[32] The captain's clerk is stationed in action to take minutes of the events as they occur.
[33] When the French happen to take one of our men-of-war, they do not, as we would do, hoist their own colours over their opponents', but hoist the English ensign union downwards. It so seldom happened that an English man-of-war was taken by the French, that this circumstance was known to very few in the navy, and consequently, the ensign reversed was known only as the signal of distress used by merchant-ships.
[34] James, vol. iii. p. 120.
[35] The discrepancies between the diagram and some of the statements given in the logs, are easily accounted for by the changes which took place in the positions of the ships during the action.
[36] The journal of Lieutenant Collis of the Venerable, the officer who was sent to assist the Hannibal, and was taken prisoner when on board, but who was sent to Gibraltar on parole, need not be given, as it is an exact copy of the captain's log.
[37] This was a gratuitous falsehood.
[38] While off Europa point, and probably at the distance of more than half a mile, a boat with two men was observed pulling towards us, and, on coming alongside, the men proved to be two of our own people, who had been wounded in the action of Algeziras, and sent to the hospital at Gibraltar. On seeing the ship under sail, with the evident intention of attacking the enemy, these gallant fellows asked permission of the surgeon to rejoin their ship, and being refused, on account of their apparent unfitness, they made their escape from the hospital, and taking possession of the first boat they could find, pulled off to the ship.
Two other seamen belonging to the Pompée, who had not been selected as part of the reinforcement to the crews of the other ships, secreted themselves on board the Cæsar, and the day after the action presented themselves on the quarter-deck, with a request that intercession might be made for them with their captain, telling their story in the following quaint manner:—"Sir, we belongs to the Le Pompée, and finding our ship could not get out, we stowed ourselves away in this ship, and, in the action, quartered ourselves to the "10th gun, and opposite—— on the lower deck," referring, at the same time, to the officer in command of this division of guns, for the truth of their statement.
[40] M. Dumanoir le Pelley is in error here. The Pompée was not in this action. It has been seen that she was lying disabled at Gibraltar.