“The girls were now hunting for the Laconia; and Captain Wentworth could not deny himself the pleasure of taking the precious volume into his own hands to save them the trouble, and once more read aloud the little statement of her name and rate, and present non-commissioned class. Observing over it that she too had been one of the best friends man ever had.

“‘Ah, those were pleasant days when I had the Laconia! How fast I made money in her! A friend of mine and I had such a lovely cruise together off the Western Islands. Poor Harville, sister! You know how much he wanted money: worse than myself. He had a wife. Excellent fellow! I shall never forget his happiness. He felt it all so much for her sake. I wished for him again next summer, when I had still the same luck in the Mediterranean.’”

One cannot but feel, when one comes on such a conversation in Jane Austen’s novel, how perfectly she understood the details of her brothers’ lives. Her interest and sympathy were so great that we can almost hear Francis and Charles recounting experiences to their home circle, with a delicious dwelling on the dangers, for the sake of inward shudders, or “more open exclamations of pity and horror” from their hearers, with sidelong hits at the Admiralty, and with the true sailor’s love of, and pride in, the vessels he has commanded.

CHAPTER VI
THE PATROL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

It will be remembered that at the close of 1796 scarcely a British man-of-war was to be seen in the Mediterranean. To estimate the work that St. Vincent and Nelson had since accomplished, it is only necessary to say that by the summer of 1799 the British Navy was everywhere, blockading Genoa and Malta, patrolling the Egyptian and Syrian coasts, and in possession of Minorca, while Nelson was stationed at Palermo. The French armies in Italy were cut off from reinforcements by our ships before Genoa. Bonaparte’s soldiers in Egypt were equally helpless, though he himself managed to get home in spite of the danger of capture.

Attempts were of course made by the French to change this position. Rear-Admiral Perrée had served on the immense fleet which Bonaparte took to Egypt in 1798, and there was appointed to the command of the light flotilla intended to patrol the Nile. Most of his seniors were shortly afterwards killed or captured by Nelson’s fleet in Aboukir Bay, and he then took charge of the remaining frigates which had safely anchored at Alexandria, and which were compelled to remain there, as Captain Troubridge had established a blockade of the coast. When Bonaparte marched for Syria, early in 1799, Perrée was ordered to bring battering cannon to Haifa for the attack on Acre. It was some time before he got the opportunity to slip out of Alexandria, and he then found Jaffa the only place available for landing the guns. Accomplishing this, he vainly endeavoured to co-operate in the siege of Acre, but was driven off by the Tigre and Theseus under Sir Sydney Smith. The blockade made it impossible for Perrée to re-enter Alexandria. The five vessels therefore sailed for Toulon, and on June 18 we have in the log of the Peterel the account of the capture of this unlucky squadron, within a few hours of their French haven.

June 17.—“Admiral (Lord Keith) and fleet in company. The Emerald made signal for five sail in sight. The Admiral signalled for general chace. Answered his signal to us to keep between the Admiral and the chacing ships in N.E., to repeat signals. At 8 P.M. Emerald N.E., six or seven miles, Admiral west, four miles.

June 18.—“One o’clock P.M. Saw four sail bearing N.W. At six, five sail of strangers in sight. At seven, perceived the Centaur open a fire on the chace, which was returned. Saw two of them strike and shorten sail. Half-past seven, the Emerald got up with, and took possession of, another. At eight o’clock the Centaur brought to a fourth. The Success and the Triton in chace of the fifth.

June 19.—“At daylight, ten of the fleet and five prizes in company. Boats of the fleet employed on the 19th getting the prisoners out of the prizes. These ships proved to be a squadron which had escaped out of Alexandria on the 19th of March, and, after cruising a considerable time off Joppa, were returning to Toulon. Their names are as follows:

La Junon 38 guns, 600 men (with a Rear-Admiral on board).
L’Alceste 36 guns.
La Courageuse 32 guns, 300 men.
L’Alerte 16-gun brig.
La Salamine 16-gun ditto.”