were English troops in their front, they did not venture to
rush upon the bayonets they would have had to encounter.

Mr Harvey, after some difficulty, found Major Stubbs, who commanded the
marines, and told him what the General proposed doing.

"He must come pretty quickly, or we shall be overpowered," he answered.
"If it was daylight we should know what we were about, but in this
pitchy darkness, with the rain clattering down upon us, the wind howling
in our ears, and hosts of enemies pouring in on the other side of the
fort, we may get separated and cut to pieces, and I will not sacrifice
my men if I can help it."

The bullets came whistling past our heads, and it seemed to me that the
men were dropping fast, but as one marine fell the others closed up
their ranks and bravely held their ground. What would become of them
and us I did not know; but at last the officer to whom Mr Harvey had
spoken, found us, and informed him that the Comte de Puisaye, seeing the
hopelessness of endeavouring to regain the fort, had determined to
retreat with his troops, and to save the lives of as many of the
Royalist inhabitants as he could collect, advising Major Stubbs to draw
off his men, and at the same time saying he should be obliged to him if
he would cover his retreat.

The darkness and the howling of the storm prevented the movements of the
marines being discovered. The stout old major passed the order along
the line, and his men, facing about, made their retreat towards the rear
of the fort, which was gained before the enemy attempted to pursue them.

I don't know what the major said, but I suspect it was not complimentary
to the Comte de Puisaye.

We remained with the marines, who had, as far as I could make out, lost
a large number of men. What had become of the young Comte de Sombreuil
and the other French officers, we could not tell; but probably, as the
firing had ceased from the building in which they had been defending
themselves, they had all been put to death.

Major Stubbs halted for some time, during which a number of inhabitants
of the houses and cottages in the neighbourhood came in entreating his
protection.

At length, escorting them, we again advanced towards the south-east
point of the peninsula, which afforded the easiest landing-place, and
which, from the nature of the ground, could be defended should the
Republicans advance in force to attack us. We found that the Comte de
Puisaye, with upward