GENERAL HISTORY. 



[101 



slaves without ransom : the resti- 

 tution of the money which had 

 been ah-eady received for the Sar- 

 dinian and Neapolitan captives : 

 a solemn declaration from the 

 Dey, that he bound himself, as 

 those of Tunis and Tripoly had 

 done, in future wars to treat pri- 

 soners according to the usage of 

 European nations : and peace with 

 the king of the Netherlands on 

 the hke terms as those with the 

 Prince Regent of England. The 

 officer who bore these demands, 

 was directed to wait two or three 

 hours for the Dey's answer, and 

 then, if none was sent, to return 

 to the flag-sliip. He was met by 

 the Captain of the port, whom he 

 informed of the time allowed for 

 a reply to the requisitions ; and 

 after a delay of more than three 

 hours, he returned with a signal 

 flying, that no answer had been 

 received. 



The Admiral, who in the mean- 

 time had directed every prepara- 

 tion to be made for an attack, now 

 instantly gave the signal to know 

 if all the ships were ready ; 

 whicii being answered in the affir- 

 mative, he bore up in the Queen 

 Charlotte, followed by the fleet, 

 for their appointed stations. The 

 flag-ship was anchored at the 

 entrance of the mole, at the dis- 

 tance of about fifty yards ; and 

 at this moment not a gun had 

 been fired from the town ; " so 

 that, (says his lordship) 1 began 

 to suspect a full compliance with 

 the terms which had been so 

 many hours in their hands." The 

 grand scene of action has been 

 thus described. Algiers, contain- 

 ing a popidation of 80,000 souls, 

 rises with an awful abruptness 

 from the water's edge, to a great 



height. The batteries are one 

 above another, strongly construct- 

 ed and fortified. Sweeping from 

 the western extremity is a tongue 

 of land, which defends the en- 

 trance to the inner part of the 

 harbour, and also the approach 

 to it. Along the whole of this 

 tongue was a range of strong 

 batteries, which ships must pass 

 to take their station near the 

 town, in order to bombard it. 



A profound silence was pre- 

 vailing, when a shot was fired at 

 tlie Admiral's ship, which was 

 then being lashed to the main- 

 mast of an Algerine brig close to 

 the shore at the mouth of the 

 mole ; and two more shots at the 

 ships following. The position of 

 the Queen Charlotte was at the 

 extreme point of the tongue above 

 described, by which she enfiladed 

 tiie whole line of batteries along 

 it ; and she was so near, that 

 every part of the mole, and what 

 is called the Marine, was visible 

 from the quarter-deck. Tioth 

 these places were crowded with 

 spectators, who seemed as if they 

 expected no firing; which cir- 

 cumstance gave occasion to a dis- 

 play of Lord Exmouth's humanity, 

 mentioned in a private narration. 

 Before he began the dreadftd as- 

 sault, standing upon the poop, he 

 waved his hat as a warning for 

 these people to retire ; but the 

 signal was not attended to, and 

 the first broadside swept off some 

 hundreds of them. The other 

 ships took their stations %vith ad- 

 mirable coolness and precision j 

 and a fire more tremendous than 

 was perhaps ever before witnessed, 

 immediately commenced on both 

 sides, and was maintained from a 

 quarter before three, until nine 



without 



