begun, we shall have nothing to grumble at."

The voyage to Ushant was accomplished without any adventure. The
lugger was so evidently French that two or three privateers, who
passed close by, paid no attention to them; and although they saw
the sails of more than one British cruiser, they either escaped
observation or were considered too insignificant to be chased.

On the voyage they had agreed that, when they came to Ushant, they
would be guided by the wind. If it continued to blow as it had
done, from the east, it would be a great loss of time to beat in to
Saint Malo, and they would be within sight of England long before
they could make in there.

As the wind was unchanged, they therefore laid their course from
Ushant for the Isle of Wight. Before they had been many hours out
they saw an English brig of war, making toward them. They did not
attempt to escape, but slightly changed their course so as to head
for her.

As the brig approached, they lowered their mainsail. The brig was
thrown up into the wind, a couple of lengths away.

"Send your boat on board!" the captain of the brig shouted.

They had indeed already got the boat over the side.

"You may as well come with me," Leigh said, as he stepped into her.
"Monsieur Flambard will take care of Louis while you are away."

Seeing that there was a woman in the boat, the brig lowered its
accommodation ladder, and the captain was standing at the gangway.

"We are English, sir," Leigh said. "The lugger is owned by my
sister's husband, if he is alive. If not, I suppose it belongs to
her. We are escaping from France, with two French friends. My
brother-in-law was a Vendean, and has fought through the war. We
were with him until, at the attack on Le Mans, we were separated.
We hope to meet him at Poole. The vessel traded between that port
and Nantes until the war broke out. Some members of the family are
already established there, and our father is a magistrate, living
within a couple of miles of the town."

"I am sorry, madam, that I cannot offer you a passage; but I must
not leave my cruising ground."

"Thank you, sir. We are doing very well in the lugger. We intend to
register her as a British vessel; and the crew, who are all
Vendeans, will probably remain in our service until things settle
down in France."

"And were you through the war too, madam?" the captain asked
Patsey.

"Not through the whole of it," she replied. "Our chateau was burned
down