[Illustration: THE HIGHLANDERS AT THE ALMA.] Sir Colin spoke a few words of encouragement to his men. “Be steady--keep silence--fire low;” and then, with fierce emphasis, he finished--“Now, men, the army will watch us: make me proud of the Highland Brigade!” He was about to engage twelve battalions with his three; each regiment as it advanced, the 42nd first, seemed to be outflanked by a heavy column; but beyond each flank came the next regiment in the echelon behind, and in this formation the Highlanders carried all before them. The Russians, after another despairing and unavailing stand, began to retreat, and the Guards and Highlanders took possession of the Kourgané Hill. [Illustration: “TURNER HIMSELF HURRIED UP TWO OF HIS GUNS” (_p._ 179).] All this time Lord Raglan had held his ground--no longer perilous--above the causeway; but now he was joined by Adams’ two regiments, and a red line was seen surmounting the slope. He left them there, to be used, if needs were, in hastening the retreat of the Russian columns; a brigade of the 3rd Division, Eyre’s, had also arrived, and was across the Bourliouk bridge. Now the French made head against Kiriakoff, who could not hold out with his comrades in full retreat; and as he fell back Canrobert came on, and, gaining the heights, took full possession of the Telegraph Hill. There was very little more fighting to be done, except with a handful of forgotten riflemen: the Russians were gone. Following Canrobert, Prince Napoleon and D’Aurelle advanced, so that soon two strong and unbroken French divisions and a whole brigade occupied the ground. Then followed the grievous mistake of not following up the beaten enemy. It was clear that the English could not do this with effect: the bulk of our men had been engaged, we had suffered severely, and the survivors were worn out with their exertions. Our cavalry could do little against the Russian, which was still quite fresh, and ready, if not too anxious, to cover the retreat. Lord Raglan hoped that the French would now reap the full advantage of the victory, and urged St. Arnaud to press on in pursuit. The only answer was that any further advance of the French that day was “impossible.” The men, when moving up to the attack, had left their knapsacks on the other side of the river, and they could not go on without them. So the Russian army, which was now nearly dissolved, a broken, helpless mass of fugitives, was suffered to continue its headlong retreat upon Sebastopol. A little more energy on the part of the victors would have dealt a crushing blow and probably annihilated it. In this first error was sown the seeds of the long and disastrous siege of Sebastopol. [Illustration: LORD RAGLAN. (_From the Painting by Andrew Morton._)] [Illustration: AUSTERLITZ BY C. STEIN]