BOOK IX.

THE WINTER--POSITION OF THE FRENCH--THE TURKISH

CONTINGENT--PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEXT CAMPAIGN--THE ARMISTICE--THE

PEACE AND THE EVACUATION.....429

APPENDIX.....501

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE CRIMEA.

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

Causes of the quarrel--Influence of the

press--Preparations--Departure from England--Malta--Warnings.

The causes of the last war with Russia, overwhelmed by verbiage, and

wrapped up in coatings of protocols and dispatches, at the time are now

patent to the world. The independence of Turkey was menaced by the Czar,

but France and England would have cared little if Turkey had been a

power whose fate could affect in no degree the commerce or the

reputation of the allies. France, ever jealous of her prestige, was

anxious to uphold the power of a nation and a name which, to the

oriental, represents the force, intelligence, and civilization of

Europe. England, with a growing commerce in the Levant, and with a

prodigious empire nearer to the rising sun, could not permit the one to

be absorbed and the other to be threatened by a most aggressive and

ambitious state. With Russia, and France by her side, she had not

hesitated to inflict a wound on the independence of Turkey which had

been growing deeper every day. But when insatiable Russia, impatient of

the slowness of the process, sought to rend the wounds of the dying man,

England felt bound to stay her hands, and to prop the falling throne of

the Sultan.

Although England had nothing to do with the quarrels of the Greek and

Latin Churches, she could not be indifferent to the results of the

struggle. If Russia had been permitted to exercise a protectorate over

the Greek subjects of the Porte, and to hold as material guarantee the

provinces of the Danube, she would be the mistress of the Bosphorus, the

Dardanelles, and even the Mediterranean. France would have seen her

moral weight in the East destroyed. England would have been severed from

her Indian Empire, and menaced in the outposts of her naval power. All

Christian States have now a right to protect the Christian subjects of

the Porte; and in proportion as the latter increase in intelligence,

wealth, and numbers, the hold of the Osmanli on Europe will relax. The

sick man is not yet dead, but his heirs and administrators are counting

their share of his worldly goods, and are preparing for the suit which

must follow his demise. Whatever might have been the considerations and

pretences which actuated our statesmen, the people of England entered,

with honesty of purpose and singleness of heart, upon the conflict with

the sole object of averting a blow aimed at an old friend. To that end

they devoted their treasure, and in that cause they freely shed their

blood.

Conscious of their integrity, the nation began the war with as much

spirit and energy as they continued it with calm resolution and manly

self-reliance. Their rulers were lifted up by the popular wave, and

carried further than they listed. The vessel of the State was nearly

dashed to pieces by the great surge, and our dislocated battalions,

swept together and called an army, were suddenly plunged into the

realities of war. But the British soldier is ready to meet mortal foes.

What he cannot resist are the cruel strokes of neglect and

mal-administration. In the excitement caused by the news of victory the

heart's pulse of the nation was almost frozen by a bitter cry of

distress from the heights of Sebastopol. Then followed accounts of

horrors which revived the memories of the most disgraceful episodes in

our military history. Men who remembered Walcheren sought in vain for a

parallel to the wretchedness and mortality in our army. The press,

faithful to its mission, threw a full light on scenes three thousand

miles from our shores, and sustained the nation by its counsels. "Had it

not been for the English press," said an Austrian officer of high rank,

"I know not what would have become of the English army. Ministers in

Parliament denied that it suffered, and therefore Parliament would not

have helped it. The French papers represented it as suffering, but

neither hoping nor enduring. Europe heard that Marshal St. Arnaud won

the Alma, and that the English, aided by French guns, late in the day,

swarmed up the heights when their allies had won the battle. We should

have known only of Inkerman as a victory gained by the French coming to

the aid of surprised and discomfited Englishmen, and of the assaults on

Sebastopol as disgraceful and abortive, but your press, in a thousand

translations, told us the truth all over Europe, and enabled us to

appreciate your valour, your discipline, your _élan_, your courage and

patience, and taught us to feel that even in misfortune the English army

was noble and magnificent."

[Sidenote: DEPARTURE OF THE GUARDS.]

The press upheld the Ministry in its efforts to remedy the effects of an

unwise and unreasoning parsimony, prepared the public mind for the

subversion of an effete system, encouraged the nation in the moment of

depression by recitals of the deeds of our countrymen, elevated the

condition and self-respect of the soldiery, and whilst celebrating with

myriad tongues the feats of the combatants in the ranks, with all the

fire of Tyrtæus, but with greater power and happier results, denounced

the men responsible for huge disasters--"told the truth and feared

not"--carried the people to the battlefield--placed them beside their

bleeding comrades--spoke of fame to the dying and of hope to those who

lived--and by its magic power spanned great seas and continents, and

bade England and her army in the Crimea endure, fight, and conquer

together.

The army saved, resuscitated, and raised to a place which it never

occupied till recently in the estimation of the country, has much for

which to thank the press. Had its deeds and sufferings never been known

except through the medium of frigid dispatches, it would have stood in a

very different position this day, not only abroad but at home. But

gratitude is not a virtue of corporations. It is rare enough to find it

in individuals; and, although the press has permission to exhaust

laudation and flattery, its censure is resented as impertinence. From

the departure of our first battalions till the close of the war, there

were occasions on which the shortcomings of great departments and the

inefficiency of extemporary arrangements were exposed beyond denial or

explanation; and if the optimist is satisfied they were the inevitable

consequences of all human organization, the mass of mankind will seek to

provide against their recurrence and to obviate their results. With all

their hopes, the people at the outset were little prepared for the costs

and disasters of war. They fondly believed they were a military power,

because they possessed invincible battalions of brave men, officered by

gallant, high-spirited gentlemen, who, for the most part, regarded with

dislike the calling, and disdained the knowledge, of the mere

"professional" soldier. There were no reserves to take the place of

those dauntless legions which melted in the crucible of battle, and left

a void which time alone could fill. When the Guards[3] left London, on

22nd February, 1854, those who saw them march off to the railway

station, unaccustomed to the sight of large bodies of men, and impressed

by the bearing of those stalwart soldiers, might be pardoned if they

supposed the household troops could encounter a world in arms. As they

were the first British regiments which left England for the East, as

they bore a grand part worthy of their name in the earlier, most trying,

and most glorious period of our struggles, their voyage possesses a

certain interest which entitles it to be retained in this revised

history; and with some few alterations, it is presented to the reader.

Their cheers--re-echoed from Alma and Inkerman--bear now a glorious

significance, the "_morituri te salutant_" of devoted soldiers addressed

to their sorrowing country.

"They will never go farther than Malta!"--Such was the general feeling

and expression at the time. It was supposed that the very news of their

arrival in Malta would check the hordes of Russia, and shake the iron

will which broke ere it would bend. To that march, in less than one

year, there was a terrible antithesis. A handful of weary men--wasted

and worn and ragged--crept slowly down from the plateau of Inkerman

where their comrades lay thick in frequent graves, and sought the

cheerless shelter of the hills of Balaklava. They had fought and had

sickened and died till that proud brigade had nearly ceased to exist.

The swarm of red-coats which after a day of marching, of excitement, of

leave-taking, and cheering, buzzed over the _Orinoco_, _Ripon_,

_Manilla_, in Southampton Docks, was hived at last in hammock or

blanket, while the vessels rode quietly in the waters of the Solent.

Fourteen inches is man-of-war allowance, but eighteen inches were

allowed for the Guards. On the following morning, February 23rd, the

steamers weighed and sailed. The _Ripon_ was off by 7 o'clock A.M.,

followed by the _Manilla_ and the _Orinoco_. They were soon bowling

along with a fresh N.W. breeze in the channel.

Good domestic beef, sea-pudding, and excellent bread, with pea-soup

every second day, formed substantial pieces of resistance to the best

appetites. Half a gill of rum to two of water was served out once a day

to each man. On the first day Tom Firelock was rather too liberal to his

brother Jack Tar. On the next occasion, the ponderous Sergeant-Major of

the Grenadiers presided over the grog-tub, and delivered the order, "Men

served--two steps to the front, and swallow!" The men were not

insubordinate.

The second day the long swell of Biscay began to tell on the Guards. The

figure-heads of the ships plunged deep, and the heads of the soldiers

hung despondingly over gunwale, portsill, stay, and mess-tin, as their

bodies bobbed to and fro. At night they brightened up, and when the

bugle sounded at nine o'clock, nearly all were able to crawl into their

hammocks for sleep. On Saturday the speed of the vessels was increased

from nine-and-a-half to ten knots per hour; and the little _Manilla_ was

left by the large paddle-wheel steamers far away. On Sunday all the men

had recovered; and when, at half-past ten, the ship's company and troops

were mustered for prayers, they looked as fresh as could be expected

under the circumstances;--in fact, as the day advanced, they became

lively, and the sense of joyfulness for release from the clutches of

their enemy was so strong that in reply to a stentorian demand for

"three cheers for the jolly old whale!" they cheered a grampus which

blew alongside.

[Sidenote: ARRIVAL AT MALTA.]

On Tuesday the _Ripon_ passed Tarifa, at fifty minutes past five A.M.,

and anchored in the quarantine ground of Gibraltar to coal half-an-hour

afterwards. In consequence of the quarantine regulations there was no

communication with the shore, but the soldiers lined the walls, H.M.S.

_Cruiser_ manned yards, and as the _Ripon_ steamed off at half-past

three P.M., after taking on board coals, tents and tent-poles, they gave

three hearty cheers, which were replied to with goodwill. On Thursday a

target painted like a Russian soldier was run up for practice. The

_Orinoco_ reached Malta on Sunday morning at ten A.M., and the _Ripon_

on Saturday night soon after twelve o'clock. The Coldstreams were

disembarked in the course of the day, and the Grenadiers were all ashore

ere Monday evening, to the delight of the Maltese, who made a harvest

from the excursions of the "plenty big men" to and from the town.

The _Manilla_ arrived at Malta on the morning of March 7th, after a run

of eighteen days from Southampton. The men left their floating prisons

only to relinquish comfort and to "rough it." One regiment was left

without coals, another had no lights or candles, another suffered from

cold under canvas, in some cases short commons tried the patience of the

men, and forage was not to be had for the officers' horses. Acting on

the old formula when transports took eight weeks to Malta, the Admiralty

supplied steamers which make the passage in as many days with eight

weeks' "medical comforts." By a rigid order, the officers were debarred

from bringing more than 90lb. weight of baggage. Many of them omitted

beds, canteen and mess traps, and were horror-stricken when they were

politely invited to pitch their tents and "make themselves comfortable"

on the ravelins, outside Valetta.

The arrival of the _Himalaya_ before midnight on the same day, after a

run of seven days and three hours from Plymouth, with upwards of 1,500

men on board, afforded good proof of our transport resources. Ordinary

troop-ships would have taken at least six weeks, and of course it would

have cost the Government a proportionate sum for their maintenance,

while they were wasting precious moments, fighting against head winds.

The only inconvenience attendant on this great celerity is, that many

human creatures, with the usual appetites of the species, are rapidly

collected upon one spot, and supplies can scarcely be procured to meet

the demand. The increase of meat-consuming animals at Malta nearly

produced the effects of a famine; there were only four hundred head of

cattle left in the island and its dependencies, and with a population of

120,000--with the Brigade of Guards and 11 Regiments in garrison, and

three frigates to feed, it may easily be imagined that the Commissariat

were severely taxed to provide for this influx.

The _Simoom_, with the Scots Fusileer Guards, sixteen days from

Portsmouth, reached Malta on the 18th of March. The troops were

disembarked the following day, in excellent order. A pile of low

buildings running along the edge of the Quarantine Harbour, with

abundance of casements, sheltered terraces, piazzas, and large arched

rooms, was soon completely filled. The men in spite of the local

derangements caused on their arrival by "liberty" carousing in acid wine

and fiery brandy, enjoyed good health, though the average of disease was

rather augmented by the results of an imprudent use of the time allowed

to them in London, to bid good-bye to their friends.

For the three last weeks in March, Valetta was like a fair. Money

circulated briskly. Every tradesman was busy, and the pressure of demand

raised the cost of supply. Saddlers, tinmen, outfitters, tailors,

shoemakers, cutlers, increased their charges till they attained the

West-End scale. Boatmen and the amphibious harpies who prey upon the

traveller reaped a copper and silver harvest of great weight. It must,

however, be said of Malta boatmen, that they are a hardworking, patient,

and honest race; the latter adjective is applied comparatively, and not

absolutely. They would set our Portsmouth or Southampton boatmen an

example rather to be wondered at than followed. The vendors of oranges,

dates, olives, apples, and street luxuries of all kinds, enjoyed a full

share of public favour; and (a proof of the fine digestive apparatus of

our soldiery) their lavish enjoyment of these delicacies was unattended

by physical suffering. A thirsty private, after munching the ends of

Minié cartridges for an hour on the hot rocks at the seaside, would send

to the rear and buy four or five oranges for a penny. He ate them all,

trifled with an apple or two afterwards, and, duty over, rushed across

the harbour or strutted off to Valetta. A cool _café_, shining out on

the street with its tarnished gilding and mirrors more radiant than all

the taps of all our country inns put together, invited him to enter, and

a quantity of alcoholic stimulus was supplied, at the small charge of

one penny, quite sufficient to encourage him to spend two-pence more on

the same stuff, till he was rendered insensible to all sublunary cares,

and brought to a state which was certain to induce him to the attention

of the guard and to a raging headache. "I can live like a duke here--I

can smoke my cigar, and drink my glass of wine, and what could a duke do

more?" But the cigar made by very dirty manufacturers, who might be seen

sitting out in the streets compounding them of the leaves of plants and

saliva was villanous; and the wine endured much after it had left

Sicily. As to the brandy and spirits, they were simply abominable, but

the men were soon "choked off" when they found that indulgence in them

was followed by punishment worse than that of the black hole or barrack

confinement. The biscuit mills were baking 30,000lb. of biscuit per day.

Bills posted in every street for "parties desirous of joining the

commissariat department, under the orders of Commissary-General Filder,

about to proceed with the force to the East, as temporary clerks,

assistant store-keepers, interpreters," to "freely apply to Assistant

Commissary-General Strickland;" had this significant addition,--"those

conversant with English, Italian, modern Greek, and Turkish languages,

or the Lingua-Franca of the East will be preferred." Warlike mechanics,

armourers, farriers, wheelwrights, waggon-equipment and harness-makers,

were in request.

[Sidenote: WARNINGS.]

As might naturally be expected where so great a demand, horses were

scarcely to be obtained. To Tunis the contagion of high prices spread

from Malta, and the Moors asked £25 and £30 for the veriest bundles of

skin and bone that were ever fastened together by muscle and pluck. Our

allies began to show themselves. The _Christophe Colomb_, steam-sloop,

towing the _Mistral_, a small sailing transport, laden with 27 soldiers'

and 40 officers' horses arrived in Malta Harbour on the night of the

7th, and ran into the Grand Harbour at six A.M. the following morning.

On board were Lieutenant-General Canrobert, and his Chef d'État; Major

Lieutenant-General Martimprey, 45 officers, 800 soldiers, 150 horses.

Their reception was most enthusiastic. The French Generals were lodged

at the Palace, and their soldiers were fêted in every tavern. Reviews

were held in their honour, and the air rang with the friendly shouts and

answering cheers of "natural enemies".

In a few days after the arrival of the Guards, it became plain that the

Allies were to proceed to Turkey, and that hostilities were inevitable.

On the 28th March war was declared, but the preparations for it showed

that the Government had looked upon war as certain some time previously.

Every exertion was made by the authorities to enable the expedition to

take the field. General Ferguson and Admiral Houston Stewart received

the expression of the Duke of Newcastle's satisfaction at the manner in

which they co-operated in making "the extensive preparations for the

reception of the expeditionary force, which could only have been

successfully carried on by the absence of needless departmental

etiquette,"--a virtue which has been expected to become more common

after this official laudation. This expression of satisfaction was well

deserved by both these gallant officers, and Sir W. Reid emulated them

in his exertions to secure the comfort of the troops. The Admiral early

and late worked with his usual energy. He had a _modus operandi_ of

making the conditional mood mean the imperative. Soldiers were stowed

away in sailors' barracks and penned up in hammocks under its potent

influence; and ships were cleared of their freight, or laden with a

fresh one, with extraordinary facility.

It was at this time that in a letter to the _Times_ I wrote as

follows:--"With our men well clothed, well fed, well housed (whether in

camp or town does not much matter), and well attended to, there is

little to fear. They were all in the best possible spirits, and fit to

go anywhere, and perhaps to do anything. But inaction might bring

listlessness and despondency, and in their train follows disease. What

is most to be feared in an encampment is an enemy that musket and

bayonet cannot meet or repel. Of this the records of the Russo-Turkish

campaign of 1828-9, in which 80,000 men perished by 'plague, pestilence,

and famine,' afford a fearful lesson, and let those who have the

interests of the army at heart just turn to Moltke's history of that

miserable invasion, and they will grudge no expense, and spare no

precaution, to avoid, as far as human skill can do it, a repetition of

such horrors. Let us have plenty of doctors. Let us have an overwhelming

army of medical men to combat disease. Let us have a staff--full and

strong--of young and active and experienced men. Do not suffer our

soldiers to be killed by antiquated imbecility. Do not hand them over to

the mercies of ignorant etiquette and effete seniority, but give the

sick every chance which skill, energy, and abundance of the best

specifics can afford them. The heads of departments may rest assured

that the country will grudge no expense on this point, nor on any other

connected with the interest and efficiency of the _corps d'élite_ which

England has sent from her shores.[4] There were three first-class

staff-surgeons at Constantinople--Messrs. Dumbreck Linton, and

Mitchell. At Malta there were--Dr. Burrell, at the head of the

department; Dr. Alexander, Dr. Tice, Mr. Smith, and a great accession

was expected every day."

The commissariat department appeared to be daily more efficient, and

every possible effort was made to secure proper supplies for the troops.

This, however, was a matter that could be best tested in the field.

On Tuesday, the 28th of March, the _Montezuma_, and the _Albatross_ with

Chasseurs, Zouaves, and horses, arrived in the Great Harbour. The Zouave

was then an object of curiosity. The quarters of the men were not by any

means so good as our own. A considerable number had to sleep on deck,

and in rain or sea-way they must have been wet. Their kit seemed very

light. The officers did not carry many necessaries, and the average

weight of their luggage was not more than 50lb. They were all in the

highest spirits, and looked forward eagerly to their first brush in

company with the English.

Sir George Brown and staff arrived on the 29th in the _Valetta_. The 2nd

Battalion Rifle Brigade, the advance of the Light Division, which Sir

George Brown was to command, embarked on board the _Golden Fleece_. On

the 30th, Sir John Burgoyne arrived from Constantinople in the

_Caradoc_.

The _Pluton_ and another vessel arrived with Zouaves and the usual

freight of horses the same day, and the streets were full of scarlet and

blue uniforms walking arm and arm together in uncommunicative

friendliness, their conversation being carried on by signs, such as

pointing to their throats and stomachs, to express the primitive

sensations of hunger and thirst. The French sailed the following day for

Gallipoli.

When the declaration of war reached Malta, the excitement was

indescribable. Crowds assembled on the shores of the harbours and lined

the quays and landing-places, the crash of music drowned in the

enthusiastic cheers of the soldiers cheering their comrades as the

vessels glided along, the cheers from one fort being taken up by the

troops in the others, and as joyously responded to from those on board.

CHAPTER II.

Departure of the first portion of the British Expedition from

Malta--Sea passage--Classical Antiquities--Caught in a

Levanter--The Dardanelles--Gallipoli--Gallipoli described--Turkish

Architecture--Superiority of the French arrangements--Close

shaving, tight stocking, and light marching.

[Sidenote: DEPARTURE FROM MALTA.]

Whilst the French were rapidly moving to Gallipoli, the English were

losing the prestige which might have been earned by a first appearance

on the stage, as well as the substantial advantages of an occupation of

the town. But on 30th March Sir George Brown and Staff, the 2nd

Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, under Lt. Colonel Lawrence, Colonel

Victor, R.E., Captain Gibb, R.E., and two companies of Sappers, embarked

in the _Golden Fleece_, and a cabin having been placed at my disposal, I

embarked and sailed with them for Gallipoli, at five A.M. on 31st.

An early fisherman, a boatman in the Great Harbour, solitary sentinels

perched here and there on the long lines of white bastions, were the

only persons who saw the departure of the advanced guard of the only

British expedition that has ever sailed to the land of the Moslem since

the days of the great Plantagenet. The morning was dark and overcast.

The Mediterranean assumed an indigo colour, stippled with patches of

white foam, as heavy squalls of wind and drenching rain flew over its

surface. The showers were tropical in their vehemence and suddenness.

Nothing was visible except some wretched-looking gulls flapping in our

wake hour after hour in the hope of unintentional contributions from the

ship, and two or three dilapidated coasters running as hard as they

could for the dangerous shelter of the land. Jason himself and his crew

could scarcely have looked more uncomfortable than the men, though there

was small resemblance indeed between the cruiser in which he took his

passage and the _Golden Fleece_. "It all comes of sailing on a Friday,"

said a grumbling forecastle Jack.

The anticipations of the tarry prophet were not fully justified. Towards

evening the sky cleared, the fine sharp edge of the great circle of

waters of which we were the black murky centre, revealed itself, and the

sun rushed out of his coat of _cumuli_, all bright and fervent, and sank

to rest in a sea of fire. Even the gulls brightened up and began to look

comfortable, and the sails of the flying craft, far away on the verge of

the landscape, shone white. The soldiers dried their coats, and tried to

forget sloppy decks and limited exercise ground, and night closed round

the ship with peace and hilarity on her wings. As the moon rose a wonder

appeared in the heavens--"a blazing comet with a fiery tail," which

covered five or six degrees of the horizon, and shone through the deep

blue above. Here was the old world-known omen of war and troubles! Many

as they gazed felt the influence of ancient tales and associated the

lurid apparition with the convulsion impending over Europe, though Mr.

Hind and Professor Airy and Sir J. South might have proved to

demonstration that the comet aforesaid was born or baptized in space

hundreds of centuries before Prince Menschikoff was thought of.

At last the comet was lost in the moon's light, and the gazers put out

their cigars, forgot their philosophy and their fears, and went to bed.

The next day, Saturday (1st April), passed as most days do at sea in

smooth weather. The men ate and drank, and walked on deck till they were

able to eat and drink again, and so on till bed time. Curious little

brown owls, as if determined to keep up the traditions of the

neighbourhood, flew on board, and were caught in the rigging. They

seemed to come right from the land of Minerva. In the course of the day

small birds fluttered on the yards, masts, and bulwarks, plumed their

jaded wings, and after a short rest launched themselves once more

across the bosom of the deep. Some were common titlarks, others greyish

buntings, others yellow and black fellows. Three of the owls and a

titlark were at once introduced to each other in a cage, and the ship's

cat was thrown in by way of making an _impromptu_ "happy family." The

result rather increased one's admiration for the itinerant zoologist of

Trafalgar-square and Waterloo Bridge, inasmuch as pussy obstinately

refused to hold any communication with the owls--they seemed in turn to

hate each other--and all evinced determined animosity towards the

unfortunate titlark, which speedily languished and died.

This and the following day there was a head wind. No land appeared, and

the only object to be seen was a French paddle-wheel steamer with troops

on board and a transport in tow, which was conjectured to be one of

those that had left Malta some days previously. After dinner, when the

band had ceased playing, the Sappers assembled on the quarter-deck, and

sang glees excellently well, while the Rifles had a select band of vocal

performers of their own of comic and sentimental songs. Some of these,

_à propos_ of the expedition, were rather hard on the Guards and their

bearskins. At daylight the coast was visible N. by E.--a heavy cloudlike

line resting on the grey water. It was the Morea--the old land of the

Messenians. If not greatly changed, it is wonderful what attractions it

could have had for the Spartans. A more barren-looking coast one need

not wish to see. It is like a section of the west coast of Sutherland in

winter. The mountains--cold, rocky, barren ridges of land--culminate in

snow-covered peaks, and the numerous villages of white cabins or houses

dotting the declivity towards the sea did not relieve the place of an

air of savage primitiveness, which little consorted with its ancient

fame. About 9.40 A.M. we passed Cape Matapan, which concentrated in

itself all the rude characteristics of the surrounding coast. We passed

between the Morea and Cerigo. One could not help wondering what on earth

could have possessed Venus to select such a wretched rock for her island

home. Verily the poets have much to answer for. Not the boldest would

have dared to fly into ecstasies about the terrestrial landing-place of

Venus had he once beheld the same. The fact is, the place is like

Ireland's Eye, pulled out and expanded. Although the whole reputation of

the Cape was not sustained by our annihilation, the sea showed every

inclination to be troublesome, and the wind began to rise.

After breakfast the men were mustered, and the captain read prayers.

When prayers were over, we had a proof that the Greeks were tolerably

right about the weather. Even bolder boatmen than the ancients might

fear the heavy squalls off these snowy headlands, which gave a bad idea

of sunny Greece in early spring. Their writers represented the

performance of a voyage round Capes Matapan and Malea as attended with

danger; and, if the best of triremes was caught in the breeze

encountered by the _Golden Fleece_ hereabouts, the crew would never have

been troubled to hang up a votive tablet to their preserving deity.

[Sidenote: CAUGHT IN A LEVANTER.]

From 10 o'clock till 3.30 P.M. the ship ran along the diameter of the

semicircle between the two Capes which mark the southern extremities of

Greece. Cape Malea, or St. Angelo, is just such another bluff,

mountainous, and desolate headland as Cape Matapan, and is not so

civilized-looking, for there are no villages visible near it. However,

in a hole on its south-east face resides a Greek hermit, who must have

enormous opportunities for improving his mind, if Zimmerman be at all

trustworthy. He is not quite lost to the calls of nature, and has a

great tenderness for ships' biscuit. He generally hoists a little flag

when a vessel passes near, and is often gratified by a supply of

hard-bake. Had we wished to administer to his luxuries we could not have

done so, for the wind off this angle rushed at us with fury, and the

instant we rounded it we saw the sea broken into crests of foam making

right at our bows. The old mariners were not without warranty when they

advised "him who doubled Cape Malea to forget his home." We had got

right into the Etesian wind--one of those violent Levanters which the

learned among us said ought to be the Euroclydon which drove St. Paul to

Malta. Sheltered as we were to eastward by clusters of little islands,

the sea got up and rolled in confused wedges towards the ship. She

behaved nobly, but with her small auxiliary steam power she could

scarcely hold her own. We were driven away to leeward, and did not make

much headway. The gusts came down furiously between all kinds of

classical islands, which we could not make out, for our Maltese pilot

got frightened, and revealed the important secret that he did not know

one of them from the other. The men bore up well against their

Euroclydon, and emulated the conduct of the ship. Night came upon us,

labouring in black jolting seas, dashing them into white spray, and

running away into dangerous unknown parts. It passed songless, dark, and

uncomfortable: much was the suffering in the hermetically sealed cells

in which our officers "reposed" and grumbled at fortune.

At daylight next morning, Falconero was north, and Milo south. The

clouds were black and low, the sea white and high, and the junction

between them on the far horizon of a broken and promiscuous character.

The good steamer had run thirty miles to leeward of her course, making

not the smallest progress. Grey islets with foam flying over them lay

around indistinctly seen through the driving vapour from the Ægean. To

mistrust of the pilot fear of accident was added, so the helm was put

up, and we wore ship at 6.30 A.M. in a heavy sea-way. A screw-steamer

was seen on our port quarter plunging through the heavy sea, and we made

her out to be the _Cape of Good Hope_. She followed our example. The

gale increased till 8 A.M.; the sailors considered it deserved to be

called "stormy, with heavy squalls." The heavy sea on our starboard

quarter, as we approached Malea, caused the ship to roll heavily; the

men could only hold on by tight grip, and they and their officers were

well drenched by great lumbering water louts, who tossed themselves in

over the bulwarks. At 3.30 P.M., the ship cast anchor in Vatika Bay, in

twenty fathoms. A French steamer and brig lay close in the shore. We

cheered them vigorously, but the men could not hear us. Some time

afterwards the _Cape of Good Hope_ and a French screw-steamer also ran

in and anchored near us. This little flotilla alarmed the inhabitants,

for the few who were fishing in boats fled to shore, and we saw a great

effervescence at a distant village. No doubt the apparition in the bay

of a force flying the tricolor and the union-jack frightened the people.

They could be seen running to and fro along the shore like ants when

their nest is stirred.

At dusk our bands played, and the mountains of the Morea, for the first

time since they rose from the sea, echoed the strains of "God save the

Queen." Our vocalists assembled, and sang glees or vigorous choruses,

and the night passed pleasantly in smooth water on an even keel. The

people lighted bonfires upon the hills, but the lights soon died out. At

six o'clock on Tuesday morning the _Golden Fleece_ left Vatika Bay, and

passed Poulo Bello at 10.45 A.M. The Greek coast trending away to the

left, showed in rugged masses of mountains capped by snowy peaks, and

occasionally the towns--clusters of white specks on the dark purple of

the hills--were visible; and before evening, the ship having run safely

through all the terrors of the Ægean and its islands, bore away for the

entrance to the Dardanelles. At 2 A.M. on Wednesday morning, however, it

began to blow furiously again, the wind springing up as if "Æolus had

just opened and put on fresh hands at the bellows," to use the nautical

simile. The breeze, however, went down in a few hours, with the same

rapidity with which it rose. Smooth seas greeted the ship as she steamed

by Mitylene. On the left lay the entrance to the Gulf of

Athens--Euboea was on our left hand--Tenedos was before us--on our

right rose the snowy heights of Mount Ida--and the Troad (atrociously

and unforgivably like the "Bog of Allen!") lay stretching its brown

folds, dotted with rare tumuli, from the sea to the mountain side for

leagues away. Athos (said to be ninety miles distant) stood between us

and the setting sun--a pyramid of purple cloud bathed in golden light;

and the _Leander_ frigate showed her number and went right away in the

very waters that lay between Sestos and Abydos, past the shadow of the

giant mountain, stretching away on our port beam. As the vessel entered

the portals of the Dardanelles, and rushed swiftly up between its dark

banks, the sentinels on the forts and along the ridges challenged

loudly--shouting to each other to be on the alert--the band of the

Rifles all the while playing the latest fashionable polkas, or making

the rocks acquainted with "Rule Britannia," and "God save the Queen."

At 9.30 P.M., our ship passed the Castles of the Dardanelles. She was

not stopped nor fired at, but the sentinels screeched horribly and

showed lights, and seemed to execute a convulsive _pas_ of fright or

valour on the rocks. The only reply was the calm sounding of second post

on the bugles--the first time that the blast of English light infantry

trumpets broke the silence of those antique shores.[5]

[Sidenote: GALLIPOLI.]

After midnight we arrived at Gallipoli, and anchored. No one took the

slightest notice of us, nor was any communication made with shore. When

the _Golden Fleece_ arrived there was no pilot to show her where to

anchor, and it was nearly an hour ere she ran out her cable in nineteen

fathoms water. No one came off, for it was after midnight, and there was

something depressing in this silent reception of the first British army

that ever landed on the shores of these straits.

When morning came we only felt sorry that nature had made Gallipoli, a

desirable place for us to land at. The tricolor was floating right and

left, and the blue coats of the French were well marked on shore, the

long lines of bullock-carts stealing along the strand towards their camp

making it evident that they were taking care of themselves.

Take some hundreds of dilapidated farms, outhouses, a lot of rickety

tenements of Holywell-street, Wych-street, and the Borough--catch up,

wherever you can, any of the seedy, cracked, shutterless structures of

planks and tiles to be seen in our cathedral towns--carry off odd sheds

and stalls from Billingsgate, add to them a selection of the huts along

the Thames between London-bridge and Greenwich--bring them, then, all

together to the European side of the Straits of the Dardanelles, and

having pitched on a bare round hill sloping away to the water's edge, on

the most exposed portion of the coast, with scarcely tree or shrub,

tumble them "higgledy piggledy" on its declivity, in such wise that the

lines of the streets may follow on a large scale the lines of a bookworm

through some old tome--let the roadways be very narrow, of irregular

breadth, varying according to the bulgings and projections of the

houses, and paved with large round slippery stones, painful and

hazardous to walk upon--here and there borrow a dirty gutter from a back

street in Boulogne--let the houses lean across to each other so that the

tiles meet, or a plank thrown across forms a sort of "passage" or

arcade--steal some of the popular monuments of London, the shafts of

national testimonials, a half dozen of Irish Round Towers--surround

these with a light gallery about twelve feet from the top, put on a

large extinguisher-shaped roof, paint them white, and having thus made

them into minarets, clap them down into the maze of buildings--then let

fall big stones all over the place--plant little windmills with

odd-looking sails on the crests of the hill over the town--transport the

ruins of a feudal fortress from Northern Italy, and put it into the

centre of the town, with a flanking tower at the water's edge--erect a

few wooden cribs by the waterside to serve as _café_, custom-house, and

government stores--and, when you have done this, you have to all

appearance imitated the process by which Gallipoli was created. The

receipt, if tried, will be found to answer beyond belief.

To fill up the scene, however, you must catch a number of the biggest

breeched, longest bearded, dirtiest, and stateliest old Turks to be had

at any price in the Ottoman empire; provide them with pipes, keep them

smoking all day on wooden stages or platforms about two feet from the

ground, everywhere by the water's edge or up the main streets, in the

shops of the bazaar which is one of the "passages" or arcades already

described; see that they have no slippers on, nothing but stout woollen

hose, their foot gear being left on the ground, shawl turbans (one or

two being green, for the real descendant of the Prophet), flowing

fur-lined coats, and bright-hued sashes, in which are to be stuck

silver-sheathed yataghans and ornamented Damascus pistols; don't let

them move more than their eyes, or express any emotion at the sight of

anything except an English lady; then gather a noisy crowd of fez-capped

Greeks in baggy blue breeches, smart jackets, sashes, and rich vests--of

soberly-dressed Armenians--of keen-looking Jews, with flashing eyes--of

Chasseurs de Vincennes, Zouaves, British riflemen, _vivandières_,

Sappers and Miners, Nubian slaves, Camel-drivers, Commissaries and

Sailors, and direct them in streams round the little islets on which the

smoking Turks are harboured, and you will populate the place.

It will be observed that women are not mentioned in this description,

but children were not by any means wanting--on the contrary, there was a

glut of them, in the Greek quarter particularly, and now and then a

bundle of clothes, in yellow leather boots, covered at the top with a

piece of white linen, might be seen moving about, which you will do well

to believe contained a woman neither young nor pretty. Dogs, so large,

savage, tailless, hairy, and curiously-shaped, that Wombwell could make

a fortune out of them if aided by any clever zoological nomenclator,

prowled along the shore and walked through the shallow water, in which

stood bullocks and buffaloes, French steamers and transports, with the

tricolor flying, and the paddlebox boats full of troops on their way to

land--a solitary English steamer, with the red ensign, at anchor in the

bay--and Greek polaccas, with their beautiful white sails and trim rig,

flying down the straits, which are here about three and a half miles

broad, so that the villages on the rich swelling hills of the Asia Minor

side are plainly visible,--must be added, and then the picture will be

tolerably complete.

In truth, Gallipoli is a wretched place--picturesque to a degree, but,

like all picturesque things or places, horribly uncomfortable. The

breadth of the Dardanelles is about five miles opposite the town, but

the Asiatic and the European coasts run towards each other just ere the

Straits expand into the Sea of Marmora. The country behind the town is

hilly, and at the time of our arrival had not recovered from the effects

of the late very severe weather, being covered with patches of snow.

Gallipoli is situated on the narrowest portion of the tongue of land or

peninsula which, running between the Gulf of Saros on the west and the

Dardanelles on the east, forms the western side of the strait. An army

encamped here commands the Ægean and the Sea of Marmora, and can be

marched northwards to the Balkan, or sent across to Asia or up to

Constantinople with equal facility.

[Sidenote: SUPERIORITY OF FRENCH ARRANGEMENTS.]

As the crow flies, it is about 120 miles from Constantinople across the

Sea of Marmora. If the capital were in danger, troops could be sent

there in a few days, and our army and fleet effectually commanded the

Dardanelles and the entrance to the Sea of Marmora, and made it a _mare

clausum_. Enos, a small town, on a spit of land opposite the mouth of

the Maritza, on the coast of Turkey to the north-east of Samothrace, was

surveyed and examined for an encampment by French and English engineers.

It is obvious that if some daring Muscovite general forcing the passage

across the Danube were to beat the Turks and cross the western ridges of

the Balkans, he might advance southwards with very little hindrance to

the Ægean; and a dashing march to the south-east would bring his troops

to the western shore of the Dardanelles. An army at Gallipoli could

check such a movement, if it ever entered into the head of any one to

attempt to put it in practice.

Early on the morning after the arrival of the _Golden Fleece_ a boat

came off with two commissariat officers, Turner and Bartlett, and an

interpreter. The consul had gone up the Dardanelles to look for us. The

General desired to send for the Consul, but the only vessel available

was a small Turkish Imperial steamer. The Consul's dragoman, a

grand-looking Israelite, was ready to go, but the engineer had just

managed to break his leg. He requested the loan of our engineer, as no

one could be found to undertake the care of the steamer's engines.

After breakfast, Lieutenant-General Brown, Colonel Sullivan, Captain

Hallewell, and Captain Whitmore, started to visit the Pasha of

Adrianople (Rustum Pasha), who was sent here to facilitate the

arrangements and debarkation of the troops. On their return, about

half-past two o'clock, Lieutenant-General Canrobert came on board the

vessel, and was received by the Lieutenant-General. The visit lasted an

hour, and was marked at its close with greater cordiality, if possible,

than at the commencement.

In the evening the Consul, Mr. Calvert, came on board, when it turned

out that no instructions whatever had been sent to prepare for the

reception of the force, except that two commissariat officers, without

interpreters or staff, had been dispatched to the town a few days before

the troops landed. These officers could not speak the language. However,

the English Consul was a man of energy. Mr. Calvert went to the Turkish

Governor, and succeeded in having half of the quarters in the town

reserved. Next day he visited and marked off the houses; but the French

authorities said they had made a mistake as to the portion of the town

they had handed over to him. They had the Turkish part of the town close

to the water, with an honest and favourable population; the English had

the Greek quarter, further up the hill, and perhaps the healthier, and a

population which hated them bitterly.

Sir George Brown arrived on Wednesday, the 5th of April, but it was

midday on Saturday the 8th, ere the troops were landed and sent to their

quarters. The force consisted of only some thousand and odd men, and it

had to lie idle for two days and a half watching the seagulls, or with

half averted eye regarding the ceaseless activity of the French, the

daily arrival of their steamers, the rapid transmission of their men to

shore. On our side not a British pendant was afloat in the harbour! Well

might a Turkish boatman ask, "Oh, why is this? Oh, why is this,

Chelebee? By the beard of the Prophet, for the sake of your father's

father, tell me, O English Lord, how is it? The French infidels have got

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven ships, with fierce little

soldiers; the English infidels, who say they can defile the graves of

these French (may Heaven avert it!), and who are big as the giants of

Asli, have only one big ship. Do they tell lies?" (Such was the

translation given to me of my interesting waterman's address.)

The troops were disembarked in the course of the day, and marched out to

encamp, eight miles and a half north of Gallipoli, at a place called

Bulair. The camp was occupied by the Rifles and Sappers and Miners,

within three miles of the village. It was seated on a gentle slope of

the ridge which runs along the isthmus, and commanded a view of the Gulf

of Saros, but the Sea of Marmora was not visible. Sanitary and certain

other considerations may have rendered it advisable not to select this

village itself, or some point closer to it, as the position for the

camp; but the isthmus was narrower at Bulair, could be more easily

defended, would not have required so much time or labour to put it into

a good state of defence, and appeared to be better adapted for an army

as regards shelter and water than the position chosen. Bulair is ten and

a half miles from Gallipoli, so the camp was about seven and a half from

the port at which its supplies were landed, and where its reinforcements

arrived.

[Sidenote: SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS.]

On Thursday there was a general hunt for quarters through the town. The

General got a very fine place in a _beau quartier_, with a view of an

old Turk on a counter looking at his toes in perpetual perspective. The

consul, attended by the dragoman and a train of lodging seekers, went

from house to house; but it was not till the eye had got accustomed to

the general style of the buildings and fittings that any of them seemed

willing to accept the places offered them. The hall door, which is an

antiquated concern--not affording any particular resistance to the air

to speak of--opens on an apartment with clay walls about ten feet high,

and of the length and breadth of the whole house. It is garnished with

the odds and ends of the domestic deity--empty barrels, casks of

home-made wine, buckets, baskets, &c. At one side a rough staircase,

creaking at every step, conducts one to a saloon on the first floor.

This is of the plainest possible appearance. On the sides are stuck

prints of the "Nicolaus ho basileus," of the Virgin and Child, and

engravings from Jerusalem. The Greeks are iconoclasts, and hate images,

but they adore pictures. A yellow Jonah in a crimson whale with fiery

entrails is a favourite subject, and doubtless bears some allegorical

meaning to their own position in Turkey. From this saloon open the two

or three rooms of the house--the kitchen, the divan, and the principal

bedroom. There is no furniture. The floors are covered with matting, but

with the exception of the cushions on the raised platform round the wall

of the room (about eighteen inches from the floor), there is nothing

else in the rooms offered for general competition to the public. Above

are dark attics. In such a lodging as this, in the house of the widow

Papadoulos, was I at last established to do the best I could without

servant or equipment.

Water was some way off, and I might have been seen stalking up the

street with as much dignity as was compatible with carrying a sheep's

liver on a stick in one hand, some lard in the other, and a loaf of

black bread under my arm back from market. There was not a pound of

butter in the whole country, meat was very scarce, fowls impossible; but

the country wine was fair enough, and eggs were not so rare as might be

imagined from the want of poultry.

While our sick men had not a mattress to lie down upon, and were without

blankets, the French were well provided for. No medical comforts were

forwarded from Malta,--and so when a poor fellow was sinking the doctor

had to go to the General's and get a bottle of wine for him. The

hospital sergeant was sent out with a sovereign to buy coffee, sugar,

and other things of the kind for the sick, but he could not get them, as

no change was to be had in the place. In the French hospital everything

requisite was nicely made up in small packages and marked with labels,

so that what was wanted might be procured in a minute.

The French _Commandant de Place_ posted a tariff of all articles which

the men were likely to want on the walls of the town, and regulated the

exchanges like a local Rothschild. A Zouave wanted a fowl; he saw one in

the hand of an itinerant poultry merchant, and he at once seized the

bird, and giving the proprietor a franc--the tariff price--walked off

with the prize. The Englishman, on the contrary, more considerate and

less protected, was left to make hard bargains, and generally paid

twenty or twenty-five per cent. more than his ally. These Zouaves were

first-rate foragers. They might be seen in all directions, laden with

eggs, meat, fish, vegetables (onions), and other good things, while our

fellows could get nothing. Sometimes a servant was sent out to cater for

breakfast or dinner: he returned with the usual "Me and the Colonel's

servant has been all over the town, and can get nothing but eggs and

onions, Sir;" and lo! round the corner appeared a red-breeched Zouave or

Chasseur, a bottle of wine under his left arm, half a lamb under the

other, and poultry, fish, and other luxuries dangling round him. "I'm

sure I don't know how these French manages it, Sir," said the

crestfallen Mercury, retiring to cook the eggs.

The French established a _restaurant_ for their officers, and at the

"Auberge de l'Armée Expeditionnaire," close to General Bosquet's

quarters, one could get a dinner which, after the black bread and eggs

of the domestic hearth, appeared worthy of Philippe.

There seemed to be a general impression among the French soldiers that

it would be some time ere they left Gallipoli or the Chersonese. They

were in military occupation of the place. The tricolor floated from the

old tower of Gallipoli. The _café_ had been turned into an

office--_Direction du Port et Commissariat de la Marine_. French

soldiers patrolled the town at night, and kept the soldiery of both

armies in order; of course, we sent out a patrol also, but the

regulations of the place were directly organized at the French

head-quarters, and even the miserable house which served as our _Trois

Frères_, or London Tavern, and where one could get a morsel of meat and

a draught of country wine for dinner, was under their control. A notice

on the walls of this _Restaurant de l'Armée Auxiliaire_ informed the

public that, _par ordre de la police Française_, no person would be

admitted after seven o'clock in the evening. In spite of their strict

regulations there was a good deal of drunkenness among the French

soldiery, though perhaps it was not in excess of our proportion,

considering the numbers of both armies. They had _fourgons_ for the

commissariat, and all through their quarter of the town one might see

the best houses occupied by their officers. On one door was inscribed

_Magasin des Liquides_, on another _Magasin des Distributions_. M.

l'Aumonier de l'Armée Française resides on one side of the street;

l'Intendant Général, &c., on the other. Opposite the commissariat stores

a score or two of sturdy Turks worked away at neat little hand-mills

marked _Moulin de Café--Subsistence Militaire_. _No. A._, _Compagnie

B._, &c., and roasting the beans in large rotatory ovens; the place

selected for the operation being a burial-ground, the turbaned

tombstones of which seemed to frown severely on the degenerate posterity

of the Osmanli. In fact, the French appear to have acted uniformly on

the sentiment conveyed in the phrase of one of their officers, in reply

to a remark about the veneration in which the Turks hold the remains of

the dead--"_Mais il faut rectifier tous ces préjuges et barbarismes!_"

The greatest cordiality existed between the chiefs of the armies. Sir

George Brown and some of his staff dined one day with General Canrobert;

another day with General Martimprey; another day the drowsy shores of

the Dardanelles were awakened by the thunders of the French cannon

saluting him as he went on board Admiral Bruat's flagship to accept the

hospitalities of the naval commander; and then on alternate days the

dull old alleys of Gallipoli were brightened up by an apparition of

these officers and their staffs in full uniform, clanking their spurs

and jingling their sabres over the excruciating rocks which form the

pavement as they proceeded on their way to the humble quarters of "Sir

Brown," to sit at return banquets.

The natives preferred the French uniform to ours. In their sight there

can be no more effeminate object than a warrior in a shell jacket, with

closely-shaven chin and lip and cropped whiskers. He looks, in fact,

like one of their dancing troops, and cuts a sorry figure beside a great

Gaul in his blazing red pantaloons and padded frock, epaulettes, beard

_d'Afrique_, and well-twisted moustache. The pashas think much of our

men, but they are not struck with our officers. The French made an

impression quite the reverse. The Turks could see nothing in the men,

except that they thought the Zouaves and Chasseurs Indigènes

dashing-looking fellows; but they considered their officers superior to

ours in all but exact discipline. One day, as a man of the 4th was

standing quietly before the door of the English Consulate, with a horse

belonging to an officer of his regiment, some drunken French soldiers

came reeling up the street; one of them kicked the horse, and caused it

to rear violently; and, not content with doing so, struck it on the

head as he passed. Several French officers witnessed this scene, and one

of them exclaimed, "Why did not you cut the brigand over the head with

your whip when he struck the horse?" The Englishman was not a master of

languages, and did not understand the question. When it was explained to

him, he said with the most sovereign contempt, "Lord forbid I'd touch

sich a poor drunken little baste of a crayture as that!"

[Sidenote: TROUBLES OF THE TURKISH COMMISSION.]

The Turkish Commission had a troublesome time of it. All kinds of

impossible requisitions were made to them every moment. Osman Bey, Eman

Bey, and Kabouli Effendi, formed the martyred triumvirate, who were kept

in a state of unnatural activity and excitement by the constant demands

of the officers of the allied armies for all conceivable stores,

luxuries, and necessaries for the troops, as well as for other things

over which they had no control. One man had a complaint against an

unknown Frenchman for beating his servant--another wanted them to get

lodgings for him--a third wished them to send a cavass with self and

friends on a shooting excursion--in fact, very unreasonable and absurd

requests were made to these poor gentlemen, who could scarcely get

through their legitimate work, in spite of the aid of numberless pipes

and cups of coffee. One of the medical officers went to make a

requisition for hospital accommodation, and got through the business

very well. When it was over, the President descended from the divan. In

the height of his delusions respecting Oriental magnificence and

splendour, led away by reminiscences of "Tales of the Genii" and the

"Arabian Nights," the reader must not imagine that this divan was

covered with cloth of gold, or glittering with precious stones. It was

clad in a garb of honest Manchester print, with those remarkable birds

of prey or pleasure, in green and yellow plumage, depicted thereupon,

familiar to us from our earliest days. The council chamber was a room of

lath and plaster, with whitewashed walls; its sole furniture a carpet in

the centre, the raised platform or divan round its sides, and a few

chairs for the Franks. The President advanced gravely to the great

Hakim, and through the interpreter made him acquainted with particulars

of a toothache, for which he desired a remedy. The doctor insinuated

that His Highness must have had a cold in the head, from which the

symptoms had arisen, and the diagnosis was thought so wonderful it was

communicated to the other members of the Council, and produced a marked

sensation. When he had ordered a simple prescription he was consulted by

the other members in turn: one had a sore chin, the other had weak eyes;

and the knowledge evinced by the doctor of these complaints excited

great admiration and confidence, so that he departed, after giving some

simple prescriptions, amid marks of much esteem and respect.

Djemel Pasha, who commanded the pashalic of the Dardanelles, was a very

enlightened Turk, and possessed a fund of information and a grasp of

intellect not at all common among his countrymen, even in the most

exalted stations. He was busily engaged on a work on the constitution of

Turkey, in which he proposed to remodel the existing state of things

completely. He had been much struck by the notion of an hereditary

aristocracy, which he considered very suitable for Turkey, and was

fascinated by our armorial bearings and mottoes, as he thought them

calculated to make members of a family act in such a way as to sustain

the reputation of their ancestors. Talking of the intended visit of the

Sultan to Adrianople, he said, one day, that it was mere folly. If the

Sultan went as his martial ancestors--surrounded by his generals--to

take the command of his armies and share the privations of his soldiers,

he granted it would be productive of good, and inflame the ardour of his

soldiery; but it would produce no beneficial result to visit Adrianople

with a crowded Court, and would only lead to a vast outlay of money in

repairing the old palace for his reception, and in conveying his

officers of State, his harem, and his horses and carriages to a city

which had ceased to be fit for an imperial residence. He was very much

of the opinion of General Canrobert, who, at the close of a splendid

reception by the pashas, at Constantinople, in which pipes mounted with

diamonds and begemmed coffee-cups were handed about by a numerous

retinue, said, "I am much obliged by your attention, but you will

forgive me for saying I should be much better pleased if all these

diamonds and gold were turned into money to pay your troops, and if you

sent away all these servants of yours, except two or three, to fight

against your enemy!" Djemel Pasha declared there could be no good in

tanzimats or in new laws, unless steps were taken to carry them out and

administer them. The pashas in distant provinces would never give them

effect until they were forced to do so, and therefore it will be

necessary, in his opinion, to have the ambassadors of the great Powers

admitted as members of the Turkish Council of State for some years, in

order that these reforms may be productive of good. The Koran he

considered as little suitable to be the basis and textbook of civil law

now in Turkey, as the Old Testament would be in England. It will be long

indeed ere the doctrines of this enlightened Turk prevail among his

countrymen, and when they do the Osmanlis will have ceased to be a

nation. The prejudices of the true believers were but little shaken by

these events. The genuine old green-turbaned Turk viewed our

intervention with suspicion, and attributed our polluting presence on

his soil to interested motives, which aim at the overthrow of the Faith.

This was seen in their leaden eyes as they fell on one through the

clouds of tobacco-smoke from the _khans_ or _cafés_. You are still a

giaour, whom Mahomet has forced into his service, but care must be taken

that you do not gain any advantage at the hands of the faithful.

In the English general orders the greatest stress was laid on treating

the Turks with proper respect, and both officers and men were strictly

enjoined to pay every deference to "the most ancient and faithful of our

allies." The soldiers appeared to act in strict conformity with the

spirit of these instructions. They bought everything they wanted, but on

going for a walk into the country one might see the fields dotted by

stragglers from the French camp, tearing up hedgestakes, vines, and

sticks for fuel, and looking out generally with eyes wide open for the

_pot à feu_.

[Sidenote: CHASSEURS INDIGÈNES.]

With the exception of the _vivandières_, the French brought no women

whatever with them. The Malta authorities had the egregious folly to

send out ninety-seven women in the "Georgiana" to this desolate and

miserable place, where men were hard set to live. This indiscretion was

not repeated.

The camps in the neighbourhood of Gallipoli extended every day, and with

the augmentation of the allied forces, the privations to which the men

were exposed became greater, the inefficiency of our arrangements more

evident, and the comparative excellence of the French commissariat

administration more striking. Amid the multitude of complaints which met

the ear from every side, the most prominent were charges against the

British commissariat; but the officers at Gallipoli were not to blame.

The persons really culpable were those who sent them out without a

proper staff, and without the smallest foresight. Early and late these

officers might be seen toiling amid a set of apathetic Turks and stupid

araba drivers, trying in vain to make bargains and give orders in the

language of signs, or aided by interpreters who understood neither the

language of the contractor nor contractee. And then the officers of a

newly-arrived regiment rushed on shore, demanded bullock-carts for the

luggage, guides, interpreters, rations, &c., till the unfortunate

commissary became quite bewildered. There were only four commissary

officers, Turner, Bartlett, Thompson, and Smith, and they were obliged

to get on as well as they could with the natives.

The worst thing was the want of comforts for the sick. Many of the men

labouring under diseases contracted at Malta were obliged to camp in the

cold, with only one blanket, as there was no provision for them at the

temporary hospital. Mr. Alexander succeeded in getting hold of some

hundreds of blankets by taking on himself the responsibility of giving a

receipt for them, and taking them off the hands of the commanding

officer of one of the regiments from Malta. This responsibility is a

horrid bugbear, but no man is worth his salt who does not boldly incur

it whenever he thinks the service is to be benefited thereby. It would

be lucky if more people had a supply of desirable recklessness, and

things would have gone on much better.

Regiments arrived daily, and encamped near the town. The 4th, 28th,

50th, 93rd, and 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade were stationed between

Bulair and Gallipoli. The 33rd, 41st, 49th, 77th, and 88th, lay in

Scutari or in the adjoining barracks.

The French poured in their troops. Towards the end of April they had

22,000 men in the neighbourhood of Gallipoli, and the narrow streets

were almost impassable. The Zouaves, from their picturesque costume,

quite threw our men in the shade--all but their heads and shoulders,

which rose in unmistakable broadness above the fez caps of their Gallic

allies. Even the Zouaves yielded the prize of effectiveness to the

Chasseurs Indigènes, or French Sepoys. These troops wore a white turban,

loose powder-blue jackets, faced and slashed with yellow, embroidered

vests with red sashes, and blue breeches extremely wide and loose, so

that they looked like kilts, falling to the knees, where they were

confined by a band; the calf of the leg encased in greaves of yellow

leather with black stripes; and white gaiters, falling from the ankle

over the shoe.

Long strings of camels laden with skins of wine, raki, and corn, might

be seen stalking along the dusty roads and filing through the dingy

bazaar, and wild-looking countrymen with droves of little shaggy ponies

trooped in hour after hour to sell the produce they carried and the

beasts that bore it. Instead of piastres, they began to demand lire,

shillings, pounds, and Napoleons, and displayed ingenuity in the art of

selling horses and doctoring them that would have done honour to

Yorkshiremen. The coarse brown bread of the country was to be had at the

bakers' shops early in the morning by those who were not so fortunate as

to have rations, and after a little preparatory disgust was not quite

uneatable. Wine, formerly two or three piastres (4_d._ or 5_d._) a

bottle, soon sold for 1_s._ 6_d._ or 2_s._ Meat was bad and dear, the

beef being very like coarse mahogany; the mutton was rather better, but

very lean. Eggs were becoming scarce and dear, in consequence of the

razzias of the army on the producing powers. Milk was an article of the

highest luxury, and only to be seen on the tables of the great; and the

sole attempt at butter was rancid lard packed in strong-smelling

camel's-hair bags. It was really wonderful that no Englishman had

sufficient enterprise to go out to Gallipoli with a stock of creature

comforts and camp necessaries. One man set up a shop, at which bad

foreign beer was sold as English ale at 1_s._ 6_d._ a bottle; a hard

little old Yankee ham fetched about 20_s._; brandy was very dear,

scarce, and bad; bacon was not to be had, except by great good fortune

and large outlay; and Dutch cheeses were selling at 8_s._ each. A stock

of saddlery would have been at once bought up at very remunerating rates

to the importer; and there was scarcely an article of common use in

England which could not have been disposed of at a very considerable

profit.

[Sidenote: CLOSE SHAVING.]

As change was very scarce, there was great difficulty in obtaining

articles of small value, and a sum of 19_s._ was occasionally made up in

piastres, half-piastres, gold pieces of 5, 10, 20, and 50 piastres each,

francs, soldi, lire, halfpence, sixpences, and zwanzigers, collected at

several shops up and down the street. Let the reader imagine Mr. John

Robinson, Patrick Casey, or Saunders Macpherson of Her Majesty's 50th

Regiment, suddenly plunged into such a mass of cheats and sharpers, who

combine the avidity of the Jew with the subtlety of the Greek, and

trying to purchase some little article of necessity or luxury with his

well-saved sovereign, and he can guess how he would suffer. "I expect at

last they'll give me a handful of wafers for a sovereign," said a

disconsolate sapper one day, as he gazed on the dirty equivalent for a

piece of English gold which he had received from an Israelite. Towards

evening, when raki and wine had done their work, the crowds became more

social and turbulent, and English and French might be seen engaged in

assisting each other to preserve the perpendicular, or toiling off to

their camps laden with bags of coffee, sugar, and rice, and large

bottles of wine. At sunset patrols cleared the streets, taking up any

intoxicated stragglers they might find there or in the _cafés_, and when

the brief twilight had passed away the whole town was left in silence

and in darkness, except when the barking and yelping of the innumerable

dogs which infested it woke up the echoes, and now and then the

challenge of a distant sentry or the trumpet-calls of the camp fell on

the ear.

The Lieutenant-General was determined to secure efficiency according to

the light that was in him. If Sir George Brown had his way, Rowland,

Oldridge, and the whole race of bears'-grease manufacturers and pomade

merchants would have scant grace and no profit. His hatred of hair

amounted to almost a mania. "Where there is hair there is dirt, and

where there is dirt there will be disease." That was an axiom on which

was founded a vigorous war against all capillary adornments. Stocks were

ordered to be kept up, stiff as ever. The General would not allow the

little black pouches hitherto worn on the belt by officers. They are

supposed to carry no pockets, and are not to open their shell jackets;

and the question they ask is, "Does the General think we are to have no

money?" But the order which gave the greatest dissatisfaction was that

each officer must carry his own tent. They were warned to provide mules

for that purpose, and to carry their baggage, but mules were not to be

had at any price. For close shaving, tight stocking, and light marching,

Lieut.-General Sir George Brown was not to be excelled. A kinder man to

the soldiers, or one who looked more to their rights, never lived, and

no "but" need be added to this praise.

CHAPTER III.

Works at Bulair--Scutari--Return to Gallipoli--French

Troops--Intricate Monetary Arrangements--The Turkish

Commissions--Army Chaplains--Fire in a Turkish Town--Prevalence of

High Winds at Gallipoli--Arrival of Lord Raglan at

Gallipoli--Review of French Troops--Greek Apathy and Turkish

Indifference.

Whilst part of the army was engaged on the works at Bulair, arrangements

were made for the reception of English regiments in the Bosphorus. On

the 13th of April the _Himalaya_ arrived with the 33rd Regiment (Colonel

Blake) and the 41st Regiment (Colonel Adams) on board, and anchored off

Gallipoli; Sir George Brown ordered her off to Scutari after a short

delay, and as I was miserably lodged at Gallipoli, I took a passage on

board. On the 15th (Good Friday) she arrived in the midst of a

snow-storm, and moored at the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. These

regiments were the first that landed at Scutari--a place about to

acquire a sad notoriety as the head-quarters of death and sickness, and

a happier interest as the scene of the labours of Florence Nightingale

and her sisters. The day was bitterly cold; Constantinople and Pera,

black-looking and desolate, contrasted with the white hills behind them,

covered with deep snow; and the Asiatic mountains in the distance had an

Alpine wintry aspect, which gave a shock to our notions of an Oriental

spring. The barracks were given up to the men just as they had been left

by the Turkish troops, and were inhabited by legions of fleas, and less

active but more nauseous insects. It was late in the day when the

regiment arrived at quarters, and several officers lay for the night in

the guard-room, which had an open brasier of charcoal to keep warmth in

it. All night we could scarcely sleep, and at dawn we began to receive

visits from Turks, who were kind enough to see if they could relieve us

of anything they thought we did not want.

A fire broke out at Gallipoli on the morning of Saturday, the 22nd of

April. The previous Friday was the Good Friday of the Greeks, and they

kept it as is their wont on a great festival, staying up late and

feasting and revelling. It was late, therefore--about 9 o'clock in the

morning--when, in the middle of a comfortable sleep, we were awakened by

Assistant-Surgeon Irwin, of the 28th, who slept in a den in the next

room with Captain Mansell, of the same regiment, rushing in and

exclaiming--"Get up! get up! Alexander's house is on fire!" The house in

which the principal medical officer lived was on the other side of the

street, about three houses lower down. Flames were issuing through the

windows of Papa Zonani's residence, and the Greek population were gazing

idly on while those who lived on either side were removing their effects

as rapidly as possible. The Turks stroked their beards, and considered

that the will of God was directly concerned in the destruction of the

premises, while the Greeks wrung their hands, and did nothing further.

The Major in his excitement dashed his hand through a pane of glass, and

shouted out, "Get up and bundle out your things, or we're done for." A

jump out of bed and a rush at the few spare articles of clothing lying

about followed, and then commenced a rapid flight down stairs into a

garden of onions and garlic at the rear of the house, which seemed

especially formed as a refuge for us. There were in the house Mr. Irwin,

of the 28th, Captain Mansell, of the 28th, Major Collingwood Dickson,

R.A., two soldiers of the 28th, servants of the officers, an old woman,

several children, cocks, hens, &c., immediately a secession of _lares_

and _penates_ to this land of refuge began; beds, coats, trunks,

portmanteaus, boxes, were hurled down the stairs, and fierce struggles

took place for precedence in the narrow passage, while the old lady and

the children howled dismally as they flew about with pipkins and

spinning-reels and inexplicable chattels.

[Sidenote: A FIRE AT GALLIPOLI.]

In the midst of all our confusion a heavy tramp was heard in the

street--the door of our house was burst open, and in rushed a body of

French infantry, shouting out, "Cassez tous, cassez tous; il faut

abattre la maison!" However, it was explained to them that this

necessity was not absolute, and that it would be much better for them to

devote themselves to saving our property. They at once assented, and

rushing on the various things in the room, transported them with

incredible rapidity into the garden. Their comrades outside were as

energetic as demons. They mounted on the roofs of the houses next to the

burning mansion, smashed in the tiles, destroyed the walls, and left

them a mass of ruins in as little time as it takes me to write these

lines. They saved the quarter of the town, for there was but little

water, and the few small hand-engines were of no service. The marines

and sailors of the _Jean Bart_ and _Montebello_ were landed very

speedily.

The Doctor's house and two others, as well as the greater part of the

hospital, were destroyed. Several of the French soldiers were hurt

severely, but no lives were lost. There was no pillage, owing to the

vigilance of the French guards. The only mischief, beyond the

destruction of property in the houses, the loss of twenty pounds' worth

of Dr. Alexander's effects, and the fright, was that we were compelled

to take refuge in a tent pitched in the onion-garden at the back of the

cabin, which would have formed a very agreeable residence for an

enthusiastic entomologist, but was by no means agreeable, on those cold

and windy nights, to unscientific individuals.

On the same day Sir De Lacy Evans and staff, in the _City of London_,

passed, after a short delay, on their way to Scutari, to form the Second

Division. On the 23rd the _Emperor Nicholas_ passed Gallipoli early in

the morning, with Sir Richard England on board, on his way to

Constantinople, to take the command of the Third Division. Later in the

day the _Trent_, with the 23rd Regiment; the _Tonning_, with Brigadiers

Sir C. Campbell and Pennefather; and the _Medway_, with the 95th

Regiment, arrived, and after a short delay proceeded northwards to

Scutari. Eyre, who arrived in the _Tonning_, was at once secured by Sir

George Brown, who had been anxiously waiting to catch a brigadier. He

set to work to drill his men with energy a day or two after his arrival.

The 44th (to whom the General paid a compliment on their efficient

condition), the 28th, and 4th, were under arms daily at 5-1/2 A.M., and

they thought themselves lucky if they got released after three hours'

drill and marching. The Brigadier was always at the camp soon after

dawn.

Æolus must have taken his abode somewhere in the neighbourhood of

Gallipoli since he removed his Court from Lipari. The unseasonable

rapidity with which he opens his bags, and the violence with which he

sends forth the sharpest and most truculent of all the winds to sweep

over the hills around this miserable spot, would satisfy Juno in her

most indignant mood if the place were a Trojan colony. The extraordinary

suddenness of these changes and the excessive variations of temperature

were very trying to the men in camp, but the average of illness and

disease was rather below that of most camps in ordinary circumstances.

The sun rises, perchance, from behind the hills of Asia Minor without a

cloud to mar his splendour; the Sea of Marmora, bounded by the faint

blue lines of the highlands of Asia and the distinctive sweep of the

European coast, spreads out towards the north-west like a sheet of

burnished silver; the Dardanelles flows swiftly between the contracted

channel as smoothly as the Thames in summer time by the pleasant meads

of Chertsey. There is a rich sylvan look about the scenery, for at a

distance the hills around Lampsaki, across the straits, appear to be

dotted with verdant lawns and plantations; and the outline of the high

grounds, rising tier after tier till they are capped by the lofty range

which stretches along the background from Ida in the Troad, is subdued

and regular.

The villages built in the recesses of the hills and in the little bays

and creeks of the straits, surrounded by all the enchantment of

distance, look clean and picturesque, the dark groves of cypress casting

into bright relief the whitewash of the houses and the tall shafts of

minarets standing out gracefully from the confused mass of roofs,

gables, masts, yards, and sails by the seaside. Further south the coasts

close in abruptly, and the straits are like a long Highland loch. The

land around Gallipoli on the European side of the straits is more bleak

and more level. Indeed, for miles around the town (except towards the

south, where there is a very small table-land with patches of trees),

and all the way across to the Gulf of Saros, the country very much

resembles the downs about Brighton. It is nearly as destitute of wood or

plantations. The soil, which is light, but deep and rather sandy,

produces excellent crops, but bears no trees, except a few figs and

olives. The vines, which are planted in rows, not trailed as in Italy,

are abundant, and the grape yields a rich, full, and generous wine,

which is highly esteemed. Into the soil, which is just scratched up by

ploughs rather inferior to those described by Virgil 1800 years ago, the

dejected rayahs are busied throwing the corn and barley seed; and as the

slow steers or huge lumbering buffaloes pace along the furrows, they are

followed by a stately army of storks, which march gravely at the very

heels of beast and ploughman, and engage themselves busily in destroying

the grubs and larvæ. On all the heights around glisten the white tents

of French or English, and here and there the eye rests upon their

serrated lines on the slope of some pleasant valley, or lights on the

encampment of some detached party posted in a recess of the hills. Faint

clouds of dust, through which may be seen the glistening of steel and

dark masses of uniform, blur the landscape here and there, and betray

the march of troops along the sandy roads, which are exactly like those

worn by the tramp of men and horses through Chobham-common, and had

neither fence, boundary-metal, nor drainage.

[Sidenote: WORKS AT BULAIR.]

In a moment the whole scene changes. A violent storm of wind rushes over

the face of the sea and straits, lashing them into fury, and sending the

Turkish boats flying with drooping peaks to the shelter of the

shore--the coast is obscured by masses of black clouds, which burst into

torrents of rain resembling tropical water-spouts. The French men-of-war

in the bay send down top masts, the merchantmen run out cable and let go

another anchor; the rayahs plod across the fields, and crouch in holes

and corners till the storm abates; and the luckless troops on their

march are covered with mud by the action of the rain. In such times as

these canvas is a sorry shelter--the pegs draw from the loose soil, and

let in wind and rain. On Saturday, the 29th of April, tents were blown

down by such a storm in all directions. In the two English camps about

twenty were down at the same time, and exposed the men to all the

drenching rain. Lady Errol, who was living with her husband in the Rifle

Camp, had to crawl from under the dripping canvas in most sorry plight.

Prince Jerome Napoleon arrived on the 30th. The town was shaken by the

Imperial salute of 101 guns from each of the five French line-of-battle

ships. He left the ship for the shore in a storm of wind, under a

similar salute, which frightened the Greeks out of their lives. Next

Sunday, Prince Napoleon, General Canrobert, and the _état major_

reviewed the French troops, and the English General and staff attended

upon the occasion.

Lord Raglan, accompanied by Lord de Ros, Quartermaster-General, and

staff, Mr. Burrell, Dr. Tice, &c., arrived May 2nd, at noon, on board

the _Emeu_. He proceeded to General Brown's quarters, and they had a

long interview. Lord Raglan visited Admiral Bruat on board his

flag-ship, and sailed the same night for the Bosphorus and for Scutari.

The works at the intrenched camp at Bulair progressed with such speed

that our portion of them was at this time expected to be finished by the

middle of May. The emulation between the French and English troops at

the diggings was immense, and at the same time most good-humoured. The

lines were about seven miles long, and about two and three-quarters or

three miles were executed by our men. They were simple field works,

running along the crest of a natural ridge, from the Gulf of Saros to

the Sea of Marmora. They consisted of a trench seven feet deep; the

bottom, from scarp to counterscarp, six feet broad; the top thirteen

feet broad. There was then a berm of three feet wide, above which was

the parapet of earthwork (to be revetted in due course) of five feet

thick, a banquette three feet six inches broad, and a slope inside of

one in two.

The spectator who selects a high point of land on the undulating country

round Brighton, and looks across the valley below, might form a

tolerable idea of the terrain around Gallipoli. Crossing the hills in

all directions, and piercing the ravines between them, the dark masses

of French infantry advancing from their numerous encampments might at

the period referred to be seen formed for miles around on every sloping

plateau. The shrill trumpets of the Zouaves were frequently heard

sounding a wild and eccentric march, and these fierce-looking soldiers

of Africa, burnt brown by constant exposure to the sun, with beards

which easily distinguish them from the native Arabs, came rushing past,

for their pace is so quick that it fully justifies the term. The open

collars of their coats allow free play to the lungs; the easy jacket,

the loose trouser, and the well-supported ankle, constitute the _beau

ideal_ of a soldier's dress; their firelocks and the brasses of their

swords and bayonets are polished to a nicety. Each man was then fully

equipped for the field, with great-coat strapped over his knapsack,

canteen by his side, a billhook, hatchet, or cooking-tin fastened over

all. In the rear, mounted on a packhorse, followed a vivandière, in the

uniform of the regiment, with natty little panniers and neatly-polished

barrels of diminutive size dangling over the saddle; and then came a

sumpter-mule, with two wooden boxes fastened to the pack, containing

small creature comforts for the officers. The word was given to

halt--stand at ease--pile arms. In a moment the whole regiment seemed

disorganized. The men scattered far and wide over the fields collecting

sticks and brushwood, and it appeared incredible that they could have

gathered all the piles of brambles and dried wood and leaves which they

deposited in the rear of the lines from the country that looked so bare.

The officers gathered in groups, lighted cigars, chatted and laughed, or

sat on the ground while their coffee was being boiled.

The moment the halt took place, off came the boxes from the mule--a

little portable table was set up--knives, forks, glasses and cups were

laid out--a capacious coffee-tin was put upon three stones over a heap

of bramble, and in three minutes each officer could take a cup of this

refreshing drink after his hot march, with a biscuit and morsel of

cheese, and a chasse of brandy afterwards. The men were equally alert in

providing themselves with their favourite beverage. In a very short

space of time two or three hundred little camp-fires were lighted,

sending up tiny columns of smoke, and coffee-tins were boiling, and the

busy brisk vivandière, with a smile for every one, and a joke or box on

the ear for a favourite vieux moustache, passed along through the blaze,

and filled out tiny cups of Cognac to the thirsty soldiers. Pipes of

every conceivable variety of shape were lighted, and a hum and bustle

rose up from the animated scene, so rich in ever-shifting combinations

of form and colour that Maclise might have looked on it with wonder and

despair. Regiment after regiment came up on the flanks of the Zouaves,

halted, and repeated the process, the only remarkable corps being the

Indigènes, or native Zouaves, dressed exactly the same as the French,

except that jackets, trousers, and vest are of a bright powder blue,

trimmed with yellow, and their turbans, or the folds of linen round the

fez, are of pure white.

[Sidenote: REVIEW OF FRENCH TROOPS.]

In an hour or so the crest of the hill, which extended in undulating

folds for two or three miles, was covered by battalions of infantry, and

they might be seen toiling up the opposite ridge, till nothing was

visible from one extremity to the other but the broken lines of these

stalwart battalions. There was a ready, dashing, serviceable look about

the men that justified the remark of one of the captains--"We are ready

as we stand to go on to St. Petersburg this instant." There was a

vivacity, so to speak, about the appearance of the troops which caught

the eye at once. The air of reality about this review distinguished it

from sham fights and field-days, and all holiday demonstrations of the

kind. Before twelve o'clock there were about 20,000 troops on the

opposite ridges of hills--an excellently-appointed train of artillery of

nine-pounder guns, with appointments complete, being stationed in the

valley below. The columns, taken lineally, extended upwards of eight

miles. Strange as such a spectacle must have been to Turks and Greeks,

there was scarcely a native on the ground. Whether fear or apathy kept

them away, it is impossible to say; but Gallipoli, with its 15,000

inhabitants, sent not a soul to gaze upon the splendid spectacle. If

Horace be right, the Gallipolitans have indeed discovered the secret of

the only true happiness. They absolutely revel in the most voluptuous

indulgence of the _nil admirari_. While six or seven French men-of-war

were anchored in their waters, while frigates and steamers and

line-of-battle ships kept passing up and down in continuous streams,

waking the echoes of the Dardanelles with endless salutes, not a being

ever came down to glance at the scene. The old crones sat knitting in

their dingy hovels; the men, i.e., the Greeks, slouched about the

corners in their baggy breeches, and the pretty and dirty little

children continued their games without showing the smallest sign of

curiosity, though a whole fleet was blazing away its thunder in an

Imperial welcome within a few yards of them.

As for the Turks, they sat so obstinately on their shelves and smoked

their apathetic pipes so pertinaciously--they were so determined in

resenting the impulses of curiosity--that one's fingers were perpetually

itching to indulge in the luxury of giving them a slap in the face, and

it was all but impossible to resist the impulse of trying what effect a

kick would have had in disturbing such irritating equanimity. There were

no Chobham crowds to break the uniformity of the lines of military, but

great numbers of the English soldiery, in their Sunday costume, turned

out and "assisted" at the ceremony. Shortly before twelve o'clock, a

brilliant staff--it did indeed literally blaze in gold and silver, brass

and polished steel, as the hot sun played on rich uniforms and

accoutrements--was visible coming up the valley from the direction of

the town. They were preceded by four vedettes, French dragoons with

brazen helmets and leopard-skin mountings; the various staff officers in

advance; then Prince Napoleon, in the uniform of a Lieutenant-General,

and General Canrobert, in full dress and covered with orders, on one

side, and Sir George Brown on the other, both somewhat in the rear. The

effect of the _cortége_ as it swept past, the vision of prancing horses

and gorgeous caparisons, of dancing plumes, of gold and silver lace, of

hussar, dragoon, artillery, rifle, Zouave, spahi, lancer, of officers of

all arms, dressed with that eye to effect which in France is very just

as long as men are on horseback, was wonderful. It flashed by like some

grand procession of the stage, if one can so degrade its power and

reality by the comparison. It was not gratifying to an Englishman to

observe the red coatee and cocked hat; the gold epaulettes and twist of

the British officers looked very ill amid all the variety of costume in

which the French indulged, nor was it without reason that the latter

complained they could not tell which was the general or which the

captain by their uniforms.

As the vedettes came in view the drums of each regiment rolled, the

trumpets and bugles sounded, and all the men who had been scattered over

the ground in disorderly multitudes came running in from all sides, and

dressed up, unpiled arms, and with great celerity fell into lines three

deep, with bands, _vivandières_, mules, and smoking fires hastily

extinguished in the rear. When General Canrobert reached the first

regiment he raised his cocked hat, and shouted lustily, "_Vive

l'Empereur_." The officers repeated the cry, and three times it ran

along the line of the regiment. The band struck up, the men presented

arms, and the Prince rode past bowing and raising his hat in

acknowledgment, and again the band, out of compliment to the English

General, played "God save the Queen."

Soon after daybreak on the 6th of May, the Rifle Brigade, the 50th

Regiment, and the 93rd Regiment, forming the working brigade of Bulair,

struck tents. At the same time the 4th, 28th, and 44th Regiments, at the

Soulari encampment, about two miles from the town of Gallipoli,

proceeded towards Bulair, to take up the quarters vacated by the other

brigade. The mass of baggage was enormous. The trains of buffalo and

bullock carts, of pack-horses, and mules, and of led horses, which filed

along the road to Gallipoli, seemed sufficient for the army of Xerxes.

For seven or eight miles the teams of country carts, piled up with beds

and trunks, and soldiers' wives and tents, were almost unbroken; now and

then an overladen mule tumbled down, or a wheel came off, and the whole

line of march became a confused struggle of angry men and goaded cattle.

It so happened that two French battalions were moving out to fresh

quarters (they change their camps once a fortnight), and it became

perceptible at a glance that, _pro rata_, they carried much less

_impedimenta_ than our regiments. There is considerable difficulty in

accounting for this; because without a complete knowledge of the

internal economy of both armies comparison would be difficult; but the

absence of women--the small kit of the officers, as well as the size of

the tents, went far to account for it. Frenchmen live in uniform, while

no British soldier is quite happy without mufti. He must have his

wide-awake and shooting jacket, and dressing gown, and evening dress,

and a tub of some sort or other, a variety of gay shirting, pictorial

and figurative, while the Gaul does very well without them.

CHAPTER IV.

Mishaps--Omar Pasha's Plans--Preparations for a Move--Lord

Raglan--Jew and Armenian Money-changers--Review of the English

Forces--Off to Varna.

[Sidenote: THE GUARDS' CAMP.]

The Duke of Cambridge arrived in the _Caradoc_ at 3 P.M. on Tuesday, the

6th. Marshal St. Arnaud arrived at Gallipoli on Sunday, the 7th of May.

On May 9th, the Rifle Brigade and 93rd Regiment left Gallipoli for

Scutari. Sir George Brown and staff also departed, leaving the force

encamped under the command of Sir Richard England, with Brigadiers Sir

J. Campbell and Eyre; Major Colborne and Captain Hallewell, Deputy

Assistant Quarter-Master-Generals; Colonel Doyle, Assistant

Adjutant-General; Brigade-Major Hope; Brigade-Major Wood, &c. In a few

days I bade good-bye to Gallipoli, and proceeded to Scutari, where I

remained in quarters for some days, but finally took up my abode at

Messurir Hotel, in Pera, and awaited the course of events.

In a book called "Letters from Head-Quarters," newspaper correspondents

are censured because they had the audacity to ask the commissariat for

tents and rations. Concerning the application to head-quarters, it may

be as well to state that it was made in consequence of directions from

home, for the Government ordered that the accommodation which is seldom

refused to gentlemen who may accompany in any recognized capacity the

course of armies in the field should be afforded to the correspondents

of the London journals. I called on Lord Raglan before he left Scutari,

because I was requested to do so. Whilst waiting till his lordship could

see me, the correspondent of a London morning journal came into the

ante-room, and told me he was on the same errand as myself. "Lord Raglan

being very much engaged," I was asked by one of the officers in waiting

to see Colonel Steele, and on stating the object of my visit to the

military secretary, he assured me that it could not be acceded to,

whereupon I made my bow and withdrew without any further observation. A

few days afterwards I received permission to draw rations from the

commissariat, by order of the Secretary of State.

On a slope rising up from the water's edge, close to Lord Raglan's

quarters, the camp of the brigade of Guards was pitched; a kind of

ravine, about a quarter of a mile wide, divided it from the plateau and

valley at the back of the barracks, in which were pitched the camps of

the other regiments, and of the Light Division. Clumps of tall shady

trees were scattered here and there down towards the water's edge, under

which a horde of sutlers had erected sheds of canvas and plank for the

sale of provisions, spirits, and wines, combined with a more wholesome

traffic in cakes, Turkish sweetmeats, lemonade, and sherbet. The

proprietors were nearly all Smyrniotes or Greeks from Pera, not bearing

the highest character in the world. The regular canteens established

within the lines were kept by a better class of people, under the

_surveillance_ of the military authorities.

Syces, with horses for sale, rode about at full speed through the lanes

and pathways leading to the camp; the steeds they bestrode were bony

animals with mouths like a vice, stuffed out with grass and green food,

and not worth a tithe of the prices asked for them. All this scene, so

full of picturesque animation--these files of snowy tents sweeping away

tier after tier over hillock and meadow, till they were bounded by the

solemn black outlines of the forest of cypress--these patches of men at

drill here and there all over the plain--these steadier and larger

columns at parade--this constant play and glitter of bayonet and

accoutrement as the numerous sentries wheeled on their beaten

tracks--this confused crowd of araba drivers, match-sellers, fruit and

cigar and tobacco vendors, of hamals or porters, of horse-dealers and

gaily-dressed rogues, and rapparees of all nations, disappeared in a few

hours, and left no trace behind, except the barren circle which marked

where the tent once stood, and the plain all seared and scorched by the

camp-fires. What became of the mushroom tribe which had started as it

were from the ground to supply the wants of the soldiery it would be

difficult to say, and not very interesting to inquire.

Among the most amusing specimens of the race must be reckoned the Jew

and Armenian money-changers--squalid, lean, and hungry-looking

fellows--whose turbans and ragged gabardines were ostentatiously dirty

and poverty-stricken,--who prowled about the camp with an eternal

raven-croak of "I say, John, change de monnish--change de monnish,"

relieved occasionally by a sly tinkle of a leathern purse well filled

with dollars and small Turkish coin. They evaded the vigilance of the

sentries, and startled officers half asleep in the heat of the sun, by

the apparition of their skinny hands and yellow visages within the tent,

and the cuckoo-cry, "I say, John, change de monnish." Their appearance

was the greatest compliment that could be paid to the national

character. The oldest Turk had never seen one of them near a native

camp, and the tradition of ages affirmed that where soldiers come the

race disappeared. Indeed, they only showed at the English camp in the

sun-time. They were a sort of day-ghost which vanished at the approach

of darkness, and the croak and the jingle were silent, and they spirited

themselves gently away ere twilight, and where they lived no man could

tell. Any one who has seen Vernet's picture, at Versailles, of the

taking of Abd-el-Kader's Smala, will at once recognize the type of these

people in the wonderful figure of the Jew who is flying with his

treasure from the grasp of the French swordsman.

A fleet of thirty transports was anchored off the barracks. The Sappers

were engaged fitting up horse-boxes on board the transports. The Sea of

Marmora was covered with the white sails of transports and store-ships,

making way against the current, and the little wharf and landing-place

at Scutari were alive with men loading boats with provisions or

munitions of war.

[Sidenote: DISPOSITION OF THE BRITISH ARMY.]

In strange contrast to all this life and activity, the natives idled on

the shore, scarcely raising their heads to look at what was passing

around them; or taking a very unobtrusive and contemplative interest in

the labours of the soldiery, as they watched them from their

smoking-perches in front of the _cafés_ of the town, or of the sutlers'

booths pitched along the shore. Lord Raglan's quarters seemed to be an

especial resort for them. The house, a low wooden building two stories

high, very clean, and neatly painted and matted within, was situated on

the beach, about three-quarters of a mile from the barrack. In front was

a tolerably spacious courtyard, with high walls, well provided with

little stone boxes for the sparrows and swallows to build in, and inside

this court led horses and chargers, belonging to the aides and officers

on duty, might be seen pacing about. Directly opposite to the entrance

of the court was a wooded knoll, with a few gravestones peering above

the rich grass; and a Turkish fountain, in front of a group of

pine-trees, usually surrounded by water-carriers, was in the foreground.

Groups of Turks, Greeks, and Armenians, each distinct, were to be seen

reclining at the foot of these trees, gazing listlessly into the

courtyard, while they carried on monosyllabic conversations at long

intervals between puffs of smoke. The beach, which somewhat resembled

that at Folkestone at high water, was bounded by a tolerable road, a

favourite walk of the women and children of Chalcedon and the suburbs

beyond it; but these animated bundles of bright-coloured clothing

scarcely deigned to look at the men in uniforms, or to turn their heads

at the jingle of sword and spur. In the stagnant water which ripples

almost imperceptibly on the shore there floated all forms of nastiness

and corruption, which the prowling dogs, standing leg-deep as they wade

about in search of offal, cannot destroy. The smell from the shore was

noisome, but a few yards out from the fringe of buoyant cats, dogs,

birds, straw, sticks--in fact, of all sorts of abominable flotsam and

jetsam, which bob about on the pebbles unceasingly--the water is

exquisitely clear. The slaughter-houses for the troops, erected by the

seaside, did not contribute, as may readily be imagined, to the

cleanliness of this filthy beach, or the wholesomeness of the

atmosphere.

The disposition of the British army was as follows:--At Scutari, the

Guards, three battalions, the 7th, 19th, 23rd, 30th, 33rd, 41st, 47th,

49th, 77th, 88th, 93rd, 95th, and Rifle Brigade; at Gallipoli the 1st

Royals, 4th, 29th, 38th, 44th and 50th; in all about 22,000 men. Our

cavalry consisted of Lord Lucan, his aides-de-camp, and a few staff

officers, who were awaiting the arrival of the force to which they were

attached. The artillery which had arrived was not in a very efficient

condition, owing to the loss of horses on the passage out. It was while

our army was in this state that we heard of the march of the Russians

upon Silistria, and their advance from the Dobrudscha along the banks of

the Danube. Lord de Ros was dispatched to Varna, and had an interview

with Omar Pasha, who impressed upon him the necessity of an advance on

the part of the allies into Bulgaria. The Russian army on the right bank

of the Danube, with their left resting on Kostendje, and their right on

Rassova, covering their front with clouds of Cossack plunderers, were

within twelve miles of Silistria, and their light cavalry swept all the

northern portions of Bulgaria, and threatened to cut off the

communications.

On the 17th of May, a state dinner was given to the Duke of Cambridge by

the Sultan, at which it was said that Marshal St. Arnaud made an

allusion to a third Power which would join France and England in the

struggle. The Austrian Ambassador, who was present, did not utter any

expression of opinion upon the subject.

A tremendous storm broke over the camp on the night of the 18th of May.

Two officers of the 93rd, Lieutenant W. L. Macnish and Ensign R. Crowe,

set out from the barracks, about nine o'clock, to go to the encampment

of their regiments. The distance was about a third of a mile. Just

outside the barrack-wall was a small gully, at the bottom of which there

is usually a few inches of water, so narrow that a child might step

across. As they were groping along they suddenly plunged into the

current, now far beyond their depth. Mr. Crowe managed to scramble up

the bank, but his calls to his companion were unanswered. Mr. Macnish's

body was discovered in the ditch a few days later, and was interred by

the regiment.

On the same night Lord Raglan, in the _Caradoc_, Marshal St. Arnaud and

staff, in the _Berthollet_, and Riza Pasha, Minister of War, and Mehemet

Kiprisli Pasha, Minister of the Interior, in the steam-frigate

_Cheh-Per_, sailed for Varna to hold a council of war with Omar Pasha,

Admirals Hamelin and Dundas. Omar Pasha was anxious for the arrival of

an Anglo-French army to occupy the country between Varna and Shumla, and

to feel their way in advance of that line, so as to menace the Russians

from Chernavoda to Kostendje, while he endangered their right flank by

pushing a large force on Bucharest. He placed great reliance on the

position of Varna. A general at the head of a large army, who kept his

own counsel, could, according to the ideas he then expressed, paralyse

the whole Russian invasion, when once he had got his men into the

neighbourhood of this place, aided, as he must be, by the fleets. Omar

Pasha declared that his plans were known to the Russians in twenty-four

hours after he mentioned them. Presuming that the officer in command had

a close mouth, according to Omar Pasha, a moral and physical strength

might be found in the position almost irresistible. He might from that

point move on Shumla, and on the passes of the Balkan, with equal ease;

he could attack the right flank or the left flank of the Russians, or,

by landing in their rear, covered by the fleet, he might break up their

position in front of the Danube, and frustrate all their plans of

campaign. With similar facility he could have sent an army across to the

Asiatic shores of the Black Sea, to aid the Turkish army, or to attack

the forces of the Caucasus, or could direct his attention to the Crimea,

so as to make an attempt on Sebastopol.

The allied Generals visited Pravadi and Shumla, and inspected the

Turkish army, which numbered about 40,000 men, many of whom were sick.

On the evening of their visit, Omar Pasha received dispatches announcing

that 70,000 Russians, under Paskiewitch, had commenced the bombardment

of Silistria.

On the 23rd Lord Raglan returned from Varna to Scutari. It would appear

that Omar Pasha had succeeded in convincing the allied generals that it

would be desirable to effect a concentration of their forces between

Varna and Shumla.

It was decided that Omar Pasha should concentrate in front of Shumla,

and that the English and French should move their disposable forces to

his assistance. On the return of the Generals arrangements for moving

from Scutari were pushed forward with great vigour.

[Sidenote: REVIEW OF ENGLISH FORCES.]

On the 23rd of May, the generals of brigade received instructions to

prepare for active operations; and transports were detached from the

fleet to proceed up the Black Sea with stores on the evening of the same

day.

At a quarter to eleven o'clock on the 24th of May, all the regiments in

barrack and camp were paraded separately, and afterwards marched to the

ridge which bounded one side of the shallow but broad ravine that

separated the Brigade of Guards from the other brigades. The total force

on the ground consisted of about 15,000 men.

The Guards were ordered to appear on parade without--Muskets?--No.

Coatees?--No. Epaulettes?--No. Cartouch-boxes?--No. Boots?--No. In fact,

Her Majesty's Guards were actually commanded to parade "WITHOUT STOCKS!"

to celebrate Her Majesty's birthday.

At twelve o'clock, Lord Raglan and staff, to the number of thirty or

forty, appeared on the ground. Lord Raglan having ridden slowly along

the line, wheeled round and took his post in front of the centre

regiment. After a short pause, just as the guns of the _Niger_ were

heard thundering out a royal salute from the Bosphorus, the bands struck

up the national air again, and down at once fell the colours of every

regiment drooping to the ground. The thing was well done, and the effect

of these thirty-two masses of richly dyed silk encrusted with the names

of great victories, falling so suddenly to the earth as if struck down

by one blow, was very fine. In another minute a shout of "God save the

Queen" ran from the Rifles on the left to the Guards on the right, and

three tremendous cheers, gathering force as they rolled on with

accumulated strength from regiment after regiment, made the very air

ring, the ears tingle, and the heart throb.

After the cheering died away the march past began. The Guards marched

magnificently. The Highlanders were scarcely a whit inferior, and their

pipes and dress created a sensation among the Greeks, who are fond of

calling them Scotch Albanians, and comparing them to the Klephtic

tribes, among whom pipes and kilts still flourish.

Games--racing in sacks, leaping, running, &c., and cricket, and other

manly sports--occupied the men in the afternoon, in spite of the heat of

the day. In the evening, a handsome obelisk, erected in the centre of

the Guards' camp, and crowned with laurel, was surrounded by fireworks.

The apathy of the Turks was astonishing. Though Scutari, with its

population of 100,000 souls, was within a mile and a half, it did not

appear that half a dozen people had been added to the usual crowd of

camp followers who attend on such occasions. The Greeks were more

numerous; Pera sent over a fair share of foreigners, all dressed in the

newest Paris fashions.

Vessels were sent up to Varna daily with stores; but we were not

prepared to take the field. There was great want of saddlery,

pack-saddles, saddle-bags, and matters of that kind, and the officers

found that their portmanteaus were utterly useless. If John Bull could

only have seen the evil effects of strangling the services in times of

peace by ill-judged parsimony, he would not for the future listen so

readily to the counsellors who tell him that it is economy to tighten

his purse-strings round the neck of army and navy. Who was the wise man

who warned us in time of peace that we should pay dearly for shutting

our eyes to the possibility of war, and who preached in vain to us about

our want of baggage, and pontoon trains, and our locomotive

deficiencies? No outlay, however prodigal, can atone for the effects of

a griping penuriousness, and all the gold in the Treasury cannot produce

at command those great qualities in administrative and executive

departments which are the fruits of experience alone. A soldier, an

artilleryman, a commissariat officer, cannot be created suddenly, not

even with profuse expenditure in the attempt. It would be a great

national blessing if all our political economists could, at this time,

have been caught and enlisted in the army at Scutari for a month or so,

or even if they could have been provided with temporary commissions,

till they had obtained some practical knowledge of the results of their

system.

CHAPTER V.

Departure of the Light Division--Scenery of the Bosphorus--The

Black Sea--Varna--Encampment at Aladyn--Bulgarian Cart-drivers--The

Commissariat.

[Sidenote: DEPARTURE OF THE LIGHT DIVISION.]

On Sunday, the 28th of May, Sir George Brown left the barracks at

Scutari, and proceeded to Varna in the _Banshee_. Before his departure

orders were issued that the men belonging to the Light Division under

his command should embark early the following morning--the baggage to be

on board at six o'clock, the men at nine o'clock. At daylight on the

29th of May the _réveillé_ woke up the camp of the Light Division, and

the regiments were ready for inspection at five o'clock. The Light

Division, which was destined to play an important part in this campaign,

and whose highest glory was to emulate the successes of the famous

legion of the Peninsula whose name they bore, consisted of the following

regiments:--The 7th Fusileers, the 23rd Fusileers, the 19th Foot, the

33rd or Wellington's Regiment, the 77th Foot, the 88th Connaught

Rangers, and the Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion. They formed in front of

their tents, and after a rapid inspection were ordered to strike tents.

In a moment or two file after file of canvas cones collapsed and fell to

the earth, the poles were unspliced and packed up, the canvas rolled up

and placed in layers on bullock carts, the various articles of

regimental baggage collected into the same vehicles,--ants in a swarm

could not have been more active and bustling than the men; they formed

into masses, broke up again, moved in single files in little companies,

in broken groups all over the ground, while the araba drivers looked

stupidly on, exhibiting the most perfect indifference to the

appropriation of their carts, and evidently regarding the Giaours as

unpleasant demons, by whose preternatural energies they were to be

agitated and perturbed as punishment for their sins. It would seem,

indeed, very difficult to re-form this shifting, diffusive crowd of

red-coats into the steady columns which were drawn up so rigidly a short

time previously along the canvas walls, now fluttering in the dust or

packed helplessly in bales. Their labours were, however, decisive, and

in some half-hour or so they had transformed the scene completely, and

had left nothing behind them but the bare circles of baked earth,

marking where tents had stood, the blackened spot where once the

camp-fires blazed, tethering sticks, and a curious _débris_ of jam-pots,

preserved meat cases, bottles, sweetmeat boxes, sardine tins, broken

delf, bones of fowl and ham, pomatum pots, and tobacco pipes.

A few words of command running through the toiling crowd--some blasts on

the bugle--and the regiments got together, steady and solid, with long

lines of bullock carts and buffalo arabas drawn up between them, and

commenced their march over the sandy slopes which led to the sea. There

lay the fleet of transports, anchored with their attendant steamers in

long lines, as close inshore as they could approach with safety. The

_Vesuvius_, steam sloop, Commander Powell, the _Simoom_ and the _Megæra_

troop ships (screw-steamers), sent in their boats to aid those of the

merchantmen and steamers in embarking the men and baggage, and Admiral

Boxer, aided by Captain Christie, Commander Powell, and Lieutenant

Rundle, R.N., superintended the arrangements for stowing away and

getting on board the little army, which consisted of about 6,500 men.

The morning was fine, but hot. The men were in excellent spirits, and as

they marched over the dusty plain to the landing-places, they were

greeted with repeated peals of cheering from the regiments of the other

division. The order and regularity with which they were got on board the

boats, and the safety and celerity with which they were

embarked--baggage, horses, women, and stores--were creditable to the

authorities, and to the discipline and good order of the men themselves,

both officers and privates.

No voyager or artist can do justice to the scenery of the Bosphorus. It

has much the character of a Norwegian fiord. Perhaps the rounded outline

of the hills, the light rich green of the vegetation, the luxuriance of

tree and flower and herbage, make it resemble more closely the banks of

Killarney or Windermere. The waters escaping from the Black Sea, in one

part compressed by swelling hillocks to a breadth of little more than a

mile, at another expanding into a sheet of four times that breadth, run

for thirteen miles in a blue flood, like the Rhone as it issues from the

Lake of Geneva, till they mingle with the Sea of Marmora, passing in

their course beautiful groupings of wood and dale, ravine and hill-side,

covered with the profusest carpeting of leaf and blade. Kiosk and

pleasure-ground, embrasured bastion and loopholed curtain, gay garden,

villa, mosque, and mansion, decorate the banks in unbroken lines from

the foot of the forts which command the entrance up to the crowning

glory of the scene, where the imperial city of Constantine, rising in

many-coloured terraces from the verge of the Golden Horn, confuses the

eye with masses of foliage, red roofs, divers-hued walls, and gables,

surmounted by a frieze of snow-white minarets with golden summits, and

by the symmetrical sweep of St. Sophia. The hills strike abruptly

upwards to heights varying from 200 feet to 600 feet, and are bounded at

the foot by quays, which run along the European side, almost without

interruption, from Pera to Bujukderé, about five miles from the Black

Sea. These quays are also very numerous on the Asiatic side.

The villages by the water-side are so close together, that Pera may be

said to extend from Tophané to the forts beyond Bujukderé. The

residences of the pashas, the imperial palaces of the Sultan, and the

retreats of opulence, lined these favoured shores; and as the stranger

passes on, in steamer or caique, he may catch a view of some hoary pasha

or ex-governor sitting cross-legged in his garden or verandah, smoking

away, and each looking so like the other that they might all pass for

brothers. The windows of one portion of these houses are mostly closely

latticed and fastened, but here and there a bright flash of a yellow or

red robe shows the harem is not untenanted. These dwellings succeed each

other the whole length of the Bosphorus, quite as numerously as the

houses on the road from Hyde Park Corner to Hammersmith; and at places

such as Therapia and Bujukderé they are dense enough to form large

villages, provided with hotels, shops, _cafés_, and lodging-houses. The

Turks delight in going up in their caiques to some of these places, and

sitting out on the platforms over the water, while the chibouque or

narghile confers on them a zoophytic happiness; and the greatest object

of Turkish ambition is to enjoy the pleasures of a kiosk on the

Bosphorus. The waters abound in fish, and droves of porpoises and

dolphins disport in myriads on its surface, plashing and playing about,

as with easy roll they cleave their way against its rapid flood, or

gambolling about in the plenitude of their strength and security, till a

sword-fish takes a dig at them, and sets them off curvetting and

snorting like sea-horses. Hawks, kites, buzzards, and sea eagles are

numerous, and large flocks of a kind of gregarious petrel of a dusky

hue, with whitish breasts, called by the French _âmes damneés_, which

are believed never to rest, keep flying up and down close to the water.

Amidst such scenery the expeditionary flotilla began its voyage at

eleven o'clock. It consisted of two steamers for staff officers and

horses, seven steamers for troops and chargers, one for 300 pack horses,

four sailing transports for horse artillery, and two transports for

commissariat animals. Off Tophané, frigates, some of them double-banked,

displayed the red flag with the silver crescent moon and star of the

Ottoman Porte. They were lying idly at rest there, and might have been

much better employed, if not at Kavarna Bay, certainly in cruising about

the Greek Archipelago.

[Sidenote: VARNA.]

It was five o'clock ere the last steamer which had to wait for the

transports got under weigh again, and night had set in before they

reached the entrance of the Black Sea. As they passed the forts (which

are pretty frequent towards the Euxine), the sentries yelled out strange

challenges and burned blue lights, and blue lights answered from our

vessels in return; so that at times the whole of the scene put one in

mind of a grand fairy spectacle; and it did not require any great

stretch of the imagination to believe that the trees were the work of

Grieve--that Stanfield had dashed in the waters and ships--that the

forts were of pasteboard, and the clouds of gauze lighted up by a

property man--while those moustachioed soldiers, with red fez caps or

tarbouches, eccentric blue coats and breeches, and white belts, might

fairly pass for Surrey supernumeraries. Out went the blue lights!--we

were all left as blind as owls at noontide; but our eyes recovered, the

stars at last began to twinkle, two lights shone, or rather bleared

hazily on either bow--they marked the opening of the Bosphorus into the

Euxine. We shot past them, and a farewell challenge and another blue

halo showed the sentries were wide-awake. We were in the Black Sea, and,

lo! sea and sky and land were at once shut out from us! A fog, a

drifting, clammy, nasty mist, bluish-white, and cold and raw, fell down

upon us like a shroud, obscured the stars and all the lights of heaven,

and stole with a slug-like pace down yard and mast and stays, stuck to

the face and beard, rendered the deck dark as a graveyard, and forced us

all down to a rubber and coffee. This was genuine Black Sea weather.

Later in the night we passed through a fleet which we took to be Turkish

men-of-war, but it was impossible to make them out, and but for the

blockade of their ports these vessels might have been Russians.[6] In

the morning the same haze continued drifting about and hugging the land;

but once it rose and disclosed a steamer in shore, with a transport cast

off hovering about it, just as a hen watches a chicken. The _Vesuvius_

fired a gun, and after some time the steamer managed to take the

transport in tow again, and proceeded to rejoin the squadron. We

subsequently found it was the _Megæra_. The line of land was marked by a

bank of white clouds, and the edge of the sea horizon was equally

obscured.

The bulk of the convoy arrived and cast anchor in Varna Bay before the

evening, and the disembarkation of the troops was conducted with such

admirable celerity, that they were landed as fast as the vessels came

in. Large boats had been provided for the purpose, and the French and

English men-of-war lent their launches and cutters to tow and carry, in

addition to those furnished by the merchantmen. The Rifles marched off

to their temporary camp under canvas, about a mile away. The 88th

Connaught Rangers followed, and on our arrival, the bay was alive with

boats full of red-coats. The various regiments cheered tremendously as

vessel after vessel arrived, but they met with no response from the

Turkish troops.

With difficulty I succeeded in getting a very poor lodging in the house

of an Armenian dragoman, who forces himself on the staff of the English

consulate, and, in company with several officers, remained there for

several days, living and eating after the Armenian fashion by day, and

"pigging" in some very lively "divans" at night, till my horses and

servants arrived, when I proceeded to Aladyn. In consequence of

instructions from home, Mr. Filder gave orders for the issue of rations

for self, servants, and horses.

[Sidenote: BULGARIAN CART-DRIVERS.]