The Press.
London, England, 1855-12-01 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

safety was insured by that bloody victory,
though its hardest trials only then began. It
would appear that previous to the death of the
Emperor Nicholas the Russians showed them-
solves more enterprising than at any subse-
quent time. Their seizure of the hill in front
of the French position, afterwards so cele-
brated as the Mamelon, evinced great skill
and daring, and the courage of the Russian
soldiers was never so conspicuous as in holding
the position they had won against the vehe-
ment attacks of the French troops.
As the spring advanced, the immense rein-
forcements received by the French, and the
accumulation in both camps of ammunition,
gave the allies a superiority of power which
steadily increased until the enemy found it
vain to contend against it. On one point we
should have been glad of some explanation
from so competent an authority as Colonel
Hamley. How was it that in every engage-
ment the Russian loss so immensely exceeded
that of the allies? Their proportion of dead
to that of the allies was commonly as three,
four, and five to one. To whatever particular
circumstances this disparity may be attributed,
it affords an unquestionable proof of the
immense advantage which skill, science, and
intelligence must always have in modern war-
fare over mere numbers, however diligent their
mechanical training may have been. The war
has thus far established a great fact, that the
civilised world can have nothing to dread
from an empire of serfs. Russia mill never
again be formidable, if the nations of Europe
understand their true interests, and steadily
resist the first indications of her encroach-
ments, whatever shape they may assume.
The parts of this volume we like least are
those relating to our domestic politics, which
do not well accord with the author's military
details. The anecdotes arc numerous, and all
of value, as illustrating what may be called the
principles of the campaign. The somewhat
reckless pleasantry of our allies may be under-
stood by the following. The author is speaking
of the most advanced French parallel :

The riflemen here were a short time ago in the habit of
diverting themselves by sticking up bottles on the parapet
for their opponents to fire at. Our commanding engineer,
looking through a loop-hole here one day to survey the
place, found a great number of bullets striking near him,
and hearing a suppressed chuckle from our worthy allies
behind, he looked up, and found they had silently placed a
bottle on the parapet over his head. This they considered
a capital joke indeed, and wanting nothing but a bullet
through the general's head to render it quite successful.
Of all instances given of the inhumanity of
the Russians none at all approach to their
barbarous carelessness of the wounded they
left behind them at Sebastopol. The allies
actually did not know of the presence of these
wounded until two days and nights after the
Russian retreat, when the enemy sent a flag of
truce to ask that their wounded might be given
up to them. Of the two thousand wounded men
who had been left, only five hundred remained
alive when the barrack in which they had
been left was entered. The author writes :
The sudden revealment of the secrets of a churchyard
would disclose nothing half so horrible as the spectacle
of this cemetery above ground, where the dead lay in
every posture of agony on and beside their beds. How
was it that the flag of truce was not sent earlier? We
cannot conceive that any circumstances, even of the dire
necessity of war, could justify the leaving, for so long a
period, these two thousand sorely-wounded men—un•
tended and uncared for. The mind shrinks from the con-
templation of the mass of human suffering which the
death-agonies of these unfortunate creatures must have
presented.
We strongly recommend this " Story of the
Campaign" to all who would gain a just com-
prehension of this tremendous struggle. Of
this we are perfectly sure, it is a book unlikely
ever to be superseded. It will be reed by our•
children's children, perhaps, even u ith stronger
interest than by ourselves. Its truth is of that
simple and sterling character which is sure of
an immortal existence ; nor is it paying the
gallant author too high a compliment to class
this masterpiece of military history with the
most precious of those classic records which
have been bequeathed to us by the great
writers of antiquity who took part in the wars
they have described.

77Le Poetical Works of Augustine Argonne

Philadelphia: Parry and M‘Millan.
Ma. DUOANNE, we learn from the preface to
this handsome volume, has intrusted to his

‘w.

0 SATURDAY,

friend Mr. Lesley the charge of presenting
his poetical effusions to the world, and Mr.
Lesley, to insure for his friend a world-wide
reputation, has transmitted copies of the work
to the English press.
Mr. Duganne, in a verse on his titlepage,
tells us that

Songs are the spasms of the soul,
and his practice is in accordance with his
theory. His soul is always in a state of
wonderful tumult. In the very first page it
treads

Ice•tesselated temples, whose dread shrines
Are the upthrown vitals of extinct volcanoes.

It is always being convulsed by throes, or
torn by tempests, or wrapt by visions. His
great theme is to glorify the " One Great
Republic," the United States, and to accom-
plish his purpose he thinks it necessary to
contrast the misery and degradation of other
nations with the happiness and glory of
America. We select a few stanzas which
fairly represent both the verse and aim of the
author. On France he looks down with
infinite pity, and thus apostrophises her Em-
peror :
Poor imbecile of France ! Lo, he would guide
The Phcebus-charioz, of a nation's will,
And rein the steeds of Freedom! In his pride
He would o'erleap his nature, and deride
The elements that raised him, and that still
Are surging round him in an angry tide!
He cresting them as floats some glittering boy
Upon the bosom of an ocean wide!
Laugh, omy soul This proud assumptions boy
Would with our goddess Freedom dalliance hold,
Tempting her love with his betraying gold !
Laugh, 0 my soul ! laugh loud in new-born joy—
" The gods first madden whom they would destroy."
Why boy ? Whatever may he the faults of
Louis Napoleon, extreme youth is not among
them. "Assumptions boy" must be classed,
we imagine, among those figments which
poets of Mr. Duganne's order are fond of em-
ploying. To England dreadful calamity is
threatened :
From Britain, from Britain,
The flame shall arise
To the pitiless skies!
'Tis written, 'tis written,
'Tis plain to mine eyes ;
And her merchants afar off, lamenting and yearning,
Shall witness the smoke of her burning.
Even so !
She must taste of the woe
In hut and in palace ; she'll drink of the chalice,
And pour out her heart in libation
To wash out her might transgression.
For yo!

The blood of the innocent cries !
The blood of the martyrs whom Britain hath slain
Shall fall on her forehead in terrible rain.
While the Old World is rent with convulsions
and misfortunes, America stands " a star in
" Glory's firmament," secure and tranquil
One GREAT lisrustac ! great in generous souls !
Supremely great that she herself controls,
Nor yokes her power to Havoc's car,
To swell the Orient war.
Great in her storied past !
Whose mighty deeds are mankind's Runnymedes—
Whereby its freedom•charter, broad and vast,
Each yearning nation reads !
Great in her present, while her flag unfurled
In neutral calmness challenges the world!
But yet more gloriously great
That she can cast her awful power
In virtues shining van ;
That she may all the future dower
With blessings unto man
No armies fright her vales !
No battle•din assails!
No hireling guards around her portals stand !
But when a stranger nation, starving, cries
For succour at her hand,
Oh then, in marshalled lines,
Each ripening harvest shines,
And glittering sheaves of golden corn arise—
To conquer and o'errnn the foreign land!
The reference to America feeding starving
nations reminds us of the Czar's answer to the
merchants of Odessa, in which he speaks of
the ingratitude of the States now at war with
him, who had been nourished by Russian
corn. But what supplies of food should we
receive from eithLr the United States or
Russia if we could not pay for them? and
while wo do pay for them what absurdity it is
for the seller to speak of the obligations he
lays the buyer under. The tradesman might
as well speak of the benefits he confers on the
customers who support his shop.
Mr Dugaune has some poetic capacity
especially for rhyme, but his absurd ideas,