early age; when he removed into the Sceptre, of 64 guns, then commanded by Captain Graves.-The Sceptre being under orders for the East Indies, Lieutenant Buller proceeded thither, and was in most of Sir Edward Hughes's actions with the French admiral, Suffrein, in the Indian seas.* In one instance he was slightly wounded; and on every occasion he displayed the most determined gallantry and resolution.

In 1783, he was promoted to the rank of commander, in the Chaser sloop of war; and, in the month of November, of the same year, he was exposed, in that vessel, to a dreadful hurricane, on the coast of Coromandel. Indeed the Chaser was supposed, by every person at Madras and Bombay, to have gone down, and that every soul on board had perished; for, so tremendous was the gale, it would have been impossible to stand the sea, with any hope of safety. From Captain Buller's promptitude of judgment, however, and from the knowledge that he had acquired by soundings, to which he was invariably accustomed to resort, when in shallow water, he was enabled to run the Chaser up the gulf of Manar, which divides the island of Ceylon from the Coromandel coast-a passage which no vessel of any description had ever ventured before-and thus to ride the gale out in perfect safety.

Shortly after this event, the Chaser returned to Europe; where, from her shattered and decayed state, it was scarcely expected that she could arrive. By unremitting exertion, however, Captain Buller brought her safely to England; and she was then immediately paid off.

In the following year (1781) he was appointed to the Brisk, another sloop of war, in which he sailed for Halifax, and was there particularly active in his endeavours to suppress smuggling.

From his arrival on the American station, to the period of his quitting it, comprising a space of six years, Captain Buller was also indefatigably employed in surveying the different coasts, harbours, &c. of which he made himself completely master.

The following incident, so truly honourable to this officer, is here well deserving of notice.-In April, 1789, a report being in

* Sir Edward Hughes's memoir and portrait will be found in the ninth volume of the NAVAL CHRONICLE. Accounts of the engagements here alluded to, appear from page 89 to page 108,

circulation, that a large merchant ship had just been wrecked on that extremely dangerous spot, the Isle of Sable; and that part of the crew were on the island, without any means or prospect of escaping from the horrors of starvation, which threatened them; Captain Buller, impressed with that generous sentiment of humanity, by which his conduct has been uniformly characterised, solicited, and obtained permission, from the commanding officer, to go in quest of the supposed sufferers. Accordingly, after

anchoring his sloop within a convenient distance of the shore, which was entirely composed of shifting sand-banks, he endeavoured, at the most imminent risk, for three successive days, to land; but, finding the probability of effecting his object to be quite hopeless, having in vain fired repeated signal guns from the ship, and having at length ascertained, that the report which had led him thither was altogether groundless, he relinquished the attempt, and returned to Halifax.*

On the 19th of July, 1790, Captain Buller obtained post rank, in the Dido frigate; and, in the same year, he received the hand of Miss Gertrude Van Cortlandt, the fifth daughter of Colonel Van Cortlandt; a lady, as we have been informed, of great worth, beauty, and accomplishments.

After his marriage, he brought the Dido to England, and paid her off at the end of the same year.

During the peace, in 1792, he was appointed to the command of the Porcupine frigate, then on Channel service; from which ke was removed into the Adventure, of 44 guns. In the latter ship, he had the good fortune to escape from the French fleet (which

* The Isle of Sable lies thirty leagues to the south-east of Cape Breton, in longitude 59 deg. 50 min. west of Greenwich, and in latitude 44 deg. 15 min. north. Having lofty sand hills, it may be seen, iu clear weather, seven or eight leagues off. It has a sand-bank at each end, one of which runs north east and south-west.

In 1598, M. de Lery intended to settle a French colony on this island; but, as Father Charlevoix observed, there never was a place more unfit for such an undertaking, it being small, and without any port, or product, excepting briars. The Isle of Sable is very narrow, and bears the shape of a bow. In the middle of it is a lake, five leagues in compass, and the island itself is not more than ten. For some years past, a man and his whole family have resided on this desert spot, receiving, at certain seasons of the year, supplies of provisions, &c. from the shore.

were looking out for him) into Crook Haven, in Ireland; with great part of a very valuable convoy, from Quebec, Halifax, and all the Mediterranean ports. In this convoy were thirteen Dutch vessels, with rich cargoes, which, as soon as they quitted Captain Buller's protection, were captured by our cruisers, in consequence of an embargo having been laid upon all Dutch property.

On his arrival in England, Captain Buller was appointed to the Crescent frigate; and, with Captain Essington, in the Sceptre, he Convoyed the India fleet to the Cape of Good Hope. On their passage thither, they fell in with a Spanish line-of-battle ship, and two frigates, laden with specie, from the Ilavanna. Our ships, mistaking them for French, bore down, and prepared for action; but, when the strange sail displayed their Spanish ensigns, the British pursued their former course; no doubt to the great delight of the Dons, as they were in possession of the declaration of war against Spain, by this country, of which the convoy were then ignorant. One of them also was so deeply laden, as to be incapable of opening her lower deck ports.

Shortly after Captain Buller's arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, whilst under the orders of Sir George Keith Elphinstone, he was at the capture of the Dutch fleet, in Saldanha bay.*

Private affairs requiring his presence at home, Captain Buller exchanged into the America, of 64 guns, and returned to England, with Commodore Blanket's broad pendant.-In 1797 and 1798, business still detaining him on shore, he took command of the Sea Fencibles, from the river Lyme to Cawsand bay, including the whole of the southern coast of Devonshire, at the time when they were first established; and, by his judicions arrangements, he placed them on the most respectable footing.+

In 1799, Captain Buller succeeded to the command of the Edgar, of 74 guns, then on Channel service; and afterwards removed from her into l'Achille, of the same force. In these

* For the official details of this capture, vide the biographical memoir of Admiral Lord Keith, NAVAL CHRONICLE, Vol. X. page 13, et seq.

+ In the first volume of the NAVAL CHRONICLE, page 245, is a gazette letter from Captain Buller, dated Dartmouth, Jan. 10, 1799, giving an account of the recapture of the Susannah brig, from l'Heureux Speculateur, by a party of the Brixham fencibles.

ships he was constantly employed in blockading the ports of Brest and Rochefort, until the cessation of hostilities, in 1801.

About that time, he was returned to parliament, as one of the members for the borough of East Looe, in Cornwall, and was also chosen recorder for the same place.

In March, 1803, on the day that his Majesty's message was delivered to parliament, acquainting them that he was under the necessity of augmenting his forces, this zealous officer was again called upon to serve his country afloat, and was appointed to command the Malta, of 84 guns; the finest two-decker, without exception, in the British navy. In this ship, he assisted in the blockade of the ports of Brest, Rochefort, Cadiz, Corunna, and Ferrol; and, on the latter station, the Malta particularly distinguished herself, in Sir Robert Calder's action, against the combined fleets of France and Spain, on the 22d of July, 1805. In consequence of the fog, she, in the heat of the action, was separated from the fleet, and had five sail of the enemy upon her, at one time, who were endeavouring to cut her off. She, however, gallantly braved the danger, and continued this unequal conflict, until one of her opponents, the San Rafael, of 84 guns, struck to her. Shortly after, her boats also took possession of El Firme, of 74 guns, which had before been engaged, and nearly, if not entirely silenced, by some of our ships.

The Malta, as we have stated in our memoir of Sir Robert Calder, had her mizen-mast wounded, her mizen-top-mast and mizen-top-sail yard shot away, her main-yard very badly wounded, her fore-top-mast wounded, and her standing rigging and sails much cut. She had also five men killed, and forty wounded. For the service which, on that day, Captain Buller rendered to his country, his Majesty, as a signal mark of his royal approbation, was pleased to bestow upon him a colonelcy of inarines.

In August, 1806, Captain Buller received orders to put himself under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis;+ with

* Vide NAVAL CHRONICLE, Vol. XVII. page 101.

+ See the biographical memoir of this brave and valuable officer, in the XVIth volume of the NAVAL CHRONICLE, page 191. Some additional particulars of the late Sir Thomas Louis are also given in the XVIIIth volume, page 84.

five other sail of the line, which were to receive troops on board, for the purpose of co-operating with a formidable body of land forces, which had been already embarked at Plymouth and Falmouth, and destined for a secret expedition.-Whilst waiting for sailing orders, an express arrived with the intelligence, that Jerome Buonaparte was on his passage to England; in consequence of which, this well appointed squadron immediately discharged the troops, and sailed in quest of the enemy. The Canopus not being ready to receive Sir Thomas Louis's flag, Captain Buller, then the oldest captain in the squadron, in a manner which at once indicated his zeal for the service, and his respect for the rear-admiral, made an immediate offer of the Malta, which was as cordially accepted by Sir Thomas, who had no expectation that the Canopus would be got ready in so short a time as she really was.-The squadron, however, were not so fortunate as to fall in with Jerome Buonaparte, he having effected his escape into l'Orient.-A few days after, as a slight compensation for what they had missed, they fell in with, and captured, the French frigate le President, of 44 guns; and, as the Malta had sprung her main-mast, she was ordered to return into Cawsand bay, and thence to Portsmouth, where she was taken into dock.

On the 3d of November, during the time that the Malta was repairing, Captain Buller, at the general election, was again returned as one of the members for the borough of East Looe.

On the 5th of January, 1807, he sailed in his old ship, the Malta, for the Mediterranean, where he put himself under the orders of Lord Collingwood, who shortly after gave him the command of the in-shore squadron. In this service, he displayed great activity and zeal, particularly in destroying the Mary transport, from Woolwich, a large ship, with a very valuable cargo of military stores, for 25,000 men. By some accident, she had mistaken her course, and run ashore near Cadiz; where Captain Buller had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing her completely burnt, to prevent her from falling into the hands of the enemy.

* Vide Sir Thomas Louis's official account of the capture, NAVAL CHRONICLE, Vol. XVI. page 346.