Alexis Soyer

“ The view during the ascent is transcendently beautiful and refreshing—the sight of the harbour beneath filled with ships, the chain of rocky mountains, distant view of the Guards’ camp, the village of Kadikoi, its Greek church, the Zouave camp, and the traffic of thousands below, busily running to and fro, formed a naval and military tableau which well repaid us for our trouble. On reaching the verge of the hill facing the grand tower, which proudly bore the British flagstaff, Miss Nightingale and myself made an involuntary halt to admire this splendid view. ”

“ The turmoil and traffic of war had here given place to the quietude and repose of peace. The post-office, telegraph, and printing machines had ceased their movements; the vineyards alone appeared refreshing to the eye. Dr. Hall’s snuff-box hut was left open, and partly unroofed; General Wyndham’s quarters were quite deserted. The rope curtains taken from the Redan, and laid on the ground before the hut door, was all that remained which I could recognise, as they had upon my demand, been presented to me by the general’s aide-de-camp, whose name, to my regret, has escaped my memory. ”

“ My dear Monsieur Soyer,—What do you think? I am now a houseless, homeless wanderer: they have pulled down my house, so it is really time for me to evacuate the Crimea. The shell of the house only stands; and as I am not a lobster or an oyster, that will scarcely give me a shelter; so I must hang out on Cathcart’s Hill, in the old cave where Sir John Campbell lived long ago. ”

“ The gourmand’s stomach alone acts; he swallows all that is put before him, never praises the culinary artist, and seldom complains of the quality of the food, but frequently of the want of quantity.
Therefore, gourmets, epicures, high-livers, and wealthy merchants, who are gifted with a fine intellect, never allow yourselves to be called a gourmand if you are really deserving of the title of gourmet—and this title I confidently bestow upon my honourable friend Colonel Halliwell, who was not only a gourmet, but also a very good amateur cook. ”

“ Such are what I call the calamities, if not the horrors, of war; where all is destruction, and humanity is rendered inhuman. This was the prevailing feeling of about forty well-bred and brave military men—fifteen of whom were French, and the remainder Englishmen—sitting at the table-d’hôte of the “Hôtel des Ambassadeurs,” at Pera, on the 20th of March, 1854. Of that company, nearly a third, a few months after, had sacrificed their lives for the glory of their country.
The next morning, at half-past eight, I went with my dragoman to the horrid Tophané landing-place. ”

“ The Government, with a proper generosity, gave almost a carte blanche to the Medical Staff to order every medical comfort to the poor sick soldier who could no longer wield a sword or shoulder a musket, and who were perishing by diseases aggravated by improper diet and bad cooking. The art of the cuisine yields not in importance to medicine itself—it is the handmaid of the physician ”

“ Perhaps one of the most awful and sickening sights possible for humanity to conjure up was witnessed by myself and many others in the Russian hospital in the interior of Sebastopol. Piled up one on the other, or lying singly on the bare flooring, were strewn hundreds of Russians, dead and dying. The view would have struck terror into the heart of the greatest stoic. These men seemed to have been placed here out of the way to suffer and die, uncared for, unattended. On one side might be seen a poor creature writhing in the last throes of dissolution ”

“ Balaklava was a perfect garden; Kamiesch a well populated desert.
The evening of the 7th of September was a memorable one. Each mind was animated; men of the most pacific disposition were transformed into lions or tigers, furiously seeking to devour their prey.
Amidst the most terrible discharges of cannon, the order for the general attack was announced to the troops for the following day. The news acted like an electric spark, and inspired all hearts. Each soldier appeared to breathe more freely; hope, the enchantress, filled the hearts of the brave with enthusiasm ”

“ Having obtained a firman, or passe-partout, we were to be seen flying from palace to palace, mosque to mosque, bazaar to bazaar, kiosque to kiosque, hospital to hospital, cemetery to cemetery, prison to prison; from turning to howling dervishes, and from the Sweet Waters of Europe to those of Asia, and last, not least, to the Sultan’s kitchen, which to me was the only object of paramount interest.
Almost every one attached to the army had left the banks of the Bosphorus and returned to England. Only now and then did one meet a British uniform in Pera. ”

“ I frightened my cooks when I entered the kitchen. They had heard that I was dead, which I afterwards personally denied; but they did not think it possible I could look so bad. Purveyors, comptrollers, civilian and military doctors, Sisters of Mercy, all consoled me by saying, “I fear you will never get over it, Monsieur Soyer.”
“Well,” I replied to some of them, “that’s my business; at all events, I will do my best to deceive you.”
Nothing is less likely to restore a man when he is half dead than trying to persuade him that he must succumb. ”

“ Upon this occasion, Colonel Foley invited me to lunch at their grand mess-room, which invitation I accepted with great pleasure. Every one being on the move, invitations to dinner entirely disappeared from the order of the day. The rations were the only provisions which graced the last day’s bill of fare. Still, the salt pork, beef, and the fresh meat were very good, and highly relished by a Crimean appetite: added to which, the remains of a good English cheese, a salad à la Zouave, and good English draught ale, completed the sumptuous gala. ”

“ On my left hand is a well-constructed charcoal stove, containing six nine-inch square cooking-places, covered with glazed red tiles (a piece of which I have procured, and intend placing in my kitchen at Scutari) ; an oval one, about eighteen inches long by about six inches wide, on which the most delicious fish, game, meat, and poultry, were no doubt submitted to the highest perfection of the culinary art. At the spot at which I am now writing, the roasting by wood fire, and the broiling by red ashes, were carried on, as I perceive, by the remains of the hearth. ”

“ I bade my brave companions farewell, and left them quite a happy man, having entirely forgotten horse and saddle, in making the discovery that in lieu of four hundred yards of space, a dozen buildings, and about eighty men for each regiment, an immense consumption of fuel, and smoke enough to blind three parts of the army—as the men were all cooks in turn—my system was simple, effective, and vastly superior to that even of the French, which had hitherto always been considered as preferable to the English. ”

“ I have much pleasure in bearing my testimony to the great advantage of Monsieur Soyer’s field-stove over the usual method of cooking practised by an army, from the economy in fuel, the little attention it requires when the fire is once lighted, and its construction enabling the soldier to cook in the open air in all weathers. The slow process of boiling, also, which is easily regulated by the men after a day’s instruction, produces a more nutritious soup, and renders the meat more tender than when cooked in the ordinary way. Altogether, I consider the improvement one of great utility. ”

“ The thousands who have returned from the arid and devastated soil of the Crimea, under its burning sun, must have enjoyed the refreshing sight I have here attempted to describe. Even Miss Nightingale had enjoyed it from her cabin. She had been removed to the beautiful saloon upon deck, where she had a good view of the enchanting panorama, and appeared almost recovered from her fatiguing voyage; which proves how near pain is allied to pleasure, and vice versâ, particularly as refers to sea-sickness. ”

“ To the important information and improvements which from the first you brought to bear upon the culinary department at each hospital, have the sick been indebted for much of the comforts they enjoyed when in hospital; nothing does tend to console a patient, or to restore him, so much as the nicety of the food which is given him: on the other hand, the badly-cooked food which is so often found in hospitals where the cooks have not been trained, retard no doubt the convalescence of the sick, the patient rather turning from his meal than desiring it. ”

“ They breathe no more! Such are the chances of war, of life’s uncertainty. Man proposes, and the Supreme Being disposes. Instead of cheerful anecdotes, which a few weeks ago I could have related of those noble departed, I must here, for the present, cast a tenebrous veil over such earthly frivolity, and implore Providence to bestow a better fate upon the still great and noble and brave army. ”

“ The cannon of Sebastopol appeared to redouble its roar—so much so, that General Pelissier, with a smile, called General Simpson’s attention to the fact: added to which, the hundreds of uniforms, cocked hats and feathers—French, English, and Sardinian—gave full effect to the lively scene.
In course of conversation, General Simpson said, “Monsieur Soyer,—Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, in reply to your letter, sends his compliments, and regrets he shall not be able to attend your opening, as he must be on board the Caradoc, now lying in Kamiesch Bay, by five o’clock, on his way to Constantinople.” ”

“ My humble services have often been approved of by your superior officers, but believe me, nothing can be more gratifying to me than your genuine and spontaneous approval of my endeavours to improve the cooking of the soldiers’ rations; and now that peace has re-established order amongst us all, I shall only be too happy to devote my time in instructing you in the plain art of cookery; for, believe me, it is the desire of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and your superiors, that you should live well, long, grow fat, and die happy. ”

“ Constantinople, like London, has no quays; and on every side this immense metropolis plunges its feet, or banks, into the Bosphorus, from which it rises, offering to the view the most magnificent spectacle beneath the canopy of heaven. This is particularly the case from the Seraglio Point, where the real city of Istamboul is seated. The soil rises from the level of the water, presenting a vast amphitheatre of myriads of houses, mosques, minarets, and monuments of all descriptions, intermixed with forests of sombre cypress trees. ”

“ Among the fortunate tourists were General Staunton, Colonel Smith, Major Earle, Mr. William Russell, Mr. Angel, Mr. Crockford, and myself.
During the trip, our party was as turbulent as the ocean was calm. Each day commenced and ended with shouts of laughter, contrasting singularly with the former melancholy days in the camp. I need not relate that which is so well known to every one—that the most successful parties are those which are got up à l’impromptu. This was the case with this delightful trip ”

“ The fuel consumed to-day for cooking the messes of eight companies was hardly more than on ordinary occasions is consumed by one company; and from four hundred and twenty rations of salt pork and beef, forty-eight pounds of excellent lard was procured, which usually is wasted. These facts alone render Monsieur Soyer’s plan at once economical and desirable, and I have great pleasure in testifying my appreciation of the manner with which he conveys instruction to the men, in saying how highly I approve of his recipes and arrangements for carrying out his scheme of camp cookery. ”

“ Good health—a ferocious appetite—lots of capital ale, porter, sherry, port, champagne—laughter, puns, and fun in abundance—witty anecdotes, and plenty of songs, good, bad, and indifferent, prevailed. The sixteen officers were joined by about twenty more after dinner. They sat down anywhere and everywhere, even out of doors. It was, in fact, the most martial festival I had seen during my visit to the Crimea, and quite cast in the shade our former semi-banquet at head-quarters. ”