We may daily expect to hear that an Austrian army
has en- tered Wallachia, as Lord John Russell stated in the House of Commons on Thursday, for the purpose of occupying and guarding the Principalities, if they be vacated by the Russians, or of driving out the invaders if they have not already retreated. Austria ad- vances under a convention with the Porte ; and obviously she is brought effectually into the field. Early in the week the tele- graph announced that the Czar accepted the ultimatum of Aus- tria, and had notified the evacuation of the Principalities "as a mark of high consideration" for his friend : but down to the 28th no answer had been received at Vienna from St. Petersburg ; and the anxiety created by the announcement, lest Austria should be thus tempted to turn aside from the Western alliance, is dis- sipated. There are not the slighest signs of any such de- viation, while the accounts from Russia itself supply every incentive for Austria to persevere. The movements of marching and of observation now indicate that Russia regards Austria as a recognized enemy, and that the Emperor Nicholas is by no means inclined to give way ; while the general retreat of the Russian forces throughout Wallachia implies a state of discomfiture on the part of Russia not calculated to impress any of her opponents with fear. For the retreat is obvious, though the ground upon which the Russians mean to "form up" is not so evident. From Giurgevo and to the Dobrudscha they are in a backward move- ment. No mention is made of the surrender of the towns in the Lower Danube ; which might imply that they are still to sup- port the Russian left wing, the right being drawn back so as to form a broad front having Austria as well as Turkey and her allies before it. Meanwhile, the Austrian army under Coronini is ex- pected to march down the left bank of the Danube, respecting the territory of Servia, and tacitly inviting Russia not to resist the advance ; whik expectation now begins to fasten upon Sebastopol as the meat aim of the allied forces.
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