to row with a great many men, they would, and did, come
and cut up several of our fireships, and would certainly have taken most
of them, for they do come with a great provision of these boats on
purpose, and to save their men, which is bravely done of them, though they
did, on this very occasion, shew great fear, as they say, by some men
leaping overboard out of a great ship, as these were all of them of sixty
and seventy guns a-piece, which one of our fireships laid on board, though
the fire did not take. But yet it is brave to see what care they do take
to encourage their men to provide great stores of boats to save them,
while we have not credit to find one boat for a ship. And, further, he
told us that this new way used by Deane, and this Sir W. Coventry observed
several times, of preparing of fire-ships, do not do the work; for the
fire, not being strong and quick enough to flame up, so as to take the
rigging and sails, lies smothering a great while, half an hour before it
flames, in which time they can get her off safely, though, which is
uncertain, and did fail in one or two this bout, it do serve to burn our
own ships. But what a shame it is to consider how two of our ships'
companies did desert their ships for fear of being taken by their boats,
our little frigates being forced to leave them, being chased by their
greater! And one more company did set their ship on fire, and leave her;
which afterwards a Feversham fisherman come up to, and put out the fire,
and carried safe into Feversham, where she now is, which was observed by
the Duke of York, and all the company with him, that it was only want of
courage, and a general dismay and abjectness of spirit upon all our men;
and others did observe our ill management, and God Almighty's curse upon
all that we have in hand, for never such an opportunity was of destroying
so many good ships of theirs as we now had. But to see how negligent we
were in this business, that our fleete of Jordan's should not have any
notice where Spragg was, nor Spragg of Jordan's, so as to be able to meet
and join in the business, and help one another; but Jordan, when he saw
Spragg's fleete above, did think them to be another part of the enemy's
fleete! While, on the other side, notwithstanding our people at Court
made such a secret of Jordan's design that nobody must know it, and even
this Office itself must not know it; nor for my part I did not, though Sir
W. Batten says by other