Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/35

 PfcLlSStEfc AN 1 1) LORD RAGLAN. 5 'whole army I have entire faith in the future, chap. ' I thank the Emperor for the confidence he re- ! — ' poses in me. I have measured the extent of ' my great duties; but in order that I may fulfil ' them with success for any length of time, you ' must ask the Emperor to give me the latitude Full ais- . . crction de- ' and freedom of action that are indispensable manded. 1 under the conditions presented by this present ' war, and especially necessary for preserving the ' close alliance between the two countries.'* "Whilst Pelissier and Lord Eaglan agreed on Prospect ° ° of the two the questions then needing solution, there was generals . „„ being able also a well-founded hope that such differences toactmfui) ■"- concert. of opinion as might afterwards spring up between them would be easily prevented from marring their power to act in due concert. To begin with, the new French commander, when acceding to power, seemed to hang on the words of his English colleague with an eagerness and a kind of devotion that he rarely if ever vouchsafed to any one other man ; but, if swayed and won over (as indeed all men more or less were) by the personal ascendant of Lord Eaglan, Pelissier had moreover convictions in harmony with the feel- ings he showed. He had the wisdom — State wisdom — enabling him to see the vital conditions on which the blessing of concord could best be attained and secured. Lord Raglan, we know, on the other hand, was richly endowed with the faculty — the noble, the generous faculty — which enables one man to
 * Roussct, voL ii. p. 183.