228 THE WINTER TROUBLES. CHAP. Thoughtful men, whether soldiers or not, saw ^^ the danger of heedless disclosures well fitted to advantage the enemy — saw, moreover, the mis- chief of a great public outcry, with its offspring of random impeachments in the midst of an arduous war, and some of these observers were led to speak harshly of the ' Times ' correspon- dent; but perhaps, if they had striven to analyse the grounds of tlieir judgment, they would have found that the cause of their anger lay not so much in the purport of Mr Kussell's accounts, but rather in the violent use which they saw being made of his statements by writers and speakers at home. III. England. Intensity of The Suffering endured by our troops was an roused in° cvil that might well be expected to provoke the wholesome wrath of a nation ; for, although of course armies before had suffered and perished when coerced or trampled down by defeat, here was one that lay suffering and perishing in the arms of Victory. ■^ Our people at home before long were in the agonies of pity and anger. If forgetful for a moment of Distance and Time, both writers and speakers might think th(?y could help our dying troops on the Chersonese by appeals addressed to the rulers ; t but, whether
- The sufferings of our army may be said to have become
acute on the 14tli of November, scarce nine days after the battle of lukerman ; and no military reverse had occurred in the interval. t See ante, p. •2'!'), and the question submitted, j'ost, pp. 248, 249.
