"Am I to have no redress, sir? Is a British subject to have his slush-tub cannonaded on the high seas, and no redress, sir? Sir, sir, I tell you, sir, if you don't do me justice, I'll go on board and open my fire upon that scoundrelly _Lady Jane_." Now this was something like a gasconade, as our irritated friend happened to have but three quakers (wooden guns) on each side, that certainly were not equal to the merits of that apocryphal good dog, that could bark, though not bite--however, they looked as if they could. "You had better," said Captain Reud, "go on board the _Lady Jane_, and if you are man enough, give the master a hiding." "If I'm man enough!" said he, jumping with his shot into his boat, with ireful alacrity. Shortly after, taking my glass, I looked at the _Lady Jane_, and sure enough there was a pugilistic encounter proceeding on her quarter-deck, with all that peculiar _gout_ that characterises Englishmen when engaged in that amusement. In answer to the signal of the _Falcon_, which was astern of the convoy, and between it and the gigantic schooner, "Shall I chase?" we replied, "No." By this time we had thrashed our convoy into something like silence and good order. We then signalled to them to close round the _Falcon_, and heave-to. To the _Falcon_, "to protect convoy." We had now been some time at quarters, and everything was ready for chasing and fighting. But the fun had already begun to the northward. Our second man-of-war brig, the _Curlew_, had closed considerably upon the felucca, which was evidently endeavouring to make the chase a windward one. The brig closed more upon her than she ought. It certainly enabled her to fire broadside after broadside upon her, but, as far as we could perceive, with little or no effect. In a short time the privateer contrived to get into the wind's eye of the man-of-war, and away they went. After the four ships had been taken possession of and which were each making a different course, we sent three of the boats--the barge, yawl, and pinnace--under the command of Mr Silva, in order to recapture them, of which there was every prospect, as the breeze was light, and would not probably freshen before ten o'clock; for, however the captured vessels might steer, their courses must be weather ones, as, if they had attempted to run to leeward, they must have crossed the body of the convoy. Having now made our arrangements, we turned all our attention to leeward, upon the large dark, three-masted vessel, that still remained hove-to, seeming to honour us with but little notice. She had taken possession of the finest and largest ship of the convoy. Long as I have been narrating all these facts, I assure the reader they did not occupy ten minutes in action, including the monomachia on board of the _Lady Jane_. Just as we had got the ship's head towards the stranger, with every stitch of canvas crowded upon her, and the eight-oared cutter, manned, armed, and