MEMOIR. 17 



Upon the 11th of September the fleet anchored there, consisting 

 of several line-of-battle ships, besides smaller vessels and two 

 Austrian corvettes. At about 1 P.M. they opened fire upon the 

 town. Broadsides were poured without ceasing into its walls 

 until long after dark. A small vessel was coming into the 

 harbour at the time, and her officers described the scene as being 

 very grand. The silvery light of the moon, sleeping upon the 

 white minarets and mosques of the devoted town, contrasted with 

 the red lurid flashes of fire issuing from the black hulls ; above hung 

 a dark, black pall of sulphurous smoke, which was occasionally 

 cleft by the meteor-like rockets thrown up by the Austrians. 

 The town made little or no return to our fire. The troops 

 retired for safety into cellars and bomb-proof buildings. In the 

 morning we found the town in ruins, though the houses escaped 

 being utterly destroyed owing to the softness of the stone, which 

 allowed the shot free passage without being shattered. 



As the town did not yet surrender, and it not being thought 

 safe to land in consequence of the great force of the enemy within 

 the town (and from our mastheads we could see a large camp 

 behind the town), so firing was still continued at intervals when- 

 ever any movement was seen. There appeared to be a storehouse 

 of some kind which they were very anxious to reach to carry off 

 its contents ; to reach it, however, the soldiers had to walk a 

 short distance exposed to our shot, which always stopped any 

 attempt of the kind. At night they had no better fortune, for 

 the moment a light was observed moving in that direction a 

 volley of shot extinguished it. An old Turk, who had apparently 

 charge of this depot, certainly deserved credit for his perseverance 



