The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-16
CHAPTER XVIII.
WINTER CHARTERS.

CHAPTER XVIII.
WINTER QUARTERS.
The great siege was over, and the army,
like the doctor, was specializing and won
dering what next. One thing seemed pretty
clear. that the belligerents who were round
Sebastopol both desired repo5e after the
tremendous struggle Of the last twelve
month. 1t was pretty confidently believed
that although there might be no armistice,
there would certainly be no further hostili-
| ties until the spring came round again.
Our old friends the til had left the lines
they had lived in so long. and marched
down to Join the newlV-formed second
brigade of the Highland Division which
was occupying the Vanoutka Pass. What
| a change 1t was, and how they all reveled
| in it, after the hot dusty plateau To sit
outside the huts here and smoke, and look
down the gorge thickly wooded with scrub.
which led to the glittering waters of the
Black Sea; or to get on the ponies canter
through the pass, AID picnic in the lovely
valley of Baidar, and reflect how hard it
was upon the luckess Tartars who had 20
evacuate their pretty village therein-all
that was luxury. There were no trenches
nowadays. AS Tom Byng remarked:
ut seems as if we'd all come up here for
the holidays, and had nothing to do but en-
| JOY ourselves"
such easy work as road making or carrying
up boards and stores over the hill from
Balaklaya. was child's play. They were in
the early days of October now-bright,
| clear, sunshiny days, with just that touch
of crIspness in the air which always char
acterizes the "chill" month of the year.
Wat bathing parties there were after
parade, to ride down the rugged gorge and
take header into the Euxine. How those
| recreanJs who voted it was getting too cold
were chaffed and chivied into their huts,
only to reappelr with their towels in COM
pliance with popular opinion.
There was little fear Of the army not
having a good time this winter. Stores
there were in abundance not a regiment
that did not bid fair to be we'll hutted before
the winter set in, and as Cor kit, it looked as
if each British soldier would require bull
| lock trunk to himself whenever it came to
| moving again.
Filled with remorse for the sufferings the
| army had undergone the first winter, the
nation were determined that there should
| be no recurrence OF such in the second,
| They had perhaps gone rather into the op-
posite extreme, and the private soldier was
served out with what his officers speedily
| determi ed to be an unfortunate superhuity
of clothing. In grateful acknowledgement
or the care they we're taking of him the
soldier had knack of putting all his warm
| on al once, dliQ Wu6u u UlAu Is en-
numbered with fur-lined jacket, a great
coat, and waterproof over all, he is not so
useful on working party as he might be-
| A wonderful find, too had occurred to the
til. They had discovered in the gorge be-
| fore mentioned, two large wood stacks of
cedar, all chopped up into logs suitable for
! firewood. All the previous winter the
| ground had been IN the posse sion of the
! Russians, and it had presumably been cut
and stacked by them, and abandoned W hen
| they withdrew their troops and ceased any
longer TO menace Balaklava.
Tom Byng, who occupies a hut slightly
| detached from what might be designated
the Officers Barracks" is smoking Pipe
in front of his dwelling in all the abandon
| of his shirt sleeves, when his attention is
aroused by the sound of his name being
freely banded about in the huts just below
| Glaucing that way, he sees a Cossack with
| long lance and wiry little steed, and won
ders not little how he came there. He
certainly didn't come down the pass, or he
should have seen him; he must have come
up the road from kamara. Next il becomes
evident from the shouts of his brother off,
GERS that the business of the Cossack is with
himself.
Tom accordingly walked down toward
the mess hut, but the easiness of his attire
makes the Cossack doubtful as to his being
a field officer of the British army Reas-
| Sureu, now ever, Dy bOIIl6 OIL CUOS9 more cor
rectly attired, he salutes and hands Tom a
letter 10 a woman's handwriting.
"How the deuce did he come hereP asked
Tom of his brother officers as he took the
missive.
"Well, he must have come down Macken-
zes Heights, said one of them, "for he's
got a safe conduct from the commanding
officer of the Sardinians on Traktir Bridge.
There is nobody can make him understand
a word we say, though we've tried him in
all the tongues we know, we even had
Mickey Finn up to act as interpreter, u
continued the speaker, laughing, ION the
strength OF his having declared our friend
there to be Kerry man. However. his
mission apparently is to bring you that
note"
Tom tore it open, glanced hastily over it,
and then gave loud hurrah!
"Here you are you fellows, " he exclaimed,
"the best bit of news that's come our way
for ever so long Hugh Flemings oil right,
at least, when say all right he's alive aud
there's hope he'll pull through. Here you,
Finn" he continued, singing out Mickey
from group of soldiers who were watch
ing the proceedings from a respectful dis =
lance. II don't know whether he's a Kerry
man or not, but give him something 10 eat
and drink and take care of him, " and the
Cossack quickly interpreting the signs that
meat and drink awaited him, resigned him
self at once to the charge of Mickey Finn
and his comrades Tom then turned into
the mess hut, followed by three or four of
his brother officers
Fleming don't write himself" said
Brydon, tits not his handwriting surely"
NO." replied Tom, my correspondent is
a lady. I'll read you her letter. She writes
in French which, though can't speak, can
read"
"OCT. 4.-MONsIEUR: 1 write a. the re-
quest of Capt. Fleming. of your regiment.
TO inform you that we now hope be will do
we'll He was badly wounded in the last
terrible day Of the siege, day the horrors
Of which l shall never forget, should live
to be hundred. Like many other ladies', |
have devoted myself TO nursing the
wounded, bat ah, monsieur on that dread
full day, what could we dol Our streets
were strewn with the dead and dying, our
hospitals were full to overhowing. In the
retreat which followed some of our