Gironde, “in advance of the advanced squadron,” as a compliment due to the zealous habits of her commander.
Meanwhile the bombardment of Blaye was continued by the Vesuvius, which vessel had been placed by Captain Hext with great judgment for that purpose; the Porcupine and Andromache, the former ship still bearing the Rear-Admiral’s flag, joined the advanced squadron near Pouillac, in the evening of April 6th, and the Egmont spiked all the iron guns in a deserted battery on Point de Grave, bringing off several brass cannon and mortars.
The arrival of Louis XVIII. at Paris, was soon afterwards announced to the Due d’Angoulême, in the presence of Rear-Admiral Penrose, who had gone by land from Pouillac to Bourdeaux, at the express and repeated request of H.R.H. and Lord Dalhousie. All the public functionaries then came in as a matter of course, to pay their respects to the Dauphin, and one of them, the archbishop of that city, ended a very graceful address with the following remarkable expression, evidently intended as a compliment to the British nation:– “Viola la fin de l’ouvrage de Monsieur Pitt!”
Rear-Admiral Penrose now hoisted his flag in the Podargus, which vessel he caused to be anchored exactly opposite the principal street of Bourdeaux, near the Exchange, so that all the inhabitants could see the British colours waving in the fresh waters of France, at a distance of nearly 100 miles within the battery which first opened its fire at the mouth of the river. Thus was the spot so renowned in history, for the display of British valour under Edward the Black Prince, again the theatre of operations which redounded equally to the honor of England. The important services of the army on shore, and the equally momentous services of the squadron in the Gironde, the results which they led to, and the beauty of surrounding objects, all contributed to render the scene one of peculiar interest.
In this situation, Rear-Admiral Penrose gave the Duc d’Angoulême a public breakfast on board the little Podargus; and it is highly to the honor of British spirit to mention, that among the troops ordered out by Lord Dalhousie to
