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    e , and it is together , und e r the s kilful and firm mce of the new Commander-in-Chief , that we shall nue to fight for France and for the Emperor . —Canirt . Head-quarters before Sebastopol , May 19 . " sneral Pelissier , on the same day , issued the xed order : — Soldiers , —Our former General-in-Chief has made n to you the will of the E mperor , who , at the al ' s request , has placed me at the head of the army e East . In receiving from the Emperor the coniof this army so long exercised b y such noble i , I feel certain that I express the sentiments of all , -when I proclaim that General Canrobert carries lii in all our regrets and all our gratitude .

    " o the brilliant souvenirs of Alma and of Inkerman , s added the merit , greater still perhaps , of having , g a formidable winter campai gn , preserved for our , ry and our Sovereign one of the finest armies that : e ever had . You owe it to him that you are now losition to bring the strugg le to an issue ( engager a la lutte ~ ) and to triumph . f , as I feel certain it will , success should crown our 3 , you will not fail to pronounce his name in your of victory . He has resolved to remain in our and although he might have had a hig her com

    he wished but one thing , and that was to put himt the head of his old division . I have deferred to ^ treaties , the inflexible desires , of him who was but relay our chief , and who will ever be my friend , ioldiers , I have the fullest confidence in you . After my trials , so many generous efforts , nothing can be nuch for your courage . You all know what the ror and the country expect from you . Be what have hitherto been ; and , thanks to your energy , o the assistance of our intrepid allies and the brave s of our squadrons , we shall conquer , with the hel p A " Pelissier .

    tead-quarters before Sebastopol , May 19 , 18 oo . " resuming the command of the First Division , ral Canrobert published a brief address , which 3 re append : — ! onirades of the First Division , —You have g iven nder circumstances the most arduous and the most us , so many proofs of devotedness , you have inme with so great confidence , that while volun - , and out of a sense of duty to my country , resigning ommand in chief of an army of 130 , 000 men , I d above all things the honour of again becoming immediate chief , and fig hting at your head against lemies of France and of the Emperor , " Caneobeet , eneral of Division , Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor , commanding the 1 st Division of Infantry . : efore Sebastopol , May 22 . "

    A FEAT OF COURAGE . Russian exhibited remarkable coolness in the per-: ice of a very daring and , as far as could be underunnecessary act , about 11 o ' clock on the morning turday , the 19 th instant . The man alluded to 1 qy . t of a trench on the side of the Mamelon Vert , ig nearly parallel with the ravine between the Ion and Frenchman ' s-hill . He was comp letel y pod in a white covering of linen , or some such al , his head being wrapped round with it as well body . The object seemed to be to render himself jpicuous as possible , for as the sun was shining . strong g lare at the time , the contrast with the ind dark ground was very marked . The upper

    f his body was first seen ; but , as ho walked cooll y ; ho open ground , ho became f u ll y exposed to view . first observed , he could not have been more than Liulrcd yards from the boyau at the rig h t of the : od works , towards which his back was turned ; d men . in this trench apparently did not perceive !» s they did not lire . A party of mon and i , however , about two hundred yards further ong the advanced work , saw him at once , and r ^ eil altogether about thirt y shots at him from Millie ' s . The first few bullets fell short ; but ,

    jge being altered , the remainder were observed to p the dust on nil sides of him . The white gentlof the Mamelon took no notice , beyond looking t w ice ; he neither hastened his pace , bent hit ) body , any way evinced a desiro to oludo tho leaden gers which were sent to arrest his progress . tSix on minutes elapsed before ho was again under of the works . As there was u covered way at it distance , along which he could have passed in thin extraordinary exposure was munife . itly iry , or if forced , must hiivc been an u puni . shmont . > n it Avua doao for u wager !—Dally News Corrent . NEW 1 UJHSIAN WOltlta . ho Mamolon Vort hill , tho onomy aro throwing up ( Ulitioniil works . They havo had , for ten dayn or i very ( loop tronch with parapet , e xtending from . of tho KamtHchutka redoubt ( our right > nuro »» I towards tho Curoonimr-bay ravine . At . tho upper thia tronch , not far from tho point whero it in tod with tho fosso of tho redoubt , a buttery has ouatTuctod , and already five guns nro mounted ^ will boar on tho French approaches in front . Thia

    work is being extended . They have also brought som small mortars into a part of the rifle trench near th e F rench parallel to reply to others which had been previousl y broug ht down by the French to their advanced work . The covered ways in the Mamelon now form a network of trenches . —Idem .

    THE ADVANCE ON THE TCHEKNAYA . A special correspondent of the Daily News gives the following- vivid account of the occupation of the line of the Tchernaya : — " This morning ( May 25 ) , at one o ' clock , the A llied forces destined to operate against the Tchernaya , descended from the hills and formed in the p lain outside the lines of Balaklava . It was one of those fine , fresh C rimean spring nights w hich , if they cannot make us forget , at least reconcile us to , the heat of the day . The stars shone bri g ht ; the crescent was hig h up in the sk y ; and white fleecy clouds were rap idl y drifting across the deep blue background of- the horizon .

    The camps were all in motion , not noisily , nor yet silentl y , for there was little concealment in our taking the field . For two hours , the clatter of horses' hoofs upon the stones , and the deep hollow rumbling of waggons , announced the descent of the cavalry and artillery ; but , as their dark shadowy masses arrived on the borders of the plain , even this noise ceased , smothered by the thick carpet of turf over which the troops moved . The large masses of the infantry mi ght be seen as they moved through the white fog which rose up from the lower ground ; but their steps were hardly heard , even on the stony surface of the road down the bills . As the columns debouched into

    the plain , they marched in different directions , so as to embrace in their attack the whole length of the line of low hills , which intersect the p lain of B alaklava , and which in the history of the Crimean campai gn are known as the Turkish batteries The troops , preceded b y clouds of skirmishers , traversed the plain , and all the hill-tops were ascended almost at the same moment . The enemy ' s redoubts , as had been expected , were unarmed , with the exception of the one to the left , from which a few rounds of shot were fired ; but the firing was evidently from a sing le gun , and that gun was carried off long before our skirmishers crowned the hill . A slight skirmish took p lace as the Sar - dinians , on our extreme ri ght , ascended the hills of K a -

    mara . The cavalry had , meanwhile , made their way up through the sloping grounds that separate the hills ; and the Chasseurts d'Afrique and our own Hussars were fortunate enough to come up with a body of Cossacks , evi - dently bent upon effecting their retreat . They were attacked , and some of them were captured , at a very trifling cost of casualties . A few of the Chasseurs d'Afri que were wounded ; one of our Hussar horses was shot , and one officer was slightly wounded . The Cossacks , and a small force of infantry which supported them , were driven down to the banks of the Tohernaya , and pursued across them . A small battery on a steep hill to the rig ht , on the other side of the Tchernaya , which was held bv infantry unprovided with guns ,

    was a ttacked b y the French infantry , who took it with ease , and at a very trifling loss . Here , too , several of the enemy were captured . Those of the Allied forces that had crossed the river—which , at this diy season , is fordable at all points—entered the village of Tchourgoun , and for an hour o r t w o kept possession of the hills surrounding it . They then retired . Here ended the operations of tho day , by the Allied forces taking up a position on the heights commanding this side of the river The state of the ground between the Turkish batteries and tho Tchernaya shows at once that the Russians never had a serious intention of defending this , their look-out position . Small numbers of troops only have been quartered in or traversed this part of their late territory . Tho grass is in

    full growth ; on tho banks of tho . river thoro are shrubs and trees ; and only hero and thoro a few earth - huts , or the bl a ck marks of a picket lire , show that some detachments of troops havo now and then occupied small camp ing grounds . Tho vegetation on that side of the hill is what we found it on our side when wo first landed in tho Crimea—abundant and odoriferous . Flowers , bri g ht blue , purple , and yollow , actuall y cover tho ground ; little plots of popp ies shino in tho distance like fields of red ochre ; tho brushwood is intermixed with wild rose whrubs in full bloom , and some wild herb or other , as our horses champed tho grass , or HiiiU ' od the faint odour of tho poach . Add to this , that tho heat of the sun wan tempered by a fresh brcoze , and you will understand that our tirnt advance against tho Russian

    position had all tho features of a Hold-day in fair yland . " A nor ., I > CASK Oir DICSRItTION . Tho Times Euputoriun correspondent writes as follows : — " Yesterday thoro was n rathor bold case of desertion . Tho 4 th Regiment of Cavalry of Kouinoliu wiih doing duty at tlio outposts . On tho aide of tho bridgo which forms tho oxtromo right of our vidotto lino tho two vidotto . s aro placod on u littlo mound , not mo r o than ono hundred yards from tho bridgo . About fifty yardu bohind thorn \ & u post of fifteen or twenty mon , under « i Horgoant , and further buck tho equadron . About noon ,

    the corporal of the advanced post went coolly-to the # * - geant and asked him for a light for his cigarette . The sergeant had none , consequently the corporal requested the sergeant to allow him to mount his horse and go to the videttes to ask one of them for it . The permission was given , the corporal went up to the mound where tile videttes were p laced , and a moment afterwards all threis set off in a gallop and wen t over th e brid ge which forms the boundary line between the Russian and Turkish line of outposts . The sergeant , seeing this , instantl y ordered

    his men to m ount , and dashed down at their head to the brid ge , but it was t oo late ; the fug itives had passed * T he R ussians , seeing the pursuers and the pursued coming in a gallop towards the brid ge , thoug ht it was an attack ; they mounted their steeds and ran off towards their main guard . But when they saw the three deserters dismount , and the rest stopping at the side of the bridge , they returned and took the deserters away . This is the second case of desertion which has occurred since the Turks have been in the Crimea . "

    DEFICIENCY OF WATER . PAST AND PRESENT . The scarcity of water becomes more formidable every day . I understand that the Sanitary Commissioners have enunciated an op inion , formed on scientific geolog ical grounds , that there is no reason to apprehend any Want of water ; but it is nevertheless true that the watering of the cavalry horses , as I am informed , is now accomp lished with difficulty , and that two days ago the watering was not finished till evening , so scanty was the supply . Sir John M'Neil and Colonel Tulloch have nearly comp leted the ' examination of the principal medical officers here , and have had their eyes a little opened with respect to the sufferings of the army and the neglect which led to them . If their report be made public , it will be seen how widel y " cooked" evidence differs from the truth . The peop le of E ng land , the House of C ommons , and the Peers , will learn on unimpeachable testimony what the facts reall y are and were , and they will be tauglit to estimate at their true value many of the official and officious contradictions made at home and from the Crimea of statements which were not only unexaggerated , but far too lenient . They will hear that at the time diarrhoea was sweeping away its hundreds a week , the store of specifics for it in one division amounted to about one dose per reg i m ent ; that once in " the winter darkness the store of candles amounted to one per regiment , and that the distance between the camp and bead-quarters seemed capable of infinite lengthening , if a requisition was to be returned or medical demands complied with . Let bygones be bygones ; but let us know what was the truth about the past , at all events . There is now no deficiency in any article , as far as I can learn , and no army was ever so amply and luxuriously provided . — Times Correspondent . A RUSSIAN DESIGN " CHECKMATED . " A POLISH ODD FELLOW . It seems tolerably certain that Russia intended to try her hand at a diversion in the direction of India , had we not deranged her plans by the invasion of the Crimea . There is a Russian officer now at headquarters who belonged to a reg iment that w as actuall y told oft" for a march to India last year . There were several other reg iments destined for the same expedition , but they too found themselves encamped on the Alma on the 19 th of September , and on the road to Bukstchi-Serai the following evening . The officers had been provided with books isolating to India , and had been study ing " the manners and customs" of the Hindoos and Mussulmans of the great peninsula . It is said , to be sure , that it would be impossible for the Russians to transport an army over the torrid wastes which lie between them and India ; but there was a certain Alexander who once moved a very efficient army in tho same direction , through regions more sparsely populated and less cultivated . Tho officer in question " hath a pleasant wit , " and gives abundant proofs , in the pleasant couplets h e remembers concerning the war , that tho Russians aro by no means destitute of humour . Ho sings one song ancnt tho proceedings of Prince Menschikoff after tho Alma , which is said by those who can apprcciato it to bo intensel y funny . Tho Prince is represented as having « ed to a house in liakstchi-Serai , out of tho window of winch he interrogates tho passers-by respecting' the f ' ato of Sobaatopol , und ho ia at last astonished to hear it has not been taken , and be gins to dance with joy , to extol hia grand . Hank marchand to boa . it of lii .- ) . splendid defence of the

    , place . Another song , from tho numo mouth , puts tho contest in a ludicrous light , and declares that tho whole tsiogo is only a . struggle to « uo whether tho Russians or tho Allied aro the best diggers and ditchers : — Wo build one redoubt , they build another ; they make one trench , wo make it * brother , " &e . Tho gentleman is a Pole and was present at Alma and lnkorinan . At tho latter battle , tho company ho commanded lo . it aeventyfivo men out of ono hundred and thirty , lie then served with the external army , but got tired of Tehorg . nm and Olaail with tho monotony of life in huts . Ho collected all hiH reHources , and gavo a grand ball to his fnenda ut tho army near Tohorgoun — champagne at HOh . a . bottle ,, claret , at 20 h ., and pickles at 1 Oh . —and noxt day camo into our cavalry pickets , with a brother otllco . r ,, on the day of tho races at Kuranyi , uud has boon living Uoro over since . —Idem . „

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    Jtjne 9 , 1855 . ] ' THE "LEADER . 535

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 9, 1855, page 535, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2094/page/7/