the several cases needed, and which could only be met in this way. “The Somerset Fund,” so quiet and unpretending in its exercise, was of great benefit to the corps; and of about sixty women and nearly one hundred children who, by loans and grants, drew support from its means, not one ever had occasion to seek the cold shelter of a workhouse. With one or two exceptions, the wives of the sappers behaved with virtuous propriety during the absence of their husbands, and were a credit both to them and the corps. The Central Association was a national undertaking, in which the wives and families of the corps, equally with those of the rest of the army, shared to the full extent of its numbers. It properly does not belong to this history to notice the gigantic operations of the Association, and the extraordinary good it achieved; but it may nevertheless be permitted to say, that the royal sappers and miners will ever retain a warm recollection of its beneficence, and cherish the name of Major the Hon. Henry Littleton Powys—the untiring advocate of protection to the soldier’s wife and family, and the gratuitous Honorary Secretary of the Association—with feelings of lasting gratitude. 1854. CRIMEA. September—18th October. Instructional operations—Embarkation for the Crimea—The landing—The sappers sink wells—Attempt to erect a pier for landing the horses—Bed of the Bulganak improved with reeds for the passage of artillery—The Alma—Services of the sappers during the battle—They repair the Buliack timber bridge—March to Balaklava; Sir John Burgoyne; services of the third company—The corps encamps at Balaklava—Then removes to the heights before Sebastopol; misery for want of tents—Parties assist to reconnoitre the positions and trace the lines—An instance given—Two sappers carrying the mail miss their way, are wounded and benighted—Destruction of Upton’s aqueduct—Positions on the heights; staff engineers—The attacks; parks—Sapper brigades—Reliefs—Breaking ground—Duties of the sappers—Their deficiency of tact in working the skilled portions of the batteries—Progress of the works; a party wanders from the trace—Sergeant Morant misses his way, and only discovers his mistake when encountered by a Russian guard—A mistrusted guide restores confidence by his conduct—State of the works on the night before the first bombardment—The batteries and parallels—Siege operations—Restoration of the works—Sir John Burgoyne’s remarks on them.