On this page

• Text (1)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    ipon them , they had been confined nine months in this prison , and on our entrance , ansiouBly asked Dr . Haase for some information of their coming fitte . Two liner countenances ; ould scarcely be imagined . " The rooms were tolerably lighted , and , for a Russian , prison , clean and pretty well ven-Slated . " The night before otir departure from Moscow , Dr . Haase called to take leave of us , iiaving done so once before in the day during our absence . Addressing me , he said , ' I was anxious to see you , as I wished to give you something in remembrance of your visit to the prison , and I thought nothing would be so gratifying to you as a set of the chains you saw mocked from the legs of one of those poor prisoners . ' It was with extreme pain that I felt myself obliged to decline a present intended to give me pleasure ; but I explained that it was my intention to visit many other countries , and that in going through the custom-houses I should run the chance of being taken for an escaped convict , or , under the most favourable new , be regarded as a very suspicious character . He fully appreciated my reasons , and then grasping the hands of both my friend and myself iu lis , he embraced us on each cheek , and bade us adieu with a blessing . " " Views of the " Volga :

    " The views of the Volga are ever changing , ever charming . None of its scenery mounts to the sublime , but most of it is beautiful , with a great deal of the picturesque . As religion exercises so powerful an influence over the social habits of the people , even placing its stamp upon their manners—as it is the chain wherewith an empire is held in the bonds of slavery , and . the-weapon aimed at the independence of surrounding nations—so does the ¦ church become a prominent feature in the physical appearance of the country . Ail that is picturesque on the Volga is derived from the form , the colouring , and position of the churclies . The villages built of wood , many of them admirably placed , would nevertheless be totall y devoid of effect , from their sombre and monotonous colour , producing none of that play of light and shade , necessary to produce striking contrast ; but the church with its domes , generally green , supplies all tnafc is wanted , gives life to the sober shade of the surrounding houses ,

    and character to the whole . For tins reason a travelLer , describing a hundred different views on the river , including the surrounding country , can scarcely avoid introducing into each the domes and . cupolas of the churches . " It is this boldness of the Russian church , which cannot fail to strike the passing stranger , for it is pushed forward politically , socially , and physically . It meets him at every turn : if he go into a town and shut his eyes , still there ia tne tolling of a great unmusical bell ; opening them , ho stands before the edifice itself : get to any part of the country , and the well-known domes are there ; enter the peasant ' s cottage , the familiar picture of a saint stares him in the face ; seek the inner room , and then another is ready to receive him . All this is policy : the Church is the great engine by which the State is moved , and the object is to keep it ¦ ever prominently and conspicuously before an ignorant people . "

    Here is a description of a Don Cossack ' s house ;—" Early on the morning of the 1 st of September we landed at the village of Vetliafika , inhabited by Don Cossacks , situate on the light bank ,-which here becomes rather higher ^ While in search of provisions we entered the house of a Cossack soldier ; the man was not at home , but his good wife was baking bread , of which we purchased a loaf just drawn from the oven . Whether Andrd ' s olfactory nerves were more sensitive than ours , we know not , but certain it is ; that immediately after we had quitted the house , he made his appearance ¦ with a large piece of mutton pasty , which he was dexterously throwing from one hand to another , thereby indicating that it was rather too hot to be pleasant . This process caused a rich odour to fill the air , and led us to return , and endeavour to purchase the remainder of

    the savoury dish , which promised so good a breakfast . The Cossack ' s better half was , however , unwilling to part with tlie meal prepared for her husband , but a handsome premium tipon the value , and a present of a dozen useless empty bottles , was a temptation too great to be resisted . " The house of these decent people was a true oasis in the great desert of Russian dirtiness ; ¦ everything was scrupulously clean , the scats , the table , the floor , were white , from scrubbing ; and even the beams above had undergone the pme process . It is said that occasionally a child born , and brought up in the midst of vice , yet becomes conspicuous for exalted virtue ; so this Cossack woinan stood forth a bright example of cleanliness in the midst of the universal filthiness which surrounded her . In the neat little room where we had been received , hung tlie cap , sword , and musket , of the husband , and by their side a nice guitar , showing that refinement of taste accompanied the virtue said to be so near akin to godliness . "

    The following account of Sevastopol will be read with interest : — " Tbe port of Sevastopol consists of a bay running in a south-easterly direction about four ¦ miles long , ' and a mile wide at the entrance , diminishing to four hundred yards at the end , where the ' Tchcrnaia Retchka , ' or Black River , empties itself . The average depth is about eight fathoms , the bottom being composed of mud in the centre , and gravel at the sides- On the southern coast of this bay are the commercial , military , and careening harbours ; the quarantine harbour being outside the entrance . All these taking a southerly direction and having dqep water . " The military harbour is the largest , being about a mile and a half long , by four hundred yards wide , and is completely land-locked on every side Here it is that the Black Sea fleet is moored in the winter ; the largest ships being able to lie with all their stores on board close to the quays . The small harbour / which contains the naval arsenal and docks , is on the eastern aido of the military harbour , near the entrance . " Tlie port is defended to the south by six principal batteries and fortresses , each mounting from fifty to a hundred and ninety guns ; and the north by four , having from oighteon to n hundred and twenty pieces each : and besides those aro many smaller batteries .

    " 1 lie fortresses are built on the casomato principle , three of them having throe tiers of guns , and a fourth two tiers . Fort St . Nicholas ia the largest , and mounts about a hundred and ninety guns : on carefully counting them , we mado a hundred and oighty-aix . By great antorost wo obtained permission to enter this fortress . It is built of white limestone : a fine sound stone , which becomes hard and ia very durublo , tho same material being used for all ithe otlier forts . Between every two ensomtrtes aro furnaces for heating shot red hot : \ va amensurcd tho caliber of tho guns , and found it to bo eight inches , capablo of throwing shells or aixty-oiglit pound solid shot . " Whether all tlie guns in the fortress woro of the samo size , it is impossible to say , but my belief is that most of tho fortifications of Sevastopol aro heavily armed . Wo entered Fort ; St . Nicholas through tho clegnntly-fuminhed apartments of tho military commandant ; Situ ( it « d at its south-western ond .

    A . t the period of our visit thoro woro cortuinly not more than eight hundred and fifty ( pieces of artillery defending the port towards tho eon , nnd of these ubout thrco hundred and fifty could bo concentrated on a ship entering tho bay . Other batteries , however , nro said to hnvo been since built . Wo took aomo trouble to ascertain tlioso facts by counting tho : guna of tho various forts ; not always nn ousy matter whoro any suspicion of our object might liavo subjected ua to grave inconveniences . Sevastopol is admirably jidaptod by nature for a strong position towards tho sea , and it will bo scon from what wo have stated abovo that thin lias boon fully taken advantngo of to render it ono of tlie moat formidably fortified placca in ^ , hat direction whioh could bo imagined . " Wo uro woll awuro that tho CfwowateiZfortrcfl . sosuro very badly constructud , and though Laving an xmpoBing exterior , tlml tho walld arc filled iu with rubble . Tho woik wns carried on under Russlnn engineers , whoso object was to make a » much money us possible out of it . Ihoy woro , moreover , found to l > o defective in ventilation , to romody whioh uorno alterations wcro aubHcquontly made j but Admitting sill their defoctH , they aro still strong enough tu inulcl eomo amount of injury on an attacking ( loot befoio Uwir Runs could bo ellonood . AnJ

    when that is accomplished , supposing there are now nine hundred and fifty pieces , there would still remain five hundred guns of large calibre , ia strong open batteries , half of them throwing shells and red-hot shot , independent of mortars . This is a force of armament against which no fleets have been tried , not only with regard to the number of guns and weight of metal , but the nature of the projectiles ; any single shell fired point blank , and striking betwee n wind and water , being sufficient to sink a . ship . " If Sevastopol can be so easily taken by tbe allied fleets alone , and without land forces , as some people appear to imagine , it would be very satisfactory to know what amount of resistance it is expected that Portsmouth could offer to an enemy , with her seventy or eighty guns , not above five-and-twenty of which are heavier than thirty-two pounders . " We do not mean to assert that it is impossible to destroy Sevastopol from the sea alone , but we beKeve that it could only be accomplished by an unnecessary sacrifice of life and ships with our present means , and that it would be nothing short of madness to attempt it , unless we had a reserve fleet on the spot , sufficiently strong to insure the command of the Black Sea in case of failure .

    " In speaking of the means of defence at Sevastopol , we have left the Eussian fleet out of the question . This , however , is not to be treated either with indifference or contempt ; for , while we are ready to admit that neither in tlie strength of the ships , in the quality of the sailors , nor in any other respect , can it be compared for an instant to those of England and Prance , yet there can be no doubt of the Russian seamen being well trained in gunnery , nor of their being endowed with a kind of passive courage , which would lead them to stick to their work , when not called upon to exercise their seamanship , ia which they are very deficient . " There were in the military harbour of Sevastopol twelve linc-of-battle ships , eight frigates , and seven corvettes ; comprising the Black Sea fleet , independent of steamers . We visited , among others , the Twelve Apostles , of a hundred and twenty guns , and the first lieutenant accompanied us over her . She was a remarkably fine-looking ship , in excellent order , and very neat in her fittings . One thing which instantly struck us , was the absence of hammock-hooks , but we learned that beds were luxui-ies which tbe Russian sailors never

    dream of , the decks forming their only resting-places . " On descending to the shell-room we examined one of the shells , and found it fitted with the common fuse . Now , as at that time it-was believed that the Russians possessed a percussion or concussion shell , superior to any in the world , we were anxious to ascertain whether this was really the case ; but from -the inquiries we mado of the lieutenamt , we are convinced that such a shell existed only in imagination ; that the common fuse was in use throughout the service , and may be so to the present day . The ports of the ship were marked with lines at different angles , by which to facilitate the concentration of tbe guns . " We thanked our conductor for his politeness , and in doing so expressed our admiration of the ship . ' Yes , ' said he , ' she is worthy of your praises . She -was built on tlie lines of your Queen , now in the Mediterranean , by a Russian architect educated in one of the royal dockyards of England . ' . " There is the same speculation and corruption going on in the ship-building , as In all other departments in Russia ; and at Sevastopol everything which proves defective in a ship is attributed to a destructive worm , about which the officials interested in doing sorelate

    , tales almost as wonderful as those of the great sea-serpent . When a ship ' s bottom becomes prematurely rotten , as unseasoned timber is of course out of the question , the worm is the cause of the mischief ; but how this singular creature has managed to pass through the copper without leaving a hole , no one attempts to explain . In the Baltic , where no worm exists , the destructive qualitv of the fresh water is equally great . " The town of Sevastopol is situate on the point of land between the commercial and military harbours , which rises gradually from the water ' s edge to an elevation of two hundred feet . It is more than a mile in length ; and its greatest width is about three quarters of a mile , the streets entering the open steppe on the south . It was partly defended on the west , towards tbe land j by a loopboled wall , which had been , pronounced by one of the first engineers of Russia as perfectly useless ; and plans for completely fortifyjnc the place in that

    direction were said to have been made ; but whether the work has since been carried out wa know not , though we have a deep conviction that strong defences will be found to exist there by the time a besieging army arrives . These , however , being hurriedly raised , can neither be of sufficient magnitude nor strength to offer a serious resistance to a long-continued fire of heavy artillery ; and unless tliese fortifications are on a most extensive scale , and embrace a very wide circuit , they may be commanded from so many points , that , attacked with heavy gans of long range , their speedy reduction becomes a matter of certainty . " None of the sea batteries or forts are of tlie slightest service for defence on the land side . Indeed , the great fort , ' St . Nicholas , ' has not a gun pointed in that direction ; and such aa armament would bo perfectly useless if it existed , as that part of tho hill on which the town stands , rises behind it to a height of two hundred feet . In fact , all the fortresses and batteries , both to the north and south of tho great bay , are commanded by higher ground ia the rear .

    lho first and all-important consideration , in reference to an attack on Sevastopol by land , is to ascertain where an army would find the most desirable place for disembarkation . Theodosia has been named amongst other localities , and it has certainly a beautiful harbour and many other conveniences , but tho distance from the scene of action is a serious drawback . 1 ho troops would have to march over about an hundred and thirty miles of steppo , as it would be necessary to keep to the nortli of the mountains , where their progress coull be easily arrested . Should wet weather set in , this stoppo would become in a-very short time quite impracticable for heavy artillery and baggage , " 3 there arc no roads whatever , und our little experience of rain showed us how rapidly the country became converted into a state closely resembling an Irish bog .

    " Yalta is another port where men and material mi ^ ht bo safely landed , and where but little opposition could bo oll ' erod ; but although united to Sevastopol by a good road , this is in many places cut out of tho fnco of tho perpendicular rock , and could not only bo defended by the emuny with futility , but a fow hours work would render it quite impussakle . " Between Yalta and Balaclava , on tho southern cohbI , thoro is no availably point ; but if the latter port could bo taken , nnd tho surrounding hcight . i secured , every requisite for advantageously carrying on operations against Sevastopol would bo nt onco obtained . Distant only about ten miles from that town , and connected with it by an oxcollent road , Balaclava so infinitely surpasses all other places for tlie attainment of tho object in view , that there cannot bo two opinions on tlio importance of possessing it , and its admirable harbour would be of incalculable valuo to the fleets .

    " Nature has , however , made it ho strong , that if the- Russians have fully availed themselves of tho facilities for defence , it might becomo a work of some difficulty to dislodpro them ; but it is very doubtful whothor they have had sufficient time to erect buttorica whiok could hold out long against tho force that could bo brought to bear on them . " Supposing tho wliolo of the battenc-n defending tho harbour to ho destroyed , no ships could enter with safety until all tho positions oa tho heights which surround and overhang It had boon carried . " Tho coast between Balaclava and Gripe Cliorsonasus being abrupt ami precipitous , furniahes no suitable localities for the required purpone , but some of tho buys on tlio northern boundary of the Chei'sonoBOuu peninsula may possibl y bo found uviulublo . '" Woro tlio allied armies in possession of liio cWhoucsuh , tlioy would thul plenty of of of

    water , for there arc two good sources townrdtt Bal . icla-va , though iiKUMioiiduiit jt . Ono tliOHO lias boon currtad by an aqneducti to Sevastopol , and Mipiilk'tf tJio remu'voir , near the public giu'dons of tlint placo . Destroying thin ( unwind , would l >«> of » ' > worvico towards reducing tho town , n » thut from Inkormun would tttill remain , and tho tfrouUUUng ousini contaiim an iminoiiHo quantity ; besides which thoro uro wolln and hoiijh mniill Btrouma ut tho hond of the military harbour , wlionco tho pl . ioo formorly droiv Us only , though not vory V AnothcTplan for attacking Sevastopol might bo n « lopto < l by lundlnfl , to tho north of tho bay of lnkorinnn , destroying or Inking W ko . wtniit . lno , niid tho other ba tm-. os from the roar , und thonoo bombarding tho nuvuf uroannl , tho t . m-n , « ud whips ) nnd , mdeml , this ia t . \ a only alternative , if u footing cannot bo olfoclud in tlio Ciiorsonoaun .

    Untitled Article

    September 23 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 9 O 7

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 23, 1854, page 907, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2057/page/19/