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trees. The opposite division has, from a vain and puerile 
affectation of republican names, been styled the Champ de 
Mars; and is dedicated to the same purposes as its ancient 
prototype. 
* The town is flanked on both sides by lines. That on 
the left runs down from the rocky base of the Montagne de 
découverte as far as the road to Moka: and the plain from 
that point to Fort-Blanc, is defended by three redoubts which 
support each other. On the east flank, a strong line extends 
from the Fanfaron battery across the road to Pampelmousse, 
and terminates in a small redoubt on the crest of one of the 
ridges that branch out from the Pouce Mountain. lt is, 
however, but fair to add, that these lines and redoubts 
are in a state of complete dilapidation. The admirable 
finesse of the enemy was never more clearly displayed than 
in contriving to spread abroad such exaggerated statements of 
the strength and resources of this island; and could be 
matched only by the indolence or apathy of our Govern- 
ment that gave implicit credit to these reports, and acted on 
them, without having taken any previous steps to verify them. 
It was an amusing spectacle to the citizens of Port-Louis, 
who crowded down to the shore to see whole ship-loads of 
pioneers’ tools, and scaling-ladders, landed from the fleet after 
the town had surrendered, Scaling-ladders to storm an open 
town! And the measure of our follies would not be com- 
plete, unless we had made this public display of them. I 
heard it seriously disputed, at the table of one of our : 
of rank, whether with the force destined for this expedition 
we should be able to take the island. It was our hosts 
opinion that if we did succeed, it would cost us a tho 
men at the least. Our actual loss amounted to about fifty, 
and the greater part of it was the result of a panic among our 
Virginia . Contrary, however, to his most solemn i 
“olonists deny that the beings ever existed whose mS- 
