The siege had continued but a short time when they began to murmur loudly.

The force under the command of the governor was but a small one, and it would have been impossible for him to resist the will of the whole population.

For a time his exhortations and entreaties were attended with success, and the burghers returned to their positions on the walls; but each time the difficulty became greater, and it was clear to Caddoudal and Sir John Powis that ere long the citizens would surrender the place in spite of them.

The English knight was furious at the cowardliness of the citizens, and proposed to the governor to summon twenty of the leading burghers, and to hang them as a lesson to the others; but the governor shook his head.
"I have but two hundred men on whom I can rely, including your following, Sir John.

We could not keep down the inhabitants for an hour; and were we to try to do so, they would open the gates and let in the French.