adorned poles in Hooghly, immensely to the gratification of the impoverished inhabitants of that mined town.
At Hijili the English garrison soon began to realize the truth that more soldiers die by disease than by the weapons of war. A low-lying pestilential spot, it was about the worst situation that could have been selected for an encampment of English soldiers, most of whom were fresh from home. Disease quickly appeared in their ranks, and as the hot months came on it worked such frightful havoc that the proportion of sick was never less than a third. Meanwhile, the Mogul forces had been steadily accumulating on the mainland opposite the island. They had erected there a battery which enabled them to dominate the river and even threaten the fort.
Action had to be taken if the island was not to be made altogether untenable. A series of raids were consequently organized with the object of harassing the enemy and giving the men a little wholesome excitement. Though they were uniformly successful the overwhelming numbers of the enemy enabled them to make good all damage that was done. When one battery was destroyed, another and heavier one was established.
In May the arrival of the Nabob's general with twelve thousand fresh troops was the signal for a more vigorous effort to overwhelm the English. New batteries were erected along the river and a constant fire from them was kept up. The range was good, and under the harassing effect of the bombardment, combined with the natural depression engendered by heat and disease, the spirits of the garrison fell to zero.
Becoming more audacious with the absence of any initia-
