of the crew had suddenly attacked the
Frenchmen, who, it appeared, had intended manning their guns in the
hopes of beating off the brig. Our appearance quickly gave an easy
victory to our friends. The superior officers of the Indiaman had all
been taken out of her. The carpenter, however, was on board, and told
me he hoped, if the pumps could be cleared and properly worked, that the
leak could be kept under. A richly-laden Indiaman was indeed a prize
worth recovering. The passengers had nearly all remained on board, and
expressed their gratitude for the timely succour which had been afforded
them. The Frenchmen, finding that all hope of carrying off their prize
was gone, yielded themselves prisoners; their commanding officer, who
had, with his men, been driven forward, delivering up his sword to me.
I sent the boat with Dicky Esse back to tell Captain Schank that I
thought, with some thirty of our hands in addition to the ship's crew
whom we had on board, to be able to keep the pumps going, and to rig
jury-masts by which the ship might be safely carried to England. Among
the passengers a gentleman was pointed out to me who had been very
active in retaking the ship from the hands of the Frenchmen. I inquired
his name. "Mr Bramston," was the answer.

"How strange," I thought: "and is Mrs Bramston on board?"

"Yes, sir, she is, but she is very ill, and has constantly kept her
cabin."

"Have they any children?" I asked.

"No, none, sir," said a lady who overheard the question. "Poor lady,
she once had a daughter, a little girl, who was lost in a very sad way,
and I do not think she has ever recovered that event."

As may be supposed I could not then ask further questions, as my entire
attention was required for the duty of the ship. I asked Kiddle, who
accompanied me on board, what he thought of the weather.

"It's moderating, sir, and I hope we shall be able to keep the ship
afloat if we get more assistance."

The sea rapidly went down, and the men I asked for were sent on board.
The pumps were again speedily set going, and as the ship laboured less
we began to gain upon the leak. Fortunately there was a good supply of
spars on board, and I hoped, should the weather continue moderate, to be
able to rig jury-masts the following day. We worked hard till
nightfall, most of the Frenchmen giving their assistance at the pumps.
Indeed, had we not fallen in with them, the probabilities are that the
ship would