Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/388

 366 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. chap, vance of a body of Cavalry cannot of course be perfectly governed by orders like the march of Foot soldiery, and the compactness of squadrons when once fairly launched against the enemy is so much dependent upon what may be called the ' opinion ' of the force and so liable to be destroyed by the uncertainties, or the faltering, or the im- patience of even a few men that, upon the whole, its principle of coherence is fragile and delicate in the extreme. What the troops of the first line have to do is to look carefully to the leader, and if his bearing is such as to convey different impressions to different men, a loosening of the ranks will begin. Therefore on the part of the leader, slight gestures, slight movements in the saddle, slight changes of pace, slight licence given to impatient horsemen are, in general, but too likely to be followed by the further loosening of the ranks, the angry objurgations of the officers, and finally by that impotent fumbling after car- bines or pistols which proves that the attempt at a charge has stopped short and will presently cease ; but in Lord Cardigan, during those minutes when he silently rode down the valley, none could see that one small sign of faltering or of doubt which alone would have sufficed to arrest the attack. From the first moment of the onset to the one when the battery was entered, the brigade felt the will of its leader.