and pitched the shot close to the forefoot of the
disabled vessel, who immediately showed French colours over her
weather-quarter.

"French colours, sir!" cried two or three at a breath.

"Beat to quarters, Mr Hardy," said Captain M---.

"Shall we cast loose the main-deck guns?"

"No, no--that will be useless; we shall not be able to fire them, and we
may have them through the sides. We'll try her with the carronades."

It was easy to perceive, without the assistance of a glass, that the men
on board the French line-of-battle ship were attempting, in no very
scientific manner, to get a jury-mast up abaft, that, by putting
after-sail on her, they might keep their vessel to the wind. The
foresail they dared not take off, as, without any sail to keep her
steady, the remaining mast would in all probability have rolled over the
side; but without after-sail, the ship would not keep to the wind, and
the consequence was, that she was two points off the wind, forging fast
through the water, notwithstanding that the helm was hard a-lee.

"Where are we now, Mr Pearce?" interrogated the captain--"about eight
or nine leagues from the land?"

"Say seven leagues, sir, if you please," replied the master, "until I
can give you an exact answer," and he descended the companion ladder to
work up his reckoning.

"She's leaving us, Mr Hardy--keep more away, and run abreast of her.
Now, my lads, watch the weather roll,--round and grape--don't throw a
shot away--aim at the quarter-deck ports. If we can prevent her from
getting up her jury-masts, she is done for."

"As for the matter of that," said the quarter-master, who was captain of
one of the quarter-deck guns, "we might save our shot. They haven't
_nous_ enough to get them up if left all to themselves--however, here's
a slap at her."

The frigate had now closed within three cables' length of the
line-of-battle ship, and considering the extreme difficulty of hitting
any mark under such disadvantages, a well-directed fire was thrown in by
her disciplined seamen. The enemy attempted to return the fire from the
weather main-deck guns, but it was a service of such difficulty and
danger, that he more than once abandoned it. Two or three guns
disappearing from the ports, proved that they had either rolled to
leeward, or had been precipitated down the hatchways. This was indeed
the case, and the French sailors were so much alarmed from the serious
disasters that had already ens