NARRATIVE, &c. &c. ON Wednesday the 24th of May, 1815, I sailed from Cawsand Bay, in command of His Majesty's ship Bellerophon, and under the orders of Rear Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, whose flag was hoisted in the Superb. I received sealed instructions, part of which were to be opened on getting to sea, and part only to be examined in the event of my being separated from the Admiral. Those B which I opened contained directions to detain, and send into port, all armed vessels belonging to the Government of France. On Sunday the 28th of May, we joined His Majesty's ship Astrea and Telegraph, stationed off Isle Dieu, on a secret service; and the following day, three transports, under charge of the Helicon, arrived from England, having on board arms and ammunition, to supply the Royalists in La Vendée, for whose support and assistance, I now found the squadron, of which the Bellerophon formed one, was destined. On Tuesday the 30th of May, I received orders from Sir Henry Hotham, to take the Eridanus under my command, and proceed off Rochefort, for the purpose of preventing a corvette from putting to sea, which, according to information received by the British Government, was to carry proposals from Buonaparte to the West India Colonies, to declare in his favour. I had likewise orders to reconnoitre the Roadstead of Rochefort, and report to the Admiral the number and state of the ships of war lying there. Accordingly, on the 31st of May, I ran into Basque Roads, and found at anchor, under Isle d'Aix, two large frigates, a ship corvette, and a large brig, all ready for sea, which I afterwards ascertained to be the Méduse, Saale, Balladière, and Epervier. Nothing occurred worth mentioning until the 9th of June, when the Vésuve French corvette came in from the northward, and got into Rochefort, notwithstanding every effort to prevent her; the ships under my orders having been driven to the southward, during the night, by a strong northerly wind, accompanied by a southerly current. She was from Guadaloupe, and immediately on passing the Chasseron light-house, hoisted the tricoloured flag. On the 18th of June, I detained and sent to Sir Henry Hotham, the Æneas French store-ship, commanded by a lieutenant of the navy, with a crew of fifty men, loaded with ship-timber for the arsenal of Rochefort; but he, being of opinion that she did not come within the intention of the order, liberated her. On the 21st of June, I detained and sent to the Admiral, under charge of the Eridanus, the Marianne French transport, from Martinique, having on board 220 of the 9th regiment of light infantry, coming to France to join the army under Buonaparte. The Eridanus was sent to England with her, and did not return to me, being employed on other service. On the 27th of June, the Cephalus joined us, bringing with her the declaration of war against France; after which we were em ployed several days, taking and destroying chasse-marées, and other small coasting ves sels. On the 28th of June, I received intelligence, from one of the vessels captured, of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo; and on the 30th, a boat came off from Bourdeaux, bringing the following letter, without date or subscription, written on very thin paper in English, and concealed within a quill. I give the contents verbatim. Copy of a letter received by Captain Maitland, of H. M. S. Bellerophon, off Rochefort, on the 30th of June, 1815, without date or subscription. "With great degree of certainty, being informed that Buonaparte might have come last night through this city from Paris, with the new Mayor of Bourdeaux, with a view to flight, by the mouth of this river, or |