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JAyttAit* 133 1855.] ffHE ^ ADIH, . - gf...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Notes Op The Siege. Wrntell Olothtniov. ...
< jra fotfnigJrt- "WTtenit is gone tfte men Ikave nad ttreir * winter ctotniftg * and must dor without tftfe Kttle Warmth ft-afforded as fc & ey best can . The same rematfcs apply ttrthe socks . The gloves are goad if theywouM only last / but for-the work our men have they require at least * ve or six paftrttrtlre -whole winter . Bat the crowning absurdity fe the ' comforter V It iff a strip of very fete gaTSdily ^ cdlcraiwd wool , about tiro- inches wide and three feet long , a & ottt 'flte size of an ordftiaty brace . Literally it Would Apt " make a decent neck-tte for a child . It is
useless'for the authorities at home to try and contradict What I nave now assorted . I have many bf these articles In my possession , and as specimens of l winter clothing ' for * t campaign they are certainly the greatest curiosities r have-seen in the Crimea . The officers faugh at the things * and ask , is this really the supply about which so touch fuss was made in England , and for sending Which ttte home authorities got such praise ? The men look on Ilhem with perfect contempt and disgust , and" willingly exchange their whole stock of fc winter dbthmg' for one comfortable bread-bag . "
ksbosastcXe OF'fHE GtriotDS . * ' It is singtthir to nbte how differently hardships affect the new regiments and those -which have been out here from the commencement . Take the Guards , for instance . On parade they look a collection of gaunt dirty scaretrows , ordy by their consummate discipline which a Guardsman never forgets , which no amount of suffering ever induces him to break through , can yon recognise the remains of the most perfect corps of infantry in the world . The officers look anything but officers—at least in a Londoner ' s notion ; the men all look as if risen from some dangerous sickness . Compare
these men with newly-arrived line regnwents—the latter look the picture of neatness , models of robust healthy men whom you wouM back to go through anything . Yet in the course of a month many , very many , of these new men have died , and all the rest are ? seedy , ' dirty invalids , while the Guards look as gaunt and unchanged as ever . Five or six weeks puts the new regiment on its legs , and from that tune forward it rivals the oldest stagers in bone , dirt , and wretchedness ; and singularly enough the mortality ceases . If a man gets through the first month or six weeks in camp without sickness , he has nothing to dread from the climate of the Crimea . " An officer , grown listless with travel , gives us the following * : SKETCH OP BALAKLAVA . " In the main street almost every house is now a shop or store ; a morsel of bread , 12 inches by 4 , announces that some Jew , Greek , or Maltese rascal supplies spirits , beer , groceries , & c . ; an unbroken string of carts , waggons , arabas with dromedaries , and pack ponies , fills the centre of the street , while under the projecting eaves of the shops is a crowd of officers and men , mingled with saddle-horses . The men are drinking ale and porter at Is . 6 d . or 2 s . a bottle , and the generality have a thick biscuit , with a lump of butter or cheese on it , in their list . The officers are bawling for tea , hams , jams , pickles , candles , ' gregos , ' American chairs , brandy , tobaccoor butter , and cramming them into holsters and
, saddle-bags , or . securing them , _ fl 3 _ b . est . _ they can for transit to camp . In the midst of the mud , clamour , and confusion you see scattered here and there one of the newly-arrived mounted staff corps , in fanciful helmet , red tunic , braided with black cord , and mounted on a piebald Spanish horse , looking , to say the truth , very much as if they had just escaped from Astley ' s , or were the advanced guard of some equestrian troop coming to open a circus in the village . These ' nice young men ' prance about in the mire , or stand sentry with drawn sword at a ruined house near the entrance to the town in the vain hope of preserving some order among the throng of travellers . An unhappy attempt at imitating an index fingerin mud or charcoal , on a white , wall , pointing
, down a very narrow and excessively filthy alley , serves as a guide to the Post-office— that haven of hope and centre of interest for every man who has a heart and a home . Whether it bo mail day or not , I would not think of leaving Balaklava without a call at the Postoffice , for there is always the chance of a letter or a paper having been overlooked . I must say that civility , and untiring pationco in replying to interrogatories , at any rate , characterise the officials at our Post-office ; at least , so far as my experience goes . Such a scene as I have vainly attempted to portray is never to be forgotten by one who has witnessed the roality . My wanderings have extended round tho world . I have dwelt in both hemispheres and ploughed ovory ocean ; the atrccts of
London and Paris , of Calcutta and Cape Town , of Tlobart Town and Sydney , arc familiar to mo . I have rummaged among tho ' kingcobu '—excuse tho spelling , you know I know bettor—iu the Chouh of Benares and tho Bazaars of Patna ; I liavo looked with a longing oyo on knick-knackery in the Tulaia Royal and tho 1 Passages' at Brussels ; the Piazza San Marco at Vcnico and tho Daomo of Milan have bewildered mo with their present beauty or past associations ; but that little filthy street In Balaklava , with its occupants , has afforded mo moro food for reflection . Tho iinprcssion produced will bo more lasting . It ia a lesson in life—a chapter in history , Tho scone ia worthy of a philosopher , and ono who possesses tho gift of describing what ho bccs and ftcls . "
The officer has tittle to nna anausemettt everywhere . Here is some derived from QCSSBAX OKBEBLS . " The orderly has just brought isa the General Orders , and here is a transcript from them : •—" ' Head-quarters before SebastopoL Dec . 10 , 1854 . ¦ " frl . Her Majesty lias been graciously pleased to appoint General the Bight Hon . Fitzroy James Henry Lord Raglan , G . C . B ., to be a Field-Marshal in the Army , and the commission to bear date the 6 th of November , 1854 . "' 2 . Field-Marshal Lord Raglan Vats the satisfaction to announce to the army that the vegetables that Save been sent for their use are to be issuted free Jftf afl charge , according to < 5 & e instructions hejfeas received from the "War-office / " Now tell me seriously—if you can—whether this delightfully abrupt transition does not approach the ludicrous—whether it does not complete that one step said to exist between the subKme and the ridicnlftus ? Her Majesty honours the cemmander of her armies in the field with the highest military rank she can bestow . The announcement appears in General Orders here . The eye is thereupon dazzled witb the full blaze of the glory of the Field-Marshal ' s tictton . Scarcely can imagination even realise the glittering vision when tie newly-cfeated Field-Marshal' has the satisfaction to announce * to the gallant troops who contributed to win- that glorious trophy for him that a grateful nation will not charge them for the cabbages and carrots which they ate a month ago , but that they shall be a gratuitous addition to the salt pork they have ill digested .
" We have had a hearty l & ugh about this dear delightful General Order . If unanimous a-s to the first paragraph being worthy of our dear Sovereign , We are afl equally agreed that the second one is ia beautiful keeping with the spirit of the "War-office . It is redolent of the shop from which it emanates . Who cannot picture : o himself the unctuous complaeeney with which a closefisted , hard-hearted war-office official at length decided 6 n conferring on the British soldier in the Crimea the inappreciable boon of not enforcing payment of his arrears due for ' taties and greens . ' " THE TIMES" CORBESroWDEKFl tSI THE < J-iHp . We extracts froth tbe Times a & me portion of a leading article referring to the rumou-re so liberally bandied about respecting their correspondent : —
" A certain amount of vague gossipping has prevailed for the last few days , at our expense , among the minor official gentry , their" toadies , and the echoes of these great authorities at the Military Clubs . It has been said that tbe correspondent of this journal , now present with the army , had been expelled from the Crimea , in consequence of his animadversions' upon the notorious incompetency of tbe Staff of the British army . Had there been one grain of truth in the statement , it would only have reflected additional discredit upon men who were so conscious of their own shortcomings and neglect that they had endeavoured to get rid of an impartial witness . Nor would such a course , had it even been adopted which it has not- ^ have been discreditable to
the person concerned , but ii would ^ hayje ^ beenj ^^ jmd suly in the extreme . Hundreds of " volunteers would have stepped forward in the place of the regular correspondent dismissed . A single impartial witness would have been banished , and some hundreds of others would have been substituted in his place , who would have written with all the acrimony of personal suffering and personal indignation . We need not , however , enter upon this point , for , whatever faults may be found in Lord Kaglan ' s Staff , they are not such mere lunatics as their very intelligent friends in England presume them to bo . Let us , then , more for their sakes than for any concern we feel in the matter , inform the Inventors and propagators of this silly story that it is a simple false-The Times
hood from beginning to end . correspondent has been as much expelled from the Crimea as the Monument from Momuuent-yard . The gentleman who has so ably and conscientiously discharged his duty to his employers and to the English public had accompanied the army from its departure from these shores , remained with it at GalKpoli and Varna , and crossed with it to tho Crimea . He had , taken his share of cholera , fatigue , hunger , danger , and privation with the army , and had contrived iu tho intervals of these calls upon his endurance to write and forward the descriptions of that army ' s exploits which have principally made thorn known to tho English people . At last , in ill health , and foreseeing that tho campaign would be a
long one , lie applied to head-quarters—though certainly not to Lord Kaglan ' s—for leave of absence for ono fortnight , that ho might cross over to Constantinople and purchase some articles of clothing—a few furs , a stove , and such little matters as might enable him to got through tho winter alivo . A temporary substitute was appointed to act in bis place , and upon his arrival at Balaklava , our Special Correspondent , ' tho delicice of Dowriing-strcot , took advantage of his furlough . Ho loft Balaklava Dccombcr 4 , reached Constantinople in duo course , loft Constantinople on his ' return ' on the 24 th of Pocombor , and haa long uinco rejoined tho army . Meanwhile , wo beg to give tho moat absolute » n , d unqualified contradiction to tho silly Htory which has been sot afloat at the expense of a gentleman who would not
!&& w excited so mticn iisdfgnaffib ' n ft he' had Mot tolcl tfce 'one thing that Wotmdsr tfoe official mind—Tfttffls . * i CAXAAWEST IN VWS TBEHCHBSv A corporal of the Fottrth relates tbfe gaBUatsy <** Hr « H as the activity displayed inr the trfenobes'V" - ' " We * re busily atw «* £ t ** ewia # uj ^ 300 or 250 yards of thetbwM i attd'tfte KussftMs a » e -Mb hard at work doing the same feosttfpus . Th & veg ^ ttt & tta of the third and fourth divisions take tarn about fit those advanced trenches , and there is sharfc rifle ptafc & ce let protecting parties . The tremeh is Iiiwsd witft men wfcb lo © k over , and every Russian tbtey lay an eye on fe fired ¦ At . At the same time , the very mortent the Russian sees a head over the breast-Work he does the same , ft often happens that two see each ( fiber- «> the qufcfett * t eye and steadiest arm have the testchafcee . The Rttfr-¦ Sians are pretty good shtfts . It is nothing strange tb have the eap knocked off the head , dr the cheeks graaetf , or pieces cut out of the eoHar or shoulders ' of the coat . GeWts fbad of dueffing ought to come here for a fetydays tfc practice their hands . The ships and forte keep up a ceweinnal fire of grape Bhot and shell on o « rp « rt 5 eft . Tfcnae ¦ tfays ago our tegiment was in the tresefees ; Wo had one man knocked to pieces and two more WdttndM by grape . The same day a very feeBng circttntstanee took pfarce . Two Russian soldiers Were OMnJM ^ -dEdWn ft street ; sayffone of our men , * By tfte powers "bet they have a woman to protect them . ' 'Bad liick tome , ' says aiKr t & er , ' if she gees oneside I'D Rsfve a sl * p a * them . ' They would not cb & nce a shot'for fear » f htiStfag the woman . But she was not' four pates' frttm' tfte KossiAfts When whiz go Uhfe MmM rffleU and down tumble * ttne « f them ; the other atasrted e * at a good * u » .
MISCELLANIES ERO 3 I BEFOBB 8 EBASTOPOL . The following is an extract from the letter of an officer of the 2 nd Division , dated Inkerman , lfrtb . December :- — " An artillery officer , a few days ago , told me that the French had 146 guns in position , and were now waiting our being ready . Any news of this kind , however , is thought nothing of , we look only for true news from home—the Times our standard of truth . Our 13-inch mortars are being got up as fast as our poor worn-out horses can pull them—32- horses to one gun . From the rain the roads are in a sad state , and now We are busy macadamizing them . The poor Turks wotfc very languidly at this sort of work .
" This Division very much regrets the resignation of Sir De Lacy Evans , looked upon , as one 6 f our ablest generals—he was the pride of 13 j » division . In one respect I am glad he has gone , for he would have sunk under the exposures ~ we endure now , remembering his age to be 70 . . " General Pennefather , who succeeded Sir Do Lacy , has had a very severe attack of choleraic diarrhoea . For two days he was in a most critical position . He has been sent to Balaklava , but in a note to me to-ttfght he states Ms hope of being able to rejoin us before Christmas . General Buller commands us at present .
" With great difficulty supplies ar * got up tfrottl Balaklava . Cavalry are pressed into the commissariat service , and we have to send to Balaklava ( seven miles ) f «»~ bur '"" fota ' ge"Y ~ wntte- " 6 ttr -hoii ^ -Bt ^ intfl ! es--are ; -alldying , those of the French are fat and up to their work . Our ambulance corps would be tooat useful , were it not cumbered with poor pensioners , Who are not fit to take care of themselves , much less of mules , & c . " The-minds of the medicos out here are $ a a sad state
of irritation , with great good reason . They do thtsir duty notwithstanding the difficulties thrown , in their way by the military authorities . Their gfea * exertions are never noticed , but should one of theirMwsmbers slip in the least thing , down comes a censure on the whole of us . On the morning on which tho sick arrived at Balaklava , which caused the General Order , a medical officer went to Lord Raglan and said , 'My Lord , if you will give me an order for boats , I will undertake to have every man put on board ship . ' This his Ldtdahip would or could not do . "
A SKETCH FJIOM BAXAKJUA . VA . Here is a graphic picture , some of the details of which are absolutely comic in their misery . It is from the Morning Herald : — ' ? The very ragged , gaunt , hungry-looking men , with matted beard and moustaches , features grimed with dirt , and torn greatcoats stiff with successive layers of mud—theso men whoso whole appearance epoaks toil and suffering , and who instantly remind you of tho very lowest and most impoverished class of Irish peasantry , are tho picked soldiers from our difforont foot regiments , . ¦ _* . __ i .- _ i ~ . i *» ,... OT . tr nn Tirntrfslons for tho rest ot selected to P «> yfafon 8 for tlw wstot
strong men carry up tho camp . Mixed with those aro about 200 horaomen , who 9 O lank , feeble stud * , covo « k 1 with hugo / raws / seem barely able to move about with their riders through he tS , tenacious mud . The horsomen £ m ** £ are nil pretty much aliko-tliat is , they an all ragged , and all muddy ; yet on examining these men closely , you Pceivo £ t sofne havo dingy brass heWs on their hoadH , others tho small Scotch cap of tho ' Greys ; ' the remnants of rod trouaors indicate a Hussar , while , a hoaddrcHS curiously misshapen discovers a Lancer . From all tlicso faota you suddenly rush to tho con-
Jayttait* 133 1855.] Ffhe ^ Adih, . - Gf...
JAyttAit * 133 1855 . ] ffHE ^ ADIH , . - gfr
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 13, 1855, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13011855/page/3/
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