The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-04-05 00:00:00

iITIIOTAS AND CLORINDE.

" On the Itth of January, at 10 o'clock in the morning, island
of St Anfooio, one of the Cape de Vents, bearing S. L. by $.,
distant 8 of l leagues, the British 38 gun frigate Niger, Capt. Peter
Rainier, and 36 gun frigate Tagus, Capt. l'bil. l'ipon, with al
convoy to company, steering to the westward, discovered nearly •
hcad the Frei.ch 40 gun Ingate Ceres, which, in company with the
Clurinde, had nailed from Brest early in December. Both British
iiigates proceeded in chase whit a light breeze fmm the E. S. E.,
the Niger leading. Towards evening the Cerra gained in the pur-
suit., but on the Niger's throwing overboard WO shot, the latter got
near enough at 11 o'clock to lire three shots from her bow charier,.
On the kb, at half past one in the morning, the Niger tired two
more shots, which the Ceres returned from her stern guns. As the
day opened, the wind drew to the north east, which so favoured the
Tagus, that at half past seven o'clock she passed the Niger, and
was gaining fast upuu the French frigate. At a quarter past eight,
desirous to try a different paint of aarling, the Ceres shortened sail
and hauled to the wind on the starboard tack. As • proof that the
French ;rigate gained little by this, in half an hour the Tagus gut
within ion-shot, and hoisted her ettlours, opened a are, winch the

Ceres, hoisting hers. presently returned. A running fight now
commenced between the Tagus and the Ceres, and continued until
half past nine ; when the latter had her rigging and sails a good
deal cut, and the main-top-mat and some of her other masts in.
jnred. The damages of the Tagus were confined to her sails and
rigging ; and neither the French nor the Englis.h frigate sustained
a greater 100 than one Iran wounded.
•• It is uncertain on what day previous to the capture of the Ceres,
her consort the Clorinde parted couiprmy, but we find the latter on
the 2:oh of March on her way to Brest (describing the latitude),
after a tolerably successful cruise. It was at two o clock in the al.
ternoon, when sending close hauled on the starboard tack, with
the wind et S.W. by South, that the Clorinde was descried by the
British thirty.eight gun frigate ',Argus, Captain J. Phillimore,
then on the former's weather-beam, steering by the wind on the
larboard tack. The Eurotas quickly bore up in chase; and, at
hall past two, thc Clorinde, whose rational chi :sent and force was
by this time ascertained, also bore up under a press of sail. At
four o'clock the wind shifted to the N.W., and tell considerably ;
but the Eurvtas, nevertheless, gained in the chase. About the
same time the Clorinde, then not quite four miles distant, E.N.E.
suddenly shortened sail, and endeavoured to cross the hawse of her
pursuer. This only hastened the junction ; ard, at three quarters
past four, the Emotes fired a shot, and hoisted her colours, as did
also the Clorinde. At five, haring bore up, the Emotes pr_ssed
under the stern of the Clorinde, and tired her starboard broadside;
then, lofting up under the latter's quarter, the British frigate re.
ceived so close and well.direved a lire, that in twenty minutes,
just as she hail reached the larboard bow of her antagonist, her
titian-mast fell by the board over the starboard quarter; as, nearly
at the saute time, did the fore-topmast of the Clorinde. The
French frigate then, shooting a-liead, endeavoured to cross the bows
of the Emotes, with the intention of raking her. To evade this,
and at the same time lay her antagonist on board, the tomtits put
her helm hard a.port, and lured up; but, being obstructed in her
manceusre by the teck of the nnzen-mast, she could only pass
close under the Stan of the Clorinde, and pour in her larboard
broadsides.

---
The two frigates again got side by side, and cannonaded each
other with redoubled fury. At twenty minutes past six the Euro.
tat, thrn close on her opponent's starboard brain, had her main.
mast shot away ; and which, fortunately for her, fell over the
starboard or unengaged quartet almost at the satre instant, the
misemnast of the Clorinne came down. At fifty minutes pest sir
o'clock, the two ships being nearly in the same relative situation,
the foremast of the Eumms fell over the starboard bow, and, in a
niinute or two aftera.irds, the mainmast of the Elorinde shared the
same fate. _ _

The Eurotas was now quite, and the Clorinde very nearly ones.
nageable. In this state the latter, at ten minutes past seven, when
on the former's larboard bow, set the remains of her foresail and
her tore-stay sail, and stood to the south-cast of gun-4111ot. Capt.
Phillimore, who since the early mot of the action had been danger.
ously wounded in the shoulder by a grape-shot (the loss of blood
front which, according to a published statement, had caused him
to faint three times on the deck), now consented to go below, and
the command of the Eurotas devolved upon Lkutenant Hobert
Smith. The boats' masts wete i 111 l nediately stepped on the booms,
and the sails set, to endeavour with a light westerly breeze to keep
after the enemy, still in the south-east. The wreck of the masts
was now cleared away, and preparations made fur getting up jury.
masts ; meanwhile the ship laboured much, owing to her dist:muted
state, and a heavy swell from the westward. By meat exertioes
through die night, the Eurotas, at flee o'clock on the morning of
the 26th, got up a spare main top-mast for a jury main-mast, and
at a quarter past six a fore top-mast for a jury fore-mast. and a
rough spar for a mizen-mast ; the Clorinde still preserving tne same
line of bearing as on the preceding evening, but having incr;mcd
the distance to nearly six utiles. At half.past eleven the Eurotas
spoke the English merchant schooner Durigarvon, from Lisbon to
Port Glasgow and requested her to keep between the former
and the Clorinde, and in the event of the Emotes not overtaking
the latter before night, to show a light and fire guns. At noon
the Eurotas and Clorinde were about nine miles apart, but in so
different a state with respect to ability to renew die action, that
while the latter had only partially cleared away the wreck of her
main and mizen masts, the latter had jury cour.es, topsails, stay.
sails, and spanker set, going with a northerly wit d six knots and
a half through the water, and evidently gaming in the chase.
" But just at this moment, as Captain Phillimore observes, to
the great mortification of every one on hoard,' two Rail were des-
cried on die lee bow. The nearest of these was the British 36-gun
frigate Dryad, Captain Edward Galway ; the other the 16-gun brig
sloop Athates, Captain Isaac Hawker.* MirriiiOn. At about a
(porter past one, the Dryad having neared the Clerinde, the latter
hoisted French colours aft, and English forward, a'al despatched
a boat to the former, who shortened sail to receive it. The pur.
port of the French Captain's (minting him) communication, as it
has appeared in print, was to require terms before I,e would sur-
render. The doubt expressed by the French officer, as to the ship
in sight to windward being that which had reduced the Clorinde to
such a state, was far from being unreasonable, considering that
not only had a night intervened, but the ship now seen was masted,
rigg-W and under sail, while the ship engaged the evening before
had been left as bare as a hulk. The French Lieutenant was
quickly sent bark to the Clorinde to get ready her " resources,"
and the Dryad filled and stood towards her, to give her an oppor.
tunity of trying the effect of them. At thirty-fire minutes past
one having placed herself on the Clorinde's qoarter, the Dryad
aired one shot into her, when the French frigate very ropily
hauled down her colour; and was taken immediate peweeeelon. aA
At this time the riffbad was between four and lye miles to sold-
ward, and the Adieus about the same time to leeward. Out of a
complement of 330 men and 2 boys, the Curettes had 2 midship-
men, first class volunteer, 13 seamen, 4 marines, and I boy, kil-
led; her commander (very severely), 1 lieutenant of marines.
I midshipman, 30 seamen, and 6 marines, wounded: total, 21
killed and 39 wounded. The Clorinde, out of her complement of
344 men and boys, according to the aprescetation of the French
officer that boarded the Dryad, had 30 officers and men killed, and
40 wounded. From the great proportion of killed, it is probable
that only the severely wounded are here reckoned.
Comparative force of the combatants.
Crimea
Broadside guns No.
: Clorinde.
24i
22
lbs. 601 463
Crew N 0.330 s 344
Sire - tons 1084 1013
" Had the Eurotas been armed the game as the ger.eraliii of het
class, this would have been a tolerably fair match • but the &ruler's
24-pounders destroyed the equilibrium. Vet, with a distance that
would even have suited carronsdes, these 24-plunders did not do so
much execution, in proportion to the time they were acting, as had
been done on many other occasions by an equal number of 18's
The ship, it is true, had not been quite ten nionthe in commission,
but even that was long enough for the men to bays been taught a
few practical rules of gunnery. Deficient as the crew of the
Curates may have been at their guns, they were by no means so at
the various other duties of their calling. the quickness wi:h which
the seamen refitted their ship, was as great a proof of their spirit as
it was of their skill ; and contrasted with the evidently unprepared
state of the Clorinde, eighteen hours after the battle, shewed hi a
very clear manner the superiority of a British over a French crew.
It was the capabilay to go a-head and ma: iravre, thus gists, th,it
would again, in a very short time, have brought the Curate' along-
side of the Clorinde ; and it was a perfect readiness to renew the
action, with (owing to the preceding day's two hours practice at the
guru.) an actual increase of power, that would have made the Clo-
rinde the prize of the Eurotas, even had the Dryad not interposed
her unwelcome presence. The act of the Dryad, although it cer-
tainly robbed the Eurotas of her trophy, went a very little way
towards dignifying the tittrretaler of the Chitin& The latter, as
we have seen, did not return a shot to the one fired at her by the
Dryad, audit is s quation if the Achates alone (a brig which on a
former occasion had shewn that she was not to be daunted by a
French frigate, even with more than one mast standing) had sum-
moned her to surrender, the same result would not have happened.
No imputation. however, ran rest upon the French Captain. In
the action of the preceding day he had fought his ship, cot only in
a very gallant, but a very skilful manner, as the dismasted state of '
the Eurotas, and bee loss in killed and wounded, sufficiently
testified."

SPORTING INTELI.Ii;RN-CE.
The Earl of Derby's slag hounds will meet to-mon
dington.
Yo CRAVEN MEETING, 1811.—The match between LMa
and ritranton Less will he run at the York Oaten Meeting, Lilla
carrying 71b. more than Stranton Liss.
To-morrow will be a busy day for the pugilistic forces. Barney
Aaron and Peter Warren's fight will take !lace in the niorning,
within twenty) of Landon • and in the evening the house of
'• the Deputy ry-)tensed;), iAe 60111C:11 CRIES, CIOSs-lane,
will be the rallying point to witness the completion of file Maffei of
mil. each, for the two interesting fights on the following Tuesday,
between Curtin and Ayre., and Read and Cooper.
it On Tuesday List a furrier deposit of Lei. a-side wan made goodat ,
the filulberty Tree, Mulberry•street, Commercial.road, towards)
the tight between udson and Sampson. Bet* to tli! amount of
upwards of 1,21101. were made at the rate of r to d on Joni' ; the
odds were freely taken by three gentlemen from liimiinghatit, who
appeared very confident in favour of r:atlapson. The John Bull
fighter laid U ow thick, and among other bets, made one of 61. the
he drew first blood, aril gave the I:rnt I:r.ock-down blow.
Spring, the Champion, passed through Stockport on Thursday,
with the Ex-Champion, Cribb, on hi* way to Manchester, where
a silver cup, of a nord costly and elegant desaiption, as a present
front his admiring friends, awaibs hint. It is of caquisite work-
inannltip, and emblematically adorned, of the value of 141 guineas.
it in expected it will be presented to hint at the Town Ildl Tavern
in the course of the week.—Storkpirt
Josh Hudson leaven town on Monday nest to commence train-
ing. lie intends visiting Bath and Brtstol, where the admirers of
courage and science may expect a high treat in witnessing the art
of self-defenee, as it will be displayed by Josh and a few of his
friends.

, at Ad-

Tug FATHER or FIOUT-WRITINO.--MajOT TOphaTil' who
died at Doncaster about four years since, has receutly received the
reward due to his tiwniory as a sportsman and a scholar, by the
handsome of a plain monument of statuary marble, with a
dove-coloured bitch-ground. We are pleased with this tribute pest
mortent, seeing that to hint is the public indebted foe many reow-
lations regarding the prize-ring, and it was be who act the example
of the present manner of reporting prize-fights.

IRISH OUTRAOES.-011 Saturday the Magistrates ofd
Skibbereen held an inquest on the body of a man who had been so
severely beat some nights back as to have died in conselpicnce. The
(Renee was, having taken alarm which odors had lett. On Thurs-
day night, a stack °rump belonging to a 'nal named 31..rphy' was
consumed near Quartertown. County Cork ; his house also had
been pet on fire, but, by the exertions of Mr. Crofter and a watch-
man, it was rut down. Murphy had taken this holding atter
other tenants kui been evicted, and for this was hr visited with this
%Hakim leverage.-1 Otv

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, APRIL 1

EXPATITE PnAw IN RE HOWARD AND 01111113.

This case, which stood over from this day week, was stain h
this morning. it was a petition from the assignees under the com-
mission of bankruptcy issued ag.iinst Howard and Gibbs, praying
that an account tr.ight be render,rl to them by Burwood, the mes-
senger. el certain dirre-wes of wines and liquors during the period
he had possession of the bankrupts' estate. There had been two
commissioca towed, the former of which was superseded, and Dur-
wood was appointed messenger under both. It appeared that be
had brought an action apinst the assignees to recover his bill or
costs; but the cssignees rejected the claim, upon Ole ground that
great deficiency of wines abd liquors occurred during the pa.wd
Harwood had possession of the bankrupts' property.
Tat:si.ova., Mr. MART, and 31r. MONTAGI'E, RCM now
heard upon the petition, when
His 'fount-a fi, ally made nut an order fur i:ie Mar:tato icquira
whether William Durwood wu chargeable, during the period he
had the are and custody of the cellars of 110, ..rd and Gibbs. un..
der the first and present commission, with any deficiency of wins
or liquors.