mention of him until the commencement of the war with France, in 1793, when he obtained the command of the Amphitrite, of 28 guns; from which vessel he soon after removed into the Pomona frigate. His next appointment was to the Adamant, of 50 guns, employed in escorting the trade to and from the Mediterranean and West Indies, in which service Captain Darby continued until the summer of 1796, when he joined the Bellerophon of 74 guns; and after cruising some time with the Channel fleet, was sent to reinforce the fleet under Earl St. Vincent, on the Mediterranean station.
Previous to this, Captain Darby appears to have had a miraculous escape; for having been engaged to dine with Captain (now Sir Israel) Pellew, on board the Amphion, the day on which that ship blew up in Hamoaze, he had come round from Cawsand bay, where the Bellerophon lay, for the purpose of fulfilling his engagement; but having some business concerning his ship to transact with the Port-Admiral, it detained him about half an hour longer at Stone house than he intended; and he was just getting into his boat to proceed up the harbour, when he heard the fatal explosion!
The Bellerophon was one of the ships detached from Earl St. Vincent’s fleet, in May 1798, to reinforce Sir Horatio Nelson, then off Toulon, watching the motions of an armament about to sail from that port. At the battle of the Nile[1], she was opposed to l’Orient, of 120 guns, bearing the flag of the French Commander-in-Chief. The undaunted magnanimity with which Captain Darby placed her alongside her mighty antagonist, excited at the moment the highest admiration, and must ever be the theme of eulogium. The Bellerophon, however, sustained such serious damage from the overwhelming fire of l’Orient, that her brave commander was reluctantly compelled to withdraw from the action, himself being wounded, two Lieutenants killed, and one-third
- ↑ See note †, at p. 180, et seq.
though the enemy, on the appearance of the British squadron, ran their vessels on shore and set fire to them, yet hy the activity of the assailants, four ships, from 1000 to 1100 tons each, were saved from the flames; a fifth blew up soon after she was abandoned. The Commodore, with his own ships and the frigates, then returned to England, leaving the rest of the squadron with the merchantmen, to proceed to India.
