CHAPTER XXVIII.
"And oh, the little warlike world within! The well-reeved guns, the netted canopy, The hoarse command, the busy humming din. When at a word, the tops are manned on high: Hark to the boatswain's call, the cheering cry! While through the seaman's hand the tackle glides, Or school-boy midshipman, that, standing by, Strains his shrill pipe, as good or ill betides, And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides."
BYRON.
"Are you quite sure, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, that there is not somemistake about the approach of the rear division of the French?" inquiredthe vice-admiral, endeavouring to catch some glimpse of the water,through the smoke on the larboard hand. "May not some crippled ship ofour own have sheered from the line, and been left by us, unknowingly, onthat side?"
"No, Sir Gervaise, there is _no_ mistake; there _can_ be none, unless Imay have been deceived a little in the distance. I saw nothing but thesails and spars, not of a single vessel, but of _three_ ships; and oneof them wore the flag of a French rear-admiral at the mizzen. As a proofthat I was not mistaken, sir, there it is this minute!"
The smoke on the off side of the Plantagenet, as a matter of course, wasmuch less dense than that on the side engaged, and the wind beginning toblow in eddies, as ever happens in a heavy cannonade, there were momentsin which it cast aside the "shroud of battle." At that instant anopening occurred through which a single mast, and a single sail werevisible, in the precise spot where Wycherly had stated the enemy mightbe looked for. It was a mizzen-top-sail, beyond a question, and above itwas fluttering the little square flag of the rear-admiral. Sir Gervaisedecided on the character of the vessel, and on his own course, in aninstant. Stepping to the edge of the poop, with his natural voice,without the aid of a trumpet of any sort, he called out in tones thatrose above the roar of the contest, the ominous but familiar nauticalwords of "stand by!" Perhaps a call from powerful lungs (and thevice-admiral's voice, when he chose to use it, was like the blast of aclarion) is clearer and more impressive, when unaided by instruments,than when it comes disguised and unnatural through a tube. At any rate,these words were heard even on the lower deck, by those who stood nearthe hatches. Taking them up, they were repeated by a dozen voices, withsuch expressions as "Look out, lads; Sir Jarvy's awake!" "Sight yourguns!" "Wait till she's square!" and other similar admonitions that itis usual for the sea-officer to give, as he is about to commence thestrife. At this critical moment, Sir Gervaise again looked up, andcaught another glimpse of the little flag, as it passed into a vastwreath of smoke; he saw that the ship was fairly abeam, and, as ifdoubling all his powers, he shouted the word "fire!" Greenly wasstanding on the lower-deck ladder, with his head just even with thecoamings of the hatch, as this order reached him, and he repeated it ina voice scarcely less startling. The cloud on the larboard side wasdriven in all directions, like dust scattered by wind. The ship seemedon fire, and the missiles of forty-one guns flew on their deadly errand,as it might be at a single flash. The old Plantagenet trembled to herkeel, and even bowed a little at the recoils, but, like one suddenlyrelieved from a burthen, righted and went on her way none the lessactive. That timely broadside saved the English commander-in-chiefs shipfrom an early defeat. It took the crew of le Pluton, her new adversary,by surprise; for they had not been able to distinguish the preciseposition of their enemy; and, besides doing vast injury to both hull andpeople, drew her fire at an unpropitious moment. So uncertain and hasty,indeed, was the discharge the French ship gave in return, that no smallportion of the contents of her guns passed ahead of the Plantagenet, andwent into the larboard quarter of le Temeraire, the French admiral'ssecond ahead.
"That was a timely salute," said Sir Gervaise, smiling as soon as thefire of his new enemy had been received without material injury. "Thefirst blow is always half the battle. We may now work on with some hopesof success. Ah! here comes Greenly again, God be praised! unhurt."
The meeting of these two experienced seamen was cordial, but not withoutgreat seriousness. Both felt that the situation of not only the ship,but of the whole fleet, was extremely critical, the odds being much toogreat, and the position of the enemy too favourable, not to render theresult, to say the very least, exceedingly doubtful. Some advantage hadcertainly been obtained, thus far; but there was little hope ofpreserving it long. The circumstances called for very decided andparticularly bold measures.
"My mind is made up, Greenly," observed the vice-admiral. "We must goaboard of one of these ships, and make it a hand-to-hand affair. We willtake the French commander-in-chief; he is evidently a good deal cut upby the manner in which his fire slackens, and if we can carry him, oreven force him out of the line, it will give us a better chance with therest. As for Bluewater, God only knows what has become of him! He is nothere at any rate, and we must help ourselves."
"You have only to order, Sir Gervaise, to be obeyed. I will lead theboarders, myself."
"It must be a general thing, Greenly; I rather think we shall all of ushave to go aboard of le Foudroyant. Go, give the necessary orders, andwhen every thing is ready, round in a little on the larboard braces,clap your helm a-port, and give the ship a rank sheer to starboard. Thiswill bring matters to a crisis at once. By letting the fore-sail fall,and setting the spanker, you might shove the ship ahead a littlefaster."
Greenly instantly left the poop on this new and important duty. He senthis orders into the batteries, bidding the people remain at their guns,however, to the last moment; and particularly instructing the captain ofmarines, as to the manner in which he was to cover, and then follow theboarding-party. This done, he gave orders to brace forward the yards, asdirected by Sir Gervaise.
The reader will not overlook the material circumstance that all we haverelated occurred amid the din of battle. Guns were exploding at eachinstant, the cloud of smoke was both thickening and extending, fire wasflashing in the semi-obscurity of its volumes, shot were rending thewood and cutting the rigging, and the piercing shrieks of agony, only somuch the more appalling by being extorted from the stern and resolute,blended their thrilling accompaniments. Men seemed to be converted intodemons, and yet there was a lofty and stubborn resolution to conquermingled with all, that ennobled the strife and rendered it heroic. Thebroadsides that were delivered in succession down the line, as shipafter ship of the rear division reached her station, however, proclaimedthat Monsieur des Prez had imitated Sir Gervaise's mode of closing, theonly one by means of which the leading vessel could escape destruction,and that the English were completely doubled on. At this moment, thesail-trimmers of the Plantagenet handled their braces. The first pullwas the last. No sooner were the ropes started, than the fore-top-mastwent over the bows, dragging after it the main with all its hamper, themizzen snapping like a pipe-stem, at the cap. By this cruel accident,the result of many injuries to shrouds, back-stays, and spars, thesituation of the Plantagenet became worse than ever; for, not only wasthe wreck to be partially cleared, at least, to fight many of thelarboard guns, but the command of the ship was, in a great measure,lost, in the centre of one of the most infernal _melees_ that everaccompanied a combat at sea.
At no time does the trained seaman ever appear so great, as when hemeets sudden misfortunes with the steadiness and quiet which it is amaterial part of the _morale_ of discipline to inculcate. Greenly wasfull of ardour for the assault, and was thinking of the best mode ofrunning foul of his adversary, when this calamity occurred; but themasts were hardly down, when he changed all his thoughts to a newcurrent, and called out to the sail-trimmers to "lay over, and clear thewreck."
Sir Gervaise, too, met with a sudden and violent check to the current ofhis feelings. He had collected his Bowlderos, and was giving hisinstructions as to the manner in which they were to follow, and keepnear his person, in the expected hand-to-hand encounter, when the heavyrushing of the air, and the swoop of the mass from above, announced whathad occurred. Turning to the men, he calmly ordered them to aid in
getting rid of the incumbrances, and was in the very act of directingWycherly to join in the same duty, when the latter exclaimed--
"See, Sir Gervaise, here comes another of the Frenchmen close upon ourquarter. By heavens, _they_ must mean to board!"
The vice-admiral instinctively grasped his sword-hilt tighter, andturned in the direction mentioned by his companion. There, indeed, camea fresh ship, shoving the cloud aside, and, by the clearer atmospherethat seemed to accompany her, apparently bringing down a current of airstronger than common. When first seen, the jib-boom and bowsprit wereboth enveloped in smoke, but his bellying fore-top-sail, and the canvasshanging in festoons, loomed grandly in the vapour, the black yardsseeming to embrace the wreaths, merely to cast them aside. Theproximity, too, was fearful, her yard-arms promising to clear those ofthe Plantagenet only by a few feet, as her dark bows brushed along theadmiral's side.
"This will be fearful work, indeed!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "A freshbroadside from a ship so near, will sweep all from the spars. Go,Wychecombe, tell Greenly to call in--Hold--'Tis an English ship! NoFrenchman's bowsprit stands like that! Almighty God be praised! 'Tis theCaesar--there is the old Roman's figure-head just shoving out of thesmoke!"
This was said with a yell, rather than a cry, of delight, and in a voiceso loud that the words were heard below, and flew through the ship likethe hissing of an ascending rocket. To confirm the glorious tidings, theflash and roar of guns on the off-side of the stranger announced thewelcome tidings that le Pluton had an enemy of her own to contend with,thus enabling the Plantagenet's people to throw all their strength onthe starboard guns, and pursue their other necessary work withoutfurther molestation from the French rear-admiral. The gratitude of SirGervaise, as the rescuing ship thrust herself in between him and hismost formidable assailant was too deep for language. He placed his hatmechanically before his face, and thanked God, with a fervour of spiritthat never before had attended his thanksgivings. This brief act ofdevotion over, he found the bows of the Caesar, which ship was advancingvery slowly, in order not to pass too far ahead, just abreast of thespot where he stood, and so near that objects were pretty plainlyvisible. Between her knight-heads stood Bluewater, conning the ship, bymeans of a line of officers, his hat in his hand, waving inencouragement to his own people, while Geoffrey Cleveland held thetrumpet at his elbow. At that moment three noble cheers were given bythe crews of the two friendly vessels, and mingled with the increasingroar of the Caesar's artillery. Then the smoke rose in a cloud over theforecastle of the latter ship, and persons could no longer bedistinguished.
Nevertheless, like all that thus approached, the relieving ship passedslowly ahead, until nearly her whole length protected the undefendedside of her consort, delivering her fire with fearful rapidity. ThePlantagenets seemed to imbibe new life from this arrival, and theirstarboard guns spoke out again, as if manned by giants. It was fiveminutes, perhaps, after this seasonable arrival, before the guns of theother ships of the English rear announced their presence on the outsideof Monsieur des Prez's force; thus bringing the whole of the two fleetsinto four lines, all steering dead before the wind, and, as it were,interwoven with each other. By that time, the poops of the Plantagenetand Caesar became visible from one to the other, the smoke now drivingprincipally off from the vessels. There again were our two admirals eachanxiously watching to get a glimpse of his friend. The instant the placewas clear, Sir Gervaise applied the trumpet to his mouth, and calledout--
"God bless you--Dick! may God for ever bless you--_your_ ship can doit--clap your helm hard a-starboard, and sheer into M. des Prez; you'llhave him in five minutes."
Bluewater smiled, waved his hand, gave an order, and laid aside histrumpet. Two minutes later, the Caesar sheered into the smoke on herlarboard beam, and the crash of the meeting vessels was heard. By thistime, the wreck of the Plantagenet was cut adrift, and she, too, made arank sheer, though in a direction opposite to that of the Caesar's. Asshe went through the smoke, her guns ceased, and when she emerged intothe pure air, it was found that le Foudroyant had set courses andtop-gallant-sails, and was drawing so fast ahead, as to render pursuit,under the little sail that could be set, unprofitable. Signals were outof the question, but this movement of the two admirals converted thewhole battle scene into one of inexplicable confusion. Ship after shipchanged her position, and ceased her fire from uncertainty what thatposition was, until a general silence succeeded the roar of thecannonade. It was indispensable to pause and let the smoke blow away.
It did not require many minutes to raise the curtain on the two fleets.As soon as the firing stopped, the wind increased, and the smoke wasdriven off to leeward in a vast straggling cloud, that seemed to scatterand disperse in the air spontaneously. Then a sight of the havoc anddestruction that had been done in this short conflict was firstobtained.
The two squadrons were intermingled, and it required some little timefor Sir Gervaise to get a clear idea of the state of his own ships.Generally, it might be said that the vessels were scattering, the Frenchsheering towards their own coast, while the English were principallycoming by the wind on the larboard tack, or heading in towards England.The Caesar and le Pluton were still foul of each other, though arear-admiral's flag was flying at the mizzen of the first, while thatwhich had so lately fluttered at the royal-mast-head of the other, haddisappeared. The Achilles, Lord Morganic, was still among the French,more to leeward than any other English ship, without a single sparstanding. Her ensigns were flying, notwithstanding, and the Thundererand Dublin, both in tolerable order, were edging away rapidly to covertheir crippled consort; though the nearest French vessels seemed morebent on getting out of the _melee_, and into their own line again, thanon securing any advantage already obtained. Le Temeraire was in the samepredicament as the Achilles as to spars, though much more injured in herhull, besides having thrice as many casualties. Her flag was down; theship having fairly struck to the Warspite, whose boats were alreadyalongside of her. Le Foudroyant, with quite one-third of her crew killedand wounded, was running off to leeward, with signals flying for herconsorts to rally round her; but, within less than ten minutes after shebecame visible, her main and mizzen-masts both went. The Blenheim hadlost all her top-masts, like the Plantagenet, and neither the Elizabethnor the York had a mizzen-mast standing, although engaged but a veryshort time. Several lower yards were shot away, or so much injured as tocompel the ships to shorten sail; this accident having occurred in bothfleets. As for the damage done to the standing and running rigging, andto the sails, it is only necessary to say that shrouds, back andhead-stays, braces, bowlines and lifts, were dangling in all directions,while the canvass that was open exhibited all sorts of rents, from thatwhich had been torn like cloth in the shopman's hands, to the littleeyelet holes of the canister and grape. It appeared, by the subsequentreports of the two parties, that, in this short but severe conflict, theslain and wounded of the English amounted to seven hundred andsixty-three, including officers; and that of the French, to one thousandfour hundred and twelve. The disparity in this respect would probablyhave been greater against the latter, had it not been for the manner inwhich M. des Prez succeeded in doubling on his enemies.
Little need be said in explanation of the parts of this battle that havenot been distinctly related. M. des Prez had man[oe]uvered in the mannerhe did, at the commencement of the affair, in the hope of drawing SirGervaise down upon the division of the Comte de Vervillin; and no soonerdid he see, the first fairly enveloped in smoke, than he wore shortround and joined in the affair, as has been mentioned. At this sight,Bluewater's loyalty to the Stuarts could resist no longer. Throwing outa general signal to engage, he squared away, set every thing that woulddraw on the Caesar, and arrived in time to save his friend. The otherships followed, engaging on the outside, for want of room to imitatetheir leader.
Two more of the French ships, at least, in addition to _le Temeraire_and _le Pluton_, might have been added to the list of prizes, had theactual condition of their fleet
been known. But, at such moments, acombatant sees and feels his own injuries, while he has to conjecturemany of those of his adversaries; and the English were too much occupiedin making the provisions necessary to save their remaining spars, torisk much in order to swell an advantage that was already soconsiderable. Some distant firing passed between the Thunderer andDublin, and l'Ajax, le Dugay Trouin, and l'Hector, before the two formersucceeded in getting Lord Morganic out of his difficulties; but it ledto no material result; merely inflicting new injuries on certain sparsthat were sufficiently damaged before, and killing and wounding somefifteen or twenty men quite uselessly. As soon as the vice-admiral sawwhat was likely to be the effects of this episode, he called off CaptainO'Neil of the Dublin, by signal, he being an officer of a "hot temper,"as the soldier said of himself at Waterloo. The compliance with thisorder may be said to have terminated the battle.
The reader will remember that the wind, at the commencement of theengagement, was at north-west. It was nearly "killed," as seamen expressit, by the cannonade; then it revived a little, as the concussions ofthe guns gradually diminished. But the combined effect of the advance ofthe day, and the rushing of new currents of air to fill the vacuumsproduced by the burning of so much powder, was a sudden shift of wind; abreeze coming out strong, and as it might be, in an instant, from theeastward. This unexpected alteration in the direction and power of thewind, cost the Thunderer her foremast, and did other damage to differentships; but, by dint of great activity and careful handling, all theEnglish vessels got their heads round to the northward, while the Frenchfilled the other way, and went off free, steering nearly south-east,making the best of their way for Brest. The latter suffered still morethan their enemies, by the change just mentioned; and when they reachedport, as did all but one the following day, no less than three weretowed in without a spar standing, bowsprits excepted.
The exception was _le Caton_, which ship M. de Vervillin set fire to andblew up, on account of her damages, in the course of the afternoon. Thusof twelve noble two-decked ships with which this officer sailed fromCherbourg only two days before, he reached Brest with but seven.
Nor were the English entirely without their embarrassments. Although theWarspite had compelled le Temeraire to strike, she was kept afloatherself with a good deal of difficulty, and that, too, not withoutconsiderable assistance from the other vessels. The leaks, however, wereeventually stopped, and then the ship was given up to the care of herown crew. Other vessels suffered of course, but no English ship was inas much jeopardy as this.
The first hour after the action ceased, was one of great exertion andanxiety to our admiral. He called the Chloe alongside by signal, and,attended by Wycherly and his own quarter-masters, Galleygo, who wentwithout orders, and the Bowlderos who were unhurt, he shifted his flagto that frigate. Then he immediately commenced passing from vessel tovessel, in order to ascertain the actual condition of his command. TheAchilles detained him some time, and he was near her, or to leeward,when the wind shifted; which was bringing him to windward in the presentstale of things. Of this advantage he availed himself, by urging thedifferent ships off as fast as possible; and long before the sun was inthe meridian, all the English vessels were making the best of their waytowards the land, with the intention of fetching into Plymouth ifpossible; if not, into the nearest and best anchorage to leeward. Theprogress of the fleet was relatively slow, as a matter of course, thoughit got along at the rate of some five knots, by making a free wind ofit.
The master of the Chloe had just taken the sun, in order to ascertainhis latitude, when the vice-admiral commanded Denham to settop-gallant-sails, and go within hail of the Caesar. That ship had gotclear of _le Pluton_ half an hour after the action ceased, and she wasnow leading the fleet, with her three top-sails on the caps. Aloft shehad suffered comparatively little; but Sir Gervaise knew that there musthave been a serious loss of men in carrying, hand to hand, a vessel likethat of M. des Prez. He was anxious to see his friend, and to hear themanner in which his success had been obtained, and, we might add, toremonstrate with Bluewater on a course that had led the latter to theverge of a most dangerous abyss.
The Chloe was half an hour running through the fleet, which was a gooddeal extended, and was sailing without any regard to a line. SirGervaise had many questions to ask, too, of the different commanders inpassing. At last the frigate overtook le Temeraire, which vessel wasfollowing the Caesar under easy canvass. As the Chloe came up abeam, SirGervaise appeared in the gangway of the frigate, and, hat in hand, heasked with an accent that was intelligible, though it might not haveabsolutely stood the test of criticism,--
_"Le Vice-Admiral Oakes demande comment se porte-il, le contre-amiral,le Vicomte des Prez?"_
A little elderly man, dressed with extreme care, with a powdered head,but of a firm step and perfectly collected expression of countenance,appeared on the verge of le Temeraire's poop, trumpet in hand, to reply.
"_Le Vicomte des Prez remercie bien Monsieur le Chevalier Oake, etdesire vivement de savoir comment se porte Monsieur le Vice-Amiral?_"
Mutual waves of the trumpets served as replies to the questions, andthen, after taking a moment to muster his French, Sir Gervaisecontinued--
_"J'espere voir Monsieur le Contre-Amiral a diner, a cinq heures,precis."_
The vicomte smiled at this characteristic manifestation of good-will andcourtesy; and after pausing an instant to choose an expression to softenhis refusal, and to express his own sense of the motive of theinvitation, he called out--
_"Veuillez bien recevoir nos excuses pour aujourd'hui, Mons. leChevalier. Nous n'avons pas encore digere le repas si noble recu a vosmains comme dejeuner."_
The Chloe passing ahead, bows terminated the interview. Sir Gervaise'sFrench was at fault, for what between the rapid, neat, pronunciation ofthe Frenchman, the trumpet, and the turn of the expression, he did notcomprehend the meaning of the _contre-amiral_.
"What does he say, Wychecombe?" he asked eagerly of the young man. "Willhe come, or not?"
"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, French is a sealed language to me. Neverhaving been a prisoner, no opportunity has offered for acquiring thelanguage. As I understood, you intended to ask him to dinner; I ratherthink, from his countenance, he meant to say he was not in spirits forthe entertainment."
"Pooh! we would have put him in spirits, and Bluewater could have talkedto him in his own tongue, by the fathom. We will close with the Caesar toleeward, Denham; never mind rank on an occasion like this. It's time tolet the top-gallant-halyards run; you'll have to settle your top-sailstoo, or we shall shoot past her. Bluewater may take it as a salute tohis gallantry in carrying so fine a ship in so handsome a manner."
Several minutes now passed in silence, during which the frigate was lessand less rapidly closing with the larger vessel, drawing ahead towardsthe last, as it might be, foot by foot. Sir Gervaise got upon one of thequarter-deck guns, and steadying himself against the hammock-cloths, hewas in readiness to exchange the greetings he was accustomed to give andto receive from his friend, in the same heartfelt manner as if nothinghad occurred to disturb the harmony of their feelings. The single glanceof the eye, the waving of the hat, and the noble manner in whichBluewater interposed between him and his most dangerous enemy, was stillpresent to his mind, and disposed him even more than common to thekindest feelings of his nature. Stowel was already on the poop of theCaesar, and, as the Chloe came slowly on, he raised his hat in deferenceto the commander-in-chief. It was a point of delicacy with Sir Gervaisenever to interfere with any subordinate flag-officer's vessel any morethan duty rigidly required; consequently his communications with thecaptain of the Caesar had usually been of a general nature, verbal ordersand criticisms being studiously avoided. This circumstance rendered thecommander-in-chief even a greater favourite than common with Stowel, whohad all his own way in his own ship, in consequence of therear-admiral's indifference to such matters.
"How do you do, Stowel?" called out Sir Gervaise, cordially. "I amd
elighted to see you on your legs, and hope the old Roman is not muchthe worse for this day's treatment"
"I thank you, Sir Gervaise, we are both afloat yet, though we havepassed through warm times. The ship is damaged, sir, as you may suppose;and, although it stands so bravely, and looks so upright, that foremastof ours is as good as a condemned spar. One thirty-two through the heartof it, about ten feet from the deck, an eighteen in the hounds, and adouble-header sticking in one of the hoops! A spar cannot be counted formuch that has as many holes in it as those, sir!"
"Deal tenderly with it, my old friend, and spare the canvass; thosechaps at Plymouth will set all to rights, again, in a week. Hoops can behad for asking, and as for holes in the heart, many a poor fellow hashad them, and lived through it all. You are a case in point; Mrs. Stowelnot having spared you in that way, I'll answer for it."
"Mrs. Stowel commands ashore, Sir Gervaise, and I command afloat; and inthat way, we keep a quiet ship and a quiet house, I thank you, sir; andI endeavour to think of her at sea, as little as possible."
"Ay, that's the way with you doting husbands;--always ashamed of yourown lively sensibilities. But what has become of Bluewater?--Does heknow that we are alongside?"
Stowel looked round, cast his eyes up at the sails, and played with thehilt of his sword. The rapid eye of the commander-in-chief detected thisembarrassment, and quick as thought he demanded what had happened.
"Why, Sir Gervaise, you know how it is with some admirals, who like tobe in every thing. I told our respected and beloved friend, that he hadnothing to do with boarding; that if either of us was to go, _I_ was theproper man; but that we ought both to stick by the ship. He answeredsomething about lost honour and duty, and you know, sir, what legs hehas, when he wishes to use them! One might as well think of stopping adeserter by a halloo; away he went, with the first party, sword in hand,a sight I never saw before, and never wish to see again! Thus you seehow it was, sir."
The commander-in-chief compressed his lips, until his features, andindeed his whole form was a picture of desperate resolution, though hisface was as pale as death, and the muscles of his mouth twitched, inspite of all his physical self-command.
"I understand you, sir," he said, in a voice that seemed to issue fromhis chest; "you wish to say that Admiral Bluewater is killed."
"No, thank God! Sir Gervaise, not _quite_ as bad as that, though sadlyhurt; yes, indeed, very sadly hurt!"
Sir Gervaise Oakes groaned, and for a few minutes he leaned his head onthe hammock-cloths, veiling his face from the sight of men. Then heraised his person erect, and said steadily--
"Run your top-sails to the mast-head, Captain Stowel, and round yourship to. I will come on board of you."
An order was given to Denham to take room, when the Chloe came to thewind on one tack and the Caesar on the other. This was contrary to rule,as it increased the distance between the ships; but the vice-admiral wasimpatient to be in his barge. In ten minutes he was mounting the Caesar'sside, and in two more he was in Bluewater's main-cabin. GeoffreyCleveland was seated by the table, with his face buried in his arms.Touching his shoulder, the boy raised his head, and showed a facecovered with tears.
"How is he, boy?" demanded Sir Gervaise, hoarsely. "Do the surgeons giveany hopes?"
The midshipman shook his head, and then, as if the question renewed hisgrief, he again buried his face in his arms. At this moment, the surgeonof the ship came from the rear-admiral's state-room, and following thecommander-in-chief into the after-cabin, they had a long conferencetogether.
Minute after minute passed, and the Caesar and Chloe still lay with theirmain-top-sails aback. At the end of half an hour, Denham wore round andlaid the head of his frigate in the proper direction. Ship after shipcame up, and went on to the northward, fast as her crippled state wouldallow, yet no sign of movement was seen in the Caesar. Two sail hadappeared in the south-eastern board, and they, too, approached andpassed without bringing the vice-admiral even on deck. These shipsproved to be the Carnatic and her prize, le Scipion, which latter shiphad been intercepted and easily captured by the former. The steering ofM. de Vervillin to the south-west had left a clear passage to the twoships, which were coming down with a free wind at a handsome rate ofsailing. This news was sent into the Caesar's cabin, but it brought noperson and no answer out of it. At length, when every thing had goneahead, the barge returned to the Chloe. It merely took a note, however,which was no sooner read by Wycherly, than he summoned the Bowlderos andGalleygo, had all the vice-admiral's luggage passed into the boat,struck his flag, and took his leave of Denham. As soon as the boat wasclear of the frigate, the latter made all sail after the fleet, toresume her ordinary duties of a look-out and a repeating-ship.
As soon as Wycherly reached the Caesar, that ship hoisted in thevice-admiral's barge. A report was made to Sir Gervaise of what had beendone, and then an order came on deck that occasioned all in the fleet tostare with surprise. The red flag of Sir Gervaise Oakes was run up atthe foreroyal-mast-head of the Caesar, while the white flag of therear-admiral was still flying at her mizzen. Such a thing had neverbefore been known to happen, if it has ever happened since; and to thetime when she was subsequently lost, the Caesar was known as the doubleflag-ship.