Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/387

THE MAIN FIGHT. 343 forces were only a few paces asimder, there fol- chap. lowed a moment — nay, moments — of suspended _J}i_ action. From some cause or other it happened sarerioij. that, with victory almost in its grasp, the young French battalion was seized with misgiving. One solution represents that its soldiery had trusted to the prospect of being able to reload for another round of fire, and then all at once came to see that, whilst they were still handling their ram- rods, the enemy might be on them with the bay- onet. Be that as it may, the battalion lost its moment for charging, then visibly loosened in structure, then ceased to stand fast. From several parts of the line, and more especially from its (lank companies, men began here and there to drop out, with a tendency to gather in towards the rear of the centre. It is true that towards the centre and the left of the battalion the sol- diery who had begun falling back stopped short in their retrograde course when they found them- selves confronted by the English line under Bellairs, which now stood formed up in stiff order across their line of retreat ; but the evil, if not beyond remedy, was beginning, remember, in the direct front and in the close presence of a powerful enemy, was involving a body of no less than 900 men — full three-fourths of the whole allied strength here placed in array — and thus threatening to end every hope of de- fending the Eidge against its present assailants. Once again, therefore, much seemed depending upon the way in which this young French bat-