Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/343

 THE 17TII OF OCTOBER. 313 tation which would Lnve thein a mournful siguili- o n a i^. • XIII cance, he went on to say, ' I am afraid that here L ' it will get broken.' It was soon after this that Baron Krlidener came in with messages from Admiral Istomin, the officer in command at the MalakoflT. Istomin's words purported to convey an assurance that all was going on well at the Tower ; but the words were accompanied by an entreaty. The entreaty was, that Korniloff would not needlessly imperil a life so precious as his by coming up to the Malakoff Hill. He persisted in his determina- tion to go thither ; but a little delay was obtained by inducing him to ascend to the terrace on the house-top in order to form a more general and his survey „, from the extended idea of the scope and power or the can- uouse-toi.: nonade than he had yet been able to gather. It would seem that he was painfully impressed by what he saw ; for, after first giving some practical directions for insuring an unfailing supply of ammunition to all the batteries, he once more disclosed in private that want of hopefulness which we have already remarked upon as forming an anomalous characteristic in one who could kindle and sustain the heroism of other men. ' I fear,' he said, ' that no means will suffice lus dcsi.on- ' against such a cannonade.' It may be said that, at the time, there "vvas Thestuioot ,,.,,«, ^ the conflict some ground, not, indeed, tor so great a flespon- at this time dency as that which weighed upon Korniloff, but, at all events, for grave forebodings. The artillery couilict then radng between the French and the