Lord Cochrane
:
Humanity.
When this gallant officer was entrusted with the perilous
duty of conducting the fire-ships in the attack upon the French fleet in
Basque Roads, he had lighted the fusee which was to explode one of these
terrific engines of destruction, and had rowed off to some distance, when
it was discovered that a dog had been left on board. Lord C. instantly
ordered the men to row back, assuring them that there was yet time enough,
_if they pulled hard_, to save the poor animal. They got back to the
fire-ship just a few minutes before it would have been too late to save the
animal; and when the dreadful explosion took place, were still so near the
floating volcano, that the fragments fell in heaps around them.