Held Fast For England

Held Fast For England, by G. A.
Henty,

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Title: Held Fast For England A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83)
Author: G. A. Henty

Release Date: June 9, 2007 [eBook #21788]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
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HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND:
A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83)
by
G. A. HENTY.

Contents
Preface.
Chapter 1
: "Something Like An Adventure."
Chapter 2
: A Great Change.
Chapter 3
: An Unexpected Journey.
Chapter 4
: Preparations For A Voyage.
Chapter 5
: A French Privateer.

Chapter 6
: The Rock Fortress.
Chapter 7
: Troubles Ahead.
Chapter 8
: The Siege Begins.
Chapter 9
: The Antelope.
Chapter 10
: A Cruise In A Privateer.
Chapter 11
: Cutting Out A Prize.
Chapter 12
: A Rich Prize.
Chapter 13
: Oranges And Lemons.
Chapter 14
: A Welcome Cargo.
Chapter 15

: Bob's Mission.
Chapter 16
: A Cruise In The Brilliant.
Chapter 17
: The Floating Batteries.

Illustrations
Bob and his Companions surprise the Burglars. View of Gibraltar from
the Mediterranean. View of Gibraltar from the Bay. The Professor gets
excited. The Rock and Bay of Gibraltar. 'The old gentleman is a brick,'
exclaimed Gerald. Bob swims off to the Spanish Warship. They found
the two Spanish mates playing at cards. They find Boxes of Silver in
the Lazaretto. Bob receives a Commission from the Governor.

Preface.
The Siege of Gibraltar stands almost alone in the annals of warfare,
alike in its duration and in the immense preparations made, by the
united powers of France and Spain, for the capture of the fortress. A
greater number of guns were employed than in any operation up to that
time; although in number, and still more in calibre, the artillery then
used have in, modern times, been thrown into the shade by the sieges of
Sebastopol and Paris. Gibraltar differs, however, from these sieges,
inasmuch as the defence was a successful one and, indeed, at no period
of the investment was the fortress in any danger of capture, save by
hunger.
At that period England was not, as she afterwards became, invincible
by sea; and as we were engaged at the same time in war with France,
Spain, Holland, and the United States, it was only occasionally that a

fleet could be spared to bring succour and provisions to the beleaguered
garrison. Scurvy was the direst enemy of the defenders. The art of
preserving meat in tins had not been discovered, and they were forced
to subsist almost entirely upon salt meat. During the first year of the
siege the supply of fresh vegetables was scanty, in the extreme, and the
garrison consequently suffered so severely, from scurvy, that at one
time scarcely half of the men of the garrison were strong enough to
carry a firelock, and perform their duty. The providential capture of a
vessel laden with oranges and lemons checked the ravages of the
scourge; and the successful efforts of the garrison to raise vegetables
prevented it from ever, afterwards, getting a firm hold upon them.
In such a siege there was but little scope for deeds of individual
gallantry. It was a long monotony of hardship and suffering, nobly
endured, and terminating in one of the greatest triumphs ever recorded
in the long roll of British victories.
G. A. Henty.
Chapter 1
: "Something Like An Adventure."
Had Mr. Tulloch, the headmaster and proprietor of a large school at
Putney, been asked which was the most troublesome boy in his school,
he would probably have replied, without hesitation, "Bob Repton."
But, being a just and fair-minded man, he would have hastened to
qualify this remark, by adding:
"Most troublesome, but by no means the worst boy. You must
understand that. He is always in scrapes, always in mischief. In all my
experience I have never before come across a boy who had such an
aptitude for getting into trouble; but I have nothing else to say against
him. He is straightforward and manly. I have never known him to tell a
lie, to screen himself. He is an example to many others in that way. I
like the boy, in