When I reached London, I found all England ringing with the tidings of the fighting, and there were plenty of evidences of the interest taken in the political situation. The music-halls, where one may touch the pulse of popular feeling, were crowded every night with audiences who tumultuously applauded the patriotic ditties that were encored over and over again, especially the famous song which set forth that "The Russians shall not have Constantino-o-ple."
I happened one night to stroll into the newly built "Canterbury Theatre of Varieties," which, by means of the novelty of a sliding roof, combined with a programme illustrating scenes in the campaign which was just concluded, drew big crowds nightly. One of the items on the programme was a realistic scene depicting the taking of the Grivitza redoubt by the Russians, and I watched the gallant "supers" with mingled feelings as they charged home upon the cardboard bayonets. The scene was capitally done, and there was a prodigious expenditure of ammunition, which the audience applauded mightily. After the performance I sent my card round to Mr. Villiers, who was the proprietor of the show, intimating that I would like to see him. A tall, rather good-looking man, in the elaborate evening dress of a prosperous theatrical manager, and wearing an enormous diamond in his shirt front, made his appearance, and listened quietly while I complimented him upon the realism of the entertainment. I told him that it was really a very creditable show, but that there were one or two points in which it might be improved, and that, as I was the only Englishman in Plevna during the attack, I could give him some hints which would make the representation more accurate historically, while at the same time not impairing the spectacular effect. Mr. Villiers, who, by the way, was the uncle of my friend Fred Villiers, the war correspondent, did not seem very enthusiastic. In fact, his demeanour was distinctly discouraging. I felt that he had something to say, and waited anxiously for his answer. "Well, sir," he remarked, looking me straight in the face while he twiddled his heavy gold watch-chain, "I am not going to say that I don't believe you; but you are the eleventh man who has come round here with exactly the same story." I was crushed, and bowed myself out from the presence of the potentate, almost wondering whether I really ever had been to Plevna.
That there were plenty of impostors about, and that Mr. Villiers had ample ground for being suspicious of casual strangers professing to have Turkish military experience, I soon discovered for myself. I happened to be travelling up to Scotland a couple of days afterwards, when a gentlemanly looking individual got into the smoking carriage with me, and we fell to chatting upon the current topics of the day. The stranger began to interest me vastly, when he turned the conversation dexterously into a discussion of the Russo-Turkish campaign, and informed me that, though an Englishman, he had served in the artillery under Osman Pasha, and had been present in Plevna during the siege. I let him go on for fully a quarter of an hour recounting his apocryphal exploits, and then I thought it was time to speak. "Well, sir," I said, "it is a most extraordinary thing to think that you could have told that story to any other man in England except myself, and he might have believed you." I gave him my name, and told him that I knew all the artillery officers in Plevna, and that he certainly was not one of them. Never was an unfortunate raconteur so non-plussed. He threw up the sponge at once, and admitted that his story was a fabrication suggested to him by the fact that he had once made a holiday trip in Turkey.
And now the close of the book is reached; but before the last word is written, I should like to express my profound admiration for the soldierly qualities of the rank and file of the Turkish army, with whom I lived on terms of intimate companionship for nearly two years. Courageous in misfortune, uncomplaining under the most awful suffering, good-humoured in every situation, the Turkish troops, both officers and men, showed throughout all the campaign the temper of true heroes. I need hardly say that for me it is deeply painful to think that the men whom I almost idealized, the men with whom I fought and suffered, with whom I tasted the glory of victory and the bitterness of defeat, should lie under the accusation of the atrocities which we must believe have been committed in 1896, not only in Armenia, but also in Constantinople. Yet through the black cloud that hangs over the Turkish Empire to-day I can still discern the distant stars; for I can look back with honest pride to the high sense of honour, the dauntless courage, the loyalty and true patriotism of those who were my comrades in arms in the earlier and brighter days.
INDEX.
Abdul Kerim Pasha, [49], [99].
Achilles, [309], [420].
Adil Pasha, [60], [183].
Adrianople, [301].
Ahmed Pasha, [106].
Ahmet, [22], [185], [189], [256], [258];
his return to the ranks, [297].
Ahmet Bey, [48];
captures a Servian, [49].
Ak Palanka, [30].
Alexandra, [309].
Alexinatz, [30], [34].
Alix, Colonel, [308].
Alouf Pasha, [113].
Anisimoff, Captain, [378].
Arab regiment, cases of malingering, [145];
remedy, [147].
Ararat, Mount, [365].
Archæological curiosities, [365].
Archbishop, Catholic Armenian, of Erzeroum, [364].
Armenians, sickness of, [364], [374].
Artzar village, [103].
Ashkaleh, [363].
Ashmead-Bartlett, Sir E., [415], [416].
Ashmead-Bartlett, Mr. W., [415].
Austin, Charles, special correspondent for the Times, [370].
Baiburt, [320], [334], [362], [374].
Baker Pasha, [50], [308].
Baltic, [419].
Bash Tabiya redoubt, [237], [255], [265].
Basilio, Father, [354].
Batavia, [38].
Bavaria, [4].
Bazaine, [419].
Bazias, [9].
Beaconsfield, Lord, [372].
Belgrade, [9].
Beresford, Dr., [392].
Bergan, General, [308];
rifle bullet, [132].
Berlin Congress, [372].
Besika Bay, [372].
Bey, Fano, [301].
Bey, Temple, [300].
Biliotti, Sir A., English consul at Trebizond, [316], [361], [414].
Bingen, [9].
Black, Dr., [61];
his habits, [62];
arrested, [64];
sent from Widdin, [65].
Black Sea, [11], [14], [315].
Blantyre, Lord, [324];
his hospital, [326];
generosity, [334].
Bonn, [3], [9].
Bosphorus, [11], [14].
Bouchon, Captain, [65].
Bourbaki, [85].
Brestovitz village, [225].
Brisbane, [36].
Briscoe, [308].
Buckle, Dr., [324], [368].
Buda-Pesth, [3], [9].
Bukova redoubts, [220];
village, [115], [127], [137].
Bulgareni road, [170].
Bulgarians, characteristic, [23];
fondness for bright colours, [41];
folk-songs, [42].
Burdett-Coutts, Baroness, her fund for the relief of the refugees, [415].
Busch, Dr., [68];
Mdme., [68].
Busch, Prof., [3].
Butler, Dr., [11].
Byron, Lord, extract from "The Siege of Corinth," [350].
C——, Senhor Garcia, [4].
Cambridge, Duke of, [43].
Camp life, routine of, [263].
"Canterbury Theatre," [422].
Carlo, Monte, [36].
Carlos, Don, [85].
Casson, Dr., [324], [368].
Chefket Pasha, [194];
his relief column, [283].
Christmas dinner, [52], [342]-[345];
mixing the plum pudding, [343].
Circassians, their bravery and rapacity, [94];
raid on Roumanian cattle, [95];
private forays, [98];
looting the dead, [148], [150].
Coblenz, [9].
Cole, Rev. Mr., [351], [352].
Colghassi, or major, [14].
Cologne, [9].
Commerell, Vice-Admiral Sir Edward, [363].
Constantinople, [12], [16], [303], [415];
number of Sundays, [17];
adventurers, [305].
Cooktown, [39].
Copenhagen, [419].
Crajova, [73].
Crescent, origin of the, [12].
Czetwertinski, Prince, [32], [171], [178], [195], [202], [231], [243], [251], [259];
his career, [33]-[39];
death, [39];
sent away invalided, [265].
Daghistan, [378].
Danube, [9], [58].
Dardanelles, [14], [419].
David, [325].
Dead, burial of the, [152], [349].
Denniston, Dr. James, [324], [326], [331], [335], [336], [342], [351], [360], [374], [379], [383], [390], [400], [404], [415].
Derby, Lord, [340].
Devoi Boyun, [384].
Dickson, Gen. Sir C., [304], [313].
Dolni-Netropol village, [259].
Drachenfels, [3], [9].
Dugald, Lieut., [223].
Duhoffskoy, Gen., [395], [397], [400].
Duhoffskoy, Princess, [398]-[400].
Eccles, Dr. Simon, [10].
Eden, Garden of, legendary site of the, [316], [323].
Edhim Effendi, [30].
Edim Pasha, [217].
Edinburgh, [3].
Egyptian troops, compared with the Turkish allies, [66].
Ehrenbreitstein, [9].
Emin Bey, [109], [206].
Eolia-tepe, [368].
Epsom salts, method of giving, [76].
Erzeroum, [323];
condition of the Turkish garrison at, [312], [314];
first impression of, [325];
population, [326];
interior of the gaol, [336];
mortality, [348];
burial of the dead, [349];
horrors of, [359];
occupied by the Russians, [367];
last week in, [396];
departure from, [403].
Erzinghan, [374];
expedition to, [341].
Eski-Zagra, [166].
Euphrates river, [323].
Faizi, [34], [203], [258].
Fetherstonhaugh, Charles, [324], [326], [331];
attacked by fever, [335].
FitzGeorge, Colonel, [43].
Fitzgerald, war correspondent of the Standard, [66].
Flemington, race meeting at, [38].
Foley, [44].
Forbes, Archibald, [245].
Forbes, Dr., [8].
Forbes, Litton, [30], [31].
Francis, Mr. J. E., [8].
Franco-Prussian war, [419].
French, difficulties in talking, [368].
Frostbite, cases of, [333], [336].
Galata, [12], [417].
Galicia, [33], [35].
Gamboge, [420].
Gay, Drew, war correspondent to the Daily Telegraph, [217], [244];
succeeds in getting to Sofia, [245]-[247].
Gebhardt, [242].
Geneva, [192].
Geoffrey, [8].
Ghumish Khané, [319], [362].
Gill, Dr., [301].
Giorgione, Captain, [80], [81].
Glasgow, [419].
Goar, St., [9].
Golden Horn, [17].
Gordon, General, [84].
Gorny Dübnik, [313].
Gourko, General, [106], [166].
"Green Hills," [115], [229].
Grivitza redoubt, [185], [220], [221], [225], [228], [235];
village, [114], [121], [127], [137], [169];
attack on, [171].
Gunner, death of a, [124].
Gunshot wounds, variety of, [130].
Guppy, Dr., [324], [351].
Hain-Bogan, [106].
Hainkioj, [106].
Hakem bashi, [29].
Hakki Bey, [351], [375], [385], [396].
Hakki Pasha, [262], [300].
Hamdi Bey, [217].
Harris, his scheme for blowing up a bridge, [306].
Harvey, Mr., [285], [315], [316], [326], [331].
Hassan Hairi Pasha, [99].
Hassan Labri Pasha, [79], [157], [174], [206], [213].
Hassan Pasha, [106].
Hassan, Prince, [66].
Hassib Bey, head of the hospital, [63], [89], [101], [125], [136], [157], [159], [198], [294], [417];
his interview with Dr. Mackellar, [288].
Herbert, Lieut. V., Defence of
Plevna, [101] note.
Hewitt, Admiral Sir William, [309], [420].
Heymann, General, his wish to inhabit the Consulate, [384];
death, [387].
Hobart, [231].
Hornby, Admiral, [309].
Hospital, number of cases, [272];
horrors of the, [272]-[279];
condition, [273];
gangrene, [278], [334].
Huon river, [321].
Hussein Effendi, [375].
Ibrahim Bey, Colonel, [222];
redoubt, [222], [226].
Ichtiman village, [23], [301].
Ilidja village, [363], [405].
Irving, Sir Henry, [10].
Isker river, [111].
Ismet, Gulf of, [14], [309].
Izzet Effendi, [31].
Izzet Pasha, [67], [101].
Jack, [62].
James, Captain, [43].
Janik Bair, [121], [127], [137], [170], [259], [266].
Jardin, M., [386], [401].
Jarra bashi, [29].
Jeune, Sir Francis, [10].
Jevislik, [361].
Jews, number of, [57].
Jules, Mr., [37].
Julier Pass, [321].
Kabobs, [103].
Kaimakan, [119].
Kakrinka village, [209].
Kalafat, [60], [81];
bombardment from, [90].
Kanli Tabiya, [237].
Kars, attack on, [332];
march of the wounded prisoners from, [333].
Kavanlik redoubt, [242].
Keen, Howard, [46].
Kemball, Sir Arnold, [316], [323].
Kennett, Mr. V. Barrington, [289], [312], [314].
Khartoum, [84].
Kischeneff, [89].
Klapka, General, [33].
Komaroff, General, [381].
Konak, or townhall, [58].
Kop village, [362].
Kopdagh Pass, [323], [362], [406];
crossing the, [407].
Krenke rifle, [132].
Krishin redoubt, [220], [225].
Krivodol, [105], [107].
Kronberg, Dr., [68];
Mdme., [68].
Kronberg, Dr., [242], [265], [269];
his hatred of the Bulgarians, [270].
Krüdener, General, [106], [166].
Kurd Ismael Pasha, [340], [367].
Kustler, Dr., [102], [146], [242].
Kyrchehir Regiment, [18];
ordered to Sofia, [50];
to Orkhanieh, [53];
to Widdin, [55].
Lady patient, the first, [27].
Lalor, Sir Peter, [83].
Lauri, Victor, [35], [217], [226], [243], [246], [265];
his portrait of the Khedive, [217];
German sausage, [248].
Lazistan, [317];
men, [318];
dogs, [318].
Leader, Nicholas, war correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, [84];
his adventurous career, [85];
death, [86].
Lemberg, [33], [35].
Leslie, Armand, [30].
Leslie, Ralph, [44].
Lom, army of the, [50], [165].
London, [8], [421].
Lovtcha, [99];
occupied by General Sobatoff, [154];
inhabitants, [155];
recaptured by Osman Pasha, [156];
march towards, [207];
news of the fall, [209].
Macedon, Philip of, [12].
MacGahan, war correspondent for a London newspaper, [25], [245].
Mackellar, Dr., [283], [284], [293], [301];
interview with Osman Pasha, [286];
with Hassib Bey, [288].
Magack, [366], [369].
Mahomed II., [12].
Malingering, cases of, [21], [145].
Mammoth battery, [225], [226].
Marmora, Sea of, [14].
McCalmont, Captain, [316].
Medical staff, mortality among, [360];
loss of supplies, [263].
Medjidie, fourth order of the, [379], [392];
fifth order, [34].
Mehemet Ali, the paymaster, [18], [22], [101].
Mehemet Ali Pasha, [50], [99].
Mehemet, Circassian servant, [120].
Mehemet Nazif Bey, [157].
Melbourne University, [3].
Melikoff, General, his attack on Kars, [332];
in Erzeroum, [367];
reviews his troops, [371];
his appearance, [374];
administrative ability, [391].
Metternich, Prince, [33].
Metz, [419].
Michael, Grand Duke, [363].
Midhat Pasha, [24].
Mikren, [210].
Misserie's Hotel, [12], [303].
Montagnes Vertes, [235].
Moon, eclipse of the, [196].
Moore, Dr. Bond, [283], [285], [293];
his interview with Osman Pasha, [286].
Moravia river, [39].
Morisot, Captain, [284], [314], [316], [326], [331], [334], [364], [404], [418];
attacked with typhus fever, [351];
his return to Erzeroum, [392];
career, [419].
Mukhtar Pasha, [314], [326].
Munday, Baron, [301], [314].
Murray, Mr. D. Christie, [283], [293].
Mustapha Bey, [34], [172], [178], [259], [262], [298].
Musurus Pasha, Turkish ambassador in London, [8].
Nalban-tepe, [368].
Narghileh, [30].
Netropol village, [261].
Neuchâtel, [8], [118].
New Caledonia, [192].
Nicodema, Gulf of, [14].
Nicopolis, [166];
march to, [101];
invested by the Russians, [106].
Nightingale, Miss Florence, [15].
Nile, [84].
Nish, [30], [32], [39].
Norton, Colonel, [308].
Norway, [3].
Odessa, [35].
O'Donovan, Edmund, [85], [337];
his dinner to the Circassians, [337]-[339];
war correspondent of the Daily News, [340].
Opanetz village, [115], [121], [127], [220], [225], [259].
Orenburg Cossacks, [378].
Orkhanieh, pass of, [52], [300].
Osma river, [155], [210].
Osman Bey, [206].
Osman Effendi, [67], [143], [180], [239], [242].
Osman Pasha, [34], [67], [104], [108];
commander-in-chief of the troops in Widdin, [60];
his ball, [68]-[73];
his interest in artillery practice, [97];
on his troops, [98];
his plan of campaign, [99];
army, [101];
condition of his men, [102];
his arrival at Plevna, [120];
defeats the Russians, [126];
his force, [126];
strict disciplinarian, [147];
his preparations for recapturing Lovtcha, [155];
his bay cob, [169];
at Grivitza, [170];
rallies the men, [175];
congratulations on his victory, [182];
presented with the first order of the Osmanli, [183];
his address to the troops, [183];
antipathy to war correspondents, [192];
council of war, [212];
his care of the wounded, [243];
wish to attend the parlementaire, [251];
reception of the medical party, [285];
wish for an English saddle and bridle, [417].
Osmanli, fourth order of the, [392].
Pain, Olivier, [158], [190]-[196];
war correspondent of a Geneva newspaper, [192].
Paris, [3].
Parramatta, [37].
Pearse, [310].
Pelischat, [35];
battle of, [198]-[205].
Pera, [12], [415].
Persian, practical joke on a, [397].
Pilaf, or boiled rice, [26].
Pinkerton, John, [301], [324], [326], [331], [334], [342];
attacked by typhus fever, [346];
death, [350].
Pirot, [29].
Pizareff, Captain Serge, [370], [374], [377], [381], [388].
Plevna, [3], [34], [113], [114], [217];
march to, [107];
inhabitants, [114];
fortifications, [115], [152], [184];
commencement of hostilities, [121];
first battle, [122];
repulse of the Russians, [127];
second battle, [166];
revival of trade, [182];
earthworks, [184], [220];
third battle, [219];
system of field fortification, [220];
defeat of the Russians, [235];
report on the state of the wounded, [289]-[292].
Po, the, [7].
Poradim, [166], [197].
Power, Frank, war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, [83];
death, [85].
Pressburg, [3].
Price, [393].
Prinkapo, [309].
Pruth, [79].
Purnekapan, [323], [362], [406].
Pyæmia, ravages of, [276], [331], [334].
Radishevo village, [72], [169], [227], [236].
Rahova garrison, [99].
Rasgrad, [166].
Red Cross Society, [30].
Redif Pasha, [100].
Redoubts, construction of, [221];
access to, [222];
area, [223].
Reif Bey, [125], [159].
Rennison, Tom, [342], [343], [367], [380], [385].
Revel Regiment, [232].
Rhine, [9].
Rifaat Pasha, Brigadier, [156], [209].
Robert, Dr., [118], [121], [125], [152], [189], [297];
his hospitality, [164].
Rochefort, Henri, [192].
Rome, [4].
Rookh, [242], [270].
Rosen, Baroness von, [301].
Roumania espouses the Russian cause, [79].
Roumania, Prince Charles of, [251].
Roumanian gunners, difficulty in finding the range, [97];
troops, [60];
vessel blown up, [92].
Roy, Dr., [301], [392].
Russia, declaration of war, [88];
plan of campaign, [105].
Russians, hostility against Plevna, [121];
number of men, [126], [224];
defeated, [127], [177], [235];
losses, [137] note, [177], [224] note, [238];
their simple faith, [149];
attack on Grivitza, [171];
retreat, [172];
the dead, [179];
guns captured, [198];
victory at Lovtcha, [210];
capture redoubts, [232];
official statement on the result, [235];
retire to Radishevo, [236];
their parlementaire with Tewfik Pasha, [251]-[254];
victory at Telish, [313];
hospitality to doctors, [367];
entry of troops into Erzeroum, [371];
review, [371];
sufferings, [373];
cruelty to the Turks, [382].
Rustchuk, [9], [11].
S——, Dr., [30], [45];
his quarrel with a Turkish major, [46]-[48];
death, [48].
Sadik Pasha, [229], [256], [268].
Said Pasha, [105].
Salisbury, Lord, [372].
Samsoun, [315].
San Stefano, [265], [415], [418];
treaty of, [372].
Sardou, his play La Tosca, [416].
Schaffhausen, falls of, [9].
Schahoffskoi, Prince, [166].
Schilder-Schulder, General, [122];
his attack on Plevna, [126];
his force, [137] note.
Schmidt, [327].
Scudamore, Mr. F. Ives, [66], [307].
Scutari, [15].
Seraskierat, or War Office at Constantinople, [8], [14], [304].
Servia, appeal to the Powers, [50];
armistice declared, [60].
Sevastopol, [219].
Sgalevitcha, [198].
Shipka Pass, [86];
taken, [106].
Shumla, [99];
Regiment, [102].
Sieben Gebirge, [3].
Simois, [405], [414].
Sinope, [315].
Siropé, [325].
Sistova, [44], [106].
Sistovitch, General, [363].
Skobeleff, [35], [265], [419];
his advance on Lovtcha, [210];
attacks the Krishin redoubts, [229].
Slatin Bey, Fire and Sword in the Sudan, [194].
Smith, [284].
Smyrna, [420].
Sobatoff, General, [154].
Sofia, [24], [51], [53], [301];
march to, [21].
Soghanli Dagh, forest of, [325].
Soudan, [84].
Souzdal Regiment, [231].
Spanish women under fire, [91].
Stafford House Committee, vote of thanks, [392].
Stafford House doctors, [283];
hospital, [327], [336].
Stamboul, [11];
number of sieges and captures, [12];
by day, [14];
by night, [15].
Stephenson, [9].
Stettin, [419].
Stewart, Capt. Hon. R., Queen's Messenger, [10], [312].
Stewart, Colonel, [84].
Stiven, Dr., [25], [55], [392];
his relief march, [361]-[363].
Stoker, Bram, [10].
Stoker, Dr. George, [10], [284], [297], [374], [379], [381], [383], [390], [400], [404], [415];
his relief march, [361]-[363].
Stoney, Mr., [314].
Stracey, Colonel, [89].
Strangford, Lady, [301].
Styria, [4].
Suleiman Bey, [296].
Suleiman, Colonel, [21].
Suleiman Pasha, [86], [166].
Sutherland Duke of, [392].
Sweden, [3].
"Sweet Waters," [17].
Swire, Colonel, [308].
Sydney, [37], [39].
Tahir Pasha, [206].
Tallat Bey, [88].
Tatar Bazardjik, [20], [302].
Tchernaieff, General, [50].
Teheran, [325].
Telish, [299];
battle at, [313].
Téméraire, [309].
Tewfik Bey, [35], [146], [156], [163], [184], [206], [208], [419];
promoted to the rank of pasha, [250];
his parlementaire with the Russians, [251]-[254];
his charmed life, [418].
Therapia, British Embassy, [313].
Tiflis, [391].
Tiftig, or lint, [122].
Tirnova, [99], [166].
Todleben, [219].
Tooth-drawing, [76].
Trebizond, [315];
journey to, [403]-[413].
Trestenik, recapture of the village, [156].
Trojan Pass, [155].
Turin, [7].
Turkish baby, birth of a, [408].
Turkish dinner, [26].
Turkish soldiers, character, [13], [26], [424];
constitution, [13];
fortitude, [31], [131], [144];
compared with the Egyptian troops, [66];
religious prejudices, [132];
casualties, [137] note;
number of, [224];
reluctance to undergo operations, [240];
stoicism, [240].
Turkish women, under fire, [91];
devotion to the wounded, [282].
Turks, their religion, [77];
wrestling, [79];
superstition, [196];
victories, [177], [235];
losses, [177], [225] note;
defeated at Lovtcha, [210];
genius for fortification, [220];
defeated at Telish, [313].
Tutchenitza, [114], [117], [139], [181], [187], [239], [271].
Typhus, cases of, [329], [330], [334], [364], [388].
Vachin, [342], [343];
his theft of money, [355];
consigned to prison, [356];
released, [357].
Van, province of, [411].
Varna, [11].
Veltchiderma village, [108].
Vid, [112], [114], [157], [224], [259].
Vidpol, [103].
Vienna, [3], [9].
Villiers, Mr., [422].
Villiers, Fred, [423].
Vladimir Regiment, [231].
Vratza, [55].
Wady Halfa, [85].
Wagga,