Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/400

 368 APPENDIX. little vessel surrender, or else undergo her fate, and be sunk by the mighty artillery of the Alexander and Nicholas Forts. The vessel however glided on, and the great South Forts opened upon her, making havoc with the waters surrounding her, and most markedly with the sea in her wake, but still failing (like the North Forts before) to touch the charmed life. The wonderful calmness with which she held on her course seemed beyond measure admirable to all, but especially so to a French officer at my side, who supposed the little vessel to be English, and was thrown into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Accosting me impetuously, he declared that the Queen of England was bound to bestow the very highest of all her Orders on the heroic commander of the little sailing-vessel. The vessel escaped all the wrath of the Sebastopol sea-forts, and was ultimately brought into one of the Allied ports by a steamer sent out to aid her. It turned out that she was an Aus- trian vessel laden with hay for the use of the Allies ; but a dere- lict not having a single human being on board her. Her captain and crew finding that they could not get an offing, had abandoned the vessel, first setting her sails and her rudder in such way as to give her any chance there might be of sailing past the entrance of the Sebastopol Roadstead, so that the instance as stated in the text became an example of ' composition of forces ' so closely resembling a human resolve as to be actually mistaken for heroism. But an even better sample of the • resemblance ' I speak of may be found nearer home — may be found in a little child's boat when sailing 'close-hauled,' and 'beating up' against adverse breezes. She seems to have volition, to have resource in emergency, to be angry if ' taken aback ' or allowed to ' fall off,' to be swift in re- pairing the fault, and to show something like manful pride when again she ' comes up to the wind.' Note 4. — Camel. — Every child that has twirled a teetotum, or driven a top, is familiar with the vigorous leap that his toy will suddenly take if he touches it whilst spinning round. Note 5. — Battery. — I suppose that the sobriquet must have been meant to indicate that Captain Oldershaw, like the ideal Zouave, was eager and resolute in fighting ; but what other re- semblance could have been traced by the inventor of the nick- name one does not easily see. That abstinence from self-celebration which I have ascribed to Captain Oldershaw was not characteristic of the Zouave. Note 6. — ' To retire.' 1 — Except Captain Shaw, who thus came down towards the close of the five hours, and put an end to the