vis ineriicB, the passive obstinacy of the Russian soldier, into a still more dogged and obstinate attack; and convince him, in spite of defeat, that he is not defeated. If the defence of Sebastopol was, as history will undoubtedly pronounce it to have been, most ably planned, most energetically carried out, most resolutely, nay sternly, protracted, the largest share of the merit is undoubtedly due to the officers of the garrison, who had established such a moral ascendancy over the troops under their command, that no labour seemed irksome, no enterprise impracticable, if undertaken under their auspices. If, in every battle which has taken place in the Crimea, the Russian columns, mown down, crushed, and shattered by a hellish fire of artillery, have returned to the attack long after success became an impossibility, and have retired with a solidity and an organisation which have awed pursuit, it is because their commanders were the first to brave danger and the last to shun it. Their conduct to those prisoners of war who have fallen into their hands has been on the whole remarkable for gentleness and humanity; and on more than one occasion those highest in command have not denied the tribute of a generous admiration to the gallant deeds and the high qualifications of their powerful enemies. The destruction of the " Tiger," slaughter of Sinope, and massacre at Hango, are the dark spots which deface this picture, and will probably be urged in contradiction of its accuracy; but, sad and disgraceful to the Russian arms as these reminiscences undoubtedly are, the blame due to them attaches more justly to the vices of a barbarous system than to the character of individuals.
To those gallant sons of France and England whose chivalry will forbid them to do injustice to the enemy in contending with whom they have reaped their own unfading laurels, we must appeal for confirmation of this perhaps unpopular view of the Russian officer, and by them we feel confident that confirmation will not be withheld.
The latter days of March were unmarked save by some unimportant night skirmishes between the French and Russians, and the energies of the Allies were unceasingly devoted to pushing with vigour the preparations for the second bombardment. The railway was now in a state of completion to the summit of the plateau, and daily carried up a quantity of ammunition for the batteries, variously estimated at from 70 to 200 tons. The Land Transport also, which had recently arrived from England, and was rapidly brought into a state of efficiency by the unwearied activity of Colonel McMurdo, charged with the superintendence of this branch of the service, was now at work for the same purpose, and the accumulation of powder, shot, and shell applicable to the coming operations was enormous]; the English batteries alone being supplied with no less than 500 rounds for each gun, and 300 for each mortar.
Before closing the chronicle of this not uneventful month, we must not omit to mention two dashing and successful feats performed by a few of the steamers of the allied squadrons on the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea. Earlier in the month, Lieutenant Armytage, in command of Her Majesty's steamvessel Viper, was despatched by Captain GiflEard to examine the mouth of the Kouban Lake and the coast as far as the Tower of Djimiteia — a work which had been recently erected for the defence of the direct communication between Anapa and Kertch. After having dispersed a small body of Cossacks, whom he observed at the former point, Lieutenant Armytage proceeded along the coast to the south-eastward, until abreast of the martello tower of Djimiteia. Anchoring the Viper bow and stem at about 500 yards from the beach, he opened fire, and, with the aid of some parties whom he landed for the purpose, speedily succeeded in destroying the fort and barracks, setting fire to the granaries, spiking and disabling the two guns of the fort, and destroying the ammunition: the whole being effected without a single casualty among the crew of the Viper. This steamer also took part in the subsequent affair, which is thus referred to by Sir Edmund Lyons in his despatch of the 17th March: —