t to attempt
a landing near Barcelona, on the north side. On the receipt of the
news he started as night fell with his whole force from his camp in the
mountains, and having, after a march of nearly twenty miles, arrived at
the spot named for the debarkation just as the boats were nearing the
shore, and having escorted the Gerona men past the enemy's outpost
and into the town, without the loss of a man, he again retired to the
mountains. These accessions of strength raised the force of troops in
the besieged town to upward of three thousand.

The next day a case of treason was discovered among the Spaniards in the
garrison of Montjuich. A boy confessed that he had been hired by one
of these men to put out all the gun matches, and to throw the priming
powder out of the matchlocks that night. He was told to do this on the
weakest side of the works, where the attack would probably be made.

The discovery of this intended treason, following so closely on that at
Fort Redonda, excited suspicions of the loyalty of the Spanish Governor
of Montjuich, and he was superseded and the Earl of Donegal appointed to
the command. For the next six days the French continued to raise battery
after battery around Montjuich. Lord Donegal made some gallant sallies
and several times drove the besiegers from their works, but in each case
they returned in such overwhelming force that he was obliged to abandon
the positions he had won and to fall back into the citadel.

The Miquelets, of whom there were many in the town, aided the besieged
by harassing the French. Every night they stole into their camp,
murdered officers in their tents, carried off horses, slew sentries, and
kept the enemy in a perpetual state of watchfulness.

At eight o'clock on the morning of the 15th of April the besiegers made
a furious attack on the western outwork of Montjuich, having ascertained
that it was defended only by a party of one of the newly raised Spanish
regiments. They captured the post without difficulty, the Spaniards
flying at the first assault, but on the inner ramparts they were met by
Donegal and his grenadiers, and a desperate struggle took place which
lasted for two hours.

The English fought with the greatest obstinacy, and frequently flung
back among their assailants the grenades which the latter showered among
them, before they had time to explode, Lord Donegal himself setting the
men the example. But though able to prevent the French from adva