ir whole broadsides to bear upon us, which they immediately
did, taking in their studding-sails, and otherwise reducing their canvas
at the same time, until we were all three under exactly the same amount
of sail--excepting, of course, that we had lost our mizzen-topsail with
all above it, while theirs still stood intact. As for us, our guns were
all trained as far aft as the port-holes would permit, and as our
antagonists ranged up on either quarter, within pistol-shot, each gun
was fired point-blank as it was brought to bear. And now the fight
began in real, grim downright earnest, the crew of each gun loading and
firing as rapidly as possible, while the French poured in their
broadsides with a coolness and precision that extorted our warmest
admiration, despite the disagreeable fact that they were playing havoc
with us fore and aft, one of our guns having been dismounted within
three minutes of the arrival of the enemy alongside us, while the tale
of killed and wounded was growing heavier with every broadside that we
received. But if we were suffering severely we were paying our
punishment back with interest, as we could see by glancing at the hulls
of our antagonists, the sides of which were torn and splintered and
pierced all along the broad white streak that marked the line of
ports,--some of which were knocked two into one,--while their yellow
sides were here and there broadly streaked with crimson as the blood
drained away through their scuppers. It is true they were fighting us
two to one, but, after all, their advantage was more apparent than real,
for, running level with us as they were, they could only fight one of
their batteries, while we were fighting both ours, and our guns--every
one of them double-shotted--were being better and more rapidly served
than theirs.

I will not attempt to describe the fight in detail, for indeed any such
attempt could only result in failure. And as a matter of fact there was
very little to describe. We simply ran dead away to leeward, the three
of us, fighting almost yardarm to yardarm, and exchanging broadsides as
rapidly as the guns could be loaded and run out. After the first ten
minutes of the fight there was little or nothing to be seen, for the
wind was fast dropping again, and the three ships were wrapped in a
dense white pall of smoke that effectually concealed everything that was
going on at a greater distance than some fifty feet from the observer.
The most