Chapter XVI

Our Arrival at Salzburg--The Director of Police--Perseverance in our Tale of being Americans--Suspected of being Spies--Austrian Feelings favourable towards England and Englishmen--Confession of the Truth--Treated well as English Officers--An excellent Inn--A kind Governor--Great Civility--Despatches from Vienna--Passports ordered for us--A Remittance of Money from Vienna--Passports for Trieste--Our Journey--German Students and Dog Latin--Clagenfurt--Laibach--Banditti--A Mountain Scene--An Irish Watch-fire--Arrival at Trieste--Ecstasies at beholding the Gulf and the English Frigate in the Offing--Our Embarkation--Picked up by the _Amphion’s_ Boat--An old Friend and Shipmate--Discovering an Enemy--A desperate and unsuccessful Fight--The Killed and Wounded--Shot through the Right Arm--Valour of Lieut. G. M. Jones--His Wound--Excessive Kindness of the _Amphion’s_ Captain and Officers--The _Spider_ Brig--Corfu--Malta--Sir Alexander Ball--Unexpected Meeting with old Friends escaped from Bitche--Promoted to a Lieutenancy in the _Warrior_ (a seventy-four)--The Glories of the Naval Service opened to me Page 263

CHAPTER XVII

Receiving a Lieutenancy--Lord Collingwood’s Kindness--Joining the _Warrior_--An unexpected Supply of Dollars--An Accident at Sea--Capture of Ischia and Procida--Expedition against the Ionian Isles--Joining the _Amphion_--Captain Hoste’s Activity in the Adriatic--Commodore Dubourdieu and his Squadron at Ancona--Chasing the Enemy--A Wild-goose Pursuit--Success at Last--A glorious Battle and a splendid Victory--Details of the Action at Lissa--My Return to England--Interview with the First Lord of the Admiralty--A Visit to Ireland--A Solicitation from Captain Hoste to Join the _Bacchante_ as First Lieutenant--Revisiting the Mediterranean--Provoking the Enemy--They provoking us--A Capture--Unhappy Loss of Prizes--An inexplicable Accident--Extraordinary Explosion of a French Frigate--A Flag of Truce--Venice--Corfu--Capture of Flotilla.....Page 287

CHAPTER XVIII

Capture of General Bordé and his Staff--A gallant Boarding Exploit--A horrible Murder by Italian Prisoners of War--Success of our Navy--A Balance of Accounts--My Promotion--Quitting the _Bacchante_--Pain of leaving old Friends and brave Shipmates--The Plague at Malta--Captain Pell gives me a Passage Home--An ineffectual Chase and a narrow Escape--Stratagems of the Enemy--Toulon--Gibraltar--The English Channel--Ingenious Device of Captain Pell, resulting in the curious Capture of a French Privateer--Arrival in England--A kind Reception by the First Lord of the Admiralty--An Official Promise--“Hope deferred maketh the Heart sick”--A Return to London--The Peace of 1814--Its Consequences--Half-Pay and an End to all Adventures Page 331

APPENDIX--

Letter of Barklimore to O’Brien Page 339

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PORTRAIT OF CAPTAIN O’BRIEN _Frontispiece_

PAGE

MAP SHOWING THE LINES OF O’BRIEN’S THREE ESCAPES xxviii

ESCAPE FROM THE _GENDARMES_ NEAR SARREGUEMINES 118

CUTTING OUT THE ENEMY’S VESSELS AT PORT LEMA 314

CAPTURE OF A FRENCH FLOTILLA OFF OTRANTO 328

(1) Verdun-Étaples (2) Sarreguemines-Lindau (3) Bitche-Salzburg.

[_The names of the French Departments of 1806-8 are indicated thus_--=Aisne-Forêts= _etc._]]