No cessation of hostilities has taken place; no armistice will be listened to, and the siege goes on. Enormous preparations have been made both by the French and English, for continuing their operations with increased vigor as soon as the weather will permit. Omer Pacha has been ordered, with his army of forty thousand men, to proceed to Eupatoria, where he has landed, and will be able to operate on the rear of the Russians, while the British and French attack in front, and if kept well supplied both with men and means, we may expect something brilliant from his well-earned prowess and reputation. Whether we are approaching the close of the war, or the beginning of it, is a question which no human foresight can, at the present moment, determine. The question is one of deep importance to the world generally, for war brings so many evils in its train, is so exhausting in blood and treasure, interrupts the commercial transactions of nations so painfully, and retards civilization so seriously, that we cannot but hope that the year which thus commences with slaughter may close in peace. A winter campaign under the most favorable circumstances is rife with suffering and death; but much can be done to mitigate these evils by a system of thorough discipline on the part of those in command. Every arrival, however, from the Crimea, brings tales of woe and misery coupled with additional confirmation of the gross mismanagement which has characterized the conduct of the British army since its first arrival in the East. In battle, British officers and soldiers have proved themselves heroes, yet in the organization of the different departments, in everything which contributes to the comfort and health both of officers and men, as well as in the commissariat, they have proved themselves lamentably deficient. In contrast with the admirable organization of the French army under similar circumstances, it would seem difficult to account for the comparative comfort in the one case, and the miserable lack of it in the other; but upon a careful analysis of the two systems, the cause becomes at once apparent. The French army is essentially a democratic institution, in which promotion depends entirely upon individual merit. Vigilance, activity, and energy is the price of position, and with a possibility of attaining a higher rank, the common soldier as well as the officer, has an incentive for extra exertion, and something to hope for in the future.