Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 2.djvu/328

 298 THE EMBARKATION. CHAP, must needs be a man in earnest. On the other .^ 1 hand, it was clear that, for an invasion of the Crimea, a body of cavahy was strictly needed; therefore a sagacious interpreter of warlike signs, who saw that the English General was embarking a thousand cavalry horses, and that the French were embarking none, would be led to conjecture that the English were resolved to make the de- scent, and that the French were not. It will be seen, by and by, that such a conjecture would have been sound. The time necessary for embarking a given num- ber of foot-soldiers is small in proportion to that required for getting on board an equal number of troopers with their chargers. Nor is this all. The embarkation of infantry is not necessarily stopped by a moderate swell : the embarkation of cavalry is rendered very slow and difficult by even a slight movement of the sea, and is stopped altogether by a little increase of surf. The business of embarking the British cavalry was checked during some days by a wind from the north - east, and its consequent swell ; but afterwards the weather changed, and the whole force was got on board M'ithout the loss of a man.* Lord Eaglan could not repress the feeling with which he looked upon the exertions of our naval • The French were not so fortunate, for a painful accident occurred in the course of their embarkation. One of their Bteam-vessels ran down a boat laden with Zouaves. The men, encumbered by their packs, could do little to save themselves, and more than twenty were drowned.