The ground embraced in the drawing is very considerable, and probably gives nearly the whole extent of the valley, which, of a trough-like shape, is about thirty miles in circumference, or about ten in length, and six in width. The foreground is filled with trees and shrubs, which are of great luxuriance and beauty, and amongst which the oak predominates, though wild pear, crab, and Carnelian cherry-trees are also to be met with. The Tartar houses are mostly situated in the centre of pleasant gardens; and numberless clear streams, descending from the heights, irrigate the plain and communicate a refreshing coolness to the atmosphere. Petroski's villa, stated to be a shootinglodge of Prince Woronzoff, has a pretty appearance when seen from a distance, peeping through the woods, but will not bear a closer inspection. In the distance, to the left of it, lies the village of Baidar, • near which is the camp of a few detachments of the English Light Cavalry. From the village the Woronzoff Road winds by a gradual ascent up the hills which to the south separate the Valley of Baidar from the sea, passing at the summit under an archway of solid granite, from whence an extensive view of the whole coast range is obtained. The road, which is thirty miles in length, and constructed in defiance of very considerable engineering difficulties, now passes through a tunnel in the rocks, forty or fifty yards long, and follows the line of coast to the east in the direction of Yalta. On the right of the foreground are some Turkish tents, among which an occasional green one is a marked feature.
As a guide to the relative positions of the Allies and the Russians it may be observed that the former hold the whole of the plain, while the heights in the distance are in possession of the latter.
THE EAST.
PLATE LIX.
THE ATTACK ON THE MALAKOFF.
We are indebted to Colonel Hamley for the following description of this work, as it existed at the moment of the final assault:
"The Malakoff Hill is an eminence towering over all the rest. The stone building known by us as the Round Tower, which was of semicircular form, had originally an upper story, and on the flat roof a battery was mounted. In the first urgency of defence, this tower had been regarded as the citadel of this part of the works; and the earthen rampart covering it, following its shape, was also made semicircular, and was called by the French and Russians the Kornileff Bastion. Eventually an entii'e inclosed work, in the form of an irregular redoubt, had been made in rear of the tower, communicating with the left flank of the work covering it. The upper part of the tower, rendered ruinous in our first bombardment, had been long since pulled down, and only a small portion of the masonry of the lower story appeared over the ramparts."
The point chosen for delineation in this drawing is the outer corner of the Malakoff, at which spot the French had pushed their approaches to within fifteen yards of the ditch, which was from twelve to eighteen feet in width by about twenty in depth. The spectator is supposed to be looking to the south towards the Redan, which, as well as our advanced trenches before it, are slightly shown in the distance. The Russians, completely thrown off their guard, and utterly unprepared for the attack, at first yielded the possession of the redoubt almost without a struggle. They soon, however, i-ecovered from their first surprise, and for some time large masses of troops were directed on the work, and the most desperate efforts made to retake it; but they never for a moment succeeded in shaking the hold so rapidly gained by the French. The conflict is at its hottest. A French officer, firmly grasping the tricolour, stands, unharmed amidst a shower of missiles, on the summit of the earthwork, and from this conspicuous position encourages the assailants to rally to the emblem of victory.
Numerous bridges of planks and scaling ladders have been hastily thi'own across the ditch; and, having traversed these, a melee of linesmen and Zouaves are swarming with incredible agility and ardour up the steep sides of the Malakoff. At this point there are no guns mounted, the Russians, after the capture of the Mamelon, having built up the embrasures in this part of the work. Farther to the right, a desperate hand-to-hand fight is taking place for the possession of two embrasures which are still open, where assailants and defenders are clubbing their muskets and interchanging bayonet-thrusts. On the proper right face of the Malakoff the guns are still being fired with too fatal effect.
The Zouaves, as usual, were the heroes of this most successful achieve-
I o
Q Z <