The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-30 00:00:00

tiser.

CONSTANTINOPLE.

We extract the following from a letter of the
Times correspondent at Constantinople, dated May
15 :—The war seems now to have begun iii earnest.
The interest which has grown faint and weary
with long watching is aroused anew by the advent
of princes and generals, the conferences between
commanders, the order for transports to be in
readiness, and the certainty that the advance of a
part of the British force to the valley of the
Danube is now a question of days. To the habi-
tual resident there is some amusement in watch-
ing the stream of visitors of all nations, though
principally of our own country. There is some-
thing phantasmagorial in the manner in which
they appear, flicker before the eyes, and then
vanish in the void. All come with the same
views, do the same things, and disappear, leaving
no trace of their existence except in the coffers
of their host. The stream is less steady now,
and, though it may not dry up, it will no doubt
trickle more slowly as curiosity becomes sated
and roads unsafe. Next to Englishmen the Ame-
ricans have been the most numerous, and we have
had them of all sorts. There have been philoso-
phers of the Boston school, who haVe passed
through several shades of communism, and New
York fashionables, who might be taken for French-
men till they open their mouths, and who have
much to say about the Tuileries and the Imperial
balls to which they are in the habit of resorting.
Visitors to Shumla are as numerous as ever, though
now they go confessedly as spectators, and would
excite a smile by hinting their hopes of a place on
Omer Pasha's staff. What they can expect to see
at present it is difficult to say. A wretched Bul-
garian town, with dirty dens for its fairest resi-
dences, the streets choked with dunghills so pesti-
lential that in summer the place is a grave to all
who are not acclimatised, with food bad and dear,
with excursions in the environs dangerous, the day
long hot, and wearisome, and the night made rest-
less by swarms of vermin—such is Shumla in the
mouth of. May. No small amount of sickness is
likelyte prevail among the inexperienced Euxe-

perms, unless they change their system of Walking
the streets at mid-clay, and eating la,rge meat din.
ners, accompanied by fiery liquitds, as at lionie.
The natives of this country are temperate from
necessity ; theylook upon strong wines and liqueur?
as no better than poison, and a drinker of spirits's
considered as doomed a man as an opium-eater
would be with us. As the hot season is 110 Yr
upon us, they remain at home in the dap'
time, and only venture out in the cool evening,
when a fresh breeze comes down the Bosphorus
and stirs the dust and tobacco-laden styl"-
sphere of the city. Yet the English are ell"-
ing about with walkingsticks under the blazing
sun, and return from a ten miles' walk to a dinner
such as would be 'appropriate to an English De'
cember ! They may expect excellent health if they
will accommodate themselves to the habits and'
usages of the country ; but, if they persist in their
present mode of life, many casualties must result,
and those strongest and most sturdy in appearance
will be the first to suffer from fever, which alwals
seems anxious to grapple with a powerful antagonist.
Who shall deliver us from men of Peninsular ek
perience—those classics of the military world, vrili°
sneer down everything new as unprecedented
incorrect ? We are likely to have a great deal
done precisely after the cut of the campaign r
f
Vimiera and Fuentes d'Onor. There are really
some men in authority who seem to contemplate !
seven or a thirty years' war, and look upon Sher;;
operations as undignified and unprofessional
There is no reason to believe that time has been
lost as yet. The diplomatic labours of the Paet
year were necessary, and, if they produced no other
_
effect, they reconciled a peace-loving nation to th,e
.
war, which it was proved could not be avoidea
All things considered, the troops have been
brought up with speed and comfort ; they are We
encamped and fairly fed, in good spirits and ek
cellent health. There are among the generals saute
men, young and active, who have acquired ex-
perience in wars which the present will much re-
semble. But there is a class of seniors to villa?'
nothing is acceptable except what prevailed In
their own youth, and such men have much to a°
in planning operations or supplying troops.
The survey for the defences from Buinic
Tchekdedji to Derkos are proceeding with due
despatch. Several officers of the engineers are
continually engaged, and have completed nearly'
half their task. From the Sea of Marmora to the
Euxine, the projected lino extends 27 miles. -14-
lake, spread out in some seasons into a vast marsh)
almost joins the sea at the western end, and pre"
eludes all possibility of the passage of a hostile,
army for several miles. The water is four feet
deep, and the bottom soft and muddy. At thei
other extremity another lake is situated, whiel
would equally bar an enemy's passage, and
between these two there is a line of undulating
and valley, which, though destitute of any strong
k natural means of defence, .may be made impassable
I by the science of modern engineers and the braver,'
lof well supplied troops. This is the position chosen
to be the Torres Vedras of Constantinople, a defence.
for ever, should the men and the valour to mako
useful remain when western troops have quitted the
Turkish soil. The country is overspread with brash'
wood and the officers are obliged to raise themselves
and their theodolites on stands. -General Baragual
d'Hilliers computed the number of men necessary
for the defence at 40,000, of whom 5,000 were_R
watch the difficult ground at either end, and 30,0uu
to occupy the works in the centre. However, those
whose surveys of the country give them the
means to judge with greater accuracy declare that
not less than 80,000 would be required to ocenPf
such vast and complex defences ; and, if events Were
ever to necessitate a re treat on the capital, such a
force would not be wanting for its preservation:
Yet, after all, it seems unworthy of the two great
Powers of the world thus to contemplate their ova
reverses, and to prepare for the march of the Mils'
covite on Constantinople, while they threaten to
drive him across the Pruth, and even to tear away
portions of his empire.
A letter from Gallipoli of the 16th states thio
the Turkish authorities, on the demand of thef
French General-in-chief, have granted a piece °
ground for the burial of Catholics. The consecra-
tion of the new cemetery was performed by the Abbe ,
Bellet, superior chaplain of the fleet, in presence
of the generals, their staffs, numerous detachment's
of soldiers and sailors, and of all the Catholic
population. The pious ceremony produced a po:
found impression not only on the Christians, bul'
on the Mussulmans, who, notwithstanding the ail,:
ference of their religious principles, testify their
esteem for those who have a belief and practise
their religion.
CONSTANTINOPLE, May 20.—1 have just returned,
from Scutari, and bring the melancholy intev'
ligence of the death of Lieutenant W. Lear MO'
nish, which occurred under the following dt
tressing circumstances :—Last night two officer'
of the 93d Highlanders, Ensign Crowe and the,
unfortunate gentleman above named, were re-
turning from the Scutari barracks 'to the encamp"
ment where there regiment is quartered. A hear"
storm, accompanied by lightning and torrents ,
rain, broke out, and turned the little ravine which
borders the barracks to the north-west into ,a
roaring torrent. In crossing this ravine, whie,'
in the daytime was perfectly dry, these two 01
ficers were carried away. Ensign Crowe managed
to save himself, but Lieutenant Macnish has net
:
since been heard of, and it is feared that he 114'''
washed into the sea. To-day the ravine is Per;
featly dry, and when I left Scutari numbers
officers and men were busily searching amongst the
brushwood and hedges which border it for the nvs
sing officer. At the barracks a cry was heard about
half-past 10 last night, but nobody suspected Whew
it was ; and indeed it is very doubtful whether
efficient help could have been sent in time, as thea
night was very dark, and before any person cool
have arrived at the spot no doubt the unforta;
nate gentleman had been carried down towar°
the sea, and was beyond the reach of hums°
aid. The Sultan has placed his kiosque of Hai
Pasha, at Scutari, immediately adjacent to ta°,
British encampment, at the disposal of his Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge, and on Wedges"
day last he repaired there with all his staff. On
Wednesday last his Royal Highness left the palace
of Eerie, on the Bosphorus, preferring a residence
in the more immediate vicinity of the troops.
grand review is expected to take place on the 24th*
The division of the French army under the orders
of Prince Napoleon will come to Constantinoplei
The barracks of Doud Pacha are being prepare,
for their reception. The British and French fleet,s,
are at anchor in the vicinity of Sebastopol, will,
the exception of the division under the orders ah,
Sir Edmund Lyons, which is cruising on the coa°''
of Circassia.

SILISTRIA.
According to the last advices from Vienna
tria was still in Turkish hands on the 25th.

Accounts from the neighbourhood of Silistrian
ceived in Vienna represent that the Russians, fat
their partial success before that fortress, on the
21st inst., were repulsed by the Turks. From
formation derived alike from both camps, it is cer-
tain that the Russians have suffered severely before
Silistria. Some letters, and those not Turkish;
carry their estimated loss to the enormous fig
of 8,000 men. The traditional fame of the OW
mans as defenders of fortresses diminishes some"
what the apparent exaggeration of these nut'
bers. The best artillerists of either camp '"'"
engaged in the attack and. defence of this forties 9;
General Schilders is at the head of the entire art'''
lery corps of the Russians, and Prince Gortsellw
koff belongs to the same arm of the service. Must
Pacha, the commandant of Silistria, is known 0)f:-
scientific officer of artillery, and he has for coat,:
tors some of the Prussian artillery instructors, of
have renounced their own nationality to make cow„
mon cause with the Turks. For a time the Pt'
sians believed that they were certain to triueW
and obtain Silistria by gold, if not by arms, but
better knowledge of the character of Mussa has 57. t
tisfied them that if they would take the fortress.
must be as they took Ismail. A Russian divißO:re
of uncertain strength arrived before the east fa
uo„
of Silistria, to co-operate with the besiegers
viously located before the river front of the 10;
tress. On the 13th, the Russians made a fier,?6l
but fruitless attempt tp take the newly-construeveao
fort of Abdul Medjid. The storming column Wa
completely annihilated, and the Turks count,
1,500 Russian corpses, which were cast with s°'
quicklime into a large pit.

AUSTRIA.
THE AIISTRO-PRUSSIAN TREATY, OP

THE NEW VIENNA PROTOCOL.

VIENNA, Monday.—The adhesion of the tGer-
manic Confederation to the Austro-Prussian
is secured. A committee has been appointed i",f
the Frankfort Diet to prepare the document
adhesion.
The Moniteur publishes the following letter fr°llol
Vienna :—" The new protocol of the confer
signed 23d May, consecrates the maintenance. 4
the unity of views and efforts between the fi°l
e'y •
Powers, founded on the knowledge which tlot,
have mutually communicated to each other resPe,ce
ing the engagement entered into between Frn—rd,
and Great Britain on the one part, and Austria 3,11..
Prussia on the other. The Anglo-French cons Ted
tion, relative to an existing war, is thus conne° „v,
with the Austro• Prussian treaty with respect tWoo
eventual war. The integrity and the evaeud' Lot
by the Russians of the territory of the °al of
empire remain the common and constant object of
the four Cabinets, and they give a new Pa?

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