ven o'clock, nearly twenty-four hours after first meeting the foe,
and with six feet of water in her hold, she passed only three-quarters
of a mile outside of the Penmarcks, a rocky promontory thirty miles
south of Brest.

This remarkable encounter is said to have suggested to Marryat the vivid
sea picture with which "The King's Own" ends. Pellew's unusual personal
endurance was signally illustrated on the same day, very shortly after
the safety of the ship from wreck was assured. Her principal sails had
been so torn by shot as to require immediate renewing, and this had
scarcely been done when two vessels were sighted, one of which was for
the moment supposed to be the _Amazon_, whose fate was yet unknown.
Pellew gave orders to chase, but his officers represented to him that,
whatever he himself was capable of, the ship's company was too exhausted
for present further exertion; and that, besides, the ammunition was very
short, almost the last filled cartridge having been expended. Under
these circumstances he was compelled to desist.

The interest of Pellew's career centres mainly in his command of
frigates. This independent but yet restricted sphere afforded the
fullest scope for a conspicuous display of those splendid
qualities--fearlessness, enterprise, sound judgment, instant decision,
and superb seamanship--which he so eminently possessed. He was, above
all, the frigate captain. "Nothing like hesitation was ever seen in him.
His first order was always his last; and he often declared of himself
that he never had a second thought worth sixpence." In 1799, by a new
Admiralty rule, he was transferred to the _Impetueux_, a
ship-of-the-line, and thenceforth served in that class of vessel until
his promotion to admiral.

As a general officer, Pellew had no opportunity to show whether he
possessed ability of the highest order. For five years he held the
command in India; and soon after Collingwood's death he was, in 1811,
appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. On both stations he
evinced that faculty for careful organization, systematic preparation,
and sagacious distribution of force which carries success up to the
point which administrative capacity can reach. His ability in planning,
while yet a subordinate in command of squadrons, had been recognized by
St. Vincent during his management of the Brest blockade. "The
disposition made by Sir Edward Pellew for the descent on a certain point
is the most master