Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/510

 480 APPENDIX. been put forward and elaborately sustained in argument by such a man as General de Todlcben, can be aptly called Burgoyne that I have only sought in this matter to learn and to state fairly the truth. When I first read Lord Kaglan's correspondence "with the Home Government, and observed that in his confidential letters, as well as in de- spatches, he withheld all express mention of the idea of assaulting the place, and when I learnt also what Sir John Burgoyne's recollections were, I was naturally disposed to come to the conclusion to which Sir John still clings ; but afterwards — without any special quest on my part — I be- came the recipient of information which compelled me to take a different view. I found myself compelled to be- lieve that, whilst maintaining in (general a studied reserve on the subject. Lord Raglan had disclosed the inclination of his opinion to two men. Of these two men, one is still living ; the other is no more. The one who survives has not withheld his testimony. The one who is dead left tangible proof behind him, by affirming the accuracy of the memorandum in which Mr Loch recorded his statements. Then, besides, I find among Lord Raglan's papers that letter of the 30th September 1854-, which was written, as is shown by its date and its contents, in the very midst of the alleged consultations with Sir Edmund Lyons. Add to all this that upon again perusing Lord Raglan's con- fidential correspondence with the Home Government, I was able to see those unintentional disclosures of the writer's apparent opinions which are to be gathered, as I have sub- mitted, from the documents quoted in the sixth section of the Appendix to the third volume.* So fiir as I know, there was nothing to set against this accumulation of evi- dence except the mere negative impressions produced on men's minds by the circumstance of their not having heard
 * popular fallacies ; ' but passing that by, I assure Sir John
 * Ante, Note V. of tliis Ai)iicndix.