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+====== TRAVELS OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN ======
+===== CHAPTER X =====
+//Pays a visit during the siege of Gibraltar to his old friend
+General Elliot--Sinks a Spanish man-of-war--Wakes an old woman on
+the African coast--Destroys all the enemy's cannon; frightens the
+Count d'Artois, and sends him to Paris--Saves the lives of two
+English spies with the identical sling that killed Goliath; and
+raises the siege.//
+During the late siege of Gibraltar I went with a provision-fleet,
+under Lord Rodney's command, to see my old friend General Elliot, who
+has, by his distinguished defence of that place, acquired laurels that
+can never fade. After the usual joy which generally attends the
+meeting of old friends had subsided, I went to examine the state of
+the garrison, and view the operations of the enemy, for which purpose
+the General accompanied me. I had brought a most excellent refracting
+telescope with me from London, purchased of Dollond, by the help of
+which I found the enemy were going to discharge a thirty-six pounder
+at the spot where we stood. I told the General what they were about;
+he looked through the glass also, and found my conjectures right. I
+immediately, by his permission, ordered a forty-eight pounder to be
+brought from a neighbouring battery, which I placed with so much
+exactness (having long studied the art of gunnery) that I was sure of
+my mark.
+I continued watching the enemy till I saw the match placed at the
+touch-hole of their piece; at that very instant I gave the signal for
+our gun to be fired also.
+About midway between the two pieces of cannon the balls struck each
+other with amazing force, and the effect was astonishing! The enemy's
+ball recoiled back with such violence as to kill the man who had
+discharged it, by carrying his head fairly off, with sixteen others
+which it met with in its progress to the Barbary coast, where its
+force, after passing through three masts of vessels that then lay in a
+line behind each other in the harbour, was so much spent, that it only
+broke its way through the roof of a poor labourer's hut, about two
+hundred yards inland, and destroyed a few teeth an old woman had left,
+who lay asleep upon her back with her mouth open. The ball lodged in
+her throat. Her husband soon after came home, and endeavoured to
+extract it; but finding that impracticable, by the assistance of a
+rammer he forced it into her stomach. Our ball did excellent service;
+for it not only repelled the other in the manner just described, but,
+proceeding as I intended it should, it dismounted the very piece of
+cannon that had just been employed against us, and forced it into the
+hold of the ship, where it fell with so much force as to break its way
+through the bottom. The ship immediately filled and sank, with above a
+thousand Spanish sailors on board, besides a considerable number of
+soldiers. This, to be sure, was a most extraordinary exploit; I will
+not, however, take the whole merit to myself; my judgment was the
+principal engine, but chance assisted me a little; for I afterwards
+found, that the man who charged our forty-eight pounder put in, by
+mistake, a double quantity of powder, else we could never have
+succeeded so much beyond all expectation, especially in repelling the
+enemy's ball.
+General Elliot would have given me a commission for this singular
+piece of service; but I declined everything, except his thanks, which
+I received at a crowded table of officers at supper on the evening of
+that very day.
+As I am very partial to the English, who are beyond all doubt a brave
+people, I determined not to take my leave of the garrison till I had
+rendered them another piece of service, and in about three weeks an
+opportunity presented itself. I dressed myself in the habit of a
+//Popish priest//, and at about one o'clock in the morning stole out of
+the garrison, passed the enemy's lines, and arrived in the middle of
+their camp, where I entered the tent in which the Prince d'Artois was,
+with the commander-in-chief, and several other officers, in deep
+council, concerting a plan to storm the garrison next morning. My
+disguise was my protection; they suffered me to continue there,
+hearing everything that passed, till they went to their several beds.
+When I found the whole camp, and even the sentinels, were wrapped up
+in the arms of Morpheus, I began my work, which was that of
+dismounting all their cannon (above three hundred pieces), from forty-
+eight to twenty-four pounders, and throwing them three leagues into
+the sea. Having no assistance, I found this the hardest task I ever
+undertook, except swimming to the opposite shore with the famous
+Turkish piece of ordnance, described by Baron de Tott in his Memoirs,
+which I shall hereafter mention. I then piled all the carriages
+together in the centre of the camp, which, to prevent the noise of the
+wheels being heard, I carried in pairs under my arms; and a noble
+appearance they made, as high at least as the rock of Gibraltar. I
+then lighted a match by striking a flint stone, situated twenty feet
+from the ground (in an old wall built by the Moors when they invaded
+Spain), with the breech of an iron eight-and-forty pounder, and so set
+fire to the whole pile. I forgot to inform you that I threw all their
+ammunition-waggons upon the top.
+Before I applied the lighted match I had laid the combustibles at the
+bottom so judiciously, that the whole was in a blaze in a moment. To
+prevent suspicion I was one of the first to express my surprise. The
+whole camp was, as you may imagine, petrified with astonishment: the
+general conclusion was, that their sentinels had been bribed, and that
+seven or eight regiments of the garrison had been employed in this
+horrid destruction of their artillery. Mr. Drinkwater, in his account
+of this famous siege, mentions the enemy sustaining a great loss by a
+fire which happened in their camp, but never knew the cause; how
+should he? as I never divulged it before (though I alone saved
+Gibraltar by this night's business), not even to General Elliot. The
+Count d'Artois and all his attendants ran away in their fright, and
+never stopped on the road till they reached Paris, which they did in
+about a fortnight; this dreadful conflagration had such an effect upon
+them that they were incapable of taking the least refreshment for
+three months after, but, chameleon-like, lived upon the air. =====
+//If any gentleman will say he doubts the truth of this story, I will
+fine him a gallon of brandy and make him drink it at one draught.//
+About two months after I had done the besieged this service, one
+morning, as I sat at breakfast with General Elliot, a shell (for I had
+not time to destroy their mortars as well as their cannon) entered the
+apartment we were sitting in; it lodged upon our table: the General,
+as most men would do, quitted the room directly; but I took it up
+before it burst, and carried it to the top of the rock, when, looking
+over the enemy's camp, on an eminence near the sea-coast I observed a
+considerable number of people, but could not, with my naked eye,
+discover how they were employed. I had recourse again to my telescope,
+when I found that two of our officers, one a general, the other a
+colonel, with whom I spent the preceding evening, and who went out
+into the enemy's camp about midnight as spies, were taken, and then
+were actually going to be executed on a gibbet. I found the distance
+too great to throw the shell with my hand, but most fortunately
+recollecting that I had the very sling in my pocket which assisted
+David in slaying Goliath, I placed the shell in it, and immediately
+threw it in the midst of them: it burst as it fell, and destroyed all
+present, except the two culprits, who were saved by being suspended so
+high, for they were just turned off: however, one of the pieces of the
+shell fled with such force against the foot of the gibbet, that it
+immediately brought it down. Our two friends no sooner felt //terra
+firma// than they looked about for the cause; and finding their guards,
+executioner, and all, had taken it in their heads to die first, they
+directly extricated each other from their disgraceful cords, and then
+ran down to the sea-shore, seized a Spanish boat with two men in it,
+and made them row to one of our ships, which they did with great
+safety, and in a few minutes after, when I was relating to General
+Elliot how I had acted, they both took us by the hand, and after
+mutual congratulations we retired to spend the day with festivity.
+----
+Go to [[CHAPTER XI]]