s golundauze (artillery-men) fired the
gun off, and I was thrown on my back in the trench, and the same man was
in the act of cutting me to pieces, when a grenadier of our company,
named Shears, shot him, and I once more escaped. Fortunately for us, the
whole of the enemy's great guns were elevated too much, owing to which
the shots passed over our heads. If they had been properly directed, we
must have been annihilated to a man. Within fifty or sixty paces from
the breach, I received a matchlock ball in the head, which dropped me to
the ground, the blood flowing profusely. When I came a little to myself
from the stun, I found myself impelled onward by one of our companies,
who were close together, and running stooping, to avoid the shots,
which, being near the breach, were uncomfortably thick; but we reached,
and soon planted the British flag on the summit of the bastion which was
breached. Our opponents fought hard to resist our entrance, throwing
immense stones, pieces of trees, stink-pots, bundles of straw set on
fire, spears, large shots, &c.; but resistance was in vain: we were
determined to conquer. In spite of this laudable resolution, however, we
found some hard work cut out for us on making good our ascent. The
streets in the fort were narrow, running across each other, and every
ten yards guns were placed, for the purpose of raking the whole streets.
Added to this, many of the enemy had got into high houses, in which
there were loop-holes, from which they could fire down upon us, without
the possibility of our getting at them. Near the corner of a street, in
a kind of nook, I saw our dear Captain Lindsay attacked by five or six
of the enemy. He was on one knee, and quite exhausted, having lost much
blood from his former wounds; but, to our great joy, we were just in
time to save him, and punish some of his assailants. From the intricacy
of the place, we were afraid of shooting our own men, and were therefore
obliged to keep pretty close together. At midnight I again met Captain
Lindsay, clearing one of the streets, when he asked me how I felt
myself. I complained of a wound in my side, but said that I could find
no hole; but this was not a time for talking. In turning sharp down a
street rather larger than those we had cleared, we met a column of the
enemy, with a person of rank in a palanquin. We soon stopped his black
highness; and, to ascertain who was inside the palanquin, which was an
open one, I, with sev