The fleet is preparing to sail; and as all the line-of-battle ships are known either to the Admiral, his two young gentlemen, or myself, I shall be enabled, by observing which sail, and which do not, to note down exactly its strength, provided we be not gone before it. But to-morrow we are assured we are to be landed.—— Adieu.
LETTER V.
La Normandie, prison-ship,
Brest-Water, 5th Feb. 1795.
COULD what I write reach you in due course, my present place of date might surprize you, after the assurances which my last held out of going forthwith to Quimper. Admiral Bligh has been meanly and cruelly treated: their violated promises to me are of less consequence.
On the day after I last wrote to you, matters respecting our departure seemed to be drawing to a favourable conclusion. An officer from Admiral Villaret waited on Admiral Bligh, to beg his acceptance of a loan of one thousand livres in paper (offering at the same time as many more as might be wished) and to assure him, that we were to be landed on the following day. The livres were accepted; and, as we now deemed our departure certain, we put ourselves, at day-light next morning, in a state of preparation for our removal. Removed, indeed, we were, not to Quimper, but to this horrid receptacle, where we have been closely immured ever since, suffering every mental punishment which low-minded rancour and brutal ignorance could inflict; and every physical hardship which this rigorous winter, and occasional deficiencies of food, could produce. I have not seen a fire during the whole month of January; and on Christmas-day I was one of fifteen English officers, with the Admiral at our head, whose dinner consisted of eight very small muttonchops, and a plate of potatoes. This last circumstance, exciting both hunger and indignation (as we knew that a traitement was paid for us by the government, and as we had lately from our encreased number lived by ourselves) we determined not to bear it without remonstrance, especially as for several succeeding days our treatment had been little better; and I was delegated to inform the officers of the ship, that if they should not use us hereafter more liberally, we would write a complaint against them to Admiral Villaret. This produced a good effect; and henceforth we were more amply supplied. In justice to Monsieur Villaret, I must observe to you, that his character is eminent for honour and justice; and in spite of appearances against him at first, on our not being sent to Quimper, we now know, that had his ability been equal to his disposition, Admiral Bligh would not be here. Of Le Franq I cannot speak in similar terms. He exhibited a mean exultation at our disappointment, not altogether unaccompanied with insult; and his whole behaviour, for some time before we left him, had entirely altered our first impression of him.
Our detention has, however, been productive of a very desirable event to the Admiral. In consequence of a late decree of the convention, directing that all women and children who had been captured shall be liberated, and permitted to return home, he was enabled to send away his son, under the auspices of Lady Anne Fitzroy, who had been a prisoner for many months at Quimper.
The fleet sailed from the outer road on the 30th of December, consisting of the following ships, under the command of Vice-Admiral Villaret, who was assisted by the Admirals Bouvet, Vanstable, Nieully, and Renaudin, and controlled by several representatives.
| Guns. | |
| La Montagne, | 120 |
| Le Majestueux | 110 |
| Le Terrible, | 110 |
| Le Revolutionnaire, | 110 |
| Le Neuf Thermidor[E] , | 84 |
| L’Indomptable, | 84 |
| Le Tigre, | 74 |
| Le Montagnard, | 74 |
| Le Tourville, | 74 |
| Le Pelletier, | 74 |
| L’Acquilon, | 74 |
| Le Temeraire, | 74 |
| Le Zelè, | 74 |
| L’Audacieux, | 74 |
| Le Marat, | 74 |
| Le Tirannicide, | 74 |
| Le Jemappe, | 74 |
| Le Jean Bart, | 74 |
| La Convention, | 74 |
| La Revolution, | 74 |
| Le Scipion, | 74 |
| Le Nestor, | 74 |
| Le Mutius Scævola, | 74 |
| Les Droits de l’Homme, | 74 |
| Le 31 de Mai, | 74 |
| Le Neptune, | 74 |
| L’Eole, | 74 |
| L’Entreprenant, | 74 |
| Le Trajan, | 74 |
| Le Patriote, | 74 |
| Le Gasparin, | 74 |
| Le Superbe, | 74 |
| Le Redoutable, | 74 |
| Le Fougueux, | 74 |
And the Alexander, of 74 guns, with at least a dozen
frigates, and several corvettes.
Le Republicain, of 110 guns, was intended to constitute a part of the fleet; but on the night of the 24th of December she broke from her anchors, was driven on a rock, and bulged, in a manner which does very little credit to French seamanship. Here she lay until the 9th of January, when her remains were burned, her main-mast and mizen-mast being then standing, and her main-top-sail yard across.