Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/411

 THIS DORMANT COMMISSION. 389 CHAPTER III. On this same 26th of October, Lord Eaglan re- chap. in ceived a communication from the Home Govern- '__ ment which at once relieved his mind from an Dormant irksome and long-pressing weight. enSed'tc To meet the contingency of Lord Eaglan's being cathcart* killed or becoming disabled, the Home Govern- ment had secretly provided that in such case the command of the army should devolve upon Sir George Cathcart, and Sir George was entrusted accordingly with what is called a ' Dormant Commission.' It was known that the arrangement, if divulged, would not only be mortifying in the extreme to Sir George Brown, but might prove in other ways mischievous;* and no one in the Crimea the officer next in seniority to Lord Eaglan ; hut the Home Government imagined that the notion of his taking the com- mand of the army would he regarded by all (including Sir John himself) as entirely out of the question, and it seems that Brown shared this impression. It was, however, quite errone- ous ; and Lord Raglan, after the withdrawal of the Commission, undeceived the Government upon this point, assuring them that, in the event of the vacancy occurring, Burgoyne both could and would take the command.
 * In reality, Sir John Burgoyne (a General of Engineers), was