Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/162

 132 CONTINUED STRIFE BETWEEN chap. So, after having received the prompt congratu- lations of Qneen Victoria expressed in the most gracious terms, Pelissier had to wait a whole week for any recognition at all on the part of his own angry sovereign, and was then at last greeted by words giving praise indeed to the troops, but — constructively — blaming the general, and ap- proaching him yet once again with hard, peremp- tory words of dictation — words commanding him to do, and do quickly the opposite of what he thought right — the opposite of what he was doing. 1 Before,' wrote the Emperor on the 14th of June, ' before congratulating you on the brilliant success ' you obtained on the 7th, I wished to know what ' sacrifices it had cost. I now learn the extent of ' them from St Petersburg. I admire the courage ' of the troops, but observe that a pitched battle ' disposing of the fate of the Crimea would not ' have cost more men. I persist then in the order ' I have caused to be given you by the Minister ' of War, to bend all your efforts to the object of ' resolutely taking the field.' The language used by Pelissier whilst resisting the imperial orders, had been hitherto of a varied kind ; for, though oftentimes savage and fierce, not trying to hide his scorn, he had also in other moods chosen to be either immensely adroit, or cleverly or openly evasive, or again to be mystify- ing his correspondent with appeals to the Doctrine of sieges, and the sacred authority of Vauban ; condescending besides now and then to toss in some phrase of few syllables that made a thin