what a great fight the _Joséphine_ had made of it. A long row of dead lay
waiting decent burial, and every second man one saw was damaged in one way
or another.

My companions were all more or less dazed, and probably deafened like
myself. An officer questioned them, but apparently with small success. He
turned to me, and I told him I could hear nothing because of the explosion,
but I gave him all particulars as to the _Joséphine_,--captain's name,
number of men and guns, and whence we came, and that was what he wanted.

In the official report the saving of six out of a crew of over three
hundred was, I suppose, not considered worth mentioning. The _Joséphine_,
was reported sunk with all on board, and that, as it turned out, was not
without its concern for me.




CHAPTER XXIII

HOW I LAY AMONG LOST SOULS


The ship we were on was the 48-gun frigate _Swiftsure_, and of our
treatment we had no reason to complain. We were landed at Portsmouth two
days later, drafted from one full prison to another, from Forton to the Old
Mill at Plymouth, from Plymouth to Stapleton near Bristol, separated by
degrees and circumstances, till at last I found myself one more lost soul
in the great company that filled the temporary war prison, known among its
inmates and the people of that countryside as Amperdoo.