Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/116

 SB PELISSIEK. CHAP. IV. The phe- nomenon (so far) left unex- plained. The true explanation. Lyons the originator and eager advocate of the Expedi- tion. Carrying with 1) i in Admiral JSruat and Lord Rag- lan. F^lissier, Granting this, there stands out a phenomenon unexplained by assigning ' surprise ' or error of counsel — one inviting us to say why it was that Russia — a great Military Power — could be quietly stripped of possessions very dear to her — posses- sions by sea and by land, and this with such masterful ease, that from the first to the last she only wounded three of her assailants and did not kill even one. The simple truth is, that in regions where land and sea much intertwine, an Armada having on board it no more than a few thousand troops, but comprising a powerful fleet, and propelled by steam-power, can use its amphibious strength with a wondrously cogent effect ; and — engaged as he was at the time in defending Sebastopol, the troubled Czar, after all, was not a potentate strong enough to withstand such an engine of war. The merit of perceiving this truth, and enforc- ing it with passionate eagerness, belonged to our Admiral Lyons, and — approved by Admiral Bruat — his measure received from Lord Raglan a warm, never- failing support ; but, if we ask who in this business was the conqueror of the greatest ob- stacles, the palm must go to Pelissier. Con- cealing under his violence of speech and of manner the gifts that made him well able to shape and maintain a wise policy, he had plainly divined that, whether the English were right or whether wrong in their eagerness for the Kertch Expedition, they could hardly be brought back