The king had taken notice of our small party of volunteers, and though
I thought he had not seen me, yet he sent the next morning for Sir
John Hepburn, and asked him if I were not come to the army? "Yes,"
says Sir John, "he has been here two or three days." And as he was
forming an excuse for not having brought me to wait on his Majesty,
says the king, interrupting him, "I wonder you would let him thrust
himself into a hot piece of service as storming the Port Graft.
Pray let him know I saw him, and have a very good account of his
behaviour." Sir John returned with this account to me, and pressed
me to pay my duty to his Majesty the next morning; and accordingly,
though I had but an ill night with the pain of my wound, I was with
him at the levee in the castle.
I cannot but give some short account of the glory of the morning; the
castle had been cleared of the dead bodies of the enemies, and what
was not pillaged by the soldiers was placed under a guard. There was
first a magazine of very good arms for about 18,000 or 20,000 foot,
and 4000 horse, a very good train of artillery of about eighteen
pieces of battery, thirty-two brass field-pieces, and four mortars.
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