ay; nevertheless, the fight
was maintained till night, when the enemy bore away to leeward. The wind
shifting before morning, the French gained the weather-gage; but they
made no use of this advantage; for two successive days the English
admiral endeavoured to renew the engagement, which the count de Tholouse
declined, and at last he disappeared. The loss was pretty equal on both
sides, though not a single ship was taken or destroyed by either; but
the honour of the day certainly remained with the English. Over and
above the disadvantages we have enumerated, the bottoms of the British
fleet were foul, and several large ships had expended all their shot
long before the battle ceased; yet the enemy were so roughly handled,
that they did not venture another engagement during the whole war.
The French king, in order to raise the drooping spirits of his people,
claimed the victory, and published an account of the action, which, at
this distance of time, plainly proves that he was reduced to the
mean shift of imposing upon his subjects, by false and partial
representations. Among other exaggerations in this detail, we find
mention made of mischief done to French ships by English bombs; though
nothing is more certain than that there was not one bomb vessel in the
combined fleet. The French academy, actuated by a servile spirit of
adulation, caused a medal to be struck on the occasion, which, instead
of perpetuating the glory of their prince, served only to transmit their
own shame to posterity. After the battle, sir George Rooke sailed to
Gibraltar to refit, and leaving a squadron with sir John Leake, set sail
for England on the twenty-fourth day of August. He arrived in September,
and was received by the ministry, and the people in general, with those
marks of esteem and veneration which were due to his long services and
signal success; but he was still persecuted with a spirit of envy and
detraction. Philip king of Spain, alarmed at the reduction of Gibraltar,
sent the marquis de Villadarias with an army to retake it. The siege
lasted four months, during which the prince of Hesse exhibited many
shining proofs of courage and ability. The place was supplied with men
and provisions by convoys from Lisbon, until monsieur de Pointis put a
stop to that communication, by entering the bay with a strong squadron;
but he was obliged to retire at the approach of sir John Leake and
admiral Vanderdussen; and the marquis de Villadarias, hav