Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/341

 THE 17TJI OF OCTOBER. 311 truiu Lho I'rcnch batteries was so constant, and chap, XIII their fire so heavy, that for a moment the af- L_ frighted chargers of Koruiloff and his Staff re- fused to confront the storm ; but Korniloff soon conquered the will of his horse ; and when he had done so he said with a smile, ' I cannot bear to ' be disobeyed.' In the valley he passed near the Taroutine battalion, and the soldiers were over- heard saying, ' This is indeed a brave fellow.' Gaining at length the Central Bastion, Kor- niloff there found Admiral Nachimoff toiling hard at his duty, and seeming to be as much at home in the batteries as though he were on board his own ship. Nachimoff's appearance at this time might be regarded, perhaps, as some- what characteristic of that tendency to self-immo- lation which we have attributed to him ; for, as though he would be decked out for sacrifice, he distinguished himself from others by choosing to wear his full uniform, with all the heavy splen- dour of an admiral's epaulets ; and already from a slight wound then lately received, the blood was coursing down his face. Wliile conversing with Nachimoff, Korniloff mounted the banquette at the projecting angle of the bastion, and there for some time the two Admirals stood ; for they were trying to ascertain the effect of the Kussian fire upon the enemy's batteries. Driving in from moment to moment, the round shots so struck the parapet and its de- fenders as to cover the Admirals and the officers at their side with the pelting of loose, gritty earth,