The Turks appear to have devised a tolerably effective pro-
tection for the monitors in the Danube against the torpedo-boats which were so successful on their first attack. On Saturday night, some Russian launches in the Kilia month of the Danube attempted the same sort of enterprise as that which was so suc- cessful a few weeks ago, against two Turkish monitors in the Selina mouth of the river. But by Hobart Pasha's order the monitors were surrounded by boats fastened together by chains, and the Russian launches struck the chains, and so gave warning of their attempt, without having got near enough to the monitors to injure them severely by their torpedoes ; nevertheless, one of the monitors was slightly injured. On the other hand, the grape fired into the Russian launches injured them severely, and some of the party were drowned, and six, it is said, taken prisoners. The device of thus surrounding an ironclad with small boats connected by a chain seems, therefore, a useful one, but it is obviously inapplicable except to vessels at anchor, as it would be impossible to move surrounded by such appendages. For a blockading or cruising squadron, this expedient would be useless.
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