-ship,
which, by the precipitancy of Captain Guise, we had missed; indeed the
Spanish Admiral being on board at the time, with his flag flying, was a
pretty clear proof that she was on the point of departure; instead of
which, the Admiral, his officers, and 200 seamen were made prisoners,
the remainder of the crew, originally 370 in number, being killed,
wounded, or drowned.

An incident occurred during the contest which, at this distance of time,
I shall not refrain from mentioning. His Britannic Majesty's ship
_Hyperion_ was so close to the _Esmeralda_, as to be a witness of the
whole proceeding. A midshipman was standing at the gangway looking on,
amongst others, when his truly English nature, unable to restrain itself
as our gallant fellows cleared the forecastle of the enemy, gave vent to
its expression by clapping his hands in approbation. It was afterwards
reported that he was immediately ordered below by his commander, Captain
Searle, who threatened to put him under arrest. Such was the feeling of
an English commander towards me. I should not have condescended to
notice this occurrence but for the bravado shown by the same officer on
a previous occasion, by casting loose his guns, with their tompions out,
when my flag-ship entered the roads; thereby either intimating that he
considered me a pirate, or that he would so treat me, if he had an
opportunity.

When approaching the _Esmeralda_, the British frigate also hailed each
boat separately, with the evident intention of alarming the enemy; which
would no doubt have been the case, had not the Spaniards been thrown off
their guard by the before-mentioned ruse of sending the ships out of the
bay.

Far different was the conduct of the commander of the United States
frigate _Macedonian_--whose sentinels did not hail the boats--the
officers in an under-tone wishing us success; and still more honourable
was the subsequent testimony of that talented officer, Captain Basil
Hall, who commanded His Britannic Majesty's ship _Conway_, then in the
Pacific. This testimony, though in some degree a recapitulation of the
events already related, but slightly inaccurate as regards the number of
men employed, I feel proud to adduce:--

"While the liberating army, under General San Martin, was
removing to Ancon, Lord Cochrane, with part of his squadron,
anchored in the outer roads of Callao. The inner harbour was
guarded by an extensive system of batteries, admirably