The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-27 00:00:00

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times. )
CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, Aug. 13.—There at last
is some prospect of action, but not against the Malak-
hoff, nor is it the allies who are expected to assume the
aegressive. Late last evening orders were given for the
troops to be under arms by three in the morning. Of
course, Malakhoff was immediately the word, and most
persons supposed that the long' talked of assault was to
be made. This, however, was soon found not to be the
case. An attack was expected to take place, it was be-
lieved, along the whole line. Without tap of drum or
sound of bugle, the camp was afoot at the prescribed.
hour, the troops forming up in profound silence. The
enVre army was out, including the cavalry and artillery
from Balaklava. The first gray of morning found a
a number of officers and amateurs assembled on Cath-
cart's-hill, the best point of observation. There was un-
usually little firing yesterday and last night, and all ex-
pected that this tranquility was to be broken by the din
of an engagement. The interest -1 the situation grew
stronger as the morning advanced and as the scarlet
columns became visible, massed along the lines, motion-
less and expectant. Superior officers, with their staff,:
moved to and fro ; aides-de-camp traversed the heights
with orders ; here and there, through the still imperfect
light, which began to be tinged with the first red flu-h
of sunrise, waved the pennons ofa. Lancer escort With
bri ad day the brief excitement ended. Before the
upper edge of the sun's disk rose above the hills
the troops were marching briskly back to the it
tents. The morning was beautifully clear, and the
spectacle was striking. In fine order, in serried
colums, looking hardy, active, and cheerful, and
up to any work, the Crimean army regained its
canvass quarters. For the day the danger was over
—to commence again, it is believed, to night. From
certain orders that have beery given with respect to
ammunition, mules, &c., I infer that the army will
again be under arms early to-morrow morning. The
officers are warned to be ready at a moment's notice. It
is believed that reinforcements have reached Sebastopol.
They have been expected for some time past. Four
.fieisions are talked of, two of them Imperial Guards.
Word has been sent up from the fleet to head-quarters
that large bodies of troops were seen collecting behind
the Redari, and others behind the Tchernaya, and tner•-
were grounds fir expecting a general attack along our
lines. Time fete-rals of division assernbied yesterday
afternoon at the quarters of the Comn:ander.in-Chief.
General &upset) is intispsed, and it is reported that
e intends geinz on board ship fur a few days. It was
thought probable, that he had -ummoned his sulyirde
hates to confer with them previously to absenting him-
self, but it may now be supposed that the meeting bad
reference to last night's operation It is not impassible
that his turn out of the army was a mere rehearsal,
intended to ascertain that all the actors were perfect in
their parts, and in case of need would be promptly at
their posts. The report to-day in camp was that time
Archduke Michael is in Sebastopol. We lately learned
from deserters that he was expected.

Tonight lam informed that our cavalry has been
withdrawn from Baidar and its neighbourhood. Con-
cerning this you will doubtless receive positive informa-
tion irom another quarter. General Pelissier holds
40,000 men in readiness to operate on the hue of the
Tcliernai a, which, from its extent, is, perhaps, the most
attickable part of our position ; but it is vigilantly
guarded, and I entertain no doubt as to the result should
the Russians venture to assail us.

The Orinoco has arrived at Balaklava with dragoons
and horses. Mr. Doyne, Superintendent in-Chief of the
Army Working C.,rps, has also arrived. He came as
far as Constantinople in the Simoorn with 450 of his
men, who will quickly follow him hither. Toe corps
is to consist of 1,000 men. Mr. D yne has had an in-
terview with Cul. Macmurdo, in command of the Land
Transport Corps. I understand that it is not intended,
as was at first pronosed, to employ the Army Working
Corps under fire unless in case of absolute necessity. They
will be set to making roads, cleaning the camp, and
similar highly useful and neces,-a'•y occupations.
The staff or the railway, which had been greatly
dirninishe.l by illness and other causes, has been broken
up. Mr. Boattie has been requested by General Simpson
to remain to superintend the working of the railway and
all engineering matters connec,ed with it.
Two vessels have been sent from Balaklava to Gibral-
tar for mortar. We are informed that no less than eleven
vessels sailed front England between the 20th and 30th
ult. laden with guns and ammunition, and bound for the
Crimea.

Deputy - A•sistant Commissary - General Conpinger,
attached to the Fourth Division, died on Saturuay of
fever, a'id was buried yesterday afternoon. He was much
liked and respected here, and a large number of officers
followed him to the grave.
Tt is now past 11 o'clock, and I find that no orders
have as yet been given for a turn-out, but merely that
a'l should be ready at very brief notice. Unlike last
night,, whose unwon ed stillness had something almost
ominous—warned, as we were, of a probable encounter
-- the fire of the batteries is pretty much as usual, and
from Cathcar`,'s•hill, a short time ago, the shells wore to
he seen traversing the darkness, in low curves or in lofty
flight, according as they were thrown from gun or from
mortar, while the round shot hurtled through the air and
the rifles sparkled at various points of the lines.

Aug. 14.
The night has passed quietly, and there has been no
occasion to turn out the troops.

THE ALLIED CAMP ON THE TCHERNA.YI.
Auu 14.
Since I last wrote part of the reinforcements which
the Russians were expecting have arrived,—at least
positive intelligence has been r ceived of th, arrival of
a division of Grenadiers. In consequence of this intelli-
gence we are more than ever on the alert ; but as these
newly arrived troops are concentrated, at least for the
present, in and about Sebastopol, if tier.- is an attack at
all it se-rus to be intended rather against our works in
front than against -the Tchernaya line. It was, never-
theless, thought prudent to keep a part at least of the
.ring on ,he Tchernaya under arms during the last two
nights, and ready for any sudden emergency. More-
over, the Sardinians made yesterday morning a recon-
naissance over the plateau on the ether side of the Tcher-
nays and on the banks of the Tchouliou, but without
encountering any trace of the enemy. The distance,
however, from Sebastopol over the Mackenzie ridge is
so small that troops could come in one night from it to
the Tchernaya.
The English cavalry, which was encamped in the valley
of Baidar, yesterday received sudden orders to return,
but the French are still there, collecting hay and making
excursions to the villas on the seaside towards Aloupka.
These beautiful summer residences of the Russian nobi-
lity have long been spared our visits, but they could not
altogether escape their fate. The Turks, with the ex
ception of Bashi-Bazouks and Arnauts, of whom there
are none here, are not much given to roam about ; so
while they were in the neighbourhood of Baidar the
country-houses on the seaside along the Woronzoff road
escaped altogether. The Turks contented themselves
with exploring the immediate neighbourhood. Baidar
itself and the other villages in the valley afford little in
the shape of booty. Moreover, the Turks in general
make it a point not to plunder their co-religionists, and
the inhabitants of the valley are mostly Mahomme-
dans. But they found out a little country-house on
the seashore called Laspi, where an old French doctor,
who had been estanlished for many years in Rus-
sia, was living with his family ; and one fine morn-
leg a complaint was made to the French General-in-
Chief by his countryman that five Turkish soldiers had
come to pay a visit to Lapsi. They were received and
fed like %nests, but before going away they asked for
mad jar (Hungarian ducats, the best known foreign
money among the Turks ) The old doct .r, who
of
course under-tood nothing of their language but the
word madjar, thought it was nothing more than a polite
inquiry about his nationality ; and, wishing to rectify
the supposed mistake of his guests, he punted to the
French cockade which he had, by a wise precaution,
fixed on his cap, in order not to he mistaken fir a Rus-
sian, saying at the same time "Fe ancais, Francais."
But when one of the soldiers took hold of his watch and
chain, and when the others began to search the ladies,
he was soon aware that it was he, and not the Turks,
who had made the mistake. A blow with the butt-end
of a musket left Mtn no doubt that resistance was use-
less, and the soldiers departed after having carried
aw,y, according to his account, objects to the value
of about 2001. General Pelissier, on the complaint of
the French doctor, addressed a complaint to the Turkish
head-quarters, in order to have things investiga;ted. and
the guilty punished. The answer was that the Turks
had the strictest orders not to plunder, and that any
supposition to the contrary was au insult to their cha-
racter ; that the marauders could not have been Turkish
soldiers ; and that the dre is and flint muskets, which
exist only in the Turkish army, must have been ber-
rowed or taken in order to make people believe that they
were Turkish soldiers—and thus the affair remained. The
old doctor retired to Baidar, and the ladies went over to
the Russians. _ _ _

But this was an isolated case. Since the French and
English cavalry have occupied the valley the visits to
the country•houses have become much more systematic.
The Russians, having entirely withdrawn from the
coast up to Yalta, having only isolated Cossack patrols
about, the whole row of country-houses on the shore
has been opened to enterprising individuals, and
every morning you could see arabas and pack-horses
coming over the Woronzoff-road into Baidar, loaded
with the most heterogeneous objects ; chairs, beds,
crockery, carpets, pictures, albums, ladies' work-baskets,
embroidered cushions, cooking utensils, wine, and hut.-
dreds of other things were brought back and sold all
along the • road. In order to put a stop to these excur-
sions an Er•glish cavalry picket was stationed at the
archway which is erected on the highest point of the
Woronzoff road, just before it begins to descend towards
the sea, and nobody was allowed to enter except with a
pass. But this mended things only half—that is to say,
no English soldier would indulge in a roaming disposi-
tion ; but French marauders as before came, duly pro-
vided with a pus, and returned with as much plunder as
they could possibly carry. The usual style was a string
of pack-horses, mules, or carts, with half a dozen camp
followers of the worst description, and escorted by a
couple of soldiers. The thing seems to have been quite