Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 3.djvu/286

 200 BATTLE or THE ALMA. CHAP, and much tliinuLMl — u ihe one which, eager and __^: fresh, was following the steps of the Highland General. Looking towards his left front, and alons the natural bridge or viaduct which has just been spoken of, Sir Colin Campbell saw an- other column nmch heavier than cither of the two which confronted him. This heavy column Avas composed of two battalions of the Sousdal corps, and it Nvas of greater size and strength than the Vladimir and the Kazan columns, because it was as yet untouched. A column formed of the two remaining Sousdal battalions — battalions also untouched — was on the ex- treme right of the enemy's infantry po.sition, but so placed that at this moment it could not be seen by Campbell. On the higher slopes of the Kourgane Hill, the four Ouglitz battalions stood impending over the scene of the coming fight, and these battalions were also untouched. With three battalions Sir Colin Campbell was about to engage no less than twelve ; but the three were in line, and the twelve were massed in five columns. The time that it took Sir Colin Campbell to learn the ground before him, and to read the enemy's mind, proved almost enough for enabling his superb 42d to reach him. In the last part of their advance, the men of the battalion had had to come up over ground both broken and steep, but they traversed it with a speed which observers admired from afar. In the land where those Scots were bred, there are shadows of sail-