perations was
loop-holed, and otherwise put in a posture of defence. But upon
the fortification of the church a more than ordinary degree of
care seemed to have been bestowed. As it stood upon a little
eminence in the middle of the hamlet, it was no hard matter to
convert it into a tolerably regular fortress, which might serve
the double purpose of a magazine for warlike stores and a post of
defence against the enemy. With this view the churchyard was
surrounded by a row of stout palings, called in military
phraseology stockades, from certain openings in which the muzzles
of half a dozen pieces of light artillery protruded. The walls
of the edifice itself were, moreover, strengthened by an
embankment of earth to the height of perhaps four or five feet
from the ground, above which narrow openings were made, in order
to give to its garrison an opportunity of levelling their
muskets; while on the top of the tower a small howitzer was
mounted, from which either shot or shell could be thrown with
effect into any of the lanes or passes near. It is probably
needless to add that the interior arrangements of this house of
God had undergone a change as striking as that which affected its
exterior. Barrels of gunpowder, with piles of balls of all sizes
and dimensions, now occupied the spaces where worshippers had
often crowded; and the very altar was heaped up with spunges,
wadding, and other implements necessary in case of an attack.

I have been thus minute in my description of Anglet, because what
has been said of it will apply more or less exactly to every
village, hamlet, or cluster of cottages, within the compass of
what were called the lines. It is true that neither here nor
elsewhere, excepting at one particular point, and that on the
opposite side of the river, were any serious intentions
entertained of broaching or storming the place; and that the sole
object of these preparations was to keep the enemy within his
works, and to cut him off from all communication with the
surrounding country. But to effect even this end, the utmost
vigilance and precaution were necessary, not only because the
number of troops employed on the service was hardly adequate to
discharge it, but because the garrison hemmed in was well known to
be at once numerous and enterprising. The reader may
accordingly judge what appearance a country presented which, to
the extent of fifteen or twenty miles round, was thus treated;
where every