LIEUTENANT SEYMOUR KILLED. 25 I poor brutes or hamstringing them, and cutting down drivers or fugitives as they went. Mounted officers leaped their horses into the seribas, but the men were already there, and those who were at work, having snatched their arms from the pile, were soon firing at the advancing Arabs. Some of the enemy had sprung into the seriba where the marines were placed, but so quick were the men that, though they had to take their arms from the pile, not a single Arab remained standing, and not one could afterwards approach near to the hedge. The Berkshire men, who were at work, were equally prompt, snatched their arms, stood in a small square, and kept off the yelling foe by a steady fire, after which they were able to help their comrades to keep the southernmost seriba.

The working parties had scarcely time to fall back inside the seribas, and many gathered m groups outside to withstand the torrent of the assailants. Others faced them across the large gaps which still remained in the works, especially in the large seriba defended by the Indian infantry, who were practically obliged to stand their ground without defence. The redoubt in the apex of the southern work, where two Gardners were placed, was still unfinished, but the Gardners were worked until, after a few rounds, they got jammed, and the Arabs poured in, killing Lieutenant Seymour of the Dolphin, in charge of the guns, and six of the blue-jackets, and wounding fourteen others. A hundred and ten of the Arabs then pressed into the seriba, but not one survived to tell the tale of their hand-to-hand fight with the 49th; their bodies were counted as they lay at the end of the fight. The 49th fought with splendid courage and coolness, their steady fire not only sweeping away those who had entered the seriba, but repulsing all further attempts of the Arabs to enter the inclosure. The Indian infantry in the large seriba fought at a great disadvantage. Not only were the lines of fencing unfinished, but the baggage animals were at first between them and the enemy, and so hindered the fire of the defenders, and as the Arabs charged down many of the panic-stricken camels, horses, and mules rushed through the gaps into the seriba, creating the utmost confusion, and carrying the soldiers before them. Nevertheless, the Sikhs of the 28th Native Infantry stood their ground manfully, mowing down the enemy with their volleys, and when most severely pressed boldly charging them with the bayonet. The 17th Native Regiment, however, wavered, and, partly carried away by the stampede of the transport animals, fell back, firing wildly. Many of them rushed headlong for shelter into tlie northern seriba, almost driving in our marines. The marines, however, defended their lines as steadily as if these had been the bulwarks of a ship, but although never once broken or driven back a foot they did not come out of the fray scatheless, as six were killed and nineteen wounded.

The first wild rush of the enemy checked, the position was safe, and now rapid volleys were poured from the faces of each of the seribas into