ing of sweeps from the sides of the vessels, to obstruct the boats in their approach.

Although the alarm had thus spread from one end of the bay to the other, and had even extended itself to the castle on shore, nothing could damp the ardour of the British. They pushed rapidly on, and presently saw approaching them two Spanish brigs-of-war, an armed schooner, and seven gun-boats; all of which had slipped their cables, and now opened a heavy fire upon the three boats; such a fire as would soon have annihilated them, had not Lieutenant Fleming, with as much judgment as intrepidity, dashed forward, and, with the launch, laid the nearest brig on board. Being quickly supported by Lieutenant Douglas in the barge, and Mr. Lamb in the pinnace, Lieutenant Fleming, after an obstinate conflict of 10 minutes' duration, carried the Spanish brig-corvette Raposa, mounting 12 carriageguns (pierced for 16), with swivels and cohorns, and having on board 75 men, out of a complement of 90, her captain, Don Joaquin de la Cheva, with some other officers and a boat's crew, being absent on shore.

This exploit was achieved with a loss to the British of only seven men slightly wounded; whereas the Raposa had one officer and four men killed, and her acting commander and 25 men wounded, many of them mortally; several of the crew had also leaped overboard and were drowned. The remaining brig, represented to have mounted 20 guns, with a crew of 180 men, the schooner eight guns, and the seven gun-boats, two each, now opened a fire of cannon and musketry upon the Raposa; but the latter and the boats so smartly returned the fire, that the flotilla soon retired to their former position, and left Lieutenant Fleming in quiet possession of his prize.

It is always a pleasant part of our task, after recording a wellexecuted enterprise of the desperate character of that which we have just narrated, to be able to state, that the officer who, as is not invariably the case, was both the appointed and the real leader of the party, has received that promotion which is so justly his due. The preparatory step to this is the official testimony of the captain of the ship whose boats were detached on the service. Let us see what Captain Dashwood, in his letter to Vice-admiral Dacres, says upon the subject of this action: "To an officer of your discriminating judgment, I trust I shall stand excused if I take the liberty of recommending Lieutenant Fleming to your notice for his meritorious conduct on this occasion. He appears to me to be an officer of distinguished merit

and bravery; and I understood he was highly respected by his late captain, the good, the amiable, and my gallant predecessor, the Hon. John Murray." Can any thing be stronger? And yet Lieutenant Fleming was not promoted, but Lieutenant Douglas was. The latter, at the date of the enterprise, was third-lieutenant of the ship; the former first: the one was a lieutenant of about two years' standing, the other of nearly six What was the consequence? Why, that Lieutenant Fleming was not made a commander until November, 1814, just three years to a month after Lieutenant Douglas had been made a postcaptain. That Lieutenant Douglas was a brave officer, and a most deserving young man, no one can deny; but Lieutenant Fleming possessed the prior right of promotion, from his seniority of rank, from his responsibility as the commanding officer of the enterprise, and from his acknowledged skill and gallantry in bringing that enterprise to a successful issue.

On the 8th of March, in the evening, the British 44-gun frigate Egyptienne, Captain the Hon. Charles Paget, anchored off the port of Muros in Spain, and detached her boats, under the command of Captain Philip Cosby Handfield (still acting as first-lieutenant of the frigate, on account of not having received an official account of his promotion), assisted by Lieutenant Richard Israel Alleyn, and Lieutenant of marines Edward Hancock Garthwaite, to endeavour to cut out from the harbour a large frigate-built French privateer known to be lying there.

In this enterprise, the British fully succeeded, although the vessel, which was the Alcide, of Bordeaux, pierced for 34 guns, and carrying, when at sea, a complement of 240 men, was moored close to the beach, under the protection of two batteries, that kept up an incessant fire until the ship was towed clear of their range. The British had the additional good fortune to execute the service without a casualty. We wish Captain Paget had entered a little more into the details, and acquainted us how many, and what nature of, guns the Alcide mounted, and how many men were on board of her when thus, with such entire impunity, boarded, carried, and brought out of an enemy's harbour.

On the 13th of March, at 3 A.M., in latitude 26° 16′ north, longitude 29° 25' west, as a British squadron, consisting of the 98-gun ship London, Captain Sir Harry Neale, 80-gun ship Foudroyant, Captain John Chambers White, bearing the flag of Vice-admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, and 38-gun frigate Amazon, Captain William Parker, was steering to the south

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east, with the wind at west-south-west, two sail at a short distance in the north-east were discovered by the London, then astern and to windward of her companions. The London immediately wore in chase, and made signals to the admiral with false fires and blue lights. In a short time Sir Harry got near enough to open his fire upon the strangers, then on the larboard tack, under all sail, and who were no other than our old friends the Marengo and Belle-Poule, returning to France from their long eastern cruise; and from whom, it will be recollected, we parted in the preceding August at the close of a third rather inglorious encounter with an enemy.1

We must be permitted to digress a little, to bring M. Linois to the point at which we now find him. After quitting the Blenheim and convoy, the French admiral repaired to Simon's bay, where he arrived on the 13th of September, and found the Bato Dutch 64, but quite in a dismantled state, and without a crew. While waiting at this anchorage repairing his damages, he was joined by the Atalante; but which frigate soon afterwards perished on the coast. Quitting their anchorage on the 10th of November, the Marengo and Belle-Poule proceeded off Cape Negro; thence towards Cape Lopez; and, although he reconnoitred all the bays and anchorages along the African coast, M. Linois captured but one ship and one brig of trifling value. The two ships then steered for Prince's island, where they took in water, and afterwards cruised to leeward of Saint Helena. Here on the 29th of January, 1806, M. Linois fell in with an American, who informed him of the capture of the Cape by the English. Learning, also, that the Indian seas were filling with British men-of-war, in search of himself and companion, the French admiral decided to return home, and on the 17th of February crossed the equinoctial line for the twelfth time since his departure from Brest in March, 1803. In less than four weeks more he reached the spot which, as we will now proceed to show, proved the bane of his hopes.

arm.

At 5 h. 30 m. A.M. the London got alongside of the Marengo; and the two ships commenced the action, yard-arm and yardAt 6 A.M. the Marengo, unable longer to withstand the London's heavy and well-directed fire, hauled off, and made sail ahead. At 6 h. 15 m. A.M. the Belle-Poule opened her fire upon the lee bow of the London, and received a fire in return, until out of gun-shot ahead. At 7 A.M. the Amazon came up; and

1 See p. 52.

passing the London, overtook, and at 8h. 30 m. A.M. began engaging, the Belle-Poule. All this while the London had been keeping up a running fight with the Marengo, and she continued it until 10h. 25 m. A.M.; when, seeing the Foudroyant coming fast up, the Marengo struck her colours to the London; as, about the same time, did the Belle-Poule to the Amazon.

The London, out of her 740 men and boys, sustained a loss of one midshipman (William Rooke) and nine seamen and marines killed, and one lieutenant (William Faddy, dangerously), one midshipman (J. W. Watson), and 20 seamen and marines wounded. Her sails, rigging, and masts were also a good deal damaged by shot. The loss on board the Amazon amounted to her first-lieutenant (Richard Seymour), one lieutenant of marines (Edward Prior), one seaman, and one marine killed, and five seamen wounded.

The gun-force of the Marengo and Belle-Poule was precisely that of their respective classes, as particularized at Nos. 4 and 5 of the small Table at p. 59 of the first volume. The former, when she commenced the action, had a crew, as certified by the captain and his two senior lieutenants, of 740 men and boys; of whom the Marengo had two officers and 61 men killed, and eight officers and 74 men wounded, including among the latter the admiral and his son, severely, and Captain Vrignaud, with the loss of his right arm; total 63 killed, and 82 wounded. The Belle-Poule, out of a crew of 330, similarly certified, lost six men killed and 24 wounded. It may seem singular that these two ships should be so well manned at the end of a three years' cruise, especially when the Marengo, if not the frigate, had sent away two or three prizes. But it is believed that they each had on board a proportion of the crew of the Atalante, the loss of whose ship near the Cape of Good Hope has already been noticed.

Between a British 32-pounder 98, and a French 74-gun ship the relative broadside weight of metal is not so unequal as might be supposed to exist between a three and a two decked ship, the one, in long guns only, being 958, the other 907 lbs.; but the carronades of the London increased the preponderance in her favour. In point of complement, the two ships were equal; but in tonnage, the French ship had slightly the advantage, the Marengo measuring 1926, the London 1894 tons. The two frigates, if we overlook a superiority of 40 or 50 men in the French one, were well matched; and Captain Parker and his

officers no doubt regretted that the Amazon had not met the Belle-Poule single-handed.

The determined resistance of the French ships was creditable to them; and that on the part of the Marengo tended much to remove any ill impression, which Commodore Dance's, the Centurion's, or the Blenheim's affair might have cast upon Rearadmiral Linois. The only ship of the latter's late Indian squadron, left cruising at the date of his capture, was the Sémillante; and we shall soon have occasion to recur to the proceedings of that fortunate frigate.

On the 21st of March the British hired armed brig Colpoys, of 16 guns (14 carronades, 12-pounders, and two long fours), and 121 men and boys, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Ussher, chased in to the port of Avillas, under the protection of a battery of six long 24-pounders, three Spanish luggers. Having a fine commanding breeze, the Colpoys stood in after them; when, just as she got within range of the battery, and before her carronades could be worked with effect, the wind died away.

Lieutenant Ussher immediately manned two boats, and stepping into one himself, dashed through a heavy fire of grape from the battery and of musketry from a party of soldiers that had been sent on board the vessels to defend them. His boat, containing, besides himself, only six men, soon out-pulled the other boat. Without waiting for the latter, Lieutenant Ussher gallantly boarded and carried the three luggers, the captains and crews, all but 13 men, leaping over on one side, as the lieutenant and his little party entered on the other.

The second boat then came up, and assisted in getting off the prizes; one, named Santa Buena-Ventura, of two guns, laden with flax and steel; the second, named San-Antonio, of the same force and lading; and the third, the San-Real in ballast. The latter was given up to the enemy, with 11 of the prisoners. Notwithstanding the heavy fire of the battery, this truly gallant exploit was effected with the loss of only two men wounded, one of them severely.

On the 19th of April, as the Colpoys, commanded by the same enterprising officer, was standing along-shore between the Glénans and Isle Groix, in company with the gun-brig Attack, Lieutenant Thomas Swaine, two chasse-marées were perceived at anchor at the entrance of the river Douillan; but which, on the approach of the two brigs, got under way and stood up the river.

Finding it necessary to silence a two-gun battery before the