Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/276

254 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. CHAP. I. Morris wounded and taken prisoner. their way into his strength as to be presently in- termingled, the few with the many — the twenty gay, glittering Lancers, with the ranks of the dusky grey cavalry. Seeing perhaps, with more or less distinctness, that they were undergoing an attack from only a handful of Lancers, some portions of the Rus- sian Hussars whose ranks had thus been invaded did not choose to confess themselves vanquished, although their array had been broken, and these remained on the ground, but the rest galloped off; and their English assailants, or such of them as were yet undisabled, swept on in pursuit. Scarcely, however, had this happened, when those Russian Hussars who had not given way were joined by numbers of Cossacks pouring in from the flank ; and they now once more had dominion of the very ground where their ranks, half a minute before, had been broken by Mor- ris's charge. For the moment there was nothing to hinder the enemy from capturing any of the English who here remained wounded and disabled. Of these Morris himself was one ; and his mis- fortune was a consequence of the determination which induced him to ' give point ' to his adver- sary. ' I don't know,' he would afterwards say — ' I don't know how 1 came to use the point ' of my sword, but it is the last time I ever do.' When his sword, driving home to the hilt, ran through the Russian squadron- leader whom he had singled out for his first adversary, the Rus- sian tumbled over on the off side of his horse,