1813	Light Squadrons and Single Ships	164

passing, and received in return a fire that much injured her sails and rigging. At 8 a.m. a large ship was discovered bearing down. The Achates immediately hauled towards her and made the private signal ; but the stranger, instead of answering it, tacked from the brig and hauled close to the wind. In the mean time the Trave had bore up to the eastward. At noon, latitude 46° 37' north, longitude 7° 26' west, the Achates was again near enough to exchange shots with the Trave, and continued engaging in an advantageous position on her quarter, until about 8 p.m. ; when dark and squally weather concealed the Trave from her view. In this very spirited as well as skilful attack, Captain Morrison had the good fortune not to lose a man ; but the fire of the Achates had wounded two seamen belonging to the Trave.

Favoured by the darkness, the French frigate continued her course without further interruption, until, on the afternoon of the 23d, she encountered the British 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Andromache, Captain George Tobin. At 3 h. 30 m. p.m. the Trave opened a fire from her stern-chasers, but the Andromache did not return it until 4 h. 15 m. p.m. ; by which time she had gained a position on the French frigate's weather quarter. The fire which the Andromache now commenced was so close and well directed, that in a quarter of an hour the Trave hauled down her colours. Indeed, had the latter been an efficient instead of a dismasted ship, further resistance would have been vain, as the British 24-pounder 38-gun frigate Eurotas, Captain John Phillimore, was approaching in the north-east. Out of her 321 men and boys, the Trave had one seaman killed, her captain, second lieutenant, two midshipmen (one mortally), and 24 seamen wounded. The Andromache's loss consisted of only two wounded, but one was her first lieutenant, Thomas Dickinson, severely.

Both the Weser and Trave, being new frigates, one of 1081, the other of 1016 tons, were added to the British navy. It was considered rather singular, that frigates of that size should have been armed upon the quarterdeck and forecastle with carronades of so light and ineffective a caliber as 18-pounders. Of these, each frigate mounted 16, making, with her 28 long 18-pounders, 44 guns.

On the 9th of October, at 8 h. 30 m. a.m., the Owers light bearing north-north-east, the British bomb-vessel Thunder, Captain Watkin Owen Pell, being on her way from Spithead to Woolwich, observed a large armed lugger to windward under easy sail. His vessel being of a class likely to effect more by decoying than chasing an enemy, Captain Pell altered his coarse towards the shore and took in his studding-sails. The bait took, and the lugger, which was the Neptune, of Dunkerque, mounting 16 guns, with a crew on board of 65 men, bore up in chase. At 10 h. 30 m., a.m., having arrived on the

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