craft. Instead of taking any definite action he waited despairingly
for the enemy to come on. He then issued no orders to his crew to
prepare to engage; he just did nothing and remained inactive under the
white cliffs. But if their commander was a coward, at any rate his
crew were determined to make a contest of it. They had actually to
urge him to fight, but the luggers were right close on to the cutter
before Comben had given the word. After that for three-quarters of an
hour the crew fought the ship, and were at their respective quarters
when Comben actually turned to the luggers and shouted to them: "Leave
off firing; I have struck." During the engagement he had shown great
signs of fear and never encouraged his crew to fight.

Seeing that they were led by a coward, the _Swan's_ crew also took
fright and thought it best to flee. They therefore jumped into the
cutter's boats and rowed ashore, leaving their valiant commander to
look after the _Swan_ as best he might. She was of course immediately
captured by the luggers, and as for Comben, he was taken prisoner,
carried to France, detained there, and did not return to England till
after seven years, when an investigation was made into his conduct by
the Surveyors-General of the Customs, his defence being that "his men
had deserted him." As for the latter, they reached the shore safely
and were again employed in the Preventive Service.

It is quite clear that the Customs Board sometimes lent their cutters
to the Admiralty; and there is a letter dated October 10, 1809, from
the Admiralty, in which permission is given for the cutters in the
service of that Revenue to be released from their station at Flushing
under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, and there is
also a Customs House minute of July 7, 1806, to the effect that the
_Swan_ and _Hound_ Revenue cutters might be placed under the orders of