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"Very well," said the colonel; "I will be ready immediately. Ravelle," said he to the aide-de-camp, "it is your turn to play."

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But," said Ravelle, "had we not better go?"

"After this hand, if the rubber be not gained, we will think of it," said the colonel; "we will be in plenty of time."

Here we heard the cannonade very loud and near, but Ravelle played on, Estcourt trumped and turned the trick, and then played the same

suit.

"That will do," said the colonel; "we claim a revoke, which makes game, and we will now go assist the Turks."

There was no denying the matter; the dragoon cursed the orderly and the Turks, paid his money, then immediately rose, mounted his horse, and dashed off to join his troop.

The colonel hastily buckled on his sword, and we left the tent together. We found the men already standing to arms, and the colonel, after questioning the orderly who had brought the intelligence as to the direction of the attack, anticipated the orders of General Bosquet, and gave the word to march. We had little difficulty in hitting the proper route, for the cannonade was now incessant. We soon heard the cries of the combat and the rattle of musketry, and, after about an hour's march, as we topped a low ridge of the hill in the rear of the English lines, the whole scene opened before us. The Turks, who had been entrenched to protect Balaklava, had been attacked by an army of Russians fully thirty thousand strong, and, after a very slight resistance, had been driven in total disorder from their redoubts. These were occupied by the Russians, who had turned the guns against them. As we drew nearer, we saw some of the Turks rallying on the flanks of a Highland regiment, who, advancing a few paces, presented a stern and immovable front, two men deep, to the advancing host of Cossacks and cavalry, who seemed to threaten to ride them over. Well was it for the allies that this feeble screen was formed of soldiers who knew not what it was to fly, for had they been broken the enemy must inevitably have penetrated to Balaklava. As it was, these Highlanders stood in a line, as straight as could be drawn by aid of a ruler, until the Russians got within close range, and then fired a volley. We could see that it had told, but it hardly checked the advance for a moment; but another volley, and then a third, poured in at closer range, broke their resolution, and, wheeling round, they fell back on their infantry. Presently they re-formed, and both infantry and cavalry advanced; but our attention was now directed towards a larger mass of Russian cavalry, who, deflecting to the right, bore steadily down on some regiments of British dragoons who had just come up. These did not wait for their opponents, but charged in a body; and for a time there was a hand-to-hand conflict, in which the Russians seemed, from their superior numbers, to be getting the advantage; but two fresh cavalry regiments were opportunely hurled on them, and the Russian troopers, utterly routed, fell back again on their infantry. These retired also, and the English withdrew from the pursuit, so that just when we were near enough to be of service the affair seemed ended.

This was about ten o'clock, and for about an hour and a half the two armies stood observing each other, occasionally trying on each other the range of their artillery, at a distance of about a mile and a half. But about this time, to our astonishment, we observed the light cavalry of the

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English emerge from the rest of their forces, and trot rapidly forwards
over the ground which separated them from the enemy. We, of course,
expected a general attack; but as they passed within four hundred yards
of our position, which was on the extreme right, no movement in support
was made.
We gazed at them in admiration, as in perfect order they
passed on. We saw our friend, young Estcourt, among them, sitting his
horse like a Centaur; carelessly and joyously he waved his recognition,
then turned his face towards his charger's head, and bent slightly down
as his troop quickened their pace. And when half a mile from us,
now,
and when we could see the shot from the Russian batteries falling amongst
them with deadly effect, emptying their saddles and knocking down the
horses, we were struck with astonishment aud horror to observe that
they were still unsupported. A body, at most of eight hundred horse,
were riding full tilt against an army of thirty thousand men in posi-
tion. Well must they now have seen their own peril; but as their fate
became more certain they only quickened their pace, and not one man—
for we saw the whole manœuvre as clearly as if we were in a theatre-
faced about. I turned to the colonel. I could see his coolness was fast
exhaling, the moustache was twitching, and the grey eye was absolutely
gleaming: "Magnifique! magnifique!" he said, turning to me; but
they are madmen. It is certain death-these brave fellows will be mur-
dered! Sacré tonnerre! we must to the rescue!" And his horse cur-
veted and reared with the vehement emotion of the rider, while the men
and officers around him waited impatiently for the signal, ready to follow
in the deadly track of the British. Up galloped an aide-de-camp of
General Bosquet, a few words passed between them, and our colonel
shouted "En avant!" and, putting himself at the head of his regiment,
we all started au pas de charge. Pursuant to General Bosquet's orders,
who had taken a cooler coup d'œil of the position, we deflected consider-
ably to the left, stopped for five minutes' breath in the middle of our
course, and then charged one of the batteries which the Russians had
taken from the Turks, and which was playing fiercely on the English
cavalry. The Russian gunners stood firm till we were within ten yards,
and we lost about seventy men; but we soon carried the redoubt. The
English horse, meantime, had charged right onwards to another redoubt;
but, their horses being blown, they had now come to a rally, and were
trying to cut their way through masses of opposing cavalry. By dint of
the most determined courage they succeeded; but it was well we occupied
the redoubt, else not one of them would have escaped its fire. They
passed close to us, and I had a deliberate opportunity of counting them.
There were not two hundred in all.

I was glad to see Estcourt among them, with somewhat of a prouder look than when he passed us before.

After this there was a heavy cannonade, and the Russians withdrew a little distance, still occupying two of the Turkish redoubts; and as our generals made no further attempt against them, I fear it must be confessed they had gained the solid advantage of the day. What effect their success will have, I cannot say.

The field of battle, or rather of the skirmish, presented the most ghastly sight I ever saw, owing to the number of horses who had been struck down, and who were rolling and plunging in agony, while their shrieks, a sound never heard in peace, filled the air.

Aug.-VOL. CXIX. NO. CCCCLXXVI.

2 K

MR. REDDING ON FRENCH WINES.*

WHATEVER divergence of opinion may exist as to the financial merits and political wisdom of the commercial treaty with France, there are few among our readers, we fancy, who will object to that clause referring to the reduction of the wine duties. It has been a necessity felt for many years; in fact, ever since the three-bottle gentry went out of date. Drinking is no longer fashionable, and persons have wisely resolved on the use and not the abuse of one of the most glorious gifts nature has bestowed on us. But there was this difficulty connected with the heavy wine duties with the best will in the world to drink French wines, the middle classes were unable to do so, owing to the high prices they fetched. Their choice was limited, in great measure, to acid sherry and muddy port, and these were found to interfere so considerably with the digestive process, that their use grew more and more limited. The death-blow to the wine consumption was, however, dealt by the introduction of South African into the market, which, not only bad itself, was employed fearfully for the purposes of adulteration. No one who tasted it once had the courage to venture on it again, and it became the legitimate prey of the burlesque writers, nobody, save the importers, regretting its well-merited downfal.

The

Wine, then, was threatening to become a myth in middle-class English households, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer hit on the bold scheme of reducing the duty in the face of increased estimates. result of the partial reduction is, that a very large amount of claret has been already imported into the country, and its consumption is gradually, though slowly, spreading. It is marvellous, however, what ignorance Englishmen, as a rule, are in as to the comparative merits of French

wines.

Considerations of this nature have induced Mr. Redding to write the valuable little treatise we have now under notice. As good wine needs no bush, so we need not recommend to our readers a work by the recognised authority in the matter of wines. We may say, however, that it contains much novel and valuable information which no other English author could supply, and it bears the marks of conscientious investigation and thorough knowledge of the subject on every page. The work commences with a history of the vine since its introduction into France, and a description of the varieties employed.

Mr. Redding repudiates very decidedly the notion that the poverty noticeable by the tourist in many of the French wine districts is owing Bad management-the to the culture of the vine, as has been asserted. result of defective education-and grinding taxation are, in his opinion, the final causes of this impoverishment. It is to be hoped that with the increased demand for wine these evils will be removed. It is evident, from the description he gives of the cultivation of the grape, that capital is required to produce a profitable, because marketable, vintage; and

* French Wines and Vineyards, and the Way to find Them. By Cyrus Redding. London: Houlston and Wright.

doubtlessly land will pass into fewer hands, and thus remove one of the great evils from which the rural population of France suffers.

The chapter devoted to the vintage contains much interesting detail. Unceasing care must be devoted to the state of the grapes, or the labours of a year may be thrown away. The exact time to gather the fruit depends on the weather, and the season naturally differs in nearly every part of wine-growing France. Much, too, depends on the attention the labourers pay to their task, for the flavour of the wine is irremediably injured by the slightest careless or improper treatment. Hence, we find that around Perpignan the farm-servants are far better off than the corresponding class in England. Even the wood of which the casks are made must be carefully examined, lest it should impart some unfavourable taste to the contents. The result attained by careful manipulation is, that the wines of France surpass those of all other countries in delicacy, aroma, and fine mellow flavour. The red wines are superior to the white, for they carry a finer perfume or bouquet, and, whether dark red or light ruby in colour, are finer flavoured, and will keep their virtues a considerable time-such as those of Roussillon for above a century.

It would be manifestly impossible for us to exhaust, in our scanty limits, the information this volume imparts. While stating, therefore, that it furnishes a full account of every wine grown in France, the average value of the vintage, and the modes of exporting the wine most conveniently, we will conclude our paper by giving some account of the mode of preparing champagne.

Champagne is made of any coloured grapes, but they are gathered with great care. Every grape is excluded which is in the slightest degree injured, and they are carried to the press with due precautions to prevent any crushing. The must is not immediately placed in the casks, but left in a vat for some twelve hours, until the grosser lees are deposited. The must is then placed to ferment in tuns. About Christmas the fermentation is over, and the wine is racked; then again racked, and fined at the end of a month. Some wines are racked thrice and fined twice. Wines intended to become mousseux are bottled in March and April. Nothing is so fickle as the commencement of the effervescence; some wines become mousseux in a fortnight, others require twelve months. Another evil is the repeated flying of the bottles and the consequent loss of the wine. The quantity M. Moët had under treatment prior to the oïdium was from five to six hundred thousand bottles. From these facts it will be seen that champagne will never become a cheap wine, and those who purchase such with their eyes open may rest assured that they have bought rhubarb champagne. To such of our readers as are unacquainted with the delicious wines produced on the banks of the Rhône, we recommend the St. Peray grand Mousseux of M. L. Giraud.

OUR SOCIAL PROGRESSION.

SOME of the Germans who pass their lives in theorising or conjuring up phantoms which they vainly attempt to embody, some of these prolific generators of shadows, maintain that all the progress made under modern civilisation is but a renewal or repetition of that which had a prior existence. They uphold this opinion upon grounds by no means satisfactory to those who are not content with deductions from assumed premises. That to which the mind has an involuntary bias it is reluctant to reject, and is apt to pass by demonstration in its eagerness to support favourite theories. The notion that our present high state of civilisation is no more than a "regeneration" is a vague sentiment, arising from the want of a more extended view of the progress of society, and the confinement of the field of vision to a limited circumference. The achievements of the past time, though great to the actors and era when they occurred, and thus in no way diminishing their merit in proportion to their means, were only a miniature of the present. From the earliest records of history, and the wild uncertain tales of tradition, we can find nothing to disprove the continuous movement of some portion of mankind, with more or less rapidity, towards a better and more enlarged state of things than had previously existed. A higher destiny is to be given to the world. Thus we justly confide in the slow but steady advance of humanity towards some point far more elevated than the present, though its remoteness should be extended beyond the conceivable bounds of our limited existences or those of many generations to come after our own. Why we are thus moved, and to what conclusion all may lead, is an impenetrable secret to living men.

In the examination of such a topic recourse must be had to history, the earlier records of which attach to that of the Jews, commencing with Abraham. Secondly, to those of Greece, for unhappily the nation older than either has left only its laborious and gigantic works to testify its antiquity. These marvels of Egypt, for we allude to that wonderful country, speak only to the vision in the ruin of temple and pyramid, and in a roll of kingly names, from which we learn that eighteen dynasties of its monarchs had passed away fifteen hundred years before Christ, when the first Pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty began his reign! To what a remote period, therefore, must be ascribed the primary developments of human intelligence when even then it was sufficiently mature to erect such edifices as those of Karnac and Medinet Abou, two thousand years before the Augustan age, as Heeren, with justice, infers from a severe examination of the existing authorities. The remnants of the gigantic temple of Ammon (Isis and Osiris were no doubt subsidiary deities of later origin), while they seem to indicate extraordinary mechanical aid in their construction, were more probably the result of accumulated manual power, such as may be seen acting in the sculptures from Nineveh now in the British Museum. These sculptures exhibit a much ruder state of the arts than those in Egypt, but still show a great

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