re about 15,000 yards distant. Cradock ordered the speed of
his squadron to seventeen knots. He then signalled by wireless to the
_Canopus_, 'I am going to attack enemy now'.

[Sidenote: At closer range.]

[Sidenote: Only gun flashes to direct fire.]

[Sidenote: The _Good Hope_ blown up.]

The sun was setting. The western horizon was mantled by a canopy of
gold. Von Spee's man[oe]uvre in closing in nearer to the shore had
placed him in an advantageous position as regards the light. The British
ships, when the sun had set, were sharply outlined against the glowing
sky. The Germans were partly hidden in the failing light and by the
mountainous coast. The island of Santa Maria, off Coronel, lay in the
distance. Von Spee had been gradually closing to within 12,000 yards.
The appropriate moment for engaging seemed to be approaching. A few
minutes after sunset, about seven o'clock, the leading German cruiser
opened fire with her largest guns. Shells shrieked over and short of the
_Good Hope_, some falling within five hundred yards. As battle was now
imminent, the _Otranto_ began to haul out of line, and to edge away to
the south-west. The squadrons were converging rapidly, but the smaller
cruisers were as yet out of range. The British replied in quick
succession to the German fire. As the distance lessened, each ship
engaged that opposite in the line. The _Good Hope_ and the _Monmouth_
had to bear the brunt of the broadsides of the _Scharnhorst_ and the
_Gneisenau_. The _Glasgow_, in the rear, exchanged shots with the light
cruisers, the _Leipzig_ and the _Dresden_. The shooting was deadly. The
third of the rapid salvos of the enemy armoured cruisers set the _Good
Hope_ and the _Monmouth_ afire. Shells began to find their mark, some
exploding overhead and bursting in all directions. In about ten minutes
the _Monmouth_ sheered off the line to westward about one hundred yards.
She was being hit heavily. Her foremost turret, shielding one of her
6-inch guns, was in flames. She seemed to be reeling and shaking. She
fell back into line, however, and then out again to eastward, her 6-inch
guns roaring intermittently. Darkness was now gathering fast. The range
had narrowed to about 5,000 yards. The seven ships were all in action.
Many shells striking the sea sent up columns of white spray, showing
weirdly in the twilight. It was an impressive scene. The dim light, the
heavy seas, the rolling of the vessels, distracted the aim. So