y after day passed, and then they were to be seen spreading over the
blue sea in the far distance, but not daring to come nearer. Either
they were waiting for reinforcements, or for some accident which might
give them such a vast superiority that they would no longer have any
fear of the result of a general engagement.

Great, therefore, was the delight of the British, when, on the morning
of the 19th, the wind shifted suddenly, and enabled them to bear down
under a press of sail on the enemy. The Count de Guichen could no
longer, it was hoped, avoid an action; but, ere the English could get
their guns to bear, the fickle wind again shifted and left the enemy the
choice of engaging or not. Although the van of the French was to
windward, their rear was still to leeward of the British van, now led by
the gallant Commodore Hotham. Immediately he bore down upon them and
opened his fire.

The _Terrible_ was in this division, and took a leading part in the
fray. Several ships on both sides were now hotly engaged. The French
Admiral, seeing this, seemed to have made up his mind to risk a general
action; and as soon as his van had weathered the British, which the
shift of wind enabled him to do, he bore away along their line to
windward and commenced a heavy cannonade, but at so cautious a distance
that his shot did little damage. The _Terrible's_ opponent soon sheered
off, and, having more speed than pluck, quickly got out of the range of
her guns, greatly to the disgust of all the crew.

"Look here, mates; is this what those frog-eating Johnny Crapauds call
fighting?" exclaimed Paul Pringle, pointing to de Guichen's distant
line, firing away at the main body of the British fleet. "Unless
fellows are inclined to lay alongside each other, yardarm to yardarm,
and have it out like brave men, to my mind they had better stay ashore
and leave fighting alone."

The sentiment was echoed heartily by all his hearers, and more
particularly so, when in a short time the whole French fleet was seen
fairly to take to flight, and, under a press of sail, to stand to the
northward. The British fleet continued all the next day in chase; but,
on the morning of the 21st, not a Frenchman was to be seen; and as many
of the ships had suffered severely in these partial actions, and were
much knocked about by long service, Admiral Rodney stood for Barbadoes,
where they might undergo the required repairs. They arrived on the 22nd
in Carlis