Captain Wolley, as senior officer, reported the circumstances to the Admiralty:
"She is called _L'Invention_, of Bordeaux, mounting 24 guns, with 207 men. She is of a most singular construction, having four masts, and they speak of her in high terms, though they say she is much under-masted. I directed Captain Hotham to take her into Plymouth. I should have ordered her up the river for their lordships' inspection, but I did not choose to deprive Captain Hotham of his men for so long a time."
The corner of the letter is turned down and on it is written: "Acquaint him that their lordships are highly pleased with the capture of this vessel."
There is an enclosure giving the dimensions of the vessel, as follows:
Ft. In. Length of keel 126 10 Extreme length 147 4 Breadth of beam 27 1 Depth of hold 11 9 Draft of water 13 9
Mention is also made of a sketch enclosed, but this is not now with the letter. It is probable, however, that a small woodcut, on the first page of vol. vii. of _The Naval Chronicle_, is copied from this sketch, and the frontispiece of this volume is an enlargement and adaptation from the woodcut.
The _Invention_ had less beam in proportion to her length than was usual in those days, and perhaps Captain Thibaut was afraid of masting her too heavily lest she should be "tender" under canvas. Her draft of water is moderate for her other dimensions, which would be an additional occasion of anxiety on this score; but, with a large spread of canvas, she would have been very swift in moderate weather.
There does not appear to be any record to hand as to what became of the _Invention_, whether she was afterwards sent up the river for the inspection of their lordships, or taken on as a man-of-war; possibly some dockyard archives may contain the information.
On August 25th, 1801, the Navy Board reported to the Admiralty that the _Invention_ had been surveyed, and was a suitable vessel for the Royal Navy, and asked whether her four masts should be retained; and September 1st following they ask that the sketch of the ship may be returned; but there is no reply to be found to either of these letters in the proper place; so the further correspondence must either have been lost or placed among other papers. Possibly the ship was not, after all, taken for the Navy; if she was it would probably be under some other name.