without an
effort; and that as soon as this was accomplished and the crews secured
Mr Douglas had hastened to our assistance, rightly surmising that, from
the longer warning given to the ship's crew and their great strength, we
should have our hands pretty full with them. The moon, in her last
quarter, and dwindled to the merest crescent, was just rising over the
hills to the eastward of us as we swept before the land-breeze out of
Jean Rabel harbour; and by her feeble light I was enabled with some
difficulty to discern that, by my watch, it was just four o'clock in the
morning. Thus satisfactorily terminated this cutting-out expedition;
the most surprising circumstance connected with which was, perhaps, the
fact that, when the hands were mustered, not one was found to have
received a hurt worthy of being termed a wound.

We had scarcely got clear of the land with our prizes--consisting of one
ship and three brigs--when we discovered three schooners and two sloops
standing out from Port au Paix; and as they, like ourselves, were
heading directly for the squadron in the offing, we conjectured--and
rightly, as it afterwards proved--that they were the vessels which
Lieutenant Burdwood had been sent in to attack.

Late in the evening of the following day we rejoined the remainder of
the squadron, and Captain Pigot at once proceeded on board the admiral
to report the complete success of the expedition. Nothing was settled
that night as to the disposal of the prizes, but on the following
forenoon it was arranged that, as both the _Quebec_ and ourselves were
getting short of provisions and water, we should escort the prizes into
Port Royal, and at the same time avail ourselves of the opportunity to
revictual.

We reached our destination in due time without adventure, and as it then
seemed likely that there would be some delay in the matter of
revictualling, Mr Reid improved the occasion to give the spars and
rigging a thorough overhaul. This, with such repairs and renewals as
were found necessary, kept all hands busy for four full days, at the end
of which time the ship was once more all ataunto. Meanwhile, from some
unexplained cause or other, the provisions were coming on board very
slowly, much, it must be confessed, to the delight of the crew, who,
having worked hard at the overhauling and repairs of the rigging--to say
nothing of their behaviour at Jean Rabel--now confidently expected at
least a day's liberty with