broadside, receiving only four
shot from the Dutchman's stern-chasers in return.

Meanwhile, the Dutch crew went to work with most praiseworthy courage
and activity to clear away the wreck, and so to reduce the amount of
their after-sail as to get their ship once more under command; but
before they could succeed in doing this we had kept away far enough to
give ourselves room to tack, had gone about again, and once more crossed
our antagonist's stern, raking him a second time most destructively, at
close quarters, with our port broadside, double-shotted. This discharge
must have played havoc with his crew, for when at length he had paid off
sufficiently to bring his starboard broadside to bear, he was only able
to fire a little more than half his guns, while they were so
indifferently aimed that only three or four of the shot struck us.

We now had a very great advantage over our antagonist, from the fact
that all our spars were intact, while he was greatly hampered by the
loss of so much head-sail; but the advantage did not remain with us very
long, for at the next exchange of broadsides down came our fore-topmast,
at the same instant that the Dutchman's mizenmast went over the side.
This put us both upon nearly equal terms, the advantage being rather on
the side of our antagonist, if anything; and now we went at it, hammer
and tongs, making a running fight of it, broadside to broadside, as fast
as the men could load and fire. Now, too, it began to dawn upon us that
we had caught a Tartar, for the Dutchman mounted forty guns--32-pound
and 28-pound carronades--against our 24-pounders and 8-pounders, while
the close range at which we were fighting--about a pistol-shot
distance--enabled her heavier metal to punish us severely. But our lads
cared very little about this, it appeared, one of them remarking to
another in my hearing that an 8-pounder could kill quite as effectively
as a 32 at short range, and for his part he would as soon be killed by
one as the other. This appeared to be the spirit animating all hands,
for they toiled away at their guns, loading and firing with the utmost
rapidity, and cheering at every broadside, whether of their own or the
enemy. But the work was too hot to last very long. When we had been
engaged about half-an-hour we noticed that our antagonist's fire was
perceptibly slackening, and when at length we contrived again to pass
across her stern, and deliver another raking double-shotted