As there was nothing doing in camp I proceeded on a week's excursion to Simpheropol, the Tchatir Dagb, Bakshiserai, Orianda, Yalta, and by Aloupka. The Russians sent passes to head-quarters, with one of which I was furnished. It was as follows: " Carte de passe pour les avant postes " (in print), " General de Service Tehervinsky; " then in Russian MS., " Allowed to pass — General Major."
Before I left I went over the north forts, and carefully examined the defences of the place. Fort Constantine bore very few marks of the bombardment and cannonade of the 17th of October, 1854. The crown of the arch of one embrasure was injured, and supported by wood, and the stone- work was pitted here and there with shot; but the " pits " had been neatly filled in and plastered over. Fort Catherine, or Nachimoff (formerly Suwaroff), was uninjured, but St. Michael's, which was badly built, suffered from the French mortar fire after we got into the town. The citadel was covered on all sides by earthworks, and the hill-sides furrowed up by lines of batteries bearing on every landing-place and every approach. In line from Fort Constantine to the Quarantine and Alexander Forts were sunk, before the 17th of October, three eighty-fours, then one hundred-andtwenty, then two eighty-fours, and then one fifty-four. Inside this line was a strong boom, which would have brought up any vessels that had succeeded in bursting through the sunken ships. This outer line and the boom itself were so much damaged, however, by the gale of the 1 4th of November as to be of little use. The second boom, consisting of chain cables floated by timber, extended from Fort Nicholas on the south to the west of St. Michael's Fort on the north. Inside this boom were sunk, commencing from the north side, a sixty-gun ship, an eighty-four, a one-hundred-andtwenty, an eighty-four, and a sixty-gun frigate. Then came the bridge of boats from Fort Nicholas to St. Michael's. Inside that, in two lines, lay the rest of the Russian fleet. The first was formed of three eighty-fours, a one-hundred-and-twenty, and one hundredand-ten-gun line-of-battle ship; the second consisted of a sevengun steamer, a six-gun ditto, a thirteen-gun ditto, and an eightyfour, close to the ruins of Fort Paul. Nearer to Inkerman, in the creeks and bays on the north side, were sunken steamers, five brigs of war and corvettes, and a schooner yacht sunk or aground.
* Major-General Barnard.
The boats of the men-of-war were safe in one of the creeks which our guns could not reach.
The Russians shouted at us lustily as we were engaged in examining the timbers. Although the teredo had not attacked the wood, it was covered with barnacles and slime, and from what we saw of the ships, it did not seem likely they would ever be raised as men-of-war again. The famous " Twelve Apostles" the " Three Godheads" the " Tchesme" the " Wratislaw" and the " Empress Maria" were unseaworthy before they were sunk, and the only ship for which the Russians expressed any sorrow was the " Grand Duke Constantine" one-hundred-and-twenty, the finest ship in their navy. She seemed quite content with her berth on the bottom, and it will be some time before a timber of her floats again.