yed by the
viceroy of Peru as a man-of-war, to be a frigate in his majesty's
service, manning her with the crew of the Tryal, and giving
commissions to the captain and all the inferior officers accordingly.
This new frigate, when in the Spanish service, had mounted thirty-two
guns; but she was now to have only twenty, which were the twelve that
belonged to the Tryal and eight that had been on board the Anna pink.

This affair being resolved on, the commodore gave orders to Captain
Saunders to carry it into execution, directing him to take all the
arms, stores, ammunition, and every thing else that could be of use
from the sloop, and then to scuttle and sink her. After all this was
done, Captain Saunders was to proceed with his new frigate, now
called the _Tryal's prize_, to cruise off the high-land of Valparaiso,
keeping it from him N.N.W. at the distance of twelve or fourteen
leagues: for, as all ships from Valparaiso bound to the northward,
steer that course, the commodore proposed, by this means, to stop any
intelligence that might be dispatched to Callao, of two of their ships
being amissing, which might give them apprehensions of the English
squadron being in their neighbourhood. The Tryal's prize was to
continue on this station for twenty-four days, and, if not joined by
the commodore before the expiration of that time, was then to proceed
along the coast to Pisco, or Nasca, where she would be certain to find
the Centurion. The commodore also ordered Lieutenant Saumarez,
who commanded the Centurion's prize, to keep company with Captain
Saunders, both to assist in unloading the Tryal, and that, by
spreading in their cruise off Valparaiso, there might be less danger
of any ships of the enemy slipping past unobserved. These orders being
dispatched, the Centurion parted from the other vessels at eleven at
night of the 27th September, directing her course towards Valparaiso,
with the view of cruising for some days to windward of that port. By
this distribution of our ships, we flattered ourselves that we had
taken all the advantages we possibly could of the enemy with our small
force, as our disposition was certainly the most prudent that could
be devised: For, as we might suppose the Gloucester to be now drawing
nigh the high-land of Payta, we were thus enabled, by our separate
stations, to intercept all vessels employed either between Peru and
Chili to the southward, or between Panama and Peru to the northward,
sinc