THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 283 pressed forward once more in the hope of being chap. able to combine the next operations of his regi- ment with those of the 11th Hussars. -The 8th Hussars, we remember, was on the The 8th extreme right of the forces advancing in sup- port. Keduced to one-half of its former strength by that triple fire through which it had been passing, but still in excellent order, and main- taining that well - steadied trot which Colonel Shewell had chosen as the pace best adapted for a lengthened advance of this kind, this regiment had continued its advance down the valley, had moved past the now silent battery at a distance of a few horses' lengths from its (proper) left flank, had pressed on beyond it some three or four hundred yards, and by that time had so passed through the jaws of the enemy's position, as to be actually for the moment in a region almost out of harm's way — in the region, if so one may speak, which lies behind the north wind.* Colonel Shewell then halted the regiment. Mak- ing only now one squadron — and that a very weak one — its remains stood formed up to their front. Colonel Shewell, it seems, had the hope that an order of some kind would presently reach him ; and he well might desire to have guidance, for the position into which he had pushed forward his regiment was somewhat a strange one. On
- I need hardly say that the idea of referring to the ' country
1 of the Hyperboreans' as a modern illustration, belongs to Mr Lowe. See his celebrated speech in the House of Commons, 1866.
