Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 2.djvu/187

 PKECEDING THE INVASION. ' 157 Even if, for the rccruitim/ of Lis Iicaltli, lie ciiAr • • -I XII were passing a few weeks of holiday in France, L lie would still seek personal distinction with a singular strength of will. If, for instance, there chanced to be a fire at night, he would lly to the spot, would scale the ladders, mount the roof and contrive to appear aloft in seeming peril, dis- played to a wondering crowd by the lurid glare of the flames. Then he would disappear, and then suddenly he would be seen again suspended in the air, and passing athwart the sky that divided one roof from another by the help of a rope or a pole. In the early part of his service in Algeria, his old patron, General Bugeaud, was in command there, and was still a warm friend to him. Of course this circumstance helped to open a path for him ; and the result was that, first by acts of bi'avcry and vigour, and then by a display of administra- tive ability, the all but desperate lieutenant of the Foreign Legion rose in eight years to be entrusted with a General's command.* In 1845 he commanded in the valley of the Chelif ; and he was so dire a scourge to the neighbouring tribes, that the force which obeyed his orders was called the 'Infernal Column.' When first I saw him in that year he was mov- ing with his force to wreak vengeance on a revolted tribe, and he was to march five weeks deep into the desert. He spoke with luminous force, and with a charming animation ; and it seemed to me, us we rode along by the side of the heavy-laden
 * But up to that time with the rank of Colonel only.