It was no fable that armed men were seen in the air
on this occasion[367]. Foreseeing the danger, as he believed from the
retirement of the enemy so suddenly that they had secretly caused it to
be undermined, Mascarenhas gave orders for the Portuguese soldiers to
retire from the bastion; but one Reynoso prevented them from doing so,
unaware of what was intended, upbraiding them for cowardice.
[Footnote 367: This is an evident allusion of De Faria to the ridiculous
reports so often propagated among the Portuguese and Spaniards of those
days, of heavenly champions aiding them in battle against the
infidels. - E.]
Thirteen thousand of the enemy immediately attacked the breach which was
formed by the explosion, and were at first resisted only by five men,
till Mascarenhas came up with fifteen more. Even the women came forward
to assist in defending the breach: and the priest, who had returned
from carrying advice to the neighbouring Portuguese forts, appeared
carrying a crucifix aloft, and encouraging the men to behave themselves
manfully. After a long and furious contest, the enemy retired on the
approach of night, after losing 300 men, and Mascarenhas employed the
whole night in repairing the breach. The enemy renewed their attacks
every day, but with no better success, trusting to their vast
superiority in numbers, that they would at last wear out and destroy the
garrison.
