Varna, a fortified seaport of Bulgaria, on the shore of the Black Sea, half way between the Bosphorus and the mouth of the Danube, was the rendezvous appointed for the British and French forces. Lord Raglan, who, as Lord Fitzroy Somerset, had lost an arm under the Great Duke at Waterloo, was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army; Maréchal Saint-Arnaud that of the French; and the veteran Omar Pasha that of the Turkish. The Russian commanders had learnt that, whatever might be the incapacity of the Sublime Porte for rule, its troops were composed of excellent fighting material when well commanded. The Turkish garrison of Silistria, on the Danube, maintained such a stubborn defence for many weeks under two English officers, Captain Butler, of the Ceylon Rifles, and Lieutenant Nasmyth, of the East India Company's Service, that at last the Russians had to raise the siege, on June 22, after losing more than 12,000 men. At Giurgevo, again, on July 7, General Soimonoff (who afterwards fell at the Battle of Inkermann) was badly beaten, and soon afterwards the whole of the Russian forces were withdrawn beyond the Pruth, and Turkish territory was free from invaders. This movement was due, no doubt, in some measure, to the action of Austria, who had demanded the evacuation of the Principalities, backed her demand by a threatening movement of troops, and actually concluded a convention with the Porte on June 14. [Illustration: _H. E. Dawe._} {_From an Engraving._ HER MAJESTY IN THE ROYAL PEW, ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR, 1846.] The great arsenal and harbour of Russia was Sebastopol in the Crimea, and it was on this point that the attention of Ministers in London and Paris was chiefly concentrated. There has been great variance in the accounts of how it came to be decided that the attack of the Allies should be directed on that town. It is sufficient to state here that, on June 29, a despatch was sent to Lord Raglan, strongly urging the necessity of a prompt attack upon Sebastopol and the Russian fleet, but leaving the final decision to the discretion of the Allied Commanders. Lord Raglan did not read these instructions as leaving him any choice, but regarded them, as he afterwards stated, as "little short of an absolute order from the Secretary of State," and prepared to obey it. He was a veteran soldier, it is true, but he had acquired his experience in campaigns before the days of steam and electricity, and the incessant and rapid interchange of despatches between Downing Street and the seat of war no doubt was somewhat bewildering. [Illustration: _R. Simkin._} {_From Contemporary Prints._ A. Corporal. B. Sergeant. C. Officers--Undress. D. Full Dress. E. Privates. UNIFORMS OF THE ROYAL MARINES, 1837.] [Sidenote: The Invasion of the Crimea.]