The fire of the enemy was by no means contemptible; in fact, until a number of their guns were dismounted, it was both admirable and effective. On one occasion, a sergeant and thirteen men in the trenches were killed by the explosion of one of the enemy's shells; and so numerous at last were the casualties among the Artillery, that the Brigadier had to apply for 200 men from the infantry to assist in working the guns. There was great difficulty in obtaining even that number: the duties of the camp were hard; and the importance of keeping the Artillery ranks at a siege well filled was not yet fully understood. But with the progress of the siege, came an increase of wisdom; and, before long, not a requisition from the Brigadier was unattended to. All the available sea-service mortars had been landed from the ships; but a few vessels of lighter draught stood in to attack the Citadel from the sea with their guns. The effect produced was but slight, perhaps because—as an old diary of the siege says—"There were no Artillery people, either officers or men, aboard." The English works were gradually approached to within musketry range of the Citadel; and to enable the working parties to carry on their duties without molestation from the enemy's marksmen, a heavy and somewhat wasteful fire was kept up from the batteries, which had at length to be put a stop to by the Brigadier, for reasons of economy. That the fire of the English Artillery was effective, was ascertained from prisoners, who said, "Que c'étoit un feu infernal, et qu'on ne voyoit ni ciel, ni terre;" and, when on parole in the town of Palais, a favourite joke among the French prisoners, when they saw an Artillery officer approaching, was to run behind the nearest cover, shouting "Gare la bombe! Gare la bombe!" When the second parallel was opened, the Navy commenced landing some 32- pounders to arm a battery which some amateur engineers had made, and as additional mortar batteries had also been constructed, the works were now so extensive, that the Artillery was utterly unable to man them all. General Hodgson, accordingly, issued a standing order that as many men from the infantry as Brigadier Desaguliers should require were to be given, and while employed with the Artillery, their pay and allowances were to be made equal to those of the matrosses. After the occupation of Palais by the British troops, much trouble was caused by drunkenness among the men, and its concomitants, absence and insubordination. The Provost-Marshal was at last ordered to live there, and got very extensive powers. _Inter alia_, he was permitted "to _hang_ any soldiers committing _any_ kind of irregularities; above all to lay hold of any soldier whom he found drunk on duty, and when he became sober to hang him without trial."