ruption, he took it into his head to scale the breach that had been made by the cannon of the ships, and having fortunately reached the bastion, he there discovered several Moors (the native troops are invariably thus described in the official dispatches) sitting upon the platform, at whom, nothing daunted, he flourished his cutlass, and then fired his pistol, and having given three loud huzzas, cried out, "The place is mine." The Moorish soldiers immediately attacked him, and he defended himself with incredible resolution, but in the encounter had the misfortune to have the blade of his cutlass cut in two, about a foot from the hilt; this, however, did not happen until he was warmly supported by two or three other sailors who had accidentally straggled to the same part of the fort on which the other had mounted; they, hearing Strahan's cries, immediately scaled the breach likewise, and with their triumphant shouts roused the whole army, who, taking the alarm, presently fell on pell-mell, without order and without discipline, following the example of the sailors. Luckily, the enemy were equally ill-prepared for this sudden and illdisciplined attempt, and fled from the fort upon the opposite side, as the attacking party poured in, leaving the works, with twenty cannons, and a large store of ammunition, in the hands of the English, whose only loss was that of a Captain Dougall Campbell, of the East Indian army, who was accidentally killed by a musket discharged

by one of his own party. On the following day, Strahan, the hero of this adventurous action, was brought before the Admiral, who, with assumed anger, inquired-" Strahan, what is this you have been doing?" The sailor made his bow, scratched his head, and replied-" Why, to be sure, sir, it was I who took the fort; but I hope, your honour, as how there was no harm in it." This was almost irresistible; but the Admiral restrained himself sufficiently to expatiate on what might have been the fatal results of his irregular conduct, and dismissed him with hints at punishment at some other time for his temerity. Poor Strahan, astonished at the result of his interview, receiving blame where he expected praise, muttered to himself on leaving the cabin, " Well, if I am flogged for this here action, I will never take another fort by myself as long as I live.”

The novelty of the case, and the courageous spirit he displayed, however, pleaded strongly for the offender, and the Admiral made inquiries with the view of advancing him to a boatswain's warrant, but, unfortunately, the whole tenor of Strahan's life was so irregular, that it was found impossible to promote him to any higher rank.

MONMOUTH AND FOUDROYANT.

This action, which, says Campbell, is "one of the most glorious in the naval history of Britain,

and must ever remain an incontestable proof of our naval superiority," is the more interesting as having been fought by an officer whose mind had been set on a contest à l'outrance with the very ship which he thus engaged, in the hope of wiping out a stain upon his fair fame. Captain Arthur Gardiner, the officer to whom we allude, had been flag-captain to the unfortunate Admiral Byng, in his encounter with Gallifonière, and never appears to have recovered the melancholy with which the ill success attending that day's manœuvres affected his mind. Being a man of very nice feelings, he was impressed with the idea that he must in some degree participate in the censure and clamour which had been so generally raised against his unhappy chief. Only a few days before the action I am now about to narrate, when he was in company with Lord Robert Bertie and other persons, he told them, with great anguish of soul, that Lord Anson, First Lord of the Admiralty, had reflected on him, and said that he was one of the men who had brought disgrace upon the nation; that it touched him excessively, but it ran strongly in his mind that he should shortly have an opportunity to convince his Lordship how much he had the honour of the nation at heart, and that he was not culpable. This impression was destined to be fulfilled in an extraordinary manner, and thus it happened not long after the conclusion of Byng's trial, Captain Gardiner was appointed

:

to the Monmouth, of 64 guns, and ordered to the Mediterranean, to join Admiral Osborne's squadron. While cruizing, in February, 1758, they fell in with a small French armament, under the Marquis du Quesne, bound from Toulon to Carthagena, which, immediately on discovering the British fleet, scattered in flight in opposite directions. In obedience to the signal for a general chase, it fell to the lot of the Monmouth to be ordered, with two others of the squadron, in pursuit of the flag ship, and it must have proved most grateful to Captain Gardiner's feelings, when he found that the Marquis's flag was flying on board the identical Foudroyant, in which Gallifonière's flag had been hoisted at the time of his encounter with Byng. Captain Gardiner, after his appointment to the Monmouth, had often been heard to declare that if ever he was fortunate enough to fall in with the Foudroyant, he was determined to attack her, though he should perish in the attempt. He now saw the fulfilment of his wishes, and the zeal and energy that filled his breast seem to have been imparted to the ship's company; for although the Swiftsure, of 70 guns, and the Hampton Court, of 64 guns, both fast-sailing vessels, were dispatched with him in the chase, the Monmouth was conspicuous for the celerity of her movements, and soon far outstripped her companions. During the excitement of the pursuit, Captain Gardiner addressed a land officer on board, saying, "What

ever becomes of you and me, that ship, pointing to the enemy, must go into Gibraltar ;" and haranguing his people just before the action, he said, "That ship must be taken; she appears above our match, but Englishmen are not to mind that, nor will I quit her while this ship can swim, or I have a soul left alive on board." With such a spirit he succeeded in bringing his enemy to action; the other two ships being nearly out of sight at the time. At the very commencement of the fight, he was shot through the arm by a musket-ball; but the wound was not sufficient to prevent him from continuing his exertions. Having luckily succeeded in disabling the rigging of the Foudroyant, he seized the opportunity thus given him of placing himself on his antagonist's quarter, in which position he had maintained a very close action for upwards of two hours, when, while in the act of encouraging his people, and inquiring what damage had been sustained between decks, he was struck by a second ball in the forehead, which shortly rendered him insensible, although he lived until the next day. Immediately on receiving this wound, he sent for the first lieutenant, and made it his last request that he would not give up the ship, or quit the enemy. That officer pledged himself and returning to the deck, be nailed to the mast, and, taking a pistol in each hand, swore that he would shoot any one who should attempt to strike them.

to his captain's wish, ordered the colours to