The Press.
London, England, 1854-12-09 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

DECEMBER 9, 1854.

THE BATTLE OF INKERMANN.
The dread suspense was over, the Gazette was out at last,
And we doubted not the future, for we augured from the past ;
But our joy was so like sorrow, our grief so tinged with pride
(Our joy for England's honour, and our grief for those who died),
That, though we strove our bravest to look high and proud that day,
The fire in our eyes was dimm'd by tears that would have way ;
But as they fell those tears were dried, and our blood like wildfire ran,
And our sobs were hushed and our cheeks grew flushed as we spoke of

Inkermann.

Ho! gentlemen of England ! Ho ! tillers of the land !
Ho ! swarthy handicraftsman ! draw near and understand
How holy is your brotherhood, how terrible your might,
When, linked in freedom's bonds, ye stand together in the fight.
Ye had stalwart foes to meet you, but we see how ye have done,
At your old odds you have won the game, for the foe were four to one;
There were princes there with peasants, each foremost in the van—
Oh ever thus may Britons fight, as they fought at Inkermann !
There were eight thousand Britons there, of French three hundred

score,
When down upon our lines full sixty thousand Russians bore.
Our little band beheld them come, and cheered them as they came,
The foe turn'd pale at that hurrah, for he had heard the same
In the plains of Balaklava, and well I ween he knew
How the many fell that day before the fury of the few ;
And louder still that cheer rang out from every British man
When the Russian foe came thundering down on our lines at Inker-
mann.

God speed our brave Field Marshal, who has won this bloody fray,
And whose noble words are ringing in a nation's ears to-day ;
God speed the gallant Canrobert, and every valiant heart
Of Frenchmen and of Englishmen who in this fight bore part.
God's mercy on the souls of all who lie in honour's bed,
His blessing on the living and His mercy on the dead ;
And may He heal each aching heart as His love only can
Of the widows and the childless of the fight of Inkermann.
W. W. F. S.

1165

of the undergraduates were stimulated in conjunction with their
patriotic contributions. One of their effusions was as follows:
" To Ministers, when Herbert touts,
Shall Oxford turn a cold car
The perquisites of Oxford scouts
Shall clothe the British soldier."

Another ran thus:—
" Our excellent Herbert has hit it at last ;
The hospital stores from the wounded he stops ;
But, repentant, he more than atones for the past
By furnishing even the healthy with slops.'
One of them was thought to reflect on the Premier, and was therefore
suppressed by the authorities ; but our correspondent succeeded in
obtaining a copy, which we now publish :
" While Herbert is begging for old cricket jackets
To send to the Camp by the earliest packets,
Aberdeen says such presents are quite out of place,
For he'd rather the army would play prisoners base."
The writer's attention was evidently fixed on the strong Russian sym-
pathies attributed to his Lordship.
Many of the contributions were accompanied by profuse praises
of Mr. Herbert's forethought and eare for the army, but we do not
give any more of these, as we are informed that they were partly sup-
plied by the writers for the Morning Chronicle. As the "Old Clo"
movement proceeds, we shall, however, give further particulars if we
see occasion. X.

THE WHAT AND THE WHY.
ADDITIONAL STANZA.

Who is the gent with Italian name
Who puzzles the crowd that on Providence wait?
Who bade him the job of the Duchy proclaim?
And what was all that to Strutt's sad fate?
Who to the Poor-Law Board is sent?
And why did the Temple pass him by?
And wherefore is Baines so ill-content?
Unriddle me that the what and the why.

.

SEQUEL TO THE " SPEECH " COUNCIL.

PRESENT : Her Majesty's Ministers.
PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL: Well—the speech is settled, and off
our minds, at all events, my Lords and Gentlemen. And that's a good
thing
HOME SECRETARY: The speech ?—nothing of the kind. It is about
the worst speech I ever saw manufactured; and even the patriotic
allusions, and the compliment to the valour of the soldiers, will not
carry off its helplessness, expressed and implied. With which pro-
test, I have no objection to proceed to other matters.
FIRST LORD of the ADMIRALTY : I admit the badness of the composi-
tion, but I think we deserve great credit for being able to concoct any
speech at all of which an impeachment might not be a mere echo.
Assuredly, I have learned a lesson on the value of language. I thought
that we could hardly escape making it a plea of guilty, and an appeal
for mercy. I suppose it is Gladstone's hand that has dodged the
difficulties.
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (modestly): None of the difficulties
being of my own creation, I was the better able to deal with them. I
could always defend a friend more easily than myself; and I am
bound to add that mcst of my friends need defending.
PRESIDENT of the BOARD Of CONTROL (innocently): Why do you have
such friends, then, Gladstone ?
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER : One can't always choose, my dear
Wood. But to proceed to the consideration of business.
FIRST LORD: To come, in fact., to some of the difficulties which
are of Gladstone's own creation. What about money ?
HOME SECRETARY: Yes, what are you going to propose, after all?
Is it to be a new tax, or several new taxes, or a loan, or what? You
ought to give to those who will have to be your advocates as early in-
formation as is consistent with your making up your own mind. One
likes just to look back, and see whether, and why, one attacked or de-
fended the thing in other days; nobody can remember such matters.
SEVERAL VOICES : No taxes!
SEVERAL VOICES : No loans !
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER: My dear friends, it would really
be very much better if we adhered to the old rule, Ne tutor ultra

CrePida-
RI.
PRESIDENT Of the BOARD of CONTROL : But I am not a suitor—except
a suitor for information—and that Ido think we ought to have. lam
sure that lam not so mysterious. Didn't I show my Indian Budget
to all of you, for weeks and weeks, and ask you for advice upon it?
PRESIDENT Of COUNCIL zughing): Yes, yes—we admit that, Wood.
You were an awful bore with that maiden budget. It was very cruel
of Sir Erskine Perry to tell you, after all, that the House stayed away
because it was more instructive to read you than to hear you.
HOME SECRETARY : Still I think we ought to know whether it is to
be tax or loan that we shall have to declare the only course which a
rational statesman could possibly adopt. I don't care which it is, but
let us hear.
CH kNCCI.I.OR of the EXCHEQUER: Those courses are so opposite.
Hom SECRETARY : I kllOW—that's the reason I want time to ascer-
tgn why one of them is so obviously and evidently right; and, there-
fore, I must know which it is.