The Press. — London, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

1216 There was a moment when it seemed likely the battle would be lost It was about noun, when three battalions of French infantry were brought into action, and were thrown into con fusion as they were scathed by the Russian fire, on reaching the crest of the hill : I cannot describe to you the sinking sensation one felt on observing our allies give way ; our first impression was that they had retired, beaten back by the overpowering masses of Russian infantry, and consequently that our thin line of troops had been broken through, if not anni hilated. It was the only time that I ever observed Lord Raglan's countenance change. I confess myself that, for the moment, I thought the day was lost. Lord Raglan, with an exclamation of astonishment and annoyance at the retreat of the French, immediately despatched an aide-de-camp to General Pennefather, who was on the left of the line of the 2nd Division, to ascertain the cause of this, and also to find out how we were getting on in that quarter. General Pennefather sent word in reply that he could hold his own perfectly well, and that he saw symptoms of retiring on the part of the enemy's infantry. If this movement proved to be a general retreat, and if he could be reinforced with fresh troops, he said he would follow the enemy up, " and lick them to the devil." Lord Raglan was delighted at this spirited answer, and, riding over to General Canrobert, translated General Pennefather's words literally to him. General Canrobert, who had just remounted his horse, after having his arm bound up, exclaimed, " Ali ! quel brave gargon! quel brave homme ! quel hon general!" When fairly engaged with the enemy the French troops proved themselves worthy of their ancient fame. But again the author charges the French with the blame of refusing to follow up the victory by pursuit. We come to a passage of the book to which we entreat our readers' serious attention. General Sir De Lacy Evans has been cried up as a hero, and has received a hero's rewards. What was his conduct immediately after In kermann had been won ? We allow the author to answer the question : Lord Raglan was shortly after joined by Sir I)e Lacy Evans, who took upon himself to give his lordship the most wonderful counsel and advice which, perhaps, ever fell from the lips of a British general. He urged upon Lord Raglan the utter uselessness, and, indeed, impracti cability, of attempting to hold our present position, sup posing the enemy's attack to be renewed, of which there was every probability. He therefore gave it as his opinion that there was nothing to he done but for us to raise the siege, embark the troops in the best way we could, and evacuate the Crimea. Such was the meaning, if not the actual words, used by one of the oldest and most expe rienced generals we have in the army out here ! Lord Raglan of course never for one second entertained such a project ; but, with his usual courtesy, he took the trouble of pointing oat to Sir De Lacy the absurdity of his propo sition. In the first place, even admitting we had gained no victory, that could not justify the abandonment of our siege train and material to the enemy, which we should necessarily be obliged to do from the impossibility of em barking it. In the second place, supposing that we had transport enough to carry all the English troops, what was to become of the French, as we had brought certainly half their present force to the Crimea ? Besides this, there were the Turkish troops unprovided for. Would Sir De Lacy Evans counsel that our allies should be left in the lurch ?—not quite an English mode of dealing with our friends ! Altogether there is no way of explaining this most extraordinary plan of Sir I)e Lacy Evans. One can ohly account for it by the fact that he was in a feeble state of health, and that possibly his illness may have affected his mind as well as his body. Yet General Evans was made the champion of some malcontents in the army, and was to go to England to expose Lord Raglan's mis management. At a subsequent period Lord Raglan's firm ness was put to a severer trial than by General Evans. It is known that the Emperor Napo leon had proposed the plan of a campaign in the field in the summer of 1855, and we learn from this book that the plan was approved by the French and English Governments, and that orders were sent out to the allied com manders to carry it out if practicable. Full details are given by the author (i. 384). We refer to the subject here only to notice the resolution with which Lord Raglan adhered to his idea of the necessity of continuing the siege. In spite of the earnest remonstrances of Generals Canrobert, and the instructions from home, he refused to give up the English trenches to the Turks. He would not run the risk of allowing the Russians the triumph of capturing British guns. His conduct at this . crisis of the war was worthy of Wellington himself. His firmness at last prevailed. Canrobert, unwilling to incur the respensi kility of disobeying the Emperor's orders, re signed. and was succe eded by P e lis s ic r , wh o cordially fell in with Lord Raglan's ideas. The capture of the Alam e l on w as decided. The following extract is curious : A Council of War was held at the French head-quarters, consisting of the principal officers of engineers and THE PRESS. artillery of the English and French armies. Marshal Pe lissier was also present, and made a speech to the officers previous to the council, in which he stated that he was aware that those whom he then addressed would be very diligent in devising various schemes for the reduction of Sebastopol, but be begged to inform them that on the 7th instant the Mamelon Vert, the Ouvrages Blanca, and the Quarries must be taken, adding, " Lord Raglan and I have decided it;" and he, therefore, wished to impress upon them that they were there only for the purpose of arrang ing and settling the best means of carrying this decision into execution. I understand that here General Bosquet took upon himself to dissent altogether from the views of the commander•in•chief, but was immediately stopped by General Pelissier, who begged to remind him of what he had just said—that the attack was decided upon. General Bosquet male no further remark. General Niel then got up, having in his hand a long written statement, which he proceeded to read as follows :—" In operations of this kind it is necessary to commence at the beginning. Now to commence with the left." General Pelissier here interrupted him, and pointing to the map said, " We will suppose the left side not to exist; we will speak as if there was no left. I know you are all gentlemen of genius and science, and could give me good advice if I asked it. But I do not want it. The entire responsibility belongs to Lord Raglan and to me. I have announced to you our determination : the Mamelon Vert, the Ouvrages Blanco, and the Quarries are to be taken on the 7th of June. Now, if any of you have suggestions to make as to the means of accomplishing this end, pray state them." You may imagine after this no one was bold enough to go con trary to General Pelissier's wishes, and the French gene. rals for the first time were astonished to find that they had a man of spirit and determination as their chief, whose will was law. The troops were rejoiced at the prospect of action : It was about half-past five p.m. that Lord Raglan, accompanied by the whole of the staff, left head-quarters and rode up to Cathcart's•hill, in front of the 4th Division. On his arrival in the camps, his lordship was greeted with the most tremendous cheers; all the men turning out of their huts and tents, crowded round the staff, and made the whole plateau resound with their loud huzzas. Nothing could exceed the spirits of the troops. This excitement had, indeed, commenced the day before, for, on Lard Raglan passing through the camps on the 6th instant, to see the opening of our fire, he was vociferously cheered by the men. General Pelissier also came in for his share of popularity with the British soldiers, for on returning from Port Victoria on that evening he was received with loud plaudits by the Light Division, which was taken up in succession by each of the English divisional camps through which he rode. I understand from his staff that he was much touched with this proof of popu larity, and, with tears in his eyes, he turned to an aide de-camp and said, " With troops in such high spirits as these, we cannot but succeed." The attack succeeded, to the great delight of Pelissier. We have not seen the following previously : Before concluding my letter, I must tell you a curious fact, showing how necessary it is for a general com manding an army in the field to use his own discretion, even when contrary to the orders that he may receive from home. The responsibility is of course great, but his reliance in his own judgment should be greater. The instance was as follows :—Shortly before General Pelissier left the French head-quarters to witness the attack against the enemy's works on the afternoon of the 7th instant, lie received a telegraphic message from the Emperor Napoleon, ordering him on no account to assault the Mamelon, as his Majesty considered that it would be attended with defeat and disaster. General Pelissier quietly put the telegram in his pocket, and shortly afterwards moanted his horse and rode off to witness the capture of the Mamelon, &c. When all was over, and he had returned to camp, lie allowed it in triumph to some officers of his personal staff—a great contrast to General Canrobert's conduct when he received the order for the recal of the Kertch expedition. It is noticeable, that after Lord Raglan's death, the British army was handled in a far inferior manner to what it had been when he was at the head of it. Without wishing to detract from the soldierly qualities of General Simpson, it is evident that his disposition of troops for the attack on the Bth of September contrasts most disadvantageously with the preparations made by Lord Raglan for the attack on the 18th June. Had Lord Raglan lived to direct the British army on occasion of the final attack on Sebastopol, it is probable that the war would have closed with far higher honour to our arms than was actually the case. We need not say, after these extracts, how richly the volumes will pay perusal, or how important they are to a true understanding of the war. We think it will be impossible for any one hereafter to attempt to disparage the ability of Lord Raglan, or to deny the eminent services he rendered to his country by his sagacity and firmness. The time is at hand when justice must be done to his memory; and nothing would do greater honour to the country than a general subscription to raise a national monument in commemoration of his invincible fortitude, and our grateful, though tardy, recognition of it. SATURDAY, The Paragreens on a Visit to the Paris Universal Exhibition. By the Author of " Lorenzo Benoni," and " Doctor Antonio." London : Hamilton, Adams, and Co. THIS little volume is a capital Christmas book, lively, cheerful, and hearty in its humour. It has the same freshness and ease as the writer's former works, which obtained such general praise, while it exhibits an increased range of his powers. It is more humorous than witty, and its pleasantry is not made pungent by acrid sneers, or cynical criticism. It is the account of an eminently respectable family, who resided (we use the past tense) at Peck. ham, and who were connected with the dis tinguished house of "Joliffe, of Hackney," of whom Alderman Joliffe was the head. The adventures of Mr. Paragreen, his stately wife, his daughters, and the young hopeful of the family, are all related in a style of mirthful vivacity, which scarcely required the graphic pencil of Leech for the illustration of the volume. We give the book its appropriate praise, when we say ' that none but a soured spirit could refuse to reward its author with a laugh at the Paragreens. Many of our readers must remember the fearful griefs which they endured on their trip to Paris, in the eventful year when the Para greens invaded that famous city. Some of them may fancy that they were present at the following scene at the railway : "Are you sure the luggage is safe?" suddenly asked Mrs. Paragreen. The luggage was the lady's mania. " Quite safe, my dear, I have got a ticket for it." " Where ?" inquired the lady anxiously. "Why, in my waistcoat pocket, with our other tickets." " Are you quite certain, now, Mr. Paragreen ?—you had better look before it's too late." "My dear, I am so jammed." " Nonsense give me that bag," making a snatch at it. ➢ir. Paragreen put his hand into the right side pocket— " Bless my heart !" he ejaculated. " I thought so!" groaned Mrs. Paragreen. " Here they are !' proclaimed Mr. Paragreen, red as a furnace, flourishing a thin piece of paper, and six slips of card. " I'll bet anything you'll lose them as you did when--" a great push from behind compromised for an instant the equilibrium of the speaker, and stopped the phrase. " It' that nasty fellow outside would only open the door !" grumbles Mr. Paragreen, who feels horridly hot—having, besides Emma and Arabella, three umbrellas, four para sols, a large bag, and a waterproof garment to take care of. The nasty fellow outside does not choose to open the door, but continues calmly examining the nice crowd in side with the expressive eye of an amateur of natural history scrutinising a collection of caged wild beasts ; in• deed, he hears yells from within which might lead any one to suppose that a menagerie was waiting fur first-class places. The survey over, he takes a turn up and then a turn down, suddenly starts off on some unknown errand, as if going away for ever, dashes back like a thunderbolt, flings the door open, hastily withdraws, and seeks safety in flight. Little (lid the Paragreens know what awaited them at Paris. They were soon taught that they could not rule people as if they were ensconced in all their suburban dignity at Peckham. On their arrival Paris looked—but let the author's narrative pen record the first charms of the Lutetia of the Romans :-- It was eight o'clock in the evening. Crowds of people were sauntering in the streets and on the Boulevards, glad to breathe the cool air of evening after the sultriness of the day ; crowds of people sat enjoying their coffee and cigars in front of cafés; crowds of omnibuses, hackney coaches, cabs, and private equipages of every kind, crossed and re crossed in every direction. English, French, Sardinian, and Turkish flags, were streaming out from shops and balconies. Paris, in fact, was looking as lively, coquettish, and bewitching, as only Paris can look when she chooses. But most of the witchery of the scene—keenly enjoyed, though, by the younger Paragreens—was lost for the nonce on their respectable parents, who sat with their heads oat of opposite windows, one watching with anxiety the cite- dine in the van, the other the citadine in the rear. In this attitude they reached the Hotel de la Cigogne, Rue St. Honors, recommended by Mrs. Paragreen's cousin, Alderman Joliffe, who had spent some days there, and whose lips had pronounced the dictum of " a clean, re spect Able, reasonable house," so reverentially inscribed in Mr. Paragreen's note-book. We fancy that we see the Paragreens arriving, little anticipating that they were on the eve of being fleeced. Their first adventure was in search of lodgings : Mr. Paragreen being a practical man who left as little as possible to chance, alighted and said he would see the rooms with his own eyes, and settle with the landlord, be fore any of the others got out or any of the boxes were touched. The head waiter of the Hotel de la Cigogne, in shirt sleeves, white cravat, and red slippers , was sitting astride a chair, his face to its back, puffing away at a cigar!