nels, from whence it was not difficult to make our way
inboard. The French must have felt very foolish when they found us
attacking them upon their unprotected side, yet they defended their
prize with the utmost gallantry, and for nearly ten minutes the fight
raged with great fury. But when once our lads had all contrived to
scale the ship's high bulwarks and establish themselves upon her decks
they would take no refusal; there was a tremendous popping of pistols
and muskets for the first minute or two, and a good deal of smoke
drifting hither and thither; then, with wild hurrahs, the Europas dashed
forward, cutlass in hand, cutting, slashing, and pointing; the air
resounded with cheers, oaths, execrations, and shrill screams of pain;
the decks grew slippery with blood, prostrate bodies tripped us up here
and there, and then, suddenly, the Frenchmen flung away their weapons
and dived below, leaving us the victors of the fight and in undisputed
possession of the ship.

To disarm those prisoners who had not already abandoned their weapons,
and to secure them in the forecastle, was the work of but a few minutes,
after which our boats were veered astern and secured by their painters;
the hands jumped aloft and loosed the canvas, then slid down to the deck
by way of the backstays to sheet home and hoist away; the cable was cut,
and a few minutes later the ship had canted and was standing out to
seaward under topsails, topgallantsails, jib, and spanker, while the
wounded were being separated from the dead and carefully tended by
Burroughs, the assistant surgeon, and a small party told off to help
him.

Then came the question of the "butcher's bill," upon going into which we
found that we had one man killed and five wounded--two of them rather
seriously; while the French casualties amounted to four killed and
eleven wounded--three of the latter so seriously that Burroughs
questioned whether they would outlast the day.

A few minutes after we had cleared the harbour the frigate appeared in
sight from behind Cape Frehel, and half-an-hour later our prize--the
H.E.I. Company's ship, _Masulipatam_, of 1196 tons register, with a full
cargo of Indian produce, homeward-bound from Bombay to London--was
hove-to under her lee quarter, while Mr Adair had gone on board to make
his report. Previous to this, however, I had gone below into the ship's
saloons, at the first luff's order, to see how the passengers fared, we
having gathered