with an eagerness of revenge. A bloody contest ensued. Several pistols were simultaneously fired, and two of our men fell lifeless into the boat alongside. Cutlasses then gleamed on high, and the captain and O'Flinn, who were yet unhurt, seemed to be armed with a supernatural strength. The latter laid about him in every direction, and cut down three men in as many blows. The captain, with more of skill and less of fury, wielded his sword with the science of a master; and though four, at one time, strove to destroy him, he forced his way through them, and encountering the lieutenant, who was animating his men in the assassin-like attack, by exclaiming, "Murte á los piratos!? -after a few parries, he sheathed his sword in the heart of the faithless Spaniard. I know not exactly what, on this emergency, were my own exertions; but they were certainly desperate, and I believe more than one received his death-wound in endeavouring to deal me mine. It surprises me, to this day, that we were not all cut to pieces in five minutes, and double that time elapsed before our party, of whom four were killed, and four only remained, was reinforced. The mate of the Dolphin, the moment he discovered that treachery was on foot, steered the schooner close alongside the brig-to which she was instantly grappled. Her. crew were armed with cutlasses, and boarding-pikes; and three of them, in boarding, fell overboard, with mortal wounds. The rest, headed by the sturdy Frenchman, gained the side of their commander, on the quarter-deck of the brig, and a conflict, unequalled in the annals of nautical warfare, continued for upwards of half an hour. We were but sixteen in number; the enemy, several of whom had been below at the commencement of the attack, were more than double our number 7 on deck, and others of them fired upon us from between decks, in a cowardly manner, through the grated hatches. In a short time, the decks became slippery with blood and were strewed with the dead and the dying. There was scarcely a countenance without a frightful gash, and few could boast of uninjured limbs. During a breathless moment, I looked overboard upon the deck of the schooner. The young surgeon was binding a tourniquet round the thigh of the black boy, who had received a severe wound: and as I turned rapidly to resume the struggle, my eye caught a marine taking a deadly aim at the youth with his carbine. His purpose 1 could not but consider murderous,-seeing his victim was engaged in an act of humanity, and urged by an incontrollable impulse 1 clove him with my cutlass to the deck-where he lay, the . blood welling from a fearful wound on the shoulder. The retribution was, however, too late. The trigger was drawn as my weapon descended, and poor J, falling upon his patient-both of them vitally wounded, were soon motionless in death. Our party, overpowered by numbers, and many of them stabbed from behind, at length thought of effecting a retreat to the schooner. They made a desperate effort to gain the gang-way, which was hemmed round by the Spaniards, who strove to cut off all retreat. We made a bold rush against our unequal foes, but though many of them were wounded, we were foiled in our first attempt; and in the closeness and heat of our struggle, the stilettos of the Spaniards gleamed on high. The cutlasses of several of our men had snapped, from the badness of the metal, but they armed themselves with the swords and pikes dragged from the stiffened clench of their dying foemen. One of the Englishmen was severely wounded on the shins, and was unable to keep his legs. He fought upon his knees, until he received a death-blow on the bead from a sabre. The remembrance of the conclusion of the struggle is to me as but as a dream. The brave French mate was run through the back by a pike. He made a dying effort to be avenged, and not in vaiu; for stretching out his sword, as he fell, his weight sent it into the heart of his antagonist, and they rolled together lifeless upon the deck. A last fearful effort and we gained the gangway, over the bodies of the dead, and leaped on board of the schooner. We let go the hawsers that bound us to the brig, and slowly drifted from her to the leeward. It was only now that a sense of the danger I had passed rushed upon my mind. I felt my arms and legs, as though to convince myself I was still corporeal. I gazed upon those of my comrades who had escaped. Good God! they were but four in number! namely Captain M- Patrick O'Flinn, (severely wounded, and his eyes flashing with indignation at the treachery of the foe,) and the faithful African -the captain's servant! We stared for a moment upon each other, as if we had unexpectedly met in some unknown country, after we had passed the portals of death. The captain came up and shook hands with us; saying with the utmost placidity, "My brave-my fortunate associates! It is but small consolation to think that though we have lost nearly all our gallant men in this conflict, we have sent double their number to furnish a feast for the sharks; but let us not despair! there are still five of us left, with fearless hearts, who will yet dare to cope with the outnumbering enemy; and strive, at least, to avenge the treacherous death of our gallant comrades!" I could see the blood oozing from the captain's vest, as he spoke, "You are wounded !" said I. "Nothing-nothing!" he replied, interrupting me, "but a scratch;" and he opened his shirt, and thrust his handkerchief down his breast, to staunch the wound, which in other circumstances would have excited more caution and alarm. But we had all received a number of flesh wounds, which we bound up in the best manner we could, and taking each a glass of Catalonia wine, to dispel our faintness, kept our eye upon the enemy, and again began to the guns prepare action. The Colombian sailor was, about this time, while assisting us, nearly cut in two by a cannon shot. we for The brig now got a-head of us, on the starboard tack. We .set sail as well as we could, and stood directly in her wake. They had still, we conjectured, eighteen or twenty men left; yet we resolved to seek our revenge, even against so fearful an odds. The We observed with a telescope that, while they dashed along, they were busy committing their dead to the deep. As we neared them, we heard their loud cheers, followed by peals of laughter, as they plunged a body from the side, and we could not divine the cause. In a few minutes, all was explained. bodies of several of our comrades, who had perished on the deck of the brig, came floating under our hawse-tied to pieces of planks, that we might see them and the exulting shouts of the brig's crew expressed their brutal triumph-though they assuredly had little to boast of over the mangled bodies of their enemies. We were stung to the soul at this unmanly and gratuitous insult; and each of us longed to have a gripe of one of the ruffians by the throat. OʻFlinn instinctively blew his match, and looked round impatiently upon the great gun, while his enormous quid shifted from cheek to cheek in an unusual and portentous manner; and he, at intervals, muttered snatches of oaths in the genuine Irish vernacular. The captain sat a few moments on the trunk of the cabin, with his eyes pensively fixed on the bloodclotted deck, and then, calmly rising, said to his black servant,-"Antonio, wash the decks; and then make a strong fire in the cabouse; heave on all the firewood you can find,and break up the hatches and washboards for fuel, if you have not enough; rig the wind-sail to blow it; and fling into it a dozen of the eighteen-pound shot. We must warm these miscreants' jackets for them, before we have done with them!" These orders were instantly obeyed; and as we gradually neared the brig, which was under easy sail, O Flinn spunged out the great gun, and loaded it, remarking" We might as well trate him to a cold shot or two, to stay his stomach till the cook can sarve him with a hot one!" By this time we were close upon the brig, which again showed the Spanish colours, and hoisted the black flag at the main. She fired upon us her two stern chasers, which wounded our main-top-mast just above the cap, and before we could take in our gaff-top-tail, which was very large, the pressure of a passing squall carried away the spar. O'Flinn soon cleared it from the cordage; and observing the Colombian colours, still uninjured, nailed upon it, we erected it as a flag-staff abaft, Patrick exclaiming, as we secured it," Be handy, my boys; or the gentleman may be after thinking that we have struck; but, by the Powers! we must undesave him, and do our best to give him what Paddy gave the drum !" In a few minutes we were close under his lee-quarter. OʻFlinn, who had considerably elevated the great gun, stood by with the match, and watching his moment, it went off with a report that started the blood from one of my ears. A crash was heard from aboard the brig, and when the smoke cleared away, we could see that the shot had brought down his main-yard by the run. "Hav'n't I done it nately?" said Patrick, "By J-s, we've spoiled his after-sail!" He was right. The two carronades fired by Captain M-, had also told upon his main-rigging, and one of the shots had carried away his trysail-boom. He was unable longer to hold his wind. As he fell off, he poured into us a broadside of grape and round shot. We were so close that I know not how any of us escaped destruction. Our main-mast went by the board, and poor Antonio was killed by the fall. I looked to the great gun, and saw the Irishman stretched beside it. A ball had entered his breast, and the finger of death was upon him. He beckoned me to him; and while I endeavored to staunch the blood that flowed copiously from the wound, he said Norman, my boy; it is all over with Patrick O'Flinn! But, thanks be to God! we have not died without favoring the Don with a bit of comfortable news to carry home with him to Porto Rico. By my soul, he caught a tartar, when he fell foul of the little Dolphin; and if Tommy Moore would but write a bit of a song about us, for the honour of Ireland and Colombiaand all lands where God's craturs are trampled upon, it would plase my ould father better than all the howls that are sure to be set up in the parish of Ballybrook, when they hear of the death of Patrick O'Flinn. Masther Norman ! though you be a Scotchman, by J-s! you're an Irishman in your heart: an' if you reach the land before you're kilt, you'll find a few dollars in my chest below,-you'll send them home to my father-and Judith, my poor wife, with this letter; and you can write the poor craturs a word of comfort, aud tell them that Patrick died, at his gun, like a man !" Ireceived his letter, and endeavoured to console him with hopes (which I could not myself entertain) of his surviving his last wound. He shook his head, and becoming faint, said I wish I could but see one of the red-hot shot fired at the Don, before I take my lave of you." The captain was at the helm, and when we lost our main-mast, he kept her before the wind, in a course parallel with that of the brig. We We were within pistol-shot of her, yet felt, I absolutely know not how, reckless of all danger. There was no one left to load the great gun but myself. I sent home a cartridge, and seeing the brig making preparations to board us, I hastened to the cabouse, and was pleased to observe, that several of the balls were at an almost white heat. I hastened to the gun, and while ramming down two wet wads, the contents of a canister shot, as I posed, from the brig, struck Captain M- on the left shoulder, tore the flesh from the bones, and left his shattered fore-arm hanging by little more than a piece of skin. He looked calmly at the wounds; yet retained, for some time, his hold of the tiller. I knew little of surgery; but it appeared to me, that he could not long survive, although every appliance were at hand. The young surgeon had left some linen on the trunk of the cabin. I bound up sup the wound on his breast as well as I could, and no tourniquet being at hand, I put a handkerchief round the upper part of the arm, thrust a belaying pin under it, and tightened it by twisting, The blood, how ever, flowed fast, yet he remained perfectly composed. He became faint. I ran to the cabin to bring some wine for him and O'Flinn, but found every bottle in the locker smashed by the shot that had entered our hull.. I sprang to the deck with a can of water. They both drank eagerly, and the captain, lashing the helm a little a-weather, so that the vessel kept pretty steadily on her course, sat down close to the breech of the great gun where poor O'Flinn lay with his head resting on the carriage. He shook hands with his dying comrade, whose eye lighted up as he saw him, and who was affected to tears to observe him so dreadfully wounded. There was a dead silence for a few moments:-when the captain, turning to me, said faintly, as he pulled a small miniature portrait from his breast.-"Norman ! should you survive to reach one of the islands of your countrymen—or should you, more fortunately, soon visit your native land, remit this trifle to Dieppe. The address is on the back and it will serve as a small token of my undying attachment. I have no living relatives that are known to me-no one so dear to me as poor Antoine, the maid whose beauty this but faintly represents; whose worth and tenderness are, alas! lost to me for ever. If you can find leisure to write to her, to tell her in a manner that will least wound her gentle spirit, of my death-I know you will do it. There is some property on board besides your own. Should you be enabled to secure it from the enemy, you will please to remit it to the widows, orphans, or relatives of my crew, who have this day perished, and whose names and residences you will find written in the beginning of the log book.-And now, young man! ere my strength entirely fails, bring us a hot shot from the furnace, and I will myself endeavour to fire a last gun at our faithless enemy." I took the portrait-that of a beautiful young woman, in a Marie Stewart cap, and wrapping it in a piece of sailcloth, that had been shot away from the foresail, put it carefully into my bosom. I was unable to speak. I sobbed aloud. M was moved at my distress; yet my anxiety to preserve the picture seemed to give him a melancholy satisfaction. To rush forward for the ball was a release from my oppressive feelings. The enemy was close at hand, and we might soon expect another broadside. We could hear his contemptuous shouts. I was reckless of danger. I felt ardent for revenge for my two dying comrades. I turned out a shot, red-hot, into a pitch-ladle, and carried it, glowing like a torch, to the gun. I sent home the wet wadding; and after lowering the gun, so as to hull our adversary, dropped the flaming ball down the muzzle of the piece. O'Flinn lifted his head, and a gleam of satisfaction brightened, for a moment, his pallid countenance. He raised himself half up on his hands, as in a last effort, to assist in pointing the gun. I had then hold of the helm. "Keep her away, a little!" said the captain;- "A little more !" "That's it!-steady!-steady!" said O'Flinn ; "Send it, brave master! into his counter!" The captain raised the match; but it was nearly out. He was unable to blow it. I ran up, and brought it to brightness with a few puffs, and returned to the tiller. It was some time before we could gain another opportunity of firing to advantage, owing to the heaving of the sea. They, at last, got it to bear. "Now," said O'Flinn, "Fire it, my brave boy!" The captain, who could not rise from his knees, and whose senses seemed to reel from loss of blood, made several ineffectual attempts to place the match to the touch-hole. O'Flinn, who was equally feeble, tried to assist him; and I had, meantime, presence of mind enough to keep the schooner as steady as possible in her relative position to the brig. They, at length, succeeded in firing the priming. The gun hung fire, and there was a look of despair on the pallid countenances of the yet dauntless men, who gazed along it. The next moment it went off with a noise that shook every plank in the Dolphin, and the ball, no doubt, entered the counter of the brig. The scene that followed, it is impossible for me to describe, though it can never be forgotten. The firey bullet had reached the magazine of the brig, and, in less than a minute, she blew up with a terrific explosion, that made the boards spring and quiver beneath my feet. It seemed as if the frame of our vessel was shaken to pieces by the concussion. The place, which the brig had, an instant before, occupied with her black hulk, became a livid mass of intense flame, that reached to the height of a hundred feet; and I could see fragments of her timber and materials, and probably the dissevered limbs of her crew, blown into the air in every direction. A small portion of her bows I could just perceive as it sunk, and pieces of the wreck and spars fell upon our decks. A thick and large piece of plank fell upon our quarter-deck; and then, for the first time, did I learn the name of the gun-brig. There was painted upon it in faint colours, El St. Jago, de Puerto Rico." The smoke, in stifled columns, rolled over us to leeward; and, when my sense of hearing recovered from the shock, I could hear the Irishman, in exulting, but dying accents, exclaim,-" Hurrah, my boys! we've done for him now, any how!-Colombia for ever! Erin go bragh !" |