The Rock of Gibraltar forms a kind of promontory4 rising seaward to a height of 1300 feet, and connected with the mainland by a low sandy isthmus6. The landward face varies considerably7 in elevation8.{26} The breadth of the isthmus at the foot of the Rock is about 2700 feet, but towards the country it broadens rapidly. Across this neck of land, which, with the Rock and the Algesiras coast, forms the Bay, the Spaniards, before the Great Siege, had erected9 a line of fortifications, 1700 yards in length, and distant about a mile from the nearest posts of the garrison10. At each extremity11 a fort of twenty-four guns was erected; one christened St. Barbara, and the other St. Philip. Their cross-fire completely commanded the so-called Neutral Ground, a narrow belt or strip between English Gibraltar and the Spanish mainland.
The Rock, we must add, is divided into two unequal parts by a ridge12 extending from north to south. The western section is a gradual slope, broken up with precipices13; but the eastern, which looks out upon the blue Mediterranean15, and the northern, facing the Spanish batteries, are both very steep, and, in fact, inaccessible16.
At the foot of the north-west slope, and surrounded by irregular fortifications, lies the town, which communicates with the isthmus by a long, narrow causeway, strongly bristling17 with defensive18 works. These, and the causeway itself, are over-{27}looked by the guns mounted in the King’s, Queen’s, and Prince’s lines; ramparts excavated19 out of the solid rock, and practicable only to birds of prey20. At different heights, up to the very crest21, batteries are planted so as to present to an enemy a peculiarly grim and forbidding aspect. The Old Mole22, to the west of the Grand Battery, joined with the above lines to pour a tremendous cross-fire on the causeway and Neutral Ground. So great an annoyance23 did this battery prove to the besiegers, that, by way of distinction, they named it the Devil’s Tongue; and the entrance into the garrison, with its batteries here, there, and everywhere, and its cannons24 and mortars27 on the causeway and Old Mole, suggested to them the picturesque28 title of the Mouth of Fire.
All along the sea-line were stout29 bastions, joined by curtains, which were mounted with great guns and howitzers, and supplied with casemates for 1000 men. These sufficiently31 defended the town; which was protected also by a rocky shoal, stretching along the front far into the Bay, and preventing the approach of large ships. From the south bastion a curtain stretched up the base of the hill, and terminated the fortifications of the town at an inaccessible precipice14. Here was placed the South-port gate, with a dry{28} ditch in front of it, a covered way, and glacis. Above this gate, on the rugged32 slope of the hill, and connected with the curtain, was a large bastion, pointing its guns at the Bay. Further up, an ancient Moorish33 wall ran along to the ridge of the rock, in the front of which a curtain, with loop-holes and redans, built in the reign34 and christened by the name of Charles V., extended to the summit. Between these two walls, the Moorish and the Emperor’s, stood the Signal-House, whence, on a clear bright day, the guard could command an unimpeded view of the Mediterranean, and discern even the shining waters of the Atlantic over the Spanish mountains. “Signals,” says Drinkwater, “formerly36 were made at this post on the appearance of topsail vessels38 from east and west, but soon after the commencement of the late war we discovered that the Spanish cruisers were more frequently informed of the approach of our friends by our signals than by their own. The signals were therefore discontinued during the siege, but resumed after the general peace of 1783.”
Following a line of ramparts along the beach, the visitor, at the time we are speaking of, came to the New Mole, with its 26-gun battery, and thence proceeded to the well-known quay39 of the Ragged40 Staff,{29} usually employed for the landing of stores for the garrison. Ships of the line could lie along the Mole, such was the depth of water; and at the Mole head was stationed a circular battery for heavy cannon25. The Rock is not easily accessible from the New Mole fort to the north end of Rosia Bay, but it was defended, like every other point, by batteries and ramparts.
From the south end of Rosia Bay the cliff rose gradually to Buena Vista—so called on account of its beautiful view of the Spanish and African coasts, bathed in a glow of colour. Several guns were mounted there, and the hill towards Europa Point bore some defensive works. Thence the Rock sweeps down by the Devil’s Bowling-Green—so named, on the lucus à non lucendo principle,[1] from its rugged surface—to Little Bay, where a battery stood surrounded by frowning precipices; and onward41 stretched the line of works and batteries to Europa Point, the southern extremity of the garrison, though not the southern extremity of the European continent. From this point frown precipitous cliffs of the gloomiest aspect to Europa Advance, where{30} the fortifications were terminated by some few batteries.
Whether the young reader can or cannot follow in every particular the foregoing description, he will at least derive42 from it the idea of a not insufficient43 system of defensive works, which did credit to the ability of the engineer-officers of the time. Every point of vantage had its battery or bastion. The natural advantages of the position were carefully utilised, and the approaches were commanded by heavy guns, which could pour on an advancing enemy a withering44 fire. In all, the fortifications were armed with six hundred and sixty-three pieces of artillery45.
The town of Gibraltar, says Drinkwater, is built on a bed of red sand. The houses were composed of different materials, principally of a solid well-tempered cement called tapia; but some of the rock-stone, plastered, and blue-washed on the outside, so as to moderate the fiery46 rays of the sun. These were generally covered with tiles, but the flat terraced roofs remained in the Spanish houses, and, in many, the mirandas or towers, whence the inmates47, without removing from home, could luxuriate in a bright and ample prospect48 of the Bay and neighbouring coasts.
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VIEW FROM THE SIGNAL-STATION.
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Most conspicuous49 among the buildings was the old Moorish castle, which recalled to the spectator the palmy days of Saracenic supremacy50 in Spain. It was situated51 on the north-west side of the hill, and originally consisted of a triple wall, the outermost52 of which rose sheer from the water’s edge. The lower portions, however, had been destroyed before the siege, and on their ruins was planted the Grand Battery. The walls formed an oblong, ascending53 the hill, with the principal tower, or governor’s residence, at the upper angle. The remains54 of a mosque55 were still visible; as also those of a Saracenic court, and a tank or reservoir for water.
Ruins of Moorish edifices56 were discernible also on Windmill Hill, and at Europa. Those on the hill were in a condition which rendered it impossible to determine their original character; at Europa they have been converted by the Spaniards into a chapel57, dedicated58 to the Virgin59 Mary. Fragments of Moorish walls run along the water’s edge; and near Europa Advance is a Moorish bath, which our English soldiers named the Nuns’ Well. It is sunk eight feet deep in the rock, and measures seventy-two feet by forty-two feet. Over it is an arcaded60 canopy61, supported by graceful62 Saracenic columns.{32}
In the hill are numerous caves and hollows, some natural, and some improved by the hand of man. Of the former the most considerable appears to be St. Michael’s Cave, which lies on the south side, about eleven hundred feet above the sea-level. The remains of a strong wall are visible near this entrance, which is only five feet wide. On entering, the stranger finds himself in a considerable cavity, about two hundred feet in length, and ninety feet in breadth; and the light of his torch, if he penetrate63 into the interior, reveals the mouths of several other caves. From the roof depend stalactites of great size and curious shape, giving to the whole that character of Gothic architecture which is noticeable in all stalactitic grottoes. There are also numerous stalagmites, which in some cases almost join the calcareous droppings from the roof, and appear to form supporting pillars.
Mr. Bartlett describes in some detail a visit which he paid to this remarkable65 cave. Accompanied by a guide with blue lights, he descended67 the slippery pathway between lofty pillars of stalactite, to find himself in a darkness visible, and in a silence so deep and still that the droppings of the water which filters through the roof above could be distinctly
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THE LANDING-PLACE, AND REMAINS OF MOORISH CASTLE.
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heard as they fell at intervals68 on the rock beneath. The guide lighted a heap of brushwood, the blaze of which disclosed to view a lofty vault-shaped dome70, supported as it were on columns of milk-white stalactite, not unlike the trunks of palm-trees, and a variety of fantastic foliage71, some stretching down to the very floor of the cavern72, others resting midway on rocky ledges73 and congealed74 calcareous masses, springing from the floor, “like the vestibule of some palace of the genii.” At a given signal the blue lights were kindled75, and the entire scene, which before had been but partially76 illuminated77, flashed into sudden splendour; hundreds of stalactites shone with a mysterious gleam; the lofty columns, fantastically wrought78, seemed suddenly converted into silver, as if by the wand of some magician. This revelation of the wonders of the cavern was but transient; for the lights speedily burning down, Mr. Bartlett was forced to retire before he became involved in dangerous darkness. And this was the more necessary, in order to avoid a certain deep gloomy fissure79, which forms the pathway into the unknown depths below. “While our eyes were endeavouring,” says a traveller, “to penetrate a little further into its mysteries, I suddenly flung my torch into it.{34} The effect was beautiful: the torch blazed brightly as it fell, making for itself a sort of halo of glittering gems80, as it lighted the walls of the gulf81 momentarily but beautiful. We tried this with all the torches it was safe to spare, for we were far from daylight, and then tossed fragments of rock and crystals, which echoed far in the depths, and fell we knew not where. It is supposed that the whole Rock is galleried in this way. Explorations have been attempted, and two soldiers once undertook to descend66 this very gulf. One only returned, however; his comrade had disappeared for ever.”
An ominous83 and gloomy character attaches to this chasm84, and it has been supposed that more than one poor fellow has here met with foul85 play,—having been enticed86 by assassins on various pretences87 into the cave, and, after having been plundered88, flung into this horrible gulf, as a place that tells no tales.
Not long before Mr. Bartlett’s visit, a gentleman who was desirous of investigating into the penetralia of the cave, caused himself to be let down by ropes, bearing a light in his hand; but what was his horror, on his foot meeting with some resistance, to find that he was treading on a dead body, while his torch at the same time disclosed to him the livid features{35} of a murdered man! Another gentleman of Mr. Bartlett’s acquaintance explored the windings89 of the cave for a distance of four hundred feet. The actual extent of the subterranean90 passages has never been ascertained91, and exaggeration and popular fancy find in it a fertile subject; the vulgar believing that it is the mouth of a communication beneath the Strait with Mount Abyla, and that by this sub-oceanic passage the apes upon the Rock found their way from Africa. The Moors92, it is said, had a complete knowledge of the interior of the cave; and a fancy has sometimes prevailed that through these subterranean windings an enemy might obtain admission into the fortress93!
The reader may be reminded that Captain Hamley, in some of the amusing tales which he formerly contributed to Blackwood’s Magazine, made good use of the Rock and its natural curiosities.[2]
In different parts of the hill may be found several other caves of the same description. One of these, called Pocoroca, was fitted up, at the beginning of the Great Siege, for the governor; but was afterwards converted into a powder-magazine, which proved greatly convenient for the batteries on the height.{36}
The fossils discovered in various parts of the Rock rank among its curiosities; but the visitor takes more interest in the apes which have colonized94 it. They breed in places inaccessible to man, and climb up and down the craggy precipices with wonderful celerity. The supposition is that they came from Barbary with the Saracens, as a similar species inhabit Mons Abyla, or, as it is popularly called, Apes’ Hill. In former days red-legged partridges, woodcock, teal, and wild rabbits frequented the Rock, but these have almost wholly disappeared before the rifles of our English sportsmen.
Drinkwater records that eagles and vultures annually95 visited Gibraltar on their way into the Spanish interior; and that the former bred among the precipices, and, with the hawk96, might often be seen wheeling above its summit. The green lizard97 is still numerous; and scorpions98 and other reptiles99 haunt the neighbourhood of the fissures100 and the crevices101 of the Rock. The climate on the whole is genial102. Winter loses all its severity; and the summer-heats are tempered by refreshing103 breezes from the sea. The worst inconvenience is the recurrence104 in December and January of violent thunderstorms, with gales105, and heavy rains, almost tropical{37} in their fury. Yet there is so little soil on the Rock, that the climatic advantages do not produce any abundant vegetable-growth. When the rains set in, wild grasses shoot up in the chinks and fissures; but as soon as the sun reasserts its power, these disappear, and the eye rests only on bare, sombre, and sterile106 rock. The western slopes, however, present an agreeable contrast to the barrenness which everywhere else is dominant107. There the vegetation, though dwarfed108, is dense109; palmettos flourish, and lavender, and Spanish broom, while the rugged rock absolutely blooms with roses, periwinkles, and asphodels.
The view from the summit is perhaps sufficient to compensate110 for any deficiency of beauty in the Rock itself. The spectator stands there on the boundary, as it were, of the Old World, on the confines of two great continents. At his feet the low and narrow tongue of land, called Europa Point, stretches far into the sea, covered with bastions and casemates, intermingled with villas111 and gardens. To the west extends the undulating line of the Strait, with its waters of an intense blue, and beyond rises the rocky coast of Tarifa, while the mighty112 sweep of the Atlantic Ocean is lost in the western vapours.{38} On the right, the Mediterranean, of a pale azure113, relieved by flashes and gleams of silver, beats in pearly foam114 against the very foot of the Rock; opposite frown the dusky cliffs of Africa, with the white houses and dismantled115 fortifications of Ceuta, visible at the bottom of a vast bay, and the Mount Abyla of the ancients, that other “Pillar of Hercules,” looking as if, in truth, a demigod had torn it from the Rock of Gibraltar, and planted the two huge fragments as gigantic landmarks117 at the extremity of the universe.
Bring your gaze back to nearer points, and on the right you see the graceful rounded outline of the sheltered Bay, associated with the names of Rodney, and Howe, and Nelson, and Collingwood, whose “tall ships” have so often rested upon its waters. Gibraltar stands on the one side, its harbour thronged118 with masts; on the other, the small town of Algesiras lies on the slope of the hills, and bathes its feet in the warm, bright waves. In the curve shelters the village of San Roque, the first the traveller meets with on entering Spain; nearer still, and in the rear, we see the thin sandy isthmus which links Gibraltar to the mainland. The division between English and Spanish territory is marked by a
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EUROPA POINT.
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row of towers, and we can distinguish close at hand the tents of a small camp always occupied by a few regiments119. Finally, the background of the picture, beyond San Roque, is filled in with the green mountains of Ronda; and towering above and behind these, the rose-tinted peaks of the Sierra Benneja, and the snowy summits of the Alpuxarras. It is difficult to conceive a grander spectacle.
We have thus endeavoured to furnish the reader with a general view of the Rock, and town, and fortifications of Gibraltar at the time that General Elliot assumed the governorship.
In 1777 the position of Great Britain was one of apparent peril121, and her enemies were not without grounds for their belief that her power had received a mortal blow. Her North American colonies had seceded122, and all her attempts to reduce them to obedience123 had failed, while her military prestige had been obscured by the surrender of Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga. France had espoused124 the cause of the American States, whose ambassador had been received at Versailles with special distinction. The circumstances of the time seemed favourable125 to Spain to attempt a recovery of her coveted126 fortress; and{40} in June she issued a declaration of war. But instead of being cowed by this demonstration127 on the part of another enemy, the public spirit of England was roused to a fever of patriotism128. The fleets of Spain and France rode in the Channel with as mighty a display as when Drake and his compeers launched their frigates129 against the Invincible131 Armada. To their sixty-six sail of the line, the British admiral, Sir Charles Hardy132, could oppose only thirty-eight; but with them he succeeded in preventing the enemy from landing an invading army. The chief attack of Spain, however, was directed against Gibraltar, and she cared little to expend133 her resources in any other direction.
At the outbreak of hostilities134, General Elliot, the veteran governor of the Rock, found himself at the head of a garrison 5382 strong. He had 428 artillerymen and 106 engineers; and as soon as he had been apprised135 of the possibility of war, had privately136 made preparations for defence. On the 21st of June, by order of the Spanish Court, communication between Spain and Gibraltar was closed; and efforts were made to arrange for constant supplies of provisions from Barbary. Admiral Duff, at the{41} same time, brought his ships—a 60-gun man-of-war, three frigates, and a sloop137—alongside the New Mole; the barriers were everywhere shut; and at all exposed points the guards were strengthened. Meanwhile, the enemy made no overt138 movement against the fortress; but it was observed that in various places they were collecting deposits of earth and other materials, and mounting new guns along their line of entrenchments. And in the course of July they assembled a powerful fleet in the Strait; while the camp was constantly being reinforced with additional regiments of cavalry139 and infantry140.
Towards the middle of August the enemy succeeded in establishing a strict blockade, and it was conjectured141 that their object was to reduce the garrison by famine. Only forty head of cattle were in the place, and the vigilance of the Spanish cruisers interrupted the supplies from Barbary. Two bullocks, however, by the governor’s order, were killed daily for the use of the sick. Due warning had been given to the inhabitants of the peril impending143 over them, and each person had been directed to have in store six months’ provisions. By far the greater number this precaution had been neglected; and as they could not be supplied from the garrison{42} stores, most of them were compelled to quit Gibraltar and go elsewhere in quest of subsistence.
On the 12th of September some of the British batteries opened fire on the enemy, with the view of interrupting the workmen engaged in enlarging and pushing forward their fortifications; and for several days the firing was kept up, though with no particular vigour144. In November the garrison began to experience the effects of scarcity145, and provisions fetched the most extravagant146 prices. Mutton was 3s. and 3s. 6d. per lb.; veal64, 4s.; pork, 2s. and 2s. 6d.; a pig’s head fetched 19s., and ducks from 14s. to 18s. a couple; while a goose was prized at a guinea. Fish was not less dear, and vegetables were scarcely attainable148 “for love or money;” but bread, the staff of life, was the article most wanted. It was about this period, says Drinkwater, that the governor made trial what quantity of rice would suffice a single person for twenty-four hours, and for eight days he actually lived on four ounces of rice a day. General Elliot, however, was always remarkable for his abstemiousness149 of living, his general fare being vegetables, simple puddings, and water. He was not the less a robust150 and healthy man, capable of much hard work and exercise; but the scanty151 diet{43} just mentioned would certainly not suffice for a man working hard in a climate where the heat makes exhausting demands on the human frame.
On the 14th October occurred an episode which gives a striking idea of the courage and resources of the British seaman152 “of the olden time.” About eight in the morning the look-outs discovered a small cutter, flying the British flag, coming down towards the Bay with a westerly wind. It proved to be the Buck153, Captain Fagg, fitted out as a privateer, and carrying 24 nine-pounders. The Spaniards also sighted her, and made the usual signal for seeing an enemy, at Cabrita Point. Immediately, the Spanish admiral, with a ship of the line, a 50-gun ship, a 40-gun frigate130, and some smaller craft, twenty-one in all, got under weigh to intercept154 this formidable foe155! The Buck, nothing daunted156, changed her course, and stood direct for the Barbary coast, speeding along at a gallant157 rate; while the Spanish frigate, xebecs, and lighter158 craft, unable to sail so closely to the wind, were carried downward by the strength of the current, like a squadron of huntsmen when baffled by the sudden doubling of a hare. When the Spanish admiral, who was last in the chase, became aware of this misadventure, he tacked,{44} wore round, and returned to the Point, so as to cut off the Buck in the Bay. The 50-gun ship also wore, and in this way checked her drift to leeward159. Captain Fagg at this moment steered160 direct for the garrison. The 50-gun ship endeavoured to intercept her, but the batteries at Europa opened fire, and drove her off. Then the Spanish admiral bore down heavily from Cabrita Point, but the Buck nimbly man?uvred past her, and replied to a couple of irregular broadsides of shot and shell with her little stern-chase guns,—soon afterwards anchoring safely under the cannon of the Rock.
The privateer brought neither news nor supplies, and, indeed, was sadly in want of provisions. Yet the incident cheered the garrison greatly, for it showed that the Bay was still open to ships from England, if managed as skilfully161 and boldly as Captain Fagg’s cutter.
We pass on to January 1780. On the 8th a Neapolitan vessel37 was wind-driven within range of the British guns, and compelled to surrender. She proved to be an argosy of great price, having on board about six thousand bushels of barley162, than which nothing could have been more acceptable to{45} the garrison. The inhabitants had for some time been put upon a daily ration82 of bread, which was delivered by the bakers163 under the protection of sentries164 with fixed165 bayonets. Yet even this precaution did not prevent a scene of excitement daily; and in the struggling, pushing, heated crowd it was necessarily the strongest who gained the advantage,—forcing their way to the front, and frequently carrying off the portions that should have gone to feeble women and helpless children. Nor were the inhabitants the only sufferers. Many officers and soldiers had to support their families on the scanty dole166 allowed by the victualling-office; and a private, with his wife and three children, must have been starved, but for the assistance generously rendered by his comrades. It is recorded that one woman actually perished of hunger; others were reduced to such a condition of feebleness that it was with difficulty they were saved; and numbers eked167 out a wretched existence on wild leeks168, thistles, dandelions, and the like.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and hunger sharpens the wits of needy169 men. Some Hanoverian soldiers, in their distress170, were stimulated171 to devise a new process of chicken-hatching. The eggs were{46} placed, with some such warm substance as cotton or wool, in a tin case capable of being heated by a lamp or hot water; and a proper temperature being maintained, they were hatched about as quickly as if a hen had sat upon them. A capon was then trained to rear the little ones; and, to prepare him for this unusual duty, his breast and belly172 were stripped bare of feathers, and he was cruelly flagellated with a bunch of nettles173. When placed upon the brood, they afforded so much warmth and comfort to his poor smarting body, that he addressed himself to the task of rearing them with considerable satisfaction.
On the 10th a soldier of the 58th Regiment120 was executed for stealing,—a sharp but necessary example.
On the 12th the monotony of the siege was interrupted by a discharge of ten shot from one of the Spanish forts. They did some slight damage to houses, and wounded a woman; but their principal effect was to scare the inhabitants, who, fearing that a bombardment was about to commence, packed up their valuables, and made preparations for concealing174 themselves in all kinds of places. On the cessation of the firing, however, they regained175 courage.{47}
On the 15th, wistful eyes looking out to seaward were rejoiced by the appearance of a brig carrying the British flag, which, regardless of the enemy’s batteries, stood right into the Bay, and brought the glad intelligence that she was the forerunner177 of a large convoy178 which had sailed from England in December with ample supplies for the blockaded garrison. After the first emotions of surprise and pleasure had subsided179, fresh apprehensions180 seized the wavering minds of the besieged181. They concluded that the enemy could not fail to have obtained information of the approaching relief, and that they would be prepared to intercept it. The event proved, however, that the Spaniards had received no certain intelligence, and, concluding that the convoy would be escorted only by a small squadron, had despatched eleven men-of-war to make short work of it. But these were attacked by Admiral Sir George Rodney with a powerful fleet of twenty-one sail of the line, and driven into headlong flight. The British admiral also fell in with fifteen Spanish merchantmen, escorted by six ships of war, all of which he captured; and before the end of the month, with his prizes and transports, he dropped anchor in the Bay.{48}
On board Sir George Rodney’s fleet was a royal midshipman, the young Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV. He was entrusted182 to the charge of Admiral Digby; and when, one morning, Don Juan Langara, the Spanish admiral, visited the British commander, he was introduced to the youthful prince. During the conference between the two admirals, Prince William Henry withdrew; and when it was announced that Don Juan wished to return to his own ship, the royal midshipman appeared, touched his hat, and intimated that the admiral’s boat was ready. Whereupon, it is said, Don Juan exclaimed,—“Well does Great Britain merit the empire of the sea, when the humblest stations in her navy are supported by princes of the blood!”
For a time the garrison and inhabitants of Gibraltar enjoyed both peace and plenty. The Spanish forces seemed to have abandoned their task; and a constant interchange of courtesies was maintained between their leaders and the British officers. On the 13th of February Sir George Rodney’s fleet got under weigh, leaving behind two men-of-war and a couple of frigates, and sailed for England; and{49} immediately afterwards the Spaniards renewed the blockade. About the middle of March, General Elliot found it necessary once more to regulate the issue of provisions, and gave directions that the garrison should be victualled monthly (bread excepted) in the following proportion:—For a soldier, each first and third week, 1 lb. of pork, 2? lbs. of salt cod183 (which, by the way, proved very injurious, and caused the appearance of that terrible disorder184, scurvy185), 2 pints187 of pease, 1 lb. of flour, ? lb. of raisins188, 1 lb. of rice, 5 oz. of butter, 1? pint186 of oatmeal. Second and fourth week, 1? lb. of beef, 2 lbs. of fish, 2 pints of pease, 1 lb. of rice, 5 oz. of butter, 1? lb. of wheat, and 1 lb. of raisins. This, it must be owned, was but meagre fare.
In the month of June the Spaniards showed signs of prosecuting189 the siege with greater vigour, and made a bold attempt to destroy the vessels in the Bay with fire-ships. But the alarm being given, the Panther, a 60-gun man-of-war, and the other armed vessels, immediately opened a brisk cannonade to check their progress; and springing into their boats, the officers and seamen190, with characteristic vigour, grappled the blazing ships. The flames raged fiercely, but our sailors, nothing daunted,{50} towed them under the British guns, where they were soon destroyed.
The blockade increasing in severity, both the garrison and inhabitants felt the pressure of want, and provisions were once more selling at almost fabulous191 prices. Such vessels as escaped the enemy’s cruisers were chiefly loaded with “luxuries” rather than “substantials;” but a cargo192 of fruit which arrived in October proved of inestimable value in checking the ravages193 of scurvy, a disease that at one time threatened to prove much more destructive to the garrison than the enemy’s fire.
In March 1781 the want of bread was severely194 experienced, many families having received none for several days, and biscuit-crumbs selling for tenpence and one shilling per pound. Fresh meat and fish were equally scarce and equally dear. The dietary of the garrison was reduced to the barest necessaries; and the distress which the women and children must have undergone may be inferred from the nature of the weekly allowance to each soldier, which was—5? lbs. of bread, 13 oz. of salt beef and 18 oz. of pork (both almost putrid), 2? oz. of rancid butter, 12 oz. of raisins, half a pint of pease, a pint of Spanish beans, a pint of wheat (which was ground{51} into flour for puddings), 4 oz. of rice, and quarter of a pint of oil.
Great, therefore, was the joy of the besieged when, on the 12th of April, a convoy of nearly one hundred vessels arrived from England, escorted by a strong fleet under Admiral Darby. The historian of the siege, in describing this event, soars almost into the region of poetry. “At daybreak,” he says, “the much-expected fleet, under the command of Admiral Darby, was in sight from our signal-house, but was not discernible from below, being obscured by a thick mist in the Gut195. As the sun, however, became more powerful, this fog gradually rose, like the curtain of a vast theatre, discovering to the anxious garrison one of the most beautiful and pleasing scenes it is possible to conceive. The convoy, consisting of near a hundred vessels, was in a compact body, led by several men-of-war, their sails just enough filled for steerage; whilst the majority of the line-of-battle ships lay-to under the Barbary shore, having orders not to enter the Bay, lest the enemy should molest196 them with their fire-ships. The ecstasies197 of the inhabitants at this grand and exhilarating sight are not to be described. Their expressions of joy far exceeded their former{52} exultations. But, alas199! they little dreamed of the tremendous blow that impended200, which was to annihilate201 their property and reduce many of them to indigence202 and beggary.”
As the convoy drew near, a squadron of fifteen gun-boats advanced from Algesiras, and, assembling in regular array under the batteries at Cabrita Point, opened a smart fire on the nearest ships, supported by the gun and mortar26 batteries on the land; but they were soon compelled, by an English line-of-battle ship and a couple of frigates, to effect a precipitate203 retreat.
This second relief of the garrison stung the Spaniards into the adoption204 of a measure which had little value in a military sense, but inflicted205 a large amount of suffering on the inhabitants of the town of Gibraltar. The convoy had scarcely anchored, when they bombarded the town and fortifications with sixty-four heavy guns and fifty mortars. The unfortunate inhabitants, who were busily congratulating each other on the arrival of the fleet, exchanged their exultation198 for sorrow, and fled in the greatest confusion—old and young, men, women, and children—to the southward, abandoning their property to{53} the mercy of the soldiers. Soon after noon the firing ceased, and the inhabitants hastened to secure such valuables as could be easily removed; but those bulkier articles which “the avaricious206 and hard-hearted hucksters” had concealed207 in their stores, to retail208 in small quantities at exorbitant209 prices, were all destroyed.
About five o’clock the hostile batteries reopened, and their storm of shot and shell was continued uninterruptedly; without interfering210, however, with the disembarkation of the supplies. Several soldiers were killed and wounded in their quarters on the 13th. The Spaniards being accustomed to indulge themselves with a siesta211 in the middle of the day, the garrison and inhabitants enjoyed an interval69 of peace every noon; otherwise, the roar of the guns and the hiss212 of the rapid missiles made day and night equally hideous213.
On the evening of the 14th, says Drinkwater, the enemy’s shells were very profusely214 distributed; some that did not burst were examined, and on the fuse being drawn215 it was found that inflammable matter had been mixed with the powder. These combustibles set on fire a wine-house near the Spanish church, and before the conflagration216 could{54} be extinguished four or five houses were burned to the ground. Detachments of infantry were sent to quench217 the flames, but the enemy’s cannonade became so brisk that great confusion ensued. From this disaster may be dated the irregularities into which, through the combined influence of drink and resentment218, many of the soldiers fell. Some died of intoxication219 on the spot, and others were with difficulty recovered.
“Though riot and violence,” continues Drinkwater, “are most contrary to that spirit of regular discipline which should always prevail in military affairs, something may yet be urged in extenuation220 of the conduct of the troops. The extreme distress to which they had been reduced by the mercenary conduct of the hucksters and liquor-dealers, in hoarding221, or rather concealing their stocks, to enhance the price of what was exposed for sale, raised amongst the troops (when they discovered the great quantities of various articles in the private stores) a spirit of revenge. The first and second days they conducted themselves with great propriety222; but on the eve of the third day their discipline was over-powered by their inebriation223, and from that instant, regardless of punishment or the entreaties224 of their{55} officers, they were guilty of many and great excesses. The enemy’s shells soon forced open the secret recesses225 of the merchants, and the soldiers instantly availed themselves of the opportunity to seize upon the liquors, which they conveyed to haunts of their own. There, in parties, they barricaded226 their quarters against all opposers, and, insensible of their danger, regaled themselves with the spoils. Several skirmishes occurred amongst them, which, if not seasonably put a stop to by the interference of officers, might have ended in serious consequences.”
Such is life in a beleaguered227 town! There is something more to be feared than the attacks of external enemies, and that is, the irregularities within; the outbursts of a spirit of military insubordination, and the follies228 and crimes of the non-combatants,—all adding to the anxiety and increasing the responsibility of the military and civil authorities. At Gibraltar the entire burden rested on the shoulders of General Elliot,—who bore it, however, with inflexible229 calmness and resolute230 patience, tempering justice with mercy, but not fearing to strike heavily when it was necessary for the common safety.
The bombardment continued briskly, and casual{56}ties occurred daily. On the 21st, the besieged counted forty-two rounds in a couple of minutes! The garrison flag-staff was so much damaged that the upper part had to be cut off; but the shot-torn colours were nailed to the stump231. From the enemy’s gun and mortar boats on the 23rd, two hundred and sixty shot and forty shells were discharged. The wife of a soldier was killed behind the South Barracks. The relaxation232 of discipline among the soldiers had become so alarming that, on the 26th, General Elliot issued orders, which were strictly233 carried out, that any soldier found drunk or asleep on his post, or plundering234, should be executed. Everybody’s spirits were raised on the 27th by the arrival of twenty ships with provisions from Minorca; and this encouragement was sorely needed at a time when the garrison was harassed235 not only by fire but water—the rains falling heavily, and thunderstorms being of frequent occurrence. It was awful to hear the reverberating236 peal237 mingling238 with the roar of cannon, and to see the smoke-clouds of battle pierced by the lurid239 arrows of the lightning.
It must not be supposed that the English endured the enemy’s bombardment in silence. The guns of the Rock were plied30 at times with equal alacrity{57} and effect; but the prudent240 general would not allow his men to waste their shot and powder, and they fired only when the enemy were well within range. On the morning of May the 7th, the gun and mortar boats opened upon the town and the New Mole for about an hour. The garrison replied with four hundred rounds, at which the governor was much displeased241. “There would be no end,” said he, “of expending242 ammunition243, if we fired every time they came, and while they were at so great a distance.”
Among the incidents which marked the history of the siege within the walls, we may mention that, on one occasion, a Hanoverian and some other ill-disposed fellows were detected in plundering a store. They were given in charge to a sentry244; but the Hanoverian attempted to escape. “Halt!” cried the sentry, “or I’ll fire!” The marauder continuing his flight, the sentry carried out his threat, and the man fell dead on the spot. A soldier of the 58th was, on another occasion, hung at the door of the store in his robbery of which he had been surprised. On the 9th, an officer lost his leg by a shot. The remarkable feature of this occurrence was, that the wounded man saw the shot coming{58} on its fatal errand, but was so fascinated by it that he could not move out of the way. A shell fell into a house in which fifteen or sixteen persons were huddled245 together; all escaped except a child, whose mother had been killed by a shell only a few days before. A soldier, rambling246 about the town, came upon a store of watches and other valuable articles, among the ruins of a house, and hastened to take possession of them. Then arose the puzzling question, What should he do with this treasure-trove? To convey them to his quarters was impossible, as every one was examined on his return from duty. The expedient247 to which he finally resorted was very curious. He took out the wad of a gun on the King’s Bastion, and tying his prize in his pocket-handkerchief, secreted248 it in the bore of the gun as far as he could reach; afterwards replacing the wad. In the piping times of peace a better repository could hardly have been invented; but it happened that on this same evening, while the marauder lay asleep in his casemate, the hostile gunboats approached, and fire was vigorously opened upon them. One of the first guns discharged was that which contained the soldier’s ill-gotten wealth, and all his visions of future greatness were dissipated in a moment!{59}
The incessant249 bombardment had, of course, a ruinous effect upon the town. Scarcely any of the houses north of the Grand Parade were inhabitable; all of them were deserted250. The families of some of the soldiers lingered still in a few near South-port; but even of these only the walls remained standing1. The governor and lieutenant-governor, however, maintained their quarters,—men being kept constantly employed in repairing the damage done by shot or shell. But the general aspect of the town was most pitiful; the streets were solitary251, and instead of the hum of voices one heard only the whirr of shot and the rush and explosion of shells.
On the 9th of June, the garrison was aroused by the blowing-up of one of the Spanish magazines. The effect was that of a continual roll of fire, like repeated volleys of musketry, which led the besieged to conjecture142 that the accident had befallen their repository for fixed ammunition and live shells. Their drums immediately beat to arms; and the entire force, numbering thirteen battalions253 of infantry, besides cavalry, paraded in front of the camp. It was thought that the enemy by this disaster must have suffered severely in men as well as munitions254.{60}
The British batteries, though constantly repaired, were much damaged by the incessant fire; and the enemy’s shot frequently drove through seven solid feet of sandbag-work. As an additional protection, strong wooden caissons were constructed; filled in compactly with clay, and covered in front and on the top with junk cut in lengths for the purpose. These proved very effectual. The bombardment was not wholly without profit to the besieged; for it directed their attention to the weak points of their fortifications, which were immediately strengthened, until they were rendered virtually impregnable.
The monotony of the siege—and all soldiers agree that a siege, with its daily round of duties, and its continuous roar of cannon, becomes in time distressingly255 wearisome from its lack of variety—was interrupted on the 7th July by another lively episode of British seamanship. At early morn the Spaniards at Cabrita Point were observed signalling that an enemy was in sight; and when the mists dispersed256, the English themselves could see a vessel becalmed at a considerable distance, but rowing, with the current, towards the beleaguered Rock. Fourteen gunboats had put out from Algesiras to{61} cut her off; whereupon Captain Curtis, of the Brilliant man-of-war, ordered Sir Charles Knowles, with three barges257, to endeavour to get alongside and receive any despatches she might have on board, while he himself towed out a couple of praams to cover and protect her. Sir Charles’s errand was soon accomplished258, and he returned with letters for the governor. By this time the vessel, an English sloop-of-war, was within a league and a half of the garrison, but the headmost Spanish gunboat had got up within range, and hurled259 at her a torrent260 of round and grape shot, which was followed by rapid discharges from her consorts261. The Helma, Captain Roberts, carried only fourteen small guns; but her crew handled them gallantly262, and poured in volleys of fire from the quarter-deck. So unequal a contest, it was thought, could have but one, and that a disastrous263, issue; the English sloop was lying becalmed, a league from the Rock, with fourteen gunboats, well-manned, and each mounted with a twenty-six pounder, crashing into her timbers repeated avalanches264 of grape shot and round shot. Captain Roberts, however, showed no signs of yielding, and maintained a steady and well-directed, if not a heavy fire. Had the calm lasted, he would{62} probably have sunk rather than have surrendered; but happily a westerly breeze sprung up, and, rippling265 across the waves, soon filled his canvas, and carried him and his gallant crew into safety. The loss of the Helma, notwithstanding the tremendous fire to which she had been exposed, was only one man killed and two men wounded, but her upper rigging and sails were much torn by the shot. Had the gunboats been well handled, it is difficult to believe that she could have escaped; but the inferior gunnery of the Spaniards was proved on many occasions during the war.
The bombardment for some weeks had gradually slackened, and by this time was reduced to a discharge of three shells in twenty-four hours; which the English soldiers, from an idea that the Spaniards intended by the number some allusion266 to the Trinity, with much more profanity than humour named Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Captain Drinkwater gravely observes that probably the Spaniards might entertain a bigoted267 respect for that mystical number, and, remembering the heretical condition of the English, might apprehend268 some efficacy from it in the great work of “converting the garrison to the Catholic faith;” an attempt at jocosity269 not much{63} more successful than that of the soldiers! Uncle Toby, in Sterne’s great fiction, tells us that “our army swore terribly in Flanders.” There seems good reason to believe that they swore terribly and acted vilely270 in Gibraltar. A wide chasm separates the British soldiers of to-day from the British soldiers of yesterday. They were then recruited from the lowest classes, the scum and refuse of society, the outpourings of our jails, and it was with difficulty that even a terribly rigid271 discipline kept them in order. They were ill-fed, ill-paid, ill-treated; and their moral character was of the very lowest. But to-day the soldier is thoughtfully cared for, not only as regards his material but his moral and intellectual wants. Hence the ranks of our army now include a large proportion of respectable young men, who are aware that good conduct will place great prizes within their reach. The only bonds between them and their predecessors272 are those of loyalty273 and courage. The soldiers of Napier who stormed Magdala are as eminent274 for their courage and faithfulness as were those of Elliot who defended Gibraltar. In these virtues275 they could not surpass their predecessors; but in all other respects they are unquestionably above them.{64}
An incident occurred on the 27th which is worth recording276. During an attack made by the gun and mortar boats, a shell burst within the hospital and killed an artillerist277. Some time before, this man, a very gallant fellow, had broken his thigh278; his active spirit was ill able to endure the confinement279 his case rendered necessary, and he tottered280 abroad in order to enjoy the fresh air in the hospital court. Unfortunately, in one of his lively moods he fell, and was compelled to take to his bed again. He was lying there when a shell from the mortar boats crashed into the ward5, and rebounding281, lodged282 upon him. The invalids283 and convalescents in the same room contrived284, by vigorous exertions285, to crawl out on hands and knees, while the fuse was burning; but the unfortunate artillerist was kept down by the weight of the shell, which after some seconds exploded, tore off both his legs, and scorched286 him piteously. Strange to say, he survived the shock, and was sensible up to the moment that death relieved him from his agony. His last words were a regret that he had not died on the batteries, “with his face to the foe,” as all true soldiers wish.
A few days later a shell wounded a private of the{65} 73rd; that is, he was knocked down by the wind of it; and the shell, instantly bursting, killed a soldier standing close by, and mangled287 most terribly the hero of our anecdote288. His head was fractured, his left arm broken in two places, one of his legs shattered, the skin and muscles of part of his right hand torn off, the middle finger crushed, and his whole body most severely bruised289. In a word, the man was reduced to a bleeding and mutilated mass of flesh, and his recovery seemed hopeless. The surgeons who took charge of him were at a loss to which injury they should first give their attention. That evening, however, he was trepanned; a few days afterwards his leg was amputated. All his wounds and fractures were carefully dressed, and, thanks, it may be supposed, to a wonderfully robust constitution, as well as to the skill of his medical attendants, his cure was completely effected. His name, adds the historian, is Donald Ross; and he long continued to enjoy His Majesty’s bounty290 in the shape of a pension of ninepence a day. “Ninepence a day,” however, seems but poor payment for a trepanned skull291, an amputated leg, and a shattered right hand!
The enemy, by this time, had completed the{66} construction of an advanced range of batteries, which, in spite of the continual fire of the garrison, assumed a threatening aspect. They rolled a storm of shot and shell upon the British works, doing serious execution; and the strength and energies of the defenders292 were severely taxed. A battery named St. Carlos was especially annoying, from its position, and the heavy ordnance293 with which it was mounted. Acting294 on information which he obtained from two deserters, General Elliot determined295 on an attempt to destroy it. He formed his plans with the secrecy296 and deliberation characteristic of the man, and communicated them to no one until the hour fixed for their execution. On the evening of the 26th of November, as the gates were shut after first gun-fire, he assembled on the Redsands, now called the Alameda, a detachment consisting of a couple of regiments, the grenadiers and light infantry from the other regiments, one hundred artillery, and two hundred workmen (or sappers and miners, as we now call them),—in all, about 2074 men, with 99 officers, and 147 non-commissioned officers. Each private carried thirty-six rounds of ammunition, and “a good flint in his piece, with another in his pocket.” In those days rifled guns,{67} Sniders, and Martini-Henrys had not been dreamed of; and the British musket252 was a cumbrous weapon, in which the charge was ignited by a spark from a flint.
The officers having received their instructions, the whole force, with one hundred sailors from the ships in the Bay, assembled under the command of Brigadier Ross, and being divided into three columns, armed with fire-fagots and other implements297, advanced, under cover of the darkness, against the enemy’s batteries. In the deepest silence they marched under the dark shadow of the Rock; but, in spite of all their precautions, the right column was seen and challenged by the Spanish sentinels, who instantly fired. The officer in command, forming his attacking corps298, dashed forward at a brisk pace for the extremity of the parallel, which he entered without opposition299, and began to dismantle116. Part of Hardenberg’s regiment in the darkness mistook their way, and found themselves, before they discovered their error, in front of the terrible St. Carlos battery. Satisfied with the object before them, they rushed at it, cheering, mounted the parapet, and flung themselves into the middle of the works. There was no resource for the Spaniards,{68} in the presence of men so determined, but to retreat; which they did, without loss of time. The central and left columns were equally successful; for Elliot’s warriors300 were men of a very resolute temper, and having made up their minds to carry the Spanish batteries, what could the Spaniards do but let them have their way! The British commanders then reformed their ranks, while the pioneers and artillerymen proceeded to do their duty.
The batteries were soon prepared for the operation of the fire-fagots, and these being ignited, the flames spread rapidly in every direction. The whole line of works soon presented one vast mass of fire and lurid smoke, which threw its glare over the Rock, was reflected in the waters of the Bay, and revealed every object in the vicinity.
Their task thus successfully accomplished, the British soldiers prepared to regain176 their own lines. Such had been their dash and courage that the Spaniards, though at a short distance they had one hundred and thirty-five guns mounted, seemed stricken with a panic, and made no effort to impede35 their operations. Thus, in a single hour the British were able to reduce to ruins the labours of many weeks. The event “challenges greater admiration,” says{69} Drinkwater, “when we reflect that the batteries were distant near three-quarters of a mile from the garrison, and only within a few hundred yards of a besieging301 enemy’s lines.” There can be no doubt that the achievement was a brilliant one; the coup147 de main was well conceived, and well executed, with but a trifling302 loss of life. Only five men were killed; the wounded and missing did not exceed twenty-five. Altogether, it served to show the Spaniards of what sort of stuff the British soldier was made.
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1
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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infliction
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| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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19
excavated
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| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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cannons
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| n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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mortars
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| n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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impede
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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43
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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44
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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45
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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46
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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47
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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48
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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49
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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50
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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51
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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52
outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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53
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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54
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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55
mosque
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| n.清真寺 | |
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56
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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57
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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58
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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59
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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60
arcaded
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| adj.成为拱廊街道的，有列拱的 | |
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61
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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62
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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63
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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64
veal
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| n.小牛肉 | |
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65
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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66
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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67
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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68
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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69
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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70
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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71
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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72
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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73
ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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74
congealed
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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75
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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76
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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77
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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78
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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79
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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80
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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81
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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82
ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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83
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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84
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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85
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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86
enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
pretences
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| n.假装( pretence的名词复数 )；作假；自命；自称 | |
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88
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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89
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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90
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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91
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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93
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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94
colonized
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| 开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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96
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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97
lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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98
scorpions
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| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
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99
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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100
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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101
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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102
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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103
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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104
recurrence
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| n.复发，反复，重现 | |
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105
gales
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| 龙猫 | |
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106
sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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107
dominant
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|
| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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108
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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109
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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110
compensate
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| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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111
villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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112
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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113
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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114
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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115
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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116
dismantle
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| vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消 | |
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117
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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118
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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120
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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121
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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122
seceded
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| v.脱离，退出( secede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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123
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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124
espoused
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| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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125
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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126
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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127
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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128
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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129
frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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130
frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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131
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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132
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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133
expend
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| vt.花费，消费，消耗 | |
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134
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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135
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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136
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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137
sloop
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| n.单桅帆船 | |
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138
overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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139
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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140
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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141
conjectured
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| 推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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142
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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143
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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144
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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145
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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146
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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147
coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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148
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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149
abstemiousness
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| n.适中，有节制 | |
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150
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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151
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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152
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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153
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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154
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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155
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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156
daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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157
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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158
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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159
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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160
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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161
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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162
barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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163
bakers
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| n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三 | |
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164
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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165
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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166
dole
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| n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给 | |
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167
eked
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| v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的过去式和过去分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日 | |
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168
leeks
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| 韭葱( leek的名词复数 ) | |
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169
needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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170
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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171
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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172
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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173
nettles
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| n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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174
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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175
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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176
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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177
forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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178
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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179
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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180
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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181
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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182
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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183
cod
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| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
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184
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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185
scurvy
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| adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病 | |
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186
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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187
pints
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| n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒 | |
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188
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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189
prosecuting
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| 检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师 | |
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190
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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191
fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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192
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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193
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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194
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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195
gut
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| n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏 | |
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196
molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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197
ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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198
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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199
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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200
impended
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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201
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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202
indigence
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| n.贫穷 | |
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203
precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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204
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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205
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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206
avaricious
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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207
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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208
retail
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| v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格 | |
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209
exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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210
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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211
siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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212
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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213
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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214
profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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215
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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216
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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217
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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218
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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219
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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220
extenuation
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| n.减轻罪孽的借口；酌情减轻；细 | |
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221
hoarding
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| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
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222
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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223
inebriation
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| n.醉，陶醉 | |
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224
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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225
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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226
barricaded
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| 设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
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227
beleaguered
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| adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰 | |
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228
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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229
inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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230
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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231
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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232
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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233
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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234
plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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235
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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236
reverberating
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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237
peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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238
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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239
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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240
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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241
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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242
expending
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| v.花费( expend的现在分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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243
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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244
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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245
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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246
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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247
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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248
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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249
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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250
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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251
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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252
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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253
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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254
munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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255
distressingly
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| adv. 令人苦恼地；悲惨地 | |
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256
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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257
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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258
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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259
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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260
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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261
consorts
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| n.配偶( consort的名词复数 )；（演奏古典音乐的）一组乐师；一组古典乐器；一起v.结伴( consort的第三人称单数 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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262
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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263
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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264
avalanches
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| n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 ) | |
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265
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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266
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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267
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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268
apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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269
jocosity
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| n.诙谐 | |
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270
vilely
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| adv.讨厌地，卑劣地 | |
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271
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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272
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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273
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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274
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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275
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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276
recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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277
artillerist
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| 炮手，炮兵，炮术家 | |
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278
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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279
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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280
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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281
rebounding
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| 蹦跳运动 | |
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282
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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283
invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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284
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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285
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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286
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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287
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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288
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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289
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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290
bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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291
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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292
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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293
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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294
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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295
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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296
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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297
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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298
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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299
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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300
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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301
besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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302
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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