Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/50

 20 •UK I'LANi; MARCH. C H A r. II. Tlic extent and real import of tlic Unssian iiioveiiieiit Hot appre- licnded. Stiitcof the otficer taken lirisoner : I.ord Rag- lan pained and re- volted. Allies, lliG other a liank march also, in which the liussians were busied. Of the extent and purpose of this Paissiau Hank march we shall have to speak l)y-and-by ; but, for the present, we are only observing so much of the then dim truth as was visible, at the time, to the English Headquarters. It might be thought that, from the sight of the enemy's retiring columns, from the nature of the captured baggage, and from the answers of the few prisoners taken (of whom one was an officer), a clue would be easily seized, from which to in- fer with some certainty the scope and extent of the operation going on under the eyes of our people. It was not so. The officer who had been taken prisoner proved to be a captain of artillery. He was brought for- ward that he might be questioned, but it instantly appeared that he was in a condition which, for the moment, was of advantage to his country, for it baffled all endeavours to draw knowledge from him. He had brought himself to that stage and that kind of drunkenness which causes the patient to reel in curves from side to side, declaring his good-will to his fellow-creatures, and incessantly proffering liis friendship. Yet the time was mid- day, and the sun was shining. Lord Eaglan's anxious regard for the personal dignity of the officer and the gentleman had nothing of the nar- rowness which would confine its scope to those of his own nation, and it seemed that the pain with which he looked upon the reeling captain