onestly administered than the
armies of England and Russia, and the loss of life during 1854, after
the landing in the Crimea, was less than was experienced by the British
or Russians. The cholera, however, took greater effect upon the Turks,
French, and Muscovites, than upon the British. At Gallipoli and Varna
this was strikingly exemplified. In the Dobrudscha, upon the Danube, the
division of General Espineau was nearly destroyed by the pestilence.

During the whole period to which this relation of events refers, the
allied fleets were masters of the Turkish waters, from the gates of the
Dardanelles to the Sea of Azoff. When the fleets conveyed the armies
to Old Fort and Eupatoria, they appeared before Sebastopol; and the
Russians, fearing that the enterprise of the British might penetrate the
harbour, sunk their fleet in two lines, so as to bar its entrance
and prevent their capture. This bold measure did much to prolong the
defence. It also mortified the allies, who were thus prevented from
taking naval prizes, and from conquering the place, or very much
promoting its conquest by naval artillery. The Russians reserved some of
their most efficient vessels behind the range of sunken ships, and with
those they commanded the flanks of the besiegers, causing much waste of
life, and obstructing seriously the progress of the siege.

The naval force of the czar in the Black Sea was estimated very
differently by various writers. A number of statements were put forth,
all professing to be authentic. We select two, and our readers will
be able to judge for themselves the probable statistics. Haxthausen
represents the Black Sea fleet as consisting of three divisions, each
of which comprised ordinarily 1 three-decker, 2 two-deckers (among the
last two ships mounting each 84 guns), 6 frigates, 1 corvette, and 4
smaller vessels. Mr. Danby Seymour is more precise, and furnishes us
with what purports to be a complete list of the Russian naval force
in the Euxine in 1854, viz.:--20 ships of the line, 7 frigates, 5
corvettes, 12 brigs, 9 schooners, 7 cutters, 2 yachts, 1 bombard, 30
steamers, 28 gun-boats, and 30 transports.

The British fleet consisted of the _Britannia, Trafalgar, Vengeance,
Rodney, Betterophon, Queen, Lynx, Sphynx, Tribune, Sampson, Terrible,
Furious, Retribution, Highflyer, Spiteful, Cyclops, Vesuvius, Albion,
Arethusa, London, Sanspareil, Agamemnon, Firebrand, Triton, Niger,_
constituting a most powerful navy.