1811	Light Squadrons and Single Ships	338

the Naiad. Whether the presence of this British frigate kindled the wrath of Napoléon, and he wished her away, or that he considered she would make an excellent target, for his prames and brigs to exercise their guns at, certain it is, that he ordered a division of the flotilla to weigh and stand towards her. At 1 p.m., the wind at south-south-west, and a strong flood tide setting to the north-east, Rear-admiral Baste, with see seven prames, each armed and manned as already stated, got under way, and steered for the Naiad, then bearing from them nearly north.

As, in the state of the wind and tide, the Naiad by getting under way would only increase her distance from the prames, she remained at an anchor with springs on her cable. At 1 h. 40 m. P.M. the leading prame, having arrived just within gunshot, opened her fire, and received the frigate's in return ; then tacked and stood off. Each of the leading prame's six followers did the same ; and at about 2 p.m. 10 brigs, mounting each four long 24-pounders, and a sloop fitted as a bomb-vessel, joined in the cannonade. At 3 h. 30 m. p.m., it being then slack water, the Naiad weighed and stood off on the larboard tack ; partly to repair some trifling damage, but chiefly, by getting to windward, to be better able to close with the prames and brigs, and get within shore of some of them. At 4 h. 45 m. the flotilla stood in under the batteries to the eastward of Boulogne, and ceased firing. At 5 h. 30 m. the Naiad tacked and stood in-shore, under all sail, in chase ; but, about sunset, the wind fell to a calm. Shortly afterwards the prames and gun-brigs came to anchor near Pointe la Crèche ; and at 7 h. 30 m. p.m. the Naiad herself anchored in her former position without having a man hurt. Nor had she the smallest spar shot away, as some token to the French emperor, who, no doubt, was honouring the British frigate with his regards, that the long 24-pounders of his flotilla, having failed to drive the Naiad off the coast, had even struck her with any effect.

On the 21st, at 7 a.m., when the weather tide made, the seven prames, 10 brigs, and bomb-sloop, with several one-gun luggers, got under way, and stood to the westward on the larboard tack, formed in two lines. The weathermost line consisted of three prames, the admiral's first, then a commodore's, and lastly pendant prame ; and the lee line, of four prames ; the brigs and small craft taking stations as most convenient in the rear of either line. The British in-shore squadron consisted this morning, besides the Naiad, of the Rinaldo and Redpole, the 18-gun brig-sloop Castilian, Captain David Braimer, and the 8-gun cutter Viper, Lieutenant Edward A. D'Arcey. These four vessels, having during the night stood in upon the Basse bank at the westernmost part of the bay, near fort L'Heurt, had, when the prames weighed at 7 a.m., tacked and hove to, formed in line thus : Rinaldo, Redpole, Castilian, Viper, with their head

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