Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/32

 10 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. CHAP, cullies of his position — despite all the hindrances . created by himself, and the hindrances created by others — he was a diligent, indefatigable com- mander, — always in health, always at his post, always toiling to the best of his ability, and main- taining a high, undaunted, and even buoyant spirit, under trials the most depressing. He expended a prodigious industry upon his duties. It may be that he was not perfectly consequent, or that his measures were wrong or ill-timed, or, again, that he was unduly thwarted ; for certainly the result seems to have been that, in proportion to the energy exerted, his mind left no great trace of its action ; but if a man's power of commanding could be safely inferred from mere words, the collection which has been made of Lord Lucan's divisional orders would be a striking example of vigour applied to the management of cavalry in a time of the heaviest trials. Disliking apparently every sacrifice, however temporary, of the controlling power, he did not take upon himself to lead in person any cavalry charge ; and therefore the degree in which he may have been qualified for that very peculiar kind of duty must of course be a subject of conjecture rather than proof ; but his composure under heavy tire was so perfect that, even in an army where prowess evinced in that way was exceedingly general, it did not escape observation. ' Yes, damn him, he's brave,' was the comment pronounced on Lord Lucan by one of his most steady haters. This is not the place for giving the general tenor