ip more to the leeward, who fortunately descrying them,
threw a number of ropes, by the help of which these desperate fellows
scrambled up her sides, and fortunately saved their lives. Out of
ninety-four or five sail, seen the day before, scarcely twenty could
now be counted; of the ships of war, there were discerned the Canada,
half hull down upon the lee-quarter, having her main-top-mast and
mizen-mast gone, the main-top damaged, the main-yard aloft, and the
main-sail furled; the Centaur was far to windward, without masts,
bowsprit or rudder; and the Glorieux without fore-mast, bowsprit or
main-top-mast. Of these the two latter perished with all their crews,
excepting the captain of the Centaur, and a few of his people, who
contrived to slip off her stern into one of the boats unnoticed, and
thus escaped the fate of the rest of the crew.

The Ville de Paris appeared to have received no injury, and was
commanded by a most experienced seaman, who had made twenty-four
voyages to and from the West Indies, and had, therefore, been pitched
upon to lead the ship through the Gulf; nevertheless, she was
afterwards buried in the ocean with all on board her, consisting of
above eight hundred people. Of the convoy, besides the Dutton, before
mentioned, and the British Queen, seven others were discovered without
mast or bowsprit; eighteen lost masts and several others had
foundered.

In the course of this day the Canada crossed upon and passed the
Ramillies; some of the trade attempted to follow the Canada, but she
ran at such a rate that they soon found it to be in vain, and then
returned towards the flag-ship; the Ramillies had at this time six
feet water in her hold, and the pumps would not free her, the water
having worked out the oakum, and her beams amid-ship being almost
drawn from their clamps.

The admiral, therefore, gave orders for all the buckets to be manned,
and every officer to help towards freeing the ship; the mizen-top-sail
was set upon the fore-mast, the main-top-gallant-sail on the stump of
the mizen-mast, and the tiller shipped. In this condition, by bearing
away, she scudded on at so good a rate that she held pace with some of
the merchantmen.

The day having been spent in bailing and pumping, without materially
gaining on the water, the captain in the name of the officers,
represented to the admiral the necessity of parting with the guns for
the relief of the ship, but he objected, that there would then