uniform. After a desperate resistance on the part of the enemy, he
succeeded in spiking the guns of the fort, and taking prisoner the
commanding officer. For this service he was promoted to the rank of
captain.

In the course of the same year, 1810, a musket burst in the hands of
one of the men, so near to the place where Captain Willoughby stood,
that his jaw was fractured, and the windpipe laid bare, so that his
life was despaired of.

He had hardly recovered from this wound, before he was engaged in an
attack upon Port Louis, Isle de France. The disasters which befel the
squadron upon this occasion have now become a matter of history, and
they need not be recounted here,--suffice it to say, that Captain
Willoughby continued to keep up an unequal conflict until nearly all
on board the Nereide were either killed or wounded. Nor did he
surrender, although he had entirely lost one of his eyes, and the
other was much injured, 'until (to use the words of Vice-Admiral
Bertie) after a glorious resistance, almost unparalleled even in the
brilliant annals of the British navy,'

Upon his return to England, Captain Willoughby had a pension of
550_l._ per annum awarded to him in consideration of his wounds.

Having no immediate prospect of employment at home, he repaired to St.
Petersburg, and offered his services to the Czar.

In his very first engagement in his new career, Captain Willoughby was
taken prisoner by the French.--falling a victim to his own generosity.
During the action, he saw two Prussian soldiers severely
wounded,--dismounting himself, and desiring his servant to do the
same, he placed the wounded men upon his own horses, and attended them
on foot. They were quickly overtaken by some French cavalry, and
Captain Willoughby was made prisoner. He was soon afterwards informed
that if he would sign a paper, pledging himself to hasten to France by
a certain route, he would be allowed to travel alone.

He gladly consented to this; but to his astonishment, after signing
the required paper, he was ordered to march with the other prisoners.
In vain he protested against this breach of faith--he was obliged to
proceed. His sufferings from cold and hunger whilst crossing the
deserts of Russia and Poland were intense. After witnessing the
heartrending scenes of Moscow, he at length reached Mayence. Thence he
was removed to Metz, and he had scarcely reached the town, before an
order came for his confinement in the Chate