they could easily mount the breach, the tower not being very high,
and the ditch not having been dug to a sufficient depth: But as fast as
the Turks ruined the defences of this tower, the besieged repaired the
breach as well as they could with earth and rubbish. It must also be
observed that this fortress had no flanks; and being built upon a rock,
they had made no _casemates_, only erecting embrasures on the top of the
wall, which were all ruined and shaken. The main safety of the besieged
consisted in their bravery. Every day fifteen or twenty of them used to
sally forth like so many furious lions, killing all they met, which
struck such terror into the Turkish soldiers that they fled in confusion
as soon as they saw the Portuguese.

On the 25th of October, the Turks caused a great number of cotton sacks
to be got ready, covered with skins and bound with ropes, all of which
were thrown into the ditch, which they completely filled, reaching as
high as the wall. This being noticed by the besieged early in the
morning, before the Turks put themselves in order for the assault, sixty
of the Portuguese made a sally from the castle, forty of whom fought the
enemy with great gallantry, while the other twenty remained in the
ditch, each of whom carried a small leather bag full of powder and a
lighted match. These men cut open the cotton bales, into each of which
they put a handful of powder, which they fired, so that in a short time
several of the bags were set on fire; and the whole continued burning
for two days. Those who sallied out upon the enemy maintained the fight
for more than three hours, during which time they killed 190 Turks and
wounded as many more, losing only two of their own number.

SECTION VI.

_Farther particulars of the siege, to the retreat of the Turks, and the
commencement of their Voyage back to Suez._

On the 27th of October five Portuguese _foists_ arrived at Diu, which
took a Turkish vessel of the same kind, and landed succours for the
besieged, but were unable to get into the harbour, as some of the cannon
formerly mentioned commanded its entrance, by ranging past the end of
the castle. The 29th the Pacha ordered out forty boats filled with
Turks, having some small cannon in each, in order to assault a small
fort or bulwark on the water side in the harbour at some distance from
the castle, the whole defences of which had been mined by the Turkish
artillery, and in which there were only five