Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 2.djvu/269

ATTACK ON SEBASTOPOL. 239 On the Sabbath, Ennkuid had rest : but in the chap. . XIV. early morning of all other days the irrevocable L words were poured forth and scattered abroad to the corners of the earth, measuring out honour to some, and upon others bringiug scorn and dis- grace. Where and with whom the real power lay, and what was its true source, and how it was to be propitiated, — these were questions wrap- ped in more or less obscurity ; for some had a theory that one man ruled, and some another, and some were sure that the Great Newspaper governed all England, and others that England governed the Newspaper, riiilosophic politi- cians traced events to what they called ' Public ' opinion.' With almost the same meaning women and practical men simply spoke of 'The Times.' ]]ut whether the power of the great journal was a power all its own, or whether it was only the vast shadow of the public mind, it was almost equally to' be dreaded and revered by worldly men : for plainly, in that summer of 1854, it was one with England. Its words might be wrong, but it was certain that to tens of thou- sands of men they would seem to be right. They might be the collected voice of all these isles, or the mere utterance of some one nnknown man sitting pale by a midnight lamp, — but there they were. They were the handwriting on the walk Of the temper and spirit in which this strange power had been wielded, up to the time of the outbreak of the war, it is not very hard to speak. In general 'The Times' had been more willing to