ing like
silence and good order. We then signalled to them to close round the
_Falcon_, and heave-to. To the _Falcon_, "to protect convoy."

We had now been some time at quarters, and everything was ready for
chasing and fighting. But the fun had already begun to the northward.
Our second man-of-war brig, the _Curlew_, had closed considerably upon
the felucca, which was evidently endeavouring to make the chase a
windward one. The brig closed more upon her than she ought. It
certainly enabled her to fire broadside after broadside upon her, but,
as far as we could perceive, with little or no effect. In a short time
the privateer contrived to get into the wind's eye of the man-of-war,
and away they went. After the four ships had been taken possession of
and which were each making a different course, we sent three of the
boats--the barge, yawl, and pinnace--under the command of Mr Silva, in
order to recapture them, of which there was every prospect, as the
breeze was light, and would not probably freshen before ten o'clock;
for, however the captured vessels might steer, their courses must be
weather ones, as, if they had attempted to run to leeward, they must
have crossed the body of the convoy. Having now made our arrangements,
we turned all our attention to leeward, upon the large dark,
three-masted vessel, that still remained hove-to, seeming to honour us
with but little notice. She had taken possession of the finest and
largest ship of the convoy. Long as I have been narrating all these
facts, I assure the reader they did not occupy ten minutes in action,
including the monomachia on board of the _Lady Jane_. Just as we had
got the ship's head towards the stranger, with every stitch of canvas
crowded upon her, and the eight-oared cutter, manned, armed, and
marined, towing astern, they had got the captured West Indiaman before
the wind, with everything set. The stranger was not long following this
example; but steered about a S.W. and by W course, whilst his prize ran
down nearly due south.

I have always found in the beginning, that the size of the chase is
magnified, either by the expectations or the fears of the pursuers. At
first, we had no doubt but that the flying vessel was a French frigate,
as large, or nearly as large, as ourselves. We knew from good authority
that a couple of large frigate-built ships had, evading our blockading
cruisers, escaped from Brest, and were playing fine pranks among the