During the darkness of the 9th, a sortie was made by the Russians which was gallantly repulsed by the guard of the trenches on the right. The Russians left many dead on the field, while the casualties among the besiegers did not exceed 13 wounded. There were 20 sappers in the right works at the time, who, as soon as the sortie terminated, were doubled up to the left advance saps, and before the coming relief, replaced the gabions and sand-bags which had been capsized and plugged up all the gaps and shot-holes in the parapets. That night a new communication was begun from the second parallel to the right advanced trench. Eight sappers were employed in heading the sap and lodging the gabions, of which no less than 150 were firmly fixed; and the cover obtained was such that the exertions of the workmen were justly praised. The work was on the slope of a hill exposed to an oblique fire; and though difficult to form the parapet at the extremity from the presence of rock, it yielded at length to perseverance which was as constant as intrepid. The tenth company under Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon and Major Stanton of the engineers, were afloat in the ‘William Jackson,’ with the expedition to the Sea of Azof from the 3rd to the 8th of May. Without attempting operations, the troops were suddenly recalled, and landing at Balaklava on the 8th, the sapper contingent marched two days later to their old places in the trenches. Rain set in on the night of the 10th and turned the lines into wet ditches. Working parties, furnished as usual, persevered in vain to make way against the drenching storm and the strong wind that blew. Every step buried them over their shoe-tops. Returning to camp, wet and miserable, with soaked beards swabbing their breasts, not a few seemed by their bemired appearance, as if some catastrophe had rolled them in a marsh. Throughout the day of the 11th the rain continued to pour; the mud had much increased, and sheets of water stood in the batteries and parallels at places where hollows or uneven ground favoured such accumulations. The soles of the embrasures were ankle deep, and seams were made in the merlons and roofs of the magazines by the wearing flow of the rain. The sappers and working parties again held their places in the batteries, for nothing excused them as long as there was a chance of making progress, however trivial. Much was attempted, but little succeeded beyond replacing some overturned gabions and patching up rifts in some of the more important constructions. Sergeant Kester Knight, and a small force of carpenters on the right attack, toiled with exemplary zeal at one of the magazines of No. 14 battery; but their progress was at length interrupted by a considerable portion of the timber prepared for the work having been abstracted. Some of the beef barrels, likewise, wanted for revetments in other parts of the trenches, were unhooped, and the staves captured for camp uses by the working party. Strange that men