Page:Once a Week, Series 1, Volume II Dec 1859 to June 1860.pdf/533

520 ship. She carried sixteen guns on her main, sixteen on her lower, and the remainder on her quarter-deck and forecastle.

Her build was similar to that which popular prejudice assigns to the aldermen of the City of London; for her claims to symmetry were materially affected by the undue proportion which her circumference bore to her length. Her sailing powers were those of a hay-stack. She went before the wind admirably.

It was not then with feelings of unmixed satisfaction that the Honourable Captain James L received the intelligence of his appointment to a ship of this description.

The struggle between England and her American colonies was drawing to a close. France, Spain, and Holland had successively declared against us, and our naval supremacy was by no means undisputed.

Captain James belonged to a gallant family. Two of his brothers had won laurels both afloat and on shore, and he himself, at the age of eight-and-twenty, was already a distinguished officer. This, according to the rules of English naval policy from time immemorial, would fully account for his being selected to command a tub. Such as she was, however, he was fully prepared to make the best of her.

He sailed with orders to intercept, if possible, some of the convoys which were then leaving Brest for America with stores and munitions of war.

It was on a fine Sunday evening that he dropped out of Plymouth harbour, taking advantage of the ebb-tide under his lee, with light airs from the eastward. After making a good offing from the Lizard, he shaped his course so as to cross the track of the convoys as soon as possible.

On Monday, the wind got round a little to the southward of east, freshening a little at the same time, and with this leading breeze all the old tub’s canvas told.

It was about daylight on Wednesday that the look-out announced that a strange sail was in sight. As the day broke, he gave notice of another and another, and by nine o’clock they had sighted five vessels—the largest apparently of heavy metal—and then about six miles distant, broad upon their larboard bow.

The first lieutenant was an old sailor and a Scotchman: and was imbued with the amount of caution which the combination of those two qualifications might naturally be expected to produce. He evidently did not like the aspect of affairs; and when they made out another of the ships to be a large corvette, apparently of French build, his anxiety became manifest.

“One at a time would have suited us better,” said the captain, addressing him, and indicating the enemy.

“Weel, yer honor, we can just show them a clean pair o’ heels, wi’ the wind as it is i’ the noo.”

“It will be time enough to think about that, if the worst comes to the worst,” replied the captain; “but I should like to have a better look at them first. Edge a little closer, master, and let us see what they are like.”

The master smiled, as he gave the necessary orders. He had sailed with Captain James before, and formed his own conclusions with regard to what “a little closer” meant.

The squadron which they proceeded to survey was composed of French and American ships. The largest, which bore the broad pendant of a commodore, was nominally a fifty-gun ship, but, as was usual with French vessels of war at that time, she carried some half-dozen guns more than her rating, and a more numerous crew than would have been found in an English vessel of the same size. The second was a corvette, smaller than the English ship, but a beautiful craft, built on the last new model (without one alteration upon the original plan), and with a crew almost equal in number, though not in any other respect, to that of the “tub.”

The third was a sloop of war, and the two remaining vessels were American merchantmen carrying letters of marque.

For some time the French were in doubt with regard to the identity of the stranger under their lee, being half-inclined from her personal appearance to put her down as a merchantman, making a greater show than her resources were likely to support. They felt grateful to her also for saving them the trouble of going out of their way to take her, which would have been contrary to their orders. When at last they made her out to be a man-of-war (such as she was), the French commodore signalled to the sloop and merchant men to go on under easy sail, and that he would overtake them as soon as he had captured the Englishman.

Captain James had continued the process of “edging” for the purpose of “looking at them,” till a distance of little more than a mile and a half intervened. Then the French commodore and the corvette hauled to the wind, and hove in stays to face their coming foe.

“We must fight now,” said Captain James to the first lieutenant, trying hard to suppress the delight which would show itself in his countenance.

“Aye, aye, sir,” said the old Scotchman, getting ready with a will, now that they were in for it.

At this moment they were nearing the enemy rapidly, having the commodore on their weather bow, and the corvette still further to windward.

“Now, master,” said Captain James, “haul sharp up to the wind, and let us try if we cannot weather them both.”

And here the aldermanic build of the old tub stood her in good stead. She could wear and stay a great deal quicker, and in much less room, than the Great Eastern, though she could not go ahead quite so fast.

Fortunately, there was not much sea, and the French ships were now lying-to on the starboard tack, so that she passed within four cables’ length of the commodore’s bows, though not scatheless.

Boom! go all the main-deck guns of the Frenchman that she can bring to bear, and the loss of the foretop-gallant mast and jib-boom,