BY THE ALLIED FLEET. 259
- mere mischief against the sea-forts at a range CHAP.
- of 800 yards. *
' If only for the sake of the land forces, and ' the whole purpose of the invasion, our squadrons ' must be always kept in a condition to maintain ' their ascendant at sea. It is thought by some
- that this ascendant has been placed beyond the
- reach of all challenge by the sacrifice the Eus-
' sians have made. True, the enemy has been ' dealing with some parts of his Sebastopol fleet
- in away which seemed to show that he no longer
- meant it for sea ; and, indeed, when we saw
' how he had sunk a number of his ships across
- the mouth of the roadstead, we not only said,
' " There ends the naval campaign ! " but even ' ventured at once to give up to the land service ' a large proportion of our strength in seamen ' and marines, as well as in guns and materials ; ' yet, for all that, there is still one way — a way ' disastrous for us — in which it would be possible
- for our squadrons to bring about a renewal —
' or rather, one may say, a commencement — of ' the naval campaign. Only let us suffer our ' fleets to be disabled by a ruinous encounter with ' the forts, and then the Sebastopol fleet — for, ' after all, it is only a portion of it which has 'been sunk — will be able at last to come out ' and find us for once in a state ill-fitted for a ' naval encounter. ' Certainly we shall not choose to prepare such ' a disaster for our fleets. Neither we nor any ' successor of ours will ever engage the batteries
