017E, TENT IN THE CRIMEA. * THIS volume will not supply

what, in spite of the multiplicity of books, is still a desideratum—a judicious and critical account of the events connected with the campaign in the Crimea and the assault on Sebastopol, by a competent observer. It is superior to some of the works that have already appeared descriptive of camp life and military events. The Two Brothers who contribute about equal parts to the volume seem men accustomed to travel and its shifts; while one of them appears to have served in India. They arrived at the ()amp in the early part of last August; and though- one brother was laid up by a Crimean fever and compelled to leave the Crimea before the grand assault, yet that was witnessed by the younger brother. Both the writers seem to be men of discri- mination, and more inclined to describe the facts which they see, than to repeat the innumerable stories which every one hears at the camp. There is a tendency to eloquent writing in both, which, though it chiefly appears in digressive reflections, argues an imaginative mind. 'There does not seem to be exaggeration in the statement of facts.

There are descriptions of life in the camp and landscapes in the neighbourhood; but of these the world has had enough. The most interesting parts of the volume relate to the general man- agement of the army, the great assault on the 8th September, and the appearances inside Sebastopol ; for the describer was in the town early on the 9th. The general conclusion left on the mind. may not always be new; but there is freshness in the observa- tion, and some novelty in the minutite. This is a brief account of the sanitary condition of the English camp in contrast with its outlying regions' as well as that of the French, together with the creature comforts of our troops. "It was impossible to go very fast, although aware that an old horse on one side of the little path and a starved bullock on the other were awaiting you. There was nothing for it but fingers to nose, and muttered execrations upon the authorities who neglected such obvious sanitary measures. This neglect was the more incomprehensible, inasmuch as in the camps on the plateau, or even near them, an unburied carcass was never seen. The sani- tary regulations, moreover, referring. to the men, were strictly enforced there. The French sacrificed to Cloaema anywhere in their neighbourhood. The consequence was, that the English camp throughout was far freer from smells than the French; and perhaps, in some slight measure, to the same cause may be attributed the better health of our troops. Our men certainly suffered less from disease, during the summer, than the French. As far as could ascertain from inquiries I made, the French, besides a law propor- tion of dysenteries and other eases, had much more scurvy in their army.. I believe—though I cannot on this point speak with certainty—that lime-juice was not generally supplied by their commissariat. They trusted to vege- tables.

"Our men had lime-juice regularly served out. It was remarkably good ; and mixed with water, sugar, and ration-runt, (the best rum, by-the-by, I ever tasted,) it made a pleasant and wholesome beverage, which is christened Crimean punch. I have said the rum was good, but the fact is all the ra- tions were good. The men and officers got fresh meat five times a week- -staff-officers every day. The bread was given out twice a week. It was not whitened, as London bread, by alum &c., but with its slightly-brown skin it was sweet, wholesome, excellent hived, as good as any man need ever eat, and far better than the first hotel at Constantinople supplied to its overcharged customers. The same might be said of the tea. I had bought the best tea I could get at Kadikoi ; but on getting ration- tea, found this so much the better, that I gave the other to the ser- vants. Our commissariat was greatly—and perhaps, to some extent, justly—abused during the winter. Of late, however, it had certainly fed our army as no army in the field was probably ever fed before, • Sevastopol. our Tent in the Crimea; and wanderings in Sevastopol. By Ike Brothers. ruhrPhed by Bentley.

and the condition both of men and horses did credit to the care taken of them. There had been, in fact, in this department, as in many others, a reaction, which, like all reactions, tended shghtly to excess. The Zouaves often dug up the heads and feet of the slaughtered eattle,which were buried as parts unfit for the consumption of our soldiers."

The writer of the above, who seems to have had the more ex- perience of campaigning, departed before the topic of greatest in- terest, the assault on the Redan. Through military interest the brother had a power of unlimited pass; and, after breakfasting with his schoolfellow and friend Colonel Herbert, they set off to business.

"On leaving his hut, we became conscious of the first unlooked-for diffi- culty that would beset the attack. The wind, which had been blowing strongly all the morning, had increased to a perfect hurricane. Its direc- tion was from the North-west—in other words, from the town itself, full in the face of the assaulting parties ; and it bore along with it the most copious clouds of that fine Crimean sand, or dust, which is so light in dry and so clogged in wet weather. It was a perfect simoom of sand, and absolutely precluded you from keeping your eyes open for any length of time. On reaching the top of the hill, it was actually painful to the face to meet it ; and I was very glad to sit down behind the low building of wood that forms the Observatory at this point, and for a short time to turn ray back on Sevas- topol."

As nothing satisfactory, could be seen from Catheart's Hill, the writer wandered on till he came to a spot which commanded a view of the Redan.

"Here I found a Frond' soldier, seated on the ground just behind a heap of stones. He made room for me, and I sat down beside him. The wind was perfectly blinding; and, unprotected as my face was, (for I had no spectacles, as many had,) it was absolutely painful; but I imitated the Frenchman, and Grouched down during the severe bursts, only raising my head at the intervals of geoation. From this point I could see much. bet- ter; but the want of a 'continuous view was very disheartening. The Frenchman told me that he had seen our gallant fellows get into the Redan, but he said he had only seen one attacking party enter, and that they had suffered most severely in the approach.

" 'But you are sure they are inside ? ' I asked. "'Oh, certain ! ' he said ; and at the first pause of the wind you will Pee the musketry fire in the Redan.' "The roll of musketry pealed incessantly. It was like one continuous fire caused by machinery. When, after a few minutes, I caught a sight of the Redan, I distinctly observed that there were two fires opposed to each other inside the work, and, as far as I could judge, ours was most stoutly maintained. "At the same time, though the corpses lay thick about the ahattis and ditch, and I could occasionally distinguish seine of our men on the parapet, or in small and straggling numbers in the open, the space between the abattis and the Redan was perfectly bare of moving masses; and the Frenchman got into a violent passion,

"'My God!' said he, where are your supports ? where are your re- serves? Do they expect that handful of men whom I saw enter to maintain that place ? Why, look—look ! ' he said,' they are only in a narrow space round the angle; they have not advanced into the interior. Poor devils! how can they do it ?

"I tried to assure him that supporting parties had entered during the in- tervals when we could not see : but he far too well understood the business, and silenced me by every remark he made. "'If any large numbers had supported,' he said, you would see their fire advance. It is, even now, only at the point where it was at first. De- pend on it, you will lose the day, :unless reserves are sent up, and that quickly.'

"The poor fellow muttered his imprecations in the most audible and to me the most painful manner. The scene—the thought of all that was taking place—the glimpses which showed that our blood was being spilt like water—worked a marvellous effect upon the mind, and my excitement rose to a pitch that was almost unbearable. I refused to believe that, once in- side the Redan, our troops would be allowed to vacate it again; and we both directed earnest searching looks towards the open space for the faintest sign of advancing troops. We saw that space perfectly ploughed with living shot. They swept across it in one continuous stream, sufficient, as I thought, to daunt any soldiers other than French or English from advancing through such a raining fire' but at every moment we fondly hoped to see masses of men emerge from the trenches and advance to the help of their brethren in distress.

"'If we look for them so anxiously,' said the Frenchman, what must those poor fellows in the Redan do ?' "But they come not—and they never came!

"Nearly an hour did that Frenchman and I sit there ; and during the in- tervals in which we were able to distinguish objects, no one large body of men advaneed to the support, though the firing in the Redan was continued with great obstinacy. 'believe it to be true, that one or two supporting columns did make an attempt, and reach the parapet; but it is equally true that the main body of the reserves never left the trenches. After a long interval, during which nothing could be seen, the Frenchman gave it as his opinion that we had retired from the Sedan' and it seemed to use that Russian guns, which had certainly been silent while I had been sitting there, began to open fire from points near the salient angle. He considered this conclusive, and I could not but form the'sarne opinion,

"'I shall not risk my life any more at those close quarters,' he raid, as he rose to depart. These shot and shell that have been flying over our heads, are not pleasant companions when there is nothing to be seen ; and I shall go and learn what we have done at the Malakoff.' "I followed his example, and wended my way back, dispirited enough, to the right picket-house."

This seems authoritative- enough ; and it coincides with the general opinion that the occupants of the Redan were not suffi- ciently supported. There are certain facts, however, difficult to reconcile with the general statements, and certainly with the de- duction of the French soldier in the above extracts. The strength ef the first storming. party, according to Colonel Hamley, was eight hundred, followed by supports whose numbers are variously stated, some say two thousand. General Simpson, in his official despatch, appears to make the total number engaged 1520 men,— to wit, covering party. 200, ladder party 320, assaulting column 1000. The returns of killed and wounded excluding missing are 2271. With every allowance for casualties in the trenches, it is obviously impossible to kill and wound such a number out of the poor assaulting party, or even out of General Simpson's 1520. bush slaughter does not seem likely to have happened out of any number we haye seen mentioned as haying adyealeed be-

yond the trenches. According to an officer of the Thirtieth Regiment, who lately addressed us on the subject, the loss of that regiment in killed and wounded was about half the number en- gaged. This ratio would carry the total number actually exposed

to lire i

re to considerably upwards of four thousand. There s some- thing connected with this assault that has not come out. A. military inquiry seems necessary to clear up the mystery and ascertain the facts. It seems from the account of our author and. his French companion, that mere eye-witnesses are of little use to settle the question, because they only look from one point of view.

Some facts connected with the repulse are worth reading : one is the reception of the news by other troops ; a second is, that the actual loss seems to have been less in the Redan than in the retreat from it.

" At three o'clock in the afternoon, I rode to the position of the third divi- sion, on the left of Picket Hill. One brigade of the division were on the right of that hill, the other on the left. On reaching the latter, the men and officers gathered round me, as a new comer, to hear the news. They were all aware that we had got into the Redan; but they were equally igno- rant that we had suffered a repulse, and were no longer in that fort. It was curious to see the amount of doubt and disbelief which at first attached to the recital. When at last they really began to understand that it was a re- pulse, I was amazed to see that after the first look of distress the face of every officer and man lighted up with a feeling akin to joy. They grieved most sincerely at our brethren's mishap, but their hearts were clearly hill of the thought that found vent in the words, over and over again repeated, Thank God ! now we shall be sent for!' •

"The first thing that struck a spectator, on conning over the field, (it was a painful sight on that cold Sunday morning,) was the largo proportion of our dead lying in the line of retreat, grasping the dust with their teeth and bodies hands, their dies outstretched, their faces turned homeward, their backs to the enemy, and their death-wounds in them? backs. Such sights will make mon speak; and many a harsh word did I hear against those who by a word or a sign might have saved the survivors from so bitter a disgrace."

What error General Simpson may have committed in a bad choice of troops for the assault, we cannot decide. He gives as a. reason for his selection, " the circumstance of their having de- fended the batteries and approaches against the Redan for so many months, and from the intimate knowledge they possessed of the ground." The later, facts that have been reported seem to ac- quit the General of blame, so far as preliminary arrangements went ; for all the disposable force was gathered ready to pour on continuously. . Of that deadening quality which appears to have affected everybody from first to last at the head of military or naval affairs—apathy—his excuse must be fond in fellowship. Whether from constitution or advanced age1 or long habits of rou- tine or the feeling of etiquette, which is said to have killed Philip the Third of Spain, or from want of that originality of mind which throws aside formalism in the presence of urgency, apathy seems to have been the rule. The charges against the late Lord Raglan resolve themselves into apathy. If apathy was not in the _Baltic, its effects were ; apathy lost Kars ; and apathy is in sub- stance Captain Whittingham's charge against the proceedings in the Pacific. If the following statement is true—and we have met something like it before—apathy was visible in the after con- duct of General Simpson. The foots belong to the day of the assault.

"Early in the afternoon, the immediate evacuation of Sevastopol by the Russians was not generally expected or believed ; but at six o'clock it was known to be a fact in course of accomplishment. At half-past five, I passed the cavalry sentinels, and rode down beyond the Lime-kiln to near Stony Hill. Here, in the first parallel of the left attack, at exactly seven minutes past six, I heard a message that had been sent over from the Malakoff to General Simpson, then inthe second parallel of the same attack, and which had just been reported to him. It was in these words= The Russians are evacuating the town: large columns are now crossing the bridge.' "Between the Malakoff and the quays and wharves bordering the South- ern creek was situated the extensive Karabelnaia suburb, ivhich opposed an effective barrier to the advance of troops intending to cut off the Russian re- treat, but from the inner part of the Redan no such difficulty existed. It was all open communication. Any number of troops might have won their way down the gentle slope which extended from the hinder portion of the Redan to a spot whence the bridge (the only passage for the Russians) might have been raked at comparatively short range, if not probably quickly broken up. It is impossible to avoid the suspicion that the Russians knew and felt this, Hence, probably, their determined efforts to keep the Redan at =mice. It was the only real point that covered their retreat. • • • it such an opportunity as there was ! Fortune seemed to woo us— and us particularly—to fame. When, at six o'clock, it was known that the Russian retreat had commenced, a general impression—I had almost said certainty—prevailed, that a new attack would be organized, and that thu final remnant of that Russian army would not be allowed to escape from the city unharmed, and with some, at least, of the honours of the day. There were still two hours of light to spare. The hurricane had passed away, and the evening was fine. Four-fifths of the English army were there idle all

'

day and dying for distinction; Divisions like the Third and Fourth, that had been kept in the rear—and had felt it too—and would now have shown they were equal—ay, and on that day superior l—to their more favoured brethren.

"Again, twenty thousand Russians, in whatever state of efficiency, can- not leave a town a narrow pass without some confurrion, if not disorder. As they rethb, they cannot Maintain all their outposts with the same obsti- nacy, or the same numbers ; neither could the flight be effected very rapid- ly, nor the passage from the outposts to the bridge be gained without tra- versing a considerable space, and in the present instance skirting the South- ern creek. Moreover, it was probable that even then the Bedell was nearly empty, as it was quite so four hours later. All these considerations hid to the belief that nothing should be allowed to prevent the English army bear- ing their fair share in the real taking of that vaunted town ; and there can be but little doubt that General Pelimier's message bore allusion to some such plan as this, when, prevented by the entente cordiale from sending French troops against it, he despatched a messenger to ask if General Simp- son intended to attack the Redart again." There are many sketches of Sebastopol after the evacuation, and other matters connected with the armies' that render this volume attraetiye, There is also the journey out and home, with sketehes

of Constantinople and other places. These are executed with power and life ; but they have been done so often that they sa- vour of repetition.