his first
instructions clearly indicated the guns in the redoubt, and his
second, brought by Nolan, obviously referred to the same guns, the
cavalry general was misled--by his own rage, or Nolan's sweeping
gesture, who shall say?--misled into a terrible error.

He conceived it to be his duty to send a portion of his cavalry
against a formidable battery of Russian guns, well posted as they
were, and already sweeping the valley with a well-directed, murderous
fire.

Of the two cavalry brigades, the Light was still fresh and untouched
by the events of the day. The Heavy Brigade, as we have seen, had
already done splendid service in routing the Russian cavalry. The turn
of the Light Brigade had come, although, unhappily, the task entrusted
to it was hopeless, foredoomed to failure from the first.

It stood close by, proudly impatient, its brigadier, Lord Cardigan, at
its head.

To him the divisional general imparted Lord Raglan's order.

"You are to advance, Lord Cardigan, along the valley, and attack the
Russians at the far end," was the order he gave.

"Certainly, sir," replied Lord Cardigan, without hesitation. "But
allow me to point out to you that the Russians have a battery in the
valley in our front, and batteries and riflemen on each flank."

"I can't help that," said Lord Lucan; "Lord Raglan will have it so.
You have no choice but to obey."

Lord Cardigan saluted with his sword; then, rising in his stirrups, he
turned to his men, and cried aloud in a full, firm voice--

"The brigade will advance!"--to certain death, he might have added,
for he knew it, although he never quailed. But, settling himself in
his saddle, as though starting on a promising run with hounds, and not
on a journey from which there was no return, he said, with splendid
resignation, as he prepared to lead the charge--

"Here goes for the last of the Brudenells!"[2]

[Footnote 2: The family name of the Earls of Cardigan was Brudenell.]

All this had passed in a few minutes, and then three lines of
dauntless horsemen--in the first line, Dragoons and Lancers; in the
second, Hussars; in the third, Hussars and more Dragoons--galloped
down the north valley on their perilous and mistaken errand.

They were already going at full speed, when a single horseman, with
uplifted arm and excited gesture, as though addressing the brigade,
crossed their front. It was Nolan, who thus seemed to be braving the
anger of Lord Cardigan by interfering w