The disparity of force was immense, and every circumstance was against us; but, although we were only in a frigate’s yawl (a very small boat comparatively), our gallant officer without hesitation resolved to board, and make a hand to hand affair of it. The odds were sadly against us. Who can conceive my pride and elation when I thus found myself participating in the glories of my profession, and reflected how short a time had elapsed since I had been either a prisoner in a dungeon, or a sort of Nebuchadnezzar wandering in the fields and forests. My good fortune was excessive, in being thus, as it were at a tangent, thrust into active service,—a ship’s cutlass, a black musket, were good substitutes for my chains and padlock; and I acted a marine’s part on this occasion.
We fired several shots to bring the enemy to, which the trabaccolo returned with compound interest, by letting fly at us from a four or six pounder. Our gallant little band gave way, i.e. pulled towards the enemy. We could not perceive many men on her deck, but those that were there kept up a smart fire. At length we got alongside, in the right English style, when upwards of twenty men suddenly showed themselves, with an officer at their head, decorated with the Legion of Honour, at whom I discharged my musket, which I believe took fatal effect. But at the moment I received a musketoon ball in my right arm, that disabled it. They poured into us a volley from muskets, musketoons, blunderbusses, etc. Our bowman and another sailor fell dead; three other seamen dropt from their wounds, and Green Dick, the pilot, one of them, died the next day. Jones was also severely wounded. Our little party was thus sadly thinned. The other vessel, seeing how few were our numbers, and how much they had been decreased, made towards the trabaccolo with twenty-two men. We had no alternative, but were under the necessity of sheering off, and it was only to their dastardly conduct that we remained indebted for not being again made prisoners. The frigate was not then in sight, and the confused state of our little crew, two killed and five wounded, including our brave and gallant officer, would have rendered us no difficult conquest to so superior a force, had they but persevered in the attack. Our retreat was covered by the musket of only one marine, whose name was Hunt; I supplied him with cartridges as fast as he could load and fire, biting them off and giving them with my left hand to him. My friend, Barklimore, was of essential service to us, in binding up our wounds with handkerchiefs, etc., for there were not a sufficient number of tourniquets. My worthy comrade, Hewson, also greatly distinguished himself as one of the boarders, and afterwards by tugging at the oar to facilitate our escape.
Lieutenant Jones never made the slightest complaint, nor did he let any one know that he was wounded, until we were well clear of the enemy, although it proved to be a most painful and dangerous wound which he had received; he had also several musket-balls through the crown of his hat. My wound, through the right arm, as I have observed, disabled it so that I never fully recovered the strength of it.[34]
At about half-past twelve, or noon, we got alongside my good old ship, towed by her launch, which they sent out on noticing from the mast-head our disabled state. We were hoisted on board in a chair, with the utmost care, the captain and officers evincing much anxiety towards us, and vieing with each other in offices of kindness. The other two worthy lieutenants of the Amphion, Messrs. Bennet and Phillott, had been on board of her in my time, and thus was I at home amongst old friends and shipmates. I had not been heard of for many years, and all that my brother-officers knew of me was, that I was a prisoner in a French gaol; judge, therefore, what was their astonishment, when in hoisting in the wounded they found a stranger, and recognised that stranger to be me. It seemed to them that I must have dropt from the clouds, for they could form no conjecture how I came amongst them.
Captain Hoste, though unknown to me, behaved like a parent, and his very great humanity will never be erased from my grateful recollection; although he confessed upon my first appearance, he was prejudiced against me, for he had imagined that I had been the chief of the vessel Mr. Jones had attacked, and who had done all the mischief to this officer and his crew. His clerk gave me up his cabin. Mr. Moffat, the surgeon, and his assistant, Mr. Angus, treated us with the greatest care and tenderness. The ball, it appeared, having divided the muscles, had completely laid bare the artery of my arm, grazing without lacerating it, but so much so, that both of the surgeons, in the first instance, were of opinion that amputation was unavoidable. My habits for a long time had been so abstemious that my system was free from any inflammatory tendency; and to this, I suppose, I may owe my recovering without suffering the loss of my limb. The whole of the officers were zealous in affording us every solace and succour that could be expected by people in our miserable condition, from their generous countrymen.
Sixteen days elapsed, through most of which I had been confined to my cot. My arm was getting better rapidly, and glad was I to be informed that Jones was as quickly recovering of his wound. I embraced an opportunity given me during this period of sixteen days, by a merchant from Trieste coming on board, to have a letter sent, agreeably to promise, to the commandant at Lindau, dated “on board H. M. frigate, Amphion, now blockading the port of Trieste,” assuring him how happy I should be, if ever any opportunity presented itself, of my having it in my power to convince him that I entertained no vindictive feeling for the unnecessary severity that I had received at his hand.
H.M. brig Spider, commanded by Lieutenant Sandford Oliver, now joined us from Malta, with orders. She was to return at once, and as I felt full of anxiety to join the commander-in-chief, off Toulon, or proceed to England, I got from the surgeon an assurance that there could be no danger in my being removed. Captain Hoste kindly yielded to my solicitations to be allowed to take a passage in the Spider, though he added, in the most friendly manner, that if I preferred it, I might remain with him, until he went down to Malta with a convoy which he shortly expected. Hewson and I expressed our fear of missing our promotion, having lost so many years in consequence of our captivity: he approved of our wishes, and gave us a letter of introduction and recommendation to Sir Alexander Ball, who was port-admiral and governor of Malta. We took a cordial leave of all our worthy friends in the Amphion, were conveyed to the Spider, and in a short time got under weigh, standing down the gulf.
Off Corfu I had the satisfaction of seeing the French flag struck, for the first time after a number of years: the Spider took a bombard (a vessel with a kind of cutter-rig), laden with wool and gregos (greatcoats). On the 8th of December we arrived at Malta, and in consequence of this capture were put into quarantine.
In the meantime, H.M. ship Woolwich was about to sail to England with a convoy. Admiral Ball had ordered Barklimore a passage in her; but she unfortunately got out to sea before we could procure him a conveyance. However, he was put on board a transport belonging to the convoy, and arrived safe in England. H.M. ship Proserpine was the next day to proceed off Toulon, to Lord Collingwood; and had we not been in quarantine, it was the intention of Sir Alexander Ball to have sent us on board. The Proserpine was taken by the French; therefore we had to felicitate ourselves on our fifth escape from a French prison. We were ten days before we got out of quarantine; and on the same day the Amphion arrived. H.M. ship Leonidas was on the point of sailing to the fleet;[35] Sir Alexander Ball ordered us a passage, and everything was arranged for joining the commander-in-chief off Toulon with all possible expedition.
Prior to our going on board the Leonidas, we went off to take leave of our good friends on board the Amphion. Imagine what were our astonishment and joy when the first person we saw on arriving on her deck was the companion of our flight, our brother-sufferer Batley, whom, from his lameness and ill-health, we had been obliged to leave at the public-house in Baden. Happily for him, he was picked up off Trieste, and only a few days after we had sailed in the Spider. When our mutual congratulations were over, he briefly related to us the following particulars of his adventures and fate:—