depict the excess of human suffering and devotion--the acme of English
heroism in a foreign land.

Meanwhile, the allied lines around Sebastopol were considerably
contracted, and several serious assaults were made on the Russian
works. On the twenty-third of February the French in front of the
bastion, called the Malakhoff, assaulted that stronghold with great
valor, but were unsuccessful. On the eighteenth of the following June
an attempt was made to carry the Redan, a strong redoubt at the other
extreme of the Russian defences, but the assailants were again
repulsed. Then, on the sixteenth of August, followed the bloody battle
of Tehernaya, in which the Russians made a final effort to raise the
siege. With a force of 50,000 infantry and 6000 cavalry they threw
themselves on the allied position, but were beaten back with great
slaughter.

In the meantime, the trenches of the allies had been drawn so near the
Russian works that there was a fair prospect of carrying the bastions
by another assault. A terrible bombardment was begun on the fifth, and
continued to the eighth of September, when both the Redan and the
Malakhoff were taken by storm. But the struggle was desperate, and the
losses on both sides immense. The Russians blew up their
fortifications on the south side of the harbor, and retreated across
the bay. Nor did they afterward make any serious attempt to regain the
stronghold which the allies had wrested from them. The victors for
their part proceeded to destroy the docks, arsenals and shipyards of
Sebastopol, and, as far as possible, to prevent the future occupancy
of the place by the Russians as a seat of commerce and war.

The siege and capture of Sebastopol virtually ended the contest,