544 
SIEGE OE MINORCA. 
catch the ink fish, which they pretended had been fired at them un¬ 
lawfully : we could never find out that this had been done, and concluded 
it to be a trick to gain time; about two hours after the Officer was 
dismissed, we played our Batteries again with great fury, continuing the 
whole night, and directing all our fire against the Battery they were 
preparing to open by the old burying Ground. Some of the Enemy’s 
Fleet in sight from the West. 
This Day a shell of the ^Enemy’s blew up a Barrel and | of Powder, 
and fired some shells on the Queen’s Redoubt, but hurt nobody. They 
continue working in the hollow way by Water Tower, but it does not 
yet appear that they are opening any Embrazures. 
17th. Early this morning the Enemy opened a Battery of 4 Guns by the 
old burying Ground, and another of 4 Howitzers by Stanhope’s Tower ; 
from which they fired with great fury, throwing in the Night upwards 
of 300 ricochet shells. 
In the Morning Mr Boyd went to the French Commander in the 
trenches, with an answer to the remonstrance of the Day before. 
In the afternoon a French Officer came with a Letter for the Lieut 
Governour, but as he would not submit to be blindfolded he was not 
admitted into the works, but waited on the glacis till an answer was 
brought him; he insisted no Officer should be blindfolded, as Mr 
Boyd had not been in the morning; notwithstanding the custom of it 
was pleaded ; and an instance given of Lord George Sackville who was 
treated that way when he went from the Duke of Cumberland to 
Marshal Saxe, during the late War in Flanders. 
The French Fleet in sight off the harbour’s mouth. 
The Enemy threw up Traverses of Fascines, Earth, and Gabions, 
at the end of most of the Streets to cover their people passing and re¬ 
passing. 
18th . About 2 o’clock in the Morning a shell from the Enemy set fire to 
some Powder at the N. W. inward Ravelin, which threw down a com¬ 
munication bridge, and a great part of the counterscarp into the main 
ditch, this covered and shut up a Subterranean apartment where two 
Familys were quartered; they were however all by timely assistance 
dug out and saved, except one woman who was suffocated. 
At Day break a smoke was discovered at the same place, and it was 
found upon examination that the Match and Paper Cartridges were on 
fire; this alarmed the whole Garrison and everybody’s assistance was 
called for; it was however by pulling out the stores soon extinguished 
though with the loss of six or seven men killed or wounded, by two 
shells from the Enemy which fell among the crowd, at that time very 
great; this accident has very much shattered the Ravelin, entirely 
ruined the gorge of it; and filled that part of the Main ditch with so 
much rubbish, as would greatly facilitate a descent into it. 
In the afternoon the Besiegers discovered to us two Embrazures 
they had opened behind a wall to the right of the gabionade near 
Major Innes’s House, but a constant fire of our 32 Prs being kept 
upon them from the Argyle covered way they were soon rendered 
useless. 
(To he continued.) 
