spade were thrown
aside in despair. From the silence which now seemed to reign within, and
the volumes of smoke which poured from the casements, it began to be the
general impression that the fate of the nuns was already decided; and
the officers were about to limber up their guns and retire, when I
begged their chief to make one trial more, and fire at a huge iron door
which closed a lofty archway leading to the Hotel de Ville. He complied;
a six-pound ball was sent against the door, and it flew off its hinges.
To the boundless exultation and astonishment of all, we saw the effect
of this fortunate shot, in the emergence of the whole body of the nuns
from the smoking and shattered building. They had been driven, step by
step, from the interior to the long stone-built passage which in old
times had formed a communication with the town, and which had probably
not been used for a century. The troops and populace now rushed into the
Hotel de Ville to meet and convey them to places of safety. I followed
with the same object, yet with some unaccountable feeling that I had a
personal interest in the rescue. The halls and apartments were on the
huge and heavy scale of ancient times, and I was more than once
bewildered in ranges of corridors filled with the grim reliques of civic
magnificence, fierce portraits of forgotten men of city fame, portentous
burghers, and mailed captains of train bands. The unhappy women were at
length gathered from the different galleries to which they had scattered
in their fright, and were mustered at the head of the principal
entrance, or _grand escalier_, at whose foot the escort was drawn up for
their protection.

But the terrors of that fearful night were not yet at an end. The light
of the conflagration had caught the eye of the besiegers, and a whole
flight of shells were sent in its direction. Some burst in the street,
putting the populace to flight on every side; and, while the women were
on the point of rushing down the stair, a crash was heard above, and an
enormous shell burst through the roof, carrying down shattered rafters,
stones, and a cloud of dust. The batteries had found our range, and a
succession of shells burst above our heads, or tore their way downwards.
All was now confusion and shrieking. At length one fell on the centre of
the _escalier_, rolled down a few steps, and, bursting, tore up the
whole stair, leaving only a deep gulf between us and the portal. The
women fled bac