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At 9 A. M. on the 21st the boat with the flag of 1810. truce again left the Néréide, and returned soon Aug. afterwards with such an answer as might have been Anexpected both the governor and the commodore swer were surprised at "so extraordinary a demand." flag of Neither this demand, nor the circumstance which led truce. to it, are touched upon in captain Duperré's letter. He perhaps was ashamed to acknowledge, that the Victor had hauled down her colours; and yet of the fact there cannot be a doubt. We gather from the french commodore's letter, that, when he saw the british colours hoisted at Isle de la Passe, and a fire opened upon the corvette, he considered that the whole windward side of the Isle of France was in the possession of the English, and, hauling off, made a signal to do the same to the Minerve and Ceylon; but they had already entered the channel and could not put back. M. Duperré then resolved to force the passage, and ordered the Windham to follow the Bellone; but her prize master either misunderstood the signal, or considered the risk too great, and bore away for Rivière-Noire. We also will take a trip there, in order to lead progressively to the important operations of which we shall soon have to give an account.

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Early on the morning of the 21st, just as the Sirius Windham was about to enter Rivière-Noire, the WindSirius, then cruising to the south-west of Port-Louis, ham. gained a sight of her. Chase was instantly given: but, the wind being off the land, the Sirius had no chance of cutting off the indiaman from the formidable batteries at the mouth of the river. Not consi- Lieut. dering the vessel, in the twilight of the morning, to ling be of the force she really was, lieutenant Watling provolunteered to overtake and board her with the gig. to take He instantly pushed off with five seamen, and was her. followed by the jollyboat with midshipman John Andrews and four men; but, owing to some strange mismanagement, not a weapon or fire-arm of any description was put into either boat.

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1810. armed apparently with from 30 to 31 guns, at the distance of at least three miles from the Sirius, and Disco- very near to the batteries of Rivière-Noire. Under these circumstances, lieutenant Watling thought it best to wait for the jollyboat. In the mean time the boats Sirius fired a broadside at the ship, but at so with ineffectual a distance, that the shot nearly sank the gig. On the arrival of the jollyboat, young Andrews and his four hands entered cheerfully into lieutenant Watling's views, and the two boats hastened forward. carries The calm state of the weather soon enabled them to ship reach the ship; and the two officers, and their brave little band, armed with the boats' stretchers only, stand- fought their way up her side. Thus was the Windham, ing. mounting 26 guns and manned by a lieutenant de vaisseau and at least 30 french sailors, captured by 11 unarmed british seamen, without the slightest loss; and that, too, within gun-shot of several formidable batterics.

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As these batteries now began to blaze away at the the ship, lieutenant Watling was still in a very batte- critical situation. At length, after having sustained but the fire for 20 minutes, and had the Windham's brings standing and running rigging greatly cut, some of prize. her masts and yards injured, and one Frenchman and

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two or three Lascars wounded, lieutenant Watling brought off his valuable prize in safety. Of this very gallant exploit, we can find no official account, beyond a passage in a letter to the admiralty from commissioner Shield at the Cape, stating that the Windham had been recaptured by the Sirius.

Captain Pym despatched the Windham to commodore Rowley at St.-Paul's bay; and, in consequence Wind- of the intelligence communicated by the prisoners St.- and others on board of her, he sent the Magicienne, Paul's who had just joined, to bring the Iphigenia and Staunch to Isle de la Passe: whither the Sirius sails herself made all sail round the south side of the de la island. Captain Pym proceeded by this route to prevent suspicion; but it appears that general Decaen at Port-Louis did suspect what was going on, and

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sent an express across to Grand-Port. This it was 1810. that, in the course of the afternoon of the 21st, Aug. occasioned commodore Duperré to remove his ships Capt. to a position close off the town of Grand-Port. DuThere he moored them, with springs on their cables, moors in the form of a crescent; stationing his van-ship, the his Minerve, just behind a patch of coral, next to her the Ceylon, then the Bellone, and lastly the Victor, with sist an her stern close to the reef that skirts the harbour.

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The Sirius picked up the Néréide's boat with lieutenant Deacon on board; and on the 22d, at 11h. 10 m, A. M., arrived off the island and exchanged numbers with the Néréide, still at anchor within it; and who immediately hoisted the signals: "Ready for action;" "Enemy of inferior force." Having, from the situation Sirius of the french squadron, decided on an immediate of Isle attack, captain Pym made the signal for the master de la of the Néréide. Mr. Robert Lesby accordingly went on board the Sirius, to conduct her, as he supposed, to the anchorage at the back of the island. The She Sirius now made all sail, with the usual east-south- and east or trade wind, and bore up for the passage; ideproand at 2 h. 40 m. P. M., agreeably to a signal to that ceed effect from the Sirius, the Néréide got under way, tack and, under her staysails only, stood after her consort down the channel to Grand-Port. At 4 P. M., having still the Néréide's master on board, but not her black pilot, who was the only person that knew the barbour, the Sirius unfortunately grounded upon a point of Sirius the shoal on the larboard side of the channel; and, grounds having run down with her squaresails set, and consequently with a great deal of way upon her, the ship was forced a considerable distance on the bank. The Néréide immediately brought up, and captain Wil- Gets loughby went on board the Sirius, to assist in getting and anher afloat. Notwithstanding every exertion, this could chors not be effected until 8 h. 30 m. A. M. on the 23d; after Néréwhich the Sirius dropped anchor near the Néréide. ide.

At 10 A. M. the Iphigenia and Magicienne were seen beating up for Isle de la Passe; and captain

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1810. Willoughby immediately sent his master, who had returned from the Sirius, to conduct them to the Iphi- anchorage. At 2 h. 10 m. P. M. the two frigates genia anchored in company with the Néréide and Sirius. Magi- Although it was not until 4 P. M. that the decks of the cienne latter could be cleared of the hawsers and ropes which had been used in heaving the ship off the bank, All at 4h. 40 m. P. M., by signal from the Sirius, the four four frigates got under way; and, preceded by the pro- Néréide with her black pilot on board, stood down ceedto the channel to Grand-Port. The order of attack, as Grand- previously arranged, was for the Néréide to anchor Port. between the Victor, the rearmost ship, and the attack. Bellone, the Sirius, having 18-pounders, abreast of the Bellone, the Magicienne between the Ceylon and Minerve, and the Iphigenia, having also 18-pounders, upon the broadside of the latter ship.

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The Néréide, still with staysails only, cleared the tortuous channel, and stood along the edge of the reef that skirts the harbour directly for the rearmost french ship. The Sirius, about a quarter of an hour or 20 minutes after she had weighed, keeping this time again. too much on the starboard hand, touched the ground. Very shoal water appearing ahead, the best bower anchor was let go; but the velocity of the ship was so great, as to run the cable out in spite of stoppers and every other effort to check her way. The small bower was then let go, but to no purpose, the ship continuing to tear both cables out with great rapidity; and unfortunately, the helm having been put a-port, the ship struck on a coral rock, which, a minute or two before, must have been on her starboard bow. Just as the Sirius had taken the ground, the french ships began firing, and their shot passed over the Néréide. With the Sirius as a beacon, the Magicienne and Iphigenia successively cleared the channel; but, at grounds 5 h. 15 m. P. M., while steering for her station, and of course wide of the track in which the Néréide with the only pilot in the squadron was steering, the Magicienne grounded on a bank, in such a position,

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that only three of her foremost guns on each deck 1810. could bear upon the enemy; from whom she was then distant about 400 yards. Seeing what had befallen the Magicienne, the Iphigenia, who was close in her Iphirear, dropped her stream anchor, and came to by the genia stern in six fathoms: she then let go the best bower chors under foot, thereby bringing her starboard broadside near to bear upon the Minerve; into whom, at a pistol-shot opens distance, the Iphigenia immediately poured a heavy and destructive fire. By this time the Néréide was also in hot action, and to her we must now attend. Just as, regardless of the raking fire opened upon Nérêthe Néréide in her approach, he was about to take up chors his allotted position on the bow of the Victor, captain abreast Willoughby saw what had befallen the Sirius; and, one with characteristic gallantry, steered for, and in his 12-pounder frigate anchored upon, the beam of the Bellone, at the distance of less than 200 yards. tion beBetween these two ill-matched ships, at about 5 h. these 15 m. P.M., a furious cannonade commenced, the Victor, two from her slanting position on the Néréide's quarter, being also enabled to take an occasional part in it. At 6 h. 15 m. P. M., after having received an occasional fire from the bow guns of the Magicienne and the Ceylon quarter guns of the Iphigenia, the Ceylon hauled hauls down her colours; and captain Lambert and one of her his lieutenants immediately hailed the Magicienne, colours to send a boat to take possession. At that instant makes the Ceylon was seen with her topsails set, running on shore. At 6 h. 30 m. the Minerve, having had shore. her cable shot away, made sail after the Ceylon. MiBoth these ships grounded near the Bellone; but the nerve Ceylon first ran foul of the latter, and compelled her Bellone to cut her cable and run also aground. The Bellone, shore. however, lay in such a position, that her broadside still bore on the Néréide. Captain Lambert would have instantly cut his cable and run down in pursuit of the Minerve, had not a shoal intervened directly between the Iphigenia and the french squadron.

At a few minutes before 7 P. M. the Néréide's spring was shot away, and the ship immediately swang

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