rd Collingwood's fleet in the
Mediterranean. I need not go through all the events of that cruise. We
took a great many prizes, and had a good many actions with batteries.
Spain joined France, and we had a brisk time of it and gained an immense
amount of credit, and should have gained a very large amount of
prize-money had it not been for the rascality of the prize-court at Malta,
which had, I believe, been instigated by some one in London to adopt as
hostile an attitude as possible towards Lord Cochrane. The most important
and exciting affair that we had was our defence of Fort Trinidad, close to
the town of Rosas. Lord Cochrane's orders had been to assist the Spaniards
against the French, and he had done a great deal that way by landing
strong parties, who blew up roads, blocked communications, and rendered
the passage of bodies of French troops difficult if not impossible. When
we arrived off Rosas the French had already invested the town. The marines
of the _Excellent_ had been holding Fort Trinidad; but had suffered
severely from a battery erected by the French upon a hill commanding it.
They were withdrawn on the arrival of the _Imperieuse_, and their place
taken by our marines.

"It was a rum place that fort. The side towards the sea sloped gradually
but steeply, and two forts were placed one above another, like big steps.
Above these stood a tall tower, very strongly built. The forts had no
guns; but had they had them they could not have used them against the
enemy's battery on the high cliff, for the tower stood in their way and so
protected them from the French fire. We defended the place for a long
time, even after the town of Rosas had itself fallen. Several attempts at
assault were made, but all were repulsed. The last was the most serious.
The enemy had made a breach at the foot of the tower, but to reach it they
would have to scale the cliff on which it stood, by means of ladders.
Cochrane prepared for the assault in a very curious way. Just below the
breach was a sort of vault, some forty feet deep, under the tower.
Cochrane knocked away a portion of the arched roof of this vault, so that
on reaching the top of the breach the French would see a great gulf in
front of them. With timbers and planks he erected a sort of slide from the
breach down into this vault, and covered it with grease, so that those
trying to descend would shoot down to the bottom and remain there
prisoners until released.

"When he ha