New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-02-21
satisfied were IL compelled 10 raise the siege OF
Sebastopol fruitlessly. That statement decided

and led to the resi- gnation OF the French minister
who had identified himself with them. Mr.. King
lake takes occasion At this point to defend Lord
John Russell from the imputation OF. Willingness
to accept unsatisfactory peace conditions he
succeeds In showing that Lord John acted az
Vienna with sound judgment and stanch patriot
ism. and that the fierce attack made upon him
in Parliament, which led TO his resignation. was
the result Of ignorance Of facts which 1t was then
impossible for the Government to lay before
public Of which, Mr. Kinglake observes, y" the
enemy formed a part" The situation was such
that Lord John Russell had to resign to save the
Cabinet nor could he even after his resignation
vindicate himself before the House, the same
necessity for secrecy still obtaining whether he
was in or out of office. The decision Of the French
Emperor to reject the peace proposals. however.
changed the state Of affairs, freed the hands OF
the English Government, and permitted horu
John TO rejoin the Cabinet.
Meantime General Canroberts position was DC
coming intolerable, and was rendered quiVe 81 Wy
the course Of General Pelissier' then oiNiSioN
commander in the Crmean army. feiissier was
w.. .avnno,od hv Mel or the Emperor lie
neither knew nor cared for any secret plan
But he saw that the Russians were being allowed
to DEFY and insult the Allies by pushing their
yanced parallels and he was not prepared to stand
this. So he wrote powerful letter 10 inc EN-
peror in which he demonstrated the absolute
necessity of capturing the contemporaries as
a preliminary to any organized aggressive move
ment. whether on the old lines or by investment;
and he followed up his advice by attacking and
taking the counter approaches which were nearest
to his position. The result was that poor Can
Ill III hold dormant commits
SION authorizing him to invest Pelissier with the
command in chief in certain contingencies, and
he considered that one Of those contingencies bad
arrived so handed over the command and stepped
down himself into corps command. MIR. King
lake does not visit Canrobert with much blame
but holds that he should not have allowed the
Emperor to compromise him as he did, and espe-
cially should have refused to be put in an atti-
tude Of duplicity and bad faith toward LORD nag
Ian. Yet it seems difficult to determine how he
could have resisted the Emperors will save by
resigning: and had he resigned it is questionable
whether his successor would not nave proven Us
doci1e to the Tuileries dictation.
During the pei cd covered by this volume there
was not much or important action in the field.
The Russian contemporaries, the regular
trench-work of the Allies sorties, the April bonn
bardment, the failure Of the Russian attack on
Eupatoria constitute the main events. All OF
these are related in Mr.. Kinglakes weil-known
picturesque nervous and vivid manner. His
STYLE inimitable Of its kind, is as rich and flexible
as ever, and the only change III indeed 1t be
Change and not an accident we perceive IN him,
is a somewhat restrained temper. He gives fewer
of those wonderful pen-portraits which his early
volumes are full of, and he yields less to the
passionate repugnance against wrong for what he
thought wrong) which formerly tipped his pen with
fire. But he is no less graphic in description than
heretofore. and a fine example Of his power Is the
account of Captain Odershaw's gallant fight In Ad-
vapced Battery No. VII during eight hours or
furious bombardment by the Russian guns. IL
is altogether too long for quotation but as preface
to it Mr.. Kinglake gives a study OF the action OF
q round shot after it has left the muzzie OF the
gun which is SO Characteristic and so well done
that we yield to the temptation to transfer IL 10
our columns:
This No VII battery had q small return
AZ each flank and within the two angles thus
formed good, sound magazines had been Duilt'
but elsewhere the Work was on straight line.
almost entirely of sand-bags IT'S para,
net with n height of some 8, had a width oil
about 8 feet: but nevertheless was not strong
enough on the day of Oldershaws fight to absorb
the whole force Of such missiles as might wen
be directed against IL by an enemy rich III ships
guns and before seeing how men once lought
under this almost treacherous shelter against
the mightest ordnance one ought to have some
idea of the ways OF a cannOn-oaIl Wheh oDslruo'ou
without being stopped. a..
Whether taking its fight through the ar
or encountering more solid obstacles round
shot Of course must be always obeylng strict,
natural laws, and must work out the intricate
enioiued by conflict OF power with ao-
solute, servile eXactness but between the COLT
position Of forces maintained in our physical
world and the fixed resolve of mind made up
under warning motives there is always analogy;
with even sometimes strange resemblance; ana
10 untutOred hearers formula set down IN al
zebra would convey less idea Of the nath OF
though not vanquished, cannon-ball
than would the simple speech Of savage who
has called it demon let loose For not only
docs it seem to be armed with mighty will,
but somehow to govern It's action with ever.
ready intelligence, and even to have policy.
stupidity obstinate. He Is not straightforward
enemy Against things that are hard and d.
his strength and does his utmost to shattcr them,
and send them in splinters and fragments to widen
the havoc he brings; but with obstacles that
are smooth and face him oblioucly he always
compounds being ready on slight challenge to
come, as men say. TO fair terms by VARYING
his line Of advance, and even II need be, resoring
to crooked. to sinuous paths. BY dint OF simple
friction with metal. with earth, with even the
soft, yielding air, he adds varied rotatory move
rnents to those first enIoincd by his mission;
he improves his fell skill as he goes; he acquires
a strange nimhrncss. can do than simply
strike can wrench. can lift, can toss. can almost
grasp can gather from each conquered hind
rance new and banefnl power: can bN rushing
for instance stra ght in a horizontal direction
and then-because Of some contact--Sprlng up
all at once like tiger intent on the throat Of a
camel
So far one NAV saw his devices are not I'M
familiar to men verscd in war, and some OF his
changes indeed. as for instance. his fiGht by
ricochct they can dictate at their own will and
Measure: but under specal conditions he will
Of inn toll in q vov that iS muc less commonly
known. When cncountering things that are
tough such gabions or sand-bags well filed
which do much toward obstrncting his course
vet have not the rnuuired strength ~ numbers
with which to withstand and defeat him. he
nlavs the conoueror over them. he pr"ss"s th"m
into his service he com oels them TO FORGET their
innrtnesS comrrls them 70 fight his side ind
sends them hurled this and that against all
thev can reach with their blows.