170 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. chap, cavalry to retreat from before him — nay, almost, ' one may say, to retreat across his front — without undertaking to pursue it.* Lord Lucan, of course, did not mean that his Light cavalry should meet a conjuncture like the one which actually occurred by remaining in a state of inaction ; but how far the mistake may have derived a seeming warrant from any ob- scurity or from any misleading tendency in his instruction, that, of course, is a question depen- dent on the words that were used. + If no such
- See the accompanying sketch-plan representing Lord Cardi-
gan's idea of the respective positions of the Russian cavalry and of the two English brigades. The plate is upon a reduced scale, hut is, in other respects, a facsimile of the drawing which Lord Cardigan prepared for me. The special purpose for which he prepared the drawing was to show what the position was which he considered that he had to defend. + Lord Cardigan's statement is : ' I had been ordered into a ' particular position by Lieutenant- General the Earl of Lucan, ' my superior officer, with orders on no account to leave it, and ' to defend it against any attack of Russians. They did not, 4 however, approach the position.' — Affidavit of Lord Cardigan. Lord Luoan's version of the order he gave is this — ' 1 am going ' to leave you. Well, you'll remember that you are placed ' here by Lord Raglan himself for the defence of this position. ' My instructions to you are to attack anything and everything ' that shall come within reach of you, but you will he careful ' of columns or squares of infantry.' Lord Lucan, I believe, considers that when the Russian Cavalry advanced up the North Valley to within n few hundred yards of Lord Cardigan, when they moved (obliquely) across Lord Cardigan's front, and proceeded under his eye:* to attack English regiments, they did ' approach the position,' nay, did actually invade it. thereby bringing about the exact contingency under which Lord Cardi- gan (according to his own version of the instructions) was or- dered to defend the position 'against any attack of Russians.' On the other hand, it may be thought that even according 1o
