“‘Knock that spy and lubber off,’ said he to the two men near me; ‘she won’t bear up us four long.’ The ruffian himself edged towards me, and struck at me with his clenched fist; he had lost his knife; but I was strong and active, and not easily frightened, and in the struggle I knocked him off, and somehow he got under the boat, for we saw no more of him. The other two cursed me frightfully, but they could not swim, and they were afraid to move, as the boat was anything but a steady support. I looked around, hoping to have a chance of being picked up by some English vessel. The engagement still continued, and several shots tore up the water close beside us, and one stray ball struck the water, and then bounded right over us. At no great distance lay a French ship totally dismasted, but a shout from the two men in the boat caused me to turn round, and then I perceived a frigate, with the tricolour flying, coming right down for us. She perceived us in time, and backing her topsails under our lee, we dropped down to her. She hailed to know who we were, and the men replied, ‘We belong to the Vengeance.’ Ropes were thrown to us, and after a struggle we were hauled upon the deck. The two rascals were no sooner on the deck of the frigate, than they accused me of drowning their comrade by striking him down, when he was trying to save himself by clinging to the shattered boat. I soon found I had got amongst a crew of regular _sans culotte_, most violent, out-and-out Republicans. The frigate was the Volentier, which had taken no part in the fight. She was proceeding to Brest, with the news of the result of the engagement between the two fleets. Her captain, formerly the skipper of a merchant craft, was the greatest brute I ever encountered. He ordered me, without asking a single question, to be put in irons; this was done, and I lay in my wet garments the whole of the night. To attempt to disclose my being an Englishman would have insured my condemnation. Fortunately, not one of the officers on board the Vengeance had betrayed my not being a Frenchman, therefore I was so far safe. “The next day I was hauled up and brought before the Captain, who was pacing the quarter-deck half-drunk. Fortunately for me, his first lieutenant was a humane man, and a gentleman, and as I afterwards found, had served with great disgust under Captain Baudet, and was resolved, when the frigate reached Brest, to get an exchange into another ship. “‘So,’ said the Captain, stepping close to me, and staring into my face, his eyes bloodshot and his face purple with repeated potations; ‘so, you young rascal, you murdered your comrade; instead of helping a drowning man, you finished him.’ “‘Begging your pardon, monsieur——’ “‘Sacre tonnerre! you villain, how dare you, you scum of the gaols, how dare you beg my pardon? I’ll commence by giving you a couple of dozen, that will teach you to speak respectfully to your superior. Take him away, and——’