day. The following morning, the 20th, the Admiral determined to change his order of attack, and himself to lead into action, thinking that the other ships would not leave him to contend singlehanded with the enemy; but the majority were either traitors or cowards, and Benbow, in the Breda, supported by the Ruby, of 54 guns, Captain George Walton, and the Falmouth, 48 guns, Captain Samuel Vincent, had, during that day, the running fight all to themselves. On the 21st, the third day of the action, the Ruby was disabled, and ordered by the Admiral to proceed to Port Royal, while the Falmouth was so far astern as to be unable to get into action. Benbow, notwithstanding, still continued the chase, with the signal for close action flying night and day; and on the 24th came up with the sternmost of the enemy's ships, and commenced an animated contest. Three times he boarded the French Admiral in person, receiving a severe wound in his face, and another in his arm, and at last his right leg was shattered to pieces by a chain shot; he was carried below, but presently ordered his cot to be brought on deck, whence he continued for the whole day to give the necessary orders with the same resolution as before; and, when one of his lieutenants expressed his sorrow for the loss of his leg, he replied, "I am sorry for it, too; but I had rather have lost them both than have seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation; but do you hear?-if another shot should take

D

me off, behave like brave men, and fight it out." At this stage of the action, the main body of the French, seeing four of the English ships not only refraining from engaging, but almost running away, immediately bore down upon the Admiral, and ranging up between him and their now disabled consort, poured all their fire into the Breda, by which that ship's rigging was so shattered that she was obliged to lie by to repair it. When refitted, however, Benbow again gave orders to pursue the enemy, sending an order to the malcontent captains to keep their line and behave like men. Upon this, Captain Kirby, who was one of them, came on board the flag ship and gave his opinion that the Admiral "had better desist, as the French were very strong, and that from what was past he might guess he could make nothing of it;" the rest of the captains, when sent for, concurred in the opinion, and signed a joint paper to the same effect. This proceeding satisfied the Admiral that they would not fight, and, disheartened and wounded in mind as well as body, he at length gave way. At this time the English force consisted of six ships in good condition, with only eight men killed, except in Benbow's own ship, the Breda; whereas the enemy had only five ships, and one of those disabled and in tow. The following letter from the French Admiral Ducasse to Benbow, shows his opinion of what might have been the result:

SIR, "I had little hopes on Monday last but to have supped in your cabin; but it pleased God to order it otherwise, and I am thankful for it. As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up, for, by God, they deserve it. "Yours,

"DUCASSE."

Benbow, with his malcontent squadron, returned to Jamaica, which island he only reached to die of his wounds and broken-hearted; but in the sequel the French Admiral's advice was followed, justice executed, and Benbow's fate avenged, for, of the four traitorous captains, Kirby and another were executed immediately on arriving in England, one died before his trial, and the fourth was cashiered and sentenced to imprisonment during the Queen's pleasure. Captain G. Walton, of the Ruby, who on this occasion acted the part of a brave man, is the author of the celebrated laconic dispatch announcing the destruction of six Spanish men-of-war, besides fireships and bombs, in scarcely as many words :—

"We have taken and destroyed all the Spanish ships and vessels that were upon the coast; the number as per margin. Yours, &c.

"To Sir G. BYNG,

"Commander-in-Chief."

"G. WALTON."

CAPTURE OF A FORT BY A SAILOR, 1757.

In the infancy of our vast Indian empire, and very shortly after the intelligence had reached Madras that Fort William had been taken by the native chiefs, an expedition was fitted out for the recovery of that important post (destined to be the future seat of our Indian government and the capital of the Bengal Presidency), and to revenge the cruel murder of our countrymen, whose sufferings and death in the black hole of Calcutta now form part of history. The naval portion of the forces employed on this occasion was under the orders of Admiral Watson, while Colonel Clive, then at the commencement of that brilliant career which restored the supremacy of the British arms, commanded the military. The proceedings of this armament, and the successful issue to which it was brought, are far beyond the scope of this work, but the capture of one of the forts on the Hooghly by a single seaman falls within its limits. The expedition, having sailed from Madras on the 6th of October, had, on the morning of the 29th December, arrived off a port called Busbudgia, upon which a heavy fire was immediately "opened by the shipping, Colonel Clive disembarking with the troops, and a detachment of seamen under Captain King, to attack it from the land side, while the navy were employed in breaching the sea front. The enemy's

troops without the walls having been driven back after a trifling skirmish, and the fire from the fort having been silenced early in the forenoon, it was resolved to wait for the cool of evening to make an attempt to carry the works by storm. The troops and sailors were therefore called in, and placed close to the walls in positions sheltered from the hostile fire, and protected by an occasional shot from the ships, whenever the enemy were observed to endeavour to bring a gun to bear upon them.

As the fort was extremely well situated for defence, and had the advantage of a wet ditch round it, a stubborn defence was anticipated; but while all was still apparently quiet on shore, and the forces supposed to be enjoying their mid-day repose, the Admiral, and those remaining on board the ships, were startled by a loud and general shout, and immediately after they received the agreeable information that the fort was in their hands.

The circumstances attending this capture were as follows, and are given in the letter of an officer of the Kent, which was one of the ships forming the expedition :-" During the tranquil state of the camp, one Strahan, a common sailor, belonging to the Kent, having just received his allowance of grog, found his spirits too much elated to think of taking any rest; he therefore strayed by himself towards the fort, and imperceptibly got under the walls. Being advanced thus far without any inter