een for the unremitting activity of the authorities, no
life would have been safe in Balaclava, with its population of
villains of every nation. As it was, murder was sometimes added to
robbery, and many of the rascals themselves died suspicious deaths,
with the particulars of which the authorities did not trouble
themselves. But the officials worked hard, both in the harbour and on
shore, to keep order; few men could have worked harder. I often saw
the old grey-haired Admiral about before the sun had fairly shown
itself; and those of his subordinates must have been somewhat heavy
sleepers who could play the sluggard then.

At length the necessary preparations to establish our store were made.
We hit upon a spot about two miles from Balaclava, in advance of
Kadikoi, close to where the railway engines were stationed, and within
a mile of head-quarters. Leave having been obtained to erect buildings
here, we set to work briskly, and soon altered the appearance of
Spring Hill--so we christened our new home. Sometimes on horseback,
sometimes getting a lift on the commissariat carts, and occasionally
on the ammunition railway-waggons, I managed to visit Spring Hill
daily, and very soon fitted up a shed sufficiently large to take up my
abode in. But the difficulty of building our store was immense. To
obtain material was next to impossible; but that collected (not a
little was, by leave of the Admiral, gleaned from the floating rubbish
in the harbour), to find workmen to make use of it was still more
difficult. I spent days going round the shipping, offering great
wages, even, for an invalid able to handle saw and hammer, however
roughly, and many a long ride through the camps did I take on the same
errand. At length, by dint of hard canvassing, we obtained the aid of
two English sailors, whom I nicknamed "Big and Little Chips," and some
Turks, and set to work in good earnest.

I procured the Turks from the Pacha who commanded the division
encamped in the neighbourhood of Spring Hill. It was decided that we
should apply to him for help, and accordingly I became ambassadress on
this delicate mission, and rode over to the Pacha's quarters, Jew
Johnny attending me as interpreter. I was received by the Pacha with
considerable kindness and no trifling amount of formality, and after
taking coffee I proceeded, through Jew Johnny, to explain the object
of my visit, while his Excellency, a tall man, with a dark pleasing
face, smoked