ips, to her rescue. The _Montague_, though
she had suffered so much in her hull and had lost so many men, had her
masts and rigging entire; and this enabled her to make sail ahead,
followed by other ships which had in the same way escaped with their
rigging uninjured. Twelve French ships, however, were by half-past
eleven almost totally dismasted, while eleven of the British were in
little better condition; but then the Frenchmen had suffered in addition
far more severely in their hulls.

The proceedings of the line-of-battle ships had been viewed at a
distance by the eager crew of the _Ruby_. As one ship after the other
was dismasted, their enthusiasm knew no bounds.

"Oh, Paul, I wish I was there!" cried True Blue vehemently. "There!--
there!--another Frenchman is getting it! Down comes her foremast!--
see!--her mainmast and mizen-mast follow! Oh, what a crash there must
be! That's the eighth Frenchman without a lower mast standing. Hurrah!
we shall have them all!"

"Not quite so sure of that, boy," observed Peter Ogle, who had come upon
the forecastle. "Two of our own ships, you see, are no better off; and
several have lost their topmasts and topgallant-masts. Still they are
right bravely doing their duty. I've never seen warmer work in my day.
Have you, Paul?"

"No. With Lord Rodney we have had hot work enough; but the Frenchmen
didn't fight as well as they do to-day, I must say that for them,"
observed Paul. "See now that Admiral of theirs; he is bearing down once
more to help some of his disabled ships. See, his division seems to
have four or five of them under their lee; but there are a good many
more left to our share."

"Hurrah!" cried True Blue, who had been watching an action briskly
carried on in another direction. "There's one more Frenchman will be
ours before long. That's a tremendous drubbing the _Brunswick_ has
given her."

No ship's company displayed more determined gallantry during that
eventful day than did the _Brunswick_, commanded by the brave Captain
Harvey. Being prevented from passing between the _Achille_ and
_Vengeur_, in consequence of the latter shooting ahead and filling up
the intervening space, she ran foul of the _Vengeur_, her own starboard
anchors hooking on the Frenchman's larboard foreshrouds and
fore-channels.

"Shall we cut away the anchor, sir?" inquired the master, Mr Stewart,
of the Captain.

"No, no. We have got her, and we will keep her," replied