SEBASTOPOL EIGHT YEARS

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 104, 21 October 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

SEBASTOPOL EIGHT YEARS

AFTER THB SEIGE. A gentleman who has lately returned from a fortnight's visit to the Crimea has sent to the Hominy Post the following account of the appearance of Sebastopol and its neighborhood in 1863 : — "On arrival at Sebastopol one is at once struck with the desolation that prevails on each side of the harbor. There are, indeed, a few guns still mounted on Fort Constantine, and the Russian ensign waves over it, but the other forts on the north side arecrumb--1 ng to pieces, and not a gun nOra soldier visible along the whole range of these once formidable works. At the entrance of the hdrbor, are the few worm-eaten hulks lately raised by Colonel Go wen, and of? South Bay lies the admiral's steam-yacht, while a few coasters are loading with shot and broken sheel, the reliquiae JDanaum of 1851-55, at the further extremity, and these are the representatives of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea in 1863. Landing at the quay, where now no Russian official accosts the suspicious stran.er, a walk of 200 yards leads to the hotel, kept by one M. Witzel, formerly head waiter of the clubhouse, the ruins of which are immediately adjoining. The rooms are scrupulously clean, and the green soup and young mutton are not the worse because they are the staple delicacy in a bill of faro of prodigious length. First in interest to the | visitor here, as to many a distant fireside in England, must always be the British cemeteries. It is a task o^ several da\s to inspect them asll, cati tered as they are on so many, hillsides, I and several of them we were not able jto visit ; but it will be gratifying to the survivors of that memorable campaign to hear that of all we visited, we scarcely found one that had received any injury beyond the unavoidable decay which eight Crimean winters must bring with them. This is in a great measure owin£ to the attention of Captains E d idge and Clapperto , the late and present Consuls at Kerfcli, Around each enclosure, small or large low solid walls have been built, and are kept in good repair. On Cathcart's Hill, though the grass has grown up over many of the flat tombstones, we only noticed on* headstone that had been injured ; it was one which marked the grave of a colonel of the 55th Regiment, and on inquiry we found it was blown down in a gale last winter. It was splinteied to pieces, and the words "Colonel, 55th Regiment,'' were all we could collect. In the adjoining cemeteries, where some hundreds of our brave soldiers rest, it is gratifying to see that even the round shot wliich eight or nine years ago some friendly hand placed as a border to his comrade's grave remain undisturbed What has been said of Cathcart's HiU applies equally to the graves of the light division, and, in fact, to all the large enclosures. Wild flowers spring up luxuriantly about them all, and there is no appearance of any intrusion either of inau or beast. General Pelissier's head-quarters and Lo:d Raglaa's house are inhabited by Tartars, who have taken great pride in preserving everything that tells of their departed glory. The huts still surround Lord Raglan's quarters which once sheltered his staff; a small tablet in the room where he died records the fact. Kadikoia and Balaklava are as quiet as the graves, some few small boats lying idle in the harbor, our quay rotting to peices, and our huts now occupied by the returning Tartars whose onlyoccupationseemsto be fishing for the treasu 0 trove, the sad mementoes of the awfui gale of November 14, 1854. A bagful of sovereigns was fished up a few days before our arrival. "Point Powell'' and " Castle Bay " in bold English letters on the rocks still greet the eye, and several old barges savour still strongly of the Saxon. The field of Balakl va is now doted with vineyards, and is by no means good galloping ground in '63. All our battries remain mu.h as we left them. The trenches can be jgi^j^^^^^Mile?. They have

The shops consist of a long lin j of open huts, on which English letters repeatedly occur, aud prove their origin. These cover the ground w.here Fort St. Nicholas ouce stood. Some few of the houses have been re-built facing the harbor and we were agree, bly surprised to hear, one evening, the strains of music, which brought out nearly one hundred Well-dressed people to promenade ou the terrace, where a naval trophy looks proudly down on the shattered town ; but whence they came, and whither they returned, we never exactly found Out. Music, amid so much ruin, jarred strangely on the ear. We made an excursion to the *Vlma, and slept at what was designated the Hotel St. Petersburg, a Tartar cabaret close by the bridge which crosses the river, and vidited, next morning, th first scene of the campaign at Boulganek. The ruined post house still marks the spot where the first shot was fired. The village has been partially rebuilt, the graves of Major Rose, Lieutenant Cockercll, and Captain Cust, are Well preserved, and the monument to the memory of the 23rd and 33rd, on the heights is not injured. The Tartars appear to have a f'tiendly recollection of the English, and they have planted trees round several of the graves. The bridge has not yet 6een repaired.''