look for the French fleet
from which we had effected our escape. He came up with the enemy off
Isle-groix; and after a tough fight, in which a good many officers and
men were killed and wounded, three French ships were captured. One of
them was the _Alexander_, but she was so knocked about by the _Queen
Charlotte_, that she was worth little. The two others, the _Tigre_ and
_Formidable_, were fine new seventy-fours. The former was allowed to
retain her name, but we already having a _Formidable_ in the service,
her name was changed to the _Belle Isle_, near which the action was
fought.

We and the _Triumph_ were at once ordered up to Hamoaze to get our
damages repaired. We were much injured aloft, and when I looked at the
stern of our ship, she had the appearance of having received a dreadful
pounding. The _Triumph_ had suffered still more, as from her position
in the line she had to keep up the heaviest stern fire. In order to
train her guns, the stern galleries, bulk-heads, and every part of the
stern of the ward-room, except the timbers, had been cut away, and it
was said that from her three stern batteries--namely, her first deck,
her second deck, and quarter-deck--she had expended in single shots five
thousand pounds of powder.

I now hoped that I might be able to get leave in sufficient time to
reach Southsea, and spend a few days with my wife, and I resolved to
make bold and ask for it as soon as I could see the commander.
Meantime, the moment I was off duty I hurried below and began a letter
to my wife. While thus engaged, all hands were piped on deck.

"What can it be for?" exclaimed Dick. "We are not going to sea, I
suppose, in this state?"

On reaching the deck, we found numerous boats alongside, and besides
them also several lieutenants not belonging to our ship. As soon as we
were mustered, our commander addressed us. He said that as the _Mars_
would be some time refitting, the Admiralty had ordered part of our crew
to be drafted on board a line-of-battle ship and two frigates requiring
hands, the _Thunderer, Arethusa_, and _Galatea_. He did not ask for
volunteers, but said that those whose names were called over must get
their bags at once and go off in the boats waiting alongside to receive
them. I don't know what my shipmates felt, but I hoped earnestly that I
should not be among those selected. I listened almost breathlessly as
the names were called over, and as they did so, the men were