"Long live King George!"
"Reserve your fire, my lads, till you see me put my hat on my head,"
cried our captain; "then blaze away and thrash the Frenchmen as soon as
you can."
The word was passed along the deck, and all hands eagerly looked out for
the signal.
The Frenchmen tried to imitate our cheer, but made a bad hand of it.
Captain Mullon, as we afterwards heard was his name, the commander of
the French frigate, was seen holding the red cap of liberty in his hand,
and making a speech to his crew, on which they all sang out at the top
of their voices, _Vive la Republique_, and one of the sailors, running
up the main rigging, secured the red cap to the masthead. We stood on
till our foremost guns could bear on the starboard quarter of the enemy.
The French captain held his hat, like our captain, in his hand. They
bowed to each other, when ours was seen to place his on his head. It
was the looked-for signal. At that instant we opened fire, which the
Frenchmen were not slow in returning. We were running before the wind,
within rather less than hailing distance of the Frenchman, who was on
our larboard beam. In little more than half an hour we had shot away
the Frenchman's mizzenmast and wheel; but our mainmast was badly
wounded, and every instant I expected it to fall. Having lost command
of her rudder, the _Cleopatre_ fell aboard us, her jib-boom passing
through our fore and mainmast. I thought that this would finish our
mainmast, but, fortunately, the Frenchman's jib-boom gave way.
We were blazing away all this time, raking the _Cleopatre_ fore and aft.
We had lost a good many officers and men, and I saw two midshipmen
knocked over not far from me. I looked out for Harry and Reginald
Leslie, and I caught sight of them, still standing unharmed amid the
smoke, but I had not much time even to think about them or anything else
except my duty.
We now fell alongside the enemy head and stern, being still foul of each
other. Her larboard-main-topsail studden-sail-boom iron having hooked
the leach-rope of our maintop-sail, I had still good reasons to tremble
for our mainmast. I saw a youngster spring aloft. It was Harry. He
made his way along the yard, and with his knife cut the leach-rope; and
though many a shot from the Frenchmen was fired at him, he came down
safely. I felt my heart beat with pride as I saw him, for he had saved
the mast. The next moment the cry was heard--
"Boarders, away!"
Our brave first lieutenant, Mr Norris, leading the boarders, cutlass in
hand, leapt from the quarter-deck on to the forecastle of the French
frigate, while our master, Mr Ball, at the head of another party, made
his way through the bow-ports of the enemy. On they rushed, one party
on the upper and the other on the main-deck, sweeping all before them.
The Frenchmen, though they numbered half as many again as our crew, gave
way; some springing down the hatchway, others flying aft, and in fifty
minutes from the commencement of the action the Republican colours were
hauled down, and the Frenchmen from all directions cried for quarter.
The brave French captain was found lying on the deck, his back torn open
by a round shot, and part of his hip carried away. He was seen gnawing
at a piece of paper, which he continued to bite till his hand dropped,
and, his head sinking down, he ceased to breathe. He fancied that he
was destroying a list of coast signals used by the French, which he had
found in one of his pockets; but he was mistaken, for the paper he
wished to prevent falling into our hands was discovered on him covered
with blood. He was a brave fellow--there was no doubt about that. We
had not gained our victory without a heavy loss, for we had eighteen
seamen and marines, three midshipmen and two other officers, killed, and
twenty-seven wounded; while the French lost sixty-three men. I do not
think there was ever during the war a more equal or better-fought
battle, except that the Frenchmen had eighty more men to begin with than
we had; but then the _Nymph_ had slightly heavier metal, and was a few
tons larger than our antagonist. However, I believe that if it had been
the other way, we should, notwithstanding, have won the day.
As soon as we had repaired damages we made sail, though it was four days
before we reached Portsmouth with our prize. The brave French captain
was buried the next day in Portsmouth churchyard, the surviving officers
being permitted to attend him to the grave. A few days afterwards His
Majesty, George the Third, came aboard our frigate, when our captain and
his brother, Commander Pellew, and all the officers of the ship, were
presented to him.
The king was highly pleased with the way the action had been fought, and
at once knighted our brave captain, and presented his brother with his
commission as post-captain, while Lieutenant Norris was made a
commander. The king made inquiries as to what others had done.
"They all did their duty, your Majesty," answered the captain.
"No doubt about it. That is what I know my officers and seamen always
do," observed the king.
The captain then told him of the way Harry had behaved.
"I am pleased to hear it, my lad," said the king; "and I hope some day
that I shall have the pleasure of placing the flat of my sword on your
shoulders. What's your name?" asked the king.
The captain told him, and mentioned how he had been saved from the
_Royal George_.
"What! are you the `Child of the Wreck' I have been told of?" asked the
king. "I wish that more like you had been saved; you have begun well,
and will prove an honour to the service, no doubt about that."
The king spoke in a like fashion to several others. As may be supposed,
I felt prouder than ever of Harry, and was sure that if his life was
preserved he would not disappoint the good king or anyone else.