The Press.
London, England, 1855-08-18 00:00:00

THE FRENCH ATTACK.

The Moniteur of Sunday published the following
despatch from General Pelissier to the Minister of
War, dated July 31:—

Monsieur le Marechal,—The besieged have again made
an attack against our works on the Malakoff side, which
has not succeeded better than the former ones.

In the night between the 24th and 25th of July, about
midnight, the enemy, after a heavy cannonade, made a
sortie with about 150 men to the left of the Little Redan,
and arrived at our extreme ambuscades on the right, which
we were endeavouring to connect. This spot is very near
the town ; the night was pitch dark, and the Russians were
on our gabionade in a moment.
General Bisson, of Dulac's division, who was in com-
mand of the brigade in advance, had given full and precise
orders on every point, and had intrusted the right defence
to Lieutenant• Colonel de Taxis, a distinguished officer.
Although the enemy came upon a line of workmen, they
were received with vigour, and much cut up by the mus-
ketry of the posts of the Chasseurs-a•Pied of the Guards
and of some companies of the 10th of the Line, placed to
the right and to the left of the works, and taking in flank
anything likely to attack the workmen, who themselves
took part in this action and behaved very well, under Cap-
tain Lecucq, of the Engineers, who happened to be on duty
that night at the works.
The Russians retreated, leaving one wounded man be-
hind them, who died before he reached the ambulance, and
eight killed in our ambuscades and in the ditches of the
place. It is to be presumed that a number of the enemy
were hit by our fire, as they had three or four hours of a
dark night to carry off their dead and wounded, yet they
left some on the ground.
This little night-combat, in which we had a dozen men
wounded, does honour to the general, to the superior
officers who commanded on that side of our attacks, as
well as to the brave officers, subalterns, and soldiers, among
whom I beg to point out to your excellency Sergeant
Casaux, of the 10th Grenadiers of the Line, who killed two
or three Russians with his bayonet, and the Chayseur-ii-Pied
Eye, who killed two.
The works were resumed as soon as the enemy was
driven back again into the place.
Your excellency is aware that they are pushed on ac-
tively on all points, and that as yet the besieged has made
no new attempt to impede them; they fire at them, espe-
cially at night, but we advance steadily nevertheless.

PELISSIER, Commandenin Chief.

STATE OF ST. PETERSBURG.

A private letter received in Paris from St. Petersburg
mentions that great depression prevails among all classes
in that city, owing to the duration of the war, which com-
pletely paralyses all branches of commerce and industry.
This depression, adds the writer, has gained even the lead-
ing personages of the old Russian party, who were hitherto
so warlike and so enthusiastic, but who are now beginning
to despond. Nearly all labour is suspended in the manu-
factories, in consequence of the want of raw materials,
which no longer arrive from abroad, anti also from the
want of hands, all being employed in the defence
of the empire. The produce of the soil has no longer a
market abroad, and in the interior business is at a stand-
still. Articles of the most indispensable kind have at-
tained an exorbitant price. Coffee, sugar, and salt, are
luxuries which now are hardly to be seen, except on the
tables of the great. The nobility support all the burden
of the sacrifices in money imposed by the present circum-
stances, and the number of boyards who will be utterly
ruined by the war is beyond all idea. Add to this the grief
of so many families, who have all to deplore the death of
one or several relatives, and it will be easily imagined that
the higher classes of the Russians are not over-disposed
for amusements and fetes, and yet they are forced by
superior orders to be gay. The summer season has not
stopped the course of balls and soirees. The Emperor
having one day said, in presence of his courtiers, that the
nobles ought to invent some plan for preventing the com•
merce of the capital from feeling too severely the present
state of things, and particularly the blockade of the Baltic,
they forthwith set about organising a series of tableaux
vivans, the performers in which are persons of the highest
class of society. As these tableaux represent the different
episodes of Russian history at all epochs, the actors and
actresses in them arc obliged to make purchases of the
richest stuffs for the suitable costume. Tableaux vivana
for the relief of the suffering tradesmen are at this moment
the fashion on the banks of the Neva, and each noble feels
obliged to give at least one of these patriotic pantomimes
to avoid incurring the anger of his master, when no more
generous motive exists. The tradespeople of St. Petersburg
are relieved for the moment, but tableaux vivant on such
a scale at length become onerous, and something else
must be soon invented to alleviate the misery of the
industrial classes,

779

THE BALTIC FLEET.
(From our Own Correspondent.)
Off Sweaborg, August dth, 1855.
The mortar and gun-boats attack Sweaborg to morrow.
The French mortar-boats have not joined—they
remain at Nargen—why, I cannot tell.