Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/169

 THE APKIL BOMBARDMENT. 137 that any projectile, though sparing the outer line chap. of the ramparts, might still go on driving its way _ through flesh and blood, through those all-preci- ous works of men's hands which contributed, each in its way, to maintain the defence of Sebastopol. Next again, the besiegers enjoyed that blissful prerogative which the nature of things — almost cruelly — has bestowed on him who attacks as compared with him who defends ; since of course for those conflicts with infantry on which all (except only a secret knot of French counter- plotters) supposed them to be firmly resolved, they could choose their own time, could choose their own place, and were not under any such exigency as would oblige them to keep under fire collected masses of soldiery ; whilst lie who defended Sebastopol, without knowing when or where his immense line of Works might be stormed, was on the contrary forced — a hard and distressing trial of warlike resolve ! — was forced to keep many and powerful bodies of men on ground close to his front, where hour by hour and day after day they had to stand ready, yet passive under the enemy's fire. Yet again, it so happened that during the earlier days of this April bombardment, the garrison, which always before had been richly abounding in munitions of war, and indeed ever ready to squander them, was now so far straitened for gunpowder as to be obliged to economise its fire with a stringency which was distressing, and even fraught with grave danger.