1812     CAPTURE OF EOLE PRIVATEER     55

scout that had been employed in unlading her. In executing this dashing service, the British had one seaman killed, and Mr. Palmer and one seaman slightly wounded.

On the 16th of July Captain Timothy Clinch, of the 18-gun ship-sloop Osprey, cruising in company with the 10-gun brig-sloops Britomart and Leveret, Captains William Buckly Hunt and George Wickens Willes, detached a boat from each, under the respective commands of Lieutenants William Henry Dixon of the Britomart, William Malone (2) of the Osprey and Francis Darby Romney of the Leveret, in chase of a French lugger privateer about nine leagues to the north-west of the island of Heligoland.

At 1 h. 30 m. p.m., when the three boats were about five leagues off, the lugger came to an anchor ; but, shortly afterwards, on perceiving the boats, she got under way and made sail. Lieutenant Dixon then cheered the boats, and sailed on until 3 h. 30 m. p.m. ; when the Britomart's boat, being ahead, opened her fire, at about musket-shot distance, and received from the lugger, after she had hoisted French colours, a fire in return which wounded one man. The Osprey's boat then closed ; but Lieutenant Dixon considered the lugger too powerful to be attempted without the aid of the Leveret's boat, then about half a mile distant. As soon as the latter came abreast of the two remaining boats, it was arranged that the Britomart's boat should attack the larboard, the Leveret's the starboard side, and the Osprey's the stern, of the French lugger.

The British then cheered and prepared for boarding. At this moment the oars of the Leveret's boat got foul of the Britomart's boat, and occasioned the former to drop astern. Lieutenants Dixon and Malone now grappled the lugger's stern, and, after a 10 minutes' obstinate struggle, made good their boarding. But it was not until after a 10 minutes' further resistance on the lugger's deck, that her colours were hauled down. Even then the French crew continued firing pistols up the hatchway, and wounded one or two of the British. These at length silenced the enemy's fire, and hoisted the English ensign. The lugger proved to be the Eole, of Dunkerque, pierced for 14 guns, but having only six mounted, with a crew on board of 31 officers and men. In this very spirited enterprise, the British sustained a loss, in the two boats that made the attack, of two seamen killed, Lieutenant Dixon (slightly) and 11 men wounded.

On the 1st of August, as the British 38-gun frigate Horatio, Captain Lord George Stuart, was in latitude 70° 40" north, running down the coast of Norway, a small sail was seen from the mast-head close in with the land ; and which, just before she disappeared among the rocks, was discovered to be an armed cutter. Considering it an object of some importance to attempt the destruction of the enemy's cruisers in this quarter, Lord George despatched the barge and three cutters of the Horatio,

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