er chance of drawing
both England and France into their quarrel. At length, on October 10,
the Porte sent an ultimatum to the commander of the Russian troops which
had invaded Moldavia and Wallachia, demanding that they should fall back
beyond the Pruth within fifteen days. On October 22 the war-ships of
England and France passed the Dardanelles in order to protect and defend
Turkish territory from any Russian attack. The Czar met what was
virtually a declaration of war by asserting that he would neither retire
nor act on the aggressive. Ten days after the expiration of the
stipulated time, Omar Pacha, the Ottoman commander in Bulgaria, having
crossed the Danube, attacked and vanquished the Russians on November 4
at Oltenitza. The Czar at once accepted the challenge, and declared that
he considered his pledge not to act on the offensive was no longer
binding. The Russian fleet left Sebastopol, and, sailing into the
harbour of Sinope, on the southern coast of the Black Sea, destroyed, on
November 30, the Turkish squadron anchored in that port, and slew four
thousand men.

A significant light is thrown on the crisis in Sir Theodore Martin's
'Life of the Prince Consort,'[32] where it is stated that the Czar
addressed an autograph letter to the Queen, 'full of surprise that there
should be any misunderstanding between her Majesty's Government and his
own as to the affairs of Turkey, and appealing to her Majesty's "good
faith" and "wisdom" to decide between them.' This letter, it is added,
was at once submitted to Lord Clarendon for his and Lord Aberdeen's
opinion. The Queen replied that Russia's interpretation of her treaty
obligations in the particular instance in question was, in her Majesty's
judgment and in the judgment of those best qualified to advise her, 'not
susceptible of the extended meaning' put upon it. The Queen intimated in
explicit terms that the demand which the Czar had made was one which the
Sultan could hardly concede if he valued his own independence. The
letter ended with an admission that the Czar's intentions towards Turkey
were 'friendly and disinterested.' Sir Theodore Martin states that this
letter, dated November 14, was submitted to Lord Aberdeen and Lord
Clarendon, and was by them 'thought excellent.' Scarcely more than a
fortnight elapsed when Russia's 'friendly and disinterested' feelings
were displayed in her cruel onslaught at Sinope, and the statesmen who
had prompted her Majesty's reply r