The Seven Cities of Delhi
it was to form the breach near the Cashmere Bastion.
On the night of the 9th was started the battery in the "Custom-house;" little could be done beyond sand-bagging, so as to obtain some shelter, and the working party was withdrawn at dawn. A battery for mortars was constructed on this same night under the cover afforded by some old buildings, which made a square, just outside the gate of the Kudsia Bagh. This battery was armed, but did not open fire at once, for it was considered advisable for all to unmask together. The enemy were not idle, but kept up a continual fire, and made more than one sortie.
It was not until the morning of the 11th that the great breaching battery and the mortar battery opened fire, the men jumping on to the parapets, after the first salvo, and cheering lustily. The walls began at once to crumble under the heavy fire directed at such short range, and the shells knocked away the parapets in fine style. Yet the enemy were not disheartened, and pluckily started to mount guns elsewhere, while their cavalry had the audacity to attack the rear of the camp, but got severely punished.
The "Custom-house" battery did not open fire until the afternoon of the 12th, although it288
