The Press. — London, England, 1854-10-28 00:00:00

OCTOBER 28, 1854. coming to hand. They pass through the offices of Pera and Galata agents, and get thrown into comers, knocked about, and lost in some way or Lther. The few hooka—no matter what they are—belonging to officers of various regi ments, go the circuit of whole divisions. I have now in my possession—and to borrow it cost a vast deal of per snasion--a copy of Mr. Routledge's edition of Bulwer's " Last of the Barons." This book has been read by every officer of the 33rd Regiment, and some of them have read it twice. It was then passed over .to the Engineers, and they read it to a man, and then gave it up to the Ordnance, who, having done with it, let me have it for a week. I have seen men hard at work reading CulverweV's tracts on health, and a treatise " on the hotmeopathic treatment of diseases in children " has actually been studied by a score of young lieutenants, all of them bachelors, and likely to remain so for some time to come. A general cargo of sta tionery, with memorandum and sketching books, and the books published by Routledge, Cooke, and Bohn, with Bentley's and Colburn's Standard Library, would find a ready sale in the Crimea winter quarters. So would the New Quarterly Reurcm,-because it gives a capital digest of current literature. In short, any, books—good, cheap, and light—would benefit us and thn importer, no matter whether our winter quarters are ih the Crimea or at Scutari.—Lefler in Daily News. WEAR AND TEAR. Their faces, yellow with the accumulated dirt and sweat of many days, have a haggard and careworn look. Their clothes, which they have not pulled off for weeks past, defy the brush ; they must look soiled, dusty, and seedy. Frizzy hair, deep set eyes, and the feverishness of uncleanliness are the order of the day with the men and with most of the subalterns. I defy the most water-loving man to wash his person and his clothes when there is hardly water enough to drink. Take off the wardrobes of the generals and some of the more favoured among the staff officers, and rely upon it there are not a dozen clean shirts in the army. An officer told me he had not washed his hands for a week; as for washing his face, that s too great a luxury to he thought of. The appear wee of the hard-working gallant officers of the line aid guards is certainly most unusual to home ideas o' a British officer in full uniform, and, but for the seriousness of the situation, it would even be ludi crous. Landed with no luggage hut what they could cam they have worn their full-dress coats for the la& three weeks; they have marched, and fought, an( slept in them. Of course, the scarlet bears but a faint resemblance to what it used to be, and the gold lace and heavy gold epaulettes are but dingy remniscences of their former selves. Trousers hope less!) impregnated with Crimean mud and dust, and bootsthat seem to mourn the glorious blackings of auldlang syne." A shako or cap much the worse for weir, and sometimes for tear—a red shawl, useful and alnost necessary, in defiance of regulations and orders rom head-quarters, protecting the waist—a soiled htversaek, with rations, biscuit, or any small luxury tie officer contrived to buy in the shape of fowls, eggs, honey, or Russian bread, slung around his shoulders—a "Colt," with belt and case girded round his vaist--and, perhaps, if the foraging expe dition had )een of more than usual prosperity, a live goose, gre.sied tightly by the feet, hanging from his hand. Oh, or the mantle of Fortunatus, to place such an aim all at once into his London haunts, and among tie old familiar faces! Put him down in Pall-mall, as Piccadilly, or on the swelling carpets of the Junior• Cnited Service Or, better still, mount him on a rouge Crimean pony, accoutred with a Tartar saddle aid bridle, and let him all of a sudden make his appearance in Rotten•row, heaven knows what fireside geir.lemen and ladies would think of him, for what the) would take him, and how they would treat the gallint man glorying in his goose ! Daily News. THE SUNKEN SHIPS AT SEBASTOPOL. The Russian ships sink in the port of Sebastopol have been so disposed as to form two barriers, each composed of three ships, and having between them a passage for a single vessel, which passage is tempo rarily closed by chains. It is not impossible to penetrate into that port by that narrow passage, but it is very difficult. The part of the vessels which remains above the surface of the sea has been daubed over with pitch, and loaded with inflam mable matters, which it is tripposed will be set fire to should the vessels of the allied fleet attempt to enter. Messrs. W. G. Armstrong and Co., o:* Newcastle npon-Tyne, are busily employed executing an order from the Admiralty for the construction of apparatus for blowing up the Russian ships of war which now obstruct the entrance of the harbour of Sebastopol. They are twenty-five in number—thirteen large and twelve smaller. Each consists of three water-tight cylinders, of different sizes, placed one within the other, so as to form three distinct compartments. The innermost cylinder will be filled with fine gun powder, the space between it and the next with ordinary blasting powder, and the outer one left vacant. A galvanic wire will be inserted in the in nermost cylinder to communicate with the battery. The larger apparatus will weigh three toss each, and when charged four tons, Prior to their being shipped THE PRESS. off to Sebastopol the effect of one of these machines will be tried upon a sunken wreck at Tynemouth. THE DESCENT ON YALTA. On the representation of the French generals, communi cated to the British commander-in-chief, a joint expedition, consisting of the French ships-of-war Napoleon, Pomona. and Megere, and the English ships Sanspareil, Tribune, and Vesuvius, was directed on the 2nd of October towards the little town of Yalta, on the south shore of the Crimea, for the purpose of obtaining bullocks and othernecessaries, including wine, for the use of the French troops. This expedition arrived off its destination at nine cm. on the 4th, and, meeting with no opposition, landed the detachments of marines and small-arm men, and took pos session of the town. Little Government property was found in the town, the Russian employes having removed themselves and everything that was portable some days previously. Timber for the construction of platforms was brought off and landed at lialaklava, and thirty-five tons of Government coal were seized and sent on board the 1"c• mini,. Neither wine nor bullocks were to be found, and so far the expedition was un coup manqué. At eight p.m. the detachments were embarked, and on the morning of the Oth were re landed under the command of one of the French captains and Captain the Hon. S. T. Carnegie, of the Tribune. They marched some distance inland without meeting any of the objects of which they were in search, until they came to a small chateau of Prince Woronzoff, where they piled arms and rested. The country through which the detachments marched was marked by a high extent of cultivation, and scenery as beautiful and diversified as any in the world. Tobacco and vines appeared to cover the soil ; apple and walnut trees grew in profusion, laden with fruit—their boughs bending to the ground; and the chateau itself was placed in a most picturesque situation, the gardens laid out in the English style, with every appurtenance that good taste, aided by great wealth, could devise and execute. The forest, extending to the seaside, was the home of many hundred of fallow deer, ornamental walks were traced throughout, and the well known liberality of the owner has extended even to the formation of a small detached hospital, containing eight beds, and furnished with all the medical comforts that were required to render it complete. This residence must not be c3nfounded with the princely palace of the same owner at Aloupka. It was apparently a shooting•lax. used but rarely, but bearing evidence of great refinement, even to luxury: A guard of English tuari - nes was placed over the house, to prevent pillage or destruction, and this measure was successful, but a good deal of damage was done to a maga- zine of stores for domestic purposes, which was forced open and searched by our allies. The English had with them a commissary, sent expressly by Lord Raglan, with a large sum of money, in order to pay for everything that was de manded, but nothing could be found in the shape of pro- visions worth asking for or carrying off. The troops returned to the town in the afternoon, and, finding all solicitations useless to procure either wine or bullocks, re-embarked at eight p.m and the ships returned to their respective stations.--Correapondent of Chronicle. TO THE WOUNDED. We have been told that the increased civilisation and humanity of modern times will greatly mitigate the horrors of war. To a certain extent this is undoubtedly true. Our list of Russian prisoners proves it. On the Danube the Turks made no prisoners, and the Russians equally got rid of such encumbrances by the summary method of the bayonet. I felt proud of my country when I saw little groups of English soldiers tenderly nursing wounded and dying Russians on the field of Alma the day after the battle, partienlarly when my indignation was hardly calmed at the well-proved stories of ferocious feeling manifested by these same wounded. Notwithstanding the ingratitude of these poor Russian slaves, an English doctor, to his eternal honour, volunteered to remain behind and endeavour to alleviate the sufferings of 700 wounded Russians who had been removed from the field of battle on the south bank of the Alms to the deserted village on its north bank. Dr. James Thomson, assistant-surgeon of the 44th Regiment, and his soldier servant, deserve to be held up as heroes. For four or five days they, and they alone, had to wait upon and support this enormous mass of severely wounded men. The task was in many respects a most dangerous one. As we have seen, the patients themselves were not to be trusted. The Cossacks might also at any time make prisoners of them on the retreat of the allied armies. The dead were festering in heaps around the sick and dying. These two men frequently had to bury a horrible mass of carcases and fragments before they could get at some poor wounded wretches. In this way they must with their own hands have dragged out and buried some 200. There was no food of any kind for the sick, so the soldier managed to drive in a stray bullock, and with the aid of some Russian convalescents ( their misfortunes seem to have humanised them) he killed it and made some soup for them. At length her Majesty's ships Albion, Vesuvius, and the screw•transport Aron arrived. The whole crew of the first landed and removed the wounded on board the Avon, while the l'e•uvius guarded the shore. In the midst of this humane occupa tion a Russian force of some 4,000 or 5,000 men ap proached the village, and the sailors were obliged to hasten on board, as it was beyond the range of the ships' guns. However, 340 wounded were put on board the Avon under the charge of their heroic preservers, Dr. Thomson and his servant. About forty were left behind, arid many of these poor fellows, who had previously seemed unable to walk, endeavoured, with all their might, to hobble after their more fortunate comrades. The next day the Avon proceeded with them to Odessa. Now, surely, when the Humane Society rewards a man who saves one single individual, society will not fail to do something for two men who, ender such dreadful trials, saved the lives of 340,—Letter in Tines, 101 ARRESTS AT VARNA. A letter from Varna, of the 10th, in the Lloyd of Vienna, says:— Two commissioners of the Porte, and two agents of the English and French legations, arrived here in the night. They immediately put themselves into communication with the English and French commanders, and made minute searches in the houses of several Greeks and Armenians residing in the town; after which fifteen per sons were arrested and sent off to Constantinople. Corn missioners charged to make similar searches were sent at the same time to Erdeueh, Tiliboh, Salonica, Trikola, Vodena, Kutapa, Trebisoude, Ilattouni, and even to Smyrna and Damascus. It is understood that these arrests have been made on information obtained when Prince Mena chikoff's carriage containing correspondence was seized at Alma. THE ISTHMUS OF PEREKOP. The Varna correspondent of Lloyd writes :—" As I have more than once stated, the allies have not lost sight of Perekop, and 35,000 men, French and Turks, under Achmet Pacha and General Bosquet, will take care of any Russian reinforcements which may attempt to reach Sebastopol from that place." Cavalry rein forcements were to leave Bourgas without delay. THE BALTIC FLEET. Her Majesty's screw steam-ship St. Jean d'Aere, 101, has arrived at Kiel, as the precursor of Sir Charles Napier's squadron. The St. Jean d'Aere had been on shore at the island of Fehmern, but is not damaged. Sir Charles Napier was expected at that port im mediately. During the latter part of November the fleet will leave the Baltic, and may be expected home by the sth of December. THE DANUBE. Letters from Galatz state that the allies are about to form a large war magazine at the Sulina mouth of the Danube. Very shortly (so runs the rumour) French troops will be disembarked at or near Sulina, in order to support in flank Omer Pacha's movement against Bessarabia. The works constructed at this mouth of the Danube are described as of an exten sive and formidable character. Three small war steamers continually paddle up and down to observe the Russians, the obstructions to navigation for merly placed there by the enemy having been long since entirely removed. A dredging-machine is, moreover, in constant operation, and the long-abused channel of the river grows deeper every day. The astounding fact that the Russians have ven tured to recross the Danube in great numbers, and that they have actually never entirely ceased to occupy the smaller fortresses on the right bank, namely Tultscha, Isatchka, and Matachin, is fully confirmed by an official report received from the Turkish head•quarters of Said Joussouf Paoha, at Ibraila. The Copirte Zeituttg's Correspondenz says : We are informed by letters from Ibraila, of the 10th, that nearly 30,0(() Russians have recrossed the Danube, between Tultscha and Isatchka, and occupied several points in the Dobrudscha, which are of strategical importance. The vanguard of this force is already at Babadagh. Isatchka, Tultscha, and Matachin are in the hands of the Russians, and they are fortifying themselves at Babadagh ; they are also constructing a bridge between Isatchka and Tultacha. The Russian troops stationed at Kilia, in Res• sarabia, are to take np the position of those that are now on the Danube, which latter, we are told, are to be pushed forward into the Dobrudecha. THE REINFORCEMENTS. Detachments of the Guards under orders for the Crimea left London on Thursday morning, a little before nine o'clock, by the South-Western Railway, for Portsmouth, for embarkation in the Queen of the South. The troops, both officers and men, appeared in the highest possible spirits, and, as they passed along, were enthusiastically cheered by the crowds which had collected to witness their departure. This force comprises 787 men, 18 officers, and 15 non-commissioned o ffi cers, of the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Fusilier Guards. They embarked the same evening. On the 22nd 500 men of the 10th French Regi ment of the line embarked at Marseilles in the Sinai for Varna, and at the same time a detachment of the foreign legion embarked for Hargis. A letter from Malta of the 21st says that various transports, with troops, had arrived, and left fur the East. The Wrangler, 4, screw, Lieutenant-Commander Rich, at Portsmouth, has received a telegraphic message from the Admiralty to complete her defects with every possible despatch, and proceed to the Crimea. The armament now building to operate against the Rus sians in the Baltic at the opening of the spring campaign includes thirty-five vessels, namely—five floating batteries, the decks covered with iron plates, eight inches thick, and their exterior with one hundred plates four inches thick, rendering them perfectly ball and bomb proof (these vessels will be armed with eta of the Long-range puts oa the Lan' Mr IN I ■ 4111fomo