A few Ai'tilleiy ofiicers still stuck to the Eedan; Picket-house-hill was quickly cleared, except of one or two obstinate expectants, and Cathcart'shill was abandoned by many; when, behold! j ust at a quarter to five, when few of the weary who had departed could have reached theii' quarters, and some could have been but a hundred or two yards on the wrong side of the hill-crests, out gushed a small pufi' of white smoke from the White Buildings, then a big pufi* of black smoke; there was a slight explosion, a grumbling roar; stones were hm'led into the air and pitched high over the eastern wall into the docks, and then, after a silence which 412 THE ARiMISTICE IN THE CRIMEA. seemed to last nearly a minute, came a series of pops and puffs as the mines went off in rapid succession, and an immense volume of smoke appeared, not in dense sluggish masses slowly surging up, as at the explosion of Fort Nicholas, but in a thinner cloud, which rose so liigh that the summit of the murky column was visible over Picket-house-hill to persons some way down the Woronzoil'-road, where it passes through the Light Division camp.
When the smoke cleared off, the damage did not appear so great as was expected. The walls of the buildings still stood, except the north-east corner. Doubtless the inside had suffered, and, indeed, there were appearances indicating that much damage had been done. Later, at about a quarter to six, when it was supposed that all was over, and everybody had abandoned the points of observation, another series of explosions was heard. Of these I have not yet ascertained the effect. After the explosion of the buildings. Fort Constantine sent a solitary shell into the French side, so I suppose the armistice is not considered to be perfect until after to-morrow's conference. Fdjruary 29. There was a lively and novel scene at 10 o'clock this morning at Traktir-bridge.
At its further end the white flag was hoisted, and just beyond it some live and twenty Cossacks halted, who had escorted thither the Eussian General Timoiefl' and his staff. The Generals, M'ho had met to arrange the details of the armistice, occupied two tents, pitched on a strip of greensward in the rear of the bridge. At a few minutes past ten General Barnard and some Staff officers rode down through the ravine between the two hills on which the battle of the Tchernaya was fought, and crossed to the other side of the river. There were, perhaps, half-a-dozen other English officers, about as many French, and a much larger number of Sardinians. All these went over the bridge, and a sort of fraternization ensued between them and some Russian officers — that is to say, there was a good deal of civility, and some ill-treatment of the French and German languages; but, as to carrying on nmch conversation with our Muscovite friends, it was not an easy matter, for there seemed a mutual embarrassment as to what subject to pitch upon.
Horses were a natural theme, and the Russians expressed much admiration of some of those present, and were probably rather astonished at their good condition. Rut the great object of curiosity to us was the fur-capped Cossacks, around whom the.illicd officers assembled, examining their arms and equipments and entering into conversation, whicli, in most cases, was carried on by signs. They were slender, wiry men, — ugly enough, most of them, — mounted on small, rough, active horses, and carrying, besides sword and carbine, flagless lances, whose long black poles terminated in a small but very sharp-pointed steel head. They seemed well pleased to cultivate the acquaintance of their enemies, and also had evidently an eye to the main chance. One of the first things I saw was a Cossack corporal proposing a barter to a Sardinian officer.
The latter had a tolerably good riding-whip, for which the astute child of the Don insisted on swapping a shabby sort of instrument of torture, of whicli his pony is doubtless rejoiced to be rid. The Sardinian hesitated, the Cossack persisted, and the exchange was effected, the officer looking, as I thought, rather ruefully after his departed cravache, and somewhat contemptuously at the shabby but characteristic stick and thong he had received for it. The signal thus given, the whip trade soon acquired great activity. Probably some of the officers present were ready enough to part with a tolerably good whip for a bad Cossack one, as a souvenir of the day's proceedings and of the commencement of the armistice. It had been expected that videttes would be placed, and that very little freedom of intercourse would be allowed beyond the bridge of Traktir, and people at first thought themselves fortunate in getting over the bridge and having a good view of the Cossacks and a chat with some stray Russian officer.