Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/217

 THE AI'lilL BOMBABDMENT. 185 ful contrast of thoughts! — to the once brilliant, chap. VI. gay, sparkling ball-room in the Assembly House of the Nobles, then changed to a reeking hospital. Within the ten days taken up by this April bom- bardment, and mainly from the effect of its fire, the Russians lost 6000 men.* Tn almost cold blood, and with a greater distinctness than com- monly attends such hard sacrifices, these thou- sands of men were surrendered to what I have called a ' prerogative ' — the prerogative wielded by him who — resolving to take the offensive — is able to choose time and place. The submission to losses so great without The heroism , of their de- means of avenging them was a striking ex- fence at thu . . . . time- ample of passive, enduring heroism ; whilst of that other kind of heroism which, along with a valiant and protracted confronting of danger, de- mands also a prodigious exertion of human en- ergy, the Russians gave signal proof ; for when towards the close of each day, they found their defences in ruins, they calmly moved out in the twilight, began to repair their Works, and, though kept all the time under vertical fire which was commonly one of great power, toiled on through- out the night, never failing (except in one in- stance) to bring the shattered defences into a state for fighting again so soon as the morning should break. To attain such an end, no sacri- fice, says the great Engineer, should be ever con- sidered too great, and according to his belief, it was by efforts in that direction that the French
 * 6131 killed and wounded. — Todleben, vol. ii. p. 170.