438 THE CANNONADE OF CHAP, judf^meiit has been ratified l)y the weighty aiitho- XTTT ' ^ rity of General de Todleben. It iimst be observed, however, that General de Todleben's argument omits the consideration of what might be eftected against the assailants by the fire from the Rus- sian ships. Plainly also, that imaginary road to the con- quest of Sebastopol which the great Engineer of the Russians can now so surely point out to his former opponents might not have been easily found by the assaulting columns ; and, in the absence of a panic involving the collapse of all steadfast resistance, it seems likely that the be- siegers in storming the place would have had to undergo heavy slaughter. Therefore the op- portunity which presented itself to the Allies on tliis day was not one so unspeakably precious as those which, thrice over, occurred in the last ten days of September. Still, the predicament into which the invaders had thrust themselves was of such a kind that they would have been blessed indeed if they could now have found means to capture Sebastopol even at the cost of cruel losses ; and, since it happened that they had opened a chasm in the enemy's line of defence, their omission to push home the advantage must here take its place, and be numbered. It con- contains this passage : ' Could an assault have been attempted ' this evening, it is believed that it would have been successful. ' But as the French expected to re-establish their batteries by ' the following morning, it was decided to delay the assault on ' the British side until the French were ready to undertake the ' operation against the works of the Flagstaff I'.;isti<Jii.' — V. 31.
