XXIV THE SOURCES OF THE NARRATIVE. will join with me in expressing the gratification which Ave all derived from his society. I thought it right to apprise the authorities of the French War Department, that, if they desired it, the journals of their divisions, and any other unpublished papers in their War Office- which they might be pleased to show, would be looked over by a gifted friend of mine, now a member of the House of Com- mons, who had kindly offered to undertake this task for me. The French authorities did not avail them- selves of my offer ; but any obscurity which might otherwise have resulted from this concealment has been effectually dispersed by the information I after- wards obtained from Russian sources. Of all the materials on which I found my account of the battle of the Alma, hardly any have been more valuable to me than the narratives of the three Divi- sional Generals who there held command under Prince Mentschikoff. The gifted young Russian officer who obtained for me these deeply interesting narratives, and who kindly translated them from their Russian originals, has not only conferred upon me an import- ant favour, but has also done that which will uplift the repute of the far-famed Russian infantry, by helping to show to Europe the true character of the conflict which it sustained on the banks of the Alma. My knowledge respecting the battles of Balaclava and Inkerman, and the subsequent fights before Sebas- tonol, is still incomplete ; and I shall welcome any information respecting these conflicts which men may
