ital, the greater number being still dangerously ill on board, was
cruising off Carthagena, when at daylight Captain Bowen discovered a
large frigate to windward, apparently in chase of him. Though so near
an enemy's port, that even in the event of a victory he could scarcely
hope to carry off his prize, trusting to his well-tried crew, he
determined to meet the foe. At half-past nine the stranger came within
hail, and hauled up on the _Terpsichore's_ weather-beam. A fierce
action now ensued, and continued on both sides for an hour and twenty
minutes, when the enemy's fire began to slacken, and she attempted to
make off; but the superior skill of Captain Bowen frustrated the
attempt, and in less than twenty minutes compelled her to surrender.
When taken possession of she proved to be the _Mahonesa_, a Spanish
frigate of 36 guns, besides cohorns and snivels, manned with a crew of
275 men. She was completely disabled, her main-deck guns were rendered
entirely useless, the booms having fallen down upon them, while her
standing and running rigging was cut to pieces, she having also lost
thirty men killed and as many more wounded. The _Terpsichore_ had only
the boatswain and three seamen wounded. Captain Bowen spoke of the
gallant way in which the Spanish captain, Don Thomas Ayaldi, had fought
his ship, having held out as long as he had the slightest prospect of
victory. Notwithstanding her crippled condition, Captain Bowen
succeeded in carrying his prize to Lisbon, but she was considered too
much battered to be worth the cost of a thorough repair.

Soon afterwards, Captain Bowen captured a French 36-gun frigate, _La
Vestale_, all her masts and her bowsprit being knocked away, and a large
proportion of her crew killed and wounded. Being close to the shoals
that lie between Cape Trafalgar and Cadiz, the prize, with the
_Terpsichore's_ master, one midshipman, and seven seamen, it having been
impossible to remove the French crew, drifted towards the shore, where
the master at length brought her up, and during the darkness the
_Terpsichore_ lost sight of her prize. While attempting to tow her off
the next day, the towrope got foul of a rock and was cut. Soon after
this the Frenchmen rose on the prize-crew and again anchored close
inshore. The next morning, when Captain Bowen stood in to look for her,
he had the mortification to see her standing in to Cadiz, some Spanish
boats having come off and taken possession of her