got slightly the
better of the land-breeze, and anon cool, refreshing, and odoriferous
with the perfume of a thousand flowers, as the land-breeze regained the
ascendency and pushed forward in its turn on the domain of the trade-
wind. Mr Reid availed himself of the opportunity afforded by our
passage across this narrow belt of calm to rally the rest of the boats
round the launch for a moment, in order to explain the object of the
expedition, and to give a few brief directions respecting the movements
of each boat. From this explanation we now learned that we were about
to make an attack upon two privateer brigs, together with a ship and
brig which had been captured by them, all of which were lying in Jean
Rabel harbour, and were believed to be well protected and very strongly
manned. The ship--a very fine vessel, which had recently been armed
with eighteen 9-pounder brass guns, and manned by a crew of over one
hundred men--our gallant "first" proposed to attack in person, the
launch being supported by the first and second cutters. Mr Douglas,
our second lieutenant, aided by the _Quebec's_ launch, was to tackle the
heaviest of the privateer brigs; the _Quebec's_ first and second cutters
were to attack the other; whilst the _Mermaid's_ second cutter and the
_Quebec's_ gig were to make a dash at the remaining brig, a prize, and,
having secured her, hold themselves in readiness to lend a hand wherever
their presence might seem to be most required. Our work having thus
been explicitly set out for us, Mr Reid gave the word for us to renew
our advance, and we once more pushed ahead.

No night could well have been more favourable for such an attack as
ours--which was meant to be a surprise, if possible--than the one
selected; so dark, indeed, was it that, by a piece of the rarest good
fortune, we had actually entered the harbour before we were able to
completely identify our whereabouts.

It now became necessary for us to pause for a moment and look about us,
in order to ascertain the locality of our game; and the word was
accordingly quietly passed from boat to boat for the men to lay on their
oars. At first it was simply impossible for us to distinguish
anything--except the land, which loomed vague and dark, like a broad
shadow, above the water. At length, however, one of the men in the
launch announced, in a low cautious whisper, that he could make out the
spars of a vessel directly ahead; and immediately afterwards,