ies appeared on
the top of a ridge opposite, and began to play on the hill with terrible
precision. To counteract this a Russian battery of three guns was
despatched. I saw the horses come galloping in from the rear; one of
the guns was limbered up, and off they went like the wind. At that
moment a shell from the Turkish battery fell right under the gun, and,
exploding, blew it, with the men and horses, into the air. The other
guns reached the hill in safety, wheeled into position, and, for a time,
checked the Turkish fire. Nevertheless, undeterred by the withering
salvos, the Turks came on in powerful columns till they drew near to the
hotly contested point.

At the foot of it the Russians had dug trenches and thrown up
earth-works the night before. I observed with surprise that, as the
attacking columns advanced, the Russian rifle-fire ceased, though the
battery continued to cut lanes in the living masses. It occurred to me
that our men were reserving fire according to the Skobeleff plan. In
this I was right. When the Turks were within a hundred yards of the
trenches the defenders fired as one man. The front ranks of the enemy
fell like corn before the scythe; those in rear charged with
irresistible impetuosity over their dead comrades. But the Russians had
anticipated such an event. They had placed mines in the ground, which,
when the Turks passed over them, were fired, and hundreds of men were
blown into the air. This checked them. For a time they recoiled and
were thrown into disorder. At that moment a young officer rallied them
and charged again. The trenches were entered and a hand-to-hand
conflict ensued. With my field-glass I could see the fierce expressions
of the men as they drove their reeking bayonets right through their
enemies, and the appalling gasp and glare of eye in those whose mortal
career had been thus suddenly brought to a close. Yells of fury,
shouts, curses, clubbed rifles, battered skulls, unearthly shrieks,
smoke and blood--who can imagine or describe such a scene!

The Russian soldier fights well. His courage is equal to that of the
men of other nations, and his weight gives him the advantage over some,
but nothing can resist the power of overwhelming numbers.

Sitting on a height, and comfortably watching the battle through
telescopes, the Turkish generals quietly move the "men" on the bloody
board. Hundreds of Turks have perished. What matter? there are
thousands on