The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-04 00:00:00

THE ARMISTICE.

Ram 19.
The natural consequence, in civilised warfare, cf such a
contest as that which took lace yesterday is an armistice to
bury dead. It was our sad duty to demand it, for our dead
lay outside our lines, and there wore no Russian corpses in
front of the Redan or Malakhoff. After the contest of the
22d of May, General Os en-Sacken is said to have applied
twice to our generals before an armistice was
him • and, indeed, General Pelissier expressly says that
the truce was granted to the Russian general his reite-
rated request. It is no wonder, then, that tie Russians v
were rather chary of granting us an armistice accorded to
'
had no occasion to go outside their lines for shheiredueaty
dead or
dying and wounded. Somehow or other therumour got
abroad that there would be an armistice early in the day,
and we hoisted a white flag in the forenooi
was no such emblem of a temporary peace disif but there
aYed by the
Russians.
Our batteries and riflemen ceased firing, 03d the Rus-
sians crowded the tops of the parapets of th) Redan and
of the Round Tower (Malakhoff) batteries
harass us by any fire, but of course it was L and did not
uger.s to go
out in front of the lines till they hoisted tie
white flag
also. The advanced trenches were filled with officers and
soldiers eager to find the bodies of their poor:tomrades, but
they could not stir out of the parallels. They waited
patiently and sadly for the moment when faendship's last
melancholy office could be performed. It gas a very hot
day, and of all the places in the world
ere heat dis-
plays its utmost power, a trench before Sebastopol is the
most. intolerable. Every moment anxiens eyes were
turned to the huge walls of earth before the Round Tower
and behind the abattis of the Redan, in the hope of seeing
the answering flag, but our own was the only one in view,
and the French were still firing away oa our left at the
Russian works. It was evident that something was wrong,
and it was whispered that the Russians had refused our
application for an armistice. Boats were at last seen to
leave the roads of Sebastopol, and to meet boats from the
fleet at the entrance, and it became known that the Rus-
sians had acceded to an armistice, and that it was to take
place at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. To pass the weary
time away, there was nothing to do bat to watch the Rus-
sians at work repairing their batteries—labours which
they continued during the armistice subsequently—
and to make out the bodies which lay scattered about in
front of the Redan and Malakhoff. It was agonising to
see the wounded men who were lying there under a broil-
ing sun parched with excruciating thirst, racked with
fever, and agonised with pain—to behold them waving
their caps faintly or making signals toward our lines, over
which they could see the white flag waving, and not to be
able to help them. They lay where they fell, or bad
scrambled into the holes formed by dells; and there they
had been for 30 hours—oh ! how long and how dreadful in
their weariness ! An officer told me that one soldier who
was close to the abattis when he saw a few men come out
of an embrasure raised himself on his elbow, and, fearing,
he should be unnoticed and passed by, raised his qp,p on a
stick and waved it till he fell back exhausted. Alain he
rose, and managed to tear off his shirt, which he agitated
in the air till his strength failed him. His face could be
seen through a glass, and my friend said he never could
forget the expression of resignation and despair with which
the poor fellow at last abandoned hs useless efforts, and
folded his shirt under his head to await the mercy of Hen-
ven. Whether he was alive or not when our men went
out I cannot say, but five hours of thirst, fever, and pain
urek anden groundgre
grey
c o
aitns
were scattered about or lay in
under a fierce sun would make fearful odds against him.
The red coats lay sadly thick over the tdh
in the rainconrses be-
fore eb
blue
front of the abattis of the Redan,
the Malakhoff. I could see, too, that the white port
streaks of the Russian vessels were blackened by the broad-
sides of the morning of the 18th. About 3 o'clock I rode
down past the old 13sinch mortar battery in advance of
our Picket-house into the Middle Picket Ravine, at the end
of which begins the French approaches to their old parallel
which is now extended up to their recent conquest, the
Mamelon. A body of the 12th Lancers and of some light
cavalry moved down the Woronzoff-road about the same time
or little later, and began extending their files right and left
in a complete line across the whole of our front, with the
evident object of preventing any officers and men, except
those who were required on duty, getting down to the
neutral ground. However, my companions and myself
were beforehand, and had got down into the ravine before
the cavalry halted just behind the Picket-house. As we
'elvanee this ravine is almost paved with shot and shell.

They stud its sides or lie in artificial piles out of the p,ttle
at the bottom. The earth gleams hero and there with
bullets and fragments of lead. In one place there is a
French picket in a bend of the ravine, sleeping
under their greatcoats raised on twigs to protect them