Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/301

THE DEIMEANOUR OF ENGLAND. 257 measures for acceleratino- the communication chap. • IX with England by means of a submarine tele- '_ graph between the Crimea and Bulgaria. His newly -declared supremacy over the members of scattered offices was not so supported by official machinery as to insure his being able to make them work with despatch ; but in zeal he never failed. Lord Eaglan acknowledsjed the vigour of his ceaseless efforts to meet the winter calamity, saying, 'You have left no stone ' unturned.' As regarded the duties of the War Department, and the intricacies of our whole administrative labyrinth in Westminster and London, Lord Raglan's mastery of the subject was so complete that, from his desk in the farm-house at Headquarters, he could and did constantly aid the transaction of business at home ; and — because knowing thoroughly both the nature and the limits of our military re- sources — he never wrote asking for anything which lay beyond the power of our Government. The Quartermaster-General was speaking of Lord Eaglan, and of the direst period of the winter troubles, when he said : ' With a touching in- ' dulgence for the difficulties of others, he was ' accustomed to say that it was not possible for ' the home authorities to do much, but he knew ' they would do all they could.'(^^) It seems plain that the happy relations thus established between the two public servants re- mained unimpaired down to even the 15 th of December ; for on that day the Minister sought advice from the General upon a matter so secret VOL. VII. R