The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-17 00:00:00

the ruin. of her native town, and carries off some of
the wrecks. She is an interesting creature even as a
Russian Greek. Tall and slender, straight as an ,
Saws) arrow, supple and quick in her movement., she is
SALAKLAVA, Menem I. here, and there, and everywhere, displaying all
snow, making good the old saw according to which cares and trouble, has grown old before her time.
March hes set in with cold winds, rain, sleet, and the wariness and cunning of a child, who, from
that blustering month is in the habit of "coming fa That girl, gliding among the ruins of Balaklava,
of the prediction, too, will hold good, by the month of an artist. That young childish face, haggard with
like a lion." It is to be hoped that the latter part is a picture, and one that would make the fortune of
March "going out like a lamb." And above an, it is grief. and perhaps with hunger—those elfin locks,
to be hoped that the Crimean spring is different from falling in dark profmiorr over her bronzed neck and
spring in Constantinople. Those who recollect the Piing but strangely furrowed brow—that slight spare
month of April in that sunny clime, and who shiver rigure, in its blue cotton gown, shivering in the cold
at the recollection, will find the April of the Crimes, gale—those long, greedy fingers, which remind one
bearable, even if it should tarn out less warm and of the talons of the Crimean eagle—and that general
Small apologies need be made for my letters, com- mark upon
dry than we hope and anticipate, air of untimely sorrow and suffering—have set a
and given a character to one who
'Fencing with discussions on the state of the weather would otherwise hare been a village beauty.
like the dialogues in respectable English pirloura, With her dark gipsy eyes, darting quick glances
and in M. de Porquet's "Guides to Converse- from beneath her frowning brows, she singles out
don." tleteorologicai dissertations may,
appear the largest beams, and watches the time when the
absurd in well-carpeted rooms, where shutters fall of part of the house occupies the attention of the
and heavy curtains keep out the cold wind, soldiers. Then darting forward, she shoulders the
and bright fires barn in the grates, and where beam, and bending under the load, she slinks off, to
a hundred luxuries and appliances are provided, where, perhaps, some aged toothless grandmother
and cunningly contrived to bring out the delights of sits gloating over that greatest of all treasures—a
bad weather. To those who sit at home at ease a bright fire. What must be the thoughts of those
rainy day shehild be rather pleasant than otherwise; people, when they compare their present condition to
for it promises for them the delightful sensation of that of last year.
patting on dry, well-aired clothes, and it enhances Where the morning sun shone on a house, there the
the charms of the fireside, of the reading chair, and evening sun shines on a smooth level place, whitened
of the newspaper. The very howling of a raw, eas-
over with lime and prepared for house-building, in
terly, wind is delicious, by way of contrast. Muddy the sense of the camp. And the next morning brings
another fatigue party, headed by carpenters and
streets may be treated with the contempt they de-
serve, white omnibuses clatter along the streets, and loaded with posts and planks. Holes are dug, posts
fixed, the piece is crowded and busy all day, and
Hansom cabs loiter about, in contempt of Sir Richard
in the evening there stands what the pictorial papers
Mayne and his authority, ready to pick up any pas-
pompously denominate a. •' Portable Pavilion Bar-
thesenger who may happen to be too dainty to walk to
racks," but what the matter of fact campaigners in the
nearest cabstand. What need Londoners care
whether there is or is not say moon, or whether Crimes call a large wooden hot. Such huts spring
they rise early or late P Broad pavements and gas up between 'mime and sunset, and sheds, too, for
lamps make them independent of secondary miles- stabling
ca
horses spring up as if by enchantment, and
tial illuminations; and to them the etas are i all that s now going forward proves how much n
indeed "the poesy of heaven," for they are of no be done if those in authority have but the sense and
practical use or benefit whatsoever. No one, with the the will to keep things in order.
sole exception of Mr. Alexander Smith, cares for the Of late, too, a cheek has been put upon the illegal
traffic in brandy and spirits which has so long been
stare, or thinks about them, or mentions them, and
carried on from the transport fleet. A strict watch is
none but ladies in the predicament in which Byron
most cruelly places the fair Julia "wonder in what kept over the boats that land; and as only a few re-
quarter now the moon is." Whereas the cam- epectable merchants are allowed to land brandy and
paigners in the Crimes, who have the benefit of con- spirits, all cases and bottles not owner by them are
at once confiscated, condemned, broken, and thrown
scant and immediate contact with nature, have a most
lively interest in the changes of the season, the state into the water. The fish—if any there are in Bala-
of the weather, the rising and setting of the son, klava harbour—are by this time initiated into the
the cloudy state or the serenity of the skies, and the mysteries of dram-drinking, and the beverage they
must take to is what barmaids and tavern waiters phases of the moon. Foul weather means for us wet
call "cold without." While the work of confiscation
clothes, wet feet, a slushy camping-ground, and bad
roadsa thousandfold increase of all the ills which and destruction is going on the luckless and rascally
campaigning flesh is heir to. Cold weather and owners of the prohibited goods stand by with rueful
sharp cutting winds, such as prevail at this moment, faces, offering doleful prayers and prceestatione that
and numb every finger, to the signal detriment of the they have embarked the whole of their small capital
M.S., cause shivering and shaking in camp, in spite of in the venture, and that to execute the law is ruin to
long boots, worsted, and furs, while wretchedness and them. But Colonel Harding turns a deaf ear to all
frostbites prevail in the trenches Roden picket. Dark, such entreaties. He is a strict, hard-hearted man,
cloudy nights presaqoawful stumbles in the dark on the and a tyrant ; and Heaven be thanked that such an
Ipart of those out on duty—aides-de-camp losing their one has the command of Balaklava.
'rideand operations going wrong—and hasty It has lately been rumoured that the authorities at
home—and early confinement to the camp home intend abolishing the situations of the temporary
Ideas. who gladly would have stayed an hour or clerks attached to the commissariat. The sooner
two on board ship, or among the householders of this is done the better, for the creation of the class
Balaklava. While the progress of the season from was a mistake. There are two classes of these tem-
foul to fair is a matter of the most lively interest to po•-ary clerks—men detached from government offices
the whole of the army, tired as they are with the to perform a specific temporary duty, and men who
I rigours of the winter and the tedium of constant and have been appointed to the establishment, and who
realities. activity, and fretting at the defensive cba- are continued at pleasure. The position of the for-
' meter of our operations. There prevails an earnest, mar is too good for efficiency, that of the latter is too
a craving, an impatient, a morbid desire for bad. The detached temporary clerks are still con-
spring, for dry roads and dry plain., for sun- tinned on the books of the establishment to which
shine and warm air, and for operations which will they originally belonged; they take their regular
give us a chance to repay the Russians for all we share in the promotions; they draw their salary in
have been suffering for their dear sakes. Extremes addition to the allowances made by the department
meet. We, like the Londoners, are heartily tired to which they are attached, and the bonds of their
with the dulness of the town, "and long for the allegiance to the heads of the maligns of the frailest.
season." Each hour of sunshine, every breath of They have nothing to fear, nothing to expect from
warm air, as it thaws our blood and infuses fresh life their present superiors. If they are active, zealous,
and vigour into limbs habitually stiff mud numbed, intelligent, and generally efficient, it is oat of the
raises our hopes and makes us think that the evil Power of the Commissary-General to reward or pro-
time is over at last. Bdt cold winds and stormy mote them. If they are idle, impracticable, contu-
weather reinstate the dominion of Old Disgust—the macions, and generally inefficient, no displeasure on
sable web of mourning hangs from the towers and the part of their present chief can compromise
houses of Balaklava, and the camps sit down in a their position or affect their promotion in the office at
state of unmitigated sulkiness. home. They are without the pale of the Commissary-
Do you remember a print, which at one time drew General's influence, who even if compelled to petition
crowds to the windows of the smaller print shop., for their recall, cannot afford to justify that request
representing an ill-favoured, ill-disposed boy, sub- by complaints as to conduct, &c., which would cer-
matiog with a very bad grace to the infliction of tainly remain unnoticed by the chiefs of departments
soap and water P The case of her Majesty's town of in London. So that the worst which can happen to
Balaktava, in its present straits, is similar to the a contumacious clerk is to be sent home and back to
case of that boy. That dirty town, toe, has fallen his office because the climate does not agree with him.
into very strong hands, and the cleansing process is Whereas, the real truth is that the man has found
carried on with might and main. "With the strong out that hie chief for the time being can neither make
hand," would not be too strong an expression to chs- nor mar his fortunes, and that having made this dis-
mcterise the zeal, fervour, and energy now put forth covsry he makes himself as unserviceable and dis-
to remove the abominations which we have agreeable as he possibly can. The sooner these tem-
been collecting ever since October last. Colonel
porary clerks detached from London offices are made
Harding, who came forward at the eleventh hour amenable to the authority of their chiefs here, the
to make good what the culpable neglect of his better will it be for the service.
two predecessors had made bad
Far different is the case of the young men who are
y
constant communication with de must surel be in
e Board of Health, temporarily attached to the commissariat. They (TROY THI CORRESPONDENT 0? THE DAILY NEWS.)
for all his measures and arrangements savour of were most of them youths, who waited for some PARIS, FRIDAY EVENING.
Whitehall rather than of the expedition to the east. vacancy in a London office, and to whom the propo-
The Moniteur announces that General de Wed.!,
He has come to the coocinsion that the place is how_ sal was made that, instead of waiting, they should the Prussian
envoy, had an audience of the Emperor
keel,' swamped with mud, impregnated with filth, take the appointments offered to them in the civilian
deluged with abominations, and that every inch of branches of the army of the East. Young men are at the Tuileries yesterday. It is to bb remarked that
ground, each house,
naturally sanguine and credulous, end have a talent the official journal contains not a syllable leading to
germs of disease. each stone, is pregnant with the
Having settled this point in his for believing what they desire. It appears that the inference that the interview had any satieLetory
Somebody made it,his business to "soft-sawder" these I mind, the present commandant did not, as is the be • the I
bearing upon war.believe it may be safely
, custom in the army, sit do • n and leave the case alone young men into sacrificing their expectations at
assumed that it bad not. Accordiog to one rumour,
as hopeless and irremediable, but he resolved to pull home to no expectations whatever in the commis-
the General merely resented an autograph letter
'lariat. Somebody professed himself deeply interested
the town down, to destroy it utterly, to burn it with
fire, and to build up a new Bulaklave, as the place of in the welfare of these boys; Somebody told them from the King of Prussia announcing the Czar's
the old one. This resolution is now being carried that their transcendent talents and tbtir vast expe- death, which the Emperor was not supposed to know
oat. For, after all, this town, though a nuisance, is rience of the world would help them to magnificent of. Another, and not an unlike:v report, is that the
fortunes in the East—that the temporary clerkships
a necessity, and we are compelled to hold it, even audience was one to take leave.
offered to them were a mere formality, a disagree.
if it were to become the very cradle of pun- The Bourse, after opening, on the strength of a
knee and the occupation • cost us hundreds of able formality indeed, since the post was so far
lives per week. The shortest manner of dealing below the merits of the geniuses he (Somebody) rise of I per cent. in Cousols, with a considerable
with Balaklava would have been to burn the
addressed, bat that they were sere to rise rapidly, improvement, was much disturbed by a report se-
place outright. But, se we want the houses for store", and that in a very few years he hoped to con- riously circulated, of an important insurrection in
gratulate them on aPaining the rank and handling
offices, and quarters, there were some very natural Spain, in which &patter Dad been 1.1 o zi.ltd. Up to a
the magnificent pay of commisearite-general. Thoug boar this objections to this summary plan of radical reform. late n 011? evening, notonly b
as no official iatel-
sonssiousof theirown merits the youths blushed, and, in
Colonel Harding's method is to pull down one house ligence of the kind been received ; but, so far as I can
delightful confusion, consented; end eomebcdy shook
after another, and to erect wooden houses in their
them by the hand and bade them write to him, and learn, there is not even a private telegraphic despatch places. The cellars are cleaned oat, and the filth and
with tears in his eyes iavoked the blessing of heaven to confirm it. The Madrid mail is overdue, owing
rubbish brought to the light of day, heaped up in the
tt such fires upon their devoted heads. And having made what probably to the destruction of the bridge of boats in
open places, and burnt. For dayiut
Balaklava, sad a be considered a very good bargain for the govern-have been burning in all parts ofthe Bides/role and the absence of
meat and a very bad ingrain for the "young par-
dense cloud of black, stinking smoke bangs over thenews doubtless
suggested that it was a good oppor-
y took good care to leave
town. -The stones of the ruined houses carried ties" m'areamed. Somebody
away, broken up, and used for the improvement of
them no time for reflection or inquiry. but sent them tunity to forge some. The effect intended was de-
the roads. The places where the houses stood are out forthwith. Nor was it until they had come out cidedly produced, however, at the Bourse. The
that their eyes became opened to "..case of their Iterate, after touching 70fr. 200., dropped
levelled, and large quantities of quicklime strewedsuddenly to
situation." They found that, instead of having en-over them. It is a curious and interesting sight to '69f. 65c., and closed at that price with a fall of 35m '
watch the fatigue parties of soldiers, in their uncouth tered her Majesty s service, they were attached to it from yesterday. Ril al a ways, though weak at the
as day labourer., without the option of looking out
and motley winter dresses, invading a doomed house. clue, maintained in great part the rise of the MOM-
for more profitable employment ; that not being on
In they march, with axes and picks, and in
the establishment they had no chance of pro- ing. The Austrian Railway rose Bf. 75c.
a few moments out come from the windows
sad by the doors, abominations, old and new,
motion ; that they could not resign, but that I continue to believe it to be quite certain that the
turned adrift any moment they
sickening to look upon, and disgusting to mention. might be Emperor will go to the Crimea. Preparations are
i the r servces were no longer required ; that for
For months past these house. have been Turkish ' going on as actively as ever. It is slid that f a are-
such services they had no claims upon the govern-
hospitals, or lairs of roving Levantine', whose pre- well dinnerwill be •
given at the Tuileries on the
meat, beyond the daily wage which they received ;
winos is nasty, but whose leavings are nastier even
than their presence. All these leavings—foul straw, that if their good fortune afterwards helped them to 22nd, and the departure will probab:y take place the
broken bottles
a situation in another department, or even in the next morning. By that time I,bave little doubt, in
with
the blackened' soiled rags, bits of biscuit, bones wi
and shrivelled Seek still sticking to °mall/sari"
..t.„. their years of temporary clerkship did spite of all rumours to the contrary, the Vienna
them, mouldy cheese, piles of broken furniture, not roost u years of service ! that if invalided or Conferences' will be officially reported to have ceded
maimed, the question of a peprion was doubtful. In . . (severed with bugs, and Whole heaps of unalloyed, in nothing.
short, that their situation was not the opening to a
indescribable, unmentionable dirt—are thrown up
The present session of that remarkably vain-
career, but rather the excluding all chance of making
into a funeral pile, a matchbox is produced and a
one. And, finally, that dismissal from so undesirable teresting body the Corps Legislatif has been even
wisp of straw, the pile is properly lighted, and a
dense cloud 'taroks ruing up proclaims that another a post was an object devoutly to be wished for. duller than usual, but it appears that next week
act of purification has commenced. Next comes the Under these circumstances, it is not matter for anon-severalral members intend to show signs of lire, apropos
work of the axe and the pick. The tiles and rafters ishment that Messrs. Brown, Jones, and Robinson— of the bill for amending the law relative to recruit-
er whatever the names of temporary clerks may be— ; are pushed up, and come rattling down, to the great andthe providing of substitutes, and for the
ing
amusement of the bystanders, who are numerous, for gave generally as little satisfaction as was given
the demolition of a house always attracts a crowd. unto them, and that many Browne, Jonere., dotatiou of the army. Upwarde of twenty members
of the walls is end Robinson. were considered an incumbrance hare already put down their names to speak, and it
Then the earthwork and masonry
rather than otherwise. There is bat one course, is calculated that some twenty more will eventually
pushed out, the floorings and verandahs come down,
and the posts and heavy woodwork follow muteMMaa with hotteatY, to be adopted with take part in the discussion. The wily soldier at
Ice due course. Part of the fatigue tarty these young men. The time of their temporary inscribed on the list of speakers is General
present • •
- clerkship should be considered as a time of trial. Let
embide separate the wood from the lethal R. ie one of the survivors of the
it be assumed that they were taken "on probe- —gu . retreat
and • stems% and others at once cart away the
os sod level the glace. The wood, not ezaetly don." If their chiefaareeatisfied with their conduct of Moscow. The report on the bill by M. de Bel-
ieoe shy one, is takes away by aims. and abilities, they should be entered upon the este- leyme, jun. (the son of a well-known president of the
an will, in due time,
M . rations. A few deo of the few natives I
guirinwake in cooking kffiblishinent, and be made commissariat clerks—and it
that still eling to the place creep out from their ; dam' n"
is bat just that in that case their appointments should
then= of their entering as temporary
Assize Court), will be laid on the table of the House
this evening or tcatorrow. It is ex -ted that
"l begin on Wednesday pee the
am who have not given satisfaction should debate wt. next, and that it
hiding places overjoyed to get wherewithal to warm end' moose
themselves at this elms sgeoe,new arnt:be diimined without prejudice. The trial was not a nay last three days. One of the speakers inscribed,
mostly females, and cheviot maidens and monism fair one. Allowances should be made for a very M. Anatole Mercier, is said to be but a warming-
&meg them is a young girl, just emerging into natural disgust, for disappointment and despondency. ' pan for M. de Moutalembern who attends to speak
womanhood, who every now and thisseem midst But they should at once be restored to the liberty of I spinet the bill. It is now taken for granted

THE ARMY BEFORE SEBASTOPOL
(MOM MI MOLL 0011iIIIP IT OP TIM DAILY

!looking out for a career which hoids out some
prospect of future advancement. It is said
that some meitsure of the sort is in con-
, templation, and I must again 'repeat, *et
that contemplation cannot too soon give way
to action. As for the clerks detached from
London offices, everything depends upon the turn
of their minds and characters. Comfortably situated,
well paid, and their future assured, they will do
well or ill according to the natural leaning of their
minds. Low, mean, and grovelling men will of
course abuse the irresponsibility of their position.
Men of a high tone of mind will do their duty under
any circumstances, and their very independence of
reward or punishment will add fervour to their zeal
to the service. Examples of either extreme might
be had for the asking, but as I discuss the system
rather than the men, I refrain !rote mentioning
names.
March 2.—A bright day, with a cold piercing
wind. All is quiet, and the camp is not only void
of events, but also of rumour.

THE EARTHQUAKE AT BROUSSA.

(=TRACT FRAY ♦ PRIVATE LETTER.)
Broncos, March 1, 1855.
A vast number of minarets have fallen, also many
houses and other buildingc, and one or two Khans in.
the Bazars ; others shattered. The ancient Greek
cathedral, which wee changed to the tomb of Groben-,
sound as the day it was built, tell yesterday, entirely
overthrown ; and the cupola of the Grand Mosque, re-
maining intact for 500 years, is cracked and damaged.
The most terrible catastrophe was in the Greek
quarter, situated under a cliff occupied by the citadel.
A Turkish konak on the edge of the rock was tum-
bled over with its foundations, carrying along with it
a silk Filature on the slope of the base, in which there
were 15 girls at work with seven or eight person,
including the owner and his son, who have all
perished. The rolling mass then crushed several
houses below, with their inmates ; and trcm the ruins
of the Filature burst out at night a fire which con-
sumed five good houses, which were still standing
entire. The loss of life is not yet exactly known, but
must amount to some hundreds at least ; and acoonet■
from some of the villages in the plain are still more
dfflioting, the houses having been levelled with the
ground, with much loss of property and life. Slight
shocks still continue, but after a lapse now of 24
hours (at the moment I am writing) we hope, please
God, the worst is over; and we are anxiously ex-
pecting news from the capital, praying that no dis
eater may have happened there also.

DESPATCH FROM LORD RAGLAN.

(FROM LAST NIGHT'S OAZSITZ.)

WAR DEPARMENT, MARCH 16.
Lord Panunme has this day received a &spat&
and its enclosures, of which the following are copies,
addressed to his lordship by Field-Marshal the Lord
Raglan, G.C.B.
Before Sebastopol, March 3, 1855.
My Lord,—Some more ships are said to have been stank
since I mote t ) your lordship on the 27th. 1 am not certain
of this ; but, according to my observation, the new barrier
across the harbour appeared yesterday evening to have been
extended beyond the point at which I had seen it two days
before.

The enemy is busily occupied in establishing a work con-
siderably the French batteries on the extreme right
than that which was attacked by cur allies on the morning of
the 24th.

The enemy seem to be increasing their force in the neigh-
bourhood of Sebastopol, both to the northward and upon the
Tchernsya.

The railway continues to progress satisfectorliy, and we
already make considerable use of it in the conveyance of
b torts, butting materials, &c ,as far sr Kadikoi ; and the
electric telegraph is completed between that village and my
head•gnsrtsn.

The weather has again become extremely cold, and
there was a fall of snow yesterday, at d some little this
morning.

I inclose a return of casualties to the ht instant inclu-
sive.—l have, &c., RACLAN.

Return of Grualnes from the 24tb February to lot Marsh, 1855
illCiati,C.-Ith Regiment of Prot-1 rank earl fie, wounded. 23rd
Foot—l sergeant, wounded. Nth Font—l r..:ok and file, wounded.
4 Ith Foot—l rank and flle, killed. 77th Faot-1 rank and file, kißed ;
2 rank and file, wounded. 88th Foot—l rttk aut file. wounded.
82tb Foot —I rank and B.e, wounded. Roy a ,pere and Miners
2 rank end file, wounded. Total-2 :nth am: :It, killed ; 1 sergeant,
8 rank and te wounded.

Nominal return of noo.isommirioard claim's and privates killed,
from 26th February to let March, 1.55. inclueiva—Private M.
McNamara, 44th Foot; Private John Murray 77th Fo,t.
" • _ _

nominal return of non-oossnissioned offi:er; and privates wounded
from the 26th February to Ist March, 1751. wire. Privates John
Magrath and John Moore, severely, 77:1; list; Private D.&el
Cockers", severely. 88th Foot; Private John h nlw'es, severely, 19th
Foot Private's Cuthbert, severely, and 7'. Gilchrist, slightly,
Royal flappers and Miners: Private Michael Jeffrey, mercy, Ith
Foot; Private Jeremiah Bates, eangeroney, 311 h Foot; Se tArant
Frederick tiLson, slightly, 23rd root.

FRANCE.