civilisation! At the onset the steamers were as well appointed as any in the world, the table well served, the wines excellent, the waiters empressés, the captains jovial, and the whole voyage a merry panorama.

The Volga, not the Danube, was exchanged for the Steppe; and with the latter came Calmuck Tartars, Nogays, and Don Cossacks, execrable roads, bone-dislocating carriages, drunken, obstinate drivers, sullen postmasters, and post-houses without any resources, and full of filthy abominations. Such are the well-known penalties every traveller has to pay for the pleasure of a peep at the Tsar's dominions.

The Moravian settlement at Sarepta, and the Armenian colony at Nakhitchivan, are little oases in this desert of prairie, bright spots in a wilderness of despotism; but the Crimea presents a relief to all. Here we have Oriental and Western life commingled, Tartars and Muscovs, camels and horses, inns and caravanserais, sepulchral caves by the side of yawning embrasures for cannon, and silent cities of the dead and the departed, by the side of the bustle of life and a new race of people. Mr. Oliphant's descriptions of Baghti Sarai, Inkurman, Kertch, and the other curiosities of the Crimea, are not so detailed as those of Dr. Clarke, Lyall, Pallas, or Homaire de Hell, but they have the advantage of being sketchy, pleasant to read, and are nicely illustrated.

Of the renowned Sebastopol Mr. Oliphant says:

Nothing can be more formidable than the appearance of Sevastopol from the seaward. Upon a future occasion we visited it in a steamer, and found that at one point we were commanded by twelve hundred pieces of artillery: fortunately for a hostile fleet, we afterwards heard that these could not be discharged without bringing down the rotten batteries upon which they are placed, and which are so badly constructed that they look as if they had been done by contract. Four of the forts consist of three tiers of batteries. We were, of course, unable to do more than take a very general survey of these celebrated fortifications, and therefore cannot vouch for the truth of the assertion, that the rooms in which the guns are worked are so narrow and ill ventilated, that the artillerymen would be inevitably stifled in the attempt to discharge their guns and their duty; but of one fact there was no doubt, that however well fortified may be the approaches to Sevastopol by sea, there is nothing whatever to prevent any number of troops landing a few miles to the south of the town, in one of the six convenient bays with which the coast, as far as Cape Kherson, is indented, and marching down the main street (provided they were strong enough to defeat any military force that might be opposed to them in the field), sack the town, and burn the fleet.

So also of the ships and the men that man them. Most of the former are rotten, eaten up by the worm of Inkurman, or the more formidable worm of official corruption; and the officers and crews are described as being only fit to figure in the naval returns so ostentatiously paraded. This, however, it will be observed, is, as with the state of the batteriesall hear-say, but very likely to be true.

Mr. Oliphant also not only agrees with all who have gone before him as to the extent and depth of the universal demoralisation of official Russia, but he even exceeds them in his pictures of the extent of this all-pervading corruption. "From the prince on the steps of the throne to the post-boy, almost every man will," he says, “lie, and take bribes."

Nothing (he tells us) bears looking into in Russia, from a metropolis to a

police-office in either case, a slight acquaintanceship is sufficient; and first impressions should never be dispelled by a too minute inspection. No statement should be questioned, however preposterous, where the credit of the country is involved; and no assertion relied upon, even though it be a gratuitous piece of information-such as, that there is a diligence to the next town, or an inn in the next street.

The picture painted by Mr. Oliphant of the universal demoralisation of Russia of the sickness and inefficiency of its army-of the decline of commerce-the inutility under such a system even of railroads, except to transport troops-the incapability of the navy; in fact, of a nation rather resolving itself into military barbarism than emerging from it, is not supported by the same writer's political resumé at the conclusion, in which he points to Russian troops in Italy, in Germany-nay, even in France-if her onward progress is not resisted. The impression of her faults, her deficiencies, her corruptions, and her short-comings, seem to have been one-his impression of her power and resources, another.

One thing is certain from these pictures-which is, that a power which so disregards the gifts of nature and perverts the conquests of art, as Russia does her people, her soil, her rivers, her railways, her steam-navigation, her very position in the world, and the advantages and responsibilities which such entail to commerce, to civilisation, and to the well-being of the human race-is not the power with which to entrust the welfare of the Christians of the East, nor of the finest countries in the world.

M. Francisque Bouvet's "Turkey, Past and Present,"* contains precisely that kind of information which every political dilettante should make himself thoroughly acquainted with before he ventures to discuss the vexata quæstio of the East. It is one continuous picture of Russian aggression, assuming every variety of forms and phases, ever since the treaty of Carlowitz. The record is at once brief and clear, and written in the statesmanlike language of extreme moderation. The ex-representative justly depicts Navarino as a most untoward incident, in which France and England were made the tools of Russia; and he merely expresses a just regret that England did not consult the then friendly cabinet of the Tuileries, before entering into a treaty of alliance with Russia to expel the Egyptians from Syria-an alliance which very nearly brought about an European war. The fact is, that England was just as much made a cat's-paw of by Russia in her operations against Muhammad Ali as she was at Navarino, and, in 1807, when she insisted on Moldavia and Wallachia being ceded to the universal autocracy. Will experience of the past in any way influence her now? Alluding to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, M. Bouvet says: "A Christian general was known to have wept in engaging in battle, while Mussulman soldiers were seen to shed tears of rage on learning that their general had concluded a truce. It may, then, be easily imagined what would happen between two rival nations of such contrary dispositions and sentiments." This observation is not without its application to our own times.

* Turkey, Past and Present. Authorised Translation from the French of Francisque Bouvet, late Representative. By James Hutton, Esq. Clarke, Beeton, and Co.

M. Leouzon le Duc's "Russian Question"* is by no means so interesting or so instructive a pamphlet. The sketch of Prince Menschikoff, by whose name it is now fashionable to swear in Paris, is good; but of the sketch of the Russo-Greek Church it is sufficient to say that the writer calls it, after Father Lacordaire, "the Catholic Church reduced to a state of petrifaction," to testify to its absur dbias; the chapter on "The Position of Russia" is mainly borrowed from a German pamphlet on the "Eastern Question;" and in it, taking a German point of view of the subject, all reciprocal arrangements with Russia, as to the partition of the East, are scouted, and war to the knife of all Europe against the autocrat is advocated.

"Sketches of the Hungarian Emigration into Turkey"+ are not quite relevant to the subject; and yet, considering (notwithstanding the denials of the Philo-Turkish press) the number of Hungarian refugees who are engaged in the present struggle, the narrative is not without its political bearing as well as its general interest. And a clever, heart-riveting narrative of suffering and endurance it is. We wish the spirit which dictated the following passage were more general:

66

The feeling of discouragement was propagated likewise by drawing-room officers, who had entered the army for the pleasure of wearing a sword and a fine uniform, and who were disgusted with the real perils and privations of war. I cannot express the emotion I felt on hearing one of those popinjays speak thus in German to a common soldier: "Is it not horrible to be kept marching night and day, and to be starved when we reach our bivouac ?" My blood boiled, and my temper got the upper hand. I drew him aside, and said to him: Sir, I ask you, as a soldier and as a brother-officer-for by right I might pass my sword through your body-under what delusion was it that you entered the military service ?" The answer I received was as follows: "Sir, I have neither the honour to know you as belonging to our brigade, nor even as an officer, nor am I bound to give you any explanation." The tone in which this speech was uttered introduced some sad presentiments into my mind I felt that he had not spoken his individual opinion alone. The character of the man was known to me. I replied, "You are happy, sir, that we are unhappy; under other circumstances I would have killed you on the spot, that the Hungarian army might have one bad officer the less, and that you might not wear laurels which you do not deserve. You are fortunate, too, in not belonging to my brigade; otherwise, not even our misfortunes should have saved you."

Here is a method of getting rid of vermin:

The obvious manoeuvre, namely of condemning your wardrobe to the fire, and shaving as clean as a razor-strop, is rather too expensive, especially if you happen to have only one suit of clothes. It is better, therefore, to adopt the following plan :-In the first place undress, then bury your garments in the earth, leaving one corner of your shirt projecting, or rather a piece of rag, as a conductor; then light a fire above; the heat draws out the pestiferous beasts, and they stupidly crawl forth to be consumed. The fox gets rid of fleas somewhat in the same manner; but as he cannot undress, he goes into the water tail foremost, holding a piece of wool between his teeth; by degrees the colonists of his fur ascend, fall into the trap, and go floating down the

stream.

This little record will one day be a page in the history of the past.

*The Russian Question; or, the Crisis in the East. Authorised translation from the French of Leouzon le Duc, late Chargé de Mission to the Courts of Russia and Finland. By J. H. Urquhart. Clarke, Beeton, and Co.

† Sketches of the Hungarian Emigration into Turkey. By a Honved. Chapman and Hall.

To pass from descriptive and argumentary matter to matters of fact. The Turkish army in the Danubian Provinces might be taken, previous to the invasion of the Principalities, in round numbers, and with no allowance for sick and laggers, as amounting to 100,000. It consisted of 45,000 Nishan or regulars, including artillerymen and the Egyptian contingent at Varna; 8000 cavalry, Bashi Buzuks (no heads or chiefs), included; and 57,000 Radiff or militia, and Albanians. The Egyptian contingent was under Sulaiman Pasha (Colonel Selves), an old soldier of Napoleon's, to whose military skill Muhammad Ali was more indebted than to Ibrahim Pasha's personal prowess for the victory of Nizib, and was stationed at Varna. The head-quarters of the Turkish army was at Schumla, but brigades, of greater or less strength, occupied various stations along the Danube. Among these were Tultsha, Isaktchi, Matschin, Hirsova, Rasuva, at the extremity of Trajan's entrenchment, Silistria (a remarkably strongly fortified place), Rutschuk, Sistov or Sistowa, Nicopolis, Rahuva, Widdin, and the Iron Gates. The veteran Pasha, Izzet, was sent to secure the fortresses of Belgrade and Semendria, in Servia, from any coup de main from unanticipated quarters. The Hungarian General Klapka is supposed to have commanded the brigade at Rutschuk, which was said to be 15,000 strong.

The Russian army consisted of the following troops, which have crossed the Pruth this summer:

1. The 4th army-corps, under General of Infantry Danenberg, consisting of-A. The 10th, 11th, and 12th Infantry Divisions, under LieutenantGeneral Simonoff, Major-General Perloff, and Lieutenant-General Liprandi. B. A division of light horse, under Lieutenant-General Count Nirod. C. An artillery division, under Major-General Sixtel.

2. A brigade of the 5th army-corps (Lüders'), belonging to the 14th Infantry Division, under Lieutenant-General Moller, commanded by General Engelhardt.

3. The 5th division of light horse, belonging to the 5th army-corps, under Lieutenant-General Fischback.

An infantry division has two brigades; a brigade, two regiments; a regiment, 4000 men; a cavalry regiment, 1000.

Number of troops which entered:

and the artillerymen. Each regiment has a battery of 12 guns, so that the artillery which accompanied the above-mentioned troops must have been 264 guns.

Of Lüders' army-corps, two divisions and a half, or 40,000 men, remained at Ismail, Odessa, and Sebastopol, but it is presumed that the greater part of these troops have been sent to Asia. It is also probable that some 7000 or 8000 men passed the Pruth in August.

If we supposed that, previous to the war, the regiments were as comDec.-VOL. XCIX. NO. CCCXCVI.

2 D

plete as they are on paper, the Russian army was little less than 80,000 strong; but deducting the losses by cholera and other illnesses, desertions, and defalcations of various kinds, it was not probably more than 60,000 strong at the time of the onslaught of the Turks.

The Russian troops at that epoch, with their head-quarters at Bucharest, occupied Ismail, Galatz, and Brailow, especially Galatz, in great strength. A second detachment occupied Giurgevo, opposite Klapka's brigade at Rutschuk, and entrenched themselves there. The extreme right wing, under General Danenberg, occupied Slatina and Krajova in Little Wallachia, and contented itself with throwing out advanced posts of Cossacks to Kalafat and Tchernetz, to watch the movements of the Turks.

Agreeably to a wish expressed by Colonel Magnan, an officer of the French staff sent to assist Omar Pasha with his counsel, that general sent Shaikh Bey to examine whether an island on the Danube, opposite Widdin, and somewhat less than a quarter of an English mile in length, might be made use of, as a fortified point d'appui, from whence to effect a passage of the river. The detachment met with a squad of Cossacks, and both parties being mutually in terror of one another, retired with equal precipitancy. The Turks soon returned, and landing a body of 4000 men, at once proceeded to fortify the island.

Colonel Magnan was of opinion that the Russian troops were not completely concentrated, and strongly recommended the immediate commencement of operations; but Omar Pasha, depending no doubt on superior orders, contented himself with sending over a summons to Prince Gortschakoff to evacuate the Principalities, duly forwarded by the Porte, to which the prince made, considering that he was in military occupation of the Sultan's territories, the following remarkable answer:

My master is not at war with Turkey, but I have orders not to leave the Principalities until the Porte shall have given to the Emperor the moral satisfaction he demands. When this point has been obtained, I will evacuate the Principalities immediately, whatever the time or the season. If I am attacked by the Turkish army, I will confine myself to

the defensive."

How much these peaceful pretensions and assumption of forbearance accord with the issue of the imperial manifesto, announcing that nothing was left but recourse to arms, published on the 1st of November, and before the passage of the Danube by the Turks could he known at St. Petersburg, we need scarcely remark. It is in accordance only with the usual diplomatic proceedings of Russia.

In the mean time hostilities were precipitated by an attempt made on the part of the Russians to force a small flotilla of two steamers, with eight gun-boats, past the Turkish fort of Isaktchi, on the 23rd of October. Although the Turks fired without intermission for an hour and a half from twenty-seven guns, the flotilla succeeded in reaching its destination, not, however, without loss; while, on the other hand, the town of Isaktchi was set on fire by the shells thrown into it. Russian vessels of war had by treaty no right to go higher up the river than Reni, at the junction of the Pruth.

The Turks had previously to this occupied an island on the Danube