he other lieutenants and the purser encouraged those
on our side of the deck.

Directly the Frenchmen had been driven back, the second lieutenant,
calling off a portion of the men, hurried to the guns, when their
thundering roar, with the crashing sounds which followed, showed us that
their shot were creating a dire effect on the bows of our antagonist.
All this time a withering fire of musketry had been kept up on us from a
body of troops stationed on the forecastles of the French frigates, and
many of our poor fellows had been struck down.

Again and again the Frenchmen attempted to gain a footing on our deck,
some springing down from the fore-rigging, others clambering up from the
forecastle, and all the time the guns roaring, the musketry and pistols
rattling, the cutlasses clashing, the men shouting and shrieking, while
the ships surged against each other with tremendous crashes,--many of
the Frenchmen who were driven overboard being crushed to death between
them. This continued, not for the few minutes which it has taken me to
describe the scene, but for an hour or more, and it seemed sometimes
that all the three ships must go down together.

Our marines were not idle, for some stationed on the forecastle, and
others on the poop, kept up a hot fire on the enemy.

At length our ship tore herself from her two antagonists almost at the
same moment; and they apparently gave up all hopes of taking us by
boarding, as they didn't attempt again to come close alongside, though
their fire was even more destructive than at first, for now one passed
under our stern and raked us, now the other performed the same
manoeuvre; while we, with our braces shot away, our masts and yards
injured, and our sails shot through and torn, were unable to move with
sufficient swiftness to avoid them.

Already numbers of our men had fallen. I frequently looked round to see
how it fared with Larry, Tom Pim, and Nettleship, and was thankful to
find them still actively engaged at the guns, at which most of the
officers were assisting the men.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

OLD ENGLAND AGAIN.

Occasionally, as the French ships were manoeuvring, alternately passing
either ahead or astern of us, there was a cessation of firing, but it
was only for a short time. Again their shot came crashing aboard.

I observed Captain Bouchier not far from me, when, just as we were
receiving a raking broadside, he staggered, and would have fallen to the
deck, h