PaRTER^S iIOURNA)L. 



145 



prepared for action, but that I should only act on the de- 

 fensive. He immediately answered, as he leaned over the 

 quarter, in a careless and indifferent manner : " O, Sir, I 

 have no intention of getting on board of you." I told him 

 again, if he did fall on board of me, there would be much 

 bloodshed. He repeated his assurances, with the same 

 nonchalance^ that such was not his intention. Finding, 

 however, that he luffed up so as to cause his ship to take 

 aback, whereby her jib-boom came across my forecastle, 

 I immediately called all hands to board the enemy, direct- 

 ing them, if the ships' hulls touched, to spring upon the 

 deck of the Phoebe. At this moment, not a gun from the 

 Phoebe could be brought to bear on either the Essex or 

 Essex Junior, while her bow was exposed to the raking fire 

 of the one, and her stern to that of the other. Her con- 

 sort, which proved to be the Cherub, of 28 guns, was too 

 far off to leeward, to afford any assistance. 



It is quite impossible for me to describe the consterna- 

 tion on board the Phcebe, when they saw every officer and 

 man of the Essex armed with a cutlass and a brace of 

 pistols, ready to jump on board. They had been informed 

 by the boat of an English ship in Port, that the Essex 

 was in great confusion, from the entertainment, and that 

 the greater part of her crew were on shore. On wit- 

 nessing this unexpected preparation for his reception, 

 Captain Hillyar raised both his hands, and protested 

 with the utmost vehemence, that he had no intentioa 

 of getting on board of me ; that it was altogether an 

 accident that his ship had been taken aback ; that he 

 was exceedingly sorry she had been placed in that situ- 

 ation ; and that he had no hostile intention in doing so. 



The Phcebe was at this moment completely at my 

 mercy. I could have destroyed her in fifteen minutes. 

 The temptation was great ; and the equivocal appear- 

 ance of this near approach of the enemy might have 

 justified my attacking him on the plea of self-defence. 

 But I was disarmed by these assurances of Captain Hill- 

 yar ; and accordingly, hailing lieut. Downes, told him 

 not to commence hostilities without my orders, as it 

 was my intention to allow Captain Hillyar to extricate 

 himself from his disagreeable situation. The Phoebe ac- 

 cordingly separated from the Essex, drifted by my ships. 



VOL. II* 19 



