to climb the tree from which he had so recently descended.
I now distinctly saw the boat, as, availing herself of
the rising and partial breeze, she steered more into the
centre of the stream; and I thought I could observe marks
of confusion and impatience among the groups in front of
the fort, whom I had justly imagined to have been assembled
there to witness the arrival of the canoes, we had seen
descending the river, long before the first gun was fired.

"The opportunity of achieving a daring enterprize, in
the presence of those assembled groups," pursued Grantham
with a slight blush, "was, I thought, one so little likely
to occur again, that I felt I could not do better than
turn it to the best account; and with this view my original
intention had been to man my small boat with the picked
men of my crew, and attempt the American by boarding.
Two circumstances, however, induced me to change my plan.
The first was that the enemy, no longer hugging the shore,
had every chance of throwing me out by the sudden and
unexpected use of her canvass, and the second (here Gerald
slightly colored, while more than one emphatic hem! passed
round the table,) that I had, with my telescope, discerned
there was a lady in the boat. Under these circumstances,
I repeat, I altered my mode of attack, and proposed rather
to sink my laurels than to lose my prize. ("Hem! your
prizes I suppose you mean," interrupted De Courcy,) "and
adopted what I thought would be a surer expedient--that
of firing over her. This demonstration, I imagined might
have the effect of bringing her to, and causing her to
surrender without effusion of blood. You were ail witnesses