The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-22 00:00:00

LETTER FROM THE CRIMEA.

Extract from the letter of an officer in the army at the
Crimea :

As I said in my last, "the sooner the assault is made
the better," for we are nearly worn out with incessant
and severe fatigue, and should be thankful to make it
to-morrow, if Lord Raglan would let us, as a means of
escaping from our present hardships and privations,
which threaten, ere long, to destroy the whole army.
Lord Raglan, is said, by those who are admitted to his
intimacy, to be averse to the assault, and time will show
whether his extreme caution and humanity is justified er
not. Of course, if Sebastopol can be taken without a
storm, he is quite right, and it will spare a vast effusion of
blood, but every hour confirms the opinion which I have
held all along, that it will never be taken except in the
old fashion—at the po'nt of the bayonet.
The Russians have :;0 guns now mounted round the
White Tower alone, to challenge on eight or nine on the
right attack of Gordon's Battery, and are daily adding
to their defensive preparations. However, a number of
10 and 13-inch mortars which we are getting up
are expected to do great things, and I hope will justify
their expectations, though I have my doubts on the sub-
ject, after the failure of our last attack, which never did
mere damage in the day than the Russians could repair
at night. The French have pushed their lines so close
to the walls of the town that, as they say themselves,
they can almost see the white of each other's eyes 1
Every street and house is fortified, so that it will be
hard work even after we get into the town, unless we
make it so hot for them that they will be obliged to
capitulate. The Zouaves and Chasseurs de Vincennes
have been most useful in picking off the gunners at the
guns with their Mini 6 rifle 3, which have a longer range
than any weapon yet invented. The way the rascals
do it is to creep out early iu the morning, with a spade
and pickaxe, and erect little barricades in front of the
embrasures, behind which they ensconce themselves quite
securely, and direct their unerring aim upon the forts,
just as they did at Bomarsund. Our poor fellows are
nearly all in lags, and would rather astonish the British
public, who saw them depart looking so smart and
full of health and spirits, could they see them now.
Neither are the officers much better off for clothes, who
may be seen walking about in things which they would
be ashamed to give their servants in England ; however,
we are promised a supply soon, which will be a real
God-send when they do arrive. As a (ample of camp
prices, I may mention the case of an officer who bought
a saddle for 51. 100., and then purchased a horse for a
shilling to carry it home. All our baggage horses that
we had in Bulgaria are still at Varr a, where they are
welcome to remain, as we have no use for them here,
not knowing how we should feed them. The cavalry
are nearly all dismounted, and had to bring up stores
the other day for the commissariat on their horses,
which are just like Pharaoh's lean kine," that Joseph bad
in a vision." We are still living under tents—fancy that
in the month of December !—but we expect a supply of
wooden houses from England very soon, which will be a
great comfort, if the generals and staff do not convert
them into stalls for their horses. Our Brigadier-General
Buller has gone to the 2d division, pro. tern., to relieve
General Pennefather. Two of the Russian ships con-
trived to creep out the other night and threw some shells
into the French line near the Quarantine Fort, but
were quickly chased back by the Furious, to which the
Admiral has shifted his flag from the Britannia, which
with the other sailing ships has gone to the Bosphorus
for the winter.

The sailors have a camp next to ours, which is full of
high-sounding and amusing names, such as the "Tiger's
Revenge," "Royal Sinope Militia," and " Albion's
Pets," inscribed in huge letters about three feet long
on the sides of their tents. I thought when they first
came up that they would have burst their tents asunder,
so tight were the cords drawn that it made one's head
positively ache to look at them. Ilowever, they soon
learnt to pitch them properly, and contrived to keep
theirs standing during the great storm, when all ours
were blown down. For the first week or two after they
landed, Jack was the whole life and soul of the camp,
and rendered more service in dragging up great guns
from Palaklava than a dozen artillery horses put together.
The only thing against him is that he is too strong, and
makes no allowance for other people not being as strong
and active as himself. For instance, he will think
nothing of heaping up ammunition in the waggons
until the wretched horses faint and die under the
weight, not being able to see the sense of the "ship
starting until the hold is full." For all that, however,
he is a ♦ery good fellow, and is ever ready to lend a
helping hand when he can be of any use.
One-half of Frenchman's-hill Battery is armed with
the guns of the Diamond, and nothing would please
Jack but to call it the Koh-i-noor Battery, which he had
inscribed in white letters on a black board, and stuck
on the top of the parapet, until a round shot came one
day and carried it bodily away. Disease still runs its
fearful course, and thins down our ranks sadly. Well
might the Czar say, cholera and the cold were his most
faithful allies !