our only
defence, and all we had to prevent the enemy marching into the works, if
works they could be called.

There was another and very serious disadvantage attending our locality.
The castle was situated very near the summit of a steep hill, the upper
part of which was in possession of the enemy, who were by this means
nearly on a level with the top of the castle, and on that eminence,
three hundred Swiss sharpshooters had effected a lodgement, and thrown
up works within fifty yards of us, keeping up a constant fire at the
castle. If a head was seen above the walls, twenty rifle-bullets
whizzed at it in a moment, and the same unremitted attention was paid to
our boats as they landed.

On another hill, much to the northward, and consequently, further
inland, the French had erected a battery of six 14-pounders. This
agreeable neighbour was only three hundred yards from us, and, allowing
short intervals for the guns to cool, this battery kept up a constant
fire upon us from daylight till dark. I never could have supposed in my
boyish days that the time would arrive when I should envy a cock upon
Shrove Tuesday; yet such was case when in this infernal castle. It was
certainly not giving us fair play; we had no chance against such a
force; but my captain was a knight-errant, and as I had volunteered, I
had no right to complain. Such was the precision of the enemy's fire,
that we could tell the stone that would be hit by the next shot, merely
from seeing where the last had struck, and our men were frequently
wounded by the splinters of granite with which the walls were built, and
others picked off, like partridges, by the Swiss corps on the hill close
to us.

Our force in the castle consisted of a hundred and thirty English seamen
and marines, one company of Spanish, and another of Swiss troops in
Spanish pay. Never were troops worse paid and fed or better fired at.
We all pigged in together, dirty straw and fleas for our beds; our food
on the same scale of luxury; from the captain downwards there was no
distinction. Fighting is sometimes a very agreeable pastime, but excess
"palls on the sense:" and here we had enough of it, without what I
always thought an indispensable accompaniment, namely, a good bellyfull;
nor did I conceive how a man could perform his duty without it; but here
I was forced, with many others, to make the experiment, and when the
boats could not land, which was often the case, we piped to di