GOVERNOR OF ANTWERP. 97 



and of the 4th, with part of the 6th. Fifteen hundred 

 bombs, eight hundred cannon balls, many red-hot balls 

 and fusees, Avere thrown on our ships. Tlie enemy then 

 retired ; the experience of three days had sutficed to give 

 him the estimate of the rough tilter he had to deal with. 

 I will borrow from the journal of tlie siege kept by M. 

 Ransonnet, Carnot's aide-de camp, some details that may 

 1)6 interesting, and which will show the strictness of the 

 man and of the times. 



On the 10th of February, the new governor of Ant- 

 werp wrote to the Mayor of the town : — 



"I am very much surprised that the person charged 

 with ordering the furnishing of my quarters, did not re- 

 strict himself to what was necessar3^ 



" I also desire that any demands of this nature, made 

 on my account, may not have the cliaracter of a forced 

 requisition. 



"All the effects enumerated in the annexed list are 

 unnecessary." 



The necessities of the Belgian campaign, having sug- 

 gested to the Emperor the idea of borrowing some troops 

 from the garrison of Antwerp for the army, Carnot wrote 

 a despatch to the General-in-Chief, Maison, dated the 

 27th of March, whence I have extracted the following 

 passages : — 



" In obeying the orders of the Emperor, I am obliged 

 to declare to you, the Commander-in-Chief, that these 

 orders are equivalent to ordering Antwerp to be ceded 

 .... The circumference of this place is immense, and 

 there would be at least fifteen tliousand good troops re- 

 quired to defend it. How could His Majesty suppose 

 that with three thousand sailors, the greater part of whom 



SEC. SER. 5 



