The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-02

oSo!
1t is a beautiful summer morning
with fresh breeze from the southwest
when the devoted ship comes up to the
mouth of the terrible passage through
which no hostile vessel has ever vent
ured before. The sun is Just rising
over the Anatolian Mountains, and il
its dazzling splendor the wood-crowneC
islets, and rocky shores, and green
sloping hillsides stand forth in all theil
beauty, All around, the blue spark.
ling sea; all above, the rich summer
sky. To the west, the little purple
island of Tenedos stands watching theil
advance, as it watched the coming OF
Agamemnon's fleet against the doomed
Troy, 5000 years ago. Far to the
northeast, hanging like snowy cloud
upon the sky, towers the great white
dome of Mount Olympus. On the
right, beyond the wide belt of level
plain on which Greek and Trojan bat
tied in the old fighting days, the dis
tant mountains loom out, blue and
shadowy, along the eastern horizon;
while right in front, the deep, narrow
channel of the famous strait curves out
ward to the sea, between the bold
ridges that flank it on either side.
Were lucky with the wind, Mr. Dug
dale, says the Captain to his English
second in command, as cheerily as if he
were going on picnic, instead of into
the jaws of naval Balaklava. This
breeze is just what we want, for there'll
be pretty strong current against us
inside"
"Mr. Turk seems to have taken the
alarm already" answers the Lieuten-
ant, with chuckle, pointing to a group
of hurrying figures just vanishing over
the hilltop on the right. "Do you
think, sir, they'll be able to hurt us
much?'
Cant say" replies the veteran,
coolly; g but should think not, myself.
You see, when they made these batter
les, they didn't arm them with regular
guns, but tunneled holes in the rocks
themselves, and crammed them with
powder and ball, like pack of green
horns as they are; so, if we don't come
right into the line of fire, they can't
alter the range to hit us-that's one
good job, It's only the movable guns
that we need be afraid of Starboardr'
"Starboard it isI' responds the deep
voice of the steersman; and the gallant
ship sweeps rejoicingly into the fatal
channel, whence, if the Turkish batter
les be such as report speaks them,
neither ship nor crew will ever return
Had the daring band any leisure to
take note of the surrounding landscape
they would be well repaid, for every
mile OF the beautiful scenery which they
traverse in this headlong race of death
is rich in world-renowned memories.
On yonder round, grassy knoll, which
projects from the steep, ridgy outline
of the European shore, King Xerxes sat
enthroned, ages ago, to watch his mot
ley millions pouring over the Helles-
pont bridge into Europe. This wide,
green plain, dotted with tiny white
hamlets, which stretches away to the
eastward in the glory of the morning
sunshine, could tell many a tale of
Miltiades and Cymon and Lysander.
Upon this strip of flat, dusty beach,
where the tall, fat-roofed houses and
huge yellow lazaretto of Dardanieh now
stand massed together, Darius and his
few remaining warriors cast themselves
down to rest and to breathe freely for
the first time since the commencement
of the fatal retreat in which, among
hunger, cold, sickness, crushing fatigue
and the relentless pursuit of savage
enemy, ended their vaunted invasion of
Scythia. And yonder, where the green,
sunny hills fall away suddenly into
deep, curving hollow, two small, white
forts, almost level with the waters
edge, stand facing each other across the
swift-moving current-the castles of
Sestos and Abydos, where Leander
looked his last from amid the roaring
waters upon the familiar light far above,
and where yet sadder and darker story
was one day to become famous forever
through the genius of Byron.
But both Captain and crew have
other things to think of, for the storm
OF war which they have defied is now
gathering around them in earnest. All
along the hills on either side red
capped soldiers are hurrying to and fro,
bayonets glittering, sabers flashing, ar
tillery wheels throwing up clouds of
dust, while cries of mingled rage and
terror come family to their ears as they
sweep by. But the crack of the cannon
shot which they momentarily expected
never comes. Turkish neglect has done
it's accustomed work. Honeycombed
guns rickety carriages, crumbling
earthworks, sanded gunpowder, balls
that will not fit the bore of their pieces
what can be done with means like
these? And if the Turkish squadron
be destroyed Gas it must be, or the Rus
sian flag would not be flying here), what
resistance can we make to the enemy's
whole fleet?
So argue the faint-hearted among the
defenders; but there are men there of
another cast-men for whom it suffices
that the enemy is before them, and that
they are Turkish soldiers. AS the adj
venturers sweep round the sharp curve
that hides Abydos from sight, Lieut..
Dugdale, looking up to his leaders
face, sees it harden suddenly like con-
gealed metal, as the ready spy-glass
turns up huge, gray mass of bare
rock that looms out some distance ahead
of them.
"See those red caps bobbing in and
out of the rocks like rabbits? They're
going to give us a shot in PASSING. sure