umarez in 1741 was made acting commander of the Tryal, in the
place of Lieutenant Saunders, who was appointed to the vacancy
occasioned by the death of Captain Kidd, but who from ill-health was not
in a state to be removed from the Centurion. In this situation he
remained seven weeks, during which time he gave proofs of his consummate
skill during a period of excessively inclement weather. Captain
Saunders, on his recovery, assumed the command on the 19th February,
when he returned to the Centurion as first lieutenant.

The following account given by Lieutenant Saumarez of the action with
the Spanish Galleon, off Manilla, cannot be read without much interest.
It is dated on board the Centurion, 1742.

"I shall run over briefly the dates of our voyage, and give you
a rude sketch of our proceedings: to enlarge on particulars
would exceed the limits of a letter.

"You will recollect our squadron left England on the 18th
September 1740. We had a tedious passage of forty-one days to
Madeira, the usual one being ten; to this accident several
secondary ones succeeded, as loss of time, and the season
proper for navigating the Southern seas, and declining health
of the men, especially the soldiers. We stayed a month at this
island, employed in watering, and taking in our stock of wine.
It is highly probable that we narrowly escaped a squadron of
the enemy, which were discovered from the mountains, cruising
off the west end of the island, and which, if the commanders
had behaved like disciplinarians, might have intercepted us,
and it would have fully answered the designs of the Spanish
court if they had disabled us from pursuing our voyage, which
must have been the consequence of an engagement. They had also
the advantage of being double our number; but, leaving them to
their reflections, we pursued our course, and crossed the line
and tropic without any remarkable accidents occurring,
excepting that fever and fluxes began to attack us, especially
the soldiers; and in forty-four days we arrived at the island
of St. Catherine, on the coast of Brazil, on the 19th March
1740.

"We stayed at St. Catherine's twenty-eight days, employed in
recovering our sick, who lived on shore in tents, and in making
preparations for doubling Cape Horn in a tempestuous and
advanced season.

"We sailed