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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 233

cruel excesses on the unfortunate passengers and crew of that
ship, and who hiter captured tlie fourteen-gun brig ' Fly.'
The years 1800-2 were singularly propitious for the privateers,
among the most successful of which were La Confiance,' already
'
mentioned, and ' FEugenie,' the former pierced for twenty-six
but carrying twenty-two guns, and two hundred and fifty men,
and the latter, commanded by M. Constance, carrying eighteen
guns and one hundred and eighteen officers and men; the very
superior sailing qualities of ' I'Eugenie,' made her particularly
mischievous, while her bold commander cruised within the
limits of the pilot's water. Such audacity drew from the under-
writers repeated applications to Government, who, in their turn,
were exceedingly anxious that her career should be arrested, and
the attention of all tlie commanders of the ships-of-war on the
station, was directed to effect its speedy consummation. The
' I'Eugenie' was a large American schooner, expressly built for
privateering, and of extraordinary swiftness. Captain Frost
was greatly annoyed at her having escaped him, and determined
by disguising his ship, to alhiy all suspicion of his warlike
character, and bring her to action. With this design, a false
poop, to resemble that of a country ship, was hastily constructed,
the painting changed, patches of old dirty canvas were put into
the topsails and courses, and every other expedient adopted to
render complete this " scene of excellent dissembling."
A few days sufiiced for the transformation of the smart little
man-of-war, and Captain Frost had just dropi)ed into the track
she probably would be watching, when, early one morning, the
look out from the mast-head descried a sail far on the lee-beam,
having chosen, as was rightly conjectured, the station otf the
Swash, for intercepting the outward-bound. From the peculiarity
of her rig, then uncommon in those seas, there could be no
doubt of her identity, and pursuing his course as if wishing to
avoid her, the captain of the ' j\Iornington' had soon the satis-
faction of perceiving that the trick had succeeded, for the enemy
tacked, and continued to make short boards until her whole hullap-
peared above the horizon now the closer inspection of the 'Morn-
;
ington' presented no alarming appearance, but only strength-
ened the delusion, whilst Captain Frost kept steadily on a wind,
with the sails lifting, in order to favour her ajiproach. By sun-
set the enemy had fetched into his wake, and was pressing on in
anticipation of a rich and easy prize. As the nighty fell the
'Mornington' shortened sail, and by eight o'clock ' TEugonie'
ranged silently under her lee-quarter, hauled her fore-sheet to
windward, then hailed in good P]nglish, asking the ship's name,
and desiring them to heave to, that a boat might be sent on
board, to wliich request an assent was promptly given. Seeing
the ship ])ay oft', however, they almost innnediati-ly became
aware oi' the fatal snare into which they had been drawn, and,