The Press.
London, England, 1855-02-03 00:00:00

that.

FEBRUARY 3,1855.

Original ytittrs from tilt Qtrimta.

Camp before Sebastopol, Jan. 13, 1855.
Dear S.,—l was sorry to hear you had been dis-
appointed at Vi., as I had hoped that the exigency
of the time would have pushed you through nolens
volens. Never mind, though, you seem to have got
tired of the place, and two more years would have
been a bore.

Last night I hoped to have had a good night's
rest, having been on duty the night before in the
trenches and kept awake the night bef re that with
a tremendous faceache ; but no, my old enemy, my
face, attacked me tooth and nail, and after tossing
and swearing for three hours I got up, lit some
charcoal, at the imminent risk of suffocating the
man who slept in the 'tent with me, melted some ice
(everything is frozen), and drank hot rum and
water and smoked till reveilli% I then dropped
asleep, and woke up about half-past eight, not a bit
the worse for my three bad nights, face better, and
ate a good breakfast. It is very odd my face is
never bad in tha day time nor when I am out at
night, it is only bad when I want to sleep. You
can't fancy anything so miserable as beeing seedy in
a tent with the snow and sleet driving in at the
badly-closed door and covering you as you sleep.
By Jove, how I shall enjoy a house after this !
I don't think anything would make me grumble in
England now.
I have within the last few days incurred two most
irreparable losses. First, my box from the P. is un-
doubtedly lost, containing a fur pelisse (which 1
want very much just now), and God knows how
many other good things ; secondly, the other night,
on an advanced post., scrambling about in the dark
over slippery rocks and snow to visit and post my
sentries, I most cleverly managed to work my pistol
out of its holster and lose it. I wouldn't have lost it
for 201. Of course, now that I am without a pistol
I shall be engaged in a sortie and get taken prisoner,
or stabbed if I am wounded, or some such pleasant
Russian treatment. These are two pleasant things
to happen to a Christian. I wonder what the third
will be; I suppose I may count the faceache for

It is snowing and blowing to-day terrifically, or
else I should have gone into Balaklava to replenish
my larder, which is very low, having nothing but
some ration pork and a Dutch cheese. I had hoped
to have seen it replenished by the P.'s box ; but no !
lam a jolly lucky fellow! Then D. never turning
up, and K., of the 20th, being sick at Scutari ! Never
mind, I must look forward now to the two boxes you
have sent me. What made you direct them to the
Commissary-General? I hope it will answer, that's
all, though I doubt.
The Russians made a sortie last night in the
Woronzoff road, and took thirteen men of the 08th
prisoners. It is a place that I am very often at.
The number of sick in the British army at present
is estimated at 12,000. _

JAN. 15.
Last night I received a letter from the M. Many
thanks to her for it; you can't conceive how much I
enjoy a letter, however short, out here. I wish when-
ever any of you write you would send me a Times of
the latest date possible. The cold and snow is so
great now that yesterday I began to dig down into the
earth. I have lowt red the floor of my tent three feet
already, and intend to go down two or three more. I
expect to be much warmer down there. The snow
is now lying about three or four feet all over this
plateau, and, there not beiug a tree, or shrub on
it, the glare from the immense surface of white
snow quite blinds you if you look at it. I find that I
am obliged to keep my eyes fixed up in the air.
What horrid management there is about everything
at Balaklava! My box arrived there, was sent
ashore to the divisional store, and there lost (or
prigged). I am awfully hard up for boots, comforters,
and fur coat, &c. Notwithstanding all the trouble
you have all taken to send me all sorts of things, I
have not received a single thing either from you or
the P. since I landed; and there, as I told you, I
lost half my baggage. 4Never mind, though ; I am
quite well now, and as long as I remain so it does not
matter how uncomfortable I am. With this snow it
is almost impossible to get to Balaklava, and I am
almost starving. I can't eat the salt ration—stringy
beef and fat pork. Yesterday I bought a small loaf
of stale bread and a box of sardines, and paid ten
francs for the two!
Everybody, even the most sanguine, really begin
to think now that the weather, if it lasts, will shut
us up, and will prove another 1812 to us. How
are we to get up rations and firewood? and how can
we expect men to walk ten miles and carry heavy
loads when they are already worn out with harass•ng
fluty in the trenches? The winter has been threaten-
ing its approach for a week or two, and during that
time, if ordinary and strenuous exertions had been
made, they might hare got up huiS and firewood ;0-
nt fcr a month. But no. Not the slightest fore-