oiding
bloodshed, when, as he was alongside, he was killed by some of the
Egyptian crew, and soon afterwards his ship fired into the _Asia_. The
action now became general. The Turks fought with the greatest bravery,
but their ships, one after the other, were quickly destroyed, several
blowing up. Two of the fire-ships were soon in flames, a third blew up,
and a fourth was sunk by the _Philomel_. A gallant officer, Lieutenant
Maine Lyons, a brother of Sir Edmund Lyons, afterwards Lord Lyons,
belonging to the _Rose_ corvette, was mortally wounded while
endeavouring to tow a fire-ship in flames clear of the French _Armide_.
Commodore Bathurst of the _Genoa_ was also mortally wounded, after
having previously been severely hurt by a splinter soon after the
commencement of the action. One of the Turkish ships fell foul of the
_Albion_, when the crew of the former attempted to board, but being
repulsed, the Turk was boarded instead by Lieutenant John Drake, who
compelled her crew to cry for quarter. Unhappily, before he could
rescue some Greek prisoners in her hold, she burst into flames, when he
was compelled to retire, and her cables being cut by one of the
_Albion's_ midshipmen, she drifted clear of that ship and soon
afterwards blew up. Among the many acts of gallantry was one performed
by Lieutenant Robb, in command of the _Hind_ cutter. She had arrived
after the commencement of the action, when entering the bay she took up
a raking position at about the distance of forty yards across the stern
of a large frigate, and opened a rapid fire. After remaining here for
three-quarters of an hour, and receiving the fire of various smaller
vessels, her cable was cut by a shot, and she drifted between a large
corvette and a brig, which she engaged till the brig blew up. Her last
cable being cut, she drifted into the hottest part of the action, till
her main-boom ran into one of the main-deck ports of a Turkish frigate,
the crew of which made several attempts to board her, but were repulsed
by Lieutenant Robb and his crew. The Turks after some time sent a large
strongly-manned boat to attack the cutter. Just as the boat got
alongside the _Hind_ two carronades, charged with grape and canister,
fired into her by the latter, knocked her to pieces. The cutter after
this fortunately drifting clear of the frigate, escaped the destruction
which might have been her fate. Besides receiving numerous round-shot
in her hull, she lo