Down in the South, in the Sea of Azov, which the map shows us to lie just north of the Black Sea, our Bluejackets were doing splendid service in the latter months of 1855. The towns of Genitchesk and Taganrog were shelled with great loss to the Russians, but as they moved their stores farther inland the occasion arose for individual expeditions which aimed at destroying these. The story of the fleet’s operations in this quarter, therefore, resolves itself into a relation of the several attempts, successful and otherwise, to harass the enemy in this way. That the task of setting fire to the store buildings was attended with tremendous risk was proved over and over again. One or two daring spirits, including a French captain, were caught and shot by Cossack patrols. But there are always men to be found ready--nay, anxious--to undertake enterprises of so desperate a nature. Wellington had the renowned scout, Major Colquhoun Grant (whose adventures in the Peninsula teem with romance), doing wonderful “intelligence” work for him; and to come to more recent times, we may call to mind Lord Kitchener’s daring journey through the Soudan in 1884, disguised as an Arab, for the purpose of learning what were the intentions of the various tribes with regard to Egypt. In the Crimea such men as Lieutenants Day, Buckley, Burgoyne, and Commerell acted as the eyes and ears of their commanders, and volunteered for those little jobs that so infuriated the Russians when the red glow in the midnight sky showed them where stacks of forage and other stores blazed merrily. Day’s V.C. was awarded him for a most valuable piece of work. His ship was stationed off Genitchesk (frequently spelt Genitchi), in the north-eastern corner of the Crimea, and it was deemed necessary to reconnoitre the enemy’s lines to ascertain the full strength of the Russians. For this dangerous service the young lieutenant volunteered. Accordingly, one night he was landed alone on the Tongue, or Spit, of Arabat, at the spot he had chosen whence to start. Cossacks, singly or in small companies, policed the marshy wastes, but Day wriggled his way between their posts and eventually got close to the Russian gunboats. The dead silence that prevailed misled him as to the numbers thereon, and convinced that the vessels were deserted he returned to report the facts to his captain. The next day circumstances induced him to suppose that he had been mistaken. He decided to make a second journey without loss of time, and one night very soon afterwards saw him again on the Spit. Day soon discovered that large reinforcements had arrived on the mainland, and at once made haste to return to his ship.