that our idlers, dressed
in red coats, were not really soldiers. Mr Johnson was in his glory;
the exploit was one exactly to suit his taste.

"That commodore of ours is a first-rate fellow, Mr Merry," he
exclaimed, as we pulled on shore. "If he was first lord, and I was
admiral of the fleet, we should soon drive every enemy's ship off the
seas."

On shore we sprang, and under a pretty hot fire we rushed towards the
walls. The ladders were placed in spite of the efforts of the
half-drunken Dutchmen to prevent this, many of them toppling over into
the ditch in their attempts to shove them off. Up our men swarmed,
their cutlasses between their teeth. Mr Bryan led one party, Mr
Fitzgerald another; the latter with a loud shriek, which he called his
family war cry,--it sounded like "Wallop a hoo a boo, Erin go bragh,"--
sprang on to the walls. A big Dutchman stood ready with a long sword to
meet him, and would certainly have swept off his head, had he not nimbly
dodged on one side with so extraordinary a grimace, that he not only
escaped free, but, swinging round his own cutlass, he cut off the head
of the unfortunate Dutchman who was watching him with astonishment.
Then he went cutting right and left, and putting the wide breeched enemy
to flight on every side. I followed Mr Johnson; I knew that I was in
good company when I was near him, and that though we should most
certainly be in the thick of the fight, as long as he kept on his legs
he would have an eye on me. We did not gain the top of the walls
without being opposed, but the Dutchmen literally could not see how to
strike. A fat bombardier, however, made a butt at me, and would have
sent me over again, had not the boatswain seized me by the collar, when
the bombardier went over himself and lay sprawling under the feet of our
men at the bottom. Then on we went, firing our pistols and slashing
right and left. A loud huzza from the sea gate announced to us that
that had been forced open, and the Dutchmen finding that the day was
ours, and persuaded that discretion was the best part of valour, threw
down their arms, and shouted out lustily for quarter. It was gladly
given them; indeed, there was no real animosity between us, and officers
and men were soon seen shaking hands together in the most friendly way
possible. We had taken just ten minutes to do the work. However, we
had some more places to capture, so locking up our prisoners with a
guard over them,