THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 93 is performed by showing the way? The sound- chap. ness of Scarlett's decision may fairly be ques- tioned ; * but he chose as chose Lord Uxbridge hiK 'Vision in the last of the battles against the great Napo- leon; -f* nay, he chose as did Murat himself, for when the great cavalry chief was a king and a commander of mighty numbers, he still used to charge in person, and to charge at the head of his squadrons. And now, all at once, by the arrival of his LordLucan The part Divisional General, Scarlett found himself relieved taken by . . him after from any anxiety occasioned by his decision. It hearing of -, , . the advance seems that, after having despatched Scarlett and oftneRns- ° sian cavalry his Heavy Dragoons on the mission assigned to them by the Commander - in - Chief, Lord Lucan had been apprised by one of Lord Eaglan's aides- de-camp of the enemy's advance up the valley with a large body of cavalry ; and that presently, upon having his glance directed to the right quarter, he himself had not only descried Byjoff's masses of horse, but had been able to see that a portion of them was bending southward across the Causeway ridge. Thereupon, it appears, he
- For the reason adverted to in the preceding paragraph.
t Our cavalry Generals have very commonly adopted this way of performing their duty ; hut the decision of Lord Ux- bridge (afterwards the Marquess of Anglesea) is a specially convenient example of the dilemma referred to in the text ; for on the one hand his personal leadership of the first line resulted in a charge of surpassing splendour ; hut then also great losses followed, because it was found that practically, his anterior directions to the supports did not seem applicable a few moments later, and at all events, were not obeyed in ft manner accordant with Lord Uxhridge's design.
