296 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XL 



battery, and the general storming of the town was decided 

 upon. 



On the 2nd* November, in broad daylight, at eight o'clock 

 in the morning, the general assault began. Sixteen ships, 

 which had been lying outside of the harbour, weighed anchor, 

 and sailed in front of the town as near as possible, but two 

 of them were ordered to enter into the harbour and bombard 

 the water-fort as heavily as they could. 



This bastion, however, was strong, armed with twelve 

 bronze guns ; and soon one of the ships was sunk,| whilst 

 the otherj had the greatest difficulty in getting out of the 

 harbour again. Whilst in the meantime the other ships 

 from the sea fired boldly into the town, two of our com- 

 panies, that of Captain Hartenberger§ and that of Roggen- 

 kam,|| to which latter I belonged, each seventy-five men 

 strong, mostly with firelocks and muskets, with their officers 

 and drummers, and each company strengthened by twenty 

 marines, each of whom had five hand grenades, were ordered 

 to try what they could do. We had to cross a big sheet of 

 water, and had to take our men and scaling-ladders over in nine 

 small boats. We protected the bows of the boats with planks 

 and beams, three fingers thick, to be quite safe. We arrived 

 at a spot whence we could see into the town, and fancied 

 the Commander of the town had overlooked this. But when 

 we tried to land, we found that the enemy was hidden in the 

 houses, and opened a well-sustained fire upon us. A comrade 

 of mine, Georg Caspar Kindsvatter,1[ from Nuremberg, who 

 has still friends in Wohrd, was killed, and later on buried 

 by us. 



When I was ordered to follow, and wanted to do so, I 

 received from a gallery two shots in quick succession, one in 



* A misprint for 1 2th. 



f This was the " Maaght van Enkhuyzen."' 



X Named the " Workum." 



§ Hardenberger (Dutch ed.). 



|| RosTtam (Dutch ed.). 



% Georg Kaspersz (Dutch ed.). 



