On finding that the loopholes in the walls of the shed were guarded, the Sepoys mounted the roof, made holes through it, and began to fire on the party below. Though the muzzles of their pieces were only about four feet from our men, none of the latter were seriously wounded; in truth, the miraculous escapes that occurred on this occasion are so numerous and surprising as to be almost incredible, if they were not well authenticated. As the shed was no longer tenable, they bored through the wall into the courtyard, so as to escape for a moment from the heavy fire from the roof. Their position was desperate; the most sanguine had almost ceased to hope; the strongest were prostrated by hunger, heat, anxiety, and fatigue; the wounded, parched with thirst and terror-struck by the shrieks of the tortured, longed to escape from such misery, and prayed for death at the hands of their countrymen. We have heard men who shared in the horrors of this fearful scene declare that, if they had not been restrained by Christian principle, they would have laid violent hands on themselves, or courted death from the bullets of the enemy. Such feelings may have sprung up in their minds as they listened to the shrieks of the tortured, and thought of their own fate if they fell into the hands of the enemy; but the love of life is strong, and they continued to defend themselves. Was there no other place of shelter than the shed they occupied? On looking out from the courtyard they observed the rear of a large building at the distance of thirty yards. Dr. Home and one of his party stole cautiously out to reconnoitre; night was setting in, and the darkness was favourable to their undertaking. They reached the building without attracting the notice of the Sepoys, and discovered that it was a large mosque, with an arched opening about eight feet from the ground. By mounting on the shoulders of his companion, Dr. Home was enabled to enter the building through this opening, and found himself in a spacious courtyard looking into a garden. No pious Mussulman was performing his devotions there; the place seemed to have been designed by Providence for their preservation; and Dr. Home, after advancing a short distance into the mosque, returned to the opening in the wall, and beckoned to the others to join him. They hesitated to do so, and during this delay Dr. Home and his companion were discovered by the enemy, who opened fire on them from the roof of the shed, and drove them back to their former position. Their enterprise was not altogether fruitless; inside the mosque they had found a _chatty_ of excellent water belonging to the Sepoys—a prize at that moment far more precious in their eyes than all the gold of Ophir or the diamonds of Golconda. They had been biting cartridges all day; their lips were dry and cracked with thirst; but they thought of the wounded, whose sufferings were still more intense, and carried with them the _chatty_ of water for their relief.