Nine seamen had been drowned; thirteen others, who had left the wreck upon a raft of timber, were afterwards picked up and taken on board the Eagle; the others who had been saved by the boats and rafts joined Captain Colville at the Helder.  The following extracts from Captain Colville’s dispatches show the high estimation in which he held the services of his officers and crew:—­’That every possible exertion was made to lessen the calamity, after having struck, I trust will appear from the minutes.’ ...  ’Under the uneasiness of mind which the loss of the ship I had the honour to command, naturally occasioned, I feel some alleviation in reflecting upon the zealous, active, and orderly conduct of my officers and crew in circumstances the most trying, and under which they endured the severest hardships with cheerfulness, and in perfect reliance on Divine Providence, whose interposition in our behalf was strongly evident.’

Nothing could exceed the kindness and consideration shown by the Dutch admiral towards the crew of the Romney.  Captain Colville, in a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty, does ample justice to a generous foe:—­

‘We have experienced,’ he says, ’from the Dutch Admiral Kirkhurt, every attention that our distressed situation made so necessary, and which his disposition seems incapable of withholding, even from an enemy.  But the wants of my fellow-sufferers are great, for not an article of clothing or anything else was saved by any one from the general wreck.  I hope the Dutch government will be disposed to alleviate, in some degree, their wants,—­in clothing, particularly.  And I have solicited the assistance of Rear-Admiral Russel in obtaining these necessaries.’ ...  ’I have reason to believe we shall be sent to Amsterdam, until exchanged.’

Subsequently, the Dutch admiral, with noble generosity, sent Captain Colville, with eight of his officers, to Rear-Admiral Russel.  It is always delightful to record such traits of magnanimity and kindness, and we feel that British sailors can well afford to do honour to those virtues in others, for which they have ever been so distinguished themselves.

Admiral Russel handsomely acknowledged his obligation to the Dutch government in the following letter to Admiral Kirkhurt:—­

    H.B.M.  Ship Eagle, Dec. 2, 1804.

’Sir—­I have this moment received your flag of truce, conveying to me the Honourable Captain Colville, late of his Majesty’s ship, the Romney, (wrecked upon your coast,) with eight of his officers, whom you have first humanely saved from impending destruction, and whom your government, with its ancient magnanimity, has released and restored to their country and their friends, on their parole d’honneur.  They are all, Sir, most sensibly affected with heartfelt gratitude to the Batavian government for their emancipation from captivity; to Admiral Kirkhurt for their preservation from the jaws of