To every one out here the occurrences of the last few da^'s seem momentous, startling, and prodigious. Time will show whether we duly appreciate them. On Saturday we felt that the great success of our valiant allies was somewhat tarnished by our own failure, and were doubtful whether the Eussians would abandon all hope of retaking the Malakhoft". On Sunday, ere noon, we were walking about the streets of Sebastopol and gazing upon its ruins. The army is now in suspense as to its future. The south side of the city is in the hands of the allies. On the north side the great citadel and numerous regular forts, backed by enormous earthworks, and defended by a large army, bid us defiance across a narrow strip of Avater, and Uussia may boast that she has not j'et lost Sebastopol.
The allied iieet remains outside, paralysed by Fort Constantine and its dependencies, and every one is going about asking, '* What are we to do now?" The last and decisive cannonade was, as the world knows ever so long ago, begun on the morning of Wednesday, September 5, by the French, against the Russian right, consisting of the Quarantine Batteries, the Bastion Centrale, and the Bastion du ]\iat; it was continued with great vigour and effect, and followed at night by a devastating bombardment, in which all the allied batteries joined; during the latter a frigate was fired by a French shell and sunk. On the morning of the 6th, the English and French together opened the cannonade, beneath which the Russian batteries were almost broken to pieces, and to which they coidd not answer.
In the evening the bombardBient was renewed and kept up all night; a fire appeared behind the Redan, and the enemy seemed by their constant signallmg, to be in much uneasiness. It was observed that great quantities of forage were being sent across the bridge from the north to the south side, although there were no cavalry in the latter. On the 7th the cannonade was continued in salvoes, as before, and it was remarked that the town began to present in a most unmistakeable manner traces of the terrible effects of the nightly bombardment. Nearly every house within range was split or in ruins. The bridge between the north and the south side was much crowded all day with men and carts passing to and fro, and large convoys were seen entering and leaving the town at the north side.
Towards evening the head of the great dockyard shears, so long a prominent object from our batteries, ■caught fire, and burnt fiercely in the high Avind, for it had blown a gale all day. A two-decker was set on fire by the French sliells, and destroyed; and a steamer was busily employed towing a large dismasted frigate to the dockyard, out of range. In the middle of the day there was a council of Generals, and at two o'clock it became generally known that the allies would assault the place at noon on the 8th, after a vigorous cannonade and bombardment. The hour was well selected, as it had been ascertained that the Russians were accustomed to indulge in a siesta about that time.
In the course of the night there was -an explosion behind the Redan. And now comes the memorable