the other. In the beginning of 1854 war was declared. Austria and Prussia remained neutral.

7. The Invasion of the Crimea and the Battle of the Alma-An English and French army was sent to Varna, in Bulgaria. The Turks, however, defended themselves so well on the Danube that this army was not needed there, and before long the Russian troops left Roumania. In the English Ministry there was one man who was not content with this success. Lord Palmerston urged his colleagues to put an end to the power of Russia in the Black Sea. He was supported by the Emperor of the French. It was therefore determined to attack the great fortress of Sebastopol, in the Crimea, where the Russian navy was safe under strong batteries of guns. Orders were given to Lord Raglan, the English general, and to Marshal St. Arnaud, the French general, to invade the Crimea, taking with them a small Turkish force. They landed to the north of Sebastopol, with 64,000 men in all. As they marched southwards, they found the Russian army drawn up along the top of a hill beyond the river Alma. They crossed the stream and marched up the hill. There was not much skill shown by the generals on either side, but in the end the Russians were driven off, and the victory was won.

8. The Beginning of the Siege of Sebastopol.Some people have thought that if the conquerors had pushed hurriedly on, Sebastopol would have been taken. Instead of that they waited, and, marching round the head of the harbour, they attacked Sebastopol on the southerr ide. Even then

some have thought that the allied armies might have forced their way in with a rush. But they did not try it, and prepared for a regular siege. Sebastopol was not to be taken in that way so easily. There was inside it a vast store of guns, and of everything needed for defence. What was more than this, there was a man of genius, General Todtleben, inside it. He set to work and fortified the place. The guns of the allies were not enough to beat down the fortifications.

9. The Balaclava Charge and the Battle of Inkermann. Then came the fight at Balaclava. The Russians attacked, and were driven back. An order was sent to Lord Cardigan, who commanded the light cavalry, to retake some guns which had been captured by the Russians. He misunderstood it, and thought that he was directed to charge into the midst of the whole Russian army. The poet Tennyson has told the story how, when Cardigan gave the order, the brave men rushed to their death, knowing that all they could do would be in vain. They would not set an example of disobedience. Very few escaped. a French general who was looking on said, 'It is magnificent, but it is not war.' Thousands more were to perish because the generals did not know how to lead their men, and the Ministers at home did not know how to provide for them. At Inkermann there was a great battle. The few English troops were surprised in the early morning by the thick columns of the Russian army. They held out for some hours, till the French came to their

As

help. The Russians were driven back, and the allied armies were saved from destruction.

10. Winter in the Crimea.-The battle of Inkermann had been fought in the beginning of November. It has often been called a soldiers' battle. The English private soldiers and the officers of the English regiments were more intelligent, and more ready to act on their own responsibility, than the Russians were. But there was no skill in the general who commanded the army. He had foreseen nothing, and he provided for nothing. Neither he nor the Ministers at home had provided for the winter. They had hoped to be inside Sebastopol before that came, and instead of that they were still outside, on the bleak hill-side. It was not all the fault of the general or the Ministers. It had been long since England had engaged in a great war, and all the lessons of the last one had been forgotten. Wellington's skill and the bravery of his troops were remembered, but not his patient labour in providing all things necessary for the subsistence of the troops. The Ministers had indeed sent many things, but they had not sent enough. A storm swept over the Black Sea, and wrecked vessels laden with comforts for the soldiers. The storm brought bitter cold to the men on shore. They had but tents to protect them against frost and snow, and the tents were often blown down, leaving them without shelter. The men fell ill by hundreds, and medicine and medical comforts were sent out from England. But there were constant blunders. The sick and wounded were sent to one place, the

medicine was sent to another. Men at home who had to provide the proper things were so eager and excited to do what was right that they usually ended by doing what was wrong. Once a large amount of coffee was sent out to keep the soldiers warm. Those who sent it forgot to have it roasted, and they did not send out any machines for roasting it in the Crimea. Another time a large quantity of boots was despatched. Unfortunately they were all made to fit the left foot.

11. The Hospital at Scutari.—With great difficulty the sick were sent away to a hospital at Scutari, near Constantinople. When they arrived there there were doctors to cure them, but no nurses to attend to them. There had been no nurses in the Peninsular War. Sidney Herbert, the Minister who had the charge of the war, saw that the best doctors could do but little without the help of women, and he asked Miss Florence Nightingale, who had taught herself how the sick should be nursed, to go out with other ladies who would volunteer to help the poor men at Scutari. She at once agreed to go. With her help the hospital was brought into order. Many a sick man's life was spared, and many a dying man went peacefully to his rest through the gentle help thus offered. What she did was a token for good in every way. One of the best things that are happening in this time in which we live is the discovery of the many ways in which women can help men in the work of life. In Queen Elizabeth's time the great poet Shakspere told about the lives. of many good and beautiful women. Even Shaks

pere himself could never have imagined Florence Nightingale. Good women in his days were gentle and kind to their husbands and brothers. Now they can go out into the world and be gentle and kind to the poor, the sick, and the afflicted.

12. The Palmerston Ministry.-At home Englishmen looked on at all the misery and confusion in the Crimea with growing anger. They thought that somebody must be to blame, and they could not clearly make out who the somebody was. As soon as Parliament met, the Government was attacked, and forced to resign. From every side there were calls upon Lord Palmerston to be Prime Minister. It was known that his whole heart was in the war, and that he was a man of strong common sense and of resolute character. The arrangements for the army were gradually brought into order. Perhaps things would have improved even if Palmerston had not been there to direct them. Officials were beginning from many failures to learn their duties. The winter too was passing away, and their work was easier than it had been. But it was something to have a man at the head of the Government who knew both how to work himself and to make others do the same.

13. The Fall of Sebastopol and the End of the War. During the summer which followed, the siege of Sebastopol was pushed on. The English army was in good condition. Officers and men were learning their work. But the French army was more numerous than ours. It occupied the best positions, from which the town was most easily

FF