Рудольф Распе – The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen (страница 13)

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