Incredible were the exertions now made by the soldiers of the two regiments to protract the defence until the arrival of a relieving fleet; and, to procure water, they sank three deep cisterns in the solid rock on which the fortress stands.

On the 5th of April, 1705, six regiments of infantry were raised in England. One of these was commanded by Sir Charles Hotham, Bart., M.P. for Beverley, an officer who had served in the wars of King William, and who died in 1723, a general, and colonel of the 8th, or King's. He embarked with his regiment for Spain, and served with it at Alicante when the battle of Almanza was fought; but he must have left it soon after, as during the disastrous siege we are about to narrate it was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Thornicroft.

The regiment of Colonel Frederick Sybourg was chiefly composed of French Protestant refugees, and was one of seven such corps then in our service. These were the French dragoons under Lieutenant-Colonel La Fabrique, and the infantry of Brigadier Vimare, Colonels Fontjulian, La Barthe, Sybourg, Blosset, and Count de Nassau d'Auverquerque, who was killed at the battle of Almenara, in Spain, in 1710.

Colonel Sybourg personally commanded his battalion in Alicante; his lieutenant-colonel was Balthasar d'Albon, Francis Vignioles was major, and Bernard Richon-was chaplain.

The Chevalier d'Asfeld, after he had made some progress in blocking up these solitary regiments in the castle of Alicante, saw that it was impossible to attempt with success an assault; the elevation of the old fortress was too great for breaching-guns to affect it. He therefore resolved to undermine the solid rock, and blow the castle and its garrison into the air together.

This scheme was at first deemed quite impracticable by General Richards and his officers, and they confidently awaited the arrival of the naval squadron, under Sir Edward Whitaker, from Barcelona. In the meanwhile, by shot and shell, musketry and hand-grenades, they did all in their power to disturb or destroy the French sappers,

Twelve weeks of perilous and unremitting toil were necessary to complete the mine; and when finished it was charged with 1,500 barrels of gunpowder and other combustible materials.

By sound of drum, on the 2nd day of March, 1709, the castle was formally summoned to surrender, and a safe and honourable convoy so far as Barcelona was promised to the regiments of Hotham and Sybourg, with all their arms, colours, and baggage, if they capitulated within three days, and thus prevented the total destruction of the fortress and of themselves. And to this offer the chevalier added a solemn threat that if once the mine was sprung, no mercy or quarter would be shown to any officer or man who escaped the explosion.

The Chevalier d'Asfeld, to prove that he was in sad earnest, requested General Richards to come in person, or to send certain officers, to see for themselves the formidable nature of the mine beneath the garrison, and the terrible fate that inevitably awaited them. This invitation was accepted by Lieutenant-Colonel Thornicroft, of Hotham's Regiment, and Captain Page, an English engineer in the service of King Charles.

They descended into the mine, accompanied by the chevalier, who requested them to examine it as closely as they pleased. They did so, and on their return reported to General Richards “that, if their judgment did not deceive them, the explosion would carry up the whole castle to the eastern battery, unless it took vent in their own countermine; but at least they were certain that it would carry away the sea-battery, the barracks in the castle close, and some of the chambers cut in the rock for soldiers' quarters; and they much feared it might affect the great cistern."

On hearing all this, many of the officers thought the whole affair a mere farce. Some asserted that the mine was a mockery, and that the bags and barrels seen by the colonel and captain were filled by sand and not gunpowder; but there were others who had their wives and children with them, and looked forward to the end with the deepest solicitude.

By order of General Richards, a Council of War was held; and the soldiers reported an increasing scarcity of water, which was not the least of the many hardships they endured: but believing that Whitaker's fleet must soon arrive from Barcelona

to their relief, they resolved unanimously "to commit the sequel to the providence of God, and sent word to the enemy to fire their mine if they chose."

Barcelona was two hundred and sixty miles distant, and the sea was swept in vain by their telescopes, as the light of the last day faded, for the expected British fleet.

The third fatal night closed in, and the chevalier, who, though a resolute, was not an unmerciful officer, sent once again a flag of truce, with tidings that the train of powder was laid through the gallery, and should be fired at six o'clock precisely on the following morning.

"Blow away!" was the brief response of the besieged; and at nightfall the chevalier ordered "all the inhabitants in the quarter near the mine to withdraw from their houses before five o'clock next morning."

Slowly passed the eventful night. The besieged kept all their guards and sentinels posted as usual, but no man undressed or went to bed. Alarm and dread expectation were too keen to admit of sleep, and many a brave soldier passed the night in meditation and prayer. General Richards, and Colonels Thornicroft, Sybourg, and Balthasar d'Albon, sat together in the governor's quarters; and all their brother officers were grouped elsewhere, to pass this miserable night.

Captain Carleton, in his Memoirs, says, "some further particulars I soon had from Colonel Sybourg's gentleman. He told me that the night preceding the unfortunate catastrophe of his master, he was waiting on him in the casemate, when he observed, some time before the rest of the company took notice of it, that General Richards appeared very pensive and thoughtful-that the whole night long he was pestered with and could not get rid of a great fly, which was perpetually buzzing about his ears and head, to the great vexation and disturbance of the rest of the company, as well as the general himself.”

When day dawned again, the sea was searched in vain by the anxious eyes of those who gathered on the battery that stood immediately above the terrible mine. It was then proposed that they should have a couple of bottles of wine, "to drink for the last time the health of Her Majesty the good Queen Anne.”

Afterwards the general was informed that the people of Alicante were hurrying in multitudes to the western part of the town, on which he went to the battery which overlooked that quarter, attended by the field-officers, and remained there some time. Lieutenant-Colonel Thornicroft was urged by him

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to retire, saying that his being there was of no service.

"There is no danger to be apprehended here, more than in any other place, and we shall wait the event," was the reply of the colonel and of Sybourg.

Such was the force of discipline, that they remained there because their superior did so, and other officers imitated their example; while the poor soldiers, now by mere force of habit, got under arms in the castle-yard, and remained in silence and expectation, awaiting death in their ranks; but hope began to dawn in the hearts of some as the fatal hour was past.

"Suddenly a corporal cried aloud, "The train is fired!" Then smoke was seen to issue from a fissure in the rocks beneath them, and the general and field-officers were implored to retire from the sea battery, but all refused.

At last, with a dreadful crash and roar, the mine was sprung!

The whole rock of Alicante, to the eyes of those in the city, camp, and fleet below, seemed to open and shut again, while a vast dark cloud rose high in the air, and hid the ancient castle. The whole mountain trembled to its base in the sea; and when the dust cleared away the castle. seemed to have changed its shape, and in many parts was a mere mass of ruin, amid which the general, all the field-officers save D'Albon, with many soldiers, ten guns, and two mortars, were buried.

From base to battlement the old fortress vibrated and shook; part of the great cistern was destroyed, another was nearly choked by the fallen masonry, and in the closing rocks a poor soldier was seen shut up to his neck, beyond the power of extrication, and in that terrible predicament he remained alive for many hours. Twenty officers of all ranks, thirty-six soldiers, and several women and children were buried alive, and the groans of some of these miserable creatures were heard for two or three days after.

In Alicante many of the houses were beaten to the earth and overwhelmed by masses of falling masonry; and that any portion of the castle remained undestroyed was owing to certain fissures in the rock, and countermines formed by the garrison, having weakened the force of the explosion.

And now, inspired with fury and vengeance, Lieutenant-Colonel Balthasar d'Albon drew out a mixed detachment of his own regiment and that of Hotham, and made a desperate sally into the city at the point of the bayonet, to show that the

survivors were still undismayed. From the batteries that remained uninjured, bombs, carcasses, and grenades were shot into the streets in all directions. D'Albon was driven in with severe loss; but the shattered castle and the ruined streets presented a strange spectacle to our fleet, when ultimately it did arrive to succour the few brave fellows who had so sturdily kept the Union colours flying on the towers of Alicante.

Sir Edward Whitaker had brought with him from Barcelona 3,500 men, under General Stanhope; and

amid the cheers of the British fleet, embarked for Barcelona; after which they were put for a time "in quarters of refreshment."

Hotham's Regiment is no longer in the service. Being sorely reduced in strength by the defence of Alicante, it was disbanded in Catalonia; and Sybourg's Regiment, after serving at the siege of Bouchaine, in Hainault, was disbanded in 1711, by order of Earl Rivers, so well known as the father of Savage the poet. Rivers was then a general of cavalry, and had served under Gorges at Alicante,

when he entered the gulf, on the 15th of April, the garrison were reduced to their last biscuit and last bullet.

Chevalier d'Asfeld's forces had been greatly increased. The weather was rough, and to attempt the relief of the garrison by the strong hand was deemed impracticable. The general sent a flag of truce on shore, capitulating for the garrison, now reduced to 500 of all ranks; and on the 18th of April, 1709, they marched out with the honours of war, with two pieces of cannon in front, with balls in their muzzles and matches lighted, their bayonets fixed and drums beating, and with their colours flying.

The French and Spanish troops presented arms to them as they marched to the beach, and,

in 1706. Sybourg's brother, Charles Alexander Sybourg, in 1701 was major of the Duke of Schomberg's Horse (now 7th Dragoon Guards), and died governor of the Leeward Isles, some twenty years after.

The rent formed by the terrible mine of the Chevalier d'Asfeld is still distinctly visible in the castle rock of Alicante; and when Townsend, the traveller, visited the city in 1787, he found masses of the cliff still threatening it with destruction.

The castle has always been described as being one of great strength, and many noble Spanish families were wont to take shelter there, to escape the ravages of the Algerines. In 1813, when aided by a British fleet, the fortress and town successfully resisted the French Marshal Suchet.

sailed from Carthagena for Porto Bello; and, after holding a Council of War, he sailed in quest of them with such ships as were ready, leaving orders for the rest of the squadron to follow him.

On the 25th of January he came to anchor off the lonely Isle of Pines, where the ships took in wood and water.

In March he received tidings from Captain Humphrey Pudner, of the Severn, 48 guns, who was stationed near Porto Bello, that the galleons with the King of Spain's treasure could not sail before the month of May. Sir Charles upon this sailed for Jamaica to collect more ships, with the intention of attacking the galleons in harbour if possible, as they thought it probable they might not put to sea while he was known to be in those waters.

The 6th of April found him at anchor off the Keys of Port Royal, where the squadron was victualled, and another Council of War held. On this occasion it was resolved that, as only the Expedition, 60 guns, which carried the commodore's broad pennant, the Kingston, 60 guns, Captain Simon Bridges, and the Vulture, fire-ship, were then fit for sea, an attempt on the harbour of Porto Bello was impracticable; but that if the treasure-ships were actually to sail in May, that all vessels that could be ready by that time should put to sea and watch for them. In addition to the three already named, only the Portland, 60 guns, Captain Tudor Trevor, could be fitted out.

With these the commodore again put to sea, and gave chase to several ships off Bocca Chica. Some of these escaped into Carthagena, others were lost sight of in hazy weather.

The middle of May found him off the Baru, where he learned that the galleons were thirteen in number, with three fire-ships, and where the Expedition had her masts greatly injured by lightning during one of those dreadful thunder-storms peculiar to the tropics.

There he had intelligence of a gallant combat, fought by a privateer sloop, commanded by a Captain Coleby, with 100 men. This little vessel, on meeting with fourteen brigantines and sloops, laden with valuable goods, going from the galleons at Porto Bello to Panama, under convoy of the Duke of Anjou's guard-ship, bravely fought her and two other vessels for two hours, and took her and six other sail. The Spaniards offered Captain Coleby 180,000 pieces of eight as the ransom of these seven craft, which he refused, and Sailed with them to Jamaica.

On the 23rd of May the Anne, sloop, joined the commodore from the line of rocky isles off the Panama coast named the Bastimientos, with notice

from Captain Pudner that the galleons had at length put to sea; but the 27th passed without the commodore seeing anything of them, hence he began to fear they had given him the slip, and gone to Havanah.

On the following day no less than seventeen sail were descried from the topmast-head of the Expe dition; and with joyous alacrity all sail was made in pursuit, as beyond doubt these were the galleons at last.

They were bearing to the south-south-west, between the Baru and Friend's Island; and the commodore resolved to attack with his small squadron of four vessels, carrying in all only 228 guns, with the Vulture, fire-ship. The weather was calm till three; then a slight gale sprang up, and before it he bore down upon them, in the hope of commencing the battle before nightfall. But the Spaniards, finding that they could not weather the Baru, tacked, and stood north under easy sail. They did not attempt to escape, believing that he would not dare to attack them, being so superior in force, but drew, half contemptuously, into a sort of line of battle.

According to Burchett, the admiral's ship had a large white Spanish pennant at her main-truck, sailing in the centre. The vice-admiral carried a pennant of the same kind at the fore-truck, sailing in the rear. The rear-admiral had one of the same, but at his mizzen-truck, sailing in the van. These three vessels were half a mile apart, with the other ships between them.

Of the seventeen sail, two were sloops, and one a brigantine, which stood in for the land.

The commodore had been previously informed that the ships of the three admirals had all or most of the treasure on board. The first, the San José, of 64 guns and 600 men, had on board £7,000,000 in gold and silver; the second, another sixty-four, with 550 men, had on board £6,000,000; the third of 44 guns, and 13 in her hold, had on board 13 chests of pieces of eight, and 14 sows of silver. The rest of the galleons were laden with cocoa.

Sir Charles Wager desired Captain Bridges, of the Kingston, to engage the vice-admiral, Captain Windsor, of the Portland the rear-admiral, reserving to himself the task of assailing the San José, while the fire-ship was to lie to windward. "The commodore perceiving before night," says Lediard, "that neither the Kingston nor the Portland complied with his directions as he expected, he made the signal for a line of battle, they keeping too much to windward; but it was soon hauled down again."

The sun was just setting behind the line of coast,