line was the Warspite, Captain Goodfellow,
an officer remarkable in the service at that day, for a "religious
turn," as it was called. As is usually the case with men of this stamp,
Captain Goodfellow was quiet, thoughtful, and attentive to his duty.
There was less of the real tar in him, perhaps, than in some of his
companions; but his ship was in good order, always did her duty, and was
remarkably attentive to signals; a circumstance that rendered her
commander a marked favourite with the vice-admiral. After the usual
questions were put and answered, Sir Gervaise informed Goodfellow that
he intended to change the order of sailing so as to bring him near the
van.

"We will give old Parker a breathing spell, Goodfellow," added the
commander-in-chief, "and you will be my second astern. I must go ahead
of you all, or you'll be running down on the Frenchman without orders;
pretending you can't see the signals, in the smoke."

The Warspite drove ahead, and the Plantagenet was now left to receive
the prize and the Druid; the Chloe, Driver, and Active, not being
included in the signal. Daly had been gradually eating the other ships
out of the wind, as has been mentioned already, and when the order was
given to pass within hail, he grumbled not a little at the necessity of
losing so much of his vantage-ground. Nevertheless, it would not do to
joke with the commander-in-chief in a matter of this sort, and he was
fain to haul up his courses, and wait for the moment when he might
close. By the time the Warspite was out of the way, his ship had drifted
down so near the admiral, that he had nothing to do but to haul aboard
his tacks again, and pass as near as was at all desirable. When quite
near, he hauled up his main-sail, by order of the vice-admiral.

"Are you much in want of any thing, Mr. Daly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, as
soon as the lieutenant appeared forward to meet his hail. "The sea is
going down so fast, that we might now send you some boats."

"Many thanks, Sir Gervaise; I want to get rid of a hundred or two
Frenchmen, and to have a hundred Englishmen in their places. We are but
twenty-one of the king's subjects here, all told."

"Captain Blewet is ordered to keep company with you, sir; and as soon as
it is dark, I intend to send you into Plymouth under the frigate's
convoy. Is she a nice ship, hey! Daly?"

"Why, Sir Gervaise, she's like a piece of broken crockery, just now, and
one can't tell all her merits. She'