yself," he continued, "I will go. It is better to sacrifice one
life than a hundred." Saying this, he immediately crossed the river,
about a quarter of a mile lower down, and stole along the banks of the
Nerbuddah unobserved, having given previous instructions to the whole of
the batteries to keep their fire for the top of the breach, should he be
attacked. He seemed to ascend with difficulty. Every heart trembled for
his safety, for he was a brave officer, and one of our best engineers.
He at last mounted the summit of the breach, and waved his hat. At that
moment several of the enemy rushed out, but he jumped down the breach.
They came to the very verge of it; but no sooner were their bodies seen,
and the engineer safe from its top, than the whole of our guns, with
shot and shells, were opened, and those who rushed out for his
destruction met their own. Not one of them returned to tell the tale.

On the return of the engineer to the battery, he said nothing to any
one, having been before much annoyed by the speculative opinions of
those who stood about him. He, however, after his return, altered the
direction of the firing of the breaching-battery to a large tree which
had been shot down, and which must necessarily impede our ascent. This,
he afterwards said, completely blocked up the footing of the breach;
and, had we stormed according to the opinions and ardent wishes of many
of the inexperienced, we must have suffered considerably in the loss of
lives. He afterwards said, that he thought it a providential thing that
such opinions, however foolish, had been expressed, for it was the cause
of his being able to remedy an evil he could not for a moment have
foreseen. On the contrary, it had before been his opinion, that the
fallen tree would have facilitated our progress rather than impeded it.
He thought we should be able to storm in the afternoon. A howitzer was
immediately laid for the removal of this obstacle, and the shell fired
from it lodged in the very centre of the rooty part of the tree, and
when it burst blew it to pieces. This drew upon the artillery-officer
who laid it the eulogiums of the spectators. Amongst the number was the
Irish sergeant, who cried out, "By the powers, captain, but that's what
I call a moving shot."

"Yes," replied the captain, "a remover, certainly, for I see the stump
of the tree is gone. I wish you would remove the other large bough that
hangs on the side of the bastion."

"I wil