The Press. — London, England, 1854-10-07 00:00:00

r 952 to extinguish the flames ; so that we had to call off all the men that could be spared from other duties to man the pumps. Four of these were worked without intermission, and succeeded in partially subduing the fire; three of the pumps were then turned to play into the powder-mag,a zinc ; and these continued to the last a work which is not so easy as may be imagined. A shell striking the bow-port close to the only gun that could be worked did fearful execution as it exploded. It carried off a leg of Captain Giffard, both legs of a midshipman, a leg of the captain of the gun, and severely wounded two others. Further resistance could only have resulted in useless sacrifice of life, so the union-jack was hauled down, and the prisoners landed with all speed, lest they should be rescued by other ships. The first appearance of Osten-Sacken inspires more respect for his circumspection than his courage. When the " first lieutenant " landed to speak to the general he was "closely "attended by two foot soldiers and one quaran " tine guard, who was provided with a brace "of pistols to prevent contact." The officer who was sent to board the vessel returned more quickly than he set out : This booted and spurred field officer, who was not a young man, was very awkward in executing the order ; he, however, contrived, somehow or other, to get into one of the two boats, which stood rather too high on the beach for one to stride into with straps to his nether clothing. When he had cleared the shore, with a crew of about forty or fifty Russian infantry, and was "well at sea," and whilst they were e( unting the men that had been landed, the fog cleared up a little, and two dark objects were seen ap• proaching the scene of action at a distance of about half a mile. The consternation may be imagined; the boat was immediately hailed to return, and the prisoners were marched off with a strong guard towards Odessa. The invasion of quarantine rules seems dreaded even more than the invasion of an enemy. When the lieutenant requested that the prisoners might be allowed " libre pra tique, ' the general could with difficulty com prehend that such a request could be seriously meant, and he kept " knitting his brows as if " he wished to summon his faculties to the " comprehension of the phrase which had no " place in his understanding." At length he informed the lieutenant that the quarantine laws were more despotic than the Emperor himself ; that his Majesty would have to sub mit to them ; and seemed, in short, to consider that Russia was made for the quarantine, not the quarantine for Russia. Perhaps these rules against infection may be due to a con sciousness of the elements which, amidst the filth of a Russian population, exist ready to spread it, just as the wooden houses of towns and villages in danger of igniting with a spark are furnished on their roofs with tubs of water to extinguish the conflagration there is so much reason to expect. The private property of the prisoners was ordered to be scrupulously respected ; but the dexterity of Russian thieves proved more than a match for the vigilance of the police and of military guards. The captain's plate-chest vanished never to reappear, and desks and chests were thoroughly plundered before being restored to their owners. It is greatly to the credit of the crew that many of the men, having to choose what they would take with them in hurriedly leaving the vessel, made sure of bibles and prayer-books in preference to property more intrinsically valuable. The regulation allowance was liberally increased in their favour ; both the general and his amiable wife paid every attention to the prisoners, and especially to the sick ; and this kind treatment leads our lieutenant into some rather injudicious reflections on the contrast between Russian enmity and Turkish friendli ness : At first, unacquainted with the Thissian character, and apprehensive of ill-treatment in case we were removed to some out-of-the-way place in the interior of the country, the officers resorted to various ingenious contrivances to secrete the spare money they possessed. Some sewed it in the stiff collars of their jackets ; others wore the coin in belts round their waists, etc. But that such precautions were perfectly needless will he seen in the sequel. The ant lieutenant traversed the whole of Russia, often leaving Ms portmanteau in the carriage upon the highroad, while Q the night, without losing the sympathy everywhere shown qndlict of our civilised to that of our barbarous . country has generously pro- Constantinople w•e were often Turkish children, who an abhorrence of us if by their parents, who no THE PRESS. doubt expressed in private the feelings which were thus aped and reflected by their little counterparts. What is related, however, by the "first lieute nant," on his route from Odessa to St. Pe tersburg, of the sentiments of some Turkish prisoners, is scarcely credible. Surely some dust must have been thrown in his eyes by his good-natured Russian protectors before he could have believed what he here relates : At Tonle, which we reached at four o'clock p.m., and where we merely remained to dine before proceeding on our way, we were visited by four Turkish officers, who had been taken prisoners in one of the packet•steamers on the Black Sea, between Trebizond and Constantinople : this was the place appointed for their residence. The report soon reached them that the first English prisoner of war had arrived, and they naturally thought it their duty to call and pay their respects to their ally in misfortune. One of them spoke a kind of broken English, which he may have picked up when acting as clerk to the embassy in England. They had been about three months in this place, and evinced no desire to return to their country, expressing themselves quite satisfied with the friendly treatment they experienced at the hands of their enemies. Indeed I have since been assured that one of these men, at St. Petersburg, actually burst into tears when his release was announced to him In some cases more indulgence was shown than could reasonably have been anticipated. Among articles sent from friends in England to young midshipmen on board were two boxes containing a sword and revolvers, but these articles, though they might have been confiscated as contraband of war, were only retained till the prisoners left. It is a curious commentary on the policy of the Russian Go vernment that newspapers were much more dreaded than implements of war. Colt's revolvers might pass free, but not so copies of the Times or Illustrated News. The "first lieutenant" was summoned to St. Petersburg, arrangements having been made for the exchange or safe custody of the other prisoners. He left Odessa at midnight on the 6th of June, and arrived at Moscow soon after midday on the 15th. This would give between eight and nine days for the jour ney ; but, as he occasionally slept through the night on the road, it is evident the distance could, by Government couriers, be traversed much more quickly. Five or six days, there fore, would seem a sufficient time for des patches from Prince Menschikoff in the Crimea to reach Moscow, whence the railroad runs uninterruptedly to St. Petersburg. The " first lieutenant" was treated to excellent railway accommodation : The carriage allotted for my special use was about ten feet square ; it was furnished with two sofas and chairs, a small card-table, and two side-tables. On the sofas I could have reclined at full length, a convenience very desirable and generally denied us on English railways; the sofas and chairs had air-cushions, and were very comfortable. I looked into several first and second class carriages, and they all appeared nicely fitted up, although not like the one assigned to me : the second-class carriages had seats and cushions superior to those of the first class on English railways, and afforded plenty of room to each individual, allowing of his sitting without cramping his knees upon those of the person opposite to him. The narrative becomes of more importance as it proceeds. When at St. Petersburg, where he was treated with positive distinction, he was first summoned to the palace of the Grand Duke Constantine at Strelna, and here was graciously greeted by a lady. The inter view is pleasantly narrated : I was shown into a drawing-room to await the arrival of the Grand Duke Constantine,who had not returned from Cronstadt. He fills the post of Commander-in-Chief of the navy, lately occupied by Prince Menachikoff, who has teen sent to command the fleet at Sevastopol, and who may there one day pay the penalty, in his person, of the war of which he was one of the principal instigators. • • • • • I was standing, leaning over a chair and looking out of a window, with my back to the door, when I heard these words, in a pleasing tone and in good English, with a slight foreign accent :—" You are waiting for the Grand Duke, I suppose 2" 1 turned round, and, a little to my confusion, saw three ladies standing close by me. I bowed respect fully to the lady in advance, and replied that I had been directed to meet his Imperial Highness at eight o'clock. The Grand Duchess, for it was no other who now honoured me with her conversation, was accompanied by two of her ladies in waiting. Her Imperial Highness said she hal heard of my having been very unwell, and expressed a hope that I was better. I replied, that I had only risen from my bed in obedience to the commands of the Grand Duke. Her Imperial Highness then informed me that it was un certain when the Grand Duke would return ; and added, in the most mare manner, that I might know who was addressing me, " Even I do not know, and I am his wife !" I again bowed, when she said that she should certainly hear if he VMS detained, and would let me know ; she reeommende ' me, in the meanwhile, to wait, saying that she would sen me some tea, and the last English newspaper, which had SATURDAY, just come to hand. She then retired with her attendants, by the door at which she had entered, and soon after returned alone, with a copy of the Illustrated London News, which she handed to me, saying, " See ! it has not yet been opened, and is thelast number received." It was addressed to the Grand Duke, and had not passed under the scrutiny of the censor; its destination to a member of the Imperial Family being a safeguard from the mutilating scissors of that important functionary. Her Imperial Highness then retired, and I soon saw her in the garden, walking with her suite. She is a person of very pleasing appearance, rather above the middle height, of sweet and intellectual countenance, and decidedly pretty and engaging. She appeared to be about three-and-twenty, and was dressed with great simplicity in white, with scarcely any ornament except a few tasteful flowers in her white bonnet. The ladies who accompanied her were older than herself ; and, although they were certainly beautiful, served to set off her Imperial Highness to advan tage, by the gay colours of their dress, in contrast with the simplicity and elegance of hers. They did not speak while in the room, but as soon as they left I heard them say some words in French, and therefore concluded (as I had been assured) that this was the language of the Court. Then came the übiquitous samovar with its grateful refreshment, and after the " first lieutenant" had partaken of tea the Grand Duke Constantine appeared : Presently the Grand Duke entered alone with his aide de-camp, and, coming up to me, held out his band to shake hands; he addressed me in English, hoped I was better, and regretted my having bad to wait so long. He then motioned me to enter another apartment, the door of which had just been opened by one of the servants. Here we were left alone, and I was put quite at my ease by his Imperial Highness's affability ; he requested me to sit down, and ordered tea and wine, which were brought and set on two separate tables placed by us : be took some wine, and asked me to help myself, while he smoked the amber-mouthed pipe presented to him by the attendant. The conversation first turned on the loss of the Tiger, into the details of which he entered minutely ; he was well acquainted with them, having read the official report that I had addressed to the admiral from Odessa, a copy of which had been forwarded to him : in addition to this, he had the report of the authorities of that city relative to the circumstances that succeeded. He put a number of questions to me ; among others, be asked why we had not taken to our boats. I replied, that no naval officer ever thinks of abandoning his ship, and that we had defended the Tiger, hoping to the last to get her off the beach, until it was too late to escape in the boats. His Imperial Highness spoke with earnestness of his voyages to England and in the Mediterranean, and referred to many naval officers whom he had met, naming them, and mentioning them in connection with circumstances that evinced his clear recollection of them. Referring to Sir William Simonds (whom T think he said he knew), his Imperial Highness remarked that he believed the Russian three-decker the Twelve Apostles was a superior vessel to the Queen, which that officer had built, inasmuch as the defects said to exist in the latter had been corrected in the former ; the stern, for instance, although not so sightly, was more useful and effective, as guns could be fired at it, while it is doubtful whether the Queen could sustain the shock. lie also added that the Twelve Apostles, on repeated trials, had worked to wind ward, and overtaken their swiftest frigates. His Imperial Highness spoke of many of the ships in both the English and French navies, comparing them with each other, and appearing to be quite au fait on maritime subjects. I was much pleased with the ingenuous manner in which the Grand Duke Constantine spoke of the exploits of the Arrogant and Heela. lie said, " Have you heard what your countryman has done ? " I replied that I had not Well," said his Imperial Highness, "of all bold and seaman-like operations, this of Captain Hall's—taking his steamer seven miles up a creek of intricate navigation, in an enemy's country—is the most daring I could have imagined; I cannot but admire such gallantry, even in an enemy." His Imperial Highness wished to know how it was that Sir Charles Napier carried a blue flag at the main ; " for," said he, " by the despatches, 1 see that be signs only as vice-admiral; has he been promoted?" He infoimed me that he had received that very day a report from Finland, stating that the Duke of Wellington and some other ships had stood in to the coast, whence the flag he named had been seen at the main. I was not able to account for this circumstance, and suggested that it might have been merely a signal. His Impenal Highness made a remark to which I could give no reply : he said, " I am sorry the war is not of a more equal character." He then proceeded to complain of the English ships having approached the coast of Fin land, carrying the Russian flag, and thus deceiving the land-officers commanding the fortresses, who could not be expected to distinguish between the ships of the adverse navies. I did not feel called upon to enter into a discus sion on the right of using such means for misleading en enemy,—a practice which has so many precedents in war. The Grand Duke will have learned by this time that, when fi ghting, our gallant ships hoist thei r own flag, under which alone we condescend to fight, and never under false colours. • • • While we were thus oonversing the Grand Duchess entered, on which I ruse and bowed ; the Grand Duke said, "You have already made the acquaintance of my wife." She came forward and referred to the newspaper she had given me, inquiring about its contents. She always spoke to me in English, evincing a desire to ac quire that facility of expression which only practice can give ; and, on her making a slight and very natural error, r reposing at the inn during the nigt T I Ir 4, i 1 V1- , tu g e d e ed an th a e t e i r e p t a t ~.;s a k ~ 411.004 a striking contrast • i r i.:;: ir . 2, . . , • V.anee our noun . ft gat Constan jal.! , . . . Watts by the 9 k .... .... .., 'il4i !it*. ofelt such s ~. 1 : i ~ s • .. , nto them i 10 ..q. 1./..)ki•-itv.:.4,1&:•-- • WA' IN', I:, v - C - 4 :\ I