next day, both the Pallas and the Vengeance would
leave that coast. I had thoughts of attempting the enterprize
alone after the Pallas had made sail to join the Vengeance. I am
persuaded, even now, that I would have succeeded, and to the
honour of my young officers, I found them as ardently disposed to
the business as I could desire; nothing prevented me from
pursuing my design but the reproach that would have been cast
upon my character, as a man of prudence, had the enterprize
miscarried. It would have been said, was he not forewarned by
Capt. Cottineau and others?

I made sail along shore to the southward, and next morning took a
coasting sloop, in ballast, which, with another that I had taken
the night before, I ordered to be sunk. In the evening I again
met with the Pallas and Vengeance, off Whitby. Captain Cottineau
told me he had sunk the brigantine, and ransomed the sloop, laden
with building timber, that had been taken the day before. I had
told Captain Cottineau, the day before, that I had no authority
to ransom prizes.

On the 21st we saw and chased two sail, off Flamborough Head, the
Pallas in the N. E. quarter, while the Bonhomme Richard followed
by the Vengeance in the S. W. The one I chased, a brigantine
collier in ballast, belonging to Scarborough, was soon taken, and
sunk immediately afterward, as a fleet then appeared to the
southward. It was so late in the day that I could not come up
with the fleet before night; at length, however, I got so near
one of them as to force her to run ashore, between Flamborough
Head and the Spurn. Soon after I took another, a brigantine from
Holland, belonging to Sunderland; and at daylight the next
morning, seeing a fleet steering towards me from the Spurn, I
imagined them to be a convoy, bound from London for Leith, which
had been for some time expected; one of them had a pendant
hoisted, and appeared to be a ship of force. They had not,
however, courage to come on, but kept back, all except the one
which seemed to be armed, and that one also kept to windward (p. 104)
very near the land, and on the edge of dangerous shoals,
where I could not with safety approach. This induced me to make a
signal for a pilot, and soon afterward two pilot boats came off;
they informed me that the ship t