saw that the ship was sinking, and went thence to the quarterdeck. I am not positive which boat got first on board. Rotheram returned with Captain Renaudin, his son, and one man; and reported her state, whereupon other boats were sent. The Vengeur's main-yard was lying across her decks; Rotheram, &c., descended from its larboard yard-arm by the yard-tackle pendant; and I personally heard him report to Captain Schomberg the Vengeur's state, "That he could not place a two-feet rule in any direction, he thought, that would not touch two shot-holes." Except the Purser, Mr. Oliver, who was engaged in arranging the prisoners in classes &c. as they came on board, I was the only officer who knew any French, and mine very so-so. Captain Schomberg said: "You understand French; take Renaudin and his son into the cabin, and divert his mind from attention to his ship while sinking." Having been in presence of the French fleet for three days prior to the action, he accustomed cooking had not gone on; the galley-fire was little lighted. But the Captain, foreseeing, had a cold mutton-pie standing by; this, with wine, was ordered for us; and I was actually eating it with Renaudin, a prisoner in Captain Schomberg's cabin, when a bustle on deck made us start up; we ran to the starboard quarter-gallery, and saw the Vengeur, then say a stone's-throw from us, sink. These are the facts.

Sept. 17, 1838.

A. J. GRIFFITHS.

I have said, I am not certain which boat took possession; and I gave it to the Alfred, because there arises so much silly squabbling on these trifles. But from Rotheram taking the Captain, it seems probable the Culloden's boat was first. A matter, however, of no moment.'

Such a Document as this was not of a sort to be left dormant: doubt could not sleep on it; doubt, unless effectually contradicted, had no refuge but to hasten to denial. I immediately did two things: I applied to

Admiral Griffiths for leave to publish this new letter, or such portions of it as might seem needful; and at the same time I addressed myself to a distinguished French friend, well acquainted with these matters, more zealously concerned in them than almost any other living man, and hitherto an undoubting believer in the history of the Vengeur. This was my letter to him; marked here as Document No. 4:

4. Letter of T. Carlyle to Monsieur My dear Enclosed herewith are copies of Admiral Griffiths's two Letters concerning the Vengeur, on which we communicated lately. You undertook the French side of the business; you are become, so to speak, advocate of France in this matter; as I for my share am put into the post of advocate for England. In the interest of all men, so far as that can be concerned here, the truth ought to be known, and recognised by all.

'Having read the story in some English book in boyhood, naturally with indelible impression of it; reading the same afterwards with all detail in the Choix des Rapports, and elsewhere ; and finding it everywhere acted upon as authentic, and nowhere called in question, I wrote it down in my Book with due energy and sympathy, as a fact forever memorable. But now, I am bound to say, the Rear-Admiral has altogether altered the footing it stands on; and except other evidence than I yet have, or know where to procure, be adduced, I must give up the business as a cunningly devised fable, and in my next edition contradict it with as much energy as I asserted it. You know with how much reluctance that will be; for what man, indeed, would not wish to believe it?

But what can I do? Barrère's Rapport does not even profess to be grounded on any evidence except what "the English Newspapers" afforded him. I have looked into various "Eng

lish Newspapers ;" the Morning Chronicle, the Opposition or "Jacobin" journal of that period, I have examined minutely, from the beginning of June to the end of July 1794, through all the stages of the business; and found there no trace or hint of what Barrère asserts: I do not think there is any hint of it discoverable in any English Newspaper of those weeks. What Barrère's own authority was worth in such cases, we all know. On the other hand, here is an eye-witness, a man of grave years, of dignified rank, a man of perfect respectability, who in the very style of these Letters of his has an air of artlessness, of blunt sincerity and veracity, the characteristic of a sailor. There is no motive that could induce him to deny such a fact; on the contrary, the more heroic one's enemy, the greater one's own heroism. Indeed, I may say generally of England, at this day, that there could not be anywhere a wish to disbelieve such a thing of an enemy recognised as brave among the bravest, but rather a wish, for manhood's sake, to believe it, if possible.

'What I should like therefore is, that these circumstances were, with the widest publicity of Journals or otherwise, to be set openly before the French Nation, and the question thereupon put: Have you any counter-evidence? If you have any, produce it; let us weigh it. If you have none, then let us cease to believe this too widely credited narration; let us consider it henceforth as a clever fable got up for a great occasion; and that the real Vengeur simply fought well, and sank precisely as another ship would have done. The French, I should hope, have accomplished too many true marvels in the way of war, to have need of false marvels. At any rate, error, untruth, as to what matter soever, never profited any nation, man, or thing.

If any of your reputable Journalists, if any honest man, will publish, in your Newspapers or otherwise, an Article on these data, and get us either evidence or no evidence, it will throw light on the matter. I have not yet Admiral Griffiths's

permission to print this second Letter (though I have little doubt to get it very soon); but the first is already published, and contains all the main facts. My commentary on them, and position towards them, is substantially given above.

Do what is fit; and let the truth be known.

• Yours always,

'T. CARLYLE.'

From Admiral Griffiths I received, without delay, the requisite permission; and this under terms and restrictions, which only did him farther honour, and confirmed, if there had been need of that, one's conviction of his perfect candour as a witness on the matter. His Letter to me is too remarkable not to be inserted here; as illustrative of this controversy; nay, especially if we consider the curious appendix he has added, as conclusive of it. I have not his express permission to print this; but will venture to believe that I have a certain implied discretionary permission, which, without my troubling him with farther applications, may suffice:

5. Letter of Rear-Admiral Griffiths to T. Carlyle.

In reply to the above, I have to say that you are at full liberty to use the account I sent you, or that published in the Sun Paper, and copied thence into the Globe, Morning Post, John Bull, &c.; and to quote me as your authority. But as I have no desire for controversy, or to be made unnecessarily conspicuous, I do not assent to its being published in any other language or Papers, as so put forth by me.

'I never deemed it worth one thought to awaken the French from their dream of glory in this case; and should have still preserved silence, had not Mr. Alison and yourself given it the weight of English authority. What I abstained from doing for forty-four years, I feel no disposition to engage in now. So far as I am an active party, I confine my interference to our side of the water; leaving you to do as you see fit on the other.

ant.

'The statement I have already made in the case is abundBut I will put you in possession of other facts. The action over; the British fleet brought-to; the French making all sail, and running before the wind; their dismasted hulks having also got before the wind, and following them; -the Vengeur being the sternmost, having a French jack flying on the stump of the foremast, Captain Duckworth of H.M.S. Orion, ordered the first lieutenant, Mr. Meares, himself to fire a shot over her. This Lieutenant Meares did, and the Vengeur hauled down the flag!

'For his gallant conduct in that action, on his return to France, Captain Renaudin, who commanded the Vengeur, was promoted to be Rear-Admiral, and his flag was flying at Toulon on board the Tonnant, when I was first lieutenant of the Culloden blockading that port. I wrote to remind him of the treatment he had met with when prisoner on board the Culloden; and soliciting his kindness towards Lieutenant Hills, who had been taken in H.M.S. Berwick, and being recognised as having, in command of a battery at Toulon, at the period of its evacuation, wounded a Frenchman,was very ill-used. Renaudin's letter now lies before me; and does him much honour, as, during the fervour of that period, it was a dangerous sin to hold intercourse with us. I send you a copy; it is in English.