nt with those we first engaged.

We were in this situation about half-an-hour, when the Spaniard called out
he had struck, but before we could take possession of him, a French ship
of eighty guns with an admiral's flag came up, and poured a raking
broadside into our stern which killed and wounded forty petty officers and
men, nearly cut the rudder in two, and shattered the whole of the stern
with the quarter galleries. She then in the most gallant manner locked her
bowsprit in our starboard main shrouds, and attempted to board us with the
greater part of her officers and ship's company. She had rifle-men in her
tops who did great execution. Our poop was soon cleared, and our gallant
captain shot through the left thigh and obliged to be carried below.
During this time we were not idle. We gave it to her most gloriously with
the starboard lower and main-deckers, and turned the forecastle guns
loaded with grape on the gentleman who wished to give us a fraternal hug.
The marines kept up a warm and destructive fire on the boarders. Only one
man made good his footing on our quarter-deck, when he was pinned through
the calf of his right leg by one of the crew with his half-pike, whilst
another was going to cut him down, which I prevented, and desired him to
be taken to the cockpit. At this period the _Bellerophon_, seeing our
critical position, gallantly steered between us and our first French
antagonist and sheeted her home until she struck her colours. Our severe
contest with the French admiral lasted more than half-an-hour, our sides
grinding so much against each other that we were obliged to fire the lower
deck guns without running them out.

At length both ships caught fire before the chest-trees, and our firemen,
with all the coolness and courage so inherent in British seamen, got the
engine and played on both ships, and finally extinguished the flames,
although two of them were severely wounded in doing so. At length we had
the satisfaction of seeing her three lower masts go by the board, ripping
the partners up in their fall, as they had been shot through below the
deck, and carrying with them all their sharp-shooters to look sharper in
the next world, for as all our boats were shot through we could not save
one of them in this. The crew were then ordered with the second lieutenant
to board her. They cheered and in a short time carried her. They found the
gallant French Admiral Magon killed at the foot of the poop ladde