the soldiers leaning on
their muskets. These were the most important personages, but they were
backed by the whole population of the town, amounting to about three
hundred men, women, and children, all talking, jabbering, and screaming:
add to them the captain of the privateer, so important that he could not
attend to even the mayor or the sergeant; and the privateer's men,
dressed in every fashion, armed to the teeth, all explaining, or pushing
away, or running here and there obeying orders; then the wounded men--
for they had several men killed and others hurt in the conflict with the
cutter--handed up one by one, bandaged here and there, and exciting the
compassion and even screams of the women; the prisoners, who had been
ordered to come on deck, half dressed and chapfallen; the sails of the
vessels only dewed up, and still fluttering; ensigns and pennants
hoisted upon every mast, and waving over the heads of the crowd
assembled at the pier,--and you may have some idea of the confused and
bustling scene.

At last, as there appeared no chance of anything being arranged while
the people crowded round, the captain of the privateer ordered his men
to draw their weapons and drive back the crowd, which was soon effected,
notwithstanding many oaths, and more screaming on the part of the fairer
sex; and when the crowd had been thus driven the men were stationed so
as to keep them back. At first this gave offence to all parties--to the
crowd, because they didn't like to be driven away--to the mayor, who
remained with the sergeant and invalids in the area which had been
cleared by the privateer's people, because he thought that they had
interfered with his civil authority--and to the sergeant of invalids,
because he thought that the marine force had interfered with his
military authority; but the captain of the privateer having taken off
his hat and bowed, first to the mayor and then to the sergeant, and
saying how much he was obliged to them for their assistance, both
parties were satisfied; and now a consultation was held between them how
to proceed, while the privateer's men, who kept back the crowd, amused
them by giving a detail of the two desperate actions which had been
fought--no two accounts agreeing, certainly, but that was of no
consequence.

The first question to be canvassed was, what was to be done with the
prisoners? Morlaix was the nearest town in which they would be under
safe keeping, but that was twen