get under way at daylight, and attack, and endeavour to board, the two British frigates, thus hovering about the bay and cutting off all commerce with the capital.

On the 3d, at 4 h. 30 m. A.M., profiting by a light air which had just sprung up from the south-east, the Spartan stood into the bay of Naples on the starboard tack, under plain sails and rather off the wind. At 5 A. M., when about midway between Cape Misano and the island of Capri, the Spartan discovered the French squadron, distant six miles right ahead, standing out from the mole of Naples on the larboard tack. The force, thus advancing to attack a single British frigate, consisted of the Cérès, an 18-pounder frigate mounting 42 or 44 guns, with a crew of from 320 to 350 men, a large corvette, the Fama, mounting 28 guns, either 8 or 12 pounders, with a crew of more than 220 men, a brig, the Sparvière, mounting eight guns with 98 men, a cutter, the Achille, mounting 10 guns with 80 men, and at least seven gun-boats, of one long French 18-pounder and 40 men each. The Swiss troops, it appears, were in addition to the complements of the vessels: consequently, there were 95 guns, and about 1400 men, opposed to 46 guns and 258 men.

At 7 A. M. the Cérès, followed in line of battle by the Fama and Sparvière, hauled up, as if desirous to get to windward of the British frigate; but the Spartan frustrated that intention, by setting her courses and hauling up too. In a few minutes, find ing his object defeated, the French commodore again steered with the wind a-beam: and at 7 h. 45 m. clewed up her courses; the Spartan immediately did the same. In this way the two parties were mutually approximating from opposite points of the compass.

At 7 h. 58 m. A. M., being within pistol-shot on the larboard or lee bow of the British frigate, the Ceres opened a fire from her larboard guns in quick succession. The Spartan "reserved her fire until every gun was covered by her opponent, and then returned a most destructive broadside, treble-shotted on the main deck. The carnage on board the Cérès was very great, particu larly amongst the Swiss troops, which were drawn up in ranks, and extended from the cat-head to the taffrail, in readiness for boarding." The Spartan then engaged in succession the Fama and Sparvière; and, as neither party was going at a faster rate through the water than from two to three knots an hour, the British frigate was enabled to discharge a broadside at each.

Since the commencement of the firing, the cutter and gunboats had hauled to the south-east. In order to cut off these from their consorts, the Spartan now kept her luff; and at 8 h. 13 m. A. M., having fired at the small-craft with her foremost

starboard guns, the frigate hove in stays, and, as she came round, gave them the whole of her larboard guns: the starboard broadside having been recharged, was then fired at the Sparvière and the two ships ahead of her. Now was the time for the Cèrés to have supported the gun-boats, but the French commodore appears to have forgotten them altogether; for, instead of tacking to meet the Spartan, the Cérès wore and stood towards the batteries of Baia. This stage of the action will perhaps be better understood by a reference to the following diagram.

As soon as she had come round on the larboard tack, the Spartan kept her helm up, and wore in pursuit of the French frigate. But in a few minutes before 9 A. M. the breeze suddenly died away, and left the Spartan with her head exposed to the starboard broadside of the Cérès; having, also, on her larboard bow the corvette and brig, and sweeping up astern of her, the cutter and gun-boats. A heavy fire was now opened on the Spartan from every side, particularly on the stern and quarter from the long 18-pounders of the gun-boats. In a few minutes Captain Brenton, while standing on the capstan, the better to view his various opponents, received a grape-shot in the hip, and was obliged to be carried below. The command then devolved upon Lieutenant George Wickens Willes.

Scarcely had Captain Brenton been removed from the deck, ere a light breeze from the same quarter as before enabled the Spartan to take up a position on the starboard quarter of the French frigate and starboard bow of the corvette. The brig was at this time on the Spartan's larboard quarter or nearly astern, and the cutter and gun-boats on the frigate's stern and starboard quarter, making the best possible use of their advantage. The same breeze, that had enabled the Spartan to get into action, was

made use of by her two principal opponents to carry them out of it; and, owing to the disabled state of the Spartan's rigging, the Cérès and Fama, the latter hauling up to windward of her consort, succeeded in gaining the protection of the batteries of Baia. The Spartan then wore: and while with her starboard guns she severely raked the frigate and corvette, and cut away the latter's fore topmast, a single broadside from her larboard guns compelled the brig, with the loss of her main topmast, to haul down her colours. This was at 10 A. M.; and the gun-boats presently afterwards came down, in a very gallant manner, and, by towing her away, rescued the crippled Fama from the fate of the Sparvière. The following diagram is meant to represent this, termination of the contest.

Although the proper complement of the Spartan was 281, having an officer and 18 men absent in a prize and being four men short, the frigate commenced action with only 258 men and boys; exclusively of Captain George Hoste of the royal engineers, who was a passenger on board, and, during the attention of Captain Brenton and his first lieutenant in manoeuvring the ship, took charge of the quarter-deck guns. The loss on board the Spartan was tolerably severe, amounting to one master's mate (William Robson), six seamen, and three marines killed, her captain (severely), first lieutenant (already named), 15 seamen and five marines wounded; total, 10 killed and 22 wounded. This heavy loss was chiefly occasioned by the long 18-pounders of the gun-boats, while they lay upon the frigate's stern and quarter. The hull of the Spartan had, in consequence, been severely struck; and, although none of her masts were shot away, they were most of them wounded, and her rigging and sails cut to pieces.

The French acknowledged a loss of 30 officers and men killed and 90 wounded, exclusively of the loss on board the Sparvière; which, in killed, as 87 prisoners were all that were taken out of her, probably amounted to 11. Among the killed on board the Cérès, was the second captain; and the first captain is stated to have lost his arm. Some of the English accounts represented the loss on board the French squadron at 150 killed and 300

wounded. These round numbers, as our contemporary is also of opinion, are probably incorrect and exaggerated; "but," Captain Edward Brenton adds, "the slaughter, particularly on board the frigate, from her crowded decks, the close position, and the smoothness of the water, must have been very severe."* In addition to the encomiums which he passes upon his first lieutenant, and upon Captain Hoste of the engineers (brother to the captain of the Amphion), Captain Jahleel Brenton strongly recommends his two remaining lieutenants, William Augustus Baumgardt and Henry Bourne; also his master, Henry George Slenner, his two lieutenants of marines, Charles Fegan and Christopher Fottrell, and his purser, James Dunn, who took charge of a division of guns on the main deck, in the place of the officer already mentioned as absent in a prize. For the distinguished part which he took in the action, Lieutenant Willes, on the 2d of June, was deservedly promoted to the rank of commander.

Soon after the action had ended in the manner we have stated, the sea-breeze or south-west wind set in. The Spartan then, having repaired her principal damages, took her prize in tow, and stood in triumph directly across, and within about four miles of, the mole of Naples, to the great chagrin and mortification, as was afterwards understood, of Prince Murat; who had been the whole morning anxiously watching on the mole, to see his squadron tow in the British frigate. At this time the beaten French frigate and corvette had just dropped their anchors before the town. It would not do for the world, particularly for France, to know how the matter really stood. Hence the Moniteur is commanded to say: "Il est impossible de se battre avec plus de bravoure que ne l'a fait la flotille dans cette brillante affaire, &c." And then the Spartan herself is declared to have been "un vaisseau rasé, portant 50 bouches à feu, donc 30 canons de 24 et 20 caronades de 32."

On the 22d of May the British 38-gun frigate Alceste, Captain Murray Maxwell, chased several French vessels into the bay of Agaye, or Agay, near the gulf of Fréjus. Finding that the two batteries, one on each side of the entrance, which protected the vessels, possessed by their height a great advantage over the ship, Captain Maxwell, in the evening, detached two strong parties to endeavour to carry them by storm. The party, under Lieutenant Andrew Wilson, first of the Alceste, that landed on the right of the bay, having to march through a very thick wood to get in the rear of the fort, was attacked in the midst of it by one of the enemy's pickets, whom the marines, under the command of Lieutenants Walter Griffith Lloyd and Richard Hawkey of that corps, without sustaining any loss, very soon dislodged: but the guide, taking advantage of the firing,

* Brenton, vol. iv., p. 436.

made his escape, and Lieutenant Wilson was obliged to relinquish the enterprise and return on board. Meanwhile the other party, under Mr. Henry Bell, the master, reached undiscovered the rear of his fort, and attacked and carried it in the most spirited manner. As, however, the opposite battery had not been reduced, Mr. Bell was obliged to retire; but he did not do so until he had spiked the guns, two long 24-pounders, broken their carriages, destroyed the magazine, and thrown the shot into the sea. Having accomplished this, he and his men returned to their ship without a casualty.

Finding that the vessels would not quit their anchorage while the frigate lay off, Captain Maxwell, on the night of the 25th, sent the barge and yawl, one armed with a 12-pounder carronade, the other with a 4-pounder field-piece, under the command of Mr. Bell, accompanied by master's mate Thomas Day, and midshipman James Adair, with orders to lie in a little cove near the harbour's mouth, while the Alceste stood to some distance in the offing. The bait took; and on the morning of the 26th the French vessels sailed out quite boldly. To their astonishment, the two armed boats pulled in amongst them, and presently captured four feluccas, three of which were armed (one with six guns, and the two others with four each), drove two upon the rocks, and the rest back into the harbour. This the British effected, although exposed to a fire from the batteries, from some soldiers on the beach, and from two armed feluccas among the vessels that escaped. Mr. Adair, who with two or three men had been left in charge of the barge while Mr. Bell and Mr. Day were boarding the feluccas, made so good a use of the 12pounder carronade, that the four prizes were brought off without the slightest hurt to a man of the party.

In the month of June Captain William Hoste, of the 18pounder 32-gun frigate Amphion, having under his orders the 38-gun frigate Active, Captain James Alexander Gordon, and 18-pounder 32-gun frigate Cerberus, Captain Henry Whitby, cruised in the gulf of Triest. On the 28th, in the morning, the boats of the Amphion chased a convoy of several vessels, reported to be laden with naval stores for the arsenal of Venice, into the harbour of Groa. The capture of the convoy, although, on account of the shoals, to be effected only by boats, being an object of considerable importance, Captain Hoste resolved to make the attempt without delay. In the evening the Amphion telegraphed the Active and Cerberus, to send their boats to her by 12 at night; but owing to her distance in the offing, the Active was not able to comply with the signal in time. Accordingly the boats of the Amphion and Cerberus, commanded by Lieutenant William Slaughter, second (first absent) of the Amphion, and assisted by Lieutenants Donat Henchy O'Brien of the same frigate, and James Dickinson of the Cerberus,