94 THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN. CHAP. So quiet from the first had been Soimoiiofrs VI ' march, so obscure to the eye were his troops in ut Period, ^jjgjj. sombie capotes, and so well had his enter- SoiinonofTs . /.iii •• undisturbed prise been favoured by the remaining shades of advance to . "^ . . , . tiie verge of nia[ht, and an atmosphere dim with mist or dnzz- Shell Hill. ^ ' ^ ling rain, that even when daylight was breaking, his silent, grey line of battle still glided on for a while unseen and unheard by the English. Yet he now had come within hail of that ledge in ad- vance of Shell Hill, where a chain of our sentries stood posted. II. After seeing that a Russian commander could thus quietly advance with his thousands to the verge of General Pennefather's dominions, it be- comes time to learn how our outposts were all this while keeping their watch. The English During part of the night between the 4th and night.^'^ the 5th of November, thick mist and drizzling rain so obscured the air as to embarrass the intercommunication of sentries, and from this cause it happened that the chain of our outposts about Shell Hill was drawn in more closely than usual ; but it can scarce be surmised that the old pickets, if strictly kept out at their appointed posts, would have perceived any signs of the coming attack.*
- This conclusion seems warranted by the fact — see post, p.
97 — that even at a later time, and when SoimonoflF's forces were much nearer to their goal, the new pickets, though posted out in their right places, were still there for some time without being able to detect any signs of the coming attack.
