A SKETCH IN THE TEOPICS. 171 



and admirably well too; for every shot took effect 

 within a circumference of a few feet on the bastion 

 in front of us. 



This lasted nearly an hour, at the end of which 

 time the fire was considerably slackened, for the 

 greater part of our guns had become unserviceable. 

 Only about a dozen kept up the fire (the ball, I was 

 going to say), and amongst them were the two that 

 Heady commanded. He had given them time to cool 

 after firing, whereas most of the others, in their des- 

 perate haste and eagerness, had neglected that pre- 

 caution. Although the patriots had now been fifteen 

 years at war with the Spaniards, they were still very 

 indifferent artillerymen for artillery had little to do 

 in most of their fights, which were generally decided 

 by cavalry and infantry ; and even in that of Aya- 

 cucho there were only a few small field-pieces in use 

 on either side. The mountainous nature of the coun- 

 try, intersected too by mighty rivers and the want of 

 good roads, were the reasons of the insignificant part 

 played by the artillery in these wars. 



Whilst we were thus hard at work, who should 

 enter the battery but the very officer we had left 

 Lima to visit ! He was attended by a numerous staff, 

 and was evidently of very high rank. He stood a 

 little back, watching every movement of Captain 

 Eeady, and rubbing his hands with visible satisfac- 

 tion. Just at that moment the captain fired one of 

 the guns, and, as the smoke cleared away a little, we 



