ever, had only elapsed, before he discovered that there would not be much to do on shore; and he therefore returned to his ship, which had assisted in covering the landing of the array, and was now occasionally engaged with three of the enemy’s sea batteries, the fire of which was at length completely silenced.
On the following morning, June 26th, some gun-boats under Captain Ayscough’s directions assisted at the capture and destruction of fifteen armed vessels, from Gaeta bound to Naples[1].
On the 30th July, 1809, the boats of the Success, then off Cerigo, captured two French privateers; one mounting 9 carriage guns and 4 swivels, with a complement of 78 men; and the other 1 gun and 20 men.
From this period. Captain Ayscough continued in the Archipelago, until Nov. following, when he received the Persian ambassador and his suite on board at Smyrna, and proceeded with them to Malta; from whence, if we mistake not, they were conveyed to England in the Formidable 98.
The next service performed by the Success is thus described by Captain Ayscough, in a letter addressed to the senior officer on the coast of Calabria, April 1810.
“On the 4th instant while running along the coast and abreast of Castiglione, I observed three vessels on the beach, and men loading them. I thought it an object worth while to attempt their destruction, as they appeared to me capable of carrying 150 men each; and I therefore despatched the boats of this ship, manned with volunteers, under the orders of Mr. George Rose Sartorius, the third Lieutenant, accompanied by the boats of the Espoir, under the command of Lieutenant Robert Oliver; the frigate and sloop covering their landing.
“I am sorry to say, that when about musket-shot from the shore, three boats swamped, having struck on a sunken reef, by which accident two seamen belonging to the Espoir were drowned; all their ammunition being wet, the officers and men swam to the beach with cutlasses in their mouths, when the enemy fired upon them from two long 6-pounders, and 4 wall-pieces, they being secreted behind the rocks, and not perceived until the boats grounded.
“This fire served only to increase the zeal of the party; and their perseverance so intimidated the enemy that they deserted their guns, and re-
