ace their confidence in him! I mean to send the Louisa,
which joined me yesterday from Minorca, with Phil. Dumaresq, and
doubt not but he will be a welcome messenger. We see the
remainder of the enemy's squadron. They are standing for Cadiz,
&c.

Sir James subsequently wrote to his eldest brother, residing in
Guernsey; and, as his letter will be found to contain additional
matter of much interest, we herewith insert it.

Caesar, Gibraltar, 16th July 1801.

MY DEAR BROTHER,

I hope that the several letters I have had the pleasure of
writing to you at different opportunities, will arrive safely;
and that you and all my friends will not be kept in suspense on
events which, thanks to the Divine Providence! have terminated
so successfully to the squadron. Although I always trusted some
favourable turn would take place, I never could have formed any
hopes equal to what has actually occurred. The possession of one
or two of the disabled ships, besides the recovery of the
Hannibal, was the utmost that could have been expected; but our
present success far exceeds that. The destruction of two
first-rates, and the capture of a seventy-four, completely
cripples the force in Cadiz, and places the squadron with me
superior to all the force the enemy can collect; and this,
without any loss whatever to this ship, and trifling to the
Superb. The men, wounded on board the latter, suffered from the
explosion of cartridges in their own ship.

The misfortune to the Venerable was more serious; but this was
subsequently to the attack on the enemy's force, and was mainly
attributable to the untoward circumstance of the wind failing
this ship when we were very close to her.

It is inconceivable the _eclat_ with which we have been received
by this garrison, and the distinguished honours paid to the
squadron; indeed their marked attention, after the attack of
Algeziras, does them great credit; as, after the failure of that
business, we exposed Gibraltar to all the inconvenience of a
blockaded port; and yet the whole garrison received us as if we
had obtained a victory. You must suppose my distress must have
been great during the interval: convoys long expected were
liable to fall into the enemy's hands, whilst the increasing
force at Cadiz would soon have put it out of my power to cope
with them.

The St. Antoine has scarce