T THE
FRENCH LADY--HER SAVAGE EXULTATION AT MY CONDITION--SHE IS PUNISHED BY
ONE OF MY COMRADES.

On coming to my senses, I found myself stripped naked and suffering
acute pain. I found that my right arm was broken, my shoulder severely
injured by my fall; and, as I had received three severe cutlass-wounds
during the action, I had lost so much blood that I had not strength to
rise or do anything for myself. There I lay, groaning and naked, upon
the ballast of the vessel, at times ruminating upon the events of the
action, upon the death of our gallant commander, upon the loss of our
vessel, of so many of our comrades, and of our liberty. After some
time, the surgeon, by order of the French commander, came down to dress
my wounds. He treated me with the greatest barbarity. As he twisted
about my broken limb I could not help crying at the anguish which he
caused me. He compelled me to silence by blows and maledictions,
wishing I had broken my rascally neck rather than he should have been
put to the trouble of coming down to dress me. However, dress me he
did, out of fear of his captain, who, he knew well, would send round to
see if he had executed his orders, and then he left me, with a kick in
the ribs by way of remembrance. Shortly afterwards the vessels
separated. Fourteen of us, who were the most severely hurt, were left
in the Revenge, which was manned by an officer and twenty Frenchmen,
with orders to take her into Port-au-Paix. The rest of our men were put
on board of the French privateer, who sailed away in search of a more
profitable adventure.

About an hour after they had made sail on the vessel, the officer who
had charge of her, looking down the hatchway, and perceiving my naked
and forlorn condition, threw me a pair of trousers, which had been
rejected by the French seamen as not worth having; and a check shirt, in
an equally ragged condition, I picked up in the hold; this, with a piece
of old rope to tie round my neck as a sling for my broken arm, was my
whole wardrobe. In the evening I gained the deck, that I might be
refreshed by the breeze, which cooled my feverish body and somewhat
restored me.

We remained in this condition for several days, tortured with pain, but
more tortured, perhaps, by the insolence and bragging of the Frenchmen,
who set no bounds to their triumph and self-applause. Among those who
had charge of the prize were two, one of whom had my watch and the other
my ring; th