1052 
says that part of the retreating army from Alma passed 
bv his hfcuse, nnd destroyed much of his property. 
He is advanced in years, appears to be deaf, 
and has a son in the Russian army. He states that he was 
in Sebastopol a few days sine© for provisions ; that they 
wished to detain him ns a prisoner, but that he was released 
on condition that he did not attempt to come in again. He 
asserts, that if we were to make an attack upon the city, we 
should carry it by assault in four or live hours. Circum- 
stances have led to a suspicion that much of Mr. Willis's 
deafness has been assumed ; and it is bo extraordinary that 
the Russian authorities should have permitted an English- 
man so well acquainted with Sebastopol to remain outside 
its walls, that a doubt is thrown over every statement he 
makes. 
Colonel Upton has afforded valuable information touch- 
ing the fortifications of Sebastopol, and no doubt is enter- 
tained that the fortress must fall very shortly. 
Captain Cameron, Grenadier Guards ; Lieutenant W. 
Knollys, Scots Fusilier Guards; C&pt. Connolly, 30th Regi- 
ment ; Capt. Raines. 95th Regiment ; and Lieutenant S. R. 
Chapman, 20th Regiment, have volunteered to act as engi- 
neers, and their services have been accepted by Sir John 
Burgoyne. 
A correspondent announces one lamentable fact — that out 
of -3, 003 effective bayonets in the Guards brigade on the 20th 
of July, only 1,740 are now available. And out of nearly 
forty officers then attached to each battalion, only fourteen 
remain on the effective list. 
The Crimea and the 23rd Regiment. -Thirty centu- 
ries since the Crimea was the hunting-ground of the Cimme- 
rioi, a people who, on the invasion of their country by the 
Scythians, fought a desperate battle among themselves on the 
question of resistance or non-resistance ; and then, having 
very probably become hors dc combat, abandoned the laud 
to the invaders. This circumstance in itself seems sufficient 
to identify the Cimmerioi with the Celtic, whose valour was 
so often and so fatally expended on internal quarrels. This 
was ever the great error of the Cymry, or Welsh, who thus 
appear to be one in name and manners with the ancient Cimme- 
rioi. The traditions of the Cymry point to the Gu'leul yr Haf 
(Summer Land), or the Crimea, as t heir original home, and that 
they emigrated under their leader Hu Gadarn, seeking aland 
where they could dwell in peace. This evidently alludes to 
the Gwlad yr Haf having become the scene of war and blood- 
shed ; and their wanderings are stated to have continued 
until their arrival in the island of Britain. After the revo- 
lutions of ages a mighty expedition has sailed from Britain 
and landed in the Crimea; and in that expedition some of 
the descendants of the Cimuierioi have returned to their 
mam-wlud (mother land), where mauy of them, with that 
“ heroic gallantry" which has conquered on numberless fields 
of fame, have fought and died, and been covered with earth 
among the barrows of their “ old fathers." — From Notes and 
Queries. 
Narrow Escapes. — The escapes was truly miraculous. 
One man had a grapeshot lodged in his pouch, in the very 
centre of his ammunition ; another in his great-coat. My 
orderly sergeant wus struck by three balls ; my friend Lod- 
der got a ball through his shako, and another through his 
trousers. The colonel's horse was shot. We had three 
officers wounded ; one (Woolcombe) very severely — lie has, 
poor fellow, lost his leg, and we hear it lias to be taken off 
again higher up. 
Russian Imperial Guards. — It may not be irrelevant to 
remark here that a great error has been committed in the 
reports of individuals (French and English) writing from the 
Alma relative to the presence of the troops of the Imperial 
Guard. Not a man of that corps was or is in the Crimea. 
It is possible that two or three regiments of the reserve of 
the grenadier corps may be in the Crimea ; but the troops 
that took part in the battle, us the numbers on their rccoutre- 
ments testify, belonged to the 16th and 17th divisions (6th 
corps), line and light, and to the reserves of the 4th and 5th 
corps, with some battalions of reserve grenadiers. Unlike our 
own Guards, who are always foremost in the fray, and never held 
back or nursed on service, the Russian Guard is invariably 
nursed, husbanded, and kept from harm's way until all other 
troops are beaten or exhausted. They are reserved for grand 
coups, under an impression that if they were employed as 
other troops are, worked and beaten, the result would be 
demoralising to the whole army, and detrimental abroad. 
It is to be regretted they were not at the Alma. They would 
have shared the same fate as the rest. 
Death of the Rev. George Mockler. — The following 
communication has been received by the brother of the late 
Rev. George Mockler: — ‘‘War-office, Oct. 25. Rev. and 
dear Sir, — Your excellent brother fell a sacrifice to his zeal, 
and sank under the heavy labour which wus unavoidably 
imposed upon him. He landed in the Crimea, like the rest 
of the officers, without tent or baggage of any kind, except 
what he could cany. He struggled on nobly against failing 
health, and officiated to the last ; he was unceasing in his 
attentions to the sick and wounded, but his constitution 
could not bear up against many days and nights of exposure, 
and he died ou the 2nd of October, absolutely from ex- 
haustion. The highest testimony is borne to his character and 
conduct by all who knew him ; uud it must be the con- 
solation of yourself and the rest of his relations that, if ever 
martyrdom was endured where death of violence (lid not 
consummate the work, your poor brother suffered it. He 
will find his reward elsewhere. He was buried on the 
heights of Sebastopol. With sincere commiseration for the 
sorrow which you are now enduring, believe me very faitli- 
fully.youre. — G. R. Glkio. 
THE PATRIOTIC FUND. 
GRAND MILITARY FETE AT THE CRYS1AL FALACE. 
Never since the opening of the Crystal Palace has so great 
a crowd been seen in its interior anil gardens us that which 
on Saturday, Oct. 28, thronged both to attend the great 
military fete in aid of the funds for the relief of the sick and 
wounded, aud the widows and orphans of her Majesty's 
forces engaged in the war. No sooner had the advertisement 
announcing the Patriotic Fund been published, than the 
directors of the Crystal Palace announced their intention of 
bringing the vast machinery’ at their command to bear for 
the increase of the fund, by devoting one day's receipts — 
literally “ a day’s pay’” — of their immense capital and plant, 
to that object. Although the down trains commenced run- 
ning very early, the visitors continued to pour in until after 
the termination of the concert, and subsequently, when the 
tide began to turn, every train was filled in a moment, as if 
by magic, and a queue filling the whole length of the 
entrance corridor and running far into the building, remained 
until a very late hour in the night. A bright October day 
poured down an unusual amount of sum Line upon the 
THE FIELD. 
crowd as if Providence were determined that nothing should 
be wanting to give Mat to this great demonstration. The 
presence of a great sentiment was perceptibly universal, and 
gave to the occasion a character of importance far beyond 
anything that could be imagined of an ordinary /rfe-day, 
however brilliant and attractive. 
Allthc military’ bands within available distance were per- 
mitted by the proper authorities to givetheir assistance to the 
file ; and a most attractive addition was contributed by’ the 
Emperor of the French in sending over his matchless band of 
the Guides to blend their strains with the performance of 
our own military musicians. These gentlemen — for gentle- 
men they emphatically were in appearance, deportment, and 
the evidently high style of their professional education— 
were the veritable lions of the day, as from the moment of 
their arrival to their departure they were followed by im- 
mense crowds, fraternised with in every possible way, and 
cheered ou leaving the building in a manner which would 
have brought tears into the eyes of the Czar could he possi- 
bly have had an opportunity of contrasting the demonstration 
with his own reception in this country’ some years since. 
The musical force, which could not have amounted to less 
than seven or eight hundred performers, consisted of the 
following bands : — First aud Second Life Guards, conductors 
Mr. War dell and Mr. Grattan Cooke ; the Blues, Mr. Tutton ; 
Carabineers, Mr. Cucoin ; Grenadier Guards, Mr. Schott ; 
Coldst reams, Mr. Godfrey ; Scots Fusilier Guards, Mr. Boose ; 
18th (Royal Irish), Mr. Kutle ; 94th Regiment, Mr. Froen- 
hert ; Royal Artillery, Mr. Smyth ; Sappers aud Miners, Mr. 
Youle; Royal Marines (Woolwich aud Chatham), Messrs. 
Winterbottom and Rogers; Artillery Company, Mr. Smithies; 
Crystal Palace Band, Mr. Schallehn ; aud, lastly, the band of 
the Guides, conducted by M. Mohr. The whole of this har- 
monious cohort mustered at the London-bridge Station at 
seven o’clock in the morning, and were escorted by Mr. 
Deane of the Crystal Palace Company to Sydenham. It is 
hardly necessary to add that they were hospitably received 
ou their arrival, the Guides beiug provided with their national 
dejeuner a lafourchettc in a separate apartment. Even at the 
early hour before mentioned, a considerable crowd sur- 
rounded the railway-station, who cheered lustily for the 
musical volunteers, and from that time down till about mid- 
night the railway officials had such a day’s work as must have 
thrown all their experience of Epsom days, Crystal Palace 
openings, and other great occasions, completely in the shade. 
Never was money poured forth with greater cheerfulness and 
alacrity, aud, as a general rule, the ticket-holders present re- 
frained from making use of their privilege. Hundreds had 
bought tickets previously, and for these a separate entrance 
was provided, but, as the exit to the platform was one and 
the same, their forethought procured them little or no ad- 
vantage. However, considering the extraordinary pressure, 
the circulation was on the whole well managed. 
On entering the building itself the Beene was striking in 
the extreme. The place filled with company, strains of 
military music saluted the ear in every direction, aud an 
unusual degree of life and excitement was everywhere per- 
ceptible. The immediate object of the fete was indicated by 
the presence of an immense trophy standing in the centre of 
the great transept, and consisting in some part of the spoils 
of war. At the base lay the guns taken at Bomarsund, and 
higher up a Russian helmet was conspicuous. These two 
objects were looked at with great interest by those who were 
acquainted with their history ; but it is to be hoped that 
before long we shall have them in greater profusion for occa- 
sions like the fete. The rest of the ornaments consisted of 
muskets and small arms tastefully arranged, rows of cannon 
balls, and, as a reminiscence of the old wars, some complete 
suits of steel armour. Ba3’ouets gleamed harmlessly in fan- 
ciful patterns, and the formidable Minid rifle was not for- 
gotten. Drums, shields, aud the other elements in the 
“ Pride, pomp, aud circumstance of glorious war,” completed 
the design, which was povoist with the colours of the three 
allied nations. The whole looked extremely striking and 
handsome. This trophy was the whole of the extra decora- 
tion that had been attempted, but any ornamental deficiencies 
were amply made up for by the numbers aud brilliancy of 
the company, the fineness of the day, and the vast and noble 
proportions of the building itself, which seemed now at last 
to have found out its legitimate function — that of accom- 
modating fetes of the first magnitude. Among the crowd 
foreigners were plentifully sprinkled, the tall forms and bril- 
liant cuirasses of the household troops were everywhere 
conspicuous, and the drum-majors of the various regiments 
formed no unimportant feature in the grand tableau. On 
our entrance we found the vast concourse of visitors labour- 
ing under the perplexities of an embarras dc ricliessc in the 
musical line. The bands had been stationed in various parts 
of the building, and appeared to be all playing simulta- 
neously as to time, but at the same time to exercise an entire 
independence of selection. The solemn strains of a slow 
march came from one quarter, the exhilarating polka from 
another, while the people rushed to and fro after the sounds, 
which attracted them on their entrance ; but no sooner had 
they attained the locality of one band, than they were called 
off by some new burst of harmony in another. However, all 
uncertainty of movement settled down at about one o'clock 
into an universal and steady rush towards the refreshment 
department, where Mr. Horne was valiantly sustaining a 
succession of assaults. At the first onslaught all the buns dis- 
appeared, accompanied by a tremendous volley of ginger- 
beer corks, then the great cofl’ee-inachine was drained in a 
trice, and the serious business of bombardment began on the 
cold fowl and tongue, the charter dish of the establish- 
ment. It was a complete saturnalia of knife and fork, and 
soon produced its natural result, a famine in the laud. The 
stores of the Sydenham larder are known to be ample, but 
what accumulation of victuals could withstand the assault of 
between fifty aud sixty thousand vigorous Britons, animated 
by country air, exercise, and patriotism, aud with their 
digestion strengthened by the consciousness that they were 
assisting in a noble work ? For those, who ; were fashionable 
enough to defer dining until a more fashionable hour, this 
consciousness was their principal consolation, as all the}’ had 
of a more material character to coinfort them was the debris 
left by their more vigilant predecessors. The necessities 
of the case led to all the vicissitudes of the bivouac. Fashion- 
able looking men might be seen furtively demolishing some 
bread aud cheese which they had secured by unheard-of 
exertion, with their plate resting on the bank of a llama 
of Thibet. Others pic-nic'd among the aborigines of the 
Pacific, nud a still greater number munched as they walked 
whatever they had been able to obtain at the hardly-pressed 
commissariat. Still, all was good-humour, and a general 
conviction was expressed, that wonders had been doue in 
providing substantial entertainment for so vast a number of 
visitors. The Guides, who up to the time of their perfor- 
mance, wondered through the building, seemed at once 
pleased and astonished at everything they saw, and had full 
occupation in bowing for the continuous cheering, and 
shaking hands with every one who could get near enough 
for the performance of this English form of salutation. 
Ultimately they took their places in the transept close to the 
trophy, and were immediately surrounded by enthusiastic 
admirers on chairs, who in closely packed ranks, three or 
four deep allround, magnanimously excluded the gaze of the 
outer barbarians. Having contrived to get a peep between 
the legs of the polite individuals who had made the privilege 
of staring at our guests a close monopoly, we were able to 
see that the baud, fifty-six in number, were clad in scarlet, 
profusely decorated with orange lace, the form and cut of the 
uniforms being something like the Hon. Company's artil- 
lery. No extraordinary expense had been lavished on the 
ornaments, which were less costly than those of many of 
our own regimental bands, but the features of the men 
were highly intellectual, anil their whole deportment grace- 
ful aud geutlemauly. The conductor, Mr. Mohr, wielded 
his magic baton effectively, but without any of that extrava- 
gant action which we had been taught to believe was the 
peculiarity of the French school, and bowed frequently in 
return for the well-earned plaudits of his audience. 
About half-past three the whole of the bands assembled 
on the terrace, aud performed a selection l of music. This 
terminated the pleasures of the day, and immediately after 
began the evening's perplexities. The immense crowd 
seemed suddenly and irresistibly struck with a conviction 
that they would collectively bo too late for the train. The 
staircases became blocked up with people descending from 
the galleries, aud the wide pathways in the gardens, and we 
fear we must add many of the tasteful parterres were black 
with people all running in one direction. The nave was 
equally crowded, but all moving towards the station. Soon, 
however, everything came to a standstill. The long narrow 
corridor was blocked up in a moment, aud the stream of 
people within the building was thrown back, but was in part 
consoled by the opportunity afforded of seeing the palace 
by moonlight, certainly one of its most attractive aspects. 
The Crystal Palace Company prudently had taken the pre- 
caution of erecting strong barriers across the lower end of 
the corridor, which although they caused some delay were 
invaluable iu the prevention of accidents. Had the crowd 
been permitted to rush continuously to the interminable 
flights of stairs, there is little doubt but that many of the 
weaklier visitors would have been trampled to death. As 
it was, some few ladies fainted, but the consideration with 
which they were treated spoke eloquently for the good feel- 
ing of the people. The rate of progress through this narrow 
passage may be estimated from the fact that those who 
entered it at six o'clock did not land at London-bridge sta- 
tion until half past eight, and it was several hours later 
before the building was entirely cleared out. 
The music. — There were the seven bands of the different 
regiments of Guards, those of the 18th (Royal Irish) Regi- 
ment, of the 94th, of the Royal Artillery, of the Royal 
Sappers and Miners, of the Royal Marines at Woolwich and 
Chatham, of the Hon. Artillery Company, of the Crystal 
Palace Company, and of the French Imperial Regiment “ Les 
Guides," the Private Band of the Emperor. There were 
also the juvenile bands of the Royal Military Asylum at 
Chelsea and of the Royal Naval School at Greenwich — a 
truly monster assemblage of martial musicians. Iu the 
earlier part of the day, the bands according to the pro- 
gramme, were stationed within the building ; the French 
band of the Guides, the “ observed of all observers," were 
properly placed in a prominent position, on a raised platform 
in the central transept, and the other bands were located 
around, and necessarily (from the limited space) so near 
each other, that any one of them could be heard by the 
dense crowd who filled the place. This rendered an arrange- 
ment for their playing alternatively, and in regular order, 
absolutely necessary. But there was nothing of the kind, 
no “ series of selected pieces each band played when it 
pleased and what it pleased ; and two bands sometimes struck 
up at the same time producing a “ charivari” much more 
strange than agreeable. Among the others, the band of the 
Guides played from time to time. This celebrated band con- 
sists entirely of Frenchmen, trained by their director, M. 
Mohr, a most accomplished musician. Almost all of them 
are young men, well-looking and gentleman-like ; their uni- 
form is exceedingly handsome nnd becoming, but not re- 
markable for splendour. The composition of the baud differs 
considerably from that of our military bands : the following 
note of its component parts, with which one of its members 
politely furnished us, will enable readers conversant with 
military music to make the comparison : 8 clarionettes, 1 
petite clarionette, 2 hautbois, 2 flutes, 4 cornets-h-piston, 3 
bugles eu si bdmol (B flat), 3 saxophones, 2 sax trombas, 2 
barytones, 2 cors d'harmonie (French horns), 3 trompettes, 
h-cylindre, 4 trombones, 5 basses en si bdmol, 3 contrabasses 
eu mi bdmol (E flat), 1 contrebasse en si bdmol, timbal les 
(kettle drums) — forty-six iu all — a strength quite sufficient 
for any military band. The brass instruments are of the 
kind recently invented by M. Sax, a family of instruments 
much more generally UBed in France and Germany than as 
yet in England ; our countrymen in this ns in other respects 
being slow to adopt anything “new-fangled,” whatever may 
be its merits. The Old Hundredth Psalm, inserted in the 
programme, was not attempted. 
SOLDIERS’ WIVES AND FAMILIES. 
[The Patriotic Fund.] 
To the Editor. 
Sir, — The question proposed to ub as to the right of parti- 
cipation on the part of the widows and orphans of officers in 
the Patriotic Fund is rather one for the decision of the Royal 
Commissioners than for answer by ourselves as the secretaries 
to the Royal Commission. 
Upon mere technical construction it would appear that the 
Commission docs not limit its bounty and operation to the 
widows and orphans of private soldiers and seamen, although 
it is quite evident that the first objects of the Commission 
are to provide for those for whom no provision has hitherto 
been made ou the part of the Government ; but such is not 
entirely the case with the widows and orphans of officers, 
who, under certain circumstances, do derive benefit from 
pension regulations. 
However, we consider ourselves at perfect liberty to say 
that if subscriptions or donations come to us. or to the funds 
of the Royal Commission, charged with any stipulations or 
limitations for the benefit of the widows aud orphans oi 
officers, there can be no doubt that the wishes of the donors 
will be strictly complied with, ns there is nothing enjoine 
by the Commission itself (as we apprehend) which can P 1 ®* 
