The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-19 00:00:00

ward, which followed the declivity of the slope till
reached the nearest part of the adjacent valley. No
accurate information is before us as to the extent of
these trenches, which commenced from the flanks of the
Arab Tabia, but, to judge from the numbers of the irrf
gular troops actively employed within them, . their
length must hare been considerable. The ground to
their front was swept by the artillery fire of the flanks
of the main work. It is here to be noticed, that the Turks
ishirregulars, to avoid the murderous fire- of the Rut
sian batteries, had excavated behind and on either brk
of these trenches numerous boles, in which they bur'
rowed so effectually that the enemy could seldom see
more of the defenders than their turbans and the muzzles
of their muskets. In spite of some unfavourable features,
such as a gentle rise in one quarter to the south, the
ground may be considered, from its barrenness of or.
face, as, on the whole, favourable to the fire of the de.
fence. The work was in cornmmunication with two other
detached earthworks, situated on the two heights east'
ward and westward, which will be found designated oa
Moltke's plan as the Russian works 9 and 11. They are
on the highest summits of the ground which slopes t°
the north, and very near the spots also marked on the
plan as the Russian field-works 21 and 22. The Russia°
attack during their 39 days' operations, if we except their
bombardment of the town, was solely directed against
the Arab Tabia. Anything else that was undertaken,
such as a movement against the detached work, the
Medschidie, was a mere demonstration for the purpose
of distracting attention from the real point of assault.
The Russian General Schilders was quite right in tine
selection of the Arab Tabia, because from it the other
out works, abovementioned, to the north, were commanded,
and the reduction of the former would have insured their
fall. This value of the position had been so well under-
stood by Omer Pasha, that he had himself,.. after corn' '
pletion of the other outworks, directed the construction
of the Arab Tabia. An attack was nevertheless first to be
expected on the eastern side of the town. In fact, if An the
accidents of.ground of the Bulgarian plateau were to he
duly provided for, and an enemy to be deprived of everf
position commanding the defences, it would be necessary
to construct a series of outworks in teri aces above each
other, advanced till the dominant points of the ground
in front had all been embraced. Time and means were
wanting for these, and the Turkish engineers were
obliged to confine themselves to what was essential. The,
first operations of the Russians were the construction of
batteries, which gradually grew to be eight in number,
were armed with the heaviest artillery, and beginning
from near the shore of the Danube embraced the object
of the attack in a concave curve. At the same time,
following the fashion of their former proceedings of 182°a
and 1829, before Varna and Schumla, they threw 11P
number of earthworks, mutually supporting each other
with their fire, which increased in number as the Si
proceeded, and now, as then, had for their main caves
the better to repel the dreaded sallies of the besieged'
The main body of the Russian besieging army was
posted during the operation on one of the heights to t"'
south-east of Arab Tabia. The roads from the camp
to the works and batteries, as well as those to the
bridges of the Danube, were excellent as lines of cow'
o
munication, and all the works and constructions of
besieging force are described as solid and admirable.
The first stage of the operations bore the character of
series of sudden assaults, delivered by considerablemasses, and introduced as well as broken off blog
svas
lively fire of artillery. On two occasions the Russia
penetrated the works, in which, however, the' fight
continued. Once the Russians were already engagedeo ;
dragging off the guns of the fort with hooks and °Peed,
but in both instances the Turks rallied,
drove them out again with heavy loss. Of all the nnewted
rows assaults that of the 29th May was the one conduct
with the greatest masses. Sixteen battalions, formed
columns of attack, advancing with perfect order Vc
sively assailed the work, along the ditches of which,
most sanguinary conflict was maintained. Accordingo,
the report of eye-witnesses, 2,000 corpses on that. ;
and, reinfor
strewed the ditches and the ground adjacent. Such
slaughter, in an assault of a place which comes `"'",,0,..
the category of a mere fieldwork, can scarcely
ceived by those who regulate their notions by orbdin"
i.rathoe,
professional rules. It may be explained in part
circumstance that the assailants advanced coei
_lid
well closed up and marching in rather slow tian e,
after failure retreated in the same time and for
But the explanation of such unheard-of los,e._,!s Bop
more to be found in the fact that the
dier, regular as well as 'irregular, where he can
„00 of
his own individuality and dispense with the eidauwboe
his officers, generally of a poor description, le ;0 hie
behind wall or ditch, is immeasurably m0re,',0,30
element than in the open field, where the inteille..4o
of the subaltern officer, the united action of. cororces
bodies, and the skilful use of ground and menus tda:ciao
—other relations being equal—must usuallY,.....kish
the victory. To this must be added that the ip.
irregular, and especially the Arnauts, who. .!;01,
Turkish so'
stance acted with the Turkish and Egyptain batto3.'_aol
are admirably armed and accoutred for hanci._t "_Ol
fighting. In the first place they are lightly cloth they
carry no baggage. Their side arms and all that
carry about them are supported by a sash 0 °laic.
ad
leather waistbelt. A long flint musket, of good w,uts
manship and extensive range, with a thin iron
nk
curved to fit the shoulder and without bayonet, is 011.17 i
over the shoulders in close action. Their other wearria,
are a pair of flint-lock pistols of large bore, the ` ban
schar" slightly curved, some 24 feet in length, with tAI
inner edge sharpened like a razor ; and the yatagan L. 06
of excellent workmanship, and, in the hands of t"',,
desperadoes, deadly instruments. The other irregul°, 75
as well as the Arnauts, are generally armed more or to
in like fashion, but their firearms are usually inferioroe
those of the Arnaut. The quality of the Arnanlo
weapons is fully matched by his skill in using tberatee
close fighting. He is an excellent shot, and, like
sir
Circassians and other tribes who have to provide, their
own ammunition and fit it to the various calibre °f
pee
arms, he is very sparing in his use of it. Ildr
is
his fire till the critical moment, but then his both
deadly. He is not less dangerous with the cold steel,_, weo
ec
edge and point—springing like a tiger on the c'
odasionl
advances over ditch or breastwork. It is on three soutrei
when the heavily loaded soldier, trained and
:Ole' and
for infantry fire, is clambering over ohs._ to use
meets with a resistance which hardly allows %war,/ be'
his bayonet, that his inferiority to such an °
of
comes apparent
rep
b
The Russians, therefore, according to the re'of Arab
eye-witnesses, suffered less from the artillery
Tabia than from the small arms of the TurhiTiow dioe
tian, and Arnaut troops. Each gun was se
CO
charged more than from four to six times on there crepe
of assault advancing or retiring, and some wereiio3l°.*to
edly dismounted by the fire of the batteries P ,ot I°l4
to the assaults. The storming parties, till the ,;eaesslyr
the immediate range of the musketry, c°oo et Woo
discern, with the exception of the guilneir,ut, as I°oo
places, a fez or turban above the rampart, 00a and
croos
as they began to mount, the crest of the 110 roe° irold
ground behind were thronged with men, vl_,.oseth try
their holes and hiding places like a sudden Died the
the soil. A succession of failures, accoroPatoverd°irra.
mendous slaughter, induced the Russialle,...st thitaol.
close of their undertaking, to proceed ng2ll'l,bei!' Y; to
gular work with regular siege approaches• dri_ling
lels, at the time of their retreat, had kefcb. 33.461(
within 16 paces from the edge of the dibewed tPwalt
was also employed, to meet which thothh.reetahteeafiedoreribistoi:
up fresh works in rear of the parts
incredible rapidity. Everything faded tt of, du offr
held out to the last with a cheerful cootelogll_7oodl
such as competent witnesses, among them hoe
cers, assert they never saw equalled. " eryf os
at
mentioned that the Commandant of the ar root 1,00
tenant Grach, computes the loss of the
o 0 the gag,
12,000, and the huge mounds of sepultur , floe
bear out his estimate. According to ah r
from 300 to 400 officers must have fallen'

THE PARIS UNIVERSALI"ertgri ExHIBITION7:—"At II
ccdli
mittee ino._!letioft',
contributions(Friday),
of
held yesterday
i i ona,i dn nothed
of the proposed xbibitiont leribs
reportedthat Paris .. AO9 the
although Manchester alone o,l'ect ot,'_d
a guarantee fund
Exhibition, of 6,500/. towards the 00./ feceify
A been . jer
from the adjoining easmter Ic"-t:011
towns, although official corn
object.
tions have been addressed to them the
on fig '
LOSS OF THE CLYDE ~r Of ~g '''.
SHIP SHAND° I say
- •pe
whateverManehh
The North, Br' ' • tttsh, Daily Mail, of Wednesd39)_, ail,'
A telegraphic despatch or , e, i,re
has just reached G134-bip 0
information
donf of the total loss of the fine iron 5 tbe 0
from Clyde to Quebec and 31ontreal, °er
inst.,,
were in lat. 54, long. 17. The crew and passe;6eSi
cairn,
allbsaved, and were put on board of the Vreig,i
the thianodund for Quebec, all well. Capta'n, Car'l 5
on, and six of the crew have arrived 0" ocestice
and the captain telegraphed the disaster to ticres. 'rot
in this city,Shando but no particulars have yet reache ,er, pbo a
n was built at Glasgow by Mr. B. IC3PI %de, bode
three years ago, for the Quebec and Montreal tr..„ S 1
sweai_sead beautiful ship of nearly 600 tons barcle'::argo no
i from Clyde on the 30th ult , with a full 't 11511 t
finebeen goods,
which, together with 'the shiP,
_1;11 ttb°tl
twenty
worth not less than 70,000/. She 0111
y cabin and five steerage passengers' eVell
t , a
SUICIDE FROM SHAKESPE 'EA CLIFF —Apo° doss%
o'clock on Wednesa • BEI- .fl 113311' th-
a evenin last, a gen. 0 ear
as a clergyman,observed by ' - 000 13 ver'
highest
point of the celebrated Shakspere Chu' j on t
A man named Anderson, who takes his 00
on Emir
summit as a vendor of fossils, states that thoilt:o PI
nate gentleman had been up on the cliff scou 3 ..„a j 111,4
and remained with him until he jumped over ; '
that, ,
before he took the dreadful leap informed binii io otAJ,,,
darkness was coming on, it would be dangernn'ejiatieq'
The gentleman retired some short distance, ir°l3l,joet 4' '1
turned round, and, exclaiming that he carnei_'-oclAr/;
Waterloo-crescent, jumped over near the °°'-ci 5001e-
setfone. Anderson immediately gave an then,
9.ilel)°t
,ine.. to . .40
the coast-guard and boatmen, proceen * d, '' 0
of the
cliff, found the remains of the dece3se , SO 0
dreadfully knocked about, having fallen bets°,,eet*i,,i?
and 400 feet. The.unfortunate gentleman On" :0 7,-:
at 19, Waterloo-crescent with his lad)", lii I Peva
anxiously waiting his return when the dread-ov 03
arrived. His name is the Rev. Thomas B°Dias° ' 4
he held a living in the Isle Wight. A 04 St ri'
DESTRUCTION OF TWENTY•ONE FrOUSES.'""'", JO" il
tenesive and destructive fire occurred on ThursoAY,, foil/
thxevillage of Moretonhampstead, a short distan°' of A
carrier,
ter. The fire originated in the dwelling-honglo tbe
and spread with extraordinary rauiditY, ,00,
. fter ' *
course of a short e the ames caught roof 3 , 11
until .
it appeared although the whole village we',,et aOl
blaze. The whole of the inhabitants turned 0- Or
e fire eir
rendered every assistance in, quenching th
all 0
of hei
saving the property. In spite, however, st A
exertions, which were aided by two fire engine:o 13A:
were unable to subdue the flames until 21 11°11; 11 ;_/'
been destroyed—namely, 10 in once street snoop 0,
another. Fortunately, however, there ?rag 9 • '
life.