ho
would as likely as not refuse to acknowledge a surrender, and sink us
without mercy.' We got every stitch of sail on her, and as the wind was
very light, put out our sweeps. The Frenchmen, however, had more wind than
we had, and gained on us fast. We threw our fourteen pop-guns overboard to
lighten her, for even Cochrane felt that it was useless to think of
fighting now. The three vessels separated so as to ensure that we should
not slip past them, and the _Dessaix_, which was nearest to us, began
firing broadside after broadside each time she tacked, keeping her
bow-chasers going all the time, and cutting up our rigging. For three
hours this continued. We threw over all the ammunition and stores, but
slowly and gradually the _Dessaix_ crept up to us. Just as she was abeam
Cochrane put the helm hard down, and we spun round to make a desperate
attempt to run between the enemy. We were received with a broadside from
the _Formidable_, and the _Dessaix_ immediately tacked in pursuit.

"In less than an hour she came up within musket-shot, and yawing to bring
all her guns to bear, poured in a broadside that I thought would have
annihilated us. Fortunately she had answered her helm so quickly that as
she came round her guns bore ahead of us, and the round shot struck the
water under our bows. The grape, however, cut up the rigging, riddled the
sails, and damaged the masts, and as the next broadside would assuredly
have sunk us, Cochrane ordered the flag to be hauled down. Nothing could
have been kinder than our treatment. The captain declined to accept
Cochrane's sword, begging him to continue to wear it though a prisoner. In
our thirteen months' cruise we had taken or retaken upwards of fifty
vessels, one hundred and twenty-two guns, and five hundred and thirty-four
prisoners. After our capture the French line-of-battle ships took us and
our lubberly convoy into Algeciras. It was trying to be lying there almost
within range of the guns of Gibraltar. Two or three days later Sir James
Saumarez sailed in with a powerful squadron. The French at once put out
boats, carried anchors ashore, and warped in until they grounded, so as to
prevent being attacked on both sides. The tide brought the British ships
so fast up the bay that in the hurry of the work the French ships still
lay head to shore, and were therefore helpless to offer any defence to the
expected attack. The greater part of the French sailors were at once sent
ashore t