tinued during the whole day, without any casualties. The first night
on shore the rain fell in torrents, and the troops, who had landed
without tents or shelter of any sort, were drenched to the skin. On the
following morning the sun shone forth, and the disembarkation continued.
No enemy was encountered till the 19th, when two or three Russian guns
opened fire, and a body of Cossacks were seen hovering in the distance.
The Earl of Cardigan instantly charged them, and they retreated till the
British cavalry were led within range of the fire of their guns, when
four dragoons were killed and six wounded,--the first of the many
thousands who fell during the war.

The evening of the 19th closed with rain.

BATTLE OF THE ALMA--20TH SEPTEMBER.

Wet and weary the allied troops rose on the morning of the 20th
September of 1854, to march forward to the field of battle. On their
right was the sea, on which floated the British fleet; before them was
the river Alma, down to which the ground sloped, with villages,
orchards, and gardens spread out along its banks. "On the other side of
the river, the ground at once rose suddenly and precipitously to the
height of three or four hundred feet, with tableland at the top. This
range of heights, which, particularly near the sea, was so steep as to
be almost inaccessible, continued for about two miles along the south
bank, and then broke away from the river (making a deep curve round an
amphitheatre, as it were, about a mile wide), and then returned to the
stream again, but with gentler slopes, and features of a much less
abrupt character." The road crossed the river by a wooden bridge, and
ran through the centre of the valley or amphitheatre. Prince
Menschikoff had posted the right of his army on the gentler slopes last
described, and as it was the key of his position, great preparations had
been made for its defence. About half-way down the slope a large
earthen battery had been thrown up, with twelve heavy guns of position;
and higher up, on its right rear, was another of four guns, sweeping the
ground in that direction. Dense columns of infantry were massed on the
slopes, with large reserves on the heights above. A lower ridge of
hills ran across the amphitheatre, and at various points batteries of
field-artillery were posted, commanding the passage of the river and its
approaches. In front of this part of the position, and on the British
side of the river, was the village