The :Turks, it 'would appear, have succeeded in throwing rein-
forcementsinto their fortresses on the Danube ; and notwithstand- ing the severity of the season, a strong corps had crossed that river, and made bold inroads into the provinces beyond. The Pacha of Widdin is said to be at the head of thirty thousand men ; and the presence of the Grand Duke Constantine with the Polish army, is held out as the only means by which the Russians can be saved from retreating across the Pruth.
The Bosphorus has been declared in a state of strict blockade. The Russian squadron in the Gulf of Bourgas has captured a small island, of little consequence to the Turks, or value to their enemy. The proposed connexion between the Ottoman Government and the United States of America has suddenly come to an end. The Americans proposed, as the basis of a treaty, the free passage of the Dardanelles to all nations ; but this most republican proposi- tion was instantly rejected, with the dignity befitting Turks.
