at length to
yield to them, and he issued the order for the squadron to return to
Jamaica. Here the brave old admiral was carried on shore, and shortly
afterwards died of the wound he had received. The captains who had
refused to support him were tried by a court-martial, and two of them
were carried home and shot on the decks of their ships, as soon as they
arrived in an English port.

To return to John Deane. Soon after the "Breda" reached Port Royal, as
she was likely to remain there for some time, and he was anxious for
active employment, he got re-appointed to the "Venus," which was sent to
cruise for the protection of British commerce.

As soon as the frigate was clear of the island, a bright look-out was
kept for the French privateers or any other of the enemy's vessels. The
frigate had been cruising for a week or more, and had already got some
distance from Jamaica, having during the time captured several small
vessels, some of which had been destroyed and others sent to Port Royal,
when one forenoon a large ship was descried to leeward. All sail was
crowded in chase, and as the frigate had the advantage of the wind, the
stranger being almost becalmed, she soon came up with her.

As soon as the breeze reached the stranger, without hoisting her
colours, she made all sail in an attempt to escape. Various opinions
were offered as to her character. Some thought she was a Spanish
galleon, though how she should have come thus far north was a question
not easily answered. Others believed she was a large French
merchantman, and some pronounced her to be a privateer. She was a fast
craft, at all events, for as soon as she felt the breeze she slipped
through the water at a rate which made it doubtful whether the "Venus"
would come up with her. This made the English still more anxious for
her capture, as, in the first place, if a merchantman, she was likely to
have a rich cargo on board, and at all events she might be converted
into a useful cruiser.

It was a general opinion in those days that the French vessels were
faster sailers than the English, and certain it is that many of the best
models of men-of-war were taken from the French. The Genoese, however,
were reputed to be better ship-builders than either. A stern chase is a
long chase always. The stranger persevered in her flight, in the hope
that some accident might secure her escape. The English pursued in the
hope that an accident to the chase m