great gaps in the masonry of the buildings, and the hail of
missiles from the machine guns swept every spot near the Egyptian guns;
and yet, Arabi's soldiers did not flinch but, in spite of the number
that fell, worked their guns as fast as ever.

Had they been accustomed to the huge Krupp guns in their batteries, the
combat would have been more equal; and although the end would have been
the same, the ships must have suffered terribly. Fortunately, the
Egyptian artillerymen had little experience in the working of these
heavy pieces, and their shot in almost every case flew high--sometimes
above the masts, sometimes between them, but in only a few instances
striking the hull. With their smaller guns they made good practice, but
though the shot from these pieces frequently struck, they dropped
harmlessly from the iron sides, and only those that entered through the
portholes effected any damage.

The Condor, under Lord Charles Beresford, was the first to engage Fort
Marabout; and, for a time, the little gunboat was the mark of all the
guns of the fort. But the other four gunboats speedily came to her
assistance, and effectually diverted the fire of the fort from the
ships that were engaging Fort Mex.

At eight o'clock the Monarch, having silenced the fort opposite to her,
and dismounted the guns, joined the Inflexible and Penelope in their
duel with Fort Mex; and by nine o'clock all the guns were silenced
except four, two of which were heavy rifled guns, well sheltered. In
spite of the heavy fire from the three great ships, the Egyptian
soldiers maintained their fire, the officers frequently exposing
themselves to the bullets of the machine guns by leaping upon the
parapet, to ascertain the effect of their own shot.

The harbour forts were, by this time, crumbling under the shot of four
warships opposed to them. The Pharos suffered most heavily, and its
guns were absolutely silenced; while the fire from the other two forts
slackened, considerably. At half-past ten, it was seen that the
Ras-el-Teen Palace, which lay behind the fort, was on fire; and, half
an hour later, the fire from that fort and Fort Ada almost died out.

The British Admiral now gave the signal to cease firing, and as the
smoke cleared away, the effects of the five hours' bombardment were
visible. The forts and batteries were mere heaps of ruins. The guns
could be made out, lying dismounted, or standing with their muzzles
pointing upwards.

The s