1809	British and French Fleets	110

fire-ships : they fell into the sea and were drowned ; but our boats saved a number of others. A short time after we had so fortunately escaped being burnt, another fire-vessel was making for our starboard quarter : we fired our broadside and cut away her mainmast. This fortunately occasioned her to wear, and she passed close alongside of us. All the remainder of the night we were surrounded by vessels on fire. Our guns were constantly firing, even on English boats towing some of the fire vessels. The one that grappled us on the poop was towed by a boat, manned with 15 or 16 men: we fired on her and obliged her to let go the tow. In this disastrous night the Cassard had five men killed and 15 mortally wounded by a shot from one of the fire-ships."

In the narrow escape of the French admiral's ship, as here faithfully depicted by one who was on board of her, we may form a tolerable idea of what must have been the situation of several of the others. Such, in fact, was the terror naturally inspired by the fleet of flaming bodies approaching, that every French ship, except the Foudroyant, cut or slipped her cables and went adrift. The Cassard, however, brought up again in the road, at the distance of about 500 yards ahead of the Foudroyant ; who had, we believe, cut her north-west cable, and was now riding by her south-east one. By midnight the whole of the remaining 13 French ships were aground ; and the following were their situations at daylight on the 12th, as described by the French themselves.

The Oc�an lay in the mud at the distance of a full half mile to the east-south-east of the anchorage in Aix road. Having on board, in common with the other ships, a quantity of provisions for the supply of the colony to which she had been destined, the Oc�an was very deep, drawing not less perhaps than 28 or 29 feet. Hence she grounded while still in a part of Aix road, and not on the Palles shoal, as was thought to have been the case. This accounts for M. Allemand dating his official letter of the 12th " � bord du vaisseau l'Oc�an en rade de l'isle d'Aix."

At about 500 yards to the south-west of the Oc�an, upon a rocky bed named Charenton, lay the Varsovie and Aquilon, and close to them, but upon somewhat better ground, the R�gulus and Jemmappes. The Tonnerre with her head to the south-east, lay, on a hard bottom about 200 yards to the eastward of the rock of Pontra, and bore north-west of Isle Madame, situated on the south-west side of the entrance to the Charente, and north-east of the isle of Enette, which forms the northern extremity of the opposite side of the same river. This ship, since 2 a.m., had thrown all her guns overboard except 10 of her 36-pounders, and had cut away her mainmast ; but nothing could save her, as she had already bilged. At some distance to the south-west of the Tonnerre, nearly on the extremity of the Palles in that direction, and close to the wreck of the Jean-Bart, lay the

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