The General speaks of the beauty of Varna, and of its park-like scenery, adducing these as presumptive evidence that it was healthy. Now, Varna is by no means beautiful; nor is the district close to it remarkable for any such scenery as Sir George Brown, in his poetical enthusiasm, describes; but his language is applic^able to Devno. If it was reallj' intended for Varna, one can only say that the Light Division had very little to do with the place. But does not Sir George Brown remember that Dr. Hall, at Lord Raglan's request, went out to report on the site of the camp at Devno, and that he at once condemned it the moment he saw it, and sent in a report, which Sir George in his obstinacy ignored, till he was forced to break up his camp, and retire in confusion and dismay by the attack of the cholera?
At present the troops are in excellent health: Our strength is very considerable. It is almost as numerous as that with which the Duke fought the battle of Vittoria. The infantry numbers 27,000; the cavalry 3,500; the artillery 9,000— in fine, General Simpson has under his command not less than 38,000 effectives of all arms. There are few matters of complaint; but an army is an insatiable creature, and its providers must be as thoughtful and foreseeing as ants. Supplies must come in beforehand in prodigious quantities, or we are starved out. A pile of stores disappears in a day. To all commissai'iat officers in charge at Balaklava it may be well said — " Nulla fronti fides" — "Have no faith in the front." When we hear of deficient harvests and of a want of bi'eadstutfs at home, the recollection of the enormous quantities of wheat and corn destroyed at Kertch seizes upon our minds.
At the time it seemed wasteful, almost wicked, to burn this corn, when we were bringing food at enormous expense from England and every country in the world. We are now sending agents to America to buy breadstufls. Could not Sir George Brown have managed to carry away a few of the millions of pounds of the precious article which were destroyed so recklessly P Verily, there is a Nemesis springs out of such deeds sooner or later, and ruin has not been long in attaining a dangerous maturity. We have been obliged to borrow flour from both French and Sardinians — but then, it must be remembered that we consider it necessary to give our men bread four times a-week, though the French are contented if they get bread once aweek.
Our stock of rum is exhausted. The rum-ships have not come in, and at present the whole army is drawing its supplies fi'om the commissariat stores of the 4th Division, where Captain Dick, Land Transport Corps, and Deputy-Assistant Commissary-CJeneral Uarlee bad accuniiilated rum I'or their men for seventy days. As an instance of other deficiencies, I may mention that the butchers cmliarked for tlic commissariat of the expedition have no implements to carry on their trade with, and tliat they cannot procure them in the camp, even though they were willing to pay for them. In the same way the soldiers on the roads have scanty and inadequate tools to work with, and those used during the siege by the army are worn out. Captain Foster, who is in charge of the Croat and civil labourers, will be obliged to go down to Constantinople in a few days to purchase tools, and, instead of getting good ai'ticles from England, we spend money and time in trying to repair those which are really useless.
The Sappers' tools, which have been handed over to the naen employed under the Army Works Corps here, are all that could be expected of them. But what are these evils when compai-ed with those endured by our adversary? True, indeed, that of the condition of the llussian army encamped on the Belbek nothing certain is known in camp, but the generals have means of information, the action and the results of Avhich are not divulged. Now and then one gets a glimpse of the world beyond the adverse sentries. The pickets bring in some foot-sore, ragged, emaciated, sickly-looking deserter, who tells a sad tale of want and sutiering. Is he a Dolon or not? That is the question. The deserters who come in to the Sardinians are sent to our head-quarters; those who surrender to the Turks are brought to the French Q,uartier General.