The captain promptly recovered his presence of mind and ordered everything that could check and impede the cannon's mad course to be thrown through the hatchway down on the gun-deckmattresses, hammocks, spare sails, rolls of cordage, bags belonging to the crew, and bales of counterfeit assignats, of which the corvette carried a large quantitya characteristic piece of English villainy regarded as legitimate warfare.

* Assignats a facethat is, with the King's effigy; at this time greatly preferred to those issued after his death.