parently panic-stricken; but at length the breeze freshened, and the pirate was seen no more. The excitement of action had, while it lasted, sustained Mr. Crawford in his exertion, but directly that stimulus was withdrawn, the prostration of bodily strength was most complete, and he fell exhausted on deck, gasping for water, until restored by bumpers of wine administered by the Brazilian captain. His forehead was scalped and the bone broken, and his hand severely hurt; but with this exception, and that of the two slave women already mentioned, none were injured.

The antics of two Kroomen, natives of the Coast, who formed part of the Netuno's crew, were very ludicrous after the action,-looking upon Mr. Crawford, no doubt, as a sort of demigod: no sooner were they assured of their safety than they came aft on the quarter-deck, and, squatting like apes close to Mr. Crawford, stared him intensely in the face, and commenced loud bursts of laughter; then running forward on all fours, they returned again, repeating the same ridiculous gestures three or four times, nor did they desist until ordered to do so. On the ship's arrival at Sierra Leone, all sorts of honours were shown Mr. Crawford, both afloat and on shore; and he had the gratification of receiving from the Admiralty, as soon as the intelligence arrived in England, his well-deserved promotion to the rank of lieutenant.

We subjoin the evidence of the Brazilian cap

tain given before the Mixed Commission Court, in the exact words.

"Q. Who shot the Spanish captain?

"A. It was Señor Crawford.

Q. Who shot the other man in the pirate's boat?

"A. It was Señor Crawford.

"Q. Who fired the gun?

Me see no one

I tell you me have wife and

"A. It was Señor Crawford. fight much but Señor Crawford. fear too much. Me poor man; family in the Brazils, at Bahia; but English mariners fear more bad than me; before this me hear English mariners brave past all men; this time me no see it; one or two men not fear very much, but fear a little bit."

The Brazilian's allusion to the men who deserted their officer in the hour of danger is expressed in very mild language, for such cowardice as they exhibited deserves every reprobation.

DEATH OF CAPTAIN FARMER.

At daybreak, on the 6th October, 1779, the 12-pounder 32-gun frigate Quebec, Captain Farmer, while on a cruise in company with the Rambler cutter, when about fifteen leagues from Ushant, discovered a large French frigate and cutter ;

these proved to be the Surveillante, of 40 guns, 18-pounders, and a cutter of 16 guns. Captain Farmer immediately made the Rambler's signal to come under his stern, and desired Lieutenant George, her commander, to keep close to him; at nine o'clock the enemy's frigate opened her fire, although at too great a distance to do any execution; but the Quebec, still edging down to come to a close engagement, did not hoist her colours, nor return the enemy's fire, until ten o'clock, when she was within point blank range. Meanwhile the Rambler stood in between the French frigate and the cutter, with the intention of cutting the latter off from her consort, and bringing her to a close action; in this object she succeeded, and the two cutters continued warmly engaged until nearly two o'clock, when the Frenchman, who had suffered very slightly in sails and rigging, crowded all sail, and bore away, leaving the Rambler incapable of pursuit, owing to the disabled state of her masts and rigging. During all this time the two frigates had remained close alongside each other, and continued furiously engaged, with their yards locked together, for three hours and a half, until they were both dismasted. The French ship first ceased firing, but the Quebec was not in a state to take advantage of it; for unfortunately, after the fall of her masts, she had taken fire, from the explosion of her own guns, which had been fired through the sails, then lying over the side, and in despite of every

F

effort to extinguish the flames, she continued to burn with unremitting fury, till six in the evening, when she blew up, with her colours still flying; her brave commander, with those of her officers and crew who had survived the fight, perishing in her, as all her boats had been destroyed. During the action, almost all the officers in the Quebec, and between seventy and eighty men, were either killed or wounded; the Captain, towards the close of the engagement, received a shot through the arm and hand, but merely binding his handkerchief round the shattered parts of the bone, he addressed his men in the following words:"My lads, this is warm work, therefore keep your fire with double spirit; we will conquer or die." When the flames had communicated to the rigging, the Captain, the first lieutenant, and many of the crew, used every exertion for the preservation of the ship, but several of the men jumped into the sea, where they perished in sight of those who remained on board. While the fire was raging with fearful violence, the Captain was requested by the ship's company to attempt saving himself, but his noble spirit made him refuse every solicitation, declaring that he would not quit the ship while there remained another man on board. He continued to issue his orders, but the number of his companions grew less and less, while inevitable destruction was fast approaching those that remained, whom he earnestly

entreated to jump into the sea and attempt to reach the Rambler. Mr. William Moore, one of the mates of the Quebec, who stood by the Captain to the last moment, when he could no longer bear the heat of the flames, offered to take his disabled commander upon his back, and, trusting to his powers of swimming, thus convey him to the cutter; but Captain Farmer still refused to leave his ship, and was last seen seated on the fluke of the sheet anchor, waiting with heroic fortitude the dreadful explosion which at last numbered him with the dead. Of those who had thrown themselves into the sea, but few escaped. Mr. Moore, the officer above-mentioned, and sixteen others, were picked up by the Rambler; a Russian vessel that passed saved thirteen more; while the lives of Mr. Roberts, first lieutenant, the second lieutenant of Marines, the surgeon, and thirty-six of the crew, were preserved by their late antagonists. Some idea of the effect produced in official quarters, when this gallant action and self-sacrifice became known, may be formed on reading the memorial presented to the King in Council by the Lords of the Admiralty, who, while they recommend the widow and children for large pensions, "farther take leave most humbly to represent to your Majesty, that some lasting mark of your royal favour conferred upon the eldest son of this brave man, now a youth of seventeen years of age, would excite an emulation in other officers