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approached by degrees the Russian earthworks, and so close towards the end were the mines and countermines of both sides, that one of the expedients used to make them untenable for a time was to force the fumes of sulphur, by means of a piece of stove pipe, through the thin earthen walls separating the two. Pélissier an Algerian veteran commanded the French, and when it was determined that the storming of the Malakoff Tower should be attempted, 10.000 men under McMahon were collected in the French trenches at midday, and at a given signal it required but a few steps for their assaulting columns to be within the Russian position. It was customary at noon for both sides to stop the firing and a meal was then partaken of. The French maintained that when they entered the Malakoff they took the Russians who were preparing their meal by surprise, and in that way obtained a firm footing inside. The Russians on the contrary, (as M Necludoff at Athens told me) denied that they were surprised, and they said, perhaps with truth, that it was impossible for such a large body of men to be collected so near them, and they, the Russians, not be able to understand what was in preparation
The English were deficient throughout the siege in numbers, and were never able to make up their losses from the fatigue and exposure of the first winter. When the siege commenced in Sept 1854, their position was in front of the Malakoff, but as the winter advanced they were elbowed out of it by their allies. They finally concentrated, with probably not more than 20.000 men, in front of another strong position of the Russians which was called the Redan, but had only approached it within about 300 yards, when the French were only a few feet from the Malakoff and the time had come for the final assault. They made a simultaneous attack but it was faint hearted and not properly sustained, and was consequently a complete failure. The Redan consisted of two sides of a triangle with its point directed towards the English, and the third side was what is called a curtain wall, behind which the Russian infantry had secure protection. The few English then who succeeded in getting into their salient angle were exposed to a concentrated fire from the entire length of the wall, and it was said that when the Russians saw that it was impossible to expel the French from the Malakoff, they hurried part of their troops to assist in the defence of the Redan
The discomfiture of the English at Sebastopol was most mortifying to their national vanity, and they then realized in a manner that their leading statesmen have never forgotten, that England without a conscription which forces every able bodied man into the army, cannot hold her own in a war with one of the great continental powers of Europe. The conduct of the siege by the French was admirable in every way. It reestablished their military prestige which had been on the wane after the disasters that had ended the career of the first Napoleon, and it served to give permanency to the hold on power which the third Napoleon could only obtain through such a successful war. X
Constantinople had always been celebrated for the quantity of dogs that infeated its streets. These acknowledged no owners and lived upon the scraps which were thrown them from the surrounding houses. A certain number, living together and composing a sort of clan, occupied a well
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defined quarter, and whenever any individuals from an adjacent clan ventured beyond their limits into their neighbors’ territory, there was immediately a battle, or, at least, much barking, until the intruders returned to where they belonged. It was a common thing for night to be made hideous by the barking of these curs and travellers had always remembered the noise as one of the disturbers of their sleep. When however the French had established all their depots in Pera, and were in possession of almost all the large public buildings, they proceeded to forcibly put an end to the nuisance by killing almost all the dogs. I therefore when in the city saw but few of them, and although their barking could be heard after dark, it was not enough to keep one awake. They were all of a dingy yellow color, about the size of an English fox, and having the erect ears of that animal. They seemed possessed of very little intelligence, scarcely noticed anyone, and were probably typical of what the dog was when first taken in hand by man. Centuries of careful breeding and crossing might well have produced the evolution of the many canine varieties of today from that unpromising starting point, exactly as has been done with the domestic fowl and pigeon.
It was unsafe to go out at night owing to the numerous footpads who were about. There being no lights in the miserable streets anyone having any distance to go was obliged to carry a lantern. I only went out once in this way to reach a theatre where there was an opera company performing. We were three — each one of us armed with a pistol - and we walked in the middle of the street, without loitering on the way. We remained standing in the pit of the theatre long enough to hear several of the well known airs of the Barber of Seville, and then returned to the hotel with the same precaution. The entire walk was through the “grande sur de Péra”, a street somewhat modern in appearance, and having on both sides European looking dwellings. When half way on the return we passed a man standing under an arched entrance or porte cochère who had been stripped of every particle of clothing, — evidently by some of the prowling gentry whom we were bent on avoiding. We concluded that he was a sailor from one of the English naval vessels in the harbor, who in a state of intoxication had been pounced upon, but we did not stop to offer him any of our superfluous garments, as there were others near him who seemed to be looking after his wants.
What I have said here of my limited experiences in Constantinople will show how entirely behind the times the government of the Turk in Europe was. It was acknowledged on all sides that the only just and proper thing to do with such an incorrigible barbarian in the way of civil government as he was, would be to drive him back into Asia whence he had come. The Eastern question had become a perplexing one for some years previously, when the Emperor Nicholas of Russia first showed his desire to take advantage of the senility of the Turk as the ruler of those European provinces in order to possess
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them himself. The anxiety of England was immediately aroused, as with the Russian at Constantinople, there was danger of her road to India by Meditterranean and Egypt being exposed to hostile interference. The "unspeakable Turk" was the expression used by the English in speaking of their ally, for his vices of omission and of commission made him utterly despicable; but it was safer to fight for him and maintain him in possession of his footing in Europe than to attempt any change. X
The war was a great strain upon all the powers engaged in it, the English, French and Sardinians on the one hand and the Russians on the other. The distance from western Europe was considerable and everything required by an army was necessarily sent from home. The number of government transports for the forwarding of men and material was very large, and they could constantly be seen in the seas leading to the Crimea either going or returning from the seat of war. Every steam transport had its number distinctly painted near the bows, which could easily be seen at a distance with the naked eye and the quantities of them were mute but unerring evidence of the magnitude of the struggle.
The Russians on their side had greater difficulties still in maintaining their army in and around Sebastopol. There was no railroad in the empire south of Moscow, and all the necessary supplies were hauled in wagons over dirt roads, while the infantry were obliged to march great distances to reach their destinations. The suffering endured by the Russian soldiers would have been fatal to the allies, but the mortality among them was also large. Typhus fever raged in the confined quarters of the besieged city, and in the military hospitals to which the sick were sent many a young surgeon succumbed to the plague. A number of young Americans had been engaged in Paris during the summer of 1854 as surgeons for the Russian armies and they all were sent to the Crimea. Three of these were from So Ca, two of whom were from Charleston, Drs Davega and King. The latter I knew well, having been with him at the Charleston College and the Medical College. He was a son of one of the editors of the old Charleston Courier. In the course of the winter of 55 he died of the typhus fever at Kertch, a town on the Sea of Azoff. The other, Dr Davega, went through the war safely and returned to Charleston where he practiced his profession for many years, principally among the Jews, until his health failed, when in a short time he joined the majority. The third one, Dr Turnipseed, was from the interior and was an able surgeon in our late war. Notwithstanding however the immense supplies of war material, animate as well as inanimate, which the occasion demanded, there was held in Paris during the summer of 1855 an international Exposition which attracted an immense throng, and it was the year that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert paid the Emperor and Empress their visit. A great war is a great drain upon a country, but on the surface in Paris during that year everything everything seemed “couleur de rose”. It was very clever in Louis Napoleon combining with England to stop the Russians on their way to Constantinople. It was not exactly his quarrel, except that the balance of power would be
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affected by Russia occupying permanently Constantinople, and yet all the prestige and glory was reaped by France. Louis Napoleon and Lord Palmerston were firm friends, and the latter being the English Prime Minister, the “entente cordiale” between the two countries was maintained until the peace. The French Emperor was certainly a faithful ally as long as the war lasted.
To have been at Constantinople at the time that I was there was an important event in my life. I was thus in a way of observing things and of acquiring experience which was a rare opportunity. Foreign travel is of untold value to anyone who will try to profit by what he sees. It accomplishes more than the reading of a thousand books. I think I can safely say that I neglected no occasion that was likely to add to my store of experiences.
My stay there was about a fortnight and there is only one more incident which remains to be described - namely - a Turkish bath. This institution, for it deserves to be given that name, is one of the most agreeable sensations that the physical man can experience. It has become sufficiently common in certain of the American cities for many who have never been abroad to know what it is, but in 1855 it was only in the East that it could be indulged in thoroughly and with all the accessories.
Having ascertained which one of the bathing houses was considered the most genteel, I went there one afternoon between lunch and dinner. I was then admitted into a room where I undressed completely, and then an attendant accompanied me into a paved passageway leading into several smaller rooms, all of which were paved also. The atmosphere here was so charged with moisture which was caused by the steam issuing from the hot water so largely used in the process of ablution, that the first impression felt upon entering was one of suffocation. This was caused by the condensation of the steam into small drops of water at the entrance into the nose, thus diminishing the size of those passages, and it was necessary for a moment to open the mouth and thus breathe more easily. I was soon taken by another attendant who was one of the manipulators of the bathing process to a vacant place in one of the small rooms and told to lie down and wait for a while. While doing this my skin became thoroughly moistened by the damp and heated atmosphere and when I was taken in hand by an operator and all of the dirt removed from my body, I was amazed to see in what a filthy condition I had been. It must be explained though that what seemed to be dirt was really dead skin, a quantity of which will accumulate on our persons in the course of a few weeks, and which will only be completely rubbed off after the surface of the body has been softened by heated moisture. The scrubbing is done by means of a camel’s hair bag which fits over the hand, and a good deal of soap is also used. The system is entirely relaxed by this bathing operation, and the sensations produced are extremely pleasant. The proper thing to do when it is all over is to lie on a couch in an anteroom for at least a half hour, with one’s underclothing on, and some light bed clothing over the body, to prevent a check of perspiration. While in this position it is the proper thing to smoke a pipe and drink a mild lemonade which is called a sherbet.
The Turkish bath as a national custom is only suited to the indolent Mahometan races. Their habits of scarcely over indulging in active
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bodily exercise make it necessary for them to have their bodies well scraped off once a month. The pores of the skin are opened by the process and a healthy condition of body is encouraged. It is dangerous however to go into the open air immediately after the bath, and for this season it is not suitable to the active lives of the western European or American. With the system relaxed and all the pores open there is a great risk of a congestion of one of the important organs of the body, if some time is not consumed before going out, so that the body may have time to resume its normal condition.
At the upper end of the Golden Horn, which is the sheet of water separating Pera the European or Frankish quarter from Stamboul the Turkish, is an open space where the women and children air themselves on certain days of the week. It is called the “Sweet Waters of Europe,” but it is nothing more than an extensive green or common, without any adornment whatever. In one corner is a little wooden so-called palace that the Sultans have occasionally occupied. The interior consisted of a few rooms wretchedly furnished and exhibiting in a striking way the poverty of the Imperial exchequer.
A-pros-pos of this breathing space which is frequented as a picnic ground more than as a drive, I heard an anecdote which is worth relating. An English officer who was a tall and handsome man was once there looking on at the various groups, when a black male attendant who was in charge of some Turkish women approached him and offered him a white handkerchief marked with the owner’s name. He then explained that if the officer would present himself at a house which was indicated and send in the handkerchief he would be admitted to the harem. The officer kept the handkerchief and returned with it to his hotel. He then showed it to his friends and asked their advice. Some advised him to go and others not. He finally concluded not to go through with the little escapade, as, if the master of the harem found out what had occurred, so jealous are they of their women, and so vindictive against any violator of the sanctity of their harems, that an assassin would certainly be hired to dog his footsteps and plunge a stiletto into him at the first good opportunity.
The boats which are used for communicating between the different parts of the city separated by water are called caiques. They are worked by one man who remains seated and plies a pair of skulls. They are almost as much used as the gondolas of Venice but the manner of propulsion is entirely different and they are rather lighter. At certain landings there are always a number of these waiting to be hired just as cabs are in most cities. When the French and English first reached Constantinople these caique men who did not understand a word of either language observed that the French used the expression “dis donc” very often in speaking to each other, and afterwards when they saw a French soldier who wished to use one of their boats they hailed him as “dis donc.” The name by which the Englishman was hailed was quite peculiar and there was no one who could explain it to me. It was “Bono Johnny” which they would repeat several times as if anxious to conciliate their cus-