mbassador, surrounded by his suite, and the officers and men of the
Alceste, in the midst of a pestilential saltwater marsh.

The scene is well described by Mr. McLeod. 'The spot in which our
party were situated was sufficiently romantic, but seemed, at the same
time, the abode of ruin and of havoc. Few of its inhabitants (and
among the rest the ambassador) had now more than a shirt or a pair of
trousers on. The wreck of books, or, as it was not unaptly termed, 'a
literary manure,' was spread about in all directions; whilst
parliamentary robes, court dresses, and mandarin habits, intermixed
with check shirts and tarry jackets, were hung around in wild
confusion on every tree.'

The situation in which Captain Maxwell was placed was, indeed, a most
trying one, and such he felt it to be, for, from the lowest seaman to
the ambassador himself, every one looked to him for relief and
direction in his perilous position. Captain Maxwell was fully
competent to meet the emergency; and, said he, 'I had the consolation
left me, to feel with confidence that all would follow my advice, and
abide by my decision, whatever it might be.'

His first care was for the safety of Lord Amherst; and in a short
conference with his excellency and Mr. Ellis, the second commissioner,
it was arranged that the embassy should proceed to Batavia in the
barge and cutter, with a guard of marines to defend the boats from any
attack of the pirates. Mr. Ellis promised that if they arrived safely
at Batavia, he would himself return, in the first vessel that should
put off, to the assistance of those who remained on the island.

A small quantity of provisions, and nine gallons of water, was all
that could be spared from their very scanty store; but at sunset every
heart was exhilarated by hope and sympathetic courage, on seeing the
ambassador strip, and wade off to the boats, with as much cheerfulness
as if he had stepped into them under a salute. At seven o'clock, the
barge, under the charge of Lieutenant Hoppner, and the cutter,
commanded by Mr. Mayne, the master, containing in all forty-seven
persons, took their departure for Batavia, accompanied by the anxious
thoughts and good wishes of their fellow-sufferers, who were left to
encounter new dangers.

Captain Maxwell's first order was to direct a party to dig in search
of water. The men had begun to suffer greatly from thirst, as for the
last two days they had had scarcely a pint of water each--one sm