Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/178

 Its HF.KOIC RESISTAN'CE OF SEBASTOPOL CHAP, reconnoitring the defences of Sebastopol ; * but . for that day at least — had the prayers of the Church then been heard ? — the place was to be spared from assault, rommuni- And, ou this 28th of September, the deserted i;fst*f"o'm garrison of Sebastopol got tidings at last from the Mentschi- army. Prince Mcntschikoff had suffered himself to remain so strangely unacquainted with the movements of the Allies, that he supposed them to be still in that mountain region to the east of Sebastopol through which they had made their flank march, and the officer instructed to carry his messages to the garrison made his way from Headquarters at night, and on foot; thus pass- ing, as if by stealth, through a country which luid long been quite free from the invaders. Lieutenant Stetzenko was the officer entrusted with this mission ; and (meeting, of course, no obstruction from the Allies, who lay far away from the scene of his night journey) he reached his destination the following morning. He had been ordered to ' inquire about the state of Sebas- reconnaissance of the Allies was not carried close enough to enable them to come to sound conclusions ; but the General is mistaken in supposing, as lie apparently does, that the recon- naissance of the 2Sth was the one which led the Allies to delay llieir attack. Tiie reccuinaissanro on which the Allies founded their decision had taken place the day before, the 27t]i, but it seems to have been completed without exciting the observation of the garrison. Of course, it was incumbent on the Allies to be every day striving to improve their knowledge of the Sebas- topol defences ; but the reconnaissances which they effected after the 27th were not the ones which snpplied them with the basis jf their main decision.
 * General de Todleben remarks that, in his judgment, this