-chief
and all the treasure of the expedition on board; but her consort was the
74-gun ship _Revolution_.

The _Amazon_ struck the ground about ten minutes after she ceased
firing. Her crew displayed the admirable discipline which British seamen
are accustomed to maintain under such circumstances; more creditable to
them, if possible, than the seamanship which saved the _Indefatigable_.
From half past five until nine o'clock, they were employed in making
rafts, and not a man was lost, or attempted to leave the ship, except
six, who stole away the cutter from the stern, and were drowned. Captain
Reynolds and his officers remained by the ship until they had safely
landed, first the wounded, and afterwards every man of the crew. Of
course they were made prisoners, but they were treated well, and
exchanged not many months after.

Conduct like that of the _Amazon's_ people in their hour of extreme
danger--and it is nothing more than British seamen commonly display in
the same situation--makes an Englishman proud of his country. Nor should
it be forgotten, for it exalts the feeling of patriotism and honest
pride, that a man-of-war's crew at that time was made up, in part, of
the lowest characters in society. What, then, must be the strength and
excellence of that moral feeling in England, which can display itself
thus nobly where it would be the least expected! The fact conveys an
impressive lesson; for if the intelligence, decision, and kindness,
which, with few exceptions, characterize our sea-officers, can effect
such happy results where they operate on the most unpromising materials,
it is clear, that whatever faults the lower classes in England display
must be attributed, in a great degree, to the neglect or misconduct of
those, whose station in society, as it gives the power, imposes the duty
to guide them.

The fate of the _Droits de l'Homme_ presents an awful contrast indeed to
that of the _Amazon_. She saw the land soon after the frigates hauled
off, and after hopeless attempts, first to avoid it, and afterwards to
anchor, she struck the ground almost at the same moment as the British
frigate. The main-mast went overboard at the second shock: the fore-mast
and bowsprit had fallen a few minutes before, in her attempt to keep
off the land. When danger was first seen, the crew gave an alarm to the
English prisoners below, of whom there were fifty-five, the crew and
passengers of a letter-of-marque, which the _Droits