1810	Captain Pym at Grand-Port	283

The calm state of the weather soon enabled them to reach the ship; and the two officers and their brave little band, armed with the boats' stretchers only, fought their way up her side.. Thus was the Windham, mounting 26 guns and manned by a lieutenant de vaisseau and at least 30 French sailors, captured by 11 unarmed British seamen, without the slightest loss ; and that, too, within gun-shot of several formidable batteries.

As these batteries now began to fire at the ship, Lieutenant Watling was still in a very critical situation. At length, after having sustained the fire for 20 minutes, and had the Windham's standing and running rigging greatly cut, some of her masts and yards injured, and one Frenchman and two or three Lascars wounded, Lieutenant Watling brought off his valuable prize in safety. Of this very gallant exploit, we can find no official account, beyond a passage in a letter to the admiralty, from commissioner Shield at the Cape, stating that the Windham had been recaptured by the Sirius.

Captain Pym despatched the Windham to Commodore Rowley at St.-Paul's bay ; and, in consequence of the intelligence communicated by the prisoners and others on board of her, he sent the Magicienne, which had just joined, to bring the Iphigenia and Staunch to Isle de la Passe : whither the Sirius herself made all sail round the south side of the island. Captain Pym proceeded by this route to prevent suspicion ; but it appears that General Decaen at Port-Louis did suspect what was going on, and sent an express across to Grand-Port. Thus it was that, in the course of the afternoon of the 21st, occasioned Commodore Duperré to remove his ships to a position close off the town of Grand-Port. There he moored them, with springs on their cables, in the form of a crescent ; stationing his vanship, the Minerve, just behind a patch of coral, next to her the Ceylon, then the Bellone, and lastly the Victor, with her stern close to the reef that skirts the harbour.

The Sirius picked up the Néréide boat with Lieutenant Deacon on board ; and on the 22d, at 11 h. 10 m. a.m., arrived off the island and exchanged numbers with the Néréide still at anchor within it ; and who immediately hoisted the signals "Ready for action ;" " Enemy of inferior force." Having, from the situation of the French squadron, decided on an immediate attack, Captain Pym made the signal for the master of the Néréide. Mr Robert Lesby accordingly went on board the Sirius, to conduct her, as he supposed, to the anchorage at the back of the island. The Sirius now made all sail, with the usual east-south-east or trade wind, and bore up for the passage ; and at 2 h. 40 m. P. M,, agreeably to a signal to that effect from the Sirius, the Néréide got under way, and, under her staysails only, stood after her consort down the channel to Grand-Port. At 4 p.m., having still the Néréide master on board, but not her black pilot, who was the only

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