months in a line-of-battle ship during the war with France, I was an
eye-witness of scenes and events, which called forth some of those
qualities that are illustrated in the following pages. For the
restoration of my health, in the year 1811, I was advised to try the
effects of sea air and a change of climate, and was glad to accept the
opportunity offered me, by the captain of an eighty-gun ship, to take
a cruise with him off the southern parts of the French coast.

On one occasion, in a severe tempest in the Bay of Biscay, a flash of
lightning struck the ship and set her on fire. The calmness with which
orders were given and obeyed, and the rapidity with which the fire was
extinguished, without the least hurry or confusion, made a deep
impression on me. This was afterwards increased by the conduct of the
crew in a severe gale of wind, when it was necessary to navigate one
of the narrow channels, by which the squadron that blockaded Rochelle
and Rochfort was frequently endangered. The vessel had to pass between
two rocks, so near that a biscuit could have been thrown from the deck
on either. An old quarter-master was at the wheel; the captain stood
by to con and to direct his steering. At one fearful crisis, every
blast threatened to shiver a sail, or to carry away a spar, and a
single false movement of the helmsman, or the slightest want of
steadiness or of obedience on the part of any man on duty, would have
been fatal to the life of every one on board.

As they drifted on their path
There was silence deep as death,
And the boldest held his breath
For a time.

When the danger was over, the captain thanked the officers and men for