CHAPTER IV.

FROM WIDDIN TO PLEVNA.

Declaration of War with Russia--An Ominous Silence--The First Shot--An Interrupted Luncheon--Under Fire at last--Disappearance of the Inhabitants--A Move Underground--Running the Gauntlet--Blowing up a Gunboat--Our Hospital shelled--Killing the Wounded--Operations under Fire--A Terrible Coincidence--How a Turkish Mother died--Some Marvellous Escapes--Circassians on a Raiding Expedition--Cattle-lifting on a Grand Scale--A Long Bombardment--Insignificant Losses--Osman Pasha in the Batteries--Rewarding a Good Shot--Circassian Peccadilloes--Osman Pasha's Plans--He is baffled by Red Tape--A Fatal Delay--Good-bye to the Kyrchehir--Marching out from Widdin--A Picturesque Bivouac--False Alarms--A Forced March--How the Russian Army was placed--Fall of Nicopolis--A Race to the Balkans--Sleeping in a Tomb--Pushing on to Plevna--A Terrible Night--Lost in the Bush--Many Cases of Sunstroke--Goose for Dinner--I flesh my Maiden Sword--A Record March--We cross the Vid at last--Arrival at Plevna 88