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    maSe further approaches towards the redoubts on tte right afcove * he Careening Bay Tavine ; and seemed steadily advancing to the aUted positions . We , on "the other hand , had continued to push for--wsrd our works ; and , in the course the night previous to the opening of our batteries , -we succeeded in dislodging the Russian sharpshooters from an ambuscade which had been planted almost in the line of our progress . Several telegraphic despatches relative to the bombardment have reached us in the course of the week from the indirect sources of Marseilles , Vienna , and Berlin ; bat we have no news through - * he Balaklava telegraph , which , according to the

    announcement in Parliament , is now opened , giving , with a brie gap from Varna to Kaliacra , a direct line of communication between the camp and London . Ibis silence , it must be confessed , is not very encouraging , and people cannot help suspecting that the Gove rnment know more than they choose to tell ; but thelast intelligence we have , on which any reliance is to be placed , speaks hopefully . Up to the 19 th , nothing of a serious nature had befallen us . On the night between the 18 th and 19 th , the enemy made a strong sortie , but it was promptly repulsed . A . despatch from Prince Gortschakoff ) the substance of ' which is derived from St . Petersburg through

    Berlin , says that the object of this sortie was to destroy the most advanced works of the Allies , and iixat that object was attained ; but we all know the tendency of the Eussian commanders to exaggeration . The same despatch ( which is dated the 19 th inst . ) , says the firing of the besiegers on the 16 th , 17 th , - and 18 th was less violent ; that the Russians replied successfully ; and that the losses of the garrison rwithin the last few days have been "less considerable "—a very vague phrase , which seems to imply a -consciousness of something which it were best to keep shrouded in a delicate obscurity . A communi--cation from the French Admiral Brunt , of the same date , and published in the Motiiteur of Wednesday ,

    says : — " On the 17 th , the fire of our batteries maintained its superiority . In front of tlie Central Tower we have -carried a series of ambuscades , and those works where we ~ liave established ourselves are now comprised in our lines . We have crowned a ravine in tkat direction , which runs along the fortifications of the town , where the enemy formerly kept their reserves in safety . Before the Flagstaff Bastion , we sprung a mine ( fourneaux de mine ) at a distance of about fifty metres . This operation , which perfectly succeeded , gave us a new parallel , and was successfully joined to the others . From the 12 th to the 14 th , notwithstanding the renewed attacks of the Russians , we had only about 300 men hors de combat . "

    The scaling-ladders and pontoons have been got ready and sent down to the trenches ; but this was merely that everything might be in training , and did not indicate that the assault was imminent . The -allied generals , including Omar Pacha , have had long and frequent conferences ; and Lord Raglan visits the front every day , to examine the effect of the fire . "' CTri ~ blfe "' oc&asion 7 ij ; h *~ Englteh-lady-- ' « ras--observed--on Cathcart ' s Hill , watching the progress of the bombardment . The Russians continue to receive fresh stores ; but it does not appear that their army is increased . The Turks have arrived ; and Balaldava is thereby greatly strengthened .

    PROGRESS Or THE BOMBARDMENT . The Times correspondent , writing on April 10 , says : — ¦*• . The French had silenoed eight or nine of the guns of the Bastion du Mat ( Flagstaff ) , and had inflicted great damage on the outworks and on the buildings inside the batteries in the western tower . They had also almost shut up the Inkerman batteries . On our side , we had silenced half the guns in the Redan and Round Tower , and had , in conjunction with tho French , left the Mamelon only one out of seven guns to reply to us ; but the Garden Battery , the Road Battery , and the Barrack Battery were comparatively uninjured , and kept up a brisk fire ngainst us all day . "

    On April 12 , he adds : —" Our Allies fire to-day with great energy . Their Inkerman and Tchornnya batteries are admirably served , and they have not only kept down tho firing of the Mamelon , aided by Gordon ' s Battery , but they have also answered the batterios at the north side of the harbour , the Inkerman Cave Batteries , and have silenced for tho present the Lighthouse Ikcttory , No . 2 . Our fire from Gordon ' s Battery and its advanced works has swept away tho Rifle pits , has damaged some six or aevon guns in the Round Tower , and has kept under tho fire from one face of the Redan , while tho fire from Chapman ' s Battery has been Trery successful against tho Redan , tho Barrack Battery , the Road Battery , and the" Garden Battery . "

    Of the bombardment on the 18 th wo road : —> ' At 4 cAj }< x ; k a . m ., tho Russians opened a powerful and destructive fire on our 6-gun advanced battery , which was in a very imperfect state , and , by concentrating the fire of twenty guns on it , dismounted some of tho pieces and wjjured the works -severely , bo aa to render the battery « ee * BS 8 for tho day . Tho sailors in No . 2 Battery , in Chapman's attack , sHemjed throe of tho best gutiB in tho Heftan yesterday ; but tho Russians replaood them

    during the day , and actually opened fire at 5 p . m . from tbe very embrasures which had been knocked to pieces . The reports of injury done to our batteries have been greatly exaggerated . In addition to the 13-ineh mortar , ¦ which was burst , and the Lancaster destroyed by a shot , there have been only four guns disabled by the enemy ' s fire , and one of our 9-pounders , directed against the Rifle-pits , has been ' dinted' by a shot . One of pur 24-pounders was burst by a shot which entered right at the muzzle as the gun was being discharged . Another gun was struck by a shot in the muzzle , and split up to the trunnions ; the ball then sprang up into the air , and , falling at the breech , knocked off the button . It is impossible to deny to the Russian engineers great credit for the coolness with which they set about

    repairing damages under fire ; but words cannot do more than justice to the exertions of our own men , and to the engineer officers and sappers engaged in this most perilous duty . When an embrasure is struck and injured it is the business of the sappers to get into the vacant space and repair the damage , removing the gabions , &c , under fire , and without the least cover from shot , shell , or riflemen . Our Allies , also , exhibit the utmost coolness and gallantry in a similar manner . Poor Jack pays the penalty of his excessive courage in the loss which he sustains . The sailors will not keep under cover . When they fire a gun they crowd about the embrasures and get upon the parapets to watch the effect of the shot ; and the result is that they are exposed to many more casualties than the artillerymen , who are kept under cover by their officers .

    a more extraordinary effect , and his art alone coutd" hav e rendered justice to the scene -which shone out on us for a moment , as the sickly sun , flattened out , as it were , between bars o cloud and rain , seemed to have forced its way through the leaden sky to east one straitened look on the conflict which raged below . The plateau between our standing-place was lighted up by incessant fiasbes'Of light ; and long trails of white smoke streamed across it , spirting up in' thick massed , tinged with fire , for a moment , till they were whirled away in broader volumes by the wind . In the deep glow of the pasting gleam of sunset , the only image suggested to me calculated to convey the actual effect of the fire of the batteries to our friends at home was a vision of the Potteries' district as

    it is seen at night , all fervid with fire and pillars of smoke , out of the windows of an express train . Tius glimpse of the batteries , brief as it was , proved extremely satisfactory . " THE HUE OF THE BATTERIES AT NIGHT . April 9 , 10 p . m . The night is dark and tempestuous , the wind continues to blow strongly from the south-west , and thu rain , though less continuous , still falls in heavy , fitful showers . No stars are visible in the heavens , and the fire from the batteries continues . The dashes of light from the guns , and the roar and . roll of the echoes among the mountains , suggest the idea of an Alpine storm by the close resemblance of the latter to the crash and stunning sound of thunder . The horizontal flight through the air of some of the larger shot and shell , with their peculiar shrill , rushing . noise , contrasts strongly with the deep booming of the guns , and adds strike the

    A BRUSH WITH THE RUSSIANS ON THE NIGHT OF THE 13 TH . On the left , it seemed as though all the constellations in heaven had settled on the earth , and were twinkling in flashing and flickering threads of fire in front of the Russian lines . The effect of the desperate work which has been going on between the French and the Russians can be compared to nothing that I can think of save a broad street , as seen from a distance , brightly illuminated for some festive occasion , with the wind playing fiercely and irregularly along the fretted gaspipes , Sirtce 11 . 10 the fight has been raging , and I have returned to my den in despair at its cause . I am now inclined to think it was a sortie in the trench , which was unsuccessful , was renewed , and was fitaally repulsed victoriously , -and with great loss to the

    to the confusion of sounds which ear . The report from each piece at the instant of explosion is so modified by the weight of metal , amount of charge , position , and distance , that no two sounds appear alike either in tone or intensity . Sometimes the explosion and discharge are made with such force that even at a considerable distance the concussion of the air strikes the spectator forciblj r , and he experiences the sensation of having received a blow on the chest . The noise would be much increased if the wind blew from an opposite direction , even on these open heights : what must be the roar in the streets and buildings of the town below ! The shells rise thickly and brightly fruin the English , batteries , and in less number from the French works on the right , but become dimmer as they travel through the misty atmosphere towards the Russian side . The Kussians are replying comparatively feebly . —Daily Newb Co 7-responikiit . KNGLISU SEAMEN AND FRENCH SOLDIERS .

    enemy . It appears that about ten o clock drums were heard beating a charge , or alarm , all along the French lines at first ; but whether they were Russian or French drums no one can say . The cheers were undoubtedly Russian . There is now a profound silence —not a gun can be heard , and the horrid din of shot and shell screaming and whistling through the air , the bursts of cannon and bombs , the cheers , and rolling volleys , have all died away , and the deadly lights have died out and left all the black waste in darkness . While the fi ght lasted the quantities of shell thrown by both sides were prodigious . They might be seen six and eight at a time seaming the sky with their fiery curves , and then bursting with a bright red flash which lit up for an instant the smoke , and flashed through it like a beam from the setting sun through a murky clovuL- ^ TiTiics . Correspondent .

    I cannot help observing that everyone remarks that the seamen , in their camp , are better off than the soldiers . Why should this be ? Simply because the men are handy and try to shift for themselves , and their officers of all grades—not trusting to the system of " reports "—look well after them . The seamen build cozy little cook-houses , get i \ res ready , and make pots boil ; while our poor men , who have never been accustomed to do anything for themselves , seem listless and indifferent . They are uovr suffering from this system . Our seamen much resemble Frenchmen in their vivacity of manner and disposition , and in making the best of their situation . The consequence is , they are not

    suffer-THE OPENING OF THE BATTERIES . The following singularly vivid account of the memorable 9 th of April is from the Times correspondent : — " The horses could scarcely get through the sticky black mud into which the hard dTy soil had been turned by one night ' s rain ; and , although it was early dawn , it was not possible to see a man twenty yards off . A Scotch mist , mingled with rain , settled down on the whole camp . As we approached tho front there was a profound silence in the camp . Suddenly , throe guns were heard on the left towards the French lines , and the whole line of our batteries opened at once . The volume of sound was not near so great or bo deafening aa that of tho 17 th of October , and the state of the weather

    ing like the-troops ; -- A-Frenchman , will , stroll , out . of his tent , and in a few minutes will pick up a handful of herbs , with which he caii make a very palatable and savoury dish . Those fellows can get a delicious repast ready , when our men would actually starve . It was only two cliiys since I saw a couple of Frenchmen prepare a delicious salad . It was done thus . They picked up the young dandelion plants . Tho viuugar was prepared by exposing , their ration of / tin ordinaire to the sun , which converted it into vinegar ; the young plants were cut up , and the vinegar and ix little oil , which is part of their rations , were poured over all . This eaten , with a little broiled or roast inuttou , was most

    refreshrendered it quite out of tho question to form a notion of the gradual effect of our fire , so that the most interesting portion of tho day ' s proceedings was lost . Just as tho cannonade opened tho Bailors came streaming over tho hills from the batteries , where they had been relieved , and a fow mcu turned out of the huts in thu 3 rd Division to the front , evidently very much astonished at tho sudden opening of the fire . The rain then descended in torrents ; and , as there was nothing to be seon , heard , or learnt , every one withdrew to shelter after a long and hopeless struggle with tho weather . Tho storm was so heavy that scarcely a soul stirred out all day . It was dark almost as night . About five

    ing Lord Itnglan has been out a good deal of luto through the camp , and seems to divo more than hitherto into affairs in general , lie has been to sue tho suspension bridge , constructed by the seumeu gunnery , over the ravine and stream which courses along tho southern side of their camp . It is admirably contrived out of very simple means . It is ubout 100 feet long . Tho sides of suspension arc thrown over capstan bar pillara , and composed of 4-inch rope , which arc mado fast at both enda to a sleeper , made out of the crosspiece of a gun carriage , » uuk in the ground . lUc flooring is composed of BtuveH , or stukc ; . i , laid aenwu and fastened to three fl-inch ropw . The whole apparatus is hauled tight by blocks . It i * a most useful and ingenious contrivance , and Irt another proof how buiiuyuuvul officora and seamen are in shifting for themselves . — Dally New * Correspondent . JUBSl'ATCJUKS JPJtOM IAJRD UAULAN . Beforu Sebustonol , April 10 .

    o ' clock the sun slowly descended into a rift in tho dark groy pall which covered tho sky , and cost a pale yellow slice of light , barred here and there by columns of rain and masses of curling vapour , across the lino of batteries . Tho outlines of tho town , faintly rendered through the mists of smoke and rain , seemed quivering inside the circling lines of fire around and from them ; but they were the same familiar outlines so Troll known to us for tho last aovon months—the name green cupola and roofs , and long streets and ruined suburbs , the same dockyard building * , and dark trendies and batteries . The little detuiln of ruin and destruction ' which must have taken plaoo after to-day ' H fire emild not ha ascertained . Tho eye of painter never rested on

    Mv Lonl ,-lM ncconlnnw ! with the arnuiguuiont mudo between Geiiortil Canrobert niul w-ysolf , tho buttenw pf tho French mid EngH « h armies opened upon bubuatopol boou after daylight yesterday morning . _ Tho weather was extremely unpropitiew . Much iram had fallen in tho conrae of tho night , and it continued during the day , accompanied by a tempewtuouw wind , and a h « uvy mint which obscured everything , « nd rendered it impossible to usceTtiin with any degree « f « ccuT « oy

    Untitled Article

    ApbhT 28 , 1855 , 3 THE LEAD 1 B , aQl

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 28, 1855, page 391, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2088/page/7/