It had been agreed that a black flag should be hoisted while the Queen was making her rounds among the wounded, and the sign was at first respected by the enemy, but Maria Sophia herself paid no attention to it as she rode calmly about her business even in those fortifications exposed to the heaviest fire. One day a bomb fell so close to her feet that she would certainly have been torn to pieces had not an officer seized her in his arms and swung her behind a projecting wall. Another day, while standing in one of the window embrasures in the citadel, talking with the Spanish ambassador, a shell burst so near that the window panes were shattered and the Queen’s face was cut by the flying glass. But she only laughed, saying, “It is unkind of the enemy to leave me nowhere in peace. They have just driven me from one place, and now will not let me stay here, either.” “Ah, but you have had your wish granted, madame,” replied the Ambassador, “you wanted to see a ball as close as possible.” “Yes, and I also wished for a slight wound,” added the Queen gayly. * * * * * * * * From Gaeta Francis had issued another proclamation to his subjects, protesting against the new order of things, and avowing his good faith toward them and the constitution he had granted them, in spite of all that had happened; but though widely distributed, it was powerless to stem the current of events. As we have seen, the King had lost many opportunities of securing an advantage at the beginning of the war. By retreating to Gaeta he was placed in the curious position, for a commander, of having cut himself off from two-thirds of his army. He had given orders for the majority of these to slip away across the Roman borders, hoping they might be reassembled later, to form the nucleus for an uprising in the Abruzzo Mountains. Reports, however, of the terrible treatment received by prisoners at the hands of the Piedmontese so alarmed the soldiers that they made no attempt to escape till it was too late, and the few that did reach Roman territory were promptly disarmed. The French fleet, lying in the Bay of Gaeta, had proved of inestimable value in protecting the city from attack by sea. The friendly attitude of the Admiral also made it possible for the King’s friends to furnish him with provisions, while the supply ships carried many of the Neapolitan troops away from Gaeta, landing them at Civita Vecchia and Terracina. In this way the garrison was reduced to fifteen thousand men; but even so, the food supply soon began to fall short.