seemed too probable
that the stranger would pass without observing us. We were again almost
in despair, when the boom of a gun came rolling over the water towards
us. To our ears it was the sweetest music, a sign that we were seen,
and a promise, we believed, that we should not be deserted. On stood
the man-of-war directly for us; but it had now grown so dark, that
though we could see her from her greater bulk, we could scarcely hope
that those on board her could see us. We had two serious dangers to
avoid. If we stood directly in her course, so rapidly was she going
through the water, she might run over us before we could possibly make
ourselves heard; while, if we kept too much out of her way, she might
pass us, and we might miss her altogether. Fortunately we succeeded in
getting our lantern lighted, and the captain sent me to hold it up
forward as soon as we drew near her. On she came; another minute would
decide our fate; when we saw her courses hauled up, her topgallant sails
furled, and coming up on the wind, she hove-to on the larboard tack,
scarcely a cable's length from us. We stood on a little, and then
putting the boat about, we fetched up under her lee quarter and ran
alongside. A rope was hove to us, and lights were shown to enable us to
get on board.

Our captain spoke a little French, though it was of a very free-and-easy
sort, I suspect. The brig proved to be, as he had thought, of that
nation; and such a jabbering and noise as saluted our ears I never have
in all my life heard on board of a man-of-war. However, they wished to
deal kindly by us. They at once sent us down ropes with which the
wounded men were hauled up, though there was great risk of getting them
hurt in the operation. When this was done, the rest of us set to work
to hand up all the more valuable things we had in the boat,--not that
the pirates had left us much, by the by. While we were thus engaged, a
squall struck the brig, and almost laid her on her beam-ends. We had
just time to clamber up on board, when a sea swamped the boat, which was
directly afterwards cut adrift; the helm being then put up, the brig
righted, and off she flew before the wind. The squall was quickly over
(we had reason to be grateful that we had not been compelled to
encounter it in the boat), and the brig was once more brought up on her
course. We found that she was the _Euryale_, of eighteen guns, and then
bound for Smyrna. Though we would r