they lay like men who were weary and slept. Many
were half buried and crushed under the tomb-stones,
which the round-shot and the rockets had hurled from
their places, and sent flying in pieces in all directions.
The Russians have retired nearly two leagues hence.
The mainguard of their cavalry is, however, still in the
plain below the town. The videttes are less numerous
than before the attack. It is considered not improbable
that their next attempt will be made in the night. I
omitted to mention that seven of the inhabitants of the
town were killed and twenty wounded in the affair of
the 17th. The want of surgeons was greatly felt. The
Tartars have eaten or salted all the dead horses of both
parties. For the last two days they have been feasting
and making merry. This need excite neither pity nor
surprise, as horse-flesh is their usual food, even in their
villages."

In the night between the 23rd and 24th of February,
a serious action took place between the French and
Russians. During the previous night the garrison of
Sebastopol had established important works of counter-
approach opposite our works on the counter-fort of the
plateau which descends towards Little Careening Bay.
The French commander-in-chief ordered these works to
be carried in the night between the 23rd and 24th of
February by the troops of the second corps.

This action is described by Lord Raglan in his
despatch of the 24th February:—

"The troops of the garrison having lodged themselves
on the point of the spur of the ridge from Inkermann
over the Careening Bay, at about 300 yards from the
new French parallel on the extreme right, General
Canrobert determined to dislodge them; and this was
gallantly effected at two o'clock this morning, by 1500
men, under the immediate command of General Monet,
and the direction of General Mayran,—with, however,
I regret to say, some loss, the consequence of the heavy
fire that was brought to bear upon them from the enemy's
batteries and the shipping, whilst they were engaged in
demolishing the works. When this object was
accomplished, they withdrew to the trenches, as had been
their intention. The gallant General Monet is, I am
much concerned to have to add, among the wounded."

These advanced works, however, were afterwards
abandoned by the French and re-occupied by the
Russians.

The latest official intelligence from the army is
contained in a despatch from Lord Raglan, dated the 10th
instant in which he says; "I am happy to be able to
inform you that the weather is exceedingly fine; and
that I entertain great hopes, derived from the reports of
the principal medical officer, that the sick will materially
benefit by the improvement in the temperature.

"Our advanced batteries are making considerable
progress.

"Every effort is directed to the maintenance of the
camps in a healthy state, which, as the warm weather
approaches, becomes daily more important."

The Moniteur of the 27th, contains the following
telegraphic despatch from the French chargé d'affaires at
Constantinople, to the minister of foreign affairs:—
"March 19.—In the night between the 15th and 16th
instant our troops carried a line of ambuscade occupied
by the enemy's sharpshooters. The Russians, at the
same time, made a sortie on our extreme left. It was
vigorously repulsed. The enemy had fifty men disabled,
and retired in disorder."

Private accounts describe the improved health and
increased cheerfulness of the English troops, who had
begun to amuse themselves with horse-races, dog-hunts,
and other national sports.

The Emperor Nicholas of Russia died on the 2nd of
this month. He had suffered for some time from influenza,
but refused to keep his room, and appeared in
public as usual till the 22nd of February, when he
found himself no longer able to go out, and, on the 23rd
transferred all business to his son Alexander. On the
night of the 1st instant his medical attendant informed
him of his condition. "On this," says an account of his
last moments which was published at St. Petersburg,
"he calmly took the sacrament, took leave of the
Empress, their children and grandchildren, kissed each,
and blessed each one, with a firm voice, and then
retained only the Empress and the Crown Prince with
him. This was about four o'clock in the morning.
The Emperor said subsequently to the Empress, 'Do
go now and take a little rest, I beg of you.' She
answered, 'Let me remain with you; I would I could
depart with you, if it were only possible.' To this the
Emperor replied, 'No; you must remain here on earth.
Take care of your health, so that you may be the centre
of the whole family. Go now; I will send for you
when the moment approaches.' The Empress could not
do otherwise than obey this distinct expression of the
Emperor's will, and left the room. Subsequently the
Emperor had all the servants immediately about him
sent in, thanked them for their services, blessed them,
and took leave of them: on which occasion he is said to
have been himself very much affected. Last of all the
Kammerfrau von Rohrbeck was sent for: the Emperor
thanked her for the fidelity she had always shown the
Empress, for the care with which she had always
tended her in sickness, begged her never to quit the
Empress, and ended with 'And remember me kindly at
Peterhoff, that I'm so fond of.' The Emperor pressed
Dr. Karell's hand, and said to him, 'It is no fault of
yours.'  Whilst the Emperor's father confessor was
speaking with him, he took the Empress's hand and
put it into the priest's, as if he would confide the
Empress to the ecclesiastic. After this the Emperor
lost his speech for awhile; during which time he was
engaged in prayer, and crossed himself repeatedly. He
subsequently regained his voice, and spoke from time to
time up to his decease; which took place without a
struggle, in the presence of the whole family, March 2,
at ten minutes past noon. Almost the last articulate
words that the Emperor spoke were, 'Dites à Fritz,
(King of Prussia) de rester toujours le même pour la
Russie, et de ne pas oublier les paroles de papa,' (the
late King of Prussia.) Up to the present time the
Empress has borne this unexpected and fearful blow
with wonderful strength. Yesterday evening she
passed an hour entirely alone with the corpse. The
consternation which overcame every one at the
suddenness of this fearful blow, is now giving place to the
feelings of pain and grief."

On the day of the Emperor's death, his successor
issued the following manifesto:

"By the grace of God, we, Alexander II., Emperor
and Autocrat of all the Russias, King of Poland,
&c. &c.

"We make known to all our faithful subjects—

"In His impenetrable ways, it has pleased God to
strike us all with a blow as terrible as it was unexpected.
Following a brief but serious illness, which at its close
was developed with an unheard-of rapidity, our much-
loved father, the Emperor Nicholas Pavlovitch, has
departed life this day, the 18th February. No language
can express our grief, which is the grief also of our
faithful subjects. Submitting with resignation to the
impenetrable views of Divine Providence, we seek
consolation but in Him, and wait from Him alone the
necessary aid to enable us to sustain the burden which
it has pleased Him to impose upon us. Even as the
much-loved father whom we mourn consecrated all his
efforts, every moment of his life, to the labours and to
the cares called for by the wellbeing of his subjects, we,
at this hour so painful, but also so grave and so solemn,
in ascending our hereditary throne of the empire of
Russia, of the kingdom of Poland, and of the grand
duchy of Finland, which are inseparable, take, in the
face of the invisible God always surrounding us, the
sacred pledge, never to have any other end but the
prosperity of our country. May Providence, who has
called us to this high mission, so aid us that, guided
and protected by Him, we may be able to strengthen
Russia in the highest degree of power and glory; that
by us may be accomplished the views and the desires of
our illustrious predecessors, Peter, Catherine, Alexander
the much-loved, and our august father of imperishable
memory.

"By their well-proved zeal, by their prayers ardently
united with ours before the altars of the Most High,