tern
port. We had plenty of time to do this, and make any other preparation
on board, before the French boats arrived.

It was a dead calm; the sea was like a mirror, and the advancing boats,
as their oars rose and fell in the water, gave you the idea of creatures
possessed of life and volition, as they rapidly forced their way through
the yielding fluid. The vessel's stern was towards the line-of-battle
ship, and the boats were pulling up a little on the starboard quarter.
The guns which I had hoisted on board had, for want of any other means,
been sufficiently secured by ropes to the slides and breechings to
enable us to fire them with effect. When the boats were about a quarter
of a mile from us, we opened our fire; not that we expected much from
our guns, as we knew we could not obtain more than two good shots at the
boats before they were alongside; still there was a chance of hitting
and disabling them, and no chance was to be thrown away.

Our first shot was successful; it struck one of the pinnaces, and she
swamped immediately. Our men cheered, while the other French boats
pulled to it, and took up the men who were floating in the water.
Before they could effect this, another gun was fired with grape and
round, which apparently did some execution, as there appeared to be much
confusion on board of the two boats that had gone to the assistance of
their comrades. We now fully expected the boats to advance; on the
contrary, they spread out on each quarter, and opened their fire upon us
with their guns--a very foolish act on their part, as it gave us every
advantage; for they were far superior to us in number of men, and should
have boarded us at once, instead of risking the loss of more of their
boats. So little did we expect this, that at one time I was debating
whether I should not leave the guns in the boats alongside, instead of
getting them on board, that there might be no delay in case wind sprang
up, and it were necessary that we should be off; of course, as it was, I
was very glad that I had decided otherwise.

The action, if it may be so termed, now continued for about half an hour
without any great casualty on either side: we had five or six men
wounded on board of the vessel, but none killed. I had occasionally
looked round to see if there was any appearance of wind, and just about
this time I perceived a black line in the offing, which promised not
only wind, but wind from the very quarter whic