The Press.
London, England, 1854-08-05 00:00:00

AUGUST 51 1854.

marriage with the daughter of the Sultan will now ever
take place. His father, the late Abbas Pacha, was born in
Arabia in 1813, and was the son of Toossoon ruche,
Mehemet Ali's second son, who died of plague in 1816, and,
in November, 1848, on the death of Ibrahim Pacha, he
succeeded to the pachalie of Egypt, as the eldest living
male member of the family.

THE WAR.

THE tidings, military and naval, from Turkey or the
Black Sea, convey nothing but a continuous record
of inactivity. According to the latest authentic in-
telligence, the combined armies were still at or near
Varna, and the combined fleets anchored at Baltschik.
There were continued rumours of an early move-
ment by land and sea towards Sebastopol ; but this
report has been repeated too often to be believed,
while a despatch received from Vienna, bearing date
Constantinople, July 24, and announcing that "a
portion of the Anglo-French army is marching upon
Bucharest," must be taken for what it is worth—pro-
bably not much.
In the Baltic the vessels bearing the French
army contingent are approaching the point of junc-
tion with Napier's fleet. General Baraguay d'Hil-
liers, with 7,000 men, in British vessels, arrived off
the coast of Sweden on Monday. The remainder
were then daily expected at Gothland. The general
sought and obtained an interview with the King of
Sweden, being allowed to proceed to the capital in
his own steamer, the Reine Hortense. At this con-
ference his Majesty is reported to have declared his
willingness to unite with the Western powers upon
"certain conditions," but what these are is not told.
General d'Hilliers has since left Stockholm and gone
on to the Aland Isles, where Napier waits him. The
second division of the squadron bearing the French
forces has been since sailing in the same direction.
Among the rumours of the week is one circulated
on Tuesday to the effect that Bomarsund had been
bombarded and captured, " with heavy loss on both
sides." Three days have passed since this report
first got afloat, and, though its echoes reach us from
more than one quarter, it is still destitute of anything
like reliable authority.
It is gratifying to be able to state that the fleet is
now considered free from cholera. By this terrible
enemy the French have been the greatest sufferers,
having lost more than sixty men. Though cholera
has disappeared, the sick lists are very heavy, and a
want of medical officers is already felt.
THE WAR ON THE DANUBE.
In the principalities it seems now unquestionable
that the Russians are again retreating. Whether
they will change their attitude once more by " orders
from St. Petersburg," and recover their advanced
position, remains to be seen, but appearances seem
to show that this time the retrograde movement is no
sham. The Russians burn the bridged behind them,
and treat the country and its population after the
fashion of men who do not expect to revisit it again.
On the 28th ult. Prince Gortschakoff and his army
were at Shelava and Vereschti, one and a half posts
distant from Bucharest. The Ottomans were fol-
lowing. They had passed the Argisch, and encamped
at Kalum. It was stated that preparations were
making at Bucharest to receive Omer Pacha in a few
days.
The retreat of the Russians is, however, charac-
tensed as a strategetic movement. They say it is
not the movement of the Turks, but the concen-
tration of Austrian troops, which forces them to un-
dertake it.
It is also believed that, even if Wallachia is evacu-
ated, the Russian army will hold its ground in Mol-
davia, and occupy a position on the line of the Sereth.
This river bisects that province in a direction parallel
to the Russian frontier of Bessarabia, so that General
Gortschakoff will be closely approaching his own
resources, while the Anglo-French forces, if they
venture to assail him, will be drawn, exactly in the
same ratio, away from theirs.
The latest engagement in this region of which we
have accounts came off at Giurgevo on the 22nd inst.
The Russians had retired to Frateschti, a village
within a very short distance of Giurgevo, and on the
line of communication with their head-quarters at
Bucharest At this conjuncture General Gorts-
ch. akoff summoned to Frateschti all the force under
his command, with the design either of attacking the
Turks and driving them back across the Danube, or
of opposing their advance. These intentions were
carried out by a grand attack upon Giurgevo, but the
,arailants were repulsed with signal loss. On the
th, accordingly, the Russians continued their
retreat, and quitted Frateschti for Vereschti, with the
view of gaining Bucharest.
The Lloyd of Vienna contains a letter from
C, Talatz of the 18th ult., which states that three
English vessels bad entered the mouth of the
Danube at Sulina without obstacle. There were
seen feet of water there, and a dredging-machine
was kept constantly at work. The first Russian
posts were at Sinakow, within half a league of the