Before leaving the subject of the “Antelope’s” action, it must be observed that the newspapers of the time were full of praise of the extraordinary bravery of a certain M. Nodin, a passenger, formerly a midshipman in the French navy. The circumstances, if true, are remarkable enough; but there is still in existence an official copy of a declaration signed by Pasco himself and by the gunner of the “Antelope,” in which the whole story is denied. M. Nodin resented this disparaging deposition, and threatened proceedings against the two petty officers for defaming his character, a suit which the Postmaster General described as “absurd,” and which does not seem to have been proceeded with. It is quite clear that the Post-Office authorities did not believe the story of M. Nodin’s prowess. The matter might not have been worth mentioning had not the tale acquired authority by being set forth by James (_Naval History_, vol. i., p. 112). The authors and upholders of the new system were, doubtless, cheered and encouraged by this action, which seemed to show that great results might be achieved with even smaller armaments than those recommended for the new Packets. The fact that one of the oldest and worst equipped ships had won this striking success was hailed as a happy augury; and so the old year went out among mutual congratulations and good hope for the future. The sunshine was of short duration. The storm was rising already. In the first days of January the loss of the “Arab” was reported at the Post-Office. The “Arab” was one of the new Packets, and her capture was a serious misfortune. It appeared that she had been taken by a French frigate, “L’Insurgente,” while on her homeward passage from Corunna on Christmas Eve; and while it was evident that resistance would have been a useless sacrifice of life, there was some disappointment on finding that the “Arab’s” fine sailing qualities had not saved her. Another disaster was quickly announced, though belonging this time more plainly to the category of accident. The “Princess Augusta,” again one of the new ships, caught fire while lying in the Tagus, and was completely burned. This was a mere piece of bad luck; but so much could not be said of the loss of the “Expedition,” which was carried into Brest, in April, by a French frigate, which she had failed to outsail. The matter was the more serious since not only one mail was lost, but three, the scarcity of Packets having compelled the Post-Office agent at Lisbon to despatch the mails of three successive weeks by a single ship. The precaution commonly taken in those days of sending duplicates of all despatches and important letters by the next mail following that which had carried the originals was thus completely frustrated on this occasion, and the inconvenience to the Government and the mercantile community must have been immense.