Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/242

 220 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. chap, might be that of averting mistake and supplying a much-needed guidance, Lord Cardigan, at the time, only saw in the appeal of the aide-de-camp a ridiculous and unseemly attempt to excite the brigade — nay, even to hurry it forward. Con- sidering, however, that Nolan must have been acting with a full knowledge of the enemy's posi- tion, as well as of Lord Raglan's true meaning, and that at the time of his appealing thus eagerly to our Light Cavalry by gesture and voice, he was not only on the right front of our line, but was actually bearing away diagonally in the very di- rection of the Causeway Heights, there is plainly more room for surmising that the aide-de-camp's anxiety had been roused by seeing our squadrons advance without having first changed their front, and that what he now sought was to undo the mistake of Lord Lucan, to bend our troops from the path which led down the fatal North Valley, and make them incline to their right — make them so incline to their right as to strike the true point of attack which Lord Raglan had twice over assigned. Nolan's fate. But a Russian shell bursting on the right front of Lord Cardigan now threw out a fragment which met Nolan full on the chest, and tore a way into his heart. The sword dropt from his hand ; but the arm with which he was waving it the moment before still remained high uplifted in the air, and the grip of the practised horseman remaining as yet unrelaxed still held him firm in his .saddle. Missing the perfect hand of his master, and find