lying-to; and, towards one
o'clock, the Centurion hoisted her broad pendant and colours, she
being then within gun-shot of the enemy. And the commodore observing
the Spaniards to have neglected clearing their ship till that time, as
he then saw them throwing overboard cattle and lumber, he gave orders
to fire upon them with the chace-guns, to embarrass them in their
work, and prevent them from completing it, though his general
directions had been not to engage till they were within pistol-shot.
The galleon returned the fire with two of her stern-chacers; and, the
Centurion getting her sprit-sail-yard fore and aft, that if necessary
she might be ready for boarding, the Spaniards in a bravado rigged
their sprit-sail-yard fore and aft likewise. Soon after, the Centurion
came a-breast of the enemy within pistol-shot, keeping to the leeward
with a view of preventing them from putting before the wind, and
gaining the port of Jalapay, from which they were about seven leagues
distant. And now the engagement began in earnest, and, for the first
half hour, Mr Anson over-reached the galleon, and lay on her bow;
where, by the great wideness of his ports, he could traverse almost
all his guns upon the enemy, whilst the galleon could only bring a
part of hers to bear. Immediately on the commencement of the action,
the mats, with which the galleon had stuffed her netting, took fire,
and burnt violently, blazing up half as high as the mizen-top. This
accident (supposed to be caused by the Centurion's wads) threw
the enemy into great confusion, and at the same time alarmed the
commodore, for he feared least the galleon should be burnt, and least
he himself too might suffer by her driving on board him: But the
Spaniards at last freed themselves from the fire, by cutting away the
netting, and tumbling the whole mass, which was in flames, into the
sea. But still the Centurion kept her first advantageous position,
firing her cannon with great regularity and briskness, whilst at the
same time the galleon's decks lay open to her top-men, who, having
at their first volley driven the Spaniards from their tops, made
prodigious havock with their small-arms, killing or wounding every
officer but one that ever appeared on the quarter-deck, and wounding
in particular the general of the galleon himself. And though the
Centurion, after the first half hour, lost her original situation,
and was close alongside the galleon, and the enemy continued to
fi