 happened on an interval of rest, I have been surprised at the
quietness of Gibraltar. In all the time of my stay I have not heard a
single gun, except at sunrise and sunset, and at half-past nine o'clock
for the soldiers to return to their barracks. There has not been even
a salute, for, although there is on the Alameda a saluting battery,
composed of Russian guns taken in the Crimean War, yet it is less often
used than might be supposed, for the ships of war that come here are for
the most part English (the French and Spaniards would hardly find the
associations agreeable), and these are not saluted since they are _at
home_, as much as if they were entering Portsmouth.

For these reasons I have found Gibraltar so quiet that I was beginning
to think it a dull old Spanish town, fit for a retreat, if not for
monks, at least for travellers and scholars, when the Colonial Secretary
dispelled the illusion by saying, "Yes, it is very quiet just now; but
wait a few weeks and you will have enough of it." As the spring comes
on, the artillerymen begin their practice. The guns in the galleries are
not used, but all the batteries along the sea, and at different points
on the side of the Rock, some of which are mounted with the heaviest
modern artillery, are let loose upon the town.

But this is not done without due notice. The order is published in the
_Chronicle_, a little sheet which appears every morning, and lest it
might not reach the eyes of all, messengers are sent to every house to
give due warning, so that nervous people can get out of the way; but the
inhabitants generally, being used to it, take no other precaution than
to open their windows, which might otherwise be broken by the violence
of the concussion. Lord Gifford, soldier as he is, said, "It is awful,"
pointing to the ceiling over his head, which had been cracked in many
places so as to be in danger of falling, by the tremendous jar. He told
me how one house had been so knocked to pieces that a piece of timber
had fallen, nearly killing an officer. This 