there can be very little doubt was the Republicain, Pointe du Petit-Menou lying directly in a line with the Mingan rock, and with Pointe de Bertheaume, near to which at that time was the Diamond.

At 7 h. 40 m. a.m., not observing any ships in Brest road, the Diamond bore up towards Saint-Mathieu. At 8 a.m. the chateau de Bartheaume made several signals; on which the Diamond hoisted French national colours. In ten minutes afterwards a corvette, which had been running along Bertheaume bay to the westward, shortened sail, and evinced her suspicion of the Diamond by hoisting several signals, and hauling close under the lee of the castle. The British frigate, nevertheless, stood on, and soon passed within hail of the line-of-battle ship ; which, with jury yards and topmasts, was still at anchor, apparently without any maindeck guns, and very leaky. Sir Sidney asked the French commander, if he wanted any assistance. The latter is stated to have replied "No," and to have readily informed Sir Sidney, that the ship's name was the Nestor, that she had been dismasted in a gale of wind, and had parted from the fleet three days before. With this intelligence, the Diamond, whose disguised appearance, aided by Sir Sidney's excellent French, had completely deceived the French captain and his officers, crowded sail to rejoin her consorts.

While the French 74 and British frigate were speaking each. other, a French frigate, with topgallant yards across, lay at anchor a short distance to windward. It appears that this was the new 40-gun frigate Virginie, Captain Jacques Bergeret, and that the remaining French ship of the three which were beating up when the Diamond first saw them, was the 74-gun ship Fougueux, recently launched at Rochefort, and which, with the Virginie, had escorted from Bordeaux the 15 sail of vessels at anchor in Camaret bay. The Diamond, notwithstanding her perilous situation, got clear off, and at 10 h. 30 m. joined the Arethusa; which frigate the commodore stationed in-shore, on the look-out for her venturous companion.

Scarcely had the French fleet got well to sea before it encountered a gale of wind, in which several of the ships were damaged, and the Nestor, with the loss of some of her masts, put back, as has already been stated. The probability of the fleet's being kept at sea beyond the 15 days, for which the majority of the ships had been provisioned, rendered it necessary for the six Toulon ships to divide their six months' stock among their companions, and defer their voyage to another opportunity. In a day or two after the gale had abated a thick fog came on, in which the whole of Rear-admiral Vanstabel's division, of eight sail of the line and some frigates, separated and returned to Brest.

On the 28th of January, when the remainder of the fleet, continuing their cruise, had reached 150 leagues from Brest, a

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