he path, we reached the spot
where the advanced body had arrived some four hours previously, and had
succeeded, in spite of the rain, in kindling a few fires. It was close
upon midnight when Ali Pacha arrived at head-quarters to report that the
rear-guard had reached the bivouac, though nothing was known as to the
losses incurred in men, horses, or provisions. All that was certain was
that one gun had been abandoned, the mule which carried it having rolled
down a ravine. This was never found, as the rebels, who passed the night
within ten minutes' walk of our bivouac, had carried it off before the
arrival of the force sent back at daybreak to effect its recovery. Our
loss, however, proved to be insignificant--two killed and six wounded,
and a few ponies, &c., missing. As might be supposed, the Slavish
newspapers magnified the affair into a great and decisive victory for
the rebels. It is true that it reflected little credit on Osman Pacha;
and it might have been fully as disastrous to the Turks as their worst
enemies could have desired, had not the intense darkness of the night,
the heavy rain, and the want of pluck in the Christians (a fault of
which they cannot in general be accused), combined to get them out of
the scrape without any serious loss. The two whose deaths it was
impossible to disallow, as their mangled bodies gave evidence thereof,
were foully butchered by these long-suffering Christians. It came about
as follows:--An officer and three soldiers had remained a little in rear
of the column, being footsore with the march. As the rebels came swiftly
and quietly along, one of the soldiers, believing them to be a Turkish
regiment, made some observation. In a moment he and his comrade were
seized, and, while receiving many assurances of safety, were stripped to
the skin. The officer and the third soldier instantly concealed
themselves behind some of the projecting rocks, within ten yards of the
spot, and thus became auditors of the ensuing tragedy. No sooner had the
rebels stripped their unfortunate captives, than they fell upon them en
masse, literally making pin-cushions of their naked bodies. Throughout
that long and painful night did those two men lie hid in jeopardy of
their lives, and glad must they have been when they saw the rebels
retracing their blood-stained steps on the following morning, and more
grateful still when the arrival of the Turkish force enabled them to
feel assured of life and liberty. Th