On the north-western bastion of the fort and looking both up and down the river, stands a sentinel’s box of stone, and close beside it, firmly fixed in the walls, the stump of the ancient flag-staff. Within the box were yet to be seen the grooves which the muskets of the sentinels had worn in the stone. We thrust our heads through the windows, but saw nothing except Pedro and his men, some to their shoulders in the water, pushing up “La Granadina,” and others tugging at the rope attached to her bows. [Illustration: SENTINEL’S BOX AT THE CASTILLO VIEJO.] This fort was captured by the English on the 29th of April, 1780. The plan of the expedition was formed by Gen. Sir John Dalling,[4] and had for its object to get possession of Lake Nicaragua, and the cities of Leon and Granada, and thus to cut off communication between the northern and southern Spanish possessions in America. The land forces were commanded by Colonel Polson, under whose orders Captain Nelson, then in command of the ship “Hinchinbrook,” acted. The Spanish garrison consisted of two hundred and twenty-eight men, under the command of Juan de Ayssa. Notwithstanding the overwhelmingly superior force of the English, the siege was a protracted one. The castle was finally brought to terms by the English obtaining possession of a hill commanding it in the rear. By the terms of capitulation, “in consideration of the gallant defence of the fort,” the garrison was permitted to march out with colors flying, drums beating, with lighted matches, muskets and sidearms, and to be furnished with vessels and provisions to convey them to any port of Spain in America which might be agreed upon.[5] This triumph was dearly purchased, and was productive of no good results. The entire expedition was a failure, and is passed over very lightly in the English annals. Of the two hundred men comprising the crew of Nelson’s vessel, but ten survived the expedition, and he himself narrowly escaped death. In January, 1781, the English abandoned the castle, and withdrew to Jamaica. Collingwood apologises for the failure of the expedition, on the ground that “it was formed without a sufficient knowledge of the country, and presented difficulties not to be surmounted by human skill and perseverance. It was dangerous to proceed on the river, from the rapidity of the current, and the numerous falls over rocks which intercepted the navigation; the climate, too, was deadly, and no constitution could resist its effects.”[6] ----- Footnote 4: Clark and McArthur’s Life of Nelson, vol. p. 32. Footnote 5: Beatson’s “Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain,” vol. v. p. 97, and vol. vi. p. 230. Footnote 6: Memoirs, 5th ed., vol. i., p. 10. -----