e boat's crew being ordered down to the
boat to keep her afloat and ready to shove off at a moment's warning. We
had spiked all the guns but one, when all of a sudden a volley of
musketry was poured upon us, which killed the armourer, and wounded me
in the leg above the knee. I fell down by O'Brien, who cried out, "By
the powers, here they are, and one gun not spiked!" He jumped down,
wrenched the hammer from the armourer's hand, and seizing a nail from
the bag, in a few moments he had spiked the gun.

At this time I heard the tramping of the French soldiers advancing, when
O'Brien threw away the hammer and lifting me upon his shoulders cried,
"Come along, Peter, my boy," and made for the boat as fast as he could.
But he was too late; he had not got half-way to the boat before he was
collared by two French soldiers and dragged back into the battery. The
French troops then advanced and kept up a smart fire; our cutter escaped
and joined the other boat, who had captured the gunboats and convoy with
little opposition.

In the meantime, O'Brien had been taken into the battery with me on his
back; but as soon as he was there he laid me gently down, saying,
"Peter, my boy, as long as you were under my charge, I'd carry you
through thick and thin; but now that you are under the charge of these
French beggars, why, let them carry you."

When the troops ceased firing (and if O'Brien had left one gun unspiked
they must have done a great deal of mischief to our boats), the
commanding officer came up to O'Brien, and looking at him, said,
"Officer?" to which O'Brien nodded his head. He then pointed to
me--"Officer?" O'Brien nodded his head again, at which the French troops
laughed, and called me an _enfant_.

Then, as I was very faint and could not walk, I was carried on three
muskets, O'Brien walking by my side, till we reached the town of Cette;
there we were taken to the commanding officer's house. It turned out
that this officer's name was also O'Brien, and that he was of Irish
descent. He and his daughter Celeste, a little girl of twelve, treated
us both with every kindness. Celeste was my little nurse, and we became
very intimate, as might be expected. Our chief employment was teaching
each other French and English.

Before two months were over, I was quite recovered, and soon the time
came when we were to leave our comfortable quarters for a French prison.
Captain Savage had sent our clothes and two hundred dollars to us