THE 17th of OCTOBEK. 437 spirits restored, and with batteries streim tliened chap. XIII and multiplied, should be able to bring the Flag- _! 1 staff Bastion to a state like that of the Eedan ; and to that course of action on the part of the French Lord Eaglau simply assented, but he was not the less determined to persist in his own cannonade. It must not be supposed that General Canrobert receded in the least from any engagement he had made. The checkered and twofold event of success at the Eedan and failure at the Flagstaff Bastion had not been apparently contemplated in the anterior deliberations of the Allies ; and it was in perfect accordance with the understanding Ijetween the two Generals that the French, when they found themselves baffled for the moment in their artillery conflict, determined to postpone their attack. The whole theory of the cannonade which the Allies had been preparing for the last twenty days was based upon the supposed im- portance of getting down the tire of a work before any attempt to assault it ; and, the exceeding worth of the opportunity which had occurred being ill understood at the time, it was consistent and only natural on the part of the French Com- mander to put off his further attack. The question whether Sebastopol would have concurreni been probably carried by a resolute assault on upon the this 17th of October has been determined in the of an "^'■' affirmative by our English Engineers ; * and their
- The Official Journal of the English Engineers — a work
strongly bearing the impress of Sir John Burgo3-ne's mind —
