Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/82

 50 EDPATORIA. CHAP. II. by forces withdrawn from Baron Wrangel ; and placed under General Khrouleff. schikofFs orders, Baron Wrangel at once handed over that chosen part of his forces which was to make and support the attack. A man of Teuton blood set aside for giving what he thought prudent counsels, and a Sclave leaping up into power with the force of his more sanguine nature — such a spectacle could not but charm any Eussians indulging that jealousy with which the bricks of the fable are said to have looked on the builder. Yet before giving vent to the joy of seeing a vehement Sclave vault over the head of a Teuton, those Eussians perhaps should have waited to see the result — should have waited till a quarter past ten on the morning of the 17th of February. III. Tnede- Before the 17th of February, Eupatoria under resources of the auspices of the French Major Osrnont (the governor of the place) had been fortified on the land side by an arc-shaped belt of defence with a crown-work in front of its centre. The belt was formed mainly of earthen ramparts (with a fosse sunk along the outside), but consisted in part of only piled stones, or the ruins of de- molished houses provided with banquettes for infantry. All these works, it is true, were still but half finished, yet already they furnished the means of offering fair resistance to troops which might seek to carry the place by merely summary