AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FRANCIS ARAGO. 185 



France." '^ I thank you,'.' answered M, Dubois Thainville; "but I do 

 not the less deplore this event that it will retard, indefinitely perhaps, 

 the settlement of the account in which I am engaged with the Dey." 



During this conversation, armed with a telescope, T was looking 

 through the window of the dining-room, trying to persuade myself at 

 least that the captured vessel was not one of much importance. But 

 one must yield to evidence. It was pierced for a great number of guns. 

 All at once, the wind having displayed the flags, I perceived with sur- 

 prise the French flag over the English flag. I communicated what I 

 observed to Mr. Blankley. He answered immediately, " You do not 

 surely pretend to observe better with your bad telescope than I did with 

 my Doiland P 



"And you cannot pretend," said I to him in my turn, " to see better 

 than an astronomer by profession ? I am sure of my fact. I beg M. 

 Thainville's permission, and will go this instant to visit this mysterious 

 prize." 



In short, I went th6re ; and this is what I learnt : 



General Duhesme, Governor of Barcelona, wishing to rid himself of 

 the most ill-disciplined portion of his garrison, formed the principal part 

 into the crew of a vessel, the command of which he gave to a lieutenant 

 of Babastro, a celebrated corsair of the Mediterranean. 



There were among these improvised seamen a hussar, a dragoon, two 

 veterans, a miner with his long beard, &c. The vessel, leaving Bar. 

 celona by night, escaped the English cruiser, and got to the entrance 

 of Port Mahon. An English " lettre de marque " was coming out of the 

 port. The crew of the French vessel boarded her ; and a furious com- 

 bat on the deck ensued, in which the French got the upper-hand. It 

 was this "lettre de marque" which had now arrived at Algiers. 



Invested with full power by M. Dubois Thainville, I announced to the 

 prisoners that they were about to be immediately given up to their 

 consul. I respected even the trick of the captain, who, wounded by 

 several saber cuts, had contrived to cover up his head with his principal 

 flag. I reassured his wife; but my chief care was especially devoted to 

 a passenger whom I saw, with one arm amputated. 



" Where is the surgeon," I said to him, " who operated on you ?" 



" It was not our surgeon," he answered. " He basely fled with a part 

 of the crew, and saved himself on land." 



" Who, then, cut off your arm 1 " 



" It was the hussar whom you see here." 



" Unhappy man ! I exclaimed, " what could lead you, when it was not 

 your profession, to perform this operation ? " 



" The pressing request of the wounded man. His arm had already 

 swollen to an enormous size. He wanted some one to cut it off for him 

 with a blow of a hatchet. I told him that in Egypt, when I was in hos- 

 pital, I had seen several amputations made ; that I would imitate what 

 1 had seen, and might i^erhaps succeed That at any rate it would be 



