somewhat disabled) nearly hull-down to the westward. Having made the signal that she had intelligence to communicate, the Melampus was ordered within hail of the Canada. At 8 h. 30 m. a.m. the two ships having approached each other, Captain Moore acquainted Sir John Warren with the course steered by two of the French frigates. whereupon the Melampus was directed to proceed to Donegal bay, in search of the frigate which the Canada had herself seen standing in towards that part of the land.

The Melampus, accordingly, made all sail to the south-east ; but, the wind coming off the land, and blowing fresh, it was not until 11 h. 30 m. p.m., that she got well in with St.-John's point. At this moment, while the Melampus, on account of the gale then beginning to blow, was shortening sail, two large ships made their appearance at no great distance from her, one on the weather bow, the other on the weather quarter. These were neither of them the Romaine of which she had been sent in chase, but the Immortalité and Résolue, running before the wind out of St.-John's bay, where they had been lying at an anchor under English colours. By the time the Melampus had made sail in chase, the two French frigates had passed to leeward of her, and, owing to the excessive darkness of the night, had at that moment lost sight of each other. The nearest frigate to the Melampus was the Résolue ; and it would not be doing justice to Captain Bargeau, his officers, and crew, were we to omit to mention some facts that have recently come to our knowledge. The Résolue was one of the old class of French 36-gun frigates, fitted with hanging ports to her main deck ; and at the commencement of the gale, her 12-pounders were run in and double breeched, and the ports shut and barred, to meet the coming storm. That done, the frigate weighed, as already stated, in company with her consort.

In this comparatively defenceless state was the Résolue, when she descried the Melampus coming up astern. The French officer of the watch told Captain Bargeau, that the Immortalité wanted to speak him. The Résolue accordingly shortened sail, and, at about 1 a.m. on the 14th, was hailed by the Melampus, then running at the rate of about ten knots an hour, and ordered to bring to. As, instead of that, the Résolue, who had now discovered her mistake, attempted to haul athwart the hawse of the Melampus, the latter opened her fire ; and, at the same moment, the British officers and crew heard the drum on board the French frigate beat to quarters. To the last two or three broad sides of five that were discharged into her, the Résolue returned a feeble fire from her quarterdeck guns, and then surrendered.

That the guns of the Melampus, during the nine or ten minutes they had been at work, had been most ably handled, is clear from the following account of her opponent's damage and loss : The Résolue had her main yard shot away, and her main

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