re exchanged,
occasionally. Vessels made their way in and out; being sometimes
briskly chased by the enemy's gunboats, sometimes passing in with
little interference--for, by this time, the Spaniards must have
recognized that there was no hope, whatever, of reducing Gibraltar
by blockade. There was a great deal of sickness in the garrison;
but comparatively little of this was due to scurvy, for every
available corner of ground was now cultivated, and the supply of
vegetables--if not absolutely sufficient to counteract the effects
of so long and monotonous a diet of salt meat--was yet ample to
prevent any serious outbreak of scurvy recurring.

In February, fresh activity was manifested among the besiegers.
Vast numbers of mules were seen, bringing fascines to their works.
At the end of March the Vernon store ship arrived and, a few hours
later, four transports with the 97th Regiment, under the convoy of
two frigates, came in.

A singular series of casualties was caused by a single shot, which
entered an embrasure in Willis's Battery, took both legs off two
men, one leg off another, and wounded another man in both legs;
thus four men had seven legs taken off, or wounded, by one shot.
These casualties were caused by the inattention of the men to the
warning of a boy who was looking out for shot. There were two boys
in the garrison whose eyesight was so keen that they could see the
enemy's shot coming, and both were employed in the batteries
especially exposed to the enemy's fire, to warn the men to withdraw
themselves into shelter, when shot were coming.

This quickness of eyesight was altogether exceptional. Standing
behind a gun--and knowing, therefore, the exact course the shot
will take--it is comparatively easy for a quick-sighted man to
follow it; but there are few, indeed, who can see a shot coming
towards them. In this respect, the ear is a far better index than
the eye. A person possessed of a fair amount of nerve can judge, to
within a few yards, the line that a shot coming towards him will
take. When first heard, the sound is as a faint murmur; increasing,
as it approaches, to a sound resembling the blowing off of steam by
an express engine, as it rushes through a station. At first, the
keenest ear could not tell the direction in which the shot is
travelling but, as it approaches, the difference in the angle
becomes perceptible to the ear, and a calm listener will
distinguish whether it will pass within twen