The steady bombardment from land and sea had greatly reduced the French squadron in the harbour, but two of their ships remained in a condition to aid in the defence as late as the 24th of July. These were the _Prudent_, 74, and the _Bienfaisant_, 64. Boscawen resolved to cut them out, that is, to send in armed boats to board them and bring them away. At noon of the 24th a barge and a pinnace or cutter from every ship, each commanded by a lieutenant and a mate or midshipman, met at the flagship. The command of the whole was given to George Balfour of the =Etna= fireship, and John Laforey of the =Hunter= sloop, the two senior commanders of the fleet. The commander was, and is, the captain who is not of full, or “post” rank. It might have given a thinking Frenchman some ground for reflection if he had known that of these officers Balfour was a Scotchman, and therefore one of a people which had once been the old ally of France, while Laforey’s name is only the anglicised form of La Foret, and he was of Huguenot descent, one of the thousands whose swords and skill were turned against their persecutors by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The boats collected at evening round the flagship of Sir Charles Hardy, who commanded the advance ships at the mouth of the harbour. At midnight they put off in a thick fog with muffled oars and in strict silence. The steady fire from our batteries attracted the attention of the French, who were on the ramparts in expectation of an immediate assault, and were keeping up a constant musketry fire. Laforey and Balfour led their boats past the battery at the mouth of the harbour unseen and unheard. They had carefully marked the place of the French ships during the day, and were able to take a sweep out into the harbour and advance through the night and the fog, till the hulks of the _Prudent_ and the _Bienfaisant_ loomed up through the darkness. Then the uncontrollable love of the British seamen for shouting broke out into wild cheering, and all the boats dashed alongside the liners. Laforey carried the _Prudent_ and Balfour the _Bienfaisant_. One of them is said by tradition to have made his way into the bows of the French ship by a place more convenient than seemly. The actual taking of the vessels was not difficult, as most of their crews were ashore aiding in the defence. But the noise in the harbour drew the fire of the land batteries, and the duty of taking the prizes out was one of great hazard. The _Prudent_ was aground and could not be moved, so that Laforey had to set her on fire, but the _Bienfaisant_ was towed away in spite of the fire from the batteries. It was next day that M. Drucourt surrendered. The total loss of the French Navy was four line-of-battle ships burnt and one taken, four vessels sunk to block the entry to the harbour and frigate taken. Only one vessel, the _Comète_ frigate, found an opportunity to slip through the blockade and escape to France.