The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-19 00:00:00

cted, the self denial, power of endurance, and perse- ;
verance displayed are perfectly wonderful, and the:, qua-
lit t '.!. tI;.T, 1,
ing, and tearleAs enemy, resistance is as hint as is
the stf-el they wield. It the km's ide 16 so trcii,eiiiious
—ths: iitin.oer of our wounded is at present 2,h60
according to the usual proportion must give about 3,000
dead and missing—the loss in horses, baggage and mu-
nition must, to judge from the fresh supplies demanded,
have been quite as great. Terrible though the foregoing
numbers may appear, they are but too correct. Not far
from Kostendje, on a piece of boggy meadow land, with
an area of hardly 6,000 feet, we lost 243 men and 71
horses, although this engagement, in comparison with
some others, was unimportant, and ended by the retreat
of the Russians. The Turks are far better acquainted
with the ' terrain ' and the way of taking advantage of it
than we are, and then they have the habit of bringing
their heavy artillery into play only after the battle is
well engage 1, when their guns being murderously well
pointed,' they floor whole flies of their opponents,
" Their artillery department is evidently better
man.ged than ours, for they have many small guns
which can be carried on . pack horses. In consequence
of this they often fight with superior weapons, and how
they fight is best seen by the numoer of killed and the
extremely severe wounds inflicted on our troops. A
single gun-shot wound is something rare; the men have
generally two or three, and the consequence is that
many die of sheer pain and loss of bit od before they
reach the infirmary. We have recently had numerous
cases of fractured legs from Silistria and other places on
the river. The mortality among the wounded has been
31 per cent. during the month of April.
Our men, who were half-starved during the Easter
fasts, get good rations of meat, of which there is until
now no want in the Dobrudecha, but bread and our
celebrated biscuit get damp, soft, and mouldy, and are not
only disagreeable to the palate but the cause of all kinds
of complaints. There is almost everywhere a terrible
want of good water, and even when by chance this is
found, it can hardly be preserved in the miserable
wooden flasks called chutteras, which are so saturated
with schnapps that the water at once gets an einp3reu-
natio taste. The only creature comforts which the men
get are schnapps. tea, and tobacco.

"The affair at Czernavoda, the most sanguinary of
all, and the almost daily recurring attacks on the field-
works at Rassova and Silistria, have caused such a
bustle on this part of the Danube, that the traces of
citizen and peasant are almost lost in the turmoil of war.
Ever 3 thing that is to be found belongs to the soldier
alone ;he has nut o bous-, bed. vei icle, horse, meal,
bread, hay, oats, wine, mid schnapps. but even the arms
and legs of the nian `in mufti,' who must work hard in
fortifying and foi agieg. You will be able to guess how
we are liked, if you ever &lanced to inhabit a besieged
town of which the eeemy was in po session.
"The news from the higher parts of the lla,ube is of
a contradictory dereription. This much. however, we
know to a certainty—The best informed officers in Val
lachia do not coesider things safe, and have sent thEir
wives. valuables, and better earriages and Harness to
the left bank of the Pruth. Th y have, besides. sod
delay and totally left i ff talking big about reachii:g
Constantinople this summer. In the meantime rein-
h!rcentents keep coming in from Bessarabia., and par-
ticularly cavalry and heavy artillery, which last sent
to the Dobrudscha and Kalara.sch for arming the boats
and sloops. The troops coming through Moldavia en-
camp on the Fokschani line up to the frontiers of Tran-
ql,ania. Behind Fok-cliatii a vast ca.mp hospital is
being at ranged for immediate service.
"By all this you will see that the war is likely to be
long and bloody elle. We are already rich in ague,
typhus, dysentery, scurvy, home sickness, and hospital
gangrene, so that it does not require inticl, more to pro-
duce that Wallachian pest which, being discovered in
1827 and 1829 by the illustrious Councillor of State the
Chevalier von Seiillitz, gave the critical gentlemen of
the faculty and the ac.idemicians of St. Petersburg a
convenient opportunity of earning laurels without risk
and danger."

MONTENEGRO.
. A general rising is expected in Montenegro in
favour of Russia, but Austria, it is said, is fully
prepared to oppose it.
Six hundred of the Montenegrins have made a
foray into the Herzegovina and killed several of
the Turkish inhabitants.

OPERATIONS ON THE CIRCASSIA.N
COAST.

Three vessels were cruizing, according to the
latest accounts, along the coast of Circas.ia, wait-
ing for the Ottvalan fleet, which was to bring
5,000 men for disembarkation in Abasia.

THE ATTEMPT ON THE SULINA MOUTH
OF THE DANUBE.
The following is an extract from a letter from
R.M.S.•Sidon :
" BLACK SICA, April 15. On the 15th of last month
we were going to attack the fort built to guard the
entrance of the Sulina mouth of the Danube, and cut
out a small schooner of war lying there, inside a large
chain which they have stretched across the eutrance.
However, we could not get within range, for want of a
• knowlege of the channel, and gave it up without firing
a shot at them. We went there again on the 8h of this
month, and sent in a flag of truce, and brought off our con-
sul. They had made another battery since our first visit,
and were hard at work finishing it. There were four
gun-boats inside and the same schooner. The boats
mounted seven guns each and sixty men. "On Tues-
day, the 11th of April. our look-out man reported a
body of Cossacks coming over the bill at the back of the
town. Our boats, one French and two English, were
on shore watering, and only had three muskets with
them. We fired a signal gun for their return, but In
the meantime the Cossacks had advanced rapidly into
the town, were dismounted, and were led down to the
boats by two or three Greek ruffians who are still in the
place. They arrived just as the boats had shoved off. A
rapid intercharge of shot tui.k place, and trro of the
Cossacks were knocked down during this time. The
French and ourselves were firing shut and shell at them.
In about half an.hour they cleared out."
KUSTENJEH, April 22.—We have been again to
Sulina ; this time with the Retribution, Nig.r, and
Descartes. Found the torts dismantled. All the
soldiers gone. They appear to have found out in good
time that the place was untenable against ships. In
our anxiety to get clo,er into the batterie- got aground,
but only remained two hours. Our three cruisers have
taken 14 small prize-, several of which they were forced
to sink ; six we towed down here to-day.'

GREECE.