King Charles and his counsellors did not make efforts to provide for the defence of the towns which had been gained, nor to obtain the means for future conquests; but spent their time and money in diversions: the breaches of _Barcelona_ and Montjuich were not repaired, and the garrison was unprovided for a siege. King Philip pursued a different line of conduct; he collected forces from various quarters, and assembled a numerous army, with a powerful artillery, for the re-capture of the provinces he had lost, and a formidable French and Spanish force approached the capital of Catalonia by land; at the same time a French fleet appeared before the city. The garrison being weak in numbers, corps were hurried from various places to increase its strength; and the THIRTY-FOURTH Regiment travelled one hundred and twenty miles on mules, on the 30th and 31st of March, and on the 1st of April mounted guard on the works. The regiment had not been two hours on duty when the French approached the place, and made an attack on the outworks of fort Montjuich; but were repulsed by a hundred men of the THIRTY-FOURTH, in gallant style[6]. To the timely arrival of the regiment may be attributed, in a great measure, the preservation of the town: the soldiers repaired the breaches, and made a desperate and resolute defence. King Charles remained in Barcelona; his presence stimulated the garrison to extraordinary efforts, and British valour was conspicuously displayed in his cause; but the troops were not sufficiently numerous for the defence of so extensive a place. When the garrison, bravely struggling against multiplied difficulties, had become exhausted; its numbers decreased by deaths, wounds, and sickness to about a thousand men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the combined English and Dutch fleets approached with reinforcements; the French naval force hurried from before the town, and the garrison was relieved. Losing all hope of final success, and having had five thousand men killed and wounded before the town, the enemy made a precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hundred brass cannon, thirty mortars, and immense stores of ammunition and provision, together with the sick and wounded of their army, behind them, and hurrying to France, they thus left the allies at liberty to engage in new enterprises. Barcelona was thus preserved by British skill and valour; and the THIRTY-FOURTH Regiment received, with the other corps in garrison, the thanks of King Charles for its heroic conduct. Its numbers were considerably reduced by casualties during the siege.