The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-11 00:00:00

same direction. The Russians were quiet till about 2
o'clock or somewhat later ; about that time there was a
flag of truce in the harbour (these are frequent now,
chiefly for the exchange of prisoners' letters),. and.as
soon as that was over and the flag down a shell came
singing across to the English part of the town, pitching
and exploding a little beyond the south-eastent corner
of the dockyard. Subsequently to this the enemy,
tempted, doubtless, by the number of visitors they must
hare discovered, threw in several shells. , Coming is
from Sebastopol, over Picket-house-hill, the camp had
quite a homely and Snug appearance, as it lay bask-
ing lazily in the Sabbath sunshine, its numerous 'amok-
ing chimneys telling of Sunday dinners in preparation;.
and one eonld hardly fancy that, if all we hear be
true, in a few weeks' or mouths' time this extensive
military city will have disappeared from the earth's stir-
face! leaving a blackened and ashes-strewn desert.
A Itbouvh the views of Russia's acceptance of the ultima-
tum appears positive, and is confirmed by rectent letters
received in camp from Constantinople, a reaction has
taken place in the military mind, and doubt is cast upon
that which, a very few days ago, obtained almost uni-
versal credence. In many cases the wish, perhaps, is
father to the doubt, for there are many hero to -whcim
peace is unwelcome. That there is a etreno- probability
of its being made is evident 'from the fact of a commis-
sariat officer hay ng been sent off to suspend 'centracts
and stop supp les in Constantinople, Malta, and Italy,
and to make such arrangements as plainly indicate an
expectation that hostilities. are drawing to a close. If
peace be made, how long shall we be gettisig nway front
this is a question one hears continually asked .and
replied to by various conjectures. A. great deal will
of course depend "on the .amount of shipping that can
he supplied. I understand that the Qeartermaster-
General's people say it would take a year to g;et men,
materiel, and stores .of all kinds away, and to clear
the English army and its appurtenances entirely out of
the Crimea and Turkey., Probably this is rather an ex-
aggerated estiancta.of time re %fly neeevitvey;; and yet,
bearing in mind the immense quantity of things that
will have to be removed, one eta hardly pronounce itso.
The horses alone will -require a vast deal of shipping.
Officers whose rank.and position in the service entitle
them to horses can hardly be refused permission to take
them home, or be fairly compelled.(unless compensation
be given) to sell the animals here, where the glut would
render them unsaleable. It is to be expected that huts,
furniture, and all sorts of household property will be
condemned to the flames. I should not suppose that
many persons will be very solicitous to take home Cri-
mean beds, unless it be as a pleasing memento of vora-
cious fleas and blankets of questionable cleanliness.
But, however much baggage may be cut down, and
superfluities not worth the carriage consigned to the
flames, the departure of the British army from the East
will be sucha flitting as has rarely if ever been witnessed.
JAN. 29.
The weather continues fine. The Russians fired rather
briskly last night.