ses
between the hill and the mountain. It is there that the fortress of Bard
stands. It is built on the summit of the hill, and extends down one side
of it to the highroad.

How was it that no one had thought of this obstacle which was well nigh
insurmountable? There was no way to assault it from the bottom of the
valley, and it was impossible to scale the rocks above it.

Yet, by dint of searching, they did find a path that they were able to
level sufficiently for the cavalry and the infantry to pass; but they
tried in vain to get the artillery over it, although they took the guns
apart as at the Mont Saint-Bernard.

Bonaparte ordered two cannon levelled on the road, and opened fire on
the fortress; but it was soon evident that these guns made no effect.
Moreover, a cannon ball from the fortress struck one of the two cannon
and shattered it. The First Consul then ordered an assault by storm.

Columns formed in the village, and armed with ladders dashed up at a run
and reached the fortress at several points; but to insure success, not
only celerity, but silence was needed. It ought to have been a surprise;
but Colonel Dufour, who commanded one column, ordered the advance to be
sounded, and marched boldly to the assault. The column was repulsed, and
the colonel received a ball through his body.

Then a company of picked marksmen were chosen. They were supplied
with provisions and cartridges, and crept between the rocks until they
reached a ledge, from which they commanded the fort. From this ledge
they discovered another, not quite so high, but which also overlooked
the fort. To this they contrived, with extreme difficulty, to hoist two
guns, with which they formed a battery. These two pieces on one side,
and the sharpshooters on the other, began to make the enemy uneasy.

In the meantime, General Marmont proposed a plan to the First Consul,
so bold that the enemy could not suspect it. It was nothing less than
to move the artillery along the highroad, notwithstanding that the enemy
could rake it.

Manure and wool from the mattresses were found in the villages and
were spread upon the road. The wheels and chains, and all the jingling
portions of the gun-carriages were swathed in hay. The horses belonging
to the guns and caissons were taken out, and fifty men supplied their
places. This latter precaution had two advantages: first, the horses
might neigh, while the men had every interest in keeping dead silence;
sec