Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/303

 BY THE ALLIED FLEET. 273 liad perceived, from the first, that the operation was c H A r. a ' false ' one* The chiefs thought thus ill of the ^^- plan even before those sudden changes enforced by the French of which we shall afterwards hear ; and the evil was, not that the Admirals judged wrongly, but that their judgment was overborne by paramount forces. All, landsmen as well as sailors, desired that the part to be taken by the navy should be one of glory ; and Lord l^aglan, whose heart ever warmed with gratitude and admiration when he spoke of the seamen, was especially anxious that they should have their I'uU share in what he believed to be the approach- ing triumph ; but with this desire in common, there was still, as might be expected, a variety in the tendencies of the several minds which were brought to bear upon the naval counsels. The longing of the seamen for a naval engage- ment had been so effectually baffled by obdurate stone forts and the shoal newly formed of sunken ships, that a real attack upon Sebastopol and its sheltered fleet was deemed to be out of their power; but the frustrated ardour of officers and men (growing fast, as some thought, to a grave discontent), and the probable eagerness of the people at home to see their fleets striking a blow, made it easy for the Generals to ask, and to ask with imperative cogency, that the fleets should undertake a diversion in favour of the land forces ; and thus it resulted that the Admirals, though Beeing aright, were moved in the wrong direction. VOL. IV. SJ
 * Letter from Dunclas to Lord Rnglan, 20th October 1854.