No. 39—1889.] account of cbylon. 



301 



would be no more than five or six men in the bastions. 

 Altogether there were only about one hundred real Portu- 

 guese soldiers, — the others were burghers and slaves. Now, 

 we were to make our drummers beat and our trumpeters 

 blow at the same time and in the usual way in the morning ; 

 we were to remain quietly in the trenches that nobody might 

 become aware of our intentions, and then half an hour after- 

 wards, when they would be all in church, we were quickly 

 to attack the bastion called S. John's, This advice pleased 

 us very much. Three companies with firearms were quietly 

 told off, and a reward of fifty rixdollars promised to him who 

 should first scale the wall. We quickly prepared our ladders, 

 placed them against the wall, and managed to get up without 

 being noticed. We found not more than eight natives, seven 

 of whom were asleep ; the sentinel, it is true, was awake, but 

 he was killed with the others before he had time to escape. 



Soon there was an alarm in the town, all the bells were 

 tolled, everybody was up and in arms, and ran towards the 

 bastion. The cannons were directed against us, and a strong 

 fire was kept up, so that we again had about three hundred 

 killed and many wounded. I again came in for my share 

 of it, and a piece of lead from the water-fort hit me on the 

 right foot ; a small bone was smashed, and I had to remain 

 lying on the ground. It was a still greater misfortune that, 

 when I -was carried away, my wound was dressed by a young 

 surgeon who did not know his work well, and within three 

 days had so neglected me that mortification set in, and 

 it was thought that my leg would have to be amputated 

 below the knee. When all the surgeons were assembled, an 

 officer who in such cases has always to be present to inform 

 the Governor of it, and get his consent, said to the surgeons 

 that the wounded was a young man who had served the 

 Company for eight years ; who had always marched and 

 mounted guard without complaining, and asked whether they 

 could not find another remedy than to sacrifice the foot. 



A Frenchman was found who promised our Commander to 

 try another plan, and by the Lord's grace and mercy, although 



