We went to war with Russia.

A magnificent squadron of British first-rates was despatched to the Black Sea with the avowed object of destroying the Russian Fleet, which had characteristically annihilated the Turkish Fleet in the harbour of Sinope.

We did not do much in the Black Sea beyond running the Tiger on shore, where her crew were captured by the Muscovites.

We bombarded Odessa perfunctorily, and precisely in that portion of the city where our shot and shell could do the least harm.

We did not destroy the Russian Fleet, for the sufficing reason that the Russian Commander-in-Chief sank all his three-deckers full fathom five in the harbour of Sebastopol.
'In the Baltic, however, there was a little more fighting to show for the many millions sterling wrung from the British taxpayer.