On the 20th Lieutenant Elms Steele, with a party of seamen and marines, landed and destroyed the guns at Baigno, and captured a small vessel laden with merino wool, which had run in there for security, and was from San-Andero bound to Bayonne. In the mean time Lieutenant of marines John Fennele, accompanied by Mr. John Elliott the purser, and a boat's crew, ascended the mountain and destroyed the signal-posts. On the same evening, also, Lieutenant Pearson, with the officers and men who were with him at Lequito, took possession of the batteries of the town of Paissance, without opposition, and destroyed the guns; the small French force stationed at all the above places, retiring as the British approached.

On the 5th of April, at 11 A. M., the Cordouan lighthouse bearing east by north distant 42 leagues, the British 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Amethyst, still commanded by Captain Michael Seymour, standing about a point free on the larboard tack with the wind at east, and having in her company, within signal distance to the northward, or nearly astern, the 18-pounder 36gun frigate Emerald, Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland, descried, in the east-south-east, a ship steering to the westward; and which, on discovering the two frigates, hauled up to the south-south-east. This was the French 40-gun frigate Niemen, Captain Jean-Henri-Joseph Dupotet, two days from Verdon road, with six months' provisions and a quantity of naval stores on board, bound to the Isle of France.

Both British ships made all sail in chase, and at noon the Niemen was about half topsails down from the deck of the Amethyst. The chase continued all the afternoon; so little, however, to the advantage of the Amethyst, although a much better sailer than her consort, that at sunset the line of the Niemen's taffrail was all that could be seen from the lower part of the Amethyst's main rigging, bearing a point and a half on her weather or larboard bow. At 7 h. 20 m., which was just as it was getting dark, the Amethyst lost sight, both of the Emerald that was astern, and the Niemen that was ahead of her.

Concluding that the French frigate, on getting rid of her pursuers, would resume her course to the westward, Captain Seymour, at 9 P. M., bore up to south-west. At 9 h. 40 m. P. M., the wind then blowing in squalls from the east-north-east, the Amethyst discovered, on her weather beam, the ship she was in search of; and who now, as rightly conjectured by Captain Seymour, was steering to the westward. The Amethyst lost no time in giving chase; and the Niemen, having only in view to execute her mission, wore and made all sail with the wind upon the larboard quarter, steering about south by west. At 11 h. 30 m. P. M. the Amethyst began firing her bow-chasers, and was fired at in return by the stern-guns of the Niemen. At 1h. 15 m. A. M. on the 6th the Amethyst closed upon the Niemen's larboard quarter, and opened her starboard broadside. In return, the Niemen

fired her guns on the larboard side, then wore round on the starboard tack, and steered to the north-west. As soon as she could wear and trim sail, the Amethyst hauled up after her opponent; and, as the rigging and sails of the Niemen had already received some damage, the Amethyst, at about 1 h. 45 m. A. M., ranged close alongside of her to windward.

After an exchange of broadsides, the Amethyst, having passed ahead, bore round up, raked the Niemen, and then braced sharp up again on the same tack under the French frigate's lee bow. At 2 h. 45 m. A. M. the Niemen fell on board the Amethyst, on her starboard beam and quarter; but, in a few minutes, the Amethyst shooting ahead, the Niemen got clear, and bore away south-west. At about 3 A. M. the Amethyst, having crossed over, got upon the larboard and weather beam of the Niemen. Scarcely had the mutual cannonade recommenced between the two ships in this position, ere the Niemen caught fire in her larboard hammock-netting. At 3 h. 15m. A. M. the Niemen had her mizenmast and main topmast shot away. The ship had also just caught fire in the main top, and her main yard was lowered halfway down the mast. In this state, the Niemen bestowed little or no return to the animated cannonade maintained by the Amethyst. At 3 h. 25 m. A. M., finding that her antagonist had ceased firing, the Amethyst ceased also, and bore up under her stern. At about 3 h. 30 m. A. M., as the Amethyst, with her main yard square, was in the act of bringing to to leeward of the Niemen, the mainmast of the British ship, owing chiefly to the quantity of canvass that lay aback against it and the damaged state of the rigging, came down, carrying with it the mizenmast; and the wreck of the two masts fell over the lee quarter. Almost at the same moment the Niemen's mainmast, or what remained of it, came down by the board; and the 38gun frigate Arethusa, Captain Robert Mends, just then announced to the Amethyst, by signal, her approach from the

eastward.

The Amethyst meanwhile, in consequence of the great way upon the ship having caused the spread sails over the lee quarter to act as a back-water, disobeyed her helm, and wore with her stern abreast of the Niemen's starboard and lee bean. At 3 h. 45 m. P. M., while the Amethyst was in this unfortunate position, the Arethusa approached within gun-shot on the larboard quarter of the Niemen, who was then going nearly before the wind. The French ship thereupon hoisted a light, and fired one shot at the Arethusa and another at the Amethyst. The Arethusa then gave a small yaw and fired seven or eight of her foremost larboard guns at the Niemen. To this fire, the French frigate made no return, but hauled down her light, and almost instantaneously raised and lowered it again as the signal of submission.

The following diagram will assist in explaining the different movements of the combatants.

The guns of the Amethyst were precisely those which she mounted in her action with the Thétis; but in complement the frigate was short, having two lieutenants and 37 men absent; all, except one of the lieutenants (who had been appointed, but had not joined), away in prizes, the prisoners from which, 69 in number, were then on board. Of her 222 men and boys, the Amethyst had six seamen and two marines killed, and her first and second lieutenants of marines (Henry Waring and Samuel Prytherch), her boatswain (Mr. Lacey), 24 seamen, and 10 marines wounded.

The armament of the Niemen was the same as that of the Thetis, except that the former mounted two additional 36pounder carronades, or 14 in all; making her total number of guns 46, two more than are stated in Captain Seymour's letter. The French frigate, whose hull was much cut up by shot, and whose remaining mast was in a tottering state, had on board as her complement, when the action commenced, 339 men and boys; of whom she lost 47 in killed, and 73 in wounded. The Arethusa, not having been fired at except by a single gun, sustained no loss or damage whatever. The same statement of comparative force, given in the action between the Amethyst and Thétis, will, without being more particular, suffice to show the relative force of the Amethyst and Niemen.

Every Englishman, who is proud of the martial spirit of his country, must regret that a third party came to interrupt a meeting, which his own, although the numerically weaker side, was so near bringing to a favourable termination. A view of the relative damage and loss sustained by the two frigates, and of

their relative means of further annoyance, as displayed by the vigorous fire of the one, and the slackened and still slackening fire of the other, cannot leave a doubt that, at the time the Arethusa made her appearance, the combat between the Amethyst and Niemen was virtually, if not formally, decided.

On the day succeeding that of the capture, the foremast of the Niemen, as a proof of the damage it had received in the action, fell over the side, and the Arethusa took the prize in tow. Being only nine months old, and a remarkably fine frigate, the Niemen became a great acquisition to the British navy; in which, under her French name, she classed the same as the Amethyst's former prize, the Thétis. Captain Seymour, soon after his return to port, was made a baronet of the United Kingdom; and the first lieutenant of the Amethyst, Mr. William Hill, who, from the absence of two lieutenants, had a double share of duty to perform, was as deservedly promoted to the rank of commander.

That, as Captain Seymour in his official letter is careful to state," the French captain defended his ship with great ability and resolution," the length of the action, the execution done to the Amethyst, and the circumstances under which the surrender took place, sufficiently testify. And yet the Moniteur of July 13, 1809, contains a letter purporting to be from M. Dupotet, which, if genuine (and there we have our doubts), does not speak much for the French captain's veracity. As may be conjecturd, the effect produced by the fall of the Amethyst's main and mizen masts is taken due advantage of. "L'ennemi prit chasse vent arrière, ayant à la traîne ses deux mâts," says M. Dupotet; and he gravely adds: "Au bout de quinze minutes mon premier lieutenant Valin me fit prévenir que l'ennemi était rendu, et qu'on criait de son bord de ne plus tirer. Je designai l'enseigne Kerangoué pour aller l'amariner; mais bientôt on vit venir une frégate qui venait au secours de celle-ci."

Knowing that Frenchmen, in many of their actions with the British at sea, have mistaken the cheers of triumph for the screams of despair, we pass over the statement that the people of the Amethyst called upon those of the Niemen to cease firing; but the assertion, that the mainmast of the Niemen fell after the Arethusa had opened her fire, is a deliberate falsehood, which can admit of no palliation. Fortunately for the cause of truth, it is disproved in an instant; for thus says the log of the Arethusa: "At half past 3, observed both ships going before the wind with only their foremasts standing. At 3 h. 45 m. commenced firing on the enemy." The assertion, that the foremast of the Amethyst was in a shattered and unsupported state is equally false, although that may have arisen from misinformation. The fact is, that the foremast was only struck by one grape-shot, and was not even fished after the action.

We designated the movement, forced upon the Amethyst by the fall of her masts and sails in the water, an unfortunate one.

It was very much so. Less, however, in reference to the easily refuted mistatements of the captain of the Niemen, than, as we gather from the proceedings which afterwards took place in the admiralty prize-court, to the misconception that seems to have prevailed among the officers of the Arethusa. A little forethought in shortening sail, before the Amethyst bore up athwart the stern of her beaten antagonist, would have given quite a different tone to the letter of Captain Dupotet, if indeed any such letter had then been published; and would have left no grounds for a second British ship, by establishing a claim for headmoney, to make it appear that she had any share in producing the surrender of an already silenced and defenceless French frigate.

It was formerly stated, that early on the morning of the 22d of February, the day after Commodore Beresford was chased from off Lorient by the squadron from Brest, the three French frigates, Calypso, Cybèle, and Italienne, sailed from that port, and that they were not immediately followed by the three sail of the line at anchor in the road, because the tide did not suit.* In a few hours the depth of water became sufficient; and commodore Amable-Gilles Troude, with the three 74-gun ships Courageux, Polonais, and d'Haupoult, having under their convoy the two armed en flûte frigates Furieuse and Félicité, laden with troops, flour, and military stores, for the island of Martinique, escaped from Lorient, unseen, or at all events unmolested, by any of the British ships cruising off the French coast.

On the 29th of March, having from some prizes he had made on the passage learnt that Martinique had surrendered to the British arms (an account of which will appear in its proper place), the French commodore entered the Saintes, to watch for an opportunity of getting across to Basse-terre, Guadaloupe. Scarcely, however, had the French ships anchored, than a superior British force arrived to blockade them. The line-ofbattle portion of that force consisted of the

Rear-admiral (r.) Hon. Sir Alex. J. Cochrane, bt.

{Rear-admiral (r.) Hon.

Robert Barton.

William Charles Fahie.

The Saintes consist of two small islands, each about three leagues in circumference, exclusive of three or four still smaller ones, so arranged as to form a commodious road or harbour between the larger islands; the westernmost of which is called Terre d'en Bas, and the other Terre d'en Haut. They lie between Vieux-Fort, near the southern extremity of Basse-terre. Guadaloupe, and Pointe des Ajoupas on the west side of Marie