the two ships is admitted not to have exceeded 70 or 80 yards. However, the American commodore, in all he said was believed, and for all he had done was commended, in the quarter to which alone, beside his conscience, and that probably was not an over-squeamish one, he considered himself responsible. On the other hand, the captain, officers, and men of the Little Belt, for the spirit and firmness they had manifested throughout the whole of the unequal contest, which, according to our contemporary, "it was the great misfortune of Captain Bingham" to be engaged in,1 were greeted with applause by every generous mind, some in America not excepted; and on the 7th of February, 1812, as a proof that the lords of the admiralty were far from displeased with his conduct, Captain Bingham was promoted to post-rank.

On the 2nd of February, at 5 P.M., the three French 40-gun frigates Renommée, Commodore François Roquebert, and Clorinde and Néréide, Captains Jacques Saint-Cricq and JeanFrançois Lemaresquier, sailed from Brest, each having on board 200 troops and a supply of munitions of war, bound, in the first instance, to the Isle of France; the capture of which in the preceding December was of course unknown, although as a contingency provided against, by the port of Batavia's being named for the succedaneous destination. Bad weather nearly separated the frigates the first night; and a continuance of contrary winds occasioned the squadron to be 18 days going the first 200 leagues of the voyage. On the 24th of February, by some Lisbon newspapers found on board a Portuguese ship, the French commodore gained intelligence, that an attack was intended, and had perhaps already been made, upon the island to which he was first destined. The favourable change in the wind was taken immediate advantage of, and all sail crowded upon the three ships. On the 13th of March the frigates crossed the line; on the 18th of April, in latitude 38°, doubled the Cape of Good Hope; and on the 6th of May, at 11 P.M., being the 93rd day since their departure from Brest, arrived within five miles of Isle de la Passe, situated, as already known, at the entrance of Grand Port, or Port-Sud-Est. Soon after midnight a boat from each frigate was despatched to the shore, to gain intelligence.

The night was calm, and yet not a musket could be heard. This encouraged the hope, that the island was still in French possession. Daylight on the 7th arrived, and the colours hoisted 1 Brenton, vol, iv., p. 555.

at the fort upon Isle de la Passe were French; but they were unaccompanied by the private signals. This gave the first serious alarm to Commodore Roquebert and his companions. At sunrise five sail successively hove in sight to leeward: and about the same time was observed, at Isle de la Passe and along the coast, the signal of three French frigates being to windward; a signal fully understood by the latter, as being made according to the code in use at the island previously to its surrender.

Two of the five sail thus seen were unarmed vessels, probably coasters; but the remaining three were the British 18-pounder 36-gun frigates Phoebe and Galatea, Captain James Hillyar and Woodley Losack, and 18-gun brig-sloop Racehorse, Captain James de Rippe, part of a squadron which had been ordered by Rear-admiral the Honourable Robert Stopford, the commanderin-chief on the Cape station, to cruise off the Isle of France, to endeavour to intercept these very frigates, and two others, in all probability, the new 40-gun frigates Nymphe and Méduse, from Nantes, of whose expected arrival intelligence had been received. The British ships were presently under all sail upon a wind in chase; the Galatea's gig, with the intelligence, having previously been despatched to Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg, of the 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Astrea, lying in Port Louis.

In the course of the forenoon the Renommée's boat returned on board, with information of what had befallen the colony; the details of which were communicated by two negroes whom the boat had brought off. The boats of the Clorinde and Néréide appear to have been captured. The three French frigates now tacked and stood to the eastward, followed by the two British frigates and brig-sloop. At 3 P.M. the French hoisted their colours, and the British soon afterwards did the same. At sunset the French squadron bore south-east of the British, distant about three leagues, the wind a moderate breeze from the same quarter.

On the 8th, at 4 A.M., the distance between the two hostile squadrons was distinguished to six or seven miles; and at 8 a.m. the French frigates bore up, and, with a light air of wind, stood towards the Phoebe and Galatea. These, with the Racenorse, shortly afterwards wore and steered to the westward, in the direction of Isle Ronde, then distant five or six leagues. Wishing, with the odds against him, to have a commanding breeze to manoeuvre with, and expecting every moment to be joined by the Astrea from Port Louis, Captain Hillyar rather

avoided than sought an engagement; and towards evening, when the two squadrons were scarcely five miles apart, Commodore Roquebert, considering it, as he states, unsafe to follow the British ships into the current that runs between Isle Ronde and Isle Serpent, discontinued the chase and hauled up to the eastward.

On the 9th, at daylight, the two squadrons regained a distant sight of each other; but, the Phoebe and Galatea bearing up about noon to join the Astrea, the French ships disappeared. The three British frigates then steered for Port Louis, and on the 12th came to an anchor off the harbour. It appears that, at one period, while the two squadrons, before the junction of the Astrea, were in the presence of each other, the ship's company of the Galatea went aft and requested their captain to bring the enemy to action. In order to concert with his senior officer upon that or some other subject, Captain Losack went on board the Phoebe; and, on his return, the crew of the Galatea, sup. posing their wishes were about to be gratified, gave him three cheers.

Commodore Roquebert reduced the crews of his ships to twothirds allowance of provisions, and resolved to attempt a surprise upon some post on the windward side of Isle Bourbon. Having, by the 11th, passed 20 leagues to windward of the Isle of France, the three French frigates bore up for Isle Bourbon, and on the same night made the land. The boats of the squadron, having on board a division of the troops, attempted to disembark at a post that was known to be weakly manned, but were prevented by the heavy surf. Thus disappointed, the French commodore stood across to the coast of Madagascar, to endeavour to obtain a supply of provisions. On the 19th the ships made the Isle of Prunes, and the same evening surprised the small settlement of Tamatave, in Madagascar: the garrison of which consisted of about 100 officers and men of the 22nd regiment, and except a small proportion, were sick with the endemial fever of the country. This settlement had been taken from the French on the 12th of the preceding February, by the above detachment of British troops, sent thither by Mr. Farquhar, the governor of the Isle of France, in the 18-gun brigsloop Eclipse, Captain William Jones Lye.

On the 20th, at daybreak, Captain Schomberg, with his three frigates and brig-sloop, and who, very judiciously, had sailed from Port Louis on the 14th direct for this spot, discovered himself to M. Roquebert; then, with his three frigates, close to

the land near Foul point, and directly to windward of the former. The British ships immediately made all sail in chase, with a light breeze from off the land, or from the west by north; but the French ships continued lying to, to await the return of two of their boats from Tamatave. The Renommée's boat at length came off; and at noon the French commodore formed his three frigates in line of battle, placing the Renommée in the centre, the Clorinde ahead, and the Néréide astern. The British, in the meanwhile, were closing their opponents as fast as the light and variable winds would permit, formed in the following order; Astrea, Phoebe, Galatea, in line ahead, and the Racehorse nearly abreast of the Phoebe or centre-ship, to leeward.

At 3 h. 50 m. P.M. the French frigates, being on the larboard tack, wore together, and, after keeping away for a short time, hauled up again on the same tack. The British ships were now approaching on the opposite or starboard tack; and, as soon as the Astrea, who was considerably ahead of her second astern, had arrived abreast of the Renommée, the latter opened her fire at long range. At a few minutes before 4 P.M. the Astrea returned this fire; as did also the Phoebe and Galatea, as they advanced in succession.

Nēr.

#

Thus :

Having passed out of gun-shot astern of the Néréide, the Astrea prepared to tack and renew the action; but, as was to have been expected, so near to the land, particularly Madagas

car, the cannonade produced an almost instantaneous calm to leeward. Having, in consequence, missed stays, the Astrea attempted to wear, and had scarcely accomplished that, ere there was an entire cessation of the breeze. From their weatherly position, the French ships of course felt its influence the longest ; and the breeze did not quite leave them until the Clorinde and Renommée had bore up and stationed themselves, in a most destructive position, across the starboard quarters and sterns of the Phoebe and Galatea. Now was the time for the Racehorse, with her facility of sweeping, to have distinguished herself, by taking a position close athwart the hawse of the Néréide, between whom and the Astrea a distant and partial carronade was maintained. The Racehorse did begin sweeping, but stopped to engage long before her shot could reach the French frigate : and, in consequence, the Astrea made the brig's signal to engage more closely; and, as it was never answered, kept it flying. Owing to the leeward position of the Galatea, and the efforts of the Phoebe, by backing her sails, to support her consort, these two ships lay nearly abreast of each other, in the manner represented in the following diagram:

On the starboard quarter of the Phoebe lay the Renommée, and on her starboard bow the Néréide; who had just cleared herself from the Astrea and Racehorse, then upwards of a mile and a half ahead of their two consorts, and like them in an ungovernable state for the want of wind. At 6 h. 30 m. P.M. a light air from the south-east enabled the Phoebe, who had hitherto been able only to bring her bow guns to bear on the