The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-07-28
a Grand Movcnent'--TheW War betwoe"
Russia and Turkey.
TFrom the New IesS Herald 2o'h'

General Gourkha's operations south OF
the Bslkan arc Of nature to revive tue iti-
tcrosi in the story OF the RuSso.1t war
,1csnite the vivid excitement nearer nome.
with half the United States disturbed D; Il
r,,oe;. orr1-;op instruction, and the streets
~ several great cities stained with The o'ood
sboS in civil strife, it is evident the papiic
attention could not be fixed Nv any e'e'''
Of a commonplace nature occurring III tiJ
sar-away country between the aufl"IH anu
she Black sea. But General To"i N.'
achievements are O! the kind that eA'oi'
admiration in any age ana chhie' any,
spi.e all distracting circumstances. he
the first Of the Russian co,nmahoe'S w ~
ara,o himself from all the Others by the
sn,endor OF his successes, and hts RECORD
.,ire,Sv hlazes athwart the twinkle OF other
nnucs az a comet across the skies sthddea
,s;,h ,,nd;stinCuishsble stars. lie has mao
, rraa. opoortunitv, il Is true; but Generai
Sch;Ildcr. who marched against the force at
pleyna, also had great opportunity. ihe
commander who did not get across At Nico-
nolis had great opportunity, and few men
in this century have had such an oppor-
tunitv as was opened to General Louis
Mellikoff in Asia-M:nor. But these men
threw awav their fortunes and only length
cned the dreary catalogue CT calamitics due
TO want Of brains that are so astonishing III
the history Of all Russian wars. General
Gourkha, on the contrary, has used his OPP
portuni1y to supply chapter that would do
honor to the military history OF any nation
in the world. lie has emphasized again the
eternal lesson that energy. alidaclty-the eye
10 sec the happy moment and the will to seize
it-arc the great military attributes; that
with them success is cheapIy gained where
without them there may be scarcely lives
enough in an army to purchase IT, Thus by
his dashing passage through an unknown
way in the mountain, and his falling like Il
thunderbolt on the rear OF the Turks posted
in the Schipka Pass, he made the elaborate
preuarations for its defence valueleSS, and
enabled Prince MirSki to rake blOodleSS
march, where but for what Gourkha had
done the Prince would have been as desfe-
ratelv resisted as the 0ttomans themselves
were or the well-defended roads in Montene-
gro. This single soldiers successes have
saved to the armies OF the Car several
thousand lives and months time, and
IL there are many such officers in the Rus
sian service IL is scarcely within the limit OF
possibility that the MuScoviteS can be Kept
out Of Constaptinoplc. This achievement
liz apparently regarded mainly III that con-
ncction in England. Ii has had on the
British Ministry IN effect like that OF Il haSn
OF lightning which shows the beniShted
traveller that he is at the edge OF a yawning
chasm. 1t WAS apparently thought in Lon
don that the Russians would dawdle away
the summer north OF the Balkan, that the
resistance the Turks could present would
hold them while the arrangements made to
cuttheir communications between the noun
tains and the river might be so far success
rul as to consume time and give IN oppor-
tunity for some happy accident OF Conti-
mental politics to come to the rescue OF the
Micawber-like British policy. But the thing
that has turned up is OF the other sort, and
an important battle actually gained south OF
the Balkans suddenly shows them their dam
ger-shows that il the door to Constantine
pie is not actually opened the power to open
it is at hand. Hence the hasty dispatch OF
troops. whose destination the Government
tlares not honestly declare.