war,' was the remark of a French general.

Shortly afterwards occurred the desperate fight of Inkermann, November 5,
1854, where about 8000 British troops bravely stood their ground for hours
against 40,000 Russians. Upon their ammunition running short, some of our
brave men, rather than retreat, hurled volleys of stones at the foe.
Ultimately, a strong body of the French came to their aid, and the
Russians were driven from the field.

Not long after this encounter, the besiegers met with a disaster which did
them more harm than all the assaults of the Russian hordes. A terrific
storm swept across the Black Sea and the Crimea, November 14, 1854. A
great number of the vessels in Balaklava harbour were wrecked, and there
was an immense loss of stores of all kinds intended for the troops. The
hurricane also produced the most dreadful consequences on land. Tents were
blown down, fires extinguished, and food and cooking utensils destroyed.
The poor soldiers, drenched to the skin, and without so much as a dry
blanket to wrap round them, had to pass the dreary night as best they
could upon the soft wet ground. For some time afterwards there was a great
scarcity of food and clothing and other necessaries, and much suffering
was endured during the long dreary winter. When tidings of these
misfortunes reached England there was much indignation against the
government, and especially against the officials whose duty it was to keep
the army properly supplied with stores. The prime-minister, the Earl of
Aberdeen, resigned, and was succeeded by Lord Palmerston. Vigorous steps
were now taken to provide for the comfort of the troops, and in a short
time the camp was abundantly supplied with everything necessary.

All through the following summer the siege operations went on. Nearer and
nearer approached the trenches towards the doomed city, which at intervals