The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

which sailed from our shores with so much pomp a few weeks back,
is comfortably lodged in barracks at Scutari, where they will merrily
pass the winter. How different is their lot from that of our own boyish
recruits, sent on active service as soon as they have learnt their goose-
step, and made to perform the severest labours, and suffer the greatest
hardships and dangers. Turnabout would seem fair play. One argu-
ment (the main one indeed) urged for the Foreign Legion was, that it
would give us seasoned soldiers. Why should not the German Legion
be sent to the Crimea to relieve some of our own thinned and over-
worked regiments ?

The triumph at Kars has been rivalled by a victory on the banks
of the Ingour by OMER PACHA. This first and great success of the
Pacha iu Asia will be received with unfeigned satisfaction by the Allies.
In the Crimea OMEn PACHA was wholly out of place; with a separate
and supreme command in Asia Minor, he will doubtless do justice to
the expectations which Europe, in 1853-4, formed of his high military
talents. The passage of a river in the face of a powerful and deter-
mined enemy is au achievement which requires the highest skill on
the part of a general, and the greatest courage on the part of his
troops. In both those qualities the Turks have, more than once this
war, proved themselves to excel. By the brief telegraphic reports
received, we learn that the Turks passed the river at four points, and
defeated the Russians, after a desperate fight of five hours, with the
loss of 400 killed and wounded, sixty prisoners, and the capture of
three guns. OMEn PACHA'S course is now clear; he will march straight
on Kutais, which, if the place be defensible, the Russians will probabb
hold with tenacity. Delay would be ruin to the Pacha at this time of
year, when once in the heart of the country. Ho possesses no siege
train, and depends solely on a rapid success, which would establish
him firmly on the road to Kars, and enable him to hold MOUIAVIEFF
in check. Unless he take Kutais by a coup de main his position, if
not perilous, will at least be unsatisfactory.

ODE
TO LORD JOHN RUSSELL ON HIS GUILDHALL RECEPTION
'Tis done !—but yesterday a Chief
Obeyed with servile zeal,
And now thou'rt brought to scorn and grief,
Which even thou must feel.
Hissed in thine own Constituents' halls,
Hooted by Whigs and Radicals,
And followers of Peel,
And hushed to silence by the storm
Raised 'gainst the Hero of Reform.

Yor thee the Popular applause

Hath ever been the test
Of statesmen, constitutions, laws—

All else was but a jest ;
And ever in the fierce debate
Thou'st held up to the Rabbles' hate
Those who had served them best.
Are all things changed that it is thou
Who art the People's loathing now ?

True, thou may'st scorn their fickle spite,

And deem it small disgrace—
Wrong they may be, but wert thou right
To bear a double face ?
To act against thy honest sense,
To mask the truth with false pretence,

And all to save a place,
And aid in waging still a war
Thou own'dst there was no reason for !

Bah ! Russell, where is now the pride
That marks thee and thy line ?
Invoke it ere thou'rt thrust aside
In obloquy to pine.
The power thou'st lost thou'lt scarce regain
By lecturing in dullest strain
On platitudes like thine.
Bear thy fate silently—'tis just;
And thy shield shows " What shall be, must."*

• " Che earn eara," the motto of expediency, and of the House of Bedford.

ACCIDENTS IN THE FOG.
THE fog which enshrouded the metropolis on Thursday and Friday
was, as might have been expected, productive of several accidents,
none of which, however, so far as we have been able to learn, have
been attended by fatal consequences. The editor of the Economist
.wao) making his way, in the obscurity, down to his office, and, as he

thought, had entered it. He sat down, and said to the first person
saw, whom ho took to be the sub-editor, " We want an article, such
I used to manufacture, with some style about it, and not too light
"It must not be felt, I suppose, sir ?" was the reply. " How do
mean? On the contrary, it must be felt. I wish it to be felt."
his exceeding surprise, in a minute or two, the Honourable Member
was asked to stand up to the looking-glass and try that article,
he discovered that he had entered a hatter's shop iusteai of his
He laughed very heartily, and has been singing " Who's
hatter ?" ever since. Lord Palmerston would not have his horses
for fear of accidents, but insisted on groping his way over to Dom
street, the consequence of which was that he went much too far,
got into St. Margaret's Church, where service was going on. The
ceedings there naturally puzzled him ; but, after trying in vain
make out what it all meant, he scandalised the congregation
addressing the pew-opener as " waiter," and desiring to he furnished
with a programme. He was, however, recognised by a beadle, who
known him in other days, and conducted from the edifice.
Cobden, who had come up to town to institute prosecutions against
the editors who had dared to intimate that he would not be agail
turned for the West Riding, walked into the Ordnance office, and
into a tremendous rage, because he found a little model of a howitzi
on the first table he ran against. Mr. Vernon Smith was feelin
way up Derby-street, into Whitehall, when he thought lie sat
Premier on the other side of the way, and called out, " How abotr
Colonies ?" Unhappily the person he addressed was a ticks
leaver, who, considering the remark as personal, and us referrir
his enforced residence in Australia, ran over, and gave the aster
Vernon what he termed a " rattler on the ivories," and Mr.
dentist has since been in a better temper than Mr. Smith hit
Sir Charles Napier made almost as awkward a mistake, for seen
slender, active person pass him, the Admiral thought it was a nir
of his committee, and ordered him to shorten sail The other
and ol4Charley, grappling him, said, " I say, I wonder whin
lubber, Charley Wood, thinks of my getting in? I'll work
precious Admiralty buffer." He paused for a reply, and receb
most uncivil one, to the effect that he was at liberty to visit
locality which last year he pledged himself he would go to withi
weeks of sailing, unless he got into St. Petersburg sooner.
found that he had caught hold of Sir Charles Wood Mink
muttering something about duplicate figure-heads, he sheered
The Chancellor of the Exchequer lost his way several times,
last, got into a charity school where the multiplication-table was
said. He was greatly pleased with the answers of the little boys,
to one iu particular, who had been asked how many nine times
were, and instantly replied, " A underd and hate !" Sir G. '
presented half a crown, declaring that he himself could not
answered so correctly. Mr. Frederick Peel went into a haberdasher''
shop, and was utterly disgusted at being asked, in a bullying '
the shop-walker, how he had dared to stop out so long. The
was kept up by Mr. Peel mechanically stooping to save a
red-tape that was under a chair, which remnant he was immediately
charged with intending to purloin. The mistake was then cleared
by an apology which did not seem very satisfactory—" You are
one of our young men, sir, that any one might have made the m'
Lord Clarendon, meaning to call at Ackerman's for a pictur. of
(which he was going to send anonymously to Lord John
marked the jacet Johannes), got into the neighbouring cit
instead; but seemed in no way displeased at. his adventi
smoked for an hour or two with much complacency, making
jokes against lecturers at the Hall opposite, and asking whet.
John had mentioned fog as one of the " obstacles to progress.
Lord Chancellor went into the wrong court at Westminster,
sight of the mace-bearer and usher, and took his seat in the
Bench, where the fog was very thick. But Lord Campbell
him out very roughly, and would listen to no explanations,
that poor Lord Cranworth wanted to " subduct " from the
jurisdiction of the Bench, with which his own court had no .
affinity, with other lucid speeches, more suo. But Justices
Wightman, and Coleridge interposed, and the mild Craw
rescued from the growling wrath of the fiery Campbell
casualty that we have heard of was in the case of the Home
who got into such a rage with the fog that he declared he won
office if it did not clear off, and as it certainly lasted some hi
than this threat, we may suppose that Sir George—who, as
man, always tells the truth—has kept his word, and that
fortunate Palmerston has to find three new colleagues out o
that cannot even supply him with a single decent addition
Cabinet.

A PUZZLER.
THE Premier observed that, after Lord John Russell's .
Exeter hall, there came a " Doxology." This being something
beyond him, and what he had never heard of in all his life,
inquiries of several people who called, but they, supposing
joke, evaded reply. At last he met Bernal Osborne, who '
that it meant a stand up supper, with which explanation the
went home, and threw his family into extraordinary mirth by
that their next party should sit down to suoper at one o',
more unsocial doxologies. Mr. Osborne ouglt rather to sp.
with a nobleman whose religious education has been neglected,
of leading him further astray.

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