Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/277

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 255 drawing down with him in his fall the sword chap. I which had slain him ; and since Morris, with all _, his strength, was unable to withdraw the blade, and yet did not choose to let go his grasp of the handle, or to disengage himself from the wrist- knot, it resulted that, though still in his saddle, he was tethered to the ground by his own sword- arm.* Whilst thus disabled, Morris received a sabre- cut on the left side of the head which carried away a large piece of bone above the ear, and a deep, clean cut passing down through the acorn of his forage-cap, which penetrated both plates of the skull. By one or other of these blows he was felled to the ground, and for a time he lay without consciousness. As soon as he had regained his senses, he found himself lying on the ground ; but his sword was once more in his power, for by some means (to him unknown) it had been withdrawn from the body which before held it fast, and being joined to him still by the wrist-knot, was now lying close to his hand. He had hardly recovered his senses and the grasp of his sword when he found himself surrounded by Cossacks thrusting at him with their lances. Against the numbers thus encompassing him Morris sought to defend himself by the almost ceaseless ' moulinet,' or circling whirl of his charging down at high speed, the blade, it would seem, must have been forced through so much bone and muscle, as to held fast against any mere pull which Morris could apply.
 * Thrust home with the momentum belonging to a hors<