"Thank God, we had no one killed; most of their shot went above us. The boarding-nettings, directly over our quarter-deck, were shot away, as their principal force seemed to aim at the passengers, who plied fourteen muskets to some advantage, and annoyed the privateer much. "Captain Skinner conducted himself well; it was no new business to him. His orders were given coolly and everything done with great precision and regularity. I believe you know that he lost his right arm in an engagement on board of a frigate last war. "I cannot omit mentioning that a lady (a sister of Captain Skinner), who, with her maid, were the only female passengers, were both employed in the bread-room during the action making up papers for cartridges; for we had not a single four-pound cartridge remaining when the action ceased. "Our sails were shot through, rigging very much cut, our spars and boat upon deck shot through, several grape and round-shot in our bows and side, and a very large shot, which must have been a 9-or 12-pounder, in our counter. The ship proved a little leaky after the action, but she got pretty tight again before our arrival. Captain Skinner was slightly wounded, but is now well." This plain and very credible story was afterwards supplemented by the independent testimony of an American gentleman, who was a prisoner on board the privateer during this engagement. She was the _Aventurier_, and this gentleman states: "That her force was fourteen long French 4-pounders, and two 12-pounders; that she had eighty-five men on board at the time, of whom two were killed and four wounded in the action. That all her masts were shot through, her stays and rigging very much cut; that when she got to Bordeaux she was obliged to have new masts and a complete set of new rigging. They supposed, on board the privateer, that there was not a single shot fired from the packet that did not take effect: which seems probable, for, though so low in the water, she had nineteen shot in her bottom under her wale.[18] At the time there were on board thirty English and American prisoners. She was so peppered that she would certainly have been made a prize of, could the packet have pursued her; and was so cut to pieces by the action that she afterwards ran from everything until she got into Bordeaux to refit; the shots that raked her as she moved off went quite through, and caused much confusion." This is a very pretty tale of pluck and skill combined. The reproach which has been laid against the British Navy in this--1798--and subsequent years of inexpertness in gunnery, certainly could not have been levelled against the crew of the _Princess Royal_, who put in their 4-and 6-pounder shot in such businesslike fashion, while the passengers picked off the dangerous swivel-men in the tops. The two undaunted women quietly making cartridge-bags in the bread-room rounds off the picture very agreeably. TWO COLONIAL PRIVATEERS