THE COUNSELS OF THE ALLIES. 19D Ccinrobert, it seems, reserved his decision until chap. the following day; but ultimately the French ^^^' opinion* They still ?o!^«i!t. i- J Its affinitive judged that there ought to be no assault without >'^J>^*;'-'0"- first getting down the fiie of the place by means of tlieir battering guns. To prevent all constraint in the expression of Lord men's thoughts, but also, I imagine, in furtherance negative of !• 1 • 1 • i 1 cn ^ 11 r- ■ proposal 01 Ins desire to ward on the semblance or antagon- forrecording isin between Uanrobert and himseli, Lord iiaslan, enceswith ,. , , . , , , , the French. soon alter the completion ot the flank march, had negatived a proposal made to him for recording in manuscript the purport of the conferences then about to take place between the French and the English. ■{- Far from wishing to record, he sought to obliterate all trace of the differences elicited by interchange of opinion. Evidently, this deter- mination was a wholesome one ; but it tended, of course, after even a small lapse of time, to throw some obscurity over what passed in conference between the French and the English Headquar- dated the SOtli of September, and addressed by Lyons to Lord liaglan : ' I shall be anxious to know the effect produced upon ' Sir John Burgoyne's mind by his reconnaissance yesterday, ' and also the result of Canrobert's night reflection upon the ' proposition of yesterday ; and I will wait on j-our Lordship ' after breakfast.'
- 'He' (Lord Eaglan) 'would have been very willing to
' do it by assault, but he was not supported in the proposal ' by the French General, nor by his own Engineers.' — ]IS. ^[emorandiim, Appendix, Note I. I believe that Sir John IJurgoyne was not present at the conference of which I am speaking. + Information given me by the officer who made the proposal to him.
