d, one
of the smartest officers in the British navy.

"Where there is anything to do, he'll do it; and if there is nothing to
do, he'll find something," was the opinion expressed of him on board.

He had during the last war been first lieutenant of the _Apollo_,
Captain Pownoll.

"I belonged to her at the time," said my messmate Dick Hagger. "We were
in company with the _Cleopatra_, Captain Murray, who, one morning, sent
us in chase of a cutter seen in the north-west quarter. About half-past
ten, when we had got nearly within gun-shot of the cutter, we saw a
large ship standing out from the land. That she was an enemy, there was
no doubt; so Captain Pownoll at once did his best to close her. The
wind was about north-east, and the stranger, standing to the nor'ard on
the starboard tack, was enabled to cross our bows. Soon afterwards she
tacked to the eastward, and we also hove about until, she being on our
weather quarter, we again tacked, as did also the stranger. We
exchanged broadsides with her in passing, when we once more tacked and
brought her to close action about noon. It was the hottest fight I had
ever then been engaged in. We tossed our guns in and out, determined to
win. It was sharp work; numbers of our men were falling, several killed
and many wounded. Among the former was our brave captain, who was shot
down about an hour after the action commenced, when our first
lieutenant, Edward Pellew, who was now our captain, took command of the
ship. You may be sure that he continued the fight bravely, cheering us
on. What we might have thought about the matter had another man been in
his place, I don't know; but we knew him, and felt sure that he would
keep it up as long as we had a stick standing or a shot in the locker.

"We were now edging away off the wind towards Ostend. It was soon seen
that it was the intention of the enemy to run ashore. We had by this
time made her out to be the _Stanislaus_, a French thirty-two gun
frigate, though she was only carrying at the time, so we afterwards
found out, twenty-six long twelve-pounders, so that she was no match for
us.

"Our young commander now did his best to prevent the _Stanislaus_ from
running ashore by crossing and recrossing her bows; but on heaving the
lead, we found that we were in little more than twenty feet of water,
and that if we stood on, we ourselves must be aground before long.

"The master and other officers now came up to Mr Pell