Sea-horse_, who followed, also gave her a broadside. In this way we
exchanged broadsides with the whole four, and we had the best of it,
they could not load so fast as we could. We were both ready again for
the frigates as they passed us, but they were not ready with their
broadside, for the _Sea-horse_, who followed us very closely, so that
they had two broadsides each, and we had only four in the _Diomede_, the
_Sea-horse_ not having one. Our rigging was cut up a great deal, and we
had six or seven men wounded, but none killed. The French frigates
suffered more, and their admiral perceiving that they were cut up a good
deal, made a signal of recall. In the meantime we had both tacked, and
were ranging up on the weather quarter of the sternmost frigate: the
line-of-battle ships perceiving this, ran down with the wind, two points
free, to support their frigates, and our in-shore squadron made all sail
to support us, nearly laying up for where we were. But the wind was
what is called at sea a soldier's wind, that is, blowing so that the
ships could lie either way, so as to run out or into the harbour, and
the French frigates, in obedience to their orders, made sail for their
fleet in-shore, the line-of-battle ships coming out to support them.
But our captain would not give it up, although we all continued to near
the French line-of-battle ships every minute--we ran in with the
frigates, exchanging broadsides with them as fast as we could. One of
them lost her fore-topmast, and dropped astern, and we hoped to cut her
off, but the others shortened sail to support her. This continued for
about twenty minutes, when the French line-of-battle ships were not more
than a mile from us, and our own commodore had made the signal of our
recall, for he thought that we should be overpowered and taken. But the
_Sea-horse_, who saw the recall up, did not repeat it, and our captain
was determined not to see it, and ordered the signal-man not to look
that way. The action continued; two of the French frigates were cut to
pieces, and complete wrecks, when the French line-of-battle ships
commenced firing. It was then high time to be off. We each of us
poured in another broadside, and then wore round for our own squadron,
which were about four miles off, and rather to leeward, standing in to
our assistance. As we wore round, our main-topmast, which had been
badly wounded, fell over the side, and the French perceiving this, made
all