ended in their line; but for which we could never
have cut off a corner of them, as we did. The mistake of Monk was in
not keeping his ships better together;" that is, closed up. The remark
is just, the criticism scarcely so; the opening out of the line was
almost unavoidable in so long a column of sailing-ships, and was one
of the chances taken by Monk when he offered battle.

The English stood off on the port tack to the west or west-northwest,
and next day returned to the fight. The Dutch were now on the port
tack in natural order, the right leading, and were to windward; but
the enemy, being more weatherly and better disciplined, soon gained
the advantage of the wind. The English this day had forty-four ships
in action, the Dutch about eighty; many of the English, as before
said, larger. The two fleets passed on opposite tacks, the English to
windward;[30] but Tromp, in the rear, seeing that the Dutch order of
battle was badly formed, the ships in two or three lines, overlapping
and so masking each other's fire, went about and gained to windward of
the enemy's van (R'); which he was able to do from the length of the
line, and because the English, running parallel to the Dutch order,
were off the wind. "At this moment two flag-officers of the Dutch van
kept broad off, presenting their sterns to the English (V'). Ruyter,
greatly astonished, tried to stop them, but in vain, and therefore
felt obliged to imitate the manoeuvre in order to keep his squadron
together; but he did so with some order, keeping some ships around
him, and was joined by one of the van ships, disgusted with the
conduct of his immediate superior. Tromp was now in great danger,
separated [by his own act first and then by the conduct of the van]
from his own fleet by the English, and would have been destroyed but
for Ruyter, who, seeing the urgency of the case, hauled up for him,"
the van and centre thus standing back for the rear on the opposite
tack to that on which they entered action. This prevented the English
from keeping up the attack on Tromp, lest Ruyter should gain the wind
of them, which they could not afford to yield because of their very
inferior numbers. Both the action of Tromp and that of the junior
flag-officers in the van, though showing very different degrees of
warlike ardor, bring out strongly the lack of subordination and of
military feeling which has been charged against the Dutch officers as
a body; no signs of which appear am