been noticed at p. 35 et seq. His escape on the latter occasion may justly be deemed miraculous; for even if it had been within the limits of possibility to have gained the shore, he would certainly have been enslaved for life, if not instantly murdered. The manner in which the Orpheus was employed after her return to England will likewise be seen by reference to our memoir of Captain William Goate.
On the 5th May, 1794, the Orpheus, then off the Isle of France, captured le Duguay-Trouin, a French 18-pounder frigate, after a sharp action, in those days termed brilliant, of an hour and ten minutes, during which the enemy, out of 403 persons on board, had 21 killed and 60 wounded; the British, only 194 in number, 1 slain and 9 wounded. An extract of Captain Newcome’s official letter on this occasion is given at p. 36 et seq.
In Aug. 1795, Mr. Willoughby assisted at the capture of Malacca. The public despatches reporting that event, inform us, that the measures adopted by the Dutch authorities, subsequently to the amicable proposals tendered by the British naval and military commanders, having rendered it necessary to land the troops sent against that settlement, hostilities commenced by the Resistance frigate firing upon, and, after the exchange of two guns, taking possession of the Constantia, a Dutch armed ship, which had warped herself into the mud, between the English squadron and the fort; – the dashing manner in which that ship was taken possession of is not mentioned.
Finding the Dutch governor determined upon resistance, the signal was made by Captain Newcome for all the armed boats of the squadron to assemble near the Orpheus, as he intended that they should proceed under the command of one of his own Lieutenants to secure and bring out the Constantia, she being an impediment to the debarkation of the troops.
Lord Camelford (of whom we have twice had occasion to speak[1]), was then a Lieutenant of the Resistance, and he commanded one of the boats that first reached the Orpheus. Impatient of delay, and anxious to distinguish himself, his lordship desired Mr. Willoughby, who had the charge of a cutter,
