief Physician to the