Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/310

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

280 WHAT PROSPECT, IF ANY, THERE WAS CHAP, and, in so far as appeared, had not undergone ' any check.* sin, two days after the conference, the an- cillary discussion maintained between the Chief French Engineer and the Chief Engineer of our army was not only continuing, but entering then on a phase highly favourable to the English con- tention. Niiiv : Mel's answer was dated the 26th of June, anc 1 of the 25th _ . „ . , , . . , . , of June. — speaking so tar with authority, because he had been privy to the arrangements of the 2d of Feb- ruary — he frankly made this acknowledgment : — ' It has always/ he said, ' been understood that ' the attack of the Redan was to proceed with that ' of the Flagstaff Battery, so that the two sides of ' the valley can be held, and that if the French ' were to abandon their attack, the English, in ' accordance with the previous conventions, would ' on their side be free to abandon their attack of ' the Redan.' On the other hand, he insisted that, to propose the withdrawal of the English from their attacks would be almost the same as pro- posing to raise the siege. The combined result of his two opinions irn-

  • The note from Lord Raglan above referred to was the last,

I believe, that he ever sent to Pelissier. It ran thus : — 'Dkvant Sebastopol, le 24 Juin 1855. ' Jc vous envoie, mon cher Gdncral, la traduction du Memor- ' andum du Gem'ial Jones en date du 21, dont vous avez pris ' connaissance ce matin. ' Agree/, je vous prie, l'assurance de mes sentiments les plus ' affectueux et les plus devoues. (Signed) ' Raglan.'