The English journals contain, I perceive, many comments on a statement published in my correspondence describing the illfated attack on the Redan on the 8th of September, in which the Commander-in-Chief, the Quartermaster-General, and the General of Engineers, were represented as being in the second parallel, sheltering themselves as well as they could from the effects of the dust and of the bitter cold wind which blew throughout the day. Now, it is very far from my intention to expose the Generals to ridicule. General Simpson same out here as chief of the staff to ease Lord Raglan of a load of duties ■which pi'essed too heavily upon him, and to nev;tralize the acids in the Quartermaster-General and the Adjutant-General's Departments. When Lord Raglan died, the command was thrust upon General Simpson, and he who had served for many anxious years, feeiin<^ lie was no lonijjer the stout soldier that had won renown for his unaristocratic name in the Peninsula, or as an. experienced General, had been regarded as the only successor to a Kapier in India, made representations to the Government at home which did credit to his modesty and humility, if not to his judgment.
In I'act, he begged of them to place the command in other hands. Well, the Government refused to do so. They left General Simpson Commander-iu-Chief of our army in spite of himself, and in defiance of his own diffident remonstrances. Left? no, but forced him — the round peg, as he declared himself to be — into the square hole; and now they are astonished forsooth that the peg did not fit! Again, is there any good ground for attacking one whose business it is to tell all that is interesting to the British public for saying what the Generals did, where they were placed, and how they appeared? I cannot answer the question, but it strikes me, if it be answered in the affirmative, the respondent mast be the last of the Protectionists— the Don Quixote of " sham," the champion of humbug, and the high priest of national delusion.
Why is the writer to be attacked? Because he exposed these distinguished officers to ridicule and calumny. What, is not a General a human being? If he is cold, must he alone not wear a cloak? if sick, must he alone not avail himself of a litter? if stormdriven, must he alone bear its peltings with uncovered ears? Are " distinguished officers" to be always in full uniform — in cocked hats, epaulettes, orders, and jackboots, shouting " Follow me!" to their legions, or taking snuff" a la Gomersall and Napoleon in extreme military crises in front of their battalions? If they are, they ought not to be j sui-ely, if they ought to be, they are not.