"La fortune de la guerre! Peste! I vil rende. Je me rende, Monsieur le Négre, so you vil a let me out of dis vile, and me speak you formidable."

"Hand the gentleman out, O'Sullivan."

Covered with straw, bits of oakum, and all manner of maritime rubbish, the splendidly dressed little man stood before his conqueror. After shaking off as much of these additaments to his person as he could, he first stamped fiercely with his right foot, and then broke out thus. "Monsieur le Nègre, me your prisonier; vell, me can no fight you in the name of my grande nation, but me fight you for my one self; for, saar, for why you make this one man put me, l'amiral, like twenty, seven, four empty bouteilles, in my own beaufêt? Sacre nom de

Dieu !"

"What could we do with you, admiral?—you were so violent. Blood and brass blunderbusses! why the devil did you suffer one of your men to mess me all over with a sooty sponge,

and almost put out my larboard eye? Is that, Monsieur, treating the English commander-inchief like a gentleman ?-G-d damme! and that's better swearing than your pitiful sacre."

"Juste ciel! vous n'êtes pas nègre véritable? touche la, mon ami, touche la," said the quickly pacified Frenchman, extending his hand. The Commodore's rising effervescence subsided; he took the proffered hand, and then they went together on the poop. The Frenchman soon saw how complete was the victory. He laid his hand upon his breast, and, whilst the tears stood in his aged eyes, he sighed forth. "France

is lost to me for ever."

He then, accompanied by the Commodore, went to the main-hatchway on the middle deck, and removing a part of the battens, he hailed those below thus. "Tout est perdu. Rendons nous, mes fils."

Thus was La Magnifique lost and won. The boats of the Thunderbolt were now ac

tively employed in conveying the French pri

soners to the English vessel. Captain Egerton was appointed to the command of the French admiral's vessel, and the first lieutenant of the Thunderbolt to be her captain, and other arrangements made, usual on similar occasions.

By four o'clock, P. M., everything was in tolerable order in both fleets, and what sail the wounded masts and yards of the ship could bear was made, and the course laid for Portsmouth.

I have purposely avoided the horrible in my brief and indifferent description of this memorable engagement. Considering the extent of the success, and the slaughter usual on events like this, the loss of life was comparatively small; but it was all too great for humanity to contemplate without shuddering, and we will therefore conceal the dead from the reader's sight, by spreading over them the broad banners of victory, and the gorgeous flags of glory-glory?-assuredly.

At a little after four, the old Commodore sat

down to dinner with M. Frèsnoy the French admiral, and some of his principal officers. He had taken care to wash his face well, and have his stiff tail clubbed afresh, with new ribbon. He was all courtesy and good-humour, and said all those very proper things to console his prisoner -guest, which only made him feel more acutely his situation. The old gentleman, reformed as he was, had still a few most important leaves to turn over in the large book of humanity. However, he did his best; and as somebody has said when the best has turned out very bad indeed, angels can do no more."

66

After the wine and coffee, there not being anything very inspiriting for M. Frèsnoy to view from the decks, Sir Octavius Bacuissart proposed a game at whist, which proposition was very gladly accepted. Sir Octavius having screwed on his spring-nippers, the party set-to with great self-satisfaction. Sir Octavius was in high luck; he won rub after rub, and though the stakes for which he played would now be

thought paltry, yet his success seemed to give him as much pleasure as did his recent splendid victory.

The French admiral paused in his play, and began to converse very fluently, if not very sensibly, about the omnipotence of luck, or fortune, or accident. He stated that, about three or four years ago, he had been in command of a squadron which had sailed nearly round the world; that that squadron had been chased by an English one of much inferior force; that he felt assured that then his good fortune was with him, for chased as he was, he had succeeded in everything that he had been commissioned to do, for, that he had captured and destroyed several fleets of English merchantmen, and then, striking the table violently with his hand, he asseverated that, if then he had been permitted to have fought the pursuing fleet, he should have assuredly conquered them, because—because his star was then in the ascendant-but now that he had been sent out purposely to fight,