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

THE WEEK.

A Lose period of expectation has at last been terminated by a series of
telegraphic messages, bringing us most important and stirring news
from the seat of war. First came an announcement yesterday after-
noon of a great battle on the Tschernaya, the Russians having
attacked, on the morning of Thursday last, the allied position in great
force and been driven back with immense loss by the French and Sar-
dinians; and later came a message from General SIMPSON announcing
that he had decided, in concert with General PELISSIER, to reopen the
bombardment on the morning of yesterday, the 17th. It is tolerably
certain, then, from these announcements that the Russians, having re-
ceived information of the intended attack of the allies, had resolved to
anticipate it, in the hope of repeating the surprise of Inkermann.
They attacked at daylight on the morning of the 16th, their whole
force consisting, it is believed, of 50,000 or 60,000 men, under
General LIPRANDI. It is probable that this corps was one of
those which, on the 14th of July last, we announced as advancing
to the Crimea by forced marches. The attack was met by the
French under General BOSQUET and the Sardinians under Gene-
ral DELLA MARMORA. The action lasted three hours, the enemy
being at last repulsed with a loss estimated at between four and
five thousand men, and four hundred prisoners. It is evident,
from the results of this engagement, that our gallant allies the French
must have fought with their accustomed bravery, and that they
must have been nobly seconded by the Sardinians. It is pecu-
liarly gratifying that this intelligence—which will gloriously efface
the remenibrance of our repulse on the 18th June—should have been
received on the eve of her Majesty's departure to visit the Emperor
of the French. The enthusiasm of the Parisians will be raised to a high
point by this intelligence, and we must hope that it will speedily be
enhanced by news of still greater successes consequent on the bom-
bardment fixed to commence at daylight yesterday. We are on the
verge of great events. If the Russians decide on maintaining their po-
sition in Sebastopol to the last, forty-eight hours may be required to
silence their batteries, and drive the shipping to the northern shore, and
the assault would probably immediately follow. It seems, therefore, not
unreasonable to expect that we may very speedily hear of some
decisive success on the part of the Allies.
Letters from the camp, and an admirably lucid one which we
publish to-day in our columns, speak confidently of the success of the
next attempt. Nothing, this time, has been left to chance. Eight
weeks of constant preparation and labour have produced most tre
mendous batteries which encircle the doomed town with a terrible
grasp. As far as human skill and ingenuity can foresee, the Malakoff
ought to fall this time ; but a fortress is so seldom captured at the
intended point, that if we only assault the town in one or two places,
..and allow the Russians to reserve their whole strength for the defence
of those quarters, our chance of success is considerably diminished.
No mention is made of the fleetpartaking in any operations, though it
is not probable that the ships would be idle in any general assault.
From the concentration of naval strength off the harbour, we are
inclined to infer that a grand and combined assault was intended.
The other news from the camp is meagre. The health of the troops
generally is good, though a few cases of cholera and fever have
occurred. The Duke of NEWCASTLE, who was up at the front in
General BICNTINCIE'S quarters, was suffering severely from the Crimean
fever and diarrhoea. Sir RICHARD ENGLAND has relinquished his
command from ill health, and is about to return home. General
EYRE is to succeed him.

Lord PALMERSTON'S first Royal Speech reminds us of HOOD'S defini-
tion of home-made bread, " a heavy compound of putty and lead."
Royal speeches are not famous for brilliancy ; this one by Lord PAL-
Nzasunr, by its length as well as by its intolerable dullness, outstrips
all former compositions of the kind. So great a dearth was there of real
matter to congratulate the nation upon, that Lord PALMERSTON was
driven to unqualified approbation of his own small measures. The
allusion to the Militia was not happy, and the expression with reference
to enlistment into the line, " aslar as was required," sounded peculiarly
infelicitious after the able exposé of the inefficient state of the army by
Sir Ds LACY EvAss an hour previously.
The dullness of the Royal Speech was in some degree relieved a
few hours afterwards by the arrival of the news of the bombardment of
Sweaborg. The extravagant amount of "flattering unction" which
the gentlemen who do the editorials in the morning and evening
papers put into their pens upon this occasion seems incredible at
this sober distance of time. Like Panurge anticipating his revenue
from locusts and periwinkles on the Island of Salmagondin, these
gentlemen appear to have "eaten their corn while it was grass," and
to have twisted what was really only an experiment into a " Triumphant
Success and a Glorious Conquest," to which " Copenhagen " or
" Trafalgar " were trifles in comparison.

The visit of her Majesty to Paris will be a most gratifying event,
as it must tend to confirm that alliance between the two nations which
Lord MALmassusy, with such prescient statesmanship, founded in
1852. The Queen embarked at half-past six last evening from
Osborne, and the Royal Yacht was to weigh anchor this !morning at
four o'clock, so as to reach Boulogne at mid day, whence, accompanied
by the Emperor, she will proceed direct through Paris to St. Cloud,
where her Majesty will remain during the week, visiting Paris daily.
The State visit to the opera takes place bri Tuesday; the grand ball