Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/119

 canrobert's gloomy state. 87 he threw upon those who conversed with him ' the spell of his own undaunted nature. Men ' went to him anxious and perturbed. They ' came away firm.' * May it be that — in part from their contact Did this " *- change Can with the mind of Lord Raglan — the spirit of the ™£** B French commander began to undergo a great change ? What we know is that, having spoken to Lord Eaglan in the ' desponding language ' above recorded of the battle that he thought might be provoked by the re-opening of the fire, General Canrobert (in addressing his Emperor t) ^'^j. ^ soon after began to point out that very same closures, dreaded contingency as one for which he was yearning.( 6 ) In common with but few of his time (of whom Lord John Russell was one) Lord Raglan was able to write a sentence so naturally that it re- called the very sound of his voice. So to read the five following lines is like hearing Lord Raglan speak, nay almost like seeing him smile : ' I think our friends [meaning the French] are ' a little uneasy, and are anxious for the arrival ' of some of the Turkish army from Eupatoria ; cers. + See his words to the Emperor of the 10th of April, in which he speaks of the previously dreaded contingency as ' cette ' attaque desir^e avec tant de raison ; ' Rousset, ii. p. 147 ; and his letter to the Emperor of the 19th May, ibid., p. 178 et seq., partly quoted also post, in Appendix to chap, xi., Note 3. See also reference to these letters post, chap. viii. and chap. ix.
 * that cannot be traced or described in words — c 11 a p.
 * Speech of General Airey to the Board of General Offi-