other allies were following close behind. Soon afterwards the
English troops came in sight, the bluejackets bringing up the rear.
They were at once embarked, and I heard that they had stormed and
captured the batteries, and spiked the guns, but had been attacked on
their way back by a large body of Republicans, who, however, had been
defeated with great loss. I anxiously looked out for the two
midshipmen, but could nowhere find them. I made inquiries, and was told
that they had been seen with the sailors, unhurt, just before the last
attack, but that several men had fallen just as they had received orders
to charge the enemy. It was very evident, I feared, that they had
either been killed or taken prisoners. Still, as I could not bear the
thoughts of leaving them, I obtained permission from the commanding
officer to take a party of men and to go in search of them, as, should
they have been only wounded, they might not be far off. I had plenty of
volunteers, but chose only ten men, with a French Royalist officer who
had been aboard our ship and knew the country. There was no time to be
lost, so we started at once up the steep path. I felt my heart greatly
cast down, for I would have sooner lost my life than have had the brave
boys cut off. Still I had some faint hopes of finding them; but should
they have been taken prisoners by the Republicans, I had too much reason
to fear that they would be shot; for those fellows were terrible
savages, and many of their Royalist countrymen who had fallen into their
hands had been mercilessly put to death. As we approached the spot
where the Republicans had attacked our friends, we carefully examined
the ground on either side. Pushing on, we came upon several dead bodies
of men who had been shot, two or three of whom were Spaniards, the
others Neapolitans; and farther on were a still greater number of
Republicans who had been killed in the attack on the troops; still we
went on till we got near the batteries, when our guide, though a brave
man, refused to go farther, saying that we should probably lose our own
lives, as the enemy were likely to be in the neighbourhood, and that it
was most probable the midshipmen had been taken prisoners. Very
unwillingly, therefore, I agreed to return. We still examined every
place on either side of the road into which a person could have crept
for concealment, for my idea was that one of the youngsters had been
wounded, and that the other