Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/163

STATE BEFOKE THE lIUItKIGA-NE. 1 1 9 CHAPTER VI. STATE OF THE ALLIED ARMIES BEFORE THE HURRICANE. I. The army of General Canrobert was often, chap. though not always, able to provide itself with ' good leaven bread, and to this there were added of'the^ small allowances of rice, coffee, sugar, and salt ; aray?^ but, as regards meat, the soldiery were poorly fed : so that, upon the whole, their rations were hardly sufficient to support a good strong state of health in men doing much hard work, even under a temperate climate, still less to ht them for bearing the hardships of this winter cam- paign.(-^) On the other hand, the French soldier was in most cases one who had been always accustomed to rely upon bread as the staple of his daily food ; and in the art of making the best of any meat or vegetables within his reach, he always had immense skill. /-I • 1 • 1 1-1 The food Considering what our troops were destined to providert for nn ■ ■, 1 • • .the English suffer in the now last- approaching winter, it army.