The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-09 00:00:00

VIEW OF SEBASTOPOL.

The proprietors of the Gallery of Illustration in Regent-
street seem determined to maintain their reputation
for bringing artistic skill of a high order to bear in the
pictorial illustration of places rendered peculiar
eventsly in-
teresting to the publio by recent or passing .
When attention was very generally directed to our great
Eastern dependencies, they presented_us with a beauti-
ful diorama of the overland route to India, .while the ..rush of 'emigrants to the goldirodticing colday - of.
Australia, .and the discovery of the north-west passage;
led to the production of two panoramic works, the most
beautiful perhaps that have ever bee
en" exhibited
gio ns." in the
metropolis, the " Ocean Mail,"nd thArc Re
The war between Russia and Turkey has also led to the
active employment of the clever artists of this estab-
lishment. Some time ago it was our pleasure to highly,
commend two very fine views of the capitals of the con-
tending nations—Constantinople and St. Petersburg—
and last night a third, in the same series, was for the
first time submitted to the criticism of the audience—
namely, an extensive view of the town of Sebastopol
with its capacious harbour, and well mounted and almost
impregnable fort of which we have lately heard so much.
Next to the banks of the Danube, there is no part of the
world to which more interest now attaches. It was here
that the Retribution (ominous name by the by), with
characteristic English daring, entered boldly from the
Black Sea with the message from the .00mbined fleets, and
took up a position right under 700 guns, utterly regar her
rigging ; and it is for here also that the Fury, another
• ominous name, has just departed from Constantinople
to demand the liberation of the English engineers
taken prisoners at the battle of Sinope, though the Czar
has already dismissed with disgrace the admiral who bad
charge of the harbour when the Retribution o
farrived on
a similar mission, and who show,:wl a degree o forbear-
ance which the Autocrat deemed wholly inexcusable.
Who knows also but this may be yet t•he scene of some
bloody battle ? The harbour of this import ant maritime
situation is formed by an immense arm of the Pea, which
has made for itself a deep bed, and penetrates inwards i
upwards of 6 marine miles. Neither rocks nor shoals ob-
struct the navigation of this magnificent basin. The en-
trance is protected by a series of forts on both sides of
the bay, which is 22 miles across. The guns, which are
said by some to amount to 1,200, of large calibre, are
so arranged as to be able to pour a tremendous cross
fire upon hostile ships; but it appears that the stone
of which the fortifications are built is so soft that
cannon shot will stick in it as if it were only sand.
The harbour of Sebastopol also possesses four spaci-
ous creeks, which are perfectly sheltered and of great
depth ; indeed, in one of them the largest three-decker
can lie at anchor within a few yards of the shore.
Between the two principal of these creeks stands the
august city, which the word Sebastopol is understood to
signify. On some of the rocks very ancient rings maybe
occasionally observed, which are supposed by antiqua-
rians to have been used by the Greeks for securing their
boats ; if so, they serve to show that the water was much
higher in those days than at present, as they are now
entirely out of reach for any such purpose. The new
view presents an open country, with the city of Sebas-
topol on the opposite side of the harbour, in which
groups of ships are lying at anchor.
The whole does infinite credit to Messrs. Grieve and
Telbin, the artists.