The Press.
London, England, 1855-01-27 00:00:00

TILE PRESS.

obliged to go on the sick list, they are so bad, but
the poor fellows never give in till they can't help it.
My brothersub,who is now lying in his bed beside me,
had a very severe attack last night; nothing would
remain on his stomach; he now says he is better.
Our surgeon has just given him a powder, and,
although he is for the trenches to-night, he says if
he can stand, he wont go on the sick list.
From all I can hear, our storming the place is a
certainty, as soon as we can destroy the shipping,
which will be when we get our guns up to the new
battery, which, owing to the bad weather and the bad
roads, is now very difficult. The French have been
in the town several times, and have killed some
gunners and spiked their guns occasionally.
I commanded a working party within a short dis-
tance of the town in our advanced parallels last
night, and I was at one time so close that I could see
the Russian sentry of their picket; be challenged us,
hut we beat a quick retreat. We were five in num-
ber, merely going to have a look at the beggars, and,
if they had got scent of our working party, they
might have annoyed us with grape and canister.
Very soon after I marched my party away, they
made an attack on our advanced parallel, and got
into the trench, but they were very soon driven
back. _

Dec. 22.

I received your welcome letter of the 25th, for
which, as for all the others, words cannot express my
thanks. I will now answer your inquiries. It is an
undoubted fact that we are, and always have been,
hard up for provisions and medical comfort, and the
consequence is, that although we came out here 900
strong (and you will agree with me that 000 finer
fellows were not often to be seen), we are now, at the
outside, 450 fighting men. The French are before
us by centuries regarding everything in campaigning
except soldiers; but the passive enddrance, honest
pluck, and true valour of a British soldier are quali-
fications no where to be found except in the service of
our gracious mistress. Ah ! by Jove! 'twould ao
your heart good, or rather it would rend it, to see
those gallant fellows enduring every hardship with-
out a single murmur save one, i.e., " I wish to God
we could go at the Russians while we are alive and
able." Thank God, we are now pretty well climatised,
and don't lose so many, except from wounds. A
sergeant in my company had his leg taken off yester-
day morning. Poor fellow ! he was in capital spirits
in the morning going down to the trenches, wishing
they might have a go at the Russians. He was
struck on the road leading into Sebastopol by a
chance shot. Four of our officers have gone sick to
Scutari, among whom is young -. It takes an
awful time to get poor sick officers away. I don't
know how many poor fellows have to sign his leave.
Poor was very bad indeed, spitting blood, &c.,
and it took nearly a fortnight to get him away ; but
the French, noble fellows as they are, have lent us
their mules to remove our sick, so we are now
better off.

I did not bring out the least warm clothing, but
managed to buy a flannel suit from the sailors,
which has stood me in good earnest. I mentioned
in my last what you might send, but I forgot the
most particular of all, which is two pair of long
boots to reach all the way up the leg—water-
proof. I believe they would be the saving of one's
life. I have been up to my knees in mud and water,
and have seen poor soldiers dragging the soles clean
off their boots. lam happy to say the men are daily
getting warm clothing. I have written to to
send me out all the money he can ; it is a great
essential out here—it keeps one from starving. I have
not seen fresh meat now for a fortnight. I have a
large foot, and a very high instep; the larger the
boots the better—if not too large. I hope you have
received all my letters. I have written almost every
post.
If the Lord spares me, I shan't forget you on
Christmas-day. This day and last night it has rained
dreadfully, with the coldest wind I ever experienced.
I am on duty and inlying picket to-day. I have to
visit my sentries after twelve o'clock at night. When
you are in bed, snug and warm, think of your soldier
friend.
DEC. 20.

I have received yours of the Bth, and am sur-
prised to see that you have not received my letters,
as I have written by every post; but I hope
ere this you have got a lot of them. Ten thousand
thanks for the box, which I hope will come to hand;
it will be a great godsend.
We are going on the same as usual. They report
the Vladimir has escaped from Sebastopol, and has
gone to Odessa for supplies. The Fury, I believe,
has followed her. We don't seem in the least nearer
taking Sebastopol. I think myself we are lying on
our oars for something or other ; no one seems to
know what we are doing ; we have some fighting
occasionally in the advanced parallels, and that is
all. I hear the wooden houses have arrived. I have
not seen them yet. The 4th Division (i. e. ours,) is
awfully worked ; I don't think we can stand it much
longer. They say when the houses come in we are

SATURDAY,

to be removed to the right to recruit; the sooner the
better for the poor fellows.
God bless you all ! The orderly sergeant is coming
for the letters, so I must shut up. I have just saved
the post. More anon.

Camp before Sebastopol, Jan. 7, 1855,

My dearest —,Up to this time no tidings of
any of the boxes, except that a box from the P.
is and has been for eight or ten days at Balaklava on
board the Golden Fleece, and that, I suppose, con-
tains something from you; and also, I hope, a fur
pelisse from the P. To-morrow my legs will
have to carry me to Balaklava, and I shall try and
get some ambulance or commissariat trap to bring
the said box up to camp : of course it will rain, or
snow, or some such abomination, to prevent my
going, for I never get wet for pleasure, only for duty.
Your packet of letters was most acceptable ; I read
them over three times, and this afternoon the baron
dropped in and I read a portion of them to him.
How we gloated over the thought of the box from
Fortnam and Mason's !

Yesterday was the coldest day I ever felt; I started
at four a.m. for the horrid trenches, snowing and
sleeting so that I could hardly see a yard before me.
It had been so cold that I could scarcely sleep all
night : our tent door won't shut, and the snow drove
in so as to fill half the tent, and completely cover
me, lying in the corner under a heap of blankets. I
will just describe my dress to meet this pleasant
day. Two pair of thick socks (I luckily got a very
loose but by no means waterproof pair of boots
before I left London, so that I can wear two pair of
socks) a menno jersey, knitted drawers, two flannel
shirts, then a warm waistcoast, over that my regi-
mental coatee, over that a shooting-jacket, a pair of•
corduroy trousers tied in with a string at the bottom,
over all that a small blanket which came right over
my head just exposing the tip of my nose, and on
the top of all my regimental great-coat, a naked
sword in my hand to serve for a walking stick, so
you now have an idea of the uniform of a British
officer on service. I managed to keep warm all but.
my hands and feet, the latter got wet through walk-
ing down, and remained in that jolly condition all
day, and if I sat down for any time they froze hard;
however, with a huge flask of rum I got through the
day very well, lost my way coming home in the snow,.
and wandered into the third division, and got back
to my tent about eight p.m., very cold and hungry,
found my messmate had got a stunning olla podrida
soup ready, and, oh ye gods and little fishes ! two,
bottles of porter, hot with sugar and ginger! How
it went down and set me all right I need not relate.
I went to my blankets and slept like a top all night,
got up this morning and felt so well that I deter-
mined to have a trash, which I did, and felt better
than I have done since I have been out here. This
afternoon I had the good luck to buy from a sailor a
pot of preserved meat (155.), soup and bonnie, and
a pair of long stockings for five bob, and by jewel
what a capital dinner we made of it (not the stock-
ings but the meat) ; and, what is better, there is
enough left for dinner for to-morrow. I have not
seen T. G. since my feed on New Year's-day. The
turkey I managed to roast, and it was unanimously
pronounced stunning—at all events, four of us com-
pletely finished him, together with two araba cows'•
tongues, and an immense pudding made of flour,.
mutton fat, figs, and lemons, which tasted to us:
better than any English Christmas pudding. 1
know that I had such a lump on my chest for fair
hours after it that I could hardly breathe, aria I
dare say T. G. was in the same state. We had a
big jorum of rum punch after all, and separated
about ten, very late and dissipated for the Crimea.
Yesterday was the Russian Christmas, and we
thought it not unlikely that they might get screwed,
and come out after dinner and get licked ; but they
didn't show, and hardly fired a shot all day. We
have completely and entirely ceased firing, but they
still fire a shot at us now and then, particularly their
advanced sharpshooters, who do us an immense lot.
of mischief, shooting to a certainty every one that
shows his head above the parapet; whereas our
sharpshooters are quite shut up, and have already
ceased on the left attack. I don't know what they
do on the right attack. A few days ago a sergeant
and another man of the 57th were coming back from
Balaklava about dusk with a lot of warm Jerseys for
the men, and they were potted and taken prisoners
into the town, a nice booty for the Cossacks who took
them.

If you know any one coming out, tell them to be
sure to bring a good canteen well stocked with sauce-
pan, fryingpan, gridiron, and kettle (I would give
sovereign for one), knives and forks, tin and horn
cups. I wish I had brought a good one. Lots of my
baggage was lost by our ship landing part at Cher-
sonese, and part at Balaklava; among other things,
a canteen which I bought at Cork, and if I was to
come out now I would bring lots of preserved meat,
chocolate, &c. I have written to the P. for a mule,
a copper kettle, some knives and forks, and said tbmt

JANUARY 27, 1855.

any wine, wirits, or dried meats would be very
acceptable.
I really think I am getting quite well again; I am
getting strong, certainly a little rheumatism in my
back now and then, but no dysentery or diarrhoea,
thank God. I shall wind up this letter to-morrow
when 1 come back from Balaklava (if I get there).
The mail goes out to-morrow morning, so I shan't
have time to say much. I hope some of you thought
of sending me the Illustrated News with the "West-
minster Play " in it. I have built, or rather made,
a kitchen, so as to be sure of being able to light a

fire at any time (when 1 have got wood, which is
very scarce indeed; when the huts do come I think
we shall use them all for firewood). My kitchen is
merely a large hole dug, roofed with cask-hoops,
biscuit-bags, and dead moms' great-coats, &c., with a
hole at one end to jump in, and one at the other for
the smoke to jump out.

Jan. 8.

I am just come from Balaklava ; no news of
boxes ; the old story ! I found in the post-office, to
my great surprise, a letter from and of
Dec. 15th ; they had been lying there by the usual
mismanagement, and if I had not come in by acci-
dent I should never have got them. Pray thank the
dear G. very much for his kind and affectionate
letter. I have only a few seconds to scrawl this in,
or I would write to thank him by this mail.

By great good luck I picked up a poney strayed
from the Cossacks : I think, however, he will now
have to work for me. I rode him back without
saddle or bridle for above three miles, and you may
fancy how sore I was. God bless you all. A.

From a major serving in the camp before Sebas-
topol:—

Jan. 4, 1855.
Thanks for your kind consideration in sending me
a box containing the articles you mention, which,
however, owing to the miserable carriage and store
arrangements for the army, will probably never
reach me. I thank you for them, however, the same
as if they were in my tent. There must be great
mismanagement somewhere ; there are quantities of
things for the troops at Balaklava, and yet they can-
not be got. The wooden houses even hsve arrived
now, so much wanted, and yet we have little prospect
of getting them. No storage seems all this time
to have been provided. No system, no arrange-
ments for anything—all seems confusion. And as to
transit from Balaklava here, we have only a few
miserable ponies ; almost all our carriage animals
having perished, and I am much inclined to think
chiefly from neglect and want of food. The French,
with an enormous army and its requirements, have to
assist us with their horses to bi ing up our ammunition,
&c., and have for some time conveyed almost all our
sick to Balaklava. The torrents of rain have now
changed to hail and snow, and the ground is covered
nearly a foot deep : the temperature is like a severe
English winter. This is trying weather for the
trenches, but they must be held through thick and
thin. There is not much fighting now, beyond
skirmishing in the advanced trenches, and some-
times a sortie in the works. These have al-
ways been successfully repulsed, but not with-
out loss. The last, about fourteen days
ago, was the most unfortunate, though the
enemy were soon driven back. They killed Major
Moller, of the 50th Regiment, and took prisoners
Captain Frampton and Lieutenant Clarke, of the
same corps, and left in the trenches, killed and
wounded, about thirty men.
I believe a better distribution of the sentries
would have prevented this catastrophe. It was a
fine night, but the enemy managed, I suspect, to
creep in between the 2nd and 3rd parallels, and
gained a footing unperceived. I was in the trenches,
but not in the milie, being occupied on the right of
the lines, with a threatened attack. These occur-
rences keep us on the alert, particularly in the
advanced trench, and make it not the pleasantest
situation in the word, especially on a dark tempes-
tuous night, the ditches full of water or thick mud,
the rain pouring in torrents, or perhaps a driving
sleet of snow and hail. However, I think the spirit
of the enemy is much more subdued than ours.
These efforts appear to be without much design,
beyond the slaughter of a few men, and they have
invariably, in every encounter with our men, got the
worst it. The encounters between the French and
Russians of this sort are almost nightly, with little
result beyond the sacrifice of a few lives. Our allies
have had immense reinforcements, and are very
numerous. Ido not think they suffer from sick•
mess in any comparison with our men. This, I be-
lieve, may be attributed very much to their not
being so hardworked, having plenty of reliefs. They
are capital sc•ldiers, and their interior economy, and
their whole working system, seems to be most ad-
mirably conducted. Our numbers seem to diminish
instead of to increase, notwithstanding all our rein-
forc.•ments. Hundreds die, and thousands are in-
lealided to Scutari. The 2nd brigade of our division
of four regiments muster stthis moment only 900 men
tit for duty, though the mortality in my oorps is not