CHAPTER III.

Expedition to Kinburn--Off Odessa--Objects of the Expedition--Appearance of the Fleets--The English Portion of the Expedition--Odessa from the Sea--Alarm on Shore--The eternal Cossacks--Clouds, Fog and Vapours--Signal Gun--The Fog thickens--Arrangements for the Attack--Order of Formation--Plan of Attack on Kinburn--Proceedings of the Advanced Squadron for Buoying the Dangers--A Skirmish.

At last it was determined by the Allied Governments that it was a mere waste of power to keep the armies and fleets inactive, and that "something must be done." The Light Brigade, under Lord George Paget, received orders to hold themselves in readiness to embark for Eupatoria. A small corps of infantry was told off for the expedition which had been organized to make an attack upon Kinburn in conjunction with the French.

The English portion of the expedition was constituted as follows:--

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | LINE-OF-BATTLE SHIPS. | | | | Guns. | Captains |Troops on Board. | Royal | | | commanding. | |Marines.| +-------------------------+--------------+------------------+--------+ |_Royal Albert_, } | | | | | Sir E. Lyons, } | | | | | G.C.B. &c., } | | | | | having on board } | | | | | Brigadier-General } | | | | | Spencer commanding} 121 |W. R. Mends |17th Regiment 800 | 80 | |_Hannibal_, Sir H. } | | | | | Stewart, K.C.B., } | | | | | second in command } 90 |J. Hay |21st Regiment 670 | 80 | |[A]_Agamemnon_ 90 |Sir J. Pasley | | | |_Algiers_ 90 |C. Talbot |20th Regiment 500 | 80 | |_St. Jean d'Acre_ 101 |G. King | | 1030 | |_Princess Royal_ 91 |L. Jones |63rd Regiment 700 | 80 | | --- | | ---- | ---- | | 583 | | 2670 | 1350 | | | | STEAM FRIGATES, SLOOPS, ETC. | | | |_Curaçoa_ 30 |G. F. Hastings| | | |_Dauntless_ 33 |A. P. Ryder | | | |_Firebrand_ 6 |E. Inglefield | | | |[A]_Furious_ 16 |W. Loring | | | |_Gladiator_ 6 |C. Hillyar | | | | | {|Left wing, 57th, | | |_Leopard_ 18 |G. Giffard {|and reserve | | | | {|ammunition 370| | |_Odin_ 16 |J. Wilcox | | | | | {|Right wing, 57th, | | |_Sidon_ 22 |G. Goldsmith {|and reserve | | | | {|ammunition 300| | |_Sphinx_ 6 |A. Wilmott | | | |_Spiteful_ 6 |F. Shortt | | | |_Spitfire_ 5 |T. Spratt | | | |_Stromboli_ 6 |R. Hall | | | |_Terrible_ 21 |J. M'Cleverty | | | |_Tribune_ 31 |J. R. Drummond| | | |_Triton_ 3 |A.W.D.Fletcher| | | |[27]_Valorous_ 16 |C. Buckle | | | |_Vulcan_ 6 |E. Van Donop | | | | --- | | ----| ---- | | Totals 830 | | 3340| 1350 | +-------------------------+--------------+------------------+--------+

THE BRITISH FLOTILLA.

SMALLER VESSELS.

Gun-boats. Guns. Commanders. 1. _Arrow_ 4 Lt. W. K. Jolliffe. 2. _Clinker_ 1 Lt. Hudson. 3. _Cracker_ 1 Lt. Marryat. 4. _Fancy_ 1 Lt. Grylls. 5. _Moslem_ 1 ---- 6. _Lynx_ 4 Lt. C. M. Aynsley. 7. _Viper_ 4 Lt. H. Comber. 8. _Wrangler_ 4 Lt. Burgoyne. 9. _Beagle_ 4 Lt. Howitt. 10. _Snake_ 4 Lt. Buckley.

MORTAR-VESSELS--(CAPTAIN DIGBY COMMANDING.)

1. _Firm_ Lt. Leet, _St. Jean d'Acre_ Lt. Hewitt, R.M.A. 2. _Hardy_ Pierson, Mate, _Princess Royal_ Lt. Foster, R.M.A. 3. _Camel_ Vaughan, Mate, ditto Lt. Starr, R.M.A. 4. _Flamer_ Lt. Creagh, _St. Jean d'Acre_ Lt. Brookes, R.M.A. 5. _Magnet_ Blunt, Mate, _Algiers_ Lt. Pitman, R.M.A. 6. _Raven_ Hunt, Mate, _Hannibal_ Lt. Festing, R.M.A.

STEAM TENDERS, ETC.

_Banshee._ _Danube._ _Brenda._

TRANSPORTS.

No. Freight, &c. _Prince Alfred_ 126 Royal Artillery. _Arabia_ 83 Royal Artillery, &c. _Orient_ 78 Medical Staff--Hospital Ship. _Lady Alice Lambton_ 99 Stores. _Durham_ 179 Miscellaneous. _Indian_ 197 Commissariat Staff, &c. _Charity_ 140 Civil Land Transport Corps and Commissariat Stores. _Colombo_ .. Shot and shell, &c. _Zebra_ 211 Fuel. _Arthur Gordon_ 238 Stores.

Dr. Gordon, in medical charge of the expedition, Surgeon Foaker, second in charge, and a number of medical officers, embarked on board the _Orient_.

Deputy-Commissary-General (in charge of the expedition) Tyrone Power, Assistant-Commissary-General Cumming, Deputy-Assistant-Commissary-General Sutherland, and Commissariat Clerk Robinson; Lieutenant Wardlaw, and twenty Dragoons, Captain Nicholson, R.E., Lieutenant Gordon, R.E., and Lieutenant Scratchley, R.E., in command of the Sappers and Miners, embarked on board the _Orient_. Major Bent, Royal Engineers, embarked on board the _Royal Albert_.

The First Brigade of the Fourth Division marched down to Kazatch on the 4th October, and proceeded to embark on board after they had been inspected by Sir Henry Bentinck, K.C.B., commanding the Division. Brigadier-General Spencer commanded the Brigade, which was in very fine order, and formed a body of 3,300 men, many of them tried soldiers.

The embarkation of the artillery and stores continued on October 5th. A large body of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, so long encamped on the heights of Balaklava, were marched down to the water's edge, and embarked on board the _St. Jean d'Acre_, to which they were conveyed in the _Wallace_ steam-tug. Her Majesty's steamer _Triton_, Lieutenant A. D. W. Fletcher commanding, received orders to join the expedition, Captain Leopold Heath, R.N., the Superintendent of Transports, shifted his flag to the _Bucephalus_ transport.

On the 7th October, the Allied squadrons, with a large flotilla of gun-boats, bomb-vessels, and small steamers, stretching in two lines in front of Kazatch and Kamiesch, must have displayed to the garrisons of the north side of Sebastopol a spectacle of portentous grandeur. We could see the enemy manning their batteries on the north side, and their troops under arms in front of their camps. It is likely they believed the Allies were about to make a descent in their rear. The French had four line-of-battle ships, several steam frigates, and a number of gun and mortar boats. In addition to that force they had a formidably ugly armament of three floating steam batteries; but England, with all her maritime and mechanical resources, could not aid her ally by even one of these tremendous fortresses! These French floating batteries, called the _Devastation_, _Lave_, and _Tonnant_, curiously unprepossessing in appearance, and painted of a bluish stone colour, as if to increase the gloominess of their aspect, showed eleven or twelve ports a-side, and carried twenty-two fifty-pounders (French) each. They were crowded with men, and were remarkably steady on the water, but the French bomb-vessels and gun-boats rolled heavily on the smallest provocation.

The men-of-war had their ports triced up and guns run in, so as to give air to the soldiers between decks, and presented long lines of kepis and red trousers from stem to stern. The day was very fine, and the wind was scarcely strong enough to blow away the black and white wreaths of smoke and steam from the funnels of the fleet as they slowly got in motion. Each steamer had a mortar-vessel or gun-boat in tow. At 11.15 the _Royal Albert_ set driver and fore and aft canvas, and slowly forged ahead, followed by the _Hannibal_ and the rest of the squadron; the French division, led by the _Montebello_, moving on in a parallel line with us, on the port or left hand.

[Sidenote: MENACE ODESSA.]

As the fleets drew off from the land, leaving behind them the forts of Sebastopol, both north and south, between which the usual daily duel of cannon and mortar was going on, the French went somewhat to the westward, and steered NW. by W., while we kept on a course N. by W. The Admiral made signal to the fleet that "the rendezvous" was to be "five miles S. by E. of Odessa," and it was immediately conjectured that the object of visiting that place was to induce the Russians to take away their forces from Nicholaieff and Cherson, in the expectation of a descent upon them at Odessa. The speed of the squadron was not very great, as most of the vessels had heavy boats in tow, and the signal was made from the Admiral, "Steer four miles an hour--course NW. by N."

The _Triton_ was ordered to keep close to the Admiral, and not to follow the signals of smaller vessels, and at 2.10 the flagship signalled that "the Admiral's course was no longer to be regarded by the fleet," but that they were to keep in their proper direction, as already indicated. At four o'clock the _Triton_ was ordered not to exceed four knots an hour, the Admiral's ship began to press on in front, and before evening was well in advance of the squadron, attended by a despatch gun-boat. The French, detained by their heavy batteries, made the best of their way on our port quarter. The night was fine, and the fleet moved slowly, and in extended order, for fear of collisions, but just before dawn the _Stromboli_ made a slight dint in the huge bulk of the _St. Jean d'Acre_, and carried away one of the boats.

On Monday, the 8th of October, a hot bright sun lighted up the round mirror of sea of which the fleet formed the centre. The sea gives a poor human creature a curious sense of his own importance. Wherever it is not broken in upon the land, it concedes to the vessel that has the honour of bearing him the position, or at least the sensation, of being the very centre and navel of the universe; if it has not already smitten him down on some cruel deck or wobegone cot, by its own peculiar protest against the arrogance of mankind. Although many big ships were near, and a great flotilla was moving all round the edges of our great circle, Her Majesty's ship _Innominata_ appeared on this fine Monday morning to be the central point on a bright, flickering, shivering mirror, fringed by columns of smoke, or framed in by the masts of the distant fleet, fine as cobwebs on the edge of some ancient cheval glass of Louis Quatorze. The French fleet was away hull down on the port quarter, the grand, showy, big tricolors at the peak just topping the horizon, and the English fleet we could not see, for the reason assigned in the _Critic_, which I have never heard disputed, and shall therefore give in preference to any other.

About 8.30 something very like a three-decker under full sail, suffering terribly from refraction, came in view--a tall white column standing out of the sea. The haze gradually expanded as we advanced, and at last "land" was reported from the bows, and a hapless wight was despatched up into the clouds, to make any statements which might strike him as to the general configuration and geographical characteristics of the coast we were approaching, and to look out for "the British fleet at anchor," or afloat, as the case might be. I am not aware that his information was important or curious, and he only confirmed the profound observation of Sir Fretful Plagiary, after a lengthened sojourn among the sea-gulls; but, at about nine o'clock, even landsmen could make out "land" with good telescopes, and were obliged to abandon the secret joys in which they had indulged at the disappointment of the Quartermaster, when he found that "a regular fog-bank" had been mistaken by him for _terra firma_, and to admit that the "cloud," after all, was a "material guarantee" of the Czar, and belonged indeed to Russland. The canvas of the line-of-battle ship gradually resolved itself into a tall, snow-white pillar, some 200 feet above the level of the sea, which marks Cape Fontana, south of Odessa, and by degrees, as we rose the land, a white light-house, a guard-house, a white telegraph-house and station, white farmhouses, white villas embowered in green trees, pagodas, minarets, domes, and church spires appeared in view, and clustered together, till we had a day-dream of Constantinople and Naples together with a dash of Boulogne in it, and Odessa came in sight. As I am neither a voluntary tourist, a universal gazetteer, nor a photographer, I shall not attempt to describe the city, which must, indeed, be well known to Englishmen, though few artists can do justice to it. These barbarous Russians have a rare knack of building graceful, light, cheerful, and clean-looking cities, which even the "_Stones of Venice_" might not utterly despise; and, if it be distance which lends enchantment to the view, they have at least the satisfaction, denied to more civilized people, of saying there is one point of view from which their cities win the senses.

[Sidenote: APPEARANCE OFF ODESSA.]

As we slowly drew up to our inevitable "five miles S. by E. of Odessa," we passed a wonderful creation, which, compared to the slow efforts of our ancient builders, seemed almost the work of enchantment. There stood an extensive city, built on the curve of a high sea-shore, with descending terraces and broad flights of steps, to the beach, which was enclosed by broad quays and the walls of ports and casemated batteries, all shining brightly in the morning sun. Broad esplanades, or boulevards, lined with trees towards the sea-front, ran along the top of the bank, with a background of stately mansions, worthy of the best "rows" near the Regent's Park, and we could see a numerous and gaily-dressed crowd of men and women passing along the promenade, gazing on the dark clouds of smoke which were slowly drifting in on them from the distance. Behind, and in continuation of this esplanade, are splendid residences, with pillared porticoes and ornamented peristyles, magnificent public institutions--the temples erected by Despotism to Civilization, in hope of making peace with her--barracks, palaces, governor's house, prisons, rising in front of a confused but graceful mass of domes, columns, steeples, and spires. One huge dome is of an intense ultramarine blue, and is topped by a gilt cupola; another is of bright green, surmounted by a golden star; here is a Greek temple, there a Tartaresque-looking mosque; there an unmistakable "little Bethel," here a Byzantine church; again, an Eastern minaret-like spire; farther on, an indubitable Sir Christopher Wren steeple; and, next to it, a grand dome and cupola, which at once reminded you of St. Peter's or St. Paul's. This beautiful city is surrounded on the left by woods, bestudded with the houses of Princes and Counts engaged in the corn trade, and of merchants deeply interested in the state of the English barometer. There is one dismantled three-masted vessel inside the port, but the quay at the upper end of the harbour encloses a considerable number of small coasting vessels; and even now we can see some boats creeping down for shelter along the coast under the batteries.

At the distance of about three miles from the town, we found the _Valorous_ and _Furious_ at anchor, and a French steam-squadron beside them of great force, with an Admiral's flag flying from the _Asmodée_; indeed, the French vessels, to the number of four pendants from large steamers, and of ten pendants from gun and mortar vessels, had already arrived, or had preceded us. The esplanade was, as I said, crowded with people. The city was as peaceful as a drop-scene at the theatre, but the operations of war were going on, nevertheless, and little could we tell what alarm, confusion, terror, and dread, dwelt within that beautiful capital on which we gazed so placidly. As the first ship of the English squadron cast anchor, a long line of dust was observed rising over the hilly coast to the north of Odessa and by the beach, which is lined with trees and a thick hedge of bushes, and we soon made out bayonets glistening in the sun, and a strong body of Russian infantry, with field-pieces and baggage, consisting of some five or six thousand men, marching in all haste towards the city. Two small camps could be seen on the hill-side towards the north, and a part of this column halted and encamped outside Odessa. A number of mounted officers accompanied the men, and some of them rode out through the gaps in the hedge, upon the beach, and reconnoitred the fleet, which was drawing up towards the harbour. The eternal Cossacks, in groups of two or three, were standing by their horses as vedettes, beside the numerous signal and telegraph stations which line the coast at intervals, and are in connection with a semaphore in Odessa, which was tossing about its arms like Niobe gone mad. Others were galloping over the fertile steppe, appearing and disappearing over the low lines of hills, and numerous herds of cattle all over the country afforded proof that we had exaggerated the general exhaustion of the enemy's resources, if any were needed in addition to the prosperous appearance of all the white farmhouses and hamlets, with their enormous stacks of hay and corn around the homesteads. Some of the inhabitants seemed to be moving away from the place by the north road, and many waggons and carts were visible going to and fro by the road to the northward.

The French fleet approached towards their anchorage from the south at the moment that the top-gallant masts and smoke-wreaths of the British fleet peered above the horizon, and at 3.30 the _Royal Albert_, followed at intervals by the rest of the ships, came up with signals flying for the anchoring of all at two cables' length, in order of seniority. This noble vessel let drop her bower in thirteen fathoms water, about three and a half miles from Odessa, soon after four o'clock, P.M. The smaller steamers and gun-boats were then disposed of, the tows cast loose and secured, and with the beams of the bright setting sun lighting up the whole of this tremendous array of batteries, with their polished muzzles grinning from innumerable ports, the people of Odessa saw the fleets of England and France anchor in their bay, and exhibit to them upwards of eighty vessels of war, ready at a moment's notice to lay their homes in the dust. The evening passed quietly; the Admiral made but few signals, but it was known that nothing would be done, and that till the work of sounding off Kinburn and laying down buoys for the fleet had been accomplished, the attack would not come off. The _Viper_ received orders to start at dawn for Kinburn, whither the _Spitfire_ had already proceeded, for the purpose of making the requisite surveys.

On the morning of October 9th, the wind came round from the SSW., and brought with it clouds, fog, and vapours, which quite shut out the sun from us. The shore could not be seen in detail, and the day was so murky that we were unable to ascertain if the inhabitants of Odessa were "flitting," as the more prudent would assuredly do, with such a tremendous armada floating before them. The sky was of a dark leaden grey, and seemed surcharged with rain and storm. Now and then a solitary ray broke through this veil, and lighted up a patch of houses in the stately city, or illuminated bits of the seaboard, displaying for a moment the Cossack pickets and vedettes on the cliffs, and snug farmhouses, surrounded by numerous stacks of hay and corn; small detachments of troops on the march over the steppes, and _eilwagen_, or lumbering Germanesque-looking diligences, traversing the coast-road, a few stray horsemen riding at full speed across country, and herds dotting the wide-spread plains.

[Sidenote: DIVIDED COUNCILS.]

The fleet must have presented a spectacle full of grandeur and menace to the Odessans. It extended for the space of five miles in front of their town,--a dense array of hulls and masts, yards and rigging, which, from shore, looked as if it were one unbroken network of ships resting on the water. The nine line-of-battle ships towered aloft in the centre, and the heavy steamers, gunboats, bomb-vessels, and transports, to the number of sixty, filled up the intervals, and extended along the flanks of the flotilla. The esplanade in front of a magnificent pile of public buildings was covered with a crowd of people, among whom were many officers and soldiers and well-dressed women; and the gunners all ready for action, inside the parapets of the long low batteries which guard this Queen of the Euxine, were visible to us all on board. These glimpses of the city were, however, infrequent, and were soon denied to us altogether, for down came the Black Sea fog, and wrapped us all in its clammy, unctuous, and chill embrace so closely that we could not see much beyond the limits of our own ship. The ever active and indefatigable little _Spitfire_ joined the fleet. She had been away somewhere or other taking soundings and bearings as usual, and her appearance was a sure sign that some place on the enemy's coast was to be favoured by a visit before long. Captain Spratt no doubt had a useful little budget of information for Sir Edmund Lyons when he went on board the _Royal Albert_. In the forenoon Sir Edmund Lyons left the flagship in his barge, and was towed by the _Danube_ to the French Admiral's ship, where he remained for some time.

Subsequently to the Admiral's return, he signalled to each ship to notify her draught of water. This was done accordingly by signal, and the people of Odessa must have seen dimly a brave show of bunting in our armada, as it required many flags to express the various draughts forward and aft of each ship. In the afternoon the wind freshened and the sea rose a little, causing that peculiar ground swell which distinguishes this part of the Euxine. The fog settled down on the water about three o'clock, slowly descending from the sky above, and distilled itself into drops of rain, which ran down the masts and fell from spars and rigging.

Before it became so very thick, our only amusement had been watching a considerable force of cavalry and horse artillery, drawn up on the cliffs, about six miles from Odessa and three miles from our anchorage. These were evidently intended to act as a flying column of observation, and to march on any part of the coast which might be threatened by our troops. It consisted of four troops of some Lancer regiment, and, from the time I first saw it, at nine in the morning, till it was lost in the fog, it only moved once, and then it was merely to form in squadrons and trot, wheel round, and draw up in double line again. Now a few rockets would have put these gentry to flight at any time, but we did not seek to inflict useless loss or annoyance upon the enemy. A gun-boat might have run in within easy range and shelled them at her leisure with the most complete impunity; nay, more--had the Admirals desired to inflict such a great blow on Russia, who vaunts herself to be invulnerable, and who boasts that, Antæus-like, she acquires fresh strength from every overthrow, the mortar-vessels, gun-boats, and floating batteries might have gone close enough to pour long-range shot, rockets, and bombs into the town, without the chance of being hit by the enemy, save by great luck. The city could not be missed, but it is very nice practice to hit a long low black line--a snake in the grass, wheeling and twisting about--at a distance of 2,500 yards. Let the world know that Odessa was "spared" once more, and, indeed, no one who looked at the city, which blends the magnificence of the East with the solid and massive grandeur of the West, could feel any desire for its destruction, unless it were absolutely necessary for the success of the war and for the attainment of peace.

When the fleet was off Odessa, the advice of the highest person in France on the project of bombarding the town was sought by the French Admiral, and his reply implied a "radical opposition"[28] to any such proceeding, nor was our Admiral authorized by the home authorities to attack Odessa unless he was certain of success.[29] Sir Edmund Lyons and Admiral Bruat acted all along in the most perfect accord, but there was this difficulty in their mutual relations, that Admiral Lyons was not under the orders of the British Commander-in-Chief of the army, while Admiral Bruat was directly under the control of Marshal Pelissier, and the latter was opposed to any operations which would require large detachments from the French army. It was proposed at one time to send in a flag of truce to Odessa with some such proposition as this to the Governor--"Are you the Governor of a commercial town or of a military station? If you say Odessa is purely a commercial town, destroy your forts, abandon your efforts to fortify it, deliver up your gun-boats, if any, and we promise to respect the place. If you say Odessa is a military station, you must expect to see it treated as such by the Allied fleets." However, in case of the Russians refusing to give up their guns, &c., and setting us at defiance, it would have been necessary for us to attack the town _coûte qui coûte_, and there were many reasons why at that particular time such a course would not have been desirable.

[Sidenote: DIVIDED COUNCILS.]

Odessa is built of stone and stucco, and is composed of large open places and squares, offering little combustible matter, and placed at such a distance behind the shore batteries as to be accessible only to mortar-vessels and horizontal fire at a very long, and therefore at a very uncertain, range. The houses are roofed with iron, and in many cases there is no woodwork in the flooring or ceiling of the different stories, but iron girders and tiles and slabs of stone are used instead of planks and rafters. Many of the houses are detached, and stand like so many palazzi in their own grounds. Under these circumstances a general fire would have been almost out of the question, and the damage caused by a bombardment would not have been very decisive or extensive. With all the efforts of friends and foes to destroy it, how much of Sebastopol remained after it had fallen into our hands! The Russians, by the agency of powder, of piles of wood, of tar, of turpentine, and of all sorts of combustibles, tried to get it into a blaze, but they failed, notwithstanding a favourable breeze; and we rained shells on it for months, and never succeeded in creating any conflagration of importance. Well, Sebastopol contained much more wood than Odessa does, and was more accessible to our fire. The inference is, that we could not by any bombardment of the fleet have set the town in a blaze, or have inflicted damage which would have compensated the Allies for the expenditure of all their shell. It is evident that at some period or another our fire would have ceased from exhaustion of means. Even a line-of-battle ship's powder magazines and shot and shell rooms are not illimitable. It is equally clear that a line-of-battle steam-ship could not have come in close enough to the forts to develop her fire, without running the greatest risk of being disabled before she could have got into position. The moment would have eventually arrived when our bomb-vessels and gun-boats and heavy steam-frigates would have been compelled to cease firing, and that probably before much injury had been done to a large, distant, stone-built town like Odessa; and then, if the Russians could have fired even one gun as we retreated, they would have claimed, and with some colouring--which would have seemed very bright and decided in some circles in England and in many cities and towns of despotic Germany and of free America--the credit of having beaten off the Allied fleets!

Sir Howard Douglas declares that a 13-inch mortar ought to hit a large object such as a fort, at the distance of 4,000 yards; but I know that many of our bombs missed Kinburn when fired from a distance of less than 3,000 and 3,600 yards. The whole of the glacis and of the ground before the fort for some hundred yards was burrowed up and pitted by the craters of bombs, which made prodigious holes in the soft sand on which they expended their force. For one shell which would fall through the roof of a house in Odessa, three or four would fall in the public streets, squares, and yards, where they would be comparatively harmless. These large missiles take up great space, and the fleet _did not hold enough to lay Odessa in ruins_. Had the Admirals been provided with all the appliances for destroying Odessa, they might have caused great damage to property and loss of life by firing on the place during their stay; for, though destruction is difficult, damage and loss may easily be effected, and there can be no doubt that a vigorous fire would have occasioned the enemy a considerable amount of both. The French Admiral, indeed, suggested that a certain number of gun-boats and mortar-vessels should go in every night, and throw shell into the town; but Lord Lyons was of opinion that such a petty measure of warfare was unworthy of us; that we ought either to destroy Odessa, or refrain from a partial attack, which the Russians would say, and not without pretence, had been unsuccessful the moment it was abandoned.

The expedition, however, was never intended to operate against Odessa, but to occupy the forts at the mouth of the Dnieper. These forts were Oczakoff, or Ochakov, on the north, and Kinburn on the south side of the entrance. The former is built upon a small promontory, called Oczakoff Point; the other is situated on a long narrow spit of sand, which may be considered as the north-western termination of the extraordinary spit of Djarilgatch. The distance between Oczakoff and Kinburn, across the entrance to Cherson or Dnieper Bay does not exceed a mile and a quarter, and the passage up the Dnieper to Nicholaieff winds close to Kinburn, and is not more than three-quarters of a mile from the forts. A very extensive and dangerous sandbank, twenty miles long and of varying breadth, lies between Odessa and the entrance to the Bug and Dnieper. This bank commences at the distance of ten miles outside Odessa, and thence runs across to Kinburn. The water on it does not exceed three fathoms, and in some places is even less, but up to the distance of three-quarters of a mile from the shore from Odessa to Oczakoff, there is a belt of deep water, about three miles broad, between the shore and the great sandbank. At a mile from Kinburn the water begins to shoal rapidly from three fathoms in depth to a few feet. The entrance to Cherson Bay is guarded, as it were, by the island of Beresan, and numerous beacons and lights were formerly used to guide the mariner to the channel, which is difficult and tortuous. The coast is well provided with telegraphs.

Nicholaieff (the name of which is spelt by us in six different ways) lies on the east bank of the Bug, at the distance of thirty-five miles from the forts. Cherson Bay, which is formed by the confluence of the Bug and Dnieper, before they flow through the channel between Oczakoff and Kinburn, is very shallow, the navigation is extremely dangerous and intricate, and the mouths of the Dnieper, which resemble on a small scale the debouchments of the Danube, are almost unknown to us. The Bug varies from three miles and a half to two miles in breadth as far upwards as Nicholaieff, below which a sudden bend contracts its course, the passage of which is here defended by formidable works. Its depth is about three fathoms, but there are many sandbanks in the channel, which winds from one side to the other of the river, and a vessel would in any position be under easy rifle range from both sides of the stream at the same time. It is more than thirty miles from Kinburn to the entrance of the Dnieper, and Cherson is fifteen miles above the ill-defined boundary where the extensive _marais_ through which the Dnieper, with many muddy mouths, eats its way to the sea, ceases to become part of the mainland, and is resolved into water. Persons at home endeavouring to connect this expedition with a demonstration against Perekop might well be puzzled when they saw that it was upwards of fifty miles from Cherson to the Isthmus, and that the crow's flight between Kinburn and Perekop, as he passes over the desolate Taurida--bleak, waterless, and lifeless--exceeded ninety miles. Kinburn fort was a regular casemated stone-built work, mounting forty guns, according to the most extreme calculation--some giving only twenty and others thirty-two guns--but north of the fort on the spit running towards Oczakoff the Russians had built two sand batteries. Oczakoff Fort was not very strong, but on the coast between it and the ferry, across the arm of the sea which runs up to Kesandria, the enemy threw up three small batteries, with heavy guns, one near the ferry of three guns, and two of five and three guns respectively to the west of Oczakoff, which bore upon the channel between that place and Kinburn. There was a good road along the spit between Kinburn and Cherson, which, according to the best charts, are about forty-eight or fifty miles apart by this route. The vast importance of retaining possession of this place could not be overrated.

[Sidenote: FLEET IN A FOG.]

On the 10th of October the fog continued, and was worthy of the best efforts of the London atmosphere in November. It was not so rich in colour, so yellow, or so choky, but it was equally thick and clammy. In colour it was white, and sometimes the sun stamped a moonlike imitation of his orb upon it, and in favourable moments one could see a faint indication of his existence above. Now and then you caught a dark outline of a vessel looming through the mist; you strained your eyes to make out your neighbour, but you might as well have tried to pick out the details of Turner's "blubber boilers" or of his phantom ships, and as you looked the vision disappeared. The water flowed with a heavy oily roll, and the only noise to be heard was the plash of the lazy waves against the paddle-wheels, the bumping of the rudder, and the creak of an odd timber, as he rubbed against his fellows. "But hark! There is a gun!" A dull burst of sound, followed by reverberations like the muttering of distant thunder, which are caused by the echoes of the report against the sides of the ships, denotes that the Admiral wishes to indicate his position, to some straggler, who has not yet joined the fleet. Solemnly, through the silence which intervenes between these signals, comes the full rich boom of the church bells from Odessa. Possibly Papa Nicholas or Papa Daniel is even now persuading a nervous and fashionable congregation that the fog which hides their enemy from view is the result of his own intercession with saint or martyr, and these bells, which chime so sweetly, may be using their metal tongues to call down disaster on our heads, and to invoke the blessing of Heaven on the soldiers of the Czar. As the day advanced the fog darkened, deepened, thickened. The rolling of drums--the beat of paddle-wheels as a solitary steamer changed her berth with caution--the striking of the bells of the ships, and the reports of guns at long intervals, were the only evidence that a great fleet was lying all around us. All communication between the ships ceased, for no one could tell where his next neighbour was; in fact, a philosopher would have found this a charming place for study and reflection. But those who were accustomed to more active existence found the time very heavy on their hands, and the excitement of seeing the men "knock about the guns," of hearing them and the boys say their gunnery catechism, "No. 4,"--"Takes out tompions, bear out the port, worms 'em, sponges, rams 'ome, runs out, and trains,"--of watching the barometer, of seeing the fowls fed, and of inspecting the various dogs, pigs, and birds which constitute the pets of the crew, and the more substantial enjoyments of the officers, palled after a time, and one--even off Odessa, and cheek by jowl with the enemy--was fairly obliged to yawn by General Ennui. What was happening around us no one could see or say, and there was a horrible gloomy misanthropical curiosity seizing upon every one to ascertain the longest time a Black Sea fog was ever known to last, which elicited most startling declarations from morose old tars, that "If it's a riglar out-and-out 'un, with a light breeze from the sutherd and vesterd, it may last for a matter of a fortnight--ay, that it may." Sundry dismal experiences were not wanting to enforce the probability of such a lively event taking place again. "And then the bad weather will set in; and, with sogers aboord, I'd like to know what we can do?"

At 3.30 P.M. the fog began to clear away, and one after another the ships of the fleet appeared in sight, as if coming out in a dissolving view. The Admiral availed himself of the pleasing change in the weather to make signal for a lieutenant from each ship to repair on board the _Royal Albert_. The change was as great as if one had come out of a dark room into the leading thoroughfare of a large and busy city. The cutters and gigs glided about in all directions, visits were paid from ship to ship, and some boats swept in to have a nearer look at the shore. When the lieutenants went on board they received instructions for the disposition of the respective ships to which they belonged for the following day. The arrangements were simple. The gun-boats were to sweep the beach, if there was any resistance. The following was to be the order of formation on shore:--

+-------+----------------------------- | | French. | | + Flag. | | | | + Commissariat. | | + Sappers and Miners. | | + Land Transport Corps. | | + Reserve Ammunition. | | + Artillery. | | + Cavalry. | | | BEACH | + 63rd Regiment } Second | | + Royal Marines } Brigade. | | + Royal Marines } | | | | + Staff. | | | | + 20th Regiment } | | + 57th Regiment } First | | + 21st Regiment } Brigade. | | + 17th Regiment } | | | | + Flag. +-------+-----------------------------

It will be seen from this plan that the French formed the left and the English the right of the force.

At 6 o'clock the fog lifted, and the lights of Odessa twinkled in the distance. In order to strengthen the belief of the inhabitants that we were going to attack the place to-morrow, the Admirals made signal "to send down topgallant-masts," the usual preliminary for action in big ships.

All was quiet during the night. On the 11th of October the sun rose unclouded. Odessa looked more beautiful than ever. Clouds of dust were seen rising from its streets, as if large bodies of troops were moving about all over the town. The eternal Cossacks were watching on the cliffs near us, walking up and down to keep themselves warm, or playing with their shaggy little ponies. Wherever there was a good view of the fleet to be had a crowd of people collected, and the esplanades and terraces, and even the housetops and parapets of the batteries, were occupied by spectators. The cavalry on the hill to the north of the town were visible at early dawn, each man dismounted, at the side of his horse. The flagship, at 8.30 A.M., signalled to the fleet to "Prepare three days' provisions for troops to land with." At 11 A.M. the French fleet got up steam, and several of our steamers followed the example. At 11.10 signal was made to gun-boats "to get up steam for slow speed," and officers from each ship, in pursuance of instructions received, repaired on board the Admiral's, where they were made acquainted with the exact duty required of them in connection with the plan of attack, and were subsequently sent in to the Admiral, who examined each of them himself as to their respective tasks. Admiral Bruat went on board the _Royal Albert_, and remained with Sir E. Lyons for some time. Sir H. Stewart was also present. The following was the plan of attack on Kinburn:--

[Sidenote: DEPARTURE FOR KINBURN.]

"No. 1. The line-of-battle ships to engage the Fort Kinburn and two sand batteries on the point, will anchor in about 30 feet, in a line extending northward from fort, bearing E., and about 1,200 yards distant from it.

"No. 2. The four French line-of-battle ships to form the southern division, so that the _Montebello_ will be the fourth ship from the south, and the _Royal Albert_, as the fifth ship, will be the southern ship of the English division.

"No. 3. The line-of-battle ships are to weigh together and form a line abreast, north and south, at a cable apart. The southern line-of-battle ship is then to steer so as to bring the south end of Kinburn Fort bearing E. by compass; and to shield her from any danger that may not have been discovered, or from approaching too close to the bank to the S., she is to be preceded by two steamers, the ---- and the ----, each at a cable apart, and in advance, on her starboard bow, and showing their soundings. When the south line-of-battle ship brings the south end of Kinburn to bear E., she is to steer for it. The rest of the ships will then steer the same course, keeping one cable apart, and all anchor together in a line nearly north and south, just without the flag buoys that will be placed during the previous night.

"No. 4. The nine ships will then be in position for the first five or six to engage Fort Kinburn at from 1,200 to 1,400 yards, and perhaps less, and the other three to take the sand batteries in flank and rear at about 1,000 yards.

"No. 5. The three French floating batteries are to be placed on a line NNW. and SSE. of each other, to the SW. of Fort Kinburn, at about 600 yards distant from it.

"No. 6. The mortar vessels are to anchor in a line E. and W., at 2,800 yards distant, with the fort bearing NE. from the outer vessel of the line.

"No. 7. The English mortar boats to be towed by the _Odin_, on a line E. of the French.

"No. 8. If the outer mortar vessel brings Oczakoff telegraph on with the east end of Fort Kinburn, bearing N. 20 E. (magnetic), and steers for it till the Oczakoff telegraph and Odzah Point subtend an angle of 70 degrees, she will be about the requisite distance, of 2,800 yards from Fort Kinburn; the rest can take their stations at a cable distance east of her.

"No. 9. The _Sidon_, _Curaçoa_, _Tribune_, _Dauntless_, and _Terrible_ to anchor close off the North Sand Battery on Kinburn Spit, or, when ordered, to join the squadron of gun-boats, &c., that have previously entered within the straits, should any large ships of the enemy from Nicholaieff appear for the relief of Kinburn.

"No. 10. The disposable paddle steamers can find good positions between the line-of-battle ships for directing their fire with steady aim at the embrasures of the casemates or at any position where the enemy maintains his fire, or off the N. and NW. extremity of the Kinburn Spit, to enfilade the batteries and their approaches.

"No. 11. The gun-boats will attend to protect the army during the landing, and those not ordered to remain to cover their flank to take up position between the other ships as opportunity offers, and by a careful attention to the plan of attack are not to fire in the direction of the other ships.

"No. 12. The Admiral holds the captains responsible for there being no firing, unless the men can distinctly see the objects they are directed to fire upon.

"_Triton_ and _Beagle_ to attend _St. Jean d'Acre_. Each ship's boats to land her own troops. Reserve ammunition for the Marines to be landed with them. _Spiteful_ and _Furious_, assisted by _Triton_, to land 21 cavalry horses, 7 staff horses, 27 regimental staff horses from No. 197, and 60 Sappers, with tools, &c.

"The captain of each ship is to be responsible for the disembarkation of his own troops and baggage.

"PROCEEDINGS OF THE ADVANCED SQUADRON FOR BUOYING THE DANGERS.

"The ships denoted in the margin, piloted by the _Spitfire_, are to start at 1 P.M. and anchor in the following position, as shown in the chart No. 2,201, from Odessa to Knieper Bay:--

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. No. 2. A. _Valorous._ B. _Dauntless._ No. 1. C. _Gladiator._ D. _Furious._ E. _Spiteful._ F. French mortar-boat. G. French mortar-boat. H. French mortar-boat.

[Sidenote: BOMBARDMENT OF KINBURN.]

"The vessels anchored at C, D, and E, on the north side of the passage, are after sunset to show a red light to the west, and those at F, G, and H, are to show green lights in the same direction, as guides for the fleet on passing through during the night. The vessel at A, _Valorous_, to show lights vertical over the side, screened from NW. round by E. to S., and seen to the W. only. The four gun-boats _Clinker_, _Cracker_, _Grinder_, and _Fancy_, accompanied by four French gun-boats of shallow draft of water, will proceed, after the former vessels have anchored, to the rendezvous, at 8 P.M., near the _Valorous_, anchored at A. The four English gun-boats to be provided with buoys (white). The vessel at No. 2 A to provide two boats, that are to be despatched and anchored upon the SW. extremity of Oczakoff Bank, in four fathoms, to be a guide, by showing lights for the French gun-boats to commence buoying the edge of that bank with black buoys. The two boats on their return to the _Valorous_ to place a white buoy on the end of Kinburn Spit, in five fathoms water.

"The _Spitfire_, assisted by the boats of the _Dauntless_, at B, will mark the edge of the bank--ere landing--west of Kinburn, with small white flags, placed in five fathoms.

"N.B. All white buoys are to lie on the south side of the channel, and black buoys mark the north edge of it, and are consequently to be left on the port hand in passing to eastward."

The evening of the 11th was unsettled--wind from SW. and S. On the 12th the weather was again unfavourable; on the 13th it blew briskly, sending in a heavy sea; but the wind abated towards night, and orders were given to prepare to weigh at dawn next morning. On the morning of Oct. 14, the fleet weighed and stood along shore towards the Liman of the Dnieper. The weather was beautiful, and we could admire at our leisure the numerous clean-looking, snug villages, the immense flocks and herds, and well-filled farmyards, which met the eye along the steppe. The fleet anchored three miles west of Kinburn Fort at three o'clock. On the 15th the troops landed about four miles below the fort, without the smallest opposition, or even the appearance of an enemy, in the order already indicated. The 17th Regiment was the first to land, and the French were, for a wonder, behind us. The weather continuing fine, the troops set to work, intrenching themselves on the sandy spit; only a few Cossacks were visible all that day, but in the afternoon, as a few French troopers were patrolling in front of our lines on the plain towards Cherson, they came upon a picket, which consisted of eight men, hid in some brushwood. They charged the Cossacks at once with great gallantry, killed two, and took two prisoners out of the party.