a sultry air. As our hopes were so
long baffled, and our patience quite exhausted, we began at length to
despair of succeeding in the great purpose we had in view, that of
intercepting the Manila galleon; and this produced a general dejection
amongst us, as we had at first considered this project as almost
infallible, and had indulged ourselves in the most boundless hopes of the
advantages we should thence receive. However, our despondency was at last
somewhat alleviated by a favourable change of the wind; for on the 9th of
January a gale for the first time sprang up from the north-east. As we
advanced apace towards our station our hopes began to revive, for though
the customary season of the arrival of the galleon at Acapulco was
already elapsed, yet we were by this time unreasonable enough to flatter
ourselves that some accidental delay might, for our advantage, lengthen
out her passage beyond its usual limits. On the 26th of January, being
then to the northward of Acapulco, we tacked and stood to the eastward,
with a view of making the land.

(*Note. Off Cape Corrientes (20 degrees 20 minutes north). Anson hoped to
intercept the Manila galleon here.)

A MORTIFYING DELUSION.

We expected by our reckonings to have fallen in with it on the 28th; but
though the weather was perfectly clear, we had no sight of it at sunset,
and therefore we continued on our course, not doubting but we should see
it by the next morning. About ten at night we discovered a light on the
larboard-bow, bearing from us north-north-east. The Trial's prize, too,
which was about a mile ahead of us, made a signal at the same time for
seeing a sail; and as we had none of us any doubt but what we saw was a
ship's light, we were all extremely animated with a firm persuasion that
it was the Manila galleon, which had been so long the object of our
wishes. And what added to our alacrity was our expectation of meeting
with two of them instead of one, for we took it for granted that the
light in view was carried in the top of one ship for a direction to her
consort. We chased the light, keeping all our hands at their respective
quarters, under an expectation of engaging in the next half-hour, as we
sometimes conceived the chase to be about a mile distant, and at other
times to be within reach of our guns; and some on board us positively
averred that besides the light they could plainly discern her sails. The
Commodore himself was so fully persuaded that w