when Lord Raglan, after consultation with General
Canrobert, ordered the batteries to fire 30 rounds each gun
per day, instead of 147 as they had been doing before.
Some days afterwards the fire was suspended altogether.
But the progress of the siege was not stopped.

A despatch from Lord Raglan dated the 17th of
April, speaks of the operations to that date:—"The fire
ot both the French and English armies has been
continued upon Sebastopol since I addressed your lordship
on the 14th instant; and though superior to that of the
enemy, it has not produced that permanent effect which
might have been anticipated from its constancy, power,
and accuracy. The guns of the Russians have been
turned upon some of our advanced works in vast
numbers; and in one particular instance the injury
sustained by a battery was so great, that the unremitting
exertions of Captains Henry and Walcot, and the
gallantry and determination of the artillerymen under
their orders, alone enabled them to keep up the fire
and to maintain themselves in it. In another battery,
yesterday, a shell burst close to the magazine; which
in consequence exploded, killing, I am much concerned
to say, one man, wounding two most severely, and
seven in a less degree. Both the batteries I have
mentioned have been repaired and restored to their
original condition. The French blew up several small
mines in front of the Bastion du Mat after sunset on
Sunday evening, with a view to establish a parallel on
the spot. This operation greatly alarmed the enemy;
who at once commenced a heavy fire of cannon and
musketry in every direction from that part of the town, which
they kept up for a considerable time. It occasioned no
harm on our left attack, upon which a part of it was
directed, and I hope did little injury to our allies. Several
hundreds of the Russian cavalry and a small body of
Cossacks appeared on the low range of heights in front
of Balaklava this morning, and remained about an hour,
when they retired, the greater portion by the bridge of
Tractea. Their object was probably a reconnaissance."

The casulties from the 13th to the 15th April, inclusive,
present a total of 2 officers and 16 men killed, and
4 officers and 79 men wounded. Lord Raglan laments
the loss of two young and promising officers killed—
Lieutenant Preston of the 88th, and Lieutenant
Mitchell of the Artillery. The four wounded officers
are: Royal Engineers—Lieutenant G. Graham, slightly;
Captain and Assistant–Engineer, H. Green, H.E.I.C.,
Service, severely. Royal Artillery—Assistant–Surgeon
R. W. Cockerill, slightly. 33rd Foot—Captain E. W.
Donovan, severely. Two of these are thus mentioned
by the commander–in–chief:—"I regret to add,
that two others have been severely wounded—Captain
Green, of the E.I.C. Service, who had been employed
throughout the siege as an assistant–engineer, with great
credit to himself and every advantage to the service;
and Captain Donovan of the 33rd, who has most zealously
served from the commencement of the campaign."

On the 17th the English began to push zigzags in
advance of Gordon's battery from the right and left;
and on the 18th they had been carried on the right to
within sixty yards of the Malakoff, and on the left to
within a hundred yards of the Redan. The great difficulty
lay in throwing up the trench connecting the two
approaches. The enemy found out what the allies were
at, and sank a line of rifle–pits so as to enfilade the
parallel. Our men persevered, galled by the fire; but
when the Russians brought out a 12–pounder and fired
grape, the men were forced to run for shelter; whence
they peppered away at the Russians and their gun until
the latter withdrew. In the morning, the gun was again
advanced, and the working party was compelled to retire.
Nor was this all: the Russians sank new pits, in such a
position as actually prevented the completion of the
English parallel. Therefore it became necessary to
take both pits. This was accomplished, though with
considerable loss, on the night of the 19th and 20th.

On the 19th, Colonel Egerton, at the head of 250
men from the Light Division, dashed from the breastwork,
surprised the enemy, and drove him out. A
scattering volley, however, was fired by the flying
party, and one shot killed Lieutenant Lempriere, of the
77th. Colonel Egerton carried him to shelter; and,
returning to the troops busily engaged in making good
their lodgment, found that a column of 1000 Russians
were marching down upon them from the Malakoff.
The British shook their advance by a close volley; they
hesitated; then closed and were hurled back by the
bayonet after an obstinate combat; and the British
remained in possession of the pits. Unfortunately, Colonel
Egerton, the gallant leader of the party, was killed by a
bullet; and with him 21 men, besides 5 officers and 30
men wounded. On the same night the working party
secured the pits against an assault from the enemy, and
completed the parallel. On the night of the 20th, the
British seized the second line of pits without a blow;
but a force returned later, and were driven off.

The fleet had begun to take an active part in the
siege. On the night of the 14th, the Valorous first
and then the Gladiator ran in towards the forts, and
after firing shot and shell into the batteries, retired.
Only one shot from the batteries struck the Valorous.
For the rest of the night the casemates were lighted up. On
the night of the 17th, the gun–boat Wrangler followed this
example. A thick fog overspread the sea. Preceded
by a boat with muffled oars, sounding as it advanced,
the Wrangler steamed slowly in, and approached, it is
stated, "within four fathoms of the forts." From a
little after eleven until past one, she kept up a fire of
shot, shell, and rockets, from her Lancaster guns; and
retired, having "suffered no further injury than the
cutting of one of her stays." On the night of the 18th,
the Furious and Tribune went in and fired 68–pounder
shots into the forts and the town; but the night was
fine, and they could not remain long. On the 20th, the
Dauntless ran in, but was forced to return at the second
broadside, because one of her guns burst and set her on
fire. The fire was speedily extinguished, but four men
and a boy were wounded.

On the 19th the allied generals, Lord Raglan, Gen.
Canrobert, and Omer Pacha, made a reconnaissance of
the enemy's position near Balaklava. This movement,
of great magnitude and importance, is described by the
correspondent of the Morning Herald:—"The force
consisted of two French batteries of artillery, four
squadrons of French cavalry, and a battalion of Zouaves,
one English troop of Horse Artillery, and the whole of
the English cavalry, (with the Tenth Hussars, about
100 strong), seven battalions of Turkish infantry, two
squadrons of Turkish cavalry, and one Turkish rocket
battery; making a total force of 2000 cavalry, 10,000
infantry, and 18 guns. The whole force proceeded at
about ten in the morning from the right of our position
in the direction of Kamara. Here were stationed a few
Cossack pickets; who beat a precipitate retreat as the
allies advanced. Nothing was found in the village
beyond the ruins of some huts and three or four small
stables, which the Cossacks had converted into picket–
houses for themselves. These were pulled down and
their materials scattered about. The church, the only
edifice left untouched, in the centre of the village, was
not interfered with—in fact, it could hardly be reduced
to a worse state of filth than the enemy have themselves
made. After passing Kamara, the troops, preceded by
the cavalry and artillery, advanced in the direction of
the hills on the Woronzow road overlooking the Tschernaya,
in the direction of Tehourgoum. On these hills
between 150 and 200 Cossacks were collected. They
fell back as we advanced, carefully keeping out of range,
and retiring on the road to Tehourgoum. On the hills
from which they had started a number of mud huts had
been erected, capable of accommodating nearly a
thousand men. These, with some enclosures containing
forage, were set fire to. Half the infantry, with two
French field–batteries, remained on these hills; while
the cavalry, Horse Artillery, and the remainder of the
infantry, with the rocket–battery, moved down the road
towards Tehourgoum. The road seemed in an admirable
state, and gave no traces of having been used to convey
supplies, which it must have done had a large force been
in the neighbourhood. On the hills over Tehourgoum
the pickets, which had increased to some 300 or 400
infantry and cavalry, made a stand, and watched our
movements. Our cavalry advanced to the village,
which seemed deserted and almost in ruins. There
appeared no traces of inhabitants, or, indeed, of its having
been recently occupied at all except by soldiers. A