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r a ferttJtgt ifcr . When-it iirgoHJe-tWe'men Have * aaPtHe « wfeter'cldtiifQg ; " ^ muafr dawiHrtmtrthe Uttlfr ^ armth KxffSrdii& ' aB'tfttyVest ? can . THe same- remarMs' apply Irthe-socke . * ' The'gtoves- are- good ' nf tlfey-would omy tet but fortiie 'work- our men : hare they * require at least Worsix- 'pairfw ^ hpwhole winterv Bftt the crowning bsurdiWis-tlre ^ cwnforter ! ' Hr is-a- , strip of ver £ flhe audnyMJoipuredwool ? about two inches wide and three set ' Ionff ,- abou * thtesize-of an- oidfiiary brace . Literally i wtald notf make a decent ¦ neek-tie fora child . It is home to and contradict
selessfor the authorities at -try tout Fhave * now-asserted . ' I have-manjrof'these articles r nry'possession ; and' as specimens of lointer clothing ' H ' vl cainpaign theyare certainly the greatest curiosities ' have seen- in . the Crimea . The-officers laugh- at the iihgsr , and aski is ^ this-really / the supply about * whieh so rach ; fuss was made in England ,- and-for-sendihg- -which ie home authorities got such praise ? Th&Tosn . look on rem with * perfect- contempt' and- disgust ; - and willingly cchattge their whole stock of winter'clothing' for one mrfbrtable bread-bag . " "
BHDJJKANC'ECOF . THE GrAKBS ^ " It is ' singular to- note How ditifereirtly hardships Fect ^ tWe new regiments and those which- have been out jre from the commencement ; Take the Guards , for ' stance . On : parade they look a collection of ' gaunt rty scarecrows , ' only by their' consummate discipline hich a- Guardsman never-forgets * which no amount of iffering ever- induces him to break through ; can you comiise the remains of the most perfect corps of inntry in- the- world ; The officers ldok anything but ficers' —at least in a Londoners notion ;* the men all ok as if risen from some dangerous sickness . Compare
tese men with'newiy-arrivedline regiments—the latter ok the picture- of " neatness , models of'robust health , en r whom .-:. you . ; would ; backs to go < . through ! . anything . et-in the course of a'month man y ^ very many , of these nv men have died , and all the rest are-. ' seedy , ' dirty valids , while the Guards look as gaunt and unchanged ever . Five or six weeks puts the new regiment on its 5 S ,- and from that time forward it . rivals , the oldest agera in bone , dirt , and wretchedness ; and singularly ough the mortality ceases . If a man : gets through e first month or six . weeks in camp-without sickness , i has i nothing to dread from the climate of the Crimea . "
An officer , grown listless ^ with travel , gives us the Hawing SKETCH OF BALAKXAVA . " In the main , street almost every house is now a shop store ; a morsel . of bread , 12 inches by 4 , announces at some Jew , Greek , or Maltese rascal supplies spirits , er , groceries , &c . ; an unbroken string , of carts , wagns , arabas with , dromedaries , and pack ponies , fills the ntxe of the . street , while under the projecting eaves of e shops is a crowd of officers and men * mingled with idle-horses .. The men are drinking ale and porter at . Gd . or . 2 s . a . bottle , and the ge nerality have a thick jcuit , with a lump of butter or cheese on ifc , in their t The officers are bawling for tea , hams , jams ,
: kles , candles , « gregos , ' American chairs , brandy , tocco , or butter , and cramming them into holsters and idlerbags ,, or . . securing them ^ as best they can for msit to camp . In the midst of the m \ id , clamour , and nfasion you see soattered here and , there one of the wly-arrived mounted staff corps , in fanciful helmet , 1 tunic , braided with black cord , and mounted on a abald Spanish horse , looking , to say the truth , very ich as if they had just escaped from Astley ' s , or were p . advanced guard of some equestrian troop coming' to on'a circuB ' in the villagej Those ' nice young men ' ancc about' in the' mirey or stand sentry with drawn r ord at a ruined house near the entrance to tho town in e vain hope of preserving some order among tho throng
travellers . An unhappy attempt at imitating an index iger , in mud or charcoal , on a-white wall , pointing wn'a very narrow and excessively filthy alley , serves a guide to the Post-office— that haven of hope and litre of interest for every man who has a heart and a me . "Whether it be mail day or not , I would not ink of leaving Balaklava without a call at tho Post-Ixie ,. for , there is always the chance of . a letter or a iper having been overlooked . I must say that civility , nl untiring patience in replying to interrogatories , at iy rate , characterise tho officials at our Post-office ; at ist , so far . aa my oxporionco goes . Such a scene as I ivo vainly attempted to portray is never to be forgotten r one who has witnessed tho reality . My wanderings ivc extended round the world . I havo dwelt in both
misplujres and ploughed every ocoan ;' tho streets of mdon and Paris , of Calcutta and Capo Town , oliurt Town and Sydney , are familiar to mo . 1 havo minaged among tho 'kingcobrt '— -oxcuso tho spoiling , ui know I know better—iu tho Chouh of Benares and « llazaarn of Patna ; I have looked with a longing r knick-knackery in tho Palais Royal and tho * assngcs at Brussels ; the Piazza San Marco at Venice id tho Dnomo of Milan havo bewildered me with their osont beauty or past associations ; but that little filthy rcct in Halaklava , with itn occupnntH , has afforded mo ore- food for . reflection . The impression produced will 3 more lasting . It in a lesson in life—a chapter in hia-> ry . The scene is worthy of a philosopher , and ono ho possesses tho gift of describing what ho sees and tela . "
TBe oflfcer-Baar- time' to" fiticP atnusemerrtr everyj * Where . Wer ^^ BOtae < ieti \ red frbm GENERAL * OBDEUS . " The . orderly has-jusfc brought , in" the General Orders ^ and here is a transcript from them : — " ' Head ^ quarters before Sevastopol , " Dec . 10 , * 1851 . " * -li Her Majesty has been graciously pleaBed to" appoint General the Right' Hon : Fitzroy James' Henry Lord Raglan , G . C . B ., to be a Field-Marshal in the Army , and the commission to bear date the 5 th of November ,: 1854 . ' . " ' 2 : Field-Marshal Dord Raglan h « e the satisfaction ^ to announce to-the-army . that the-vegetables that : have been- sent for thcit use are to be ^ issued free of all charge , according ta the instructions he has received from the War-office . '
Have- excitfed so nvaeff- tad ^ natifcrn-ir fie Had Mortrtofct tWe one -thing-that TroimdS'tfie official flrind' ^ -Tfetx « ar . "'
OAJJUXtTSXrlS PDHBiTBXas caXB ^ Acoiporal of the . EourtbJ « 4 atd 8 tho ) gaUtaifcy * aft ) well as ? the activity displayed da . thevtretfekes : *—> : " We are busily at-Trorl ^ th ^ owdngnp ^ reneh *» w «* 300 or-250 yards of the towcy and tne = Russian *^ are a& hard' afe work- doing the sam « to stop- us . - The regiment of' the third and fourth divisions take tura'aftoutStfthofltf advanced trenches , and there > is sharp' rifle" -posaetfee ft * protecting parties ; The trench is' lined witEimefifwiW loole-over ; and every Russian , they-laytaft eye ^ on ^ firedJ at . A < t the saroei tune , the very moment tbe Kussisn seea a head over th « breast-work ; he doesvthe-Bame-. Ifc often happens' that two see each-other ; so the quiokestJ eye and steadiest arm have' the best chance .. Tb&Hmi sians are pretty good shots . It is ' nothing strange to havethe
"Now teU * me" seriously—if you cau—whether ' this delightfully abrupt transition does not- approach the ludicrous*—whether it does not complete that-one < step said to exist between the sublime ancl-the ridicnlona ? Her Majesty honours the commander of >' her armies in the field with the highest military rank- she can-bestow . The-announcement appearsrin General Ordershere ; Theeye is thereupon dazzled with the full blaze of ' the gloryof the Field ^ Marshal ' s baton . Scarcely can imagination even realise the glittering vision-when the newly-created Field-Marshal ' has the satisfaction to announce' to thfe gallant troops who- contributed to win that glorioustrophy for him that a grateful nation will not charge them for the cabbages and carrots which they ate a month ago , but that they shall be- a gratuitous-addition- to- the salt pork they have-ill digested .
-cap knocked off the head , or the cheeks grazed ; or ^ pieces cutout of the collar or shoulders of ! thecoatl Gents food of duelling ought , to come here fora f&fr days to practice their hands .- The sbip& and-forts keepup a ^ continual fire of ^ grape shot and' shell on our parties . Threa-daye ago our regiment was in the trenches ; ¦ && had one-man knocked to pieces and two more wounded by grape .- The same ¦ day a very feelhig 1 circumstance tbok'place . Two Russian-soldiers were' coming : dawn a st * eet ^ say s one-of our- men ^ ' By tHe - powers bttfe ^ they have a woman to proteot them ; ' ' Bad luck to me / , says another , ' if' she goes oneside I'll have a sl ^ p at themi ' Ttiey would not chance w- shot fotvfear- of hitttog the woman . But' she wa& < not fonar paces from th&- RUs 3 ian ¦ when whiz go tWa Minid-rifies and "down tumbles * , pne of them' ; the other'started off <" at'a'good rnn . "
" We have had a hearty laugh about this dear -delightful General Order . If' unanimous' as * to the first paragraph being worthy-of our deay Sovereign , we are- air equally agreed that the second : one is < in beautiful"keep ^ - ing with the spirit of the War-office . It is -redolent of the shop from which it emanates . Who cannot picture to himself the unctuous complacency with which a closefisted , hard-hearted war-office official at length decided on conferring on the British soldier in the Crimea the inappreciable boon of not enforcing ^ payment" of his ' arrears due for ' taties and greens /"
MISCELLANIES F 11 OBI BEFOERSEBASTOBOI .. i The following is . aa extract from , the- letter of an officer of the 2 nd Division , dated Inkerinan , 16 th . Decsmberi— - " An artillery officer , a few days ago , told me that the French had 146 guns in position , and were now waiting our being ready . Any news of this kind , however , is thought nothing ; of , we look-only for true news from home— the Times our standard of- 'truth . Our 13-inch mortars are being-got up . as fast as our poor worn-out horses can pull them—32 horses to rone guni From the rain-the roads are . in a sad state , and now we are busy xaacadamizing them . The poor Turks work * . very languidly at this sort of work .
THE " TIMES" CORBBSPOaTDENT . IN-THE CASIP 4 We extract from the Times' some portion / of ~ a leading article re erring to the rumours so liberally bandied about respecting their correspondent : — "A certain amount of vague gossipping has prevailed for the last few days , at our expense , among the minor official gentry , their toadies , and the echoes of these great authorities " at the Military Clubs . It has been said that the correspondent of this journal , «© w present with the army , had been expelled from the Crimea , in . consequenoe of his animadversions upon the notorious incompetency of the Staff of the British army . Had there been one grain of truth in the statement , it would only have reflected additional discredit upon men who
" This Division very much regrets the . resignation , of SirDe Lacy Evans , looked . upon as one of our ablest generals—he-was < the pride ofL the division . In one respect I am glad he has-gpne , for he would have sunk under the exposures we endure now , remembering his jageto be 70 ; " General Pennefather , who succeeded Sir De Lacy , has had a very severe attack of choleraic diarrhoea . For two * days he was in a most critical position . He has been sent to Balnfclava '>< but in a note to me to-night he states his hope of being able to rejoin us beft / reChxistmaB . General Buller commands us at present .
were so conscious of their own shortcomings and neglect that they had endeavoured to get rid of an impartial witness . Nor would such a course , had if even been adopted—which it has not—have been discreditable to the person concerned , but it would have been weak and silly in'the " extreme . Hundreds- of volunteers would have stepped forward in the place of the regular correspondent dismissed . A single impartial witness would have been banished , and some hundreds of others would have been substituted in his place , who would have written with all the acrimony of ' personal suffering and personal indignation . We need not , however , enter upon this point , for , whatever faults may bo found in Lord Raglan ' s Staff , they are not snch mere lunatics as them
" With great difficulty supplies-are * got up from Balaklava , Cavalry are pressed' into- the commiseariat service , and we have to send to Balaklava '( seven miles ) for . our ,, forage ; while pur horses and mules are all dying , those of the ' FTonch' ^ ro ' lfa ^ 'luii ""^ " ^' " ^^ work . Our ambulance corp 3 would bb most useful , were it not cumbered with poor- pensioners , who are not' fit to take care of themselves ^ niuch less of mules , &c . " The minds of the medicos' out here are hV'a sad state
their very intelligent friends in England presume to be . Let us , then , more for their sakes than for any concern we feel in the matter , inform tho inventors and propagators of this silly story that it is a simple falsehood from beginning to end . The Times correspondent has been aB much expelled from the Crimea as the Monument from Monument-yaTd . The gentleman who has so ably and conscientioiisly discharged his duty to his employers and to the English' public had' accompanied the army from its departure from these shores , remained with it at Gallipoli and Varna , and crossed with it to tho Crimea . Ho had taken his share of cholera , fatigue , hunger , danger , and privation with the army , and had contrived iu the intervals of' those calls upon Ins endurance to . write and forward' the descriptions of that army ' s exploits which havo principally
of irritation , with great good reason . They d 6 thorr duty notwithstanding the difficulties thrown ' , in their way by ihe military authorities . Their great' exertions are never-noticed , bnt should one of tlieir'ntembers slip in th © least'thing , ' down comes a censure' on the . whole of us . On the morning on which the sick arrived at Balaklava , which caused the General Order , a medical officer went to Lord Raglan and said , 'My Lord , you will give me an order for-boats , I will undertake to have every man put on board ship . ' This his Lordship would or could not do . "
A . SKETCH FJROMiBALAKXAVA . Here is a graphic picture , some of the details of which are absolutely comic in their misery . It is from the Morning Herald : — " Tho very ragged , gaunt , hungry-looking men , with matted beard and moustaches , features grimed with dirt , and torn greatcoats stiff with' successive layers of nvnd—these mon whoso whole appearance speaks toil and suffering , and who instantly remind you of tho very lowest and most impoverished class of Irish peasantry , arc tho picked soldiers from our different foot regiments , !! l mi ivr / i \ riM ! for tho TCSt OI **¦
made them known to tho English people . At last , in ill health , and foreseeing that tho campaign would bo a long ono , ho applied to head-quarters—though certainly not to Lord Raglan ' s—for leave of absence for ono fortnight , that ho might cross over to Constantinople and purchase somo articles of clothing—a few furs , a stove , and euch little matters as might enable him to get through tho winter alivo . A temporary substitute was appointed to act in his place , and upon his arrival at Balaklava , our ' Special Correspondent , ' deliciat o Downhig-strcct , took advantago of his furlough . Ho loft Balaklavn December 4 , reached Constantinople in duo course , left Constantinople on his return on tho 24-th of December , and has long since rejoined tho army .. Meanwhile , wo bog to give tho most absolute and unqualified contradiction to tho silly story which has boon set afloat at tho oxponso of a gentleman who -would not
_> „„„„ .... *„ ^ . n « mr nnH strong men selected to carry up provisiona » " » " •» «< - * tho camp . Mixed with those aro about 200 horBomen , whoso lank , fecblo ntuds , covered with mgo raws , soem boroly able to movo about with their riders through the thick , tenacious mud . Tho horsemen *«™ oW « i are . all pretty much alike—that is , they ate all , ragged , and all muddy ; yet on examining these men closely , you perceive that Bome havo dingy braas helmets on their Loads , others tho small Scotch cap of tho ' Greys ; the remnants of rod trousers indicate a Hussar , while ft headdrosa curiously misshapen discovers a Lancer . From all these facts you suddenly rush to tho con-
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j ^ &b * 13 , 1855 . ] THE ' PA »« g ?
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 13, 1855, page 27, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2073/page/3/
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