d broadside as the
vessels came into collision, and heading his men as they leaped on the
enemy's decks.

Although, as Captain Wilson had imagined, the Russian frigate had not
many men to oppose to the _Aurora's_, the deck was obstinately defended,
the voice and the arm of the Russian captain were to be heard and seen
everywhere, and his men, encouraged by him, were cut down by numbers
where they stood.

Our hero, who had the good fortune to be still unhurt, was for a little
while close to Captain Wilson when he boarded, and was about to oppose
his unequal force against that of the Russian captain, when he was
pulled back by the collar by Mr Hawkins, the chaplain, who rushed in
advance with a sabre in his hand. The opponents were well matched, and
it may be said that, with little interruption, a hand-to-hand conflict
ensued, for the moon lighted up the scene of carnage, and they were well
able to distinguish each other's faces. At last, the chaplain's sword
broke; he rushed in, drove the hilt into his antagonist's face, closed
with him, and they both fell down the hatchway together. After this,
the deck was gained, or rather cleared, by the crew of the _Aurora_, for
few could be said to have resisted, and in a minute or two the frigate
was in their possession. The chaplain and the Russian captain were
hoisted up, still clinging to each other, both senseless from the fall,
but neither of them dead; although bleeding from several wounds.

As soon as the main-deck had been cleared, Captain Wilson ordered the
hatches to be put on, and left a party on board while he hastened to
attend to the condition of his own ship and ship's company.

It was daylight before anything like order had been restored to the
decks of the _Aurora_; the water was still smooth, and instead of
letting go her own anchor, she had hung on with a hawser to the prize,
but her sails had been furled, her decks cleared, guns secured, and the
buckets were dashing away the blood from her planks and the carriages of
the guns, when the sun rose and shone upon them. The numerous wounded
had, by this time, been put into their hammocks, although there were
still one or two cases of amputation to be performed.

The carpenter had repaired all shot-holes under or too near to the
water-line, and then had proceeded to sound the well of the prize; but
although her upper works had been dreadfully shattered, there was no
reason to suppose that she had received a