Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-12-04
THE RUSSIAN ARTIST.
vERESTcHAGIN AMID THE CARNAGE
 OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

OF THE BATTLEFIELD. Interesting "Reminiscences of an Eye Wit
 ness-A Look Upon Plevna-Scobeleff at
 His Toilet After an Assault-A Realistic
 Battle Scene.
 It is many years since I first saw NJ Verestchagin. It Eas during the Russo Turkish war, on the battlefield of Plevna and the memory of my first glimpse of him is intimately connected with that of the famous Scobeleff, the White gerYral, and of J. A. MacGahan, the greatest of war cor respondents Verestchagin was in an official capacity as artistic historian of the war, and many of the pictures to be exhibited I saw in their first stages as rough sketches. The first time l saw him was during the memorable retreat of Scobeleff's forces in August, 1877, from his position on the extreme left of the Russian attacking forces, on the Green moun- tains, where he held two of four redoubts that he had captured on the first day of the fight for over forty eight hours, though he had lost over 5000 out of the %, 900 under his command. 1 was riding with MacGahan, in fact, and accompanied the intrepid Ohioan on the afternoon of the previous day in his search for Scobeleffs headquarters.
 They were great figures of that war-these three men, Scobeleff, MacGahan and Verest- chagin. MacGahan was free lance, as it were, among the Russians; and wherever he went he was saluted by the soldiers as a friend. I remember one day he shouted out to me:
 "Comel I know where the grapes grow plentifully. Let us go thither."
 And followed the genial invitation and we rode together along the pleasant Bulga- rian valleys, whie yet the two opposing ar mics were quiet, and the day for the Rus sians to deliver the assault had not been de- cided upon. Finally we came to the crest of a plateau, where the grapes grew in delicious flavor, and the big maize stalks hid us en- tirely from view.
 ''I will show you something you have never seen," he said; and with that he led me to point of the plateau from whence we could look fairly down upon the little city of Plevna, only two miles away. What was my surprise threo days afterward, when ac- companying the Russian headquarters staff, to f1nd that the very place had been selected by Krudener from which to direct the con- flict It was MacGahan who had told him where the grapes were of delicious quality, and where the best view of the city of Plevna and the whole battlefield could be had.
 It was a brilliant group of officers who formed semi-circle round the commander in-chief that drizzly day and watched the battle from Il o'clock in the morning till well in the afternoon, and then began to re- tire, followed by the vast army that had been repulsed all along the line, except or the extreme left, where Scobeleff still helc his ground, and continued to hold in spite oi the commands sent to him. In the group collected in front of Plevna that day were two brothers of Verestchagin, the one a cap tain of Cossacks, Alexander; the other, Ser gius Vasilli, both brave as they were hand some Alexander accompanied Scobeleff tc his position, and while riding with him wa! wounded, and had then to be sent back tc Bucharest Sergius met, unfortunately, terrible end, slain by the Turkish Circas sians. It is delight to read Alexander's ex periences during that campaign, to follow him with Scobeleff and to read his curiou stories.
 On the morning after Krudener's defeat while Scobeleff still held two redoubts on tn Green mountain, MacGahan was up earl, and ready to go and look for the White gen eral. It was a long search for him, and i was not till nearly in the afternoon tha we got near him, and then he was too busy il directing the retreat to be approached w halted our horses and watched the decimatet regiments passing to the rear, thousand after thousands, tho hundreds of woundet borne on stretchers or assisted along by thei companions. Near by, seated on bank was a handsome, brown bearded man, sketch ing the scene.
 "Look" said MacGahan, ''there is We retschagin."
 The visitors to the exhibition will see tn painting for which the celebrated artist wa there making his sketches, will see the hand some blonde general-of whom Coroner Mes semer reminds you somewhat ill appearanc as he appeared dashing hither and thithe on his white horse, keeping his beaten force 1 in order. Then we lost Scobeleff again, an 1 it took us an hour after darkness had sprea all round before we discovered him again and then his tent was pointed out to us ! planted in a small ravine, guarded by 0 fe1 companies of his Cossacks.
 The scene inside Scobeleff's tent was curiously interesting one. The famous ger eral greeted us warmly in fluent English, hi language interspersed with q goodly numbe of thoroughly Anglo-Saxon swear words.
 stThe dash, dash, dash, dash, dash; if the had only done all round what my men hay done we would have been in Plevna tonight Think of the poor fellows left behind-6,0 ,0O of them at the least sacrificed to incompt tency." And the tears streamed down hi cheeks.
 It was O strange scene. Not an hour bt fore and he had been directing the retreat C his army, and there he was in his tent, stand ing before a mirror completing his toilet, H had taken bath, his valet had brought hiI complete change of linen, which he ha donned. We watched him carefully brus his flowing beard, and then he picked up hi manicure set and began polishing his long beautiful nails, of which he was extremel proud. Four hours before he had been in th last redoubt and had had his horse shot unde him, and there he was, not three miles a wa ] from the battlefield, as calmly attending { his personal appearance as if he were abor to attend banquet or a public ball.
 "And now, boys," he said when he ha finished, ''share pot luck wiGl me. Veres chagin will be around shortly, and we wi try and forget our disaster"
 aVerestchagin did not turn up, havin