What it was that he feared, or on what ground, is not easy to make out; but it is clear that he had some apprehension of more than ordinary danger in resuming his sea life, and that he managed to convince the authorities of the reality of this danger. It is therefore not a little strange to find that on his first voyage after the war broke out again his forebodings were verified, and his ruin compassed by a French vessel named “The Reprisal.” It was on July 23rd, 1803, that the “King George” set sail from Lisbon for Falmouth. The passage should have occupied about a week; but the “King George” never arrived in port. Her fate was not long doubtful. On August 12th the “Auckland” Packet, which had left Lisbon some days later, sighted a Swedish galliot, which signalled to her to speak with them. On bearing down accordingly, the officers of the “Auckland” found that the galliot was manned by their friends and colleagues of the “King George,” the refugees of a lost sea fight, in which, though most of them had received severe wounds, all had escaped alive, save only Captain Yescombe, who had died of his hurts on the previous day. The fight, it appeared, had occurred on the 30th July. The Packet made a stout resistance, and at first with some hope of success, notwithstanding the obvious superiority of the enemy, a Privateer carrying fourteen 4–pounders and a hundred men, whilst the “King George” had only twenty-six men and six guns. The Falmouth men served their guns well, but they suffered so heavily in their spars and rigging that at last, after a heavy cannonade lasting nearly an hour, the enemy obtained an opportunity of boarding. From that moment the last chance of saving the Packet disappeared. The French poured fifty men, chiefly blacks, upon her decks. There was a desperate scuffle, but a few minutes decided the affair. Captain Yescombe fell, shot through the thigh. Mr. St. Aubyn, the mate, and three seamen were wounded, the rest were quickly overpowered, and the ship was won. The French carried their prize into Vigo, and it was in that port that the Cornishmen hired the galliot, in which they were returning home when the “Auckland” met them. Captain Yescombe, by the accounts of those who were present at his last fight, conducted it with skill and courage. He was highly respected by his colleagues, and it cannot be said that he left them any but an animating example.