men, who had possession of her, when a desultory fire was kept up. De Ruyter was waxing wrathful, and came up to Aston with a hurried step, saying, "Sir, I entreat you— speak to your men ! If they are to expect the usages of war, let them desist from useless efforts at further opposition. It is mere wantonness, and I can no longer control my people, if yours are permitted, after they have struck their flag, to attempt to regain their boats. My only wish is to spare a greater effusion of blood."

Aston sprung forward, commanded the men, struggling in the barge, to desist, and come on board, and those on board to go below. "As for those boats already shoved off," he said, "they must take their chance."

"Let them!" replied De Ruyter, "I shall not impede their flight. I do not want boats or prisoners. Nevertheless I must do my duty in keeping those I have got, though I am sorry to have them. It is the most unprofitable victory I ever gained. I have lost some of my best men, and the services of others that are wounded."

"Continued success," observed Aston, "makes us perhaps too confident, and this is the result."

"No," said De Ruyter, "it is that confidence which insures your success in almost all you undertake. All nations have had their turn; while they thought themselves invulnerable, they were so; when they began to doubt it, no longer were they victorious. People become what they believe they are. The flags of Europe are faded, old, and rent, successively decaying. Those stars and stripes" (pointing to an American flag covering the hatchway) "must,-it is their station,-soar aloft! But," (turning to me) "shew your friend below, and make him welcome. There is much to be done. Yet what? holla! what is the matter? Why, you denied being wounded!"

From toil, exhaustion, and loss of blood, I dropped so suddenly on the deck, as if shot, that De Ruyter could not catch me, though he contrived to break my fall.

Van Scolpvelt had been some time on deck, looking over and summing up, with satisfaction, his rich harvest of patients. He viewed, with a malignant glance, an assistant surgeon,

who had accompanied Aston in his boat, and was bandaging a wound on the lieutenant's leg, having obtained De Ruyter's sanction to attend exclusively on his own wounded, which were by far the more numerous. These were by no means prepossessed in favour of Van Scolpvelt; on the contrary, as he was busily scanning amongst them for a case of amputation,. in order to make a trial of his newly-invented instrument, its horrid appearance, in such hands, made the stout hearts of these hardy sailors quail. I heard one of them say, "Tom, here's an Indian devil of a cannibal going to cast off our head-matting," (that is, scalp us,) "cut us up into junk, and sarve us out, like so much salt pork, to the ship's messes!"

"I'll be damned," replied the other, "if old Nick brings his fork here to ship me into the harness cask, I'll sarve him out with a long spoon!" At the same time he picked up one of the shot-ladles

The offended amputator complained of this mutinous conduct to De Ruyter, just before I fainted; and then said, leaning over me, "I thought how it would be! He laughed when I offered to dress the contusion on his face; but he won't laugh now!" (taking out his case of instruments). "Yes! he knows better than the doctor! I would sooner smoke my meershaum in the powder-magazine than have him to cure; for he is self-willed and obstinate as the she-kind are. He killed my patient, too! Could he not have left the man to me? So fond of shooting people, this is a judgment on him! But for him, I should have had the best case!"

During this soliloquy, which Aston repeated to me, they carried me into the cabin, where Scolpvelt loosened my shawlsash, and, on taking off my stained shirt, found two other wounds, one from a ball through the small part of my arm, the other a contusion on my side, from the butt end of a musquet. A judgment," he continued, "for the most atrocious of crimes-deceiving his surgeon! He would not learn how to put on a tourniquet either; what foolish and irrational people the English are! I don't doubt but that he would rather lose his life than his obstinacy. To cheat and rob his doctor of a pa-ti-e-n-t!" (here he was scooping about,

and shoving tow into the wound,) "Oh, ho! he don't like that! I thought he had no feeling."

Aston told me I was roused into motion by his applications; then, being called on by a dozen different messengers, he hastily dressed and bound up my wounds, and went to attend on his numerous patients.

ON

CHAPTER XXXV.

In stern reproach demanded where
Was now his grateful sense of former care?
Where all his hopes to see his name aspire
And blazon Briton's thousand glories higher?
His feverish lips thus broke the gloomy spell.

BYRON.

N recovering my senses, I found Aston stooping over me, sponging my face and breast with vinegar and water. It was some time before I understood where I was; for Aston's face reminded me of my drowning frolic. "I have been dreaming," I said; "is that Aston? where am I?"

Where I am sorry to find you. Under any flag but this, I could have forgiven you!"

This recalled my flitting remembrances together, and I said, "You will allow I had cause to be disgusted with the former. Now I fight under De Ruyter. Shew me a braver man, and I'll leave him; but there is none braver or nobler."

"Ay, he is well known for a gallant fellow, and I have found him so; but that is not to the purpose."

"Well, Aston, you know how I was situated; what better could I do? What, in my case, would you have done?"

He thought a moment, and taking my hand, said kindly, 'By heaven, I believe the same!" But then added, "when I was at your age."

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Ah! if you knew him as well as I do, you might go farther, and say at any age. I know I would; so let's say no more about it. I want to know how things are going on upon deck. It seems a dark night, and we're in a devilish queer place. What! is that the surf breaking against us?"

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No, against the rocks. Who would have ventured in such an anchorage as this but De Ruyter? I see his object, to prevent our ship's getting alongside of him. It is wonderful! I should as soon have thought of anchoring on the sand-heads in a tiffoon."

"Rest satisfied; he knows what he is at. 'Tis not the first time he has lain here; he told me so. But come, boy, hand out the grub and grog. I must supply the loss of this red liquor; I am dry as a sponge. What the devil has old Scolpvelt been at with my side? I feel the print of his cursed talons festering in my flesh. That fellow is ready made for chief torturer in hell. I wish, Aston, you would let your doctor overhaul me, for Van has spoiled my appetite."

Aston sent for him, and said: "That doctor of yours has certainly an extraordinary look. I can't say I like the cut of his jib."

Not half so bad as the feel of his paws; they burn like blue stone."

Aston's surgeon now came down. As doctors never openly censure individuals of their tribe, except by direct implication —that is, by always undoing what another has done so did he. Some soothing liniment was applied, and the accursed tow plugs were removed; which gave me as much relief as drawing a splinter out of a wound, in which it had been long rankling. Thus eased, I resumed my talk with Aston, shook hands with him, asked him about our old ship, and why he had quitted her; for I knew she was not the one which had chased us.

He told me a friend of his had just come out in command of the present frigate, and had got him appointed as first lieutenant. Having received intelligence of two French frigates, they had gone in all haste to report the same to the admiral at Madras; and he had ordered them, and another frigate, to go and look after, and by no means lose sight of the Frenchmen. They had discovered them lying in Port Louis, which they had been some days blockading. "Besides that," said he, "we had intelligence that De Ruyter was out in his corvette; with orders to endeavour to cut him off in his return to port. Not the smallest idea had we of finding him

here in the grab. We all mistook him for an Arab. I thought I had seen her somewhere, forgetting it was at Bombay. But then, I had not the slightest reason to suppose De Ruyter had any concern with her, or even De Witt; much less that they were one and the same person. He has done more harm to the Company's trade than all the French men of war together; and his head is worth a frigate's ransom. It is wonderful how long he has kept clear of the traps set for him, clever as he is."

De Ruyter having made his arrangements on deck, came down, shook Aston by the hand, and said: "This mischance of your falling into our hands will be no great evil. You can better afford it than I. What mercy should I have if the merchant inquisitors had me in their gripe? I would rather feel the elephant's knee, when in wrath, on my breast."

He then added: "to put you as much at ease as circumstances will allow, I have only to say that I leave the disposition of your men to your judgment, satisfied with your word of honour. How many men had you in the boats?"

"With officers and marines, sixty or more."

"Well, while your ship is in the neighbourhood, your men may be impatient and troublesome. She will be off here in the morning, and you may send the doctor on board with the badly wounded; they will be better attended to there, for we are lumbered up here, and altogether unprepared for such unexpected guests. I had no idea of any of your cruisers being off here. If you have any letters to write, get them ready."

He returned on deck, Aston wrote, and I slept till the ensuing morning. I was then well enough, with a stick, to scramble on deck. A look-out, whom we had placed on a point of rock on shore, gave us notice of the frigate's motions. Soon after day-break she stood in as far as she could with safety, to where we lay, with a top-gallant breeze. We sent our long boat on board her with a flag of truce, the wounded, under the care of the surgeon, and with letters from Aston.

The Captain of the frigate returned his thanks, but promised, notwithstanding De Ruyter's gentlemanly and humane conduct, to rout him out of his lurking-place.