The doctor's advice was well meant, and no doubt good, but I was too
excited to think so at the moment, so I darted on deck just in time to
hear the skipper say,--"Now, lads, he is coming up on our port quarter.
Run the starboard guns over to port, and load fore and aft with a round
shot and a charge of grape on top of it. Give the muzzles a good
elevation, and fire at the moment that the two ships touch, then away on
board for your lives, and recollect, the first blow is half the battle,
so let it be a good hard one. Steady now, here she comes."
During my visit to the doctor's den, sail had been shortened on board
the "Scourge," down to the topsails jib, and driver; the stunsails being
stowed and the booms run in; while the courses, topgallant sails, and
royals were merely clewed up. The Frenchman evidently had been a great
deal mystified by this manoeuvre and the cessation of firing on our
part; and now, while he was ranging up on our port quarter, and so close
that one might almost have hove a biscuit on board, all was confusion
with him; the hands being busy taking in their canvas in a slipshod,
lubberly way that would have disgraced a collier; while the babble of
tongues must have been deafening, judging from what we heard of it.
Our skipper was standing just abaft the main-rigging, conning the ship,
with one hand on the topmast backstay all ready for a spring, while he
signalled the helmsman with the other. Sennitt was forward, also ready
for the rush; while Mr Clewline, who with a dozen hands was to remain
on board and take care of the ship, was in the waist. The men stood at
their guns, with their cutlasses drawn, the captains with the trigger-
lines in their hands, ready to fire at the instant of collision. Harvey
was forward with Mr Sennitt; while little Markham and I stood by to
follow in the skipper's wake.
As the frigate drew up abreast of us, her captain sprang into the mizen
rigging and hailed through a speaking-trumpet, "Mais, Monsieur le
capitaine, why you shall not haul down votre drapeau; Vous avez se
rendre, n'est pas?"
Captain Brisac raised his hand to his mouth as though to reply; waving
it at the same time for the helmsman to sheer us alongside; the men with
the grappling irons being crouched under the bulwarks all ready to
heave; and all hands fore and aft straining forward like hounds in
leash, waiting breathlessly for the coming shock.
"What ship is that?" hailed the skipper; not that he wanted particularly
to know, just at that moment; he hoped to find out for himself very
shortly; but the question served to fill up time until the moment for
action should arrive.
"`L'Audacieuse;' fregate de --," began the French captain; when an
officer sprang into the rigging beside him, and said something in an
excited manner, pointing at us and gesticulating with frightful
vehemence.
In the meantime our helmsman, touching the wheel as daintily as though
we had been sailing a match, brought us alongside so cleverly that the
two ships touched with a shock which was barely perceptible, just enough
in fact "to swear by," as the gunner remarked.
"Heave!" shouted Sennitt to the men with the grappling irons, "Fire!"
roared the skipper; and away went our double broadside crash into the
Frenchman, eliciting such a chorus of shrieks and yells as might lead
one to suppose that Pandemonium had broken loose. Three or four of the
frigate's guns replied: and there was an ominous crashing among our
spars; but no one paused to ascertain the extent of the damage; and our
men had sprung like tigers into the frigate's rigging almost before our
own guns had exploded; they were, therefore, so far safe. Captain
Brisac made a dash at the frigate's mizen rigging while giving the word
to fire; with Markham and myself close upon his heels; but before he had
fairly got a hold of the ratlines a sponge was thrust out of one of the
upper-deck ports, catching him in the face, and inflicting such a blow
that he fell back upon us unfortunate mids, and would have gone down
between the two ships had we not caught him unceremoniously by the
collar and steadied him on his feet again.
The sponge was the reverse of clean, and the blow had been delivered
with such hearty good-will just between the eyes that our venerated
commander's claret was very effectually tapped; he presented therefore a
somewhat alarming spectacle as he flung himself in upon the Frenchman's
deck; his face black from contact with the foul sponge, the dingy colour
being pleasantly relieved by bold streaks and dashes of crimson.
"Mille diables!" ejaculated the astonished French captain, as this
apparition appeared before him--he having jumped down on deck again as
we ranged alongside; and he placed himself on guard in the most approved
fashion. Captain Brisac had no more knowledge of sword-play than he had
of flying, a circumstance which often proved exceedingly embarrassing--
to his adversaries, for he had a rough-and-ready way of handling his
weapon which, if not so scientific, was equally as effective as the
utmost refinements of the thoroughly accomplished swordsman. Instead
therefore of engaging, as his antagonist evidently expected, he simply
bore down the guard by sheer strength of wrist, and rushing in upon his
astounded adversary, delivered a blow with his left hand straight from
the shoulder, which laid the unhappy Frenchman senseless upon his own
deck. "Hurrah, lads!" he shouted; "give it them right and left; drive
the rascals below or overboard, and push forward to meet Mr Sennitt."
The division which had boarded with us, abaft, replied with a cheer,
which was responded to by Sennitt's party forward; and away we went,
driving the French along the deck before us until they were all huddled
up amidships between the two parties of boarders: and there they made a
most determined stand.
And now ensued a fierce and sanguinary hand-to-hand conflict; our men
still pressing impetuously forward; and the French opposing us with a
resolution which their previous conduct had given us no reason whatever
to expect, obstinately contesting with us every inch of the deck, and,
if they yielded for a moment, renewing the defence more actively than
ever; cutlasses and pikes were used with savage freedom; and the dead
and wounded encumbered the decks until they became almost impassable.
The fight had been raging thus furiously for some three or four minutes
without our gaining any perceptible advantage; our men were falling
fast; and it became evident that unless something decisive were speedily
done, we should be overpowered by sheer force of numbers. The French
were congregated in a compact group amidships, our party being divided
into two, one of which had been led on board aft by the skipper, while
the other had followed Mr Sennitt forward; the French were consequently
between us and the lieutenant's party. It occurred to me that if Mr
Clewline could pour a charge or two of grape into the crowd of
Frenchmen, it might have the effect of freshening their way; and I was
pushing towards the bulwarks intending to slip down on board the
"Scourge" and see what could be done, when I observed for the first time
that she was no longer alongside; and on looking farther I caught a
glimpse of her through one of the open ports, lying about a couple of
cables' lengths distant.
I called Markham's attention to this; at the same time mentioning what I
had thought about the grape.
"A capital notion, young-un!" he replied. "Your infantile intellect is
really developing with marvellous rapidity. Clewline can't be
communicated with, however, where he is; so we must just do the best we
can for ourselves. And look here! here is a six-pounder cast loose and
all ready to our hands; watch the roll of the ship, and we can run it
right inboard--here you, Peters,"--to one of the seamen, "lend a hand
here to run in this gun and slew it round with its muzzle forward. So!
that's just right; now then for a charge; do you see a--? Oh, here's a
cartridge; in with it; ram it well down, Peters; and you, Chester, see
if you can find anything to put in on top of the powder;--marline-
spikes; tenpenny nails; empty bottles; blue pills and black draughts;
the cook's tormentors; or the skipper's best china tea
service--_anything_ will do that is obnoxious to the interior of the
human system--"
"Will this do?" I inquired, fishing out from the scuppers a heavy
object of cylindrical shape, over which I had stumbled two or three
times.
"Bless your dear little innocent heart! yes," answered Markham, "it will
do berry nicey nicey. Why, it's the very thing, greeny; it's
_cannister_; in with it; if this does not wake them up, call me a
Dutchman, that's all. Now we're all ready. You let the skipper know
what we're going to do, Chester; and I'll stand by to fire directly he
gives the word."
It was no very easy matter to secure the skipper's attention and make
him understand what we proposed to do; but I managed to accomplish it at
last. As soon as he understood me, he hailed in a voice which rose
clear and high above the din, "Is Mr Sennitt there?"
"Ay ay, sir," came back in the well-known tones of the "first."
"We are going to try the effect of a charge of cannister," hailed the
skipper; "be good enough therefore to send your party into the fore
rigging; and you, my lads," to his own division, "stand by to rush aft
behind the gun. Now!"
The first lieutenant's division sprang like cats into the fore rigging,
and scuttled away for their lives half-way up to the top; while our
party at the same instant made a dash aft and formed again in the rear
of the gun. The movement was effected with such lightning-like rapidity
that the French could do nothing but stare at us open-mouthed.
Captain Brisac paused a single instant, to make sure that all our lads
were out of the way of the shot; and then he called upon the Frenchmen
to surrender. Two or three flung down their arms; but the rest,
recovering from their momentary astonishment, started on a rush aft;
seeing which, the skipper sprang on one side and shouted "Fire!"
The charge took effect in the very thickest of the crowd, literally
mowing the French down in heaps. At the same instant both parties of
the "Scourges" renewed their attack, and this time their rush proved
irresistible; there was a momentary attempt at a stand, but our lads
were no longer to be denied; and after another very short but very
fierce tussle the French threw down their weapons and cried for quarter.
I, however, did not witness the final _denouement_; for, being hurried
forward by the rest in the final rush, I found myself in the thick of
the _melee_ before I was quite prepared, and received a crushing blow on
the head which felled me to the deck.
The prisoners were immediately secured; and the bulk of the "Scourge's"
crew shifted into the prize, a sufficient number only being left on
board the brig to work her; the wounded also were retained on board the
frigate, where there was of course much better and more roomy
accommodation for them; our worthy medico shifting over, bag and
baggage, to look after us. The damage to spars and rigging, which
turned out to be unimportant in both ships, was soon made good; and
about 3 p.m. we made sail in company, shaping a course for Plymouth,
where we arrived without mishap, late on the following evening.
We all received very great credit for what the papers were pleased to
term our "dashing exploit;" Captain Brisac being rewarded with post
rank, while Mr Sennitt was made a commander, and Mr Clewline moved a
step up the ratlines. We midshipmen also received our reward in the
shape of "honourable mention;" nor were the warrant-officers forgotten;
so that, what with promotion and prize-money, the "Scourges" were for a
time the envy of the entire navy. The war, however, had only just
begun, or rather broken out afresh; and everybody soon consoled
themselves with the reflection that our luck might any day become their
own. The prize proved to be the frigate "L'Audacieuse," of thirty-two
guns and 230 men. She was a bran-new ship, and had come out of Brest on
her first cruise only the day before we fell in with her. Her loss in
the engagement amounted to forty-six killed and thirty-one wounded; our
own casualties amounting to fourteen killed and twenty wounded.
My own wound proved to be of a somewhat serious character, the blow
having been inflicted with some heavy blunt instrument, and producing
concussion of the brain; I was, however, well looked after, and as soon
as it was safe to move me, I was transferred to my own home, where I was
nursed, petted, and made much of to my heart's content, until I was in
the greatest danger of being spoiled, through the outrageous pampering
of my self-love and vanity to which I was subjected.
Luckily, my great-uncle, Sir Peregrine condescended to interest himself
in my welfare; the moment, therefore, that I was fairly convalescent he
swooped down on the vicarage, like a hawk upon a dove-cot, and carried
me off with him to London, where he treated me to a week's cruise among
the sights of the place. At the end of that time he drove with me one
fine morning to the Admiralty, where I received my appointment to the
"Juno" frigate, then fitting-out at Portsmouth for the Mediterranean.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note. It may be necessary to explain to the uninitiated reader that the
terms "he" and "she" are indifferently used at sea, in reference to
craft, but when the masculine pronoun is applied it is understood to
refer more especially to the _commanding officer_ of the vessel; while
the pronoun "she" refers to the _vessel herself_.--H.C.