Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 2.djvu/383

 THE I^'VADED COUNTRY. 353 women were sayiufj so fast and so eagerly, it chap. . . . XXIII appeared that they were busy with similes and 1 metaphors, and that the Eifles were made out to be heroes more strong than lions, more gentle than young lambs. A dreadful change came over that village : the outrages -r^n -ii T 1 rr 11 perpetrated lutles were withdrawn — the Zouaves marclied by the Zouaves. in. There followed spoliation, outrage, horrible cruelty. When those tidings came to Lord Eag- lau, he was standing on the shore with several of his people about him. He turned scarlet with shame and anger. The yoke of the alliance had wrung him. In general, it would fall within the duty of The duty of light horse to sweep the face of the invaded ter- the couutry ,, . . , . , , -,, -for supijlie*. I'ltory and bring m supplies ; but the 1 rench M'ere without cavalry ; and although the body of horse which we had landed was called ' the Light ' Brigade,' the Lancers, the Hussars, and the Light Dragoons of which it consisted, were not troops of such nimble kind, and not so practised as to be all at once apt at foraging. Besides it was plain that in advancing through the enemy's couutry, the power of the invaders would have to be measured by the arm in which they were weakest, and a material loss in our small, brilliant force of cavalry might bring ruin upon the whole expedition. There was the Commissariat. The officers of that depart- ment were gentlemen taken from a branch of the Treasury ; and although they could make requisi- tions on the military authorities with more or les3 hope of a result, they had no force of their own VOL. II. z