e
Frenchman, a task to which he devoted himself with great gravity and a
considerable assumption of importance. The gun, after being carefully
loaded, was trained with the most scrupulous nicety, and then Tompion,
trigger-line in hand, stood squinting along the sights until a
favourable moment arrived, when--there was a concussion; the smoke
cleared away, and a shot-hole was seen in the frigate's foresail, very
nearly in a line with the mast.

"Very prettily shot, Tompion," said the skipper; "try again. A few
inches nearer, and you would have buried that shot in his foremast.
Wound the spars if you can; the breeze seems inclined to freshen; and if
you can gouge a good substantial piece out of some of his lighter spars,
the wind will do the rest for us by sending them handsomely over his
bows."

In a few minutes more away sped a second of the worthy Tompion's
messengers; it, too, passed through the foresail, close to the yard, but
apparently without doing any further damage. In the meantime the
Frenchmen were by no means idle with their guns, and our running-gear
began to be somewhat cut up; luckily, however, the damage was of an
unimportant character, and such as could be put right in a few minutes,
with the aid of a marline-spike and a grease-shoe. The firing now
became more rapid on both sides; but though the spars on each side had
several narrow escapes, none had, so far, fallen, and the damage done
seemed in each case to be but of the most trifling description.

At length Mr Sennitt walked aft and said, "Let me try my hand, Tompion;
I used to be considered rather a crack shot on board the old `Dido.'"

Tompion, of course, resigned his place to his superior officer, though
it was evident from the expression of his phiz that he had no great
faith in the first luff's shooting powers. But our worthy "first"
speedily justified his boast; for his shot struck the boom-iron at the
Frenchman's larboard fore-yard-arm, snapping it off, unshipping the
boom, and creating a very pretty state of confusion with the topmast and
lower stunsails and their gear.

A ringing cheer was raised on board the "Scourge" at this success, and
Sennitt was about to try his hand a second time, when the frigate was
seen to yaw broad off her course; a thin streak of flame flashed along
her side, a veil of white fleecy smoke started into view, and was wafted
aside by the wind, and sixteen twelve-pound shot--the entire contents of
her starbo