er at his
highest speed; and that chasing will not now be one's business!--

"About 11 A.M. Hawke is here; eight of his vanward ships are sweeping on
for action. Conflans, at first, had determined to fight Hawke; and drew
up accordingly, and did try a little: but gradually thought better
of it; and decided to take shelter in the shoaly coasts and nooks
thereabouts, which were unknown to Hawke, and might ruin him if he
should pursue, the day being short, and the weather extremely bad.
Weather itself almost to be called a storm. 'Shoreward, then; eastward,
every ship!' became, ultimately, Conflans's plan. On the whole, it was
2 in the afternoon before Hawke, with those vanward Eight, could get
clutch of Conflans. And truly he did then strike his claws into him in
a thunderously fervid manner, he and all hands, in spite of the roaring
weather:--a man of falcon, or accipitral, nature as well as name.

"Conflans himself fought well; as did certain of the others,--all, more
or less, so long as their plan continued steady:--thunderous miscellany
of cannon and tempest; Conflans with his plan steady, or Conflans with
his plan wavering, VERSUS those vanward Eight, for two hours or more.
But the scene was too dreadful; this ship sinking, that obliged to
strike; things all going awry for Conflans. Hawke, in his own Flagship,
bore down specially on Conflans in his,--who did wait, and exchange a
couple of broadsides; but then sheered off, finding it so heavy. French
Vice-Admiral next likewise gave Hawke a broadside; one only, and sheered
off, satisfied with the return. Some Four others, in succession, did
the like; 'One blast, as we hurry by' (making for the shore, mostly)! So
that Hawke seemed swallowed in volcanoes (though, indeed, their firing
was very bad, such a flurry among them), and his Blue Flag was invisible
for some time, and various ships were hastening to help him,--till a
Fifth French ship coming up with her broadside, Hawke answered her in
particular (LA SUPERBE, a Seventy-four) with all his guns together;
which sent the poor ship to the bottom, in a hideously sudden manner.
One other (the THESEE) had already sunk in fighting; two (the SOLEIL and
the HEROS) were already running for it,--the HEROS in a very unheroic
manner! But on this terrible plunge-home of the SUPERBE, the rest all
made for the shore;--and escaped into the rocky intricacies and the
darkness. Four of Conflans's ships were already gone,--struck, sunk,