Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/106

 74 RESOLVK OF THE FEENCH. chap. Volliynia Redoubt;* and, the French once more ! acquiescing, he made haste, as may well be sup- acquie£ posed, to render it stronger and stronger with cence of the t m> t ± French. every day suffered to pass. import and New counter- works thus springing up to chal- effectof r o o r these lenge the new French approaches were all the counter- ° *• works on more galling to some French and English ob- Mount. . inkerman. servers because perceived to be fastening on a part of their Inkerman battle-field, and so tak- ing away with the pickaxe what soldiers had won with the sword ; but men of skill knew that the check was other than one of a sentimental kind. It was painfully real. Decisions of Our allies by this time saw the object at which the French J, J on finding their foe must be aiming. They even indeed themselves ° ^ thus con- divined his ulterior purpose, and perceived that these new works of his would enable him to attempt with advantage the fortification of the Mamelon, thus throwing perhaps a strong barrier directly across that one path by which they could reach the Malakoff. With this clearly scanned prospect before them, they still resolved to ab- stain from storming the newly reared Works which now formidably obstructed their siege, and made to themselves instead a kind of pro- mise or vow — not destined to receive its fulfil- ment — a vow that, so soon as the enemy should try to plant any field-work on the coveted Mame- lon, they would carry it at once by assault.! Meanwhile, their counsels induced them to await the actual happening of the appre-
 * Todleben, vol. ii. p. 32. + Niel, p. 157.