the succour of the British. The Castello do Quejo battery on the beach in the neighbourhood of the hill of Castro, was not taken; and the captured eminence was abandoned before 9 p.m. The movements of Santa Martha are said to have been highly judicious, and his enemies gave his troops every credit for the brave and steady soldier-like manner in which they met the assault. As usual, the British and French were the principal sufferers. Two English officers were mortally wounded, and four or five severely. Many of Don Pedro’s tenth regiment went over to the Miguelites on the night of the 24th.
On the 1st Feb. 1833, the surgeons of the British squadron pronounced the appearance of the cholera in the city of Oporto, where three or four cases had already proved fatal. On the 2d, about 4-30 p.m., three shot were fired, in quick succession, from the Sampaio battery, at a boat belonging to the iEtna, returning from an ineffectual attempt to communicate with H.M. steam-ship, Rhadamanthus, then outside the bar. On the 6th, the crew of the bar-boat returned to their ship after an absence of twenty-four days. They had been caught outside m a heavy gale of wind, and compelled to bear up for Matozinhoz, a small Miguelite town northward of Oporto. Lieutenant Legard, of the AEtna, who had charge of the boat, nearly lost his life in beaching her; and was laid up on board his ship for several weeks afterwards. In making various attempts to return to the Douro, they were fired at by the piquets of both belligerents. The lieutenant, however, reported that his party had been well treated whilst at Matozinhoz. On the 15th Feb., an English merchant, named Wright, lost his arm by a cannon shot, when sitting at dinner in his house. The position of Don Pedro had now become extremely critical – his opponents were erecting batteries in all directions, with a view of completely cutting off his supplies – report said there was scarcely ten days’ provision in the town of Oporto. On the 18th, Commander Glascock reported that some large pieces of shell had lately fallen on board the Orestes and AEtna, but without doing any injury to their crews.
