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tations, because the shots buried themselves harmlessly in the soil without injuring the walls, began to approach Nicosia with spades and shovels, digging very deep trenches. On our side from within we attacked them with our cannon, and did great damage, dislodging and disabling several Turkish guns ; for all that they came up to the counterscarp, about which they made a wide trench, throwing up the earth towards the city, and in it they posted a crowd of musketeers, who fired day and night on all who showed themselves on the walls. The Turkish trenches were guarded all round by ditches and broad and deep excavations which could hold great bodies of armed men, which neither guns, horse or foot availed to annoy or throw into disorder without greater losses on our side. The enemy then began to creep up with very deep trenches within the ditch of the city, throwing up the earth towards the flanks, where these could batter and damage them. They made huge traverses with earth and faggots which their cavalry brought in from a distance, and with them they blocked our flanks till they were powerless for harm. Then they began to tear down the faces and angles of the bastions. When the defenders saw that things looked serious, and that anything might happen, they made a spirited sally with part of the villagers, townsfolk and Italians. On August 15 at mid-day (as arranged, because in the morning the Turks were always at their posts, alert and armed, but from mid-day on slept or rested in the shade) there went forth 1000 foot-soldiers, commanded by Captain Piovene, of Vicenza, Lieu-tenant of the Collateral, who though he served on horseback willed that day to go out on foot, with Count Alberto Scotto, and other officers and brave soldiers, both Italians and Greeks, who marched up to the enemy's posts, and captured two forts, which the Turks abandoned, thinking perhaps our numbers greater than they were. The excitement caused by this success was such that up to the very tents there was so great confusion that most of the enemy turned to flight. But because the 172 The Siege of Nicosia

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