July 28th.—Much shouting and bugling amongst the enemy during the early part of the morning: heavy rain at daylight. Made repairs to the Redan battery, also made a small field work for a 9-pounder. Sickness much increased, and for manydays past only one engineer officer was available for duty: hard work, privation, and exposure day and night to wet and heat, few could long stand against. We had no further news of our coming friends, but trusted that to-day they would reach Bunnee.
The enemy threw in several shells, also a number of stink-pots, which were a very curious composition of large pieces of our exploded iron shell sewn up in canvas, and surrounded by flax and resin, with dry powder in the centre: these, from the commencement of the siege, had been thrown in daily from a howitzer; they made a fearful hissing noise and great stench, and finally exploded. They were not very dangerous, unless they explodedveryclose to a person. We also had a few rockets thrown in, but not many; and lately a number of shrapnel shells, fired apparently from a howitzer with a very great elevation. The enemy's miners could now be distinctly heard working close to the Seikh Square sap.
The room in the Residency containing the jewellery and valuables belonging to the late King of Oude, was broken into last night by some of the garrison, and most of them stolen. Enemy tolerably quiet in theafternoon. About 5P.M.our sap in the Seikh Square, which had been going on as fast as we could push it in the direction of the enemy's, met theirs, which they continued to work to the last moment. On our crowbar, however, going through into their gallery, they instantly fled out of it, and commenced to fill in their shaft. We immediately made use of their gallery, and blew the whole up with 100 lbs. of powder, which brought down all the adjacent houses, &c. After this the enemy tolerably quiet. Good progress made in our Cawnpore sap.