this last important service of your's will prove as useful to your promotion and particular interests, as it is highly beneficial to your country.

"Piuger, who hopes to see you soon in town, will be extremely pleased with shaking hands with you, and expressing, viva voce, what I do now by writing, the lively sense of gratitude we shall always preserve for your kindness to us. That we were both indebted to Captain Ellison for many a happy hour, and a most comfortable situation, at the very time so many of our countrymen were labouring under the most afflicting distresses, will constantly remain deeply impressed upon our hearts. Your friendship to us bids me add a few words more, concerning our present situation. We have remained in quarters in Southampton since our landing in January last. Our fate is not certainly to be pitied, and could even be envied by numbers, as we are well paid, and have nothing to do here. Yet I wish that an active situation might furnish us with the opportunity of deserving well of our new-adopted country. I shall readily embrace it, to whatever part of the globe I am ordered; though I confess I am glad it cannot be any more to the coasts of France. The Chouan war is now at an end, and very fortunately, in my opinion, since it was productive of nothing but disasters.

"You must have been astonished at the incredible success of the French armies during your absence. What will become of the continent of Europe, it is impossible to foresee. But England only can withstand such an enterprising enemy, with the help of her navy, and, I may add, of her excellent constitution. England alone may, by possessing herself of all the means of trade, re-establish in some measure the balance of Europe, when negociations for peace will be entered upon. Thus far on politics, which is by no means a pleasing theme now. Pray let me have a few lines from you, and acquaint me with the state of your health.

"That you may enjoy an uninterrupted happiness, and still favour with friendship your Belleisle messmates, is the most sincere wish, my dear dear captain.

"Of your devoted and grateful servant,

"CAPTAIN SU ASSE, "Of Royal F. Engineers.

"Have the goodness to present my respects to Mrs. Ellison, and remeinber me to your brother-in-law, M. M. Buller, Tonston, and the other officers of the Standard."

While in the Downs, the Standard was ordered, by telegraph, to proceed to Sheerness to refit. Captain Ellison's health being much impaired, from the heat of the climate which he had recently* left, and from his long and various employments for a series of years, the Lords of the Admiralty were pleased to grant him leave of absence, and even allowed an acting captain to command the Standard, for four months.

After this interval of relaxation, Captain Ellison applied to Lord Spencer for the Magnificent, then lying in ordinary, at Plymouth. His lordship promised him the first ship that should be taken into dock, as soon as she could be got ready for service; but, finding that she was not brought forward as soon as might have been expected, he renewed his application, for any seventy-four that his lordship might be pleased to appoint him to. Accordingly, he soon received a commission for the Marlborough; Captain Nicholls having left that ship, in consequence of the seamen having taken the command upon themselves at the time of the mutiny.

Prior to this appointment, but subsequent to Lord Spencer's promise of giving him the command of a 74, Captain Ellison received a letter from his friend, Mr. Hopkins, from which the following is an extract :—

Bruton Street, January 31, 1797.

"I was yesterday favoured by the receipt of your very obliging letter; and am happy, that the same account which mentioned your illness, informed me also of your recovery from it.-Lord Spencer's attention to your merit does credit to himself; and I heartily congratulate you on your intended appointment to a good 74-gun ship.",

An acting captain was appointed to the Marlborough; and, for the accommodation of Captain Ellison, she was ordered into Plymouth Sound.

The Marlborough's crew had committed the most daring outrages, and had evinced a spirit of disaffection, in a greater degree than that of almost any other ship; notwithstanding which, when Captain Ellison took the command, he was received by them with marked approbation. They gave him three cheers; said they had heard that he was the seaman's friend; and that they would go round the world with him.-As a proof of the satisfaction which he had reason to expect from them, it is worth mentioning, that, on their expressing a wish to have leave to go on shore, he gave sixty of them liberty at once, and not one staid beyond the time which had been fixed for their return.

Daing Captain Ellison's continuance in the Sound, a seaman, and a marine, belonging to the Saturn, were sentenced, by a court martial, to be hanged for mutiny; and, as there was no other 74 gun-ship in the harbour, the sentence was carried into effect on board the Marlborough.

Captain Ellison now sailed to join Lord Bridport's fleet, which was lying in Torbay. After the ship's company had received their wages, a very hard gale of wind came on, at south-west; during which, the Belvidere, an outward-bound East Indiaman, was driven into the hay, with the loss of her rudder. On perceiving this disaster, Lord Bridport made a signal to Captain Ellison, to repair on board the Indiaman, with directions to her captain to get under weigh, and proceed to Plymouth, to repair her damage. Having hung a temporary rudder, Captain Ellison was ordered to take charge of her to that place; but, unfortunately, off the Start Point, the gale increased, a sea carried off the substituted rudder, and the Belvidere became unmanageable. With much difficulty and perseverance, however, the end of the Marlborough's stream cable was sent on board her; and, the wind blowing strong westerly, she was obliged to bear up for Spithead. When off the Isle of Wight, the stream cable gave way, and it was only by the most indefatigable exertion that the hawsers were got on board; as it continued to blow strong, with a heavy sea, and the Indiaman was every moment in danger of going on shore, in which case she must inevitably have been lost. However, having succeeded in getting the hawsers on board, the Belvidere was towed into Spithead, without sustaining any farther damage. The following grateful letter, from the captain of the Belvidere, to Captain Ellison, is here deserving of insertion:

66 DEAR SIR, "Belvidere, 18th Sept. 1797. "Understanding by one of your officers, that you are ordered to Plymouth to-morrow morning, will you favour me with your company to dinner to-day? you will oblige me extremely-four o'clock. Should it not be convenient, I have only to say, that words cannot express my sentiments so fully as I could wish, for the unremitted attention and assistance received from your ship. I can only offer you my best thanks for your kindness; and at the same time, please to offer my best wishes to your officers; and, I trust time will not wear off the obligations myself and owners of the Belvidere are indebted to you and those gentlemen. I have written particularly to the India-House, and shall do as you required. Wishing you and the gentlemen health and every happiness,

Captain Ellison's conduct, upon this occasion, was highly approved by the Admiralty, by Lord Bridport, and by the owners

and underwriters of the Belvidere; who, in token of their appro bation, presented him with a hundred guineas, and an elegant gilt cup, with an appropriate inscription, relative to the service for which it was presented. The former compliment was announced to him in the following letter:

London, June 22, 1798.

'SIR, "I have greatly to lament, and to apologise, that, through a variety of unforeseen delays in procuring vouchers from Portsmouth, respecting the Belvidere's extensive repairs, and in arranging them for the payment of that part to which the insurers were liable, so long a period has elapsed.

"Having at length laid the necessary papers before the committee of underwriters, together with Captain Christie's letters to me, the gentlemen begged me to present their very sincere thanks, for the uncommon and humane attention you had paid to the safety of that ship in her distresses, and to request the favour of your acceptance of a sword, of the value of one hundred guineas. Having replied, that I knew you had already a sword presented on some similar occasion, they mentioned a cup; but, on my saying that my father, and the owners of the Belvidere, were already honoured by your kind acceptance of one from them, they then directed me to pay the sum they had voted into the hands of your agent, or friend, in London, to be applied in any way you should think proper. I have accordingly paid the same to Mr. J. H. Short, of Lime-street, on your account, and have also taken the liberty of delivering the cup to his care; wishing you, most unfeignedly, health and spirits to use it, in the Spanish phrase, for a thousand years.

"It now only remains, sir, for me to assure you, that I shall, whonever I find myself near you, with infinite pleasure make my personal acknowledgments for the services you have rendered to me and to my friends; and that I am, ever,

"Your very obliged and faithful servant,

"HENRY BONHAM.

My best wishes attend Mrs. Ellison and your family."

To Captain Joseph Ellison.

Captain Ellison, after having rendered all the service in his power to the Belvidere, was ordered to Cawsand Bay, where he put himself under the command of Sir Roger Curtis; with whose squadron he soon after sailed to Beerhaven, in Ireland. They had been, however, but a short time on that station, when they were ordered to join Lord St. Vincent, off Cadiz.

On their passage thither, the spirit of disaffection, which had been only quelled for the moment, amongst the crew of the Marlborough, again broke forth. Their intention, as it after

wards appeared, was to put Captain Ellison, and his officers, to death, though without any cause of complaint, and to carry the ship into Brest. Fortunately, their schemes were frustrated by one of the seamen; who, having overheard their conversation, got in at the quarter-galley window, at midnight, and, awakening the captain, who was in his cot, made the discovery. "For God's sake, Captain Ellison, get up," said he; "the ship is in a state of mutiny; you and your officers are to have your throats cut, and the ship is to be taken possession of!"-On receiving this alarming intelligence, Captain Ellison immediately went upon the quarterdeck; and, looking around, he saw a number of men assembled on the poop, more than the watch. On asking the officer of the watch the reason of this, the men, perceiving that they were detected, returned, in the greatest confusion, over the quarters, and along the muzzles of the guns, to the main-deck, and got into their hammocks. Captain Ellison then summoned all the officers upon deck; where, accompanied by them, he continued during the remainder of the night. At eight o'clock in the morning, the hands were turned up, in order to discover the ringleaders, but without effect. However, in the course of the day, a seaman came forward, and mentioned two who had been the most active in the business, and they were immediately put in irons. On joining Lord St. Vincent's fleet, they were tried by a court martial, condemned, and executed on board the Marlborough.-A public letter was subsequently received by Captain Ellison, from the Admiralty, expressing their lordships' approbation of his conduct, and that of his officers on this trying occasion.

Captain Ellison's health having suffered much from the climate, and from agitation of mind, he left the Marlborough, off Cadiz, and returned to England in the Blenheim, with Vice-Admiral Sir John Orde.*

In ten days after his arrival at Plymouth, Captain Ellison, without solicitation, was appointed to regulate the impress service, at Gravesend; where he remained upwards of three years, until the service was broken up, at the conclusion of the war, in 1801.

* Vide NAVAL CHRONICLE, Vol. XI. page 193. Sir John came home in the autumn of 1798.