so;
there goes his bunting--Dutch, as you thought. He is beginning to feel
a little anxious. Perhaps it would ease his mind a bit if you were to
run the tricolour up to our gaff-end, Mr Bowen."

I did so, and we kept it flying for the next half-hour, by which time
the Dutchman had been brought well out on our weather beam, about six
miles distant, and his retreat cut off. We then hauled down the French
flag and made sail, still, however, holding on upon the same tack. By
the time that we had got our topsail, topgallant-sail, flying-jib, and
small gaff-topsail set the stranger was about two points abaft our
weather beam, and we at once tacked in chase. This was the signal for
an immediate display of confusion on board the Dutchman; which ship
immediately set her royals and flying-jib, and, when she found that that
would not do, bearing away sufficiently to permit of her setting all her
larboard studding-sails again. Of course, as soon as she bore away we
bore away too, steering such a course as would enable us to gradually
converge upon her.

But we had hardly been in chase half an hour when another large ship
appeared in sight ahead, steering toward us; and, approaching each other
rapidly, as we were, another quarter of an hour sufficed us to discover
that she was a frigate, and undoubtedly French. We stood on, however, a
few minutes longer, trying to devise some scheme for slipping past her
without being brought to, but it evidently would not do; her people
suspected us, and clearly intended to have a nearer look at us if they
could; so, as she was altogether too big a craft for us to tackle, we
were reluctantly compelled to abandon the chase, and heave about to
ensure our own escape. And now it became our turn to play the part of
the pursued; for as we went in stays the frigate fired a gun, to
ascertain whether we were within range, most probably, hoisted her
ensign, and made all sail in chase. The shot--a twelve-pounder, we
judged it to be by the sound of the gun--fell short; yet at the same
time it came near enough to satisfy us that we had not turned tail a
moment too soon.

Captain Winter at once jammed the schooner close upon a wind, the vessel
heading up about west-north-west for the chops of the Channel, in the
hope of both out-weathering and out-sailing the frigate. But the wind
had shown a disposition to freshen all day, and was by this time piping
up so spitefully that we had been obliged to fu