46 THE BATTI,E OF INKERMAN. CHAP, occupied.* Sir George Brown and Sir George • Cathcart took upou themselves to decline the offer. They said, it appears, that the English had sufficient reserves at hand ; and added a request that, instead of advancing to the scene of the conflict, Bosquet would be pleased to watch the ground in rear of Canrobert's redoubt.-j* Brown and Cathcart, it would seem, must have spoken under the impulse of a feeling of pride, which, however perturbing to the judgment, must still in a way be admired, because it is a main ingredient in that wonderful assemblage of quali- ties which makes the British soldier what he is ; and indeed this answer to Bosquet was not un- like such as might have come from two superb sergeants or privates who had found themselves asked to acknowledge that the English wanted help from a Frenchman. Certainly Brown and Cathcart, being unac- quainted with the enemy's design for overwhelm-
- Bosfiui't's report, 7th November 1854.
t Ibid. Sir George Brown w<as so eager and iudustrioiis in the use of the pen, that his non-contradiction of this published report of Bosquet's goes far to establish the accuracy of the French General. Sir George also left uncontradicted the state- ment of the great French official work, the ' Atlas de la Guerre ' d'Orient,' which was published many years before his death. The ' Atlas ' says : ' Les Geueraux Sir G. Brown et Sir G. ' Cathcart ont remercie le General Bosquet de I'offre de son ' concours ; seulement ils I'ont prie de ronforcer les troupes ' vers la redoute Canrobcrt,' &c. Fay (I'.osquet's aide-de- carap) reports the answer of Brown and Cathcart thus : ' Nos ' '•eserves sont suffisantes pour parer aux eventualites ; veuillez ' seulement couvrir notre droite en arrifere du retrancliemerit ' andais.'— P. 125.
