, their whole force, regulars
and militia, to the number of one thousand and five hundred, laid down
their arms on the glacis of Fort Nassau. Thus you see what a few brave
men, when well led, can do.

"Of our one hundred and eighty men, we lost very few. Our less
fortunate shipmates in the boats, after knocking about all night, got
alongside the transport _Mandarin_. Captain Foote was left as governor
of the island with a garrison, while we went on to Amboyna. Our captain
was a fine fellow. The ship's company afterwards presented him with a
sword worth a hundred guineas, to show their love and estimation of his
bravery. Several cups and swords were presented to him by the officers
and soldiers. I can't tell you what loads of prize-money we got from
that place, but I can tell you that it very soon found its way out of
the pockets of most of us.

"Well, as I was saying, I afterwards joined the _Minden_ 74, to which
ship Lieutenant Edmund Lyons belonged. We had been cruising with a
squadron off this place, Batavia. Now there was at the north-eastern
end of Java, not far from the Straits of Madura, a very strong fort or
castle on Pauka Point, lately erected, called Fort Marrack. It was a
considerable annoyance to all ships passing that way, and it was
therefore deemed important to destroy it. However, as only between four
and five hundred men could be spared for the enterprise, it was given
up, as that number was looked upon as insufficient for the undertaking.
However, the _Minden_, having on board a number of Dutch prisoners,
Lieutenant Lyons was directed to land them in the launch and cutter at
Batavia. I was in the launch. After we had put the Mynheers on shore,
we stood along the coast to the eastward, for the lieutenant was in no
hurry to get back to the ship. He had got something in his head, do you
see? He remembered what he had helped to do with Captain Cole; so says
he to himself, `I'll just see if we can't play the Dutchmen just such
another trick with regard to this here Fort Marrack.' When he had got a
thing into his head to do, which he thought could be done, it was no
easy matter for anyone else to knock it out again, till he had tried
whether he was right or wrong.

"Two days after landing the prisoners, we got up to the fort just at
dark. The lieutenant had a look at it, just to arrange his plan; and we
then ran under a point of land, where we lay snug out of sight till the
darkest part