As he uttered the words a loud boom fi'om the batteries gave peculiar appropriateness to his expressions and a dramatic interest to the scene. Sir Colin Campbell and Sir Edmund Lyons each spoke a few sentences in reply. The troops presented arms, the band played " God Save the Queen," the artillery fired a Royal salute, and then the assembled force, which was about 1000 men, filed off, and the 104 THE LULL BEFORE THE STOllM. numerous gi-oups of officers shortly after left the ground. The pageant was favoured by a brilliant sunshine, tempered by a pleasant breeze, and could not have gone off better. Later in the afternoon we had a spectacle of a different kind, but, in its humble way, of a not less interesting nature.
Soyer, the Gastronomic Regenerator, now the camp cook ^Ja?- excellence, opened the fire of his kitclions on the esplanade in front of the Guards' camp. A row of huge iron boilers supplied each one its different soup or stew, concocted entirely from the rations daily furnished to the troops. From the summit of a large marquee fluttered the French andEnglish colours; smaller flags waved gaily over the enclosui-e, which was formed by garlands of foliage. The guests, who were very numerous, paid due homage to the contents of the savoury cauldrons, the capacity of which alone saved them from speedy exhaustion. There was no denying the excellence of the cookery. Five o'clock is a hungry hour in the Crimea; and I can ansvv'er for it that few of the guests contented themselves with merely tasting.
General Simpson smiled approvingly at the skill of the French cook, and General Pelissier seemed highly to enjoy his countryman's potaye. A great number of persons were present. There were rice pudding and Cossack plumpudding (all rations), snug tents, with champagne, and the most crystalline of ice (not rations), and Soyer was voted, nem. con., the worthy chef of the army in the Crimea. To speak seriously, he will render real service if he teaches the soldier, as I understand he proposes to do, to make the most of the very excellent materials now supplied to him, which hitherto have unquestionably been wasted, more or less, through ignorance of a few of the simplest laws of the gastronomic science. H. The Tchernaya, August 26. We are still living in the continual apprehension of a Russian attack, although no more information has been obtained of the day when it is to take place.
As sailors at the signs of an imminent storm make everything snug and shorten sail, so we draw in the more exposed posts, strengthen our position, bring up reserves, and try to provide for every emergency. Since the late attack the French detachment and waggon-train, which had been employed collecting the hay in the valley of Baidar, have been continually on the move, according to the reports which reached us of the enemy's proceedings. Whenever the news came of an attack for the next day they fell back tov/ards the valley of Varnutka, and occupied the wooded ridge which runs along from Buyuk Miskomia down to Kaitou, and separates this latter valley from that of Baidar. Wlien again the rumour proved false they descended, and pushed forward reconnaissances to the heights towards Koloulouz and Markoul.
Thos(> precautions hecame necessary on account of the large number of waggons and arabas which, having only the Woronzoff road to retire by, Avould run the risk of being captured should the Eussians attack in force. Besides, the French have lately brought over great part of their cattle to these valleys, where the grass is still plentiful, while that in the neighboui'hood of Sebastopol is quite scorched. Notwithstanding their late frequent hegiras the cattle have been very much improved by this change, and have lost that skeleton look which they shared formerly with their oomrades confined to the neighbourhood of the Monastery of St. George; but — I don't know whether from change of diet, or because they were already too fiir gone — many of them have died, and the two vallej's, so sweet formerly, are now quite the reverse, for the carcasses are left lying about or thrown among the bushes, and there are no vultures to feast upon them.