'I now placed the ship in a position to command with her guns the dockyard and houses opposite to it. She had opposed to her a 20-gun battery in the dock-yard and Bagnio, and a 20-gun battery on the opposite side to the dockyard, one of 15 guns on the bow, and various small masked batteries on various heights about the ship; not naming the great forts on the heights. But be it remembered that these works were ill-manned, and none provided with trained artillery men. Having secured the ship and got her ready for action, not loading guns, I never loaded a gun while at Genoa, I went on shore and found that the Governor of the prison had received his summons to open the doors, and had refused. He was glad to see me, we now settled his plan of defence as far as he was able, and to my astonishment he struck chains off fifty _forçats_ and put a musket into their hands. He made excellent arrangements for defence, and assured me he could rely on these men. I had them drawn up and found they all understood the weapon. I told them if they behaved well, &c. &c. &c. I now informed him that at the first report of a musket fired from a point agreed on, I should land with 150 marines, and my gun boats would enter the mole and would sweep with grape the houses and wharfs, while the ship could do as she pleased. I am praised in a public letter from Sir William Parker for this, the only act that was not neutral and that would, had the Reds acted, have brought the _Vengeance_ into the whole affair. To end the affair at once these acts of mine stopped the whole thing, and broke up the Red gang in Genoa. 'It also had another effect; it cleared my ship of every soul. As soon as we anchored and prepared for battle, every soul fled the ship and got away through Marmora's army to St. Pierre de la Regina, where they were quite safe. 'Just after the sun had set this evening and it was growing dark enough not to know green from blue, a steamer at full speed was seen entering the port, and to my horror La Marmora's nineteen gun battery at the lighthouse, while she was passing close under _Vengeance's_ bows, opened fire upon her, putting two 30 lb. shots through her hull. In an instant all the batteries opened on him, I thought all my efforts in a moment destroyed. In a fit I jumped into the first boat, and shoved on board the Frenchman, sending an officer to La Marmora's batteries to beg them to leave off firing. To end this story, the officer at La Marmora's battery had mistaken the French for the Sardinian flag, and fired on it. The mistake cleared up, to my joy the volcano ceased vomiting, but here was more fat in the fire. I sat down to my dinner at six once more in peace and _tête-à-tête_ with Tarlton talking over our affairs with the gusto given by a superior appetite to a shocking bad dinner, when in burst the two French captains, one of the _Tonnerre_ a frigate in the port, and the other the captain of the packet.