der-in-chief of the
Mediterranean fleet. This ship was commanded by Captain Le Gros, with
259 persons on board, including passengers, women, and children.

She arrived at Gibraltar in the month of March, and sailed again from
thence in company with the Phoebe frigate, to join Lord Nelson off
Toulon, but she was separated from her consort during a heavy gale of
wind, in the Gulf of Lyons.

On the 2nd of April, at about seven o'clock in the morning, the ship
being then thirteen leagues to the south-east of Cape St. Sebastian, a
thick smoke was observed to issue from the fore and main hatchways.

Lieutenant Tailour, who was on the quarter-deck, heard the cry of
"fire," and saw the people rushing up the hatchway in the midst of
volumes of smoke, coming from the orlop deck. He instantly called for
the drummer and the mate of the watch, and desired the former to beat
to quarters, and the latter to inform Captain Le Gros of what had
occurred, whilst he himself would go below, and endeavour to ascertain
the cause and the place of the fire.

Lieutenant Tailour then went down into the orlop gratings, and
penetrated some distance into each tier; the smoke was very thick in
both, particularly forward. He next went to the sail room, where there
was no appearance of either fire or smoke. He was then joined by
Lieutenant Banks and several other officers, and they proceeded
together to the hold. Here the smoke was very dense, and it affected
the throat like that from hot tar. The officers were satisfied, upon
inquiry, that there had not been either light or tar in the hold. They
then tried to re-enter the tiers, but were driven back by the
suffocating smoke. The absence of heat, however, convinced them that
the fire was not in that part of the ship. A cry was heard that the
fire was down forward,--but we will use Lieutenant Tailour's own words
to describe the scene. He says,--

'When I reached the fore-ladder, none being able to tell me where the
fire was, I went down to examine, when at the orlop, I put my head
over the spars which were stowed in the starboard side, then behind
the ladder in the larboard side; the smoke came thickest in the
starboard side from aft; feeling nothing like fire heat, I attempted
to go down to the cockpit, but ere I reached the third or fourth step
on the ladder, I felt myself overpowered, and called for help. Several
men had passed me upwards on my way down, none I believe were below
me. By the time