Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/463

 THE ITTH OF OCTOBEi;. 433 munition on the part of the Iiussiaiis is asciibed chap. in some measure to their sailors, v.'lio could not, ■^^^^- we saw, be dissuaded from indulging their love of the broadside.* But it also appears that no small portion of the Iiussian lire was elicited by those imagined columns of assault which so often in the course of the day seemed to come marching down through the smoke. "f* AVhen the Allies suffered night to come and xiieconso- to pass without having stormed the defences, notstormin-,' it followed, in truth — though they did not yet fau?'^"'^'' thoroughly know the vanity of what they had done — that the cannonade, prepared at great cost of warlike resources, and, yet worse, at a ruinous cost of time, had brought them no nearer to their object than they were before opening fire. Not being followed up by an assault, the one oppor- tunity which all their siege labour had earned for them became an opportunity lost. That the deliberations of independent com- TheAiues manders tend to the rejection of vigorous resolves, by'thei? we have been seeing again and again ; but another ' "'^ ' ^' of the characteristics which mark such counsels is their rigidity. Decisions formed in that way are really in the nature of diplomatic engagements, and it is only by a renewal of the diplomatic labour that they can be varied and adapted to the changeful circumstances of the hour. The swift exigencies of battle can ill be met b}^ conferences and ne- gotiations. Apart from the diversity both of nation and of • Todlehen, p. 345. t Ibid. VOL. I v. 2 K