1808	Recruit and Diligente	79

was enabled to bestow it with more effect. The Diligente them stood along the brig's larboard beam, with the intention probably of running round her a second time ; but a well-directed fire from the Recruit blew up a part of the ship's quarter, and cut away her stern-boat filled with small-arm men. Immediately on this the Diligente put her helm up, and ran away before the wind.

The Recruit quickly set about clearing the wreck, refitting her rigging, rebreeching and remounting her carronades, many of which had upset, and preparing herself to renew the action with the French ship ; who then lay upon her lee beam repairing her damages. At 2 P.M., having got ready to engage, the Recruit bore up to close ; but the Diligente, setting courses, topsails, and topgallant-sails, hauled to the wind on the starboard tack. At 4 P.M. the Recruit got up a jury mainmast and set a royal upon it, and hoisting her fore topsail, endeavoured again to close ; but every effort was in vain, and by 7 h. 30 m. p.m. the Diligente had run herself completely out of sight.

Notwithstanding the very serious nature of her damages, the Recruit does not appear to have had more than one man killed, and a few, besides the captain and second lieutenant, wounded. The brig was of course obliged to make the best of her way into port to get a new mainmast, and on the 10th she anchored in Carlisle bay, Barbadoes. The extent of the loss which the Diligente sustained has not been made public ; but we must suppose it to have been very heavy, to excuse Captain Lemaresquier for having abandoned the action after he had knocked away his antagonist's mainmast. He, indeed, takes care to assign a sufficient reason for his retreat ; no less than that several enemy's vessels were in sight, although not a sail of any kind, except the Diligente herself, could be discovered from the Recruit. His opponent the French captain takes to have been " le Curieux, de 20 carronades de 32," * and says: "Ce dernier a été totalement désemparé, et n'a échappé que parce que la Diligente, ayant une mission importante et voyant plusieurs bâtimens ennemis, n'a pas dû s'exposer en poursuivant son avantage, â ne voir couper le chemin de sa destination." This destination the Diligente reached in safety, and, at the surrender of Martinique a few months afterwards, was one of the few French national vessels that fell into the hands of the conquerors. The Diligente was a ship of 371 tons, and became added to the British navy by the name of St.-Pierre, the port in which she was found by her captors.

On the 29th of September, at 6 a.m., Pointe Antigua, island of Guadaloupe, bearing south-west, the British gun-brig Maria, of twelve 12-pounder carronades and two long fours, with 65

* See vol. iv., p.347. The brig was at this time lying at an anchor in the Harbour of Halifax, Nova-Scotia,

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