Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/387

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 365 of his having acted against his will, after actually chap. remonstrating against the decision which con- L signed him and his brigade to the fatal valley, and that he had no choice but to charge like a hero or else become at his peril a wilful disobeyer of orders which directed him at once to advance. But I imagine that this view is erroneous. In the first place, it is not at all usual to strip a leader of the glory naturally attaching to his en- terprise by saying that, though acting superbly, he only was brave under orders; but in point of fact no such dilemma as the one supposed was really constituted. We saw what Lord Lucan stated to have been the terms of his order, and whether his version of the words or that of Lord Cardigan be adopted, there was nothing in them which would have caused an irresolute man to think himself compelled to lead his brigade to destruction by taking it down the length of the valley to the mouths of the guns then distant a mile and a quarter. It was only under the chival- rous construction which Lord Cardigan chose to put on the words that he could be compelled or even empowered to hazard the attack which he made. Besides, if I am rightly informed, there was noth- ing more easy than for Lord Cardigan to let his advance down the valley come to an early end, not only without doing or omitting any act for which he could have been blamed, but even with- out being forced to confess to himself that he was so acting as to check the advance. The rapid ad-