Presently, however, as the morning, which had previously been cold and raw, advanced, and the sun shone bright and warm, and the dry, grassy, and shrub-grown plain of the Tchernaya looked tempting for a canter, officers began to get restless, and to move away from the bridge across a small stream or ditch, and up a strip of level ground leading to a sort of monument, a square pedestal of rough stones surmounted by a dwarf pillar, of no particular order of architecture, and concerning whose origin and object the Russians, of whom inquiry was made, could say nothing. Some more Sardinian and French officers had by this time come down, but, besides those engaged in the conference and attached to General Windham's staff', T do not think there were a dozen English officers on the ground.
The general disposition of all seemed to be to move outwards in the direction of the Russian lines. People did not know how far they might go, and accordingly felt their way, cantering across a bit of level ground, and up a hill, and then pausing to look about them and reconnoitre the country and see whether there v/as any sign of obstacles to further progress. The soil was of a lighter and more sandy nature than it generally is found to be within oiulines; in some places it was rather thickly sprinkled with bushes, saplings, and tall weeds. Several brace of red-legged partridges were sprung, some of them so near our horses' feet that a hunting-whip would have reached them. As the morning advanced, the field grew larger.
A French General was there with his Staff and several French Hussar officers. Numbers of Sardinians came, but the English were detained in camp by a muster parade, and many also had been misinformed that the meeting of the Generals was not to take place until twelve or one. By this time we were getting far on towai'ds the Russian lines and batteries, when the field began to spread out, some taking to the right, and getting very near to a Cossack vidette, who seemed rather puzzled to accomit for the presence of so many strange horsemen within musket-shot of his post, and who, after once or twice beginning to circle in sigTial of an enemy's approach, received a reinforcement in the shape of another Cossack, who rode down the hill as if to warn the intruders oft' forbidden ground.
Another party of gallopers went close up to the battery known as No. 49, and held communion with some videttes, with whom they smoked an amicable cigarette, until a Russian officer came up and politely informed them in French that his orders were to allow no one to come any further, and that he hoped they would retire, which they of course did. More to the left a numerous body of horsemen, followed by a straggling array of Zouaves, Chasseurs, Bersaglieri, and other infantry soldiers, who had made their way to the ground, rode up to the ridge just below the spur of the hill to the south-east of Inkermann. Here they were very near the Russian pickets, and within particularly convenient shot of various batteries, had these thought proper to open, and there most of them paused, for to go further really looked like abusing the good-nature of the enemy, who thus allowed us to profit by the conference to enjoy a ride further into the Russian territory than any one has been since this camp was formed, and to take a near view of their positions and defences.
Only half-a-dozen adventurous and inquisitive spirits pushed ahead, and seemed as if they intended charging a Russian battery, and the videttes began to move uncasil}^ about in this direction also, -when up came a Sardinian Staff officer at full speed, his blue plume streamingin the wind, and gave chase to the forward gentlemen, shouting to them to return. They, seeing themselves thus cut off iir the rear, and perhaps to avoid a rebuke, made a retrograde flank movement, escaped their pursuer, and rejoined the main body; and, as orders were now given that no one should go further, a return towards the bridge became pretty general. The horses, long accustomed to sink to the fetlock in hoiTid Balaklavan and Sebastopolian mire, seemed to enjoy the change to the firm, springy turf beyond the Tchernaya; more partridges were sprung, to the immense tantalization of some there present, who would have given a month's pay for a day's shooting over such ground; some hares were also started, and one of them was vigorously pursued by a subaltern of a sporting turn, whose baggage pony, however, was soon left far in rear by puss's active bounds.