Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/49

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 27 last arrangement of Scarlett's, and declared, it chap. seems, that Colonel Beatson must not be con- sidered as having any recognised position in the army. I have said that if General Scarlett enjoyed the immense advantage of having two such aides-de- camp as these, he owed the happy idea of thus strengthening himself to his own wisdom and modesty ; but it is worth while to say that that last quality of his had a tendency to withdraw our brigade of Heavy Dragoons from its due share of public attention. Concurring with other known causes, General Scarlett's quiet unobtrusiveness did much to prevent his fellow- countrymen from acquainting themselves so fully as they might otherwise have been eager to do with the fight between his brigade and the main body of the Russian cavalry. On the day of the battle of Balaclava it was not the destiny of General Scarlett to have to act under any great complexity of circumstances, nor to give rise to an3 r kind of public controversy, and it will therefore be easy to see and to under- stand him in action without having a prelimin- ary knowledge of the man ; but in truth his achievement corresponded so closely with the noble and heroic simplicity of his character, that the account of what he did will not fail to carry along with it a true indication of his quality We shall see him lead his great charge.