Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/311

 OF CHANGING THE SIEGE-PLANS. 281 ported that, if the siege were to be continued at chap. all, the English must go through with their meas- L_ ures against the Eedan, and the French on their part must resume their former design of visiting the Flagstaff' Bastion and its neighbours with determined attacks.* Thus, so far as it touched the one question then meant to be pressed, Mel's counsel, or rather his testimony, was all in accord with the object pur- sued by Lord Eaglan.t I do not represent or imagine that the French The real Commander, if adverse to Lord Eaglan's conten- dcducibie tion. would have suffered himself to be brought to answer of,. ,, , n i • i ■ p the 26th an opposite conclusion by the words of his chief of June. Engineer ; for Pelissier, I believe, in such case would have felt much more strongly inclined to put Niel under arrest than to think of accepting his guidance ; but, to write the Note of the 26th of June, and send it into our camp, was to make or record a surrender of the opinion lately held, lately followed in action by the French Commander-in- chief; and Niel — loyally — could not have suffered himself to take such a step, unless he well knew that Pelissier had yielded to Lord Eaglan's demand. Until after the 28th of June, there did not continuance occur any change in the seemingly better siege- days ™ the ,i - c i • i better siege- prospect thus opened — tor a while — to our army prospects by Lord Eaglan's firmness and care. ourarmj" All imbued with a knowledge of Lord Eaglan's + As shown ante, p. 274 et seq.
 * Journal of the Royal Engineers, vol. ii. p. 331.