The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-18
Anecdotes Concerning Frederic Villiers
Who Is Now Making Sketches on
Battlehelds for The Sun"
and Others of EenoWn

, or MacGahan also Villers saw much
and he talks of him to this day. Typhus
was raging in Constantinople: through
out the city the funeral dirge was heard
from sunrise to sunset. and in the eve
ming the death boats. with their cargoes
collected from the mosques, would sail
silently across the lIellespont to the
old burial ground of Scutari, where in
huge trenches. "unwashed and un-
shrlven. the innocent victims OF the
cruel war were placed to rest" II was
/ Nillicrs who notified Skobeleff of Mac
! Gahans death.
He settled down to paint and had a
picture on the walls of the Royal
Academy Returning from Scotland,
whore he had been to visit Forbes. he
/ found that Arab Pasha was stirring IN
! a revolt in the land Of the Nile. and
when the massacre in Alexandria took
place ON June H. 1882. he started once
more on his wandering life Thus be-
gan his Ing series Of campaigns in
! Egypt and the Sudan. series which
ended only with the victory at Omdur-
man IN 1898.
The eXigencies Of the situation at AL
eNandria caused Nlllers to accept the
invitation Of Lord Charles Beresford to
take quarters aboard the gunboat Con-
dor. In virtue Of her short draught the
boat WAS m orcd in the inner harbor
under tho shadow Of the summer palace
Of the khcdive. There were all sorts
OF stories afioat as to the proximity
Of the ship To the palace; one was that
IL hostiitics began she was to aid in
the escape of the ladies of the harem.
The only danger us piece Of ordnance
possessed by Arab was two hundred
yards away. Bore'ford had hung
every piece Of spare iron and chain
he had on board over the bulwarks
making a sort of chain armor for the
vessel.
During tire bomhardment the Con-
doris opportunity came and was seized
'pr mptly by her commander. for
'Bcresford resolved To divert the fire OF
Fort Marabout, then annoying the Adj
mirars ships. The Condor steamed IN
and the men eagerly stripped Off their
Jackets The pen Of the artist told
what the ship did almost as wildly as
did his pencil picture her service.
At shutdown, with John Alexander
, Cameron OF the STANDARD. Nilliers un.
dertook to penetrate the city. They
passed the British sentres and found
at once how perilous was their enter
prise; they stumbled about over debris
and dead bodies The night was lighted
by the glare Of burning houses in
cendiaries and looters were at work
Afraid Of attack. the two press men
Z readed their way cautiously throug
IA labyrinth Of narrow passages and at
last reached the Place of the Consuls
.sT a. fttR, a
quadrangle Of flame" declares the art
.st one amusing experience hefel
them. a.. they looked upoa tho tokens
Brush news readers the T liowin+
'murulu. they discovered % their re-
lief that the readc>s bodies We,
merely dI,sSmahorS dummies which
had been denudrd of their finery anl
i left in the square.
Early in 1883 V.lllers marched witt
Gen. Sir Gerald Graham from tn
Red Sea coast for the relief of TokaI
: Wading through liquid mud and sane
over ankles and sometimes up to thei
. knees. the men splashed on until they
:, were in touch with the enemy. In tn
Il desert they found the rotting remnan
70 ( the army Of Baker Pasha. the Val
% Baker whom Nilliers had seen last II
d Cunstautinoplc. Indeed, in one of tn
: heaps Of bodies he found the corpse of .
friend with whom he seven years be
fore in Bulgaria had nearly met dealt
from the fumes Of charcoal brazier.
y As the square moved on toward +
j. Teb 10 the weird screeCh of the bagpip'
X Baker. wounded, stood by Nilliers an
e. watched, with tears in his eyes, IN
k charge Of his old regiment. II was
l. desperate fight; black fuzzy head
@ would pop M from pits in the san'
n there would he the CLEAN Of a rife an
a the puff and the whiz as the gun wa
= fired. and the head would disappea
10 having been in sight barely for sec
k. ond or two. The artist that day ha
10 another of his CLOSE shaves." He wa
n ske;ching a lad who was supposed
he beyond fighting. when suddenly III