SOUTH COAST OF THE CRIMEA. 
the manners and the taste of a private soldier ; 
one moment closeted with his Sovereign ; the 
next, drinking quass with his troops, eating raw 
turnips, divesting himself of vermin, or sleeping 
upon straw. He partook every interest of the 
privates ; entered into all their little histories ; 
mediated in their disputes; shared in their 
amusements ; was at once their counsellor and 
their example; the hero who taught and led 
the way to victory. The Catechism (as he 
strangely termed that extraordinary document 
which was composed by him for the instruction 
of every soldier in his army) will shew more of 
his real character than the most studied descrip- 
tion : it possesses a portion of all his characte- 
ristics ; of his buffoonery ; his inconsistency ; 
his barbarity; his military skill ; his knowledge 
of the disposition of his countrymen; his 
anxiety and precaution for the welfare of his 
troops ; as well as of his remarkable talent for 
directing even their vices to advantage : in a 
word, it offers a key to those counsels which 
guided all his military operations. This singular 
document fell into our hands : it was sent by 
order of the Crown, while we remained in the 
country, to every regiment in the Russian service ; 
to the end that each soldier might learn to repeat 
it from memory; and it is presented to the 
