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CHAPTER IV

CRIMEA-1854-1855

Frederick Cadogan's and Lord Ebury's Offers-I Start for the Crimea -Viennese Hospitalities-Pesth and the Danube-Landing at Giurgevo-Journey to Bucharest-Grenville Murray-Miss Kenneth-Rustchuk, Cadikeui, Shumlah, Varna-Omar PashaArrival at Cossacks Bay-The French Camp-A Disagreeable Contrast-First View of Balaclava-The Camp of the First Division-The Guards' Quarters-Colonel Hardinge's Despair -Dinner with Blackwood - The Lost Zouave - A Beautiful Road-Sir George Brown and Pennefather-Mismanagement in the Crimea-Homeward Voyage-The Bosphorus and Constantinople-The Hospitals at Scutari-Meeting with Eton FriendsThe Isles of Greece-Messina, Marseilles, Paris-Return to London-Retrospect.

I WAS longing to go out, at least to see the scene of war. Walking along Piccadilly with these thoughts, I came across Frederick Cadogan, who told me he was being sent out by the Submarine Telegraph Company to establish communication from the seat of war by means of a submarine cable; that he was going overland, and that, if I liked, wherever he had to have carriages, he could take me. I jumped at the proposal, but curiously enough, the very next day Lord Ebury sent for and asked me if I would go out to the Crimea and administer the fund which was being raised for our soldiers. I felt that after the arrangement I had made with Frederick Cadogan it would not be fair to throw him over, and I therefore, with genuine sorrow and regret, de

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clined an offer which I could not but consider very flattering.

I was determined to keep a diary, and such as it is I leave it, although it is, no doubt, full of things only of interest to myself; the sole claim which can be made for it is that it may convey the impressions which occurred to me at the time.

"On December 12, 1854, I started in advance of Frederick Cadogan, through Hanover to Dresden, where I stayed some hours, seeing, as far as a dense fog would let me see anything, the streets and the cathedral, and in the evening again started for Prague, where I began my very disagreeable experiences of Austrian rule.

"At seven o'clock I arrived at the 'Archduke Charles,' very dirty, very hungry, and very tired after my five days' journey. It was Sunday, and, after attending service in the Embassy, I called on Irvine, an old Paris acquaintance, with whom I visited our ambassador, Lord Westmorland, who was very kind, and asked me to dine with him on the Monday and Tuesday. I then walked on the bastion, where I met Count Buol. The view of the snow-capped hills in the distance, where I was told all the Viennese world dined in the summer, was bright and pretty. At five o'clock I dined at the Embassy and took in Lady Rose Fane, Lord Westmorland's daughter, and renewed our acquaintance begun in old Walmer days. Of course, all the conversation was about the Crimea. went to the opera.

Dinner was over at 7.30, and we The following day Lady Westmorland was ill, and we all dined at Henry Elliot's instead of the Embassy, and at nine o'clock we left, and Morier took me to a party at Madame Tedesco's, a great friend of Odo and Arthur Russell's, of whom I had already often heard. She greeted me most graciously, making me a cigarette and one for herself. She talked in wonder

ful English of her visits to London and her friends the Russells.

"The rest of our time was occupied in making arrangements for our departure.

"Lady Westmorland wished to see us before we left, and though she was still unwell we had a long talk, and she told us some curious stories of the Austrian police; how an officer in their service had outstayed his leave, and the authorities asked Lord Westmorland to write and ascertain through our police where he was, and to have him arrested and sent back to Vienna !

"In the evening we dined with Irvine at the Casino to meet Mr. Hughes, a dragoman of the Embassy, who was very anxious to accompany us as interpreter, but was devoured by the difficulty of making up his mind; it was 'Yes, No; Yes, No,' all through dinner. And then we went to a beautiful concert of the younger Strauss, who played a piece called the 'Wedding Wreath,' which he had composed for the young Emperor's wedding. We sat in an enormous hall where everybody smoked, and yet so clear was the atmosphere that there was hardly any sign of smoke in the room.

"The next morning Mr. Hughes met us with 'No'; then, at last and finally, 'Yes'; and, after beautiful drives through the snow, we dined once more at the Casino, and in the morning of Friday, December 22d, I started for Pesth, glad to get on, though sorry to leave Vienna, where everybody had been hospitable. I had started before daybreak, and just as I crossed the Danube the sun was lighting up the rushing river and the snowy banks, and gave no sign of the shortest day. We traversed wide plains, with rocky mountains in the distance, which gradually drew nearer and nearer, till we plunged into a tunnel and came out again on the river-side.

1855

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JOURNEY TO PESTH

Friday, 22d.-The most prominent hill-tops were generally chosen for churches, and the white villages sometimes stretched for miles at their feet. These views, a bright sun, and a bright prospect were enough to make a journey pleasant. It was getting dark as we got into Pesth, and I was let through the custom-house unsearched. We got some dinner in a room overlooking the river; the lights of the fortified castle in Buda shone on it, and reminded me of Windsor from Eton.

"Saturday, 23d.-When I awoke I found that Cadogan had already arrived. We breakfasted and crossed the suspension-bridge to Mr. Clarke's office, where we found him and a Hungarian, with whom we went to look for carriages; but seeing the director in Pesth of the Danube company, who told us we could go to Giurgevo on the Danube, we did not require one.

"At three o'clock we dined at the Casino, or the Hungarian Club, with Mr. Clarke, who gave us a most interesting account of the declaration of the Hungarian Republic in 1848-of the Hungarian attack on Buda, and the Austrian attack on Pesth; he described the heroism of the Hungarians being almost equal to the tyranny of the Austrians.

"Sunday, 24th.-We walked up over the fortifications on the side bombarded by the Hungarians, and saw the marks made by the Hungarian cannon-a beautiful allegorical statue to Hertzi and 418 Austrians who had died. while gallantly defending the castle; from the other side we obtained a magnificent view of the Danube rushing proudly at our feet, and the town of Pesth beyond. We were shown the Houses of Parliament, and were told that at the recall of Hungarian money by the Austrians, thousands of peasants kept, at their peril, all they had left of Hungary. After this walk, most agreeable as it had been, we again went to the club. The manners were striking

to a degree-such a dignified sadness and melancholy seemed to be on all.

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Monday, 25th, Christmas Day.-At five o'clock on Christmas Day we went on board the Carl Joseph for our Danube voyage; the sun warmed us up later in the day, and we got sentimental over our pipes and drank our friends' health in sour wine. The scenery we passed through to-day was wild brushwood, or bush and wide plains alternately.

"Tuesday, 26th.-More lovely than ever. We sat on deck nearly all day smoking pipes and drinking coffee, and watching flights of wild ducks and one eagle; we were amused by a M. Renaud, a French consul on his way to his consulate at Belgrade. At four o'clock we arrived at Peterwardein, the great Austrian fortress, which certainly looked a most formidable place: earthworks, gabions, guns, and soldiers, as if we were going to besiege them there and then. A bright moonlight followed and we stayed on deck, and Cadogan sings and the French consul tells French stories, laughs and sings too till nine o'clock, when we expect to arrive at Semlin and change boats. We do arrive at Semlin, but do not change boats, because there is no boat arrived; so we go to bed and wish for morning and the boat. The morning came, but not the boat, so we were fain to put up with our first ill-luck. Regardless of mud, I walked into the town of Semlin, or rather a muddy village, with Hungarians, Servians, Greeks, Turks, and gypsies, all in their various costumes. The Hungarians were wonderfully picturesque, mostly dressed in sheepskins, nearly all with handsome silver buttons down their waistcoats and embroidered trousers; long dark-brown hair, hanging to their shoulders. They were rather dirty, I must confess, but that does not take off from the picturesque. The Austrian soldiers' regimentals were a great coat and a huge cartouche box.

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