part of the islanders was, no doubt, occasioned by the orderly manner in which the seamen, marines, and soldiers conducted themselves, and by the strict attention they paid to their leader’s injunctions, – “to abstain from giving offence to the inhabitants by pilfering the slightest article of their property.” Even the sugar and coffee, laid aside for exportation, and usually considered as legitimate objects of seizure, remained untouched; and the invaders, when they quitted the shore for their ship, left behind them a high character, not merely for gallantry, but for a rigid adherence to promises. Had Captain Willoughby burnt the commercial property within his reach, or entered into terms for its embarkation, his dashing exploit would probably have been gazetted; but, for the good of his country, he preferred relinquishing present fame, and all pecuniary benefit. He well knew that the whole of the British forces collected at Bourbon, were anxiously waiting the result of his daring enterprise; – Governor Farquhar had informed him, that the distribution of the printed proclamations would be of the utmost importance to the success of the meditated operations against the Isle of France; – he had promised his Excellency that he would execute his wishes; – and for the honor of the navy he persevered under circumstances of difficulty and danger, which every one but himself considered insurmountable. This esprit de corps has been the main-spring of all his actions. – Honor he has sought on every occasion – in the present instance prize money was quite out of the question. Had the latter been his principal object in landing at Point du Diable, the Mauritius would not have been so easily subdued when attacked by the British in December 1810.
“On the 19th and 20th August, Captain Willoughby again landed; and, as there were no more batteries in that quarter to attack and destroy, and no opposition was offered to him by either the regular troops in the vicinity, or by the inhabitants among whom, it may be said, he was sojourning, the trip on shore was considered in the light of a pleasant excursion, rather than of a forced irruption into an enemy’s territory; when, at about 10 A.M. on the last-named day, an event occurred which gave a complete change to the aspect
