Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/243

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 221 ing the accustomed governance now succeeded chap. by dangling reins, the horse all at once wheeled ' about, and began to gallop back upon the front of the advancing brigade. Then from what had been Nolan — and his form was still erect in the saddle, his sword-arm still high in the air — there burst forth a cry so strange and appalling that the hearer who rode the nearest to him has always called it ' unearthly/ And in truth, I imagine the sound resulted from no human will, but rather from those spasmodic forces which may act upon the bodily frame when life, as a power, has ceased. The firm-seated rider, with arm uplifted and stiff, could hardly be ranked with the living. The shriek men heard rending the air was scarce other than the shriek of a corpse. This dead horseman rode on till he had passed through the interval of the 13th Light Dragoons. Then at last he dropt out of the saddle. An officer of the Guards, who set down at the Question time in his journal what he had learnt of this degree in part of the battle, went on to say lightly in pass- biame juetij ing, that the blame of the error would be laid Noian. upon Captain Nolan, because the Captain was dead. Whether based on sound reason or not, the prophecy was amply fulfilled. None, so far as I know, have yet questioned that, when wrought into anger by the reception given to Lord Eaglan's order, the aide-de-camp was guilty of a high military offence — the offence of openly taunting a general officer in front of his troops ; and the limit of the evil thus done will never be measured, for no man