THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4507, 4 October 1882, Page 3

THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.

Notes by a The following narrative of tho personal experiences of o non-combatant officer on board H.M.*-. Suitan during the bombardment of Alexandria lias b;on wri'.ton lo v frioud in "Victoria, and was received by tho mail. As , it conl-iine a emphio uee'iunt *>f the situation from a ncvol point of view, it may prove of genoral interest :— ■ ALF.XArJDUIA, July 11. On tho morning of July It, about fj ti.in., 1 formed ono of a snudl knot of non-com-batant officers who wero standing on tlie gratings ovor Iho ward- room hot.hwuy in H.M._. Sulinii. the ship was cle.%r<:d for action, the gune loadoJ, tlio men hy their (*ut.B, the buttery doors Hosed, und evory- ♦ '•ing ready for a fltfht. We wero not alone. Sight British inmolads wero disposed in

various positions, ready to attaok the numerous forti round the town and harbour of Alexandria. Our division was told off te bombard the Lighthouie Fort, and other, to the eastward of it. There wa» do mistake about there being plenty of guni in them, Thoße we could ccc for ourselves. But where were the mon f One Banguino oflloer, after a long inspection through his glass, offers to bet two days' pay that not a shot would be fired in return to ours. Our division paraded up and down in front of the forts, a distance of about one mile and a-half, at a dißtanoe of about 1500 yards. No sign on shore but a sentry standing apparently in the same spot an be was in a week ago. The admiral hoists a signal to the Alexandria to fire one shell. Bang it goes, and bursts just to the right of the harem. Immediately aftor the lignal is " Engage," and the air ii thiok with smoke, and the noise deafening. We still remain on our grating, looking through our glasses, for a few minutoi after the beginning of the firing. Suddenly a peculiar and rery unpleasant whistling, shrieking noise paste* over our heads. Someone says, "By jingo, they're returning onr fire. So they are \ there is a shot ri« ooohetting away seawards. This causes a sudden and by no meani dignified disappear* ance of nearly all our officers au gratin. I see them dive down with an almost irresii* tJble desire to follow them. But lam kept from doing so by the fact that I had very foolishly -volunteered a few days previously to aot as No. S in a volunteer orew for the little seven-pounder, lhe marine officer who was "bossing" it had assured me that I should have nothing to do but learn * little routine, and put a peg in a hole, " ffo. 2 elevates screw, and puts the tube in the vent. ' Very simple, and eounds something like a piece of warlike poetry. But as IgO over from the grating to the gun, it ooours to mo that theae horrible, Bhrieking shot seemed to be going vory fast, and that our bulwarks wero, at this part of the ship, » very thin plate of iroa. However, there is nothing for it but to harden one's heart and trust to Providence. I must say, as I put the first tube in the vent and hook it on, I am m a horrible funk, and I am yery muoh afraid my hand is not quite steady. Everyohe, however, is too busy to notioe it, and presently the "boss" pulls the tube-lanyard. There ie so much noise that we soaroely hear ■ the report ; but for a email and neat-looking j gun, as ours iB, it behaves in a most ecoentrio ma J nn f. p ' II leftpß * bi ß h in tho flir » MWiftga and all, and falls over on its side oloae to my toes. It is immediately seised by the marines who form our crew, haa its noso wiped, apd' is comforted with two pills, one of powder, the other of shot • I put on {mother tube, the mnyard is pulled, and co on da capo, Dut ing these operations I am very glad to notioe that our marines aro fine, well-fed men, and also that my position plaoeß throo of them between me and the enemy. Throe fat men should serve in gome measure to temper the results of a shot in our neighbourhood. Meanwhile every ship is banging away as hard as it can, and the enemy, by the number of " shriekerfl" passing over and hear ue, must be replying pretty briskly. Now and then we notice a dull thud, which one of the marines says is a shot hitting Us. One oertainly does do so just a few yards Astern of uo, and sends somo water on to the deok. I don't fool oomfortable at this, hut oddly enough it is tbe " ehriekors " which make nenrly every ono of ub duck his head. • Really they are past ub when we hear their sweet note. Our ship having reaohed the end of her beat, turns, and our little gun ie out of action. I take the opportunity to go below "to get a drink." Of courso it makes no difference, but I feel safer when I arrive on tho lower deck, and have Gin or Sin of iron between me and the shot. The scene below is not pleasant. Our wardroom mess is full of the sick men in the ship, and I should say they hod ju»t turned out of their hammocks, and had omitted to wash for aoveral days. The temperature Ib 90deg, the atmosphere in full of sulphurous fumes, and all along the lower deok before us are half-naked and perspiring mon, hauling about and houting shot nnd shell. Shortly after I g-*fc down, two bliolb strike tho ship in quiok Buccession, plump or to my cabin, but luckily do not penetrate the iron, only making everything juoip about. The ship going round again, I go up to elevate the lorew, and put the tube in the vent. This time I like it less than evor. The " shriekers " seem nearer and moro numerous. One of the marines looks out of the port, and says a shot is coming straight at us. Wo nil grovel on the deok, and it goos howling on its way. Our praotioo not being particularly good while -leuming, wo anchor, each oppo'ite a fort, and settle down for a good steady duel. I am glad lo find the distance is so great that our little gun is useless, and so I disappear down the hatchway to go and attend tho sick and wounded, my proper station. I cannot help admiring, beforo I leave, the bearing of a young lioutenant, who has juet been promoted. Whon we were all duoking nnd bobbing, he remained perfeotly still, with his smooth young face calm and serious, as usual. The midshipmen in the tops, too, seem to be having groat fun with the Gatling guns. The marine officers left on deok, however, have nothing to do but walk about and listen to the eweet musio. I am glad I am not a marine. Just aft?r I get down to the wardroom again a shell strikes tho ship, enters the sick bay just over our heads, and explodes there. It is luoty all tho sick have been removod bolow. Two cf them, however, who have gone up to look out of the port, pay dearly for thoir curiosity, and are brought groaning below, and laid on the bads, 'lhe doctors busy themselves, and thore is no lack ot a'sistanoe. Somo of the volunteor nurses turn very pale aad siok at the Bight of the wounds nnd blood. Preßontly more are brought in, and all are bu?y. A sholl has exploded in the fore part of tho ship, killed two men, and wounded throe more. Anothor man has his eyesight injured by looking out of the port when tho next gun was fired. A great strong man is brought down, knocked all of a heap by a blow from tome splinters, but aftor a rest and a drink, he says he is all right, and returns to his duty. Ho is made of strong stuff. Now and then cheore and clapping aro hoard. It is became some gun in the forte has been dismounted, or somo magazine blown np. We begin to grow cnllouo to the " ohriokera," aod have a sonso of security, This inoreaies to such an oxteut that tho parson and I go to sleep in my citbin for about half an hour. When I wtke, it aeeroß to me that the enemy's fire ia almost nil. Igo on deok just in timo to sco the magazine in Fort Ada blown up with a tremendous explosion, and columns of smoke. We hear afterwards that a whole regiment was destroyed with it. One fort is evidently silenocd. Most of the puns ore dismounted, and no one is visible. Now nnd then a a stray gun opens fire from a buttery to tho loft, but presently all oease but tho hospital battory and Fort Pharos. The Inflexiblo, with her huge 80-ton gune, assists, having finished her fort off elsowhere, and wo all sit on the nettings and watoh the shooting. It does not tako long now to silence the rest, and a signal goos up to ooaso firo. Ihen we get our anchors up, and sluwly Bteam bock to our old anchorage. Thoro if '.*, great confabulation of captains, n great comparing of notes, ond tho list of disasters is compiled. Total killed, 6 : total wounded, 15. Wo hear after tint tho enemy is supposed to havo lost 2000. This sounds foo big to my mind. But they must have l-.st largely, for they etuok to their guns gamely under what must have been olose shooting from ua. Cortainly they wore well under cover, but shells bursting in their embriisurct", ob I saw, on Beveral occasions, must havo made it vory hot for them. Inspeo* tion of tho other ships shows plenty of shotholes in tho hulls, and the rigging a good deal cut about. A neat holo is drilled right th.-ough our mainmast and tho Supcrb's fore* mast. The latter ship has also had a plate s)iot clean away, and wo con see her ribs and framework. Tho carpenter reports that our hull haa boen atruok 27 times. By tlie way, tho carpenter himsolf did yeoman service, by picking up and throwing over* board two sheila, which he could just stagger under, whioh had penetrated our side. One of the boatswains congratulates me on tho escape of my cabin. I remark that I think tho shots must havo been rioochets. Hut he says, with tho air of one who knows what ho is talking of, that they were raok-o* sheet!— that's what thoy wore. Bo we all go below, and liston to tho hair-hre-dth escapes, nnd tho elorica of tho wonderful shooting. Something to cat is tho next thing, for we ha\o beeu ut it ainoo 7 a.m. till fl p.m., with a vory insufficient breakfast to start with. A long smoke, a glass of grog, and ao to bed. Next morning we are unafTootodly glad to find we nro not going to ropcat our perform* anco. Bigns of tho times : — A sodawater bottle is opened, and at the sound of the pop nearly all heads are duoked,