"At last the admiral considered that it would be a great thing to take Valdivia, a strongly-fortified place on the south of Chili, still held by the Spaniards.  We had some Chilian troops on board, and very brave fellows they were, under a French officer.  Our own officers were worth very little, and the admiral had to look after everything himself.  One night we were off the island of Quiriquina, and he had turned in to take a little rest, leaving the deck in charge of one of the lieutenants. The lieutenant thought he should like a snooze, so he turned in and left a midshipman in charge of the ship.  The midshipman went to sleep, and when he awoke he found the ship all aback.  In trying to box her off he ran her on shore, on the sharp edge of a rock, where, if there had been any swell, she would have beaten her bottom in.  Many of the people wanted to abandon the ship; but the admiral was not a man to allow such a thing while there was a hope of getting her off; and telling them that they would be all murdered by the savages on the coast if they landed, he set all hands to work at the pumps.  When they came to be examined, they were all out of repair; and as the carpenter could make no hand at mending them, what does the admiral do but whip off his coat and set to work with his own hands.  Didn't we feel that he was a man we'd follow through thick and thin, though we knew that pretty well before then.  At last, what with pumping and bailing, we found that the water did not gain on us, so the stream anchor was got, and heaving on it with a will, we once more set the old ship afloat.  `Never mind, my lads,' says the admiral; `if we can but make her swim as far as Valdivia, we shall do very well without a ship for a time.'  By that we knew he intended to take and occupy the place.  The admiral wanted to take the Spaniards by surprise, so he shifted his flag aboard the _Intrepedo_ brig-of-war, taking with him the _Montezuma_, a man-of-war schooner, and, in spite of a high sea, all the troops were put on board the two vessels.  You should just see what sort of a place Valdivia is, with strong forts on both sides of a channel not three-quarters of a mile wide.  There is only one small landing-place, called the Aquada del Ingles, with a fort protecting it.  Towards that we stood, for the surf sets so heavily on the shore, that a boat attempting to land anywhere else would be knocked to pieces.  We had a gallant English officer in command of the troops, Major Miller.  I never saw such a fire-eater.  His body was almost riddled with shot, but he never seemed to mind; nothing sickened him of fighting; and as soon as he got well he was as ready for work as ever. So, as I was saying, the brig and schooner ran in and anchored close to Fort Ingles, keeping the boats on the other side of the vessels, out of sight.  The admiral hailed the fort, and said we had lost our boats coming round Cape Horn, and begged they would send one; but just then one of ours drifted astern, and the Spaniards, smelling a rat, opened fire on us.  Instantly the admiral ordered the troops to land, and a launch, with the gallant Major Miller, and some forty-four marines, shoved off, and under a heavy shower of musket-balls, pushed for the shore.  His coxswain was wounded, and he received a shot through his hat.  On we shoved (for I was with him), and leaping on shore with loud cheers, we drove the enemy before us at the point of the bayonet.  I forgot to tell you that when the _O'Higgins_ got on shore, we had nearly all our powder spoiled, so that he had to depend entirely on the bayonet.  There's no better weapon to be used when Spaniards are concerned.  They can't stand it.  Other boats followed, and in less than a hour we had 300 troops landed.  We waited till it was dark to begin the attack.  There was a gallant young ensign, Mr Vidal.  While the main body advanced in front, firing off their muskets, and shouting to show the Spaniards that we were going to give them a taste of the bayonet, he got round to the rear of the forts, and opening his fire, the enemy got frightened, and took to their heels, while we took the forts--which was what we had come to take.  At the same time 300 more Spaniards, who were marching into Fort Ingles, were seized with a panic, and all fled together.  The brave Chilians bayoneted them by dozens; and when the gates of the other forts were opened to receive the fugitives, they entered at the same time, and thus fort after fort was taken with very little loss to us, but a good deal to the enemy.  Two days after, we attacked the forts on the other side of the water with the same success, and then took the town of Valdivia itself, which is some little way up the river.  We found a large supply of ammunition in the place, and I know that I got a fair share of prize-money.  That Major Miller I was telling you of was soon after this again desperately wounded in attempting to take another fort.  When he had fallen, his faithful marines made a desperate charge, and brought him off.  They were all Chilians, it must be remembered.  One of them, named Roxas, was a very brave fellow.  He was the first to land with the major, and had helped to carry him to the beach on their retreat.  Two out of three were wounded, and when the major invited him to step into the boat, `No, sir,' says he; `I was the first to land, and I intend to be the last to leave the shore.'  You see, young gentlemen, it is not only Englishmen can do gallant things, and I like when I have an opportunity to praise those with other blood in their veins.