The Press.
London, England, 1854-07-01 00:00:00

THE ARMIES.

THE concentration of the allied forces upon Varna
has progressed rapidly, and at the date when the last
advices left Constantinople (June 22) was expected
to be completed iu a few days. Detachments from
that place were, moreover, being pushed forward
towards the seat of war. A vanguard of the auxiliary
troops reached Fravadi on the 12th ult., whither
Omer Pacha intended to proceed to bid them welcome
in person. The English forces in that region are
estimated at 20,000, the French at 40,000 men.
The arrival of the Duke of Cambridge at a point
on the Balkans, between Varna and Schumla, is
announced by a despatch of June 19. Lord Raglan
had not been able to come up in consequence of in-
disposition, which detained him at Scutari.
The Himalaya, with the sth Dragoon Guards on
board, arrived in Varna bay on the 12th from Cork
direct, which she left on the 28th of May. She
carried 320 horses and 323 men of the regiment, and
made the quickest passage ever known. From point
to point she was only eleven days and nineteen hours
wider steam between Cork and Varna.
Notwithstanding the alleged advance of the forces
towards Sebum's, reports have been extensively cir-
culated in Paris, with much claim to authenticity, to
the effect that the whole of the allied troops are to
be sent forthwith upon an expedition against the
Crimea. It is added that the fleets will be sent to
co-operate with this movement, that Marshal St.
Arnaud is to take the command, and that two hun-
dred transports are already in preparation at Varna
and Baltschik for the conveyance of the troops.
According to the Vienna Lloyd the Russians have
rendered the Strait of Kertch, leading into the Sea
of Azoff, inaccessible to ships-of-war, by sinking
thirty-two large barges laden with stones.
The following are the positions of most of the
British corps, as known at Constantinople on the
15th ult.:—

" At Alodyn, near Varna, the light division, under Sir
G. Brown, consisting of two brigades, the first commanded
by Brigadier• General Arey, including the 7th, 22nd, and
33rd Regiments ; the second brigade, commanded by Colo-
nel U. Buller, including the 19th, 77th, and 88th Regi
ments. At Varna, the Duke of Cambridge's division,
consisting of a brigade of Guards, commanded by Briga-
dier-General Bentinck, and a brigade of Highlanders, con
misting of the 42nd, 79th, and 93rd Regiments, commanded
by Sir Colin Campbell K.C.B. Also, at Varna, the 17th
Lancers, Bth Hussars, and sth Dragoon Guards. At Gal-
lipoli, the third division, commanded by Sir Richard Eng-
land, consisting of the Ist brigade, commanded by Sir
John Campbell, the 38th Regiment, Ist Royals, and 4th
Regiment; 2nd brigade, commanded by Brigadier Eyre,
consisting of the 29th, 44th, and 50th Regiments. At
Scutari, the division under the command of Sir De Lacy
Evans.

" General Rosquet, with the advanced guard of the French
division, 4,000 strong, entered Adrianople on the 9th of
June."

VARNA AND THE CAMP.

The British camp is pitched at Alodyn," about
seven miles from Varna. The site is described as
being exceedingly picturesque, and lying between two
fresh-water lakes. The cavalry, under Lord Cardi-
gan, are encamped at a village called Devna, a few
miles further on towards Schumla. Of Varna itself,
under the influence of its new occupants, a curious
account is given by the correspondent of the Times.
He says :
" I rode into Varna from the camp, but so changed was
the appearance of the principal streets by the restless acti-
vity and energy of the French that I could not recognise
them. Old blind side walls had been broken down, and
shops opened, in which not only necessaries but even
luxuries could ne purchased ; the streets, once so dull and
silent, re-echoed the laughter and rattle of dominoes in the
newly-established cafes. Wine-merchants and sutlers
frorn Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Marseilles, Toulon, had
set up booths and shops, at which liqueurs, spirits, and
French and country wines could be purchased at prices not
intolerably high. The natives had tollowed the example.
Strings of German sausages, of dried tongues, of wiry hams,
of bottles of pickles, hung from the rafters of an old Turk-
ish khan, which but a few days before was the abode of
nothing but unseemly insects : and an empty storehouse
was turned into a nicely-whitewashed and gaily-painted
' Restaurant de l'Armee d'Orient pour Messieurs les
Officiers et Sous-olliciers."Fhe ussues of the streets, ac•
cording to a Gallic nomenclature, printed in black on neat
deal slips, were fixed to the walls, so that one could find his
way from place to place without going through the erratic
wanderings which generally mark the stranger's progress
through a Turkish town. One lane is named the Hue
Ibrahim, another Rue de l'HOpital, a third Rue l'usuf;
the principal lane is termed the Corso, the next is Rue des
Poatos Francaises ; and, as all these names are very conve-
nient and have a meaning attached to them, no sneering
ought to deter one from confessing that the French manage
these things better than we do. Where is the English
post-office? No one knows. Where does the English
general live? No one knows ? Where is the hospital to carry
a sick soldier to? No one knows. Does any one want to find
General Canrobert? Ask the first Frenchman you meet,
and he will tell you to go up the Corso, turn to the right,

THE PRESS.

by the end of the Rue de l'Hopital, and then you will see
the name of the general painted in large letters over the
door of his quarters. The French post-office and the
French hospital are indicated sufficiently by the names of
the streets. Our sappers and miners have done useful
works by the seaside, have built piers, trenched up the
shore, and deepened the little harbour. The French have
done the same; they have built piers and banked up the
shore, and erected a sea-wall to land at. Lord George
Paulet has been inexhaustible in his hospitalities on board
the Bel:en-Thos., and has done much to ' amalgamate ' the
higher officers of both armies by his friendly reunions, so
that they become better friends every day. There is no
jealousy between the men, or any rivalry, except in the
path of honour."