ith her we'll make her pay dearly. The other fellow,
too, has got clear away; however, we will find him out, wherever he has
hid himself."

Soon after this the commodore signalled to us to send our boats to
assist in removing the prisoners from the _Renomme_. Thanks to the
exertions of the carpenter and his crew, three were already made capable
of floating. I asked to take an oar, as I wished to go on board the
prize. No sooner did I step on board than I regretted having come.
Terrible was the scene of slaughter I witnessed. The frigate had been
crowded with troops, nearly one-half of whom had been cut down by the
_Galatea's_ shot, which she had poured into the Frenchman's hull. The
crew were only now beginning to throw the dead bodies of their shipmates
overboard. The French commodore, a gallant officer, and many others,
were killed. But the wounded nearly doubled the killed, and they
chiefly excited our sympathy. Their own surgeons were already almost
worn out with attending to them, and of course we could not spare any of
ours to render them assistance. The more of the effects of war I saw,
even on this small scale, the more I longed for the time when wars are
to cease and nations to live at peace with each other. It was not,
however, the fashion to speak on that subject in those days, nor do the
nations of the world, alas! appear more inclined now than then to bring
about that happy state of things!

When taking some of the prisoners on board the _Galatea_, I found she
had also suffered severely, though not at all in proportion to the
_Renomme_. Captain Schomberg ordered us, as soon as our damages were
repaired, to make sail for the port of Tamatave, on the east coast of
Madagascar, where he suspected the other French frigate had taken
refuge, her captain supposing probably that we should return at once
with our prizes to the Mauritius. The _Astrea_ coming up, her crew went
on board the _Renomme_, to put her to rights, and this being done, all
four frigates made sail together for Tamatave. It is merely a
reef-formed harbour, and by no means a secure or good one. The English
had sent a force of about fifty men there after the reduction of the
Mauritius, and they had, we understood, built a fort, or taken
possession of an old one. It was a question whether they had been able
to hold it against the French, or had been compelled to surrender. As
we approached the coast, all our glasses were in requisit