ion, and were entering the cabin in search of
plunder, when we found opposed to our entrance, the gallant French
gentleman, supported by his son, the captain of the vessel, and five
of the French sailors; behind them was the French gentleman's wife, to
whose protection they had devoted themselves. The lieutenant, who
headed us, offered them quarter, but stung to madness at the prospect
of the ruin and of the captivity which awaited him, the gentleman
treated the offer with contempt, and rushing forward attacked our
lieutenant, beating down his guard, and was just about to pierce him
with the lunge which he made, when I fired my pistol at him to save
the life of my officer. The ball entered his heart, and thus died one
of the bravest men I ever encountered. His son at the same time was
felled to the deck with a pole-axe, when the remainder threw
themselves down on the deck, and cried for quarter. So enraged were
our men at this renewal of the combat, that it required all the
efforts and authority of the lieutenant to prevent them from
completing the massacre by taking the lives of those who no longer
resisted. But who could paint the condition of that unhappy lady who
had stood a witness of the horrid scene--her eyes blasted with the
sight of her husband slain before her face, her only son groaning on
the deck and weltering in his blood; and she left alone, bereft of all
that was dear to her; stripped of the wealth she was that morning
mistress of, now a widow, perhaps childless, a prisoner, a beggar, and
in the hands of lawless ruffians, whose hands were reeking with her
husband's and offspring's blood, at their mercy, and exposed to every
evil which must befal a beautiful and unprotected female from those
who were devoid of all principle, all pity, and all fear! Well might
the frantic creature rush, as she did, upon our weapons, and seek
that death which would have been a mercy and a blessing. With
difficulty we prevented her from injuring herself, and, after a
violent struggle, nature yielded, and she sank down in a swoon on the
body of her husband, dabbling her clothes and hair in the gore which
floated on the cabin-deck. This scene of misery shocked even the
actors in it. Our sailors, accustomed as they were to blood and
rapine, remained silent and immoveable, resting upon their weapons,
their eyes fixed upon the unconscious form of that unhappy lady.

The rage of battle was now over, our passions had subsided, and