Solicitude is now turned from the posit* of Kars to
that of Omar Pasha. Anxiety respecting the fate of General Williams is terminated by the certainty that he is now with his troops a prisoner of war. In the mean time, Omar Pasha has advanced as far as Khoni towards Kutais ; and if he was not advancing to the relief of General Williams, the fall of Kars prevents General Williams from acting as a diversion in favour of Omar Pasha. Mouravieff, who has shown so much ability in working out a difficult victory at Kars, will now be able to take his new adver- sary singlehanded. The truth is, that neither 'Williams nor Omar Pasha have had to deal with the Russians alone as their enemies; they have had enemies elsewhere. The neglect to relieve Kars—unless it be ex- plained in some unexpected manner—fastens a stigma upon the Allied Governments. The long defence of the isolated town re- quired the most courageous encounter of an armed enemy, and the' still more courageous fortitude to face hunger and the defection of friends. As to Turkey, no one expected her to be able to send effectual relief to Kars by her own unaided means. She needed to take men from Asia, rather than to send them thither ; and from her Asian provinces she had brought some of her most ef- fective troops. The genuine Turks, indeed, reside principally in that region : but they are not quite reconciled to the alliance with the Giaour ; and they are a cause of anxiety if not of trouble to the Porte, which has enough to do in keeping its own ground while the Allies deal with Russia. But why were the Allies not there ? The English, it is said, were ready : did French jealousy of English advance in Northern Asia put a bar in their way ?
