186 TKAVEL, AD VENTURE, AND SPORT. 



Fort Tsee will answer nearly for all. Its height was 

 about sixty feet, its diameter sixty yards. The outer 

 wall was six feet thick, and the distance from it to 

 the inner one was about sixty-five. Small space, it 

 may be thought, including the thickness of tAvo walls, 

 for the working of guns and the habitation of men ; 

 yet there seemed room enough. In the centre was a 

 large court, open to the sky. All the forts had two 

 tiers of casemated guns. The upper was the principal, 

 and, it may be said, the only battery ; for the lower 

 tier being within six or seven feet of the ground, its 

 embrasures would offer a tempting opening for assault, 

 and were therefore blocked up with brickwork, which 

 was pierced, however, with loopholes for musketry. 

 In two or three embrasures the guns were retained. 

 A singular feature of the buildings was a sloping roof 

 of sheet -iron, from which protruded windows with 

 wooden shutters, like those in attics. The entrance 

 was by a narrow doorway, defended in front by a 

 barricade of sand-bags and strong palisades, whilst 

 yawning overhead was an ugly circular hole, through 

 which missiles might be hurled on a storming party. 

 This machicoulis was formed by a slide, which could 

 be drawn backwards and forwards over the opening, 

 and though clumsily constructed, might have been 

 turned to mischievous effect. The building within 

 was divided into compartments by partition - walls ; 

 and entrances from the court led into the galleries, 

 where the guns stood in their casemate chambers, 



