The Dutch are not getting on very fast at Atcheen.
They have captured, it would appear, a part of the fortifications called " Missegit," or rather the Mosque, but have made no impression upon the Kraton or inner citadel. They acknowledge this, and are relating stories about the fort being protected "by good iron- clad defensive works." Where in the world did Atcheenese get iron plates of sufficient thickness? Certainly not in Asia, for there is no place east of Suez where they could be forged, and it is difficult to believe they have the money to purchase them in Europe. The truth seems to be either that the Dutch guns are mot heavy enough, or that the Atcheenese have thrown up earth- works outside the masonry. The fortress is defended, it is stated, by a man who has been in Europe, and Malays, who when the Dutch landed attacked them sword in hand, and only succumbed when their loss had become too great. According to a Batavian correspondent of the Times, the Sultan is a lad, and the govern- ment of the place in the hands of a committee of fanatics, who, if precedent may be trusted, will die fighting.
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