enable her to rake us effectually. Captain Gaisford,
on the other hand, directed the attention of his
gunners almost exclusively to the hull of his gigantic
opponent, and right smartly and well our brave boys
114 TJte Autobiography of a Man-o' -War's Bel!.
poured the round shot and grape into the lower deck
batteries of the line-of-battlc ship. The fire from
these quarters visibly slackened under the "Melpo-
mene's" efforts to silence the guns, but the main-
deck batteries kept up a galling and destructive
cannonade that began to tell heavily upon us, owing
to our inferior weight of metal.
We had commenced the action under top-sails
only, having hauled up our courses and clued up the
topgallant sails. The captain being anxious to get
ahead a little, out of the enemy's fire, which was
cutting up his men more than he liked, sent aloft
some hands to overhaul the fore and main gear.
There was some delay, however, owing to the star-
board main tack and sheet, with the blocks through
* O
which they were rove, having been shot away, but
the riggers, under the supervision of the boatswain,
took the end of the sheet up the rigging, and fitting
it with clip-hooks, very soon had all ready, and let
the main gear run, when it was discovered that
owing to a blow from a piece of grape or bar shot,
the "clew garnet" would not travel through the
block in the slings of the yard. The delay in clear-
ing this, kept the " Melpomene " still longer under
the fire of her formidable antagonist; the men were
falling fast at the guns, and the action had become
The Autobiography of a Man-o' -War's Bell. \ 1 5
hotter than was quite comfortable. The captain not
liking this condition of affairs, ordered the " clew
garnet " to be cut, and at length the gear ran freely,
and the mainsail was set. This, together with the
foresail caused the frigate to forge slowly ahead,
when the commander of the Frenchman followed
suit and overhauled his fore and main gear, in order
to keep us under the terrific fire he had been pouring
into us, at such short range, from his heavy main-
deck guns.
" Set the top-gallant sails," shouted out the cap-
tain, anxious to secure the advantage he had almost
within his grasp. Hardly had he uttered the words,
when a shot from the enemy struck the end of the
jibboom, carrying it away, and at the same moment
a puff of wind brought clattering about our ears the
foretopgallant mast, the backstays of which had
early been shot away. For a moment I thought the
maintop-gallant mast would follow, when we should
have been without the upper sails, which are most
essential, circumstanced as we now were with a light
breeze, and what little there was almost driven away
by the heavy cannonading. The foretop'man, who
had run up aloft to obey the order of his superior,
was hurled down from aloft amidst the ruin of stand-
ing and running rigging, but, happily, fell overboard,
1 1 6 The Autobiography of a Man-o '- War's Bell.
and hence was enabled to regain the ship by dint of
good swimming, and a handy rope's end that was
trailing alongside.
Fortunately the maintop-gallant sail was set with-
out further delay, and then the " Melpomene," under
the influence of this sail, which caught the air that
in the upper regions was not so subject to the deaden-
ing effects of the tempest of "villanous saltpetre"
raging below, drew gradually ahead of her huge oppo-
nent. Now seizing his opportunity, Captain Gais-
ford ported his helm, and skilfully bringing his ship
on the port bow of the Frenchman, poured into her,
broadside after broadside, raking her from stem to
jtern. The captain of the enemy, in his turn, sought
to set his top-gallant sails, so as to place himself
once more on an equality with his f puny adversary ;
but the British commander, anticipating this inten-
tion, was not going to allow himself to be placed a
second time, if he could help it, in the clutches of the
line-of-battle ship. He sent up some young mid-
shipmen with strict orders to the marines and rifle-
men in the "Melpomene's" tops to devote their
attention exclusively to shooting any men engaged
aloft in assisting to set the top-gallant sails, while
the fire of the small swivels or wall-pieces, which in
those days were fitted in the tops, as a component
The Autobiography of a Man-o'- War's BelL 1 1 7
part of the armament of a ship-of-war, was directed
at the top-gallant gear, and with such good effect
that very soon those sails were rendered useless for
sailing purposes.
The seamen of the " Melpomene," quickly
observant of the comparative immunity from the
ravages of the enemy's shot they now enjoyed,
thanks to the superior seamanship of their officers,
worked their guns with enthusiasm, and it appeared
as if their efforts would be rewarded with success,
when the French Admiral made the signal to his fleet
to discontinue the action. The opponent of the " Mel-
pomene " hauled her wind on the starboard tack, and
another ship of the enemy just then making her
appearance on the scene, the British frigate was
robbed of the glory of having silenced the hre of her
unwieldly antagonist. It was about ten minutes past
four that the enemy's rear began to give way ; this
example was soon followed by the centre, and finally
by the van-division led by M. d'Apche. Thus the
whole fleet were defeated, and bore away to the
S.S.E. with every stitch of canvas they could spread.
The British squadron was so much damaged in
the masts, spars, and rigging that they could not
pursue, so that M. d'Apache retreated at his leisure
unmolested. On counting up the losses sustained
u8 The Autobiography of a Man-o'-War''s Bell.
by his fleet, Admiral Pococke found that more than
300 men had been killed in the engagement, in-
cluding Captain Miehe who commanded the "New-
castle/' Captain Gore of the Marines, with two
lieutenants, a master gunner and boatswain, while
more than 250 seamen and marines were wounded,
among the number being Captains Somerset and
Brereton. The loss of the enemy must have been
much more considerable, not only on account of
their ships being crowded with men, but because
their fire had been directed chiefly at our vessels
aloft. This they certainly did to a great extent, for
many of our ships were seriously crippled, and were
scarcely in a condition to renew the action.
The " Melpomene " lost twenty-nine men killed
and thirty-three wounded; none of her officers were
numbered in the former category, but both Captain
Gaisford and his first lieutenant, Jacob Higham, were
slightly wounded. The former gallant officer could
not account for the singular manner in which he
received his wound. It was during the heat of the
action that a musket-ball struck the wrist of his
right hand ; luckily for him he had his sword in his
grasp, for it was at a time when the enemy appeared
bent upon boarding the English frigate, and the hilt
of his weapon broke the force of the bullet, which
The Autobiography of a Man-o'- War's Bell. 1 19
moreover, Captain Gaisford declared came from the
fore-part of his own ship. It was put down to the
clumsiness or trepidation' of one of the crew, and no
more was thought of the incident. Of three seamen
whom I have more particularly described in the
earlier chapters of this work, all escaped with their
lives, but both John Mullins and Tim Johnson were
wounded the former, slightly by the recoil of one
of the carronades which bruised and lacerated his
legs, and the latter more severely by a piece of
grape-shot which carried away three fingers of his
left hand ; however, they both recovered and returned
to their duties within three weeks, though Johnson
was shifted from his post of captain of the maintop,
for which the loss of his fingers disqualified him, to
that of quarter- master of the starboard watch.
On the 1 5th of September, Admiral Pococke
returned to Madras, where his fleet was placed under
repair, but such a penchant had the old sailor for
fighting, that he directed the captains of his fleet to
have " all ataunto " by the 26th, on which day he
expressed his determination to proceed to sea again
in search of the enemy. Sure enough, on the morn-
of the 26th, he gave the signal to weigh, and stood
towards Pondicherry. On our arrival off that city,
then the chief stronghold of the French in India, we
izo The Autobiography of a Man-o^ -War's Bsll.
saw the whole of M. d'Apche's fleet in the roadstead,
lying at anchor in line of battle. The British ad-
miral drew up his fleet, and the wind being oft' shore,
waited for his adversary to sally out to meet him.
At length, after a short period of doubt and un-
certainty, the French commander-in-chief weighed,
and came forth, but not to battle. Instead of bear-
ing down upon the English fleet, which had fallen
somewhat to leeward, he kept close to the w r ind, and
setting a press of sail stretched away to the south-
ward. Admiral Pococke, finding him averse to
another engagement, and his own squadron being in
no condition to pursue with any chance of success,
took counsel with his captains and returned to
Madras.
The French fleet, having on board the famous
General Lally and some other military officers, made
the best of their way to the island of Mauritius, then
in their occupation, with the intention of refitting.
Thus, though superior in number and force, they left
the English undisputed masters of the Indian coast,
in which they were confirmed by the arrival in Mad-
ras Roads on the i8th of October, of a reinforcement
of four ships of the line, under Rear-Admiral
Cornish.
About the latter part of the year 1759, Colonel
The A utobiography of a Man-o '- War's Bell. \ 2 r
(afterwards Sir Eyre) Coote arrived from England,
and taking command of the British troops, captured
Wandewash and other forts; defeated in the open
field at Arcot, General Lally (who had returned from
Mauritius) with the loss of 800 men and 22 pieces
of cannon ; captured the strong fort of Arcot early
in February, 1760; and overran and conquered the
entire province of that name in an incredibly short
space of time.
Colonel Coote, after having defeated the French
General Lally in the field, and reduced most of the
enemy's settlements on the Coromandel Coast, at
length cooped them up within the walls of Pondi-
cherry, the principal seat of the French East India
Company ; this city, large, populous, and well-
fortified, was held by a numerous garrison under the
immediate command of Lally.
In the month of October, 1760, Admiral Stevens,
who had succeeded Admiral Pococke in the command
in these waters, sailed for Trincomalee in the island
of Ceylon, the chief Royal naval station, in order to
have his fleet refitted, and left a division of five sail
of the line and the "Melpomene," under the command
of Commodore Haldane, to blockade Pondicherry,
and carry on the operations by sea, while Colonel
Coote pressed the siege by land, which he did with
122 The Autobiography of a Man-o'- War's Bell.
all his wonted zeal and vigour. By this disposition,
and the vigilance of the Commodore and the captains
of the ships of his squadron, the place was so closely
invested, as to be greatly distressed for want of pro-
visions, even before the siege operations were fairly
inaugurated. Heavy rains, unusually protracted this
year, rendered all regular approaches impracticable.
On their abatement Colonel Coote, on the 26th of
November, directed the engineers to commence the
formation of the batteries.
We will pass over the operations connected with
the prosecution of the siege of Pondicherry, and speak
of the imminent danger to which all on board the
" Melpomene" were subjected about this time. On
the 25th of December, Admiral Stevens, with four
ships of the line, joined the blockading - squadron
under Commodore Haldane, and assumed the chief
command. He had a few days previously parted, in
stormy weather, with Rear- Admiral Cornish and his
division, though the latter rejoined the fleet at Pondi-
cherry before the place was surrendered. But His
Majesty's sailors and ships had other enemies to
contend with more powerful than any number of
Frenchmen ashore or afloat. On the ist January,
1761, a violent gale broke forth, and as there is no
breakwater or shelter for shipping in Madras Roads,
The Autobiography of a Man-o' -War's Bell.
123
Admiral Stevens had to slip his cables, and with the
rest of the fleet, proceed to sea, and battle against
this ancient enemy where there was a " fair field and
no favour/' such as might be afforded to the sailors'
natural enemy by the proximity of a "lee shore "
that most terrible of all allies to the cause of the
" Storm Fiend. " Each ship now had to fight it out
alone and unaided, for so malignant was the assault
of the aforesaid demon, that the entire fleet was
scattered on the face of the waters, and having lost
sight of each other, was driven by the fury of the
tempest hither and thither each ship striving to the
utmost of her ability to weather the fury of the old
yet ever new enemy.
The men of the " Melpomene " met the furious
onset of the gale, with the calmness engendered by
the knowledge that the gallant old frigate was pre-
pared for eventualities at all points, like a knight
clad in a suit of mail. The alarming rapidity with
which the mercury fell in the barometric tube, gave
ample warning of what was brewing, so that when
Captain Gaisford slipped his cable, obedient to a
signal from the flagship, he at once sent down his
top-gallant masts, bent storm sails, close reefed his
topsails, secured his guns with double lashings, had
life-lines fitted on deck, " preventer braces aloft/*
1 24 The A utobiography of a Man-o '- War's Bell.
hoisted his boats "chock up" to the davits and
lashed them securely there, and in fact took every
precaution that good seamanship and lengthened ex-
perience suggested as a wise provision against one of
those terrible cyclones that periodically occasion not
only lamentable loss of life and shipping at sea, but
desolate coasts of the Indian peninsula in a manner
and to an extent of which we Europeans can form no
conception from experience. Notwithstanding all
that could be done to mitigate the dire consequences
of this visitation, for so these furious circular storms
may be termed, the " Melpomene" did not come out
of the encounter without signal marks of the severity
of die struggle. Her starboard cutter was washed
away during the night, so neatly and thoroughly,
that when day dawn broke and displayed the havoc
of the storm, not a chip was left on the davit heads,
which stood out in the morning air like a couple of
gallows. During the night the tiller ropes were also
carried away, and one man received a blow on the
head that fractured his skull, while a second was
hurled overboard and was never seen again. For a
O
minute or so the ship was in imminent danger of
having her decks swept, and indeed of foundering
with all hands on board ; for, released from the re-
straint of the rudder, she fell off rapidly from before
The A uiobiy^r.iphy of a Afzn-9 '- War 's Bell. 125
the wind, and like a runaway horse that has got the
bit between his teeth, and starts off at mad speed to
dash his brains out against the first stone wall, the
O f
frigate appeared as if now that she had "got her
head," she intended to work mischief to herself and
all concerned. But there were brave hearts among
the crew of the " Melpomene," as well as cool heads
among the officers, and before she could make away
with herself in this discreditable manner, and so not
only put an end to many valuable lives, but sink the
man-o'-war's bell in a thousand fathoms of water,
and so have prevented the recital of this veracious
autobiography, I say, before she could do this, a
dozen hands, headed by William Morris, sprang up
the poop, and made a dash at the wheel, which was
flying round, and backward and forwards in a manner
terrible to behold. Quick as thought the quarter-
master of the watch, Tim Johnson (for it was none
other than he) seized some spare rope, he had all
ready at hand to be used in the event of such or
similar accidents, and running it through the blocks
with the aid of a shipmate or two, quickly got the
wheel under control. Jamming the helm hard down,
the brave fellows brought the runaway up to the
wind again, and there she stood, dipping her bows
deep into the churning seas, and casting her crest up
126 The Autobiography of a Ma/i-0'- War's Bell.
again with a fierce jerk, as if, like the high mettled
steed to which I have already likened her, she was
champing with impotent rage the bit that had got
the better of her, and tacitly owned the superior might
of the "taut" hands that had gained the mastery,
and had the helm well in hand.
After the cyclone a heavy gale of wind lasted for
three days, and left its mark not only on the hull
and rigging of the frigate, but also in the diminished
crew that answered to their names at divisions on
the following morning. While the forecastle-men
of the port watch were flattening the sheets of the
storm fore-topmast staysail, a gigantic sea came
tumbling on board the fore part of the ship ; it met
the frigate before she had had time to raise herself
from the deep dive she made, after the previous wave
had receded from under her bows. The flood burst
upon her, and hurling three of the seamen who were
" taking a pull " on the fore topmast staysail sheet
backwards on to the spar-deck with a force that one
would have thought must have broken their backs or
heads, and deluging the decks with its vast volume
of water, carried back into the sea over to leeward
five fellows, whose gallant hearts, after a feeble and
ineffectual struggle against the choking waves, soon
ceased to beat for ever.
The Autobiography of a Man-o'-War's Bell. 127
At length, after three days, Captain Gaisford
was able to set sail, and make his way back to
Pondicherry, when he learned a terrible tale of
damage and disaster. The line-of- battle ships,
"Duke of Acquitaine" and " Sunderland " had
foundered in the tempest with every soul on board.
The " Newcastle " and the " Queenborough," line-
of- battle ships, and the " Protector," fireship, were
driven ashore, and had gone to pieces, but the men
were saved, together with the guns, stores, and pro-
visions. Many, indeed all the other ships had
sustained considerable damage. Notwithstanding
these heavy obstacles to the proper discharge of
their duties as a blockading fleet, none of the
captains sought permission to retire to Trincomalee
to refit, but repaired their ships as best they could,
with the means at their disposal, and showing a bold
front to the enemy, continued to blockade Pondi-
cherry. So effective was the mode in which this
investment was carried out by sea, that Lally was
driven to the most desperate straits to procure sup-
plies. To give an instance. One day Admiral
Stevens intercepted a letter from the French General
to Monsieur Raymond, the French Resident at
Pullicat, the contents of which were couched in the
following terms :
128 The Autobiography of a Man-o '-Wars Bell.
" MONSIEUR RAYMOND, The English squadron
is no more, sir. Of the twelve ships they had in our
road, seven are lost, crews and all ; the other four
dismasted ; and no more than one frigate has
escaped. Therefore, lose not an instant in sending
chelingoes upon chelingoes laden with rice. The
Dutch have nothing to fear now. Besides, accord-
ing to the law of nations, they are only restricted
from sending us provisions in their own bottoms,
and we are no longer blockaded by sea. . The salvation
of Pondicherry hath been.once in your power already;
if you neglect this opportunity, it will be entirely
your own fault. Don't forget some small chelingoes
also ; offer great rewards ; in four days I expect
17,000 Mahrattas. In short, risk all attempt all
force all, and send us some rice, should it be but
half a garse at a time."
On receipt of this note ; so characteristic of the
unfortunate Lally, Admiral Stevens immediately
dispatched letters to the Dutch and Danish settle-
ments on the coast, intimating that, notwithstanding
the insinuations of the French general, he had eleven
sail of the line, with two frigates, under his com-
mand, all fit for service, in Pondicherry roadstead,
which was, moreover, closely invested by sea and
The Autobiography of a Man-o'-War's Bell. 129
land. He therefore declared that, as in that case it
was contrary to the law of nations for any neutral
power to relieve or succour the besieged, he was de-
termined to seize any vessel that should attempt to
throw provisions into the place.
The garrison and inhabitants of Pondicherry
were, by the I5th of January, 1761, reduced to the
utmost extremity of famine, and General Lally was
driven to the necessity of sending to the British
commander a colonel, attended by the chief of the
Jesuits and two civilians, with proposals having for
their object the surrender of the garrison as prisoners
of war, and demanding a capitulation on behalf of
the French East India Company, of which he was
the chief. On this last head, Colonel Eyre Coote
made no reply, but next morning took possession of
the town and citadel, where he found a great supply
of artillery, ammunition, small arms, and military
stores. The garrison, amounting to two thousand
Europeans, were also made prisoners of war. Thus
was effected the capture of Pondicherry, and so
virtually may be said to cease the existence of the
French East India Company, whose power at one
time exceeded that of its rival, the English Company,
with which it had so long run a close race for Empire.
Poor Lally, who had made such a gallant defence,
9
130 The Autobiography of a Man-o'-War's Bell.
was treated with the utmost ignominy on his return
to his native land, and was at length put to a cruel
death by an enraged populace and weak govern-
ment. Regarding the part taken by the fleet in the
reduction of the chiefest of French strongholds in
India, Smollett, in his " History of England/'
writes :
" It may be doubted, however, whether Colonel
Coote, with all his spirit, vigilance, and military
talents, could have succeeded in this enterprise
without the assistance of the squadron which co-
operated with him by sea, and effectually excluded
all succour from the besieged. It must be owned,
for the honour of the service, that no incident inter-
rupted the good understanding which was maintained
between the land and sea officers, who vied with each
other in contributing towards the success of the
expedition."
Thus it was that both soldiers and sailors co-
operated in the. grand work of laying the foundations
of that superb empire in the East India Company,
which now forms the brightest jewel in the imperial
diadem of Queen Victoria.
Though naturally British seamen played a sub-
ordinate part in the drama that ended in the disper-
sion of the French, and the reduction of the entire
The A utobiography of a Man-o '- War's Bell. 131
peninsula; though Admirals Watson and Pococke,
and their brother sailors, were not in a position to
undertake the roles so ably filled by Clive, Coote,
Forde, and their associates, yet their great deeds,
not only afloat in numberless engagements, but also
ashore under Clive at Plassy, and also at Severn-
droog, attest the claims of the navy to no inconsi-
derable share of the glory of adding Hindostan, with
its countless millions of inhabitants, as an appanage
to that empire on which the sun never sets.
CHAPTER VI.
THE DUEL ON THE FORECASTLE.
AFTER serving on the East India station for a further
period of a year, the ' ' Melpomene " was ordered home,
and sailed for England on the 5th of March, 1763.
Nothing very remarkable occurred during the return
voyage, until we got to the line, when an event took
place, which, as it concerns Mr. James Duckworth
(for he was no longer a boy, being now in his nine-
teenth year), I will not apologize for laying before
my readers.
For some time previous to the occurrence of this
incident, there had been a feud between the young
officer of whom I have just spoken, and the senior
mate in the gun-room. It arose, I believe, through
a feeling of jealousy entertained by the latter against
young Duckworth, owing to his being a favourite
both with the captain and the ward-room officers.
It was usually customary that the senior mate, as
representative of the gun-room, should be asked to