Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/184

 140 THE WINTEK TKOUBLES. CHAP, under arms in the Crimea fell grievously short of " the numbers despatched from England and France. But the full measure of the evil which bodily- ailments inflicted is not to be perfectly gauged by counting the men dead from illness, and those re- ported as 'sick;' for the bane of the poison which slew or disabled thousands was felt in lesser degree by many, very many, of the soldiery who, although not so prostrated as to be unfit for duty, and therefore not ' invalided,' were still in a lowered condition of health, and ill qualified to encounter the huge accumulation of hardship and work which was soon to be trying their strength. (^^) So early as the 23d of October, Lord Raglan had addressed the Duke of Newcastle impres- sively on this anxious subject. ' I may be ' permitted,' he writes, ' to say a word with ' regard to this army. It requires, and should ' not be denied, repose. Although the marclies ' have not been many, fatigue has pressed heavily ' upon the troops. The very act of getting ' water, and of finding wood, has been a daily ' unceasing exertion, and the climate has told ' upon them ; and, independently of cholera, ' sickness has prevailed to a great extent since- ' the third week in July. Cholera, alas ! is still ' lingering in the army.' Repose ! The army thus truly described as needing 'repose' on the 23d of October was the one we saw attacked two days later on the plains of Balaclava, the one we saw wrestling for life before another fortnight had passed against the myriads of its Inkerman assailants, the one we