Besides smaller batteries, the principal of these forts may be thus enumerated: the Quarantine Battery, at the head of Quarantine Bay, is the first on the South Side; next comes Fort Alexander, which commands the entrance of the Main Harbour from the south; while Forts Nicholas and Paul defend the opening of the inner harbour on the west and east. On the North Side, Fort Constantino corresponds to and crosses its fire with Fort Alexander, while two other batteries, to the east of the former, answer to Forts Nicholas and Paul. All of these forts are soHdly constructed of masonry, and each of the four larger ones consists of three tiers of guns one above the other. The number of guns mounted in these works has been so variously stated, from eight hundred and fifty, the lowest computation, up to twelve, and even fifteen and sixteen hundred, that it is difficult to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion on the subject. The material employed in the construction of the batteries was a species of soft limestone, which it was supposed would be unable to resist the heavy fire of ships' guns; but the events of the 17th October set this question at rest, and amply vindicated the discretion of the Russian engineers. Another objection was that the tiers of guns were placed too high above the sea, and in an engagement with ships would only damage the rigging; but it was forgotten that the shallowness of the water at the base of the forts would not permit ships to come within a distance at which the guns could no longer be depressed to the required range. The casemates, too, were said to be so illventilated that the artillerymen would soon be suffocated by the smoke of their own guns, and no longer able to work them; but this assertion time has also disproved.
In fact, prior to the commencement of the war, there was an unwise disposition, prevalent amongst nearly all English writers, to depreciate everything
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THE EAST.
Eussian, and stories palmed off on credulous travellers by officious and chattering laqnais-de-place were gravely admitted as ineontestible arguments against the strength of a place on which every resource of the empire had been lavished for years.
The following account of Fort Nicholas, the subject of this sketch, is taken from Dr. Koch; but it must be premised that his estimate of the number of guns mounted in this and the other batteries is unquestionably exaggerated: — • " At the period of my visit, one of the inner forts, called the Nicholas Bastion, just to the east of Artillery Bay, was nearly finished, while the one opposite was building.
" We were permitted to make a close inspection of the Nicholas Bastion. My heart grew really sad when I saw here nothing but implements of murder. The bastion forms a half-moon, and has three batteries above one another. The entire building was bomb-proof. I was surprised that the soft limestone of Inkermann had been emjDloyed for the purpose, as it rapidly wears away when exposed to the influence of the weather, much sooner than granite and other plutonic stone; and an extraordinarily hard green stone (diorite) could have been procured in the vicinity. Perhaps, however, a softer stone is best adapted to resist bomb-shells. That granite cannot withstand for any length of time our modern missiles, we saw at the capture of Bomarsund.
" On the ground-floor lay the bombs and grenades; I saw the furnaces in which the balls are heated red-hot before they are fired. In the other stories were three batteries, each armed with one hundred and ninety-six guns. The larger guns, 64-pounders, were separated from the rest, and stood in small separate chambers, behind which the space was employed for the chancellerie and similar requirements. The larger casemates contained twenty and more guns, and served at the same time as barracks for the soldiers. I have had repeated opportunities of speaking in terms of praise of the great order and cleanliness in the Russian barracks; but here everything appeared to me even cleaner and more tidy than usual. I was told that a fourth battery would eventually be planted on the roof; this is the case with the two more advanced batteries. These are considerably smaller, and only mount three hundred and sixty guns a-piece."
The drawing shows the upper tier of casemates, the embrasures of which are on the right-hand side; but they are built up, as the place is used as a barrack by the French troops, all the guns having been removed by the Russians before their retreat.
The pillars between each casemate are stoves used for the purpose of ventilation, and are found all over the battery. The bedsteads are Russian ones, which the French have appropriated to their own use.
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