The proper load of wood for a mule is 2001b. Judging by the loads I have seen weighed, they actually carry less than 1001b., and at the same time the costlj' pack saddles are ruined, and the animals distressed and injured by this clumsy mode of carriage. How the money is Hying! If Mr. John could but get up on one of the hilltops here, andif after gladdening his heart with the sight of his fine fleet floating grandly on the water outside the " beleaguered city," — rejoicing over his brave sons whose white tents stud the brown steppe row after row — and rubbing his hands with delight at the thunder of his batteries — he would just wipe his glasses and look at the less glorious and exciting portions of the scene, he v/ould have some uneasy tinglings in his breeches' pocket, depend on it. " Where are all these horses going to?" " Oh, they're Spanish horses, which have been cast by the artillery, and they're going to be sold as unfit for service." " Wliy, Lord bless nic! it's only a ^ew months since I paid AUXILIARIES.
Ill 30,000/. for that very lot, and they've done notliing I hear but stand at their picket ropes ever since. They cost me, I'm sur^, carriage and all, 100/. a-piece. What do you think I'll get lor them?" " Well, sir, to tell you the truth, I don't think as how they'll fetch more than 10/. a-head, if so much." To speak plainly, for the old gentleman's peace of mind, I would not advise him to be too inquisitive, and a visit to the camp, when in its most flourishing condition and healthy aspect, might injure his nerves irremediably. " Who are those fi'llows in that secluded valley, hunting among the vines for some grapes, while their horses are left to wander through the neglected gardens P" " They belong to Division A, or B, or C, or D; see the letter branded on the horses' flanks.
They are Tm-ks, Elamites, Affghans, dwellers in Mesopotamia, Kurds, Parthians, Canaanites, Greeks, for whose services in the Land Transport CorjDS you, John, pay daily the sum of 'Bs. per man, and they ought now to be carrying up provisions fur your soldiers, but, being philosophers of the Epicm-ean school, they prefer the pursuit of the grape and the insouciance of the siesta to tramping over dusty roads, or urging their mad career down stony ravines on thy much be-whacked quadrupeds!" " And those miles of mules and carts winding all along the plain, emerging from ravines, ascending hills, and that vast army of drivers in quaint attire, the concentration of the floating vagabondage of the world, the flotsam and jetsam of the social life of every nation, civil and barbarous, on earth — to whom do they belong, and v/ho pays them and for them.P" " Even you, my dear sir, and ver^- handsomely too, I can assure you." " And those ships in Balaklava?" " Yours again, sir; but don't be uneasy; things are managed better there now; occasionally the authorities root out a great demurrager, and send her off" hopping after she has lain -perdu some months doing nothing.
The other day the Walmer Castle, a fine Indiaman, sir, was sent off at last — she had been in Balaklava since last February, doing nothing but aflJbrding comfortable lodgings for a few of the authorities — but we wont talk of these things any more, for really the arrangements are now much improved." — " Who are those officers in blue, with grey, yellow, and red facings — apparently men of rank, with stars and crowns and lace on their collars.P" " They are of the Land Transport Corps — captains and quartermasters of brigade." " Kallo! is there a theatrical company here? Who're the queer-looking chaps with tlie huntsmenin -Z>er Freischiitz-c^c^s and tunics, smoking short pipes, and driving their carts like so many Jehus?" " Well, we have the Zouave Theatre and the Sailors' Theatre, but these men belong to Colonel McMurdo, and certainly they have let their hats get cruelly out of shape; they were neat enough, and looked well while the rosettes were clean, but now " " And who are the gentlemen in gray, with black braid and swords and pouchbelts and telescopes — some new riflemen, eh? — capital dress for sharpshooters." " Why, dear me, sir, don't you know tliose are harmless civilians, who never want and never wish to shoot any one or to be shot at either?