" said Delisle,
"though under other circumstances I should have been truly glad to fall
in with you."

"Bad luck to the day when we fell into the power of the Frenchmen!"
exclaimed O'Driscoll. "And to think that an Irishman, or the son of an
Irishman maybe, should be their captain makes matters worse. I'm
ashamed of my countryman, that I am, except that to be sure he has
behaved like a gentleman to us since we came on board, and so have all
his officers."

"What more could we expect?" said I. "He did but his duty in capturing
us: perhaps before long the tables may be turned, you know. There's a
larger squadron of our ships not far-off, and I don't give up all hopes
that these ships may fall in with them."

My two friends pricked up their ears at what I told them, though I
myself was very far from sanguine about the two squadrons meeting.
Should they meet I had no doubt which would prove victorious. We of
course did not express our hopes to our captors, but we kept a constant
look-out for the British squadron. Not a sail, however, appeared, our
hopes of obtaining our freedom grew less and less, and on the 11th of
the month sunk to zero when we entered the harbour of Cape Francois. We
found there the French frigate Concorde and the late British frigate
Minerva which she had captured. There were also several sail of French
Saint Domingo ships. In my hurry and annoyance on quitting the Dolphin
I discovered that I had left behind me my chest of clothes. They were
not of any great value, though, as I much wanted them, they were so to
me. I therefore requested Captain McNamara to send for them. He at
once politely complied with my wish, but the midshipman he sent soon
returned with the unpleasant information that the chest was in the
cabin, but was empty. It appeared that after the Chermente's boat had
left the Dolphin, the people of the Dedaigneuse had boarded her, and
plundered her of everything of value. When Captain McNamara heard of
this, he instantly sent on board that ship, and endeavoured to recover
my property; but all his trouble was in vain. The French seamen were
far too knowing to give up anything they had once got possession of, and
after a good deal of trouble I was finally compelled to be content with
my loss, as I saw that there was no probability of recovering my
property.

On the 14th my brother-officers lately belonging to the Active and I
were politely informed that we were to be conduc