command. The allied fleets were ordered to cruise in the straits, so as to
prevent interference by a British fleet.

These great and scientific preparations filled all hearts with hope. No
doubt was entertained that Gibraltar now must fall and Great Britain
receive the chastisement she deserved. The nobility of Spain sought in
numbers the scene of action, eager to be present at the triumph of her
arms. From Versailles came the French princes, full of expectation of
witnessing the humbling of British pride. So confident of success was
Charles III., king of Spain, that his first question every morning on
waking was, "Is Gibraltar taken?" All Spain and all France were instinct
with hope of seeing the pride of the islanders go down.

Gibraltar was garrisoned by seven thousand troops under General Elliot.
These lay behind fortifications on which had been exhausted all the
resources of the engineering skill of that day, and in their hearts was
the fixed resolve never to surrender. The question had become one of
national pride rather than of utility. Gibraltar was not likely to prove
of any very important advantage to Great Britain, but the instinct to hold
on has always been with that country a national trait, and, however she
might have been induced to yield Gibraltar as an act of policy, she was
determined not to do so as an act of war.

Early on the 13th of September, 1782, the long-threatened bombardment
began from so powerful a park of artillery that its roar is said to have
exceeded anything ever before heard. There were defects in the plan. The
trenches on land proved to be too far away. The water was rough and the
gunboats could not assist. But the work of the batteries came up to the
highest expectations. The fire poured by them upon the works was
tremendous, while for many hours the shells and red-hot balls of the
garrison, fired with the greatest precision, proved of no avail. The
batteries seemed invulnerable to fire and shell, and the hopes of the
besiegers rose to the highest point, while those of the besieged
correspondingly fell.

In the end this powerful assault was defeated by one of those events to
which armed bodies of men are always liable,--a sudden and uncalled-for
spasm of fear that flew like wildfire through fleet and camp. The day had
nearly passed, evening was approaching, the hopes of the allies were at
their height, when a red-hot ball from the works lodged in the nearest
battery and started