you over the woods, is
scarcely do-able by Europeans in that season; and the Negroes who are
able for it, 'fling down their burdens, and scamper, whenever a gun goes
off.' Furious fighting, too, there was, by seamen and landsmen; not ill
done, considering circumstances.

"On the sixteenth day, April 5th [King Friedrich hurrying from the
Mountains that same day, towards Steinau, which took fire with him
at night], Boca-Chica Castle and the intricate War-Ships, Booms, and
Castles thereabouts (Don Blas running off when the push became intense),
are at last got. So that now, through Boca-Chica, we enter the Interior
Harbor or Harbors. 'Harbors' which are of wide extent, and deep enough:
being in fact a Lake, or rather Pair of Lakes, with Castles (CASTILLO
GRANDE, 'Castle Grand,' the chief of them), with War-Ships sunk or
afloat, and miscellaneous obstructions: beyond all which, at the
farther shore, some five miles off, Carthagena itself does at last lie
potentially accessible; and we hope to get in upon Don Blas and it.
There ensue five days of intricate sea-work; not much of broadsiding,
mainly tugging out of sunk War-Ships, and the like, to get alongside of
Castle Grand, which is the chief obstruction.

"April 10, Castle Grand itself is got; nobody found in it when we storm.
Don Blas and the Spaniards seem much in terror; burning any Ships they
still have, near Carthagena; as if there were no chance now left." This
is the very day of Mollwitz Battle; near about the hour when Schwerin
broke into field-music, and advanced with thunderous glitter against the
evening sun! Carthagena Expedition is, at length, fairly in contact with
its Problem,--the question rising, 'Do you understand it, then?'

"Up to this point, mistakes of management had been made good by
obstinate energy of execution; clear victory had gone on so far, the
Capture of Carthagena now seemingly at hand. One thing was unfortunate:
'the able Mr. Moor [meritorious Captain of Foot, who, by accident, had
spent some study on his business], the one real Engineer we had,' got
killed in that Boca-Chica struggle: an end to poor Moor! So that
the Siege of Carthagena will have to go on WITHOUT Engineer science
henceforth. May be important, that,--who knows? Another thing was still
more palpably important: Sea-General Vernon had an undisguised contempt
for Land-General Wentworth. 'A mere blockhead, whose Brother has a
Borough,' thinks Vernon (himself an Opposition Memb