248 THE OPENING OF THE SIEGE. CHAT, arose from any si)irit of antagonism to Lord Eag- ' ]an ; for ho was a man of a good and warm lieart, mnch attached to his chief, and intending to walk loyally according to such lights as he had. The consulted Generals were, no douht, aware that the desire to place our besieging forces on ground more close to Sebastopol had been submitted for adoption by Sir John Burgoyne ; and it was rather, perhaps, in resistance to him, than with any notion of opposing Lord Eaglan, that Sir George Brown spoke as he did. His mind was of the quality of those which are liable to be much impressed by the distinctions which separate one branch of the service from another ; and I believe that he probably disliked the sensation of being directed and propelled by an officer of Engineers. lueffett. ¥ov appearance' sake. Lord liaglan caused the assembled Generals to express (in terms void of special significance) their willingness to aid in the siege to the best of their means ; but the practical conclusion attained by the council was the rejec- tion of Burgoyne's proposal for a closer invest- ment of the place.* After hearing the unanimous opinion M-hich his Generals of Division opposed to the idea of pressing closer upon the enemy by moving our infantry to positions more in advance, Lord Eag-
- I have not forgotten the pas.sage (' Invasion of the Crimea,*
vol. ii. chap. xvi. p. 269 of Cabinet Edition) in which I spoke of the exceeding willingness of every one serving under Lord liaglan to give effect to his wishes ; bnt that passage pniix)rt3 only to speak of things as they were whilst the army was in Bulgaria.
