fire was opened upon
us from the various forts, to which we did not reply, but, our
reconnoissance being now complete, withdrew beyond its reach. Two days
were occupied in reconnoitring. On the third day the _Potrillo_ hove
in sight, and she, being also deceived by our Spanish colours, was
captured without a shot, twenty thousand dollars and some important
despatches being found on board."

That first business having been satisfactorily achieved, Lord Cochrane
proceeded to Concepcion, there to ask and obtain from its Chilian
governor, General Freire, a force of two hundred and fifty soldiers,
under Major Beauchef, a French volunteer. In Talcahuano Bay, moreover,
he found a Chilian schooner, the _Montezuma_, and a Brazilian brig,
the _Intrepido_. He attached the former to his service, and accepted
the volunteered aid of the latter. With this augmented but still
insignificant force, very defective in some important respects, he
returned to Valdivia. "The flag-ship," he said, "had only two naval
officers on board, one of these being under arrest for disobedience
of orders, whilst the other was incapable of performing the duty of
lieutenant; so that I had to act as admiral, captain and lieutenant,
taking my turn in the watch--or rather being constantly on the
watch--as the only available officer was so incompetent."

"We sailed from Talcahuano on the 25th of January," the narrative
proceeds, "when I communicated my intentions to the military officers,
who displayed great eagerness in the cause--alone questioning their
success from motives of prudence. On my explaining to them that, if
unexpected projects are energetically put in execution, they almost
invariably succeed in spite of odds, they willingly entered into my
plans.

"On the night of the 29th, we were off the island of Quiriquina, in
a dead calm. From excessive fatigue in the execution of subordinate
duties, I had lain down to rest, leaving the ship in charge of
the lieutenant, who took advantage of my absence to retire also,
surrendering the watch to the care of a midshipman, who fell asleep.
Knowing our dangerous position, I had left strict orders that I was
to be called the moment a breeze sprang up; but these orders were
neglected. A sudden wind took the ship unawares, and the midshipman,
in attempting to bring her round, ran her upon the sharp edge of a
rock, where she lay beating, suspended, as it were, upon her keel;
and, had the swell increased, she mus