frigate, that the Bulldog was towed back to her former station at the mole long before the Mercury could get near her. The Bulldog afterwards succeeded in putting to sea, but was taken on her passage to Egypt by the 24-gun ship Champion, Captain Lord William Stuart.

On the 23d of June, in the morning, the British 18-gun brig-sloop Corso, Captain William Ricketts, chased among the rocks in the small islands of Tremiti, lying in the gulf of Venice, and inhabited by a few renegadoes only, a pirate tartan, the Tigre, of eight 6 and 12 pounders and a crew of 60 French and Italians. Upon the appearance of the Mercury soon afterwards, the pirate landed the greater part of her crew; who, with a 4-pounder and musketry, posted themselves upon a hill to defend their vessel, which lay aground close to them with hawsers fast to the shore.

Being resolved to make an effort to stop the further career of this band of robbers, Captain Rogers despatched upon that service the boats of the frigate and brig, under the orders of Lieutenant William Mather, assisted by Lieutenant Wilson of the marines. Notwithstanding that they were exposed to a smart fire of cannon and musketry, both from the vessel and the hill, the boats gallantly rowed in ; and while Lieutenant Mather with the seamen boarded the Tigre, Lieutenant Wilson with the marines landed to drive away the banditti from the hill : the Mercury and Corso, at the same time overawed the pirates by occasionally firing such of their guns as would bear. The marines succeeded in their object without the loss of a man, and took several prisoners ; and the seamen, with equal good fortune, hove the tartan off the rocks and brought her out, together with a quantity of plunder, consisting of bales of cotton and other goods, which the Tigre had taken from vessels of different nations.

In the summer of this year, the three British frigates, Doris, Captain Charles Brisbane, Beaulieu, Captain Stephen Pointz, and Uranie, Captain George Henry Gage, by the orders of Admiral Cornwallis, who since the 21st of the preceding February had succeeded Earl St.-Vincent (appointed first lord of the admiralty) as commander-in-chief of the Channel fleet, were stationed off the point of St.-Mathieu, to watch the motions of the French and Spanish fleets in Brest harbour. In the month of July, while the above frigate-squadron was lying at anchor about three miles to the south-south-east of St.-Mathieu's lighthouse, and in full view of the combined fleet, the French 20-gun ship-corvette Chevrette was discovered also at an anchor, under some batteries in Camaret bay; a position in which the French considered their vessel almost as secure as if she was in the road of Brest. It will, nevertheless, not be thought surprising, that the British resolved to attempt cutting her out. Accordingly, on the night of the 20th, the boats of the Beaulieu and Doris (the Uranie not then present) manned entirely by volunteers, and placed under the orders of Lieutenant Woodley Losack, of the

^ back to top ^