THE COUNSELS OF THE ALLIES. 187 ' stormiiifT at the very moment of davbreak ; but c ?i A P. " . vn.
- that surely is the utmost extent to which we —
' ought to be deflected in our counsels by the ' existence of a Russian field army established near Baktchi Serai.
- You, it seems, Sir John Burgoyne, are much
- impressed by the energy with which the enemy
' is labouring at his defences ; * and you infer from this display of zeal, a resolute determina- tion to defend the place ; but surely this infer- ence of yours is the very one the enemy must ' wish us to draw, if that which he wants is time ' and respite. Besides, the very haste with which ' we see these thousands of people now toiling at ' the works shows plainly enough what the garri- ' son think of the existing state of their defences. ' There would not be so much doing if it were ' not that there is much which has hitherto been ' left undone. The evident anxiety of the enemy ' to bring his works to completion should incline ' us to shorten the respite of which we see him ' making so eager a use. ' Imperfect as are the enemy's works, they still, ' no doubt, will enable him to inflict cruel loss ' upon our assaulting columns ; but this objection, ' grave — or rather painful — as it is, has a gene- ' ral application to all attacks upon prepared ' positions ; and unless there be something ex- ' ceptionally formidable in the works before us, ' and some very obvious advantage to be gained • Sir Jolin Burgoyne insists strongly upon this in his writings.
