In my last letter, we left the Austrian General, Prince of Saxe Cobourg, directing his march towards Choczim. He sat down before that fortress about the middle of March, and immediately began to invest it; but the moment the Turks were informed that the enemy had entered Moldavia, they detached a corps of 40,000 men, to drive them out of the province. On the approach of these troops, the Prince of Saxe Cobourg was obliged to raise the siege; and, on the 16th and 17th of May, he crossed the Dniester, and retired, with his whole army, out of the Turkish territories: but, being afterwards reinforced by a large corps of Russians, he again, on the 2d of July, advanced towards Choczim, and, by the 23d, the greatest part of the town was reduced to ashes. The Turks, however, continued to defend themselves with great valour, till the end of September, when they were obliged to surrender their post. The garrison, consisting of about 3,000 men, marched out with the honours of war. The grand army of the Russians, under Prince Potemkin; and the fleet under the Prince of Nassau, are laying close siege to Oczakow. I have already mentioned the Captain Bashaw's departure for the protection of this fortress. The Russian fleet met him at the northern part of the Black Sea; but, finding the Turkish force much greater than they expected, they retreated without giving battle. The Captain Bashaw immediately threw out the signal for a general chace; but, owing to the superior sailing of the Russian fleet, only four of his line of battle ships got within gunshot of the enemy, and even these could keep up with them but a very short time. The Russians made the best of their way towards Kimbourn; and the Captain Bashaw, the moment this partial action was over, executed two of his Captains for not having made those exertions he expected, and sailed in pursuit of the enemy, with these delinquents hanging at his yard-arm. The Turkish ships appear to me just what we conceive of the Spanish Armada; and we have seen how difficult it is for such a fleet to act to advantage against an evading enemy, who, though much inferior in numbers, is considerably farther advanced in nautical skill, and in the science of artillery. The Russians, with the utmost diligence, secured themselves within the Liman, covered by the guns of Kimbourn and the opposite batteries. The Captain Bashaw, finding their position too strong to admit of a direct attack, embarked his troops in his gun-boats and small-craft, in hopes that, by a _coup de main_, he should possess himself of the enemy's batteries, and open a passage for his ships; but in this attempt he was unsuccessful; and several of his boats, getting aground, were burnt by the enemy.