Page:Final French Struggles in India and on the Indian Seas.djvu/172

144 VI.

It was not, however, until the 14th October that Admiral Bertie had been able to refit the ships which he found at St. Paul and St. Denis. But on that date he sailed from the former port at the head of the Boadicea, the Africaine, the Ceylon, the Nisus, and the Néréide, to blockade Port Louis. Leaving three of these vessels on that duty, he proceeded on the 19th in company with General Abercromby to Rodriguez, there to meet the troops and ships which, coming respectively from England and India, had appointed that little island to be their rendezvous.

On the 24th Admiral Bertie fell in with the British squadron on its way to the Indian seas, commanded by Rear-Admiral Drury and consisting of seven ships. Two of these, the Cornelia, 32, and the Hesper sloop, were at once sent to increase the blockading force off Port Louis; two others, the Clorinde, 38, and the Doris, 36, were detained at Rodriguez; the remainder were sent on to their destination. The admiral arrived at Rodriguez on the 3rd November, and found there the