Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/134

 lOt COMBATS ON THE INKERMAN SPUR. chap, 'rail' in the midst of what reads like a statement. v. Prince Ouroussoff had even what seemed like a 'trophy' of the miniature sort; for the French in their chase had been using a hahy-sized how- itzer of the kind drawn by human strength; and when the pursuit had ceased, this ' perambulator,' as our nursemaids would call it, was left without 'hands' strong enough to withdraw it from the spot where it stood — the spot on which, it would seem, Prince Ouroussoff's soldiery found it.* With plain signs of smiling incontinently at OuroussofFs other mistakes, General Todleben nevertheless accepted the Prince's bold story ; ( 2 ) and was certainly led to represent that both Ouroussoir and Kraievsky had triumphantly en- gaged their small forces in not less than two brilliant combats. The theory drew much sup- port from statements which showed that these Colonels had purchased their triumphs by enor- mous sacrifices of mcn;t but the French, it ap- pears, never knew of their having sustained the reverses implied by such Russian victories, or at all events did not confess that they had encoun- tered any such checks; and on the whole, my conclusion is that, although both Prince Ourous- soff and Kraievsky (the last under Khrouleffs orders) did really advance up the spur, and press 1 back all the loose soldiery that came in their way, they encountered no formed battalion, and f The Prince losing one-half 'of his force, and Kraievsky 187 out of 800. Todlcl.cn, pp :J22 and 327.
 * See Rousset, vol. ii. p. 235.