Litchfield enquirer., 1879-11-06
SENOVO AND SHIPKA PASS
 REVISITED.
BY W. KINNAIRD ROSE.

to me one day in the second week of May. I was then staying in Phillppopolis, where the General had come from Slivno, the head quarters of the 4th Army Corps, to meet General Obroutchef, the special envoy of the Czar of Russia to the Bulgarians of Eastern Roumelia. ''We are about to leave the coun- try," continued General Scobielef, land 1 wish once more to look upon the scenes of our greatest struggles and our bloodiest triumphs." The invitation was heartily accepted, for too desired to revisit the Tundza valley, rendered familiar by several rather dangerous rides dur ing the early weeks of the campaign. On the following morning breakfasted with General Scobieleff and Prince Tcherselef, another old campaigning friend, who at the outbreak of the war forsook diplomacy and took up arms in the capacity of private Circassian of the Guard. Prince Tcherteleff it was who, dis guised as Bulgarian peasant, discovered and explored the Hani 'Kioj Pass, through which General Gourko made his first march across the Balkans and turned the position of Shipka. It was a pleasant meeting, and am afraid to say how long we fingered over breakfast. Natur- ally we fought our battles OCT again, re- counted "reminiscences of our march across the Balkans. of the terrible scenes of Turkish bru- talty and ferocity which we had witnessed in the ruined and desoated villages through which we passed, of our hair-breadth escapes
 
 make from Eski Zaghra across the Lower and | Greater Balkans before the overwhelming tor | ces of Suleiman Pasha, of the heroic bravery and splendid discipline of the Russian troops at Plevna, and of Scobieleff's popularly SUD- posed charmed life. Touching the latter be- | lief Prince Tcherte)ef told an anecdote of a | visit which he made to hospital after the as- sault on Plevna. He was shown by the Sister of Mercy of the Red Cross Society soldier | badly wounded. in the side, and informed with sincerity which could not be gainsaid, and with many crossings on the breast, that the bullet which caused the wound had first passed through General Scobielef without harming l him. It is fact that no man throu ghout the whole campaign was more frequently under 1 reithan General Scobielef, and yet he only | twice received confusion, and on neither oc- l casion enough to disable him for an hour.
 From the war and the incidents thereof, the | conversation became general; literature, art, national customs, politics, in turn being dis cussed. To one who, like myself. is not pol yglot, discussion in the society of educated Russian gentlemen becomes perfectly bewil-, dering. Russian, French, German, English and Italian are all spoken with equal fluency j; authors are quoted with a precision and felici- | ty which makes even 8 well-read Engiishman blush. A characteristic of familiar conversa- tion is good humored railery, and the subject l of banter being the ambition of young diplo- mat. Shakespeare, Goethe, Dante, Moliere,
 Horace, and Byron were cited with charming I appositeness. .ts
 1t was an hour and half after midday be- fore start was effected The mode of travel ling was caleche drawn by four horses har- messed abreast, and as we rattled over the stony streets of Phiippopolis and across the iron l girder bridge which epans the Maritza, and | which the Russians have built as parting l gift to the capital of Eastern Roumelia, the General informed me that we should require to go at very stiff pace, as we had to accom- | plisb hundred versts ere nightfall. No soon- CT had we cleared the city and bidden farewell | to it's ruined suburbs, than the horses were urged into ,gallop, and we went at a rate which in England would certainly have been | designated furious driving. If anything, a LRussian is good coachman, but for our first | sUage we were raJner unTOrJuuaJe i'll ttIe drfver | With the best intentions in the world he fail l ed to steer cleverly around or through the abysses which abound in all Turkish roads, and which certainly were frequent enough in the
 chaussee along which we were proceeding at l railway speed. The Generals aide-de-camp- | Comte Mashoff-who accompanied us, there upon took the reins, and we spun along with astonishing smoothness, the road considered. l We absolutely seemed to skim over the hol- | lows which were momentarily encountered, and what to my mind was mad gallop was only eased little when we reached the not | infrequent spots where the loose macadam had been wholly washed away by crawling spring torrent. There was much that was attractive
 in the scenery. Right ill front of us extended the green and purple slopes of the Lower Bal
 kans; while rising above their rounded heads
 was the long range of the Greater Balkans,
 whose sharp and rugged peaks, diademed with snow, glistened like jewels in the blue dis | tance. On our left the Rhodope Mountains,
 also still wearing their winter mantle, stretch ed their varied outlines as far as the eye could reach. Extending from the gigantic crags on which Philippopolis is built to the slopes of the Lower Balkans the great plain over which
 we were coursing is of great beauty and fertil- ity. A rich alluvial black soil yields it's in crease with the rudest cultivstion trees singly and in groups give diversity to the landscape, and the remark ever uppermost in the mind is, | ''What land this might be made in the hands ltof energetic Englshmen or enterprising Amer icans?" Dr. Johnson remarked on one occasion that
 there was no pleasure in the world 50 great as 1 that of being rapidly driven in an open carriage 1 through beautiful country. General Scobie- | Jeff seemed determined that should enjoy this 1 pleasure to the full The email but hardy horses of the Ukraine, breed-a cross made in Peter the Greats time between the English horse and the Arab seemed to tire, and maintained the .gallop for two hours at a stretch At a village called Karatoprak we changed horses, and in a few minutes were continuing our onward way at the same head long speed, As we approached the base of the Lower Balkans the. country assumed, a character like that observable in the most pie turesque parts of the midland counties of Eng 1 land. Hill and vale were enriched with l groves and trees, and sparkling streamlets gave life to the, scene. At intervals we passed l Hooks of brown sheep and small herds of dun colored cattle or black buffaloes, which told of a certain amount of wealth in this too frequent l ly desolated district but not a half of the 1 Where the peasants had again sseeiru 10 labor, 1 tho asia. ef wheat were in the ear, or the ground was being prepared for the maize crop. | As the women tended their small f1ocks on the rolling pasture land, distaff in hand, they spun yarn from the wool which their sheep had I yielded. Following the bed of the Giopsu river, we cut through the Lower Balkans, and entered the valley of Karlovo. d Passing the village of Cukurli, we observed the gymnastic society at their afternoon drill, and while the horses were being changed the General and 1 walked on short distance. A turn in the road brought us face to face with the National Guard, as these volunteers now delight to call themselves. They had seen the General, and
 had marched rapidly round the village so as to salute him as he passed. A fine body of
 fellows they wereg with gpod-taturedi expres. sion, intelligent features, and considerable ap-
 titude for drill. f. Twelve months experience of
 absolute freedom from Turkish oppression, and
 safety for, life, honor, and property have creat-
 ed a wonderful change in the poor Rnlgarian
 peasants Their bearing is totally different
 from what remember it two years ago. The
 cringing obsequiousness which was their char
 acteristic while the overbearing Turk was still
 their masters has disappeared. and they carry
 themselves as men who feel something at any
 rate of the dignity of manhood. s.Now," said
 General Scobeleff, II will show you what we
 have made of those lads in few months. |"
 Thereupon the hero of a score of battles took
 command of this village band. At the word tthey formed line admirably. broke into column and marched and counterinarched, reformed
 line, and fired a volley at 400 yards We ex-
 amined the rifles of nearly every man to see