It is invidious to draw comparisons between allies, but it must be recollected that if we failed twice at the Redan — where the spectator now stands and mutters " madness!" as he looks around him — the French failed in one great attack on the Mamelon, in two assaults on the Bastion-du-Mat, in the attack on the Little Redan, and in the assault on the Bastion-du-Mat and Bastion Centrale on the 8th of September, and that it was the English Quarry Battery which annihilated the Russian reserves as they formed in the Karabelnaia to retake the Malakhotf, and that for one hour and fifty-six minutes the presence of our forlorn hope of English in the Redan distracted the efforts and drew away an immense body of the enemy from the French.
With regard to the " success" with Avhich the movements of the Russian Generals have been (according to the Doctor) attended in many instances, it is not easy for us to discover one. Hitherto, they have been only successful in " moving off." However, it is not worth while to bestow further comment on Dr. Davega, whose experiences, most likely, have been forgotten before this, and I am only led to make these few remarks, lest the readers of the Neio Yorlc Herald should take them all for gospel. When the Russians have left, or have been beaten out of, the Crimea, there will be plenty of people to hail the news as an augury of fresh Russian success, and as a proof of fm'ther energy in concentration, according to the doctrine which seems to be a kind of strategical plagiary of the theological doctrine of developments.
Before Sebastopol, December 7. The effect of the mud and wet on the animals of the Land Transport Corps is distressing, but I am not able to affirm that it could be avoidod. Notwithstanding the numerous good roads through the camps, tliere are tracts to be traversed by thousands of animals under their burdens which are exceedingly deep and heavy. Many of the poor creatures are cruelly used by the people to whom we are obliged to entrust them. There are two men to every three horses or mules, but then these men are barely sufficient to perform long marches, from the divisional camps to Balaklava and back again, and afterwards to attend to the animals and clean them properly. In some muddy pool or in some deep scarp on the hillside the poor animal, which, perhaps, has stood in uncovered stables all night, and is badly groomed or not rubbed down at all, sinks beneath its load and dies there in lingering agony.
No one is permitted to shoot these wretched creatures — why, one cannot say. People residing near the Fourth Division camp will remember the skeleton spectre of a wretched grey horse, with a sore back, which haunted the camp for weeks before it fell into a ditch and died. It had been turned loose to live or perish, and it was a shocking sight to behold the dogs leaping up against it to lick its sores; but there it remained for days, with its legs drawn close together, and no one ventured to put it out of pain. These spectacles, renewed this year, recal the terrors of last winter. Every one exclaims, " How fortunate that Sebastopol has fallen. What would we have done had we to guard the trenches tliis winter?" Not that there could have been an equal amount of physical suffering, but that there would have been a great deal of unavoidable misery, and disease, and death incident on another winter's active operations, despite railroads, depots, roads, Avarm clothing, and abundant food.
The transport mules and horses perish, but French and English suffer alike, though I cannot say if they do so proportionately. Many of the divisional stables are still uncovered — there is a great want of nails and planking, and the result is, that the animals are exposed to the inclemency of the weather after hard work. They get knocked up with sore backs or greased heels — are lamed, lose shoes, and at last succumb on the road. The men have tolerable cover and warmth, and are not over-worked — their fatigue duty keeps them healthy; and it is observed by the surgeons that those }nen who are kept to labour as punishment for offences, and enjoy moderate exercise iir stone breaking and road repairing, are generally in excellent health.