ALARM. LAYING A MINE. 75 



government, and also received the usual pay. In the 

 military training of the folk my before-mentioned man 

 Hemp, whom I named chief of the artillery, again 

 rendered me signal service. The cannons were cer- 

 tainly old and bad. but a short 24 pounder and a 

 howitzer were still serviceable: the Danish blockade 

 ship, which no longer left the harbour -roads, seemed 

 somewhat to respect the red-hot balls, which we 

 always sent her when she came within range. 



One morning we were alarmed by the announce- 

 ment that three large Danish men-of-war were lying 

 in the roads. It seemed indeed as if an attack on 

 the fort were intended which, considering its bad con- 

 dition and equipment, would have had the chances in 

 its favour. The weakest point of the fort was the 

 entry-gate opening on the inner harbour. The draw- 

 bridge was out of repair, the moat was dry. and the 

 ravelin protecting the entry only remained in its out- 

 lines. As meanwhile my brother-in-law Hiinly had 

 partially replaced the casks temporarily employed for 

 the mines by the India-rubber bags that had arrived 

 from Berlin, I ordered one of these now superfluous 

 casks to be towed to Friedrichsort . in order to be 

 there used as fougade for the defence of the fort gate. 

 The day before the alarm I had had a deep pit dug 

 in the middle of the old ravelin and the cask lowered 

 therein. As night had come on before this work was 

 finished, the pit remained open and was guarded by 

 a sentry. When next morning the alarm occurred, 

 I commissioned my brother Frederick who . as 



