Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/391

 KETUKNING STRENGTH. 347 mistake, if not indeed, as was possible, to the chap. untutored 'simplicity of the times,' camp language TL. described them as ' Croats.'(2^) Not knowing, it seems, how to manage these splendid barbarians, our Engineer Staff had failed to make their ser- vices valuable, and Lord Eaglan placed twenty of them under the orders of the two Honorary Agents who were administering the ' Crimean ' Army Fund.' With these ' hands ' added to those they themselves had brought with them, the volunteers, Tower and Egerton, made a vow that they would execute their task without ac- cepting aid from so much as one single ' fatigue- ' party ' of English troops, and even without drawing one ' ration ' of food for either man or beast. The division of labour adopted by the two Honorary Agents threw, mainly, it seems, upon one of them that part of the duty which aimed at wringing work from the Croats. Tower was not only a man of indomitable activity, and addicted more than other frail mortals to pain- ful, resolute ' forethought,' but moreover was so grandly constituted as to be capable of enthu- siastic devotion to a ' cause ; ' and the ' cause ' of our glorious soldiery having fiercely laid hold of him — laid hold of him heart and soul — the torrent of his energies was a force too strong to be withstood, too strong to be even confronted by Asiatic men. (2'^) Eeducing his ' Croats ' to sheer slavery, yet studying with thoughtful kind- ness their wants, their wishes, their habits, ascer- "■.aining and procuring for them the exact kind of