Among the many caprices of fortune, one, certainly not the least singular, was that which converted a modest farm-house, in an out-of-the-way spot, in a comparatively unknown and little-visited country, into a hall of grave debate, in which the fate of empires was discussed and decided, by men on whose deliberations and on whose deeds hung the history of the present, and the future of generations yet unborn. In this very room, perhaps, the Greek master of the homestead, returning from the labours of the farm, sought refreshment of body and repose of mind in the frugal rej^ast shared with those for whom his daily toil provided, and prepared, it may be, by the " neathanded Phillis," whose labour was one of love. And amidst the many evidences of comfort and decency with which the modern Greek women still love to embellish in housewifely guise the home of their lords, while the spinning-wheel of the thrifty mother went rapidly round, the father may have bidden his boys read to him one of the still-cherished legends of the far-off days, and listened with dreamy pleasure, not unmixed with pride, to the soft tones in which, in a language even now unparalleled for sweetness and power, the story was told of the great deeds of Alexander and the surprising feats of his horse Bucephalus, or of the god-like valour and surpassing strength of the fabled destroyer of the Hydra, the invincible achiever of the Twelve Labours.
Little would this simple family, pursuing the even tenor of a life like this, have deemed that the hour was not far distant when the rude presence of the invader would drive them from their peaceful home; and that, within the very walls which had often echoed the narrative of the siege of Troy, the conduct of a siege, inferior to that in duration only, would be determined by the descendants of Western barbarians, coming from lands which were a wilderness when Greece was in its glory.
May we not, without pursuing our hypothesis too far, yet picture the
* This mill, whioli was worked by steam, formed an exception to the rule which spared private property; and was destroyed in consequence of its having been extensively employed by the Russian authorities in grinding grain.
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
X H
X H
UJ H Z
to banished inhabitant, restored by peace to his unforgotten Laves, and in years to come, as with senile garrulity he recounts to those around him the events of the great invasion, pointing out, with a not ungraceful vanity, the very table at which sat the victor of Oltenitza and Kalafat; the French commander, invested with a legendary halo of African exploits: the Admirals, whose mighty armaments had swept the Euxine and the lake Moeotis; and where presided the brave and gentle hero of the Alma, the good Lord Kaglan, the chivalrous descendant of one of England's most illustrious houses?
FLATS XLIX.
CAMP OF THE FOURTH DIVISION, July 15th, 1855.
This drawing shews only the central part of the camp of the 4th Division, which was placed on the two sides of a hill, thus rendering it impossible to obtain a point of view embracing the whole of it. The reader, who is familiar with some of Mr. Simpson's sketches of camps during the winter, will not fail to be struck with the marked contrast between the scene of desolation and misery which they presented, and the evidences of comfort and plenty whifh here abound in the poultry, goats, and sheep to be seen in every direction. Huts are now thickly interspersed with the tents, and the men have reassumed the distinctive military characteristics of the British soldier, and, cap-covers excepted, might pass muster at Alder shot.
Starting from the extreme left, the tents on this side of the hill are those of the 57th, 20th, and 17th regiments; next to them the 55th; more to the right, on the opposite side, is the Woronzoff Eoad, with a French camp on the rising ground above it; a small stone building, on the left of the foreground, was the house of the late Colonel Shadforth, who fell in tlie unsuccessful attack on the Eedan on the 18th of June, while leading in the most gallant manner his own regiment, the 57th, or, as their spirit-stirring appellation goes, the " Die-hards," whom he had taught to regard him rather in the light of a father- than a mere commanding officer. Nearly in a line with this, and beyond the tents of the 55th, is the Artillery camp of the 2nd Division, between which and the camp of the Royals, which is further to the right in the same line, runs the railway.
In the distance, the range of heights on the left terminates in the abrupt headland of Cape Aia, immediately below which, though considerably nearer to the spectator, the Guards and Highlanders were encamped after their return from Balaklava.