hath been sometimes less attended to on board our ships of war than might have been wished for, it hath been rather owing to unskilful methods of teaching it, than to negligence: for the common sailors, how strongly soever attached to their own prejudices, are very quick sighted in finding out the defects of others, and have ever shewn a great contempt for the formalities practised in the training of land troops to the use of their arms; but when those who have undertaken to instruct the seamen have contented themselves with inculcating only what was useful, and that in the simplest manner, they have constantly found their people sufficiently docile, and the success hath even exceeeded their expectation. Thus, on board Mr. Anson's ship, where they were only taught the shortest method of loading with cartridges, and were constantly trained to fire at a mark, which was usually hung at the yard-arm, and where some little reward was given to the most expert: the whole crew, by this management, were rendered extremely skilful, quick in loading, all of them good marksmen, and some of them most extraordinary ones.

'It was the last of May, N. S. as hath been already said, when the Centurion arrived off cape Espiritu Santo; and consequently the next day began the month in which the galeons were to be expected. The commodore therefore made all necessary preparations for receiving them, having hoisted out his long boat, and lashed her alongside, that the ship might be ready for engaging, if they fell in with the galeons in the night. All this time too he was very solicitous to keep at such a distance from the cape, as not to be discovered: but it hath been since learnt, that, notwithstanding his care, he was seen from the land; and advice of him was sent to Manilla, where it was at first disbelieved, but on reiterated intelligence (for it seems he was seen more than once) the merchants were alarmed, and the governor was applied to, who undertook (the commerce supplying the necessary sums) to fit out a force consisting of two ships of thirty-two guns, one of twenty guns, and two sloops of ten guns each, to attack the Centurion on her station: and some of these vessels did actually weigh with this view; but the principal ship not being ready, and the monsoon being

against them, the commerce and the governor disagreed, and the enterprise was laid aside.

As the month of June advanced, the expectancy and impatience of the commodore's people each day increased. At last the certainty of the arrival of these vessels was dwindled down to probability only, and that probability became each hour more and more doubtful. However, on the 20th of June, O. S. being just a month from their arrival on their station, they were relieved from this state of uncertainty, when, at sun-rise, they discovered a sail from the mast-head, in the S. E. quarter. On this, a general joy spread through the whole ship; for they had no doubt but this was one of the galeons, and they expected soon to see the other. The com modore instantly stood towards her, and at half an hour after seven they were near enough to see her from the Centurion's deck; at which time the galeon fired a gun, and took in her top-gallant sails, which was supposed to be a signal to her consort, to hasten her up; and therefore the Centurion fired a gun to leeward, to amuse her. The commodore was surprised to find, that in all this time the galeon did not change her course, but continued to bear down upon him; for he hardly believed, what afterwards appeared to be the case, that she knew his ship to be the Centurion, and resolved to fight him.

About noon the commodore was little more than a league distant from the galeon, and could fetch her wake, so that she could not now escape; and, no second ship appearing, it was concluded that she had been separated from her consort. Soon after, the galeon haled up her fore-sail, and brought to under top-sails, with her head to the northward, hoisting Spanish colours, and having the standard of Spain flying at the topgallant mast-head. Mr. Anson, in the mean time, had prepared all things for an engagement on board the Centurion, and had taken all possible care, both for the most effectual exertion of his small strength, and for the avoiding the confusion and tumult, too frequent in actions of this kind. He picked out about thirty of his choicest hands and best marksmen, whom he distributed into his tops, and who fully answer,

ed his expectation, by the signal services they performed. As he had not hands enough remaining to quarter a sufficient number to each great gun, in the customary manner, he therefore, on his lower tier, fixed only two men to each gun, who were to be solely employed in loading it, whilst the rest of his people were divided into different gangs of ten or twelve men each, which were constantly moving about the decks, to run out and fire such guns as were loaded. By this manage ment he was enabled to make use of all his guns; and instead of firing broadsides with intervals between them, he kept up a constant fire without intermission, whence he doubted not to procure very signal advantages; for it is common with the Spaniards to fall down upon the decks when they see a broadside preparing, and to continue in that posture till it is given; after which they rise again, and, presuming the danger to be for some time over, work their guns and fire with great briskness, till another broadside is ready: but the firing gun by gun, in the manner directed by the commodore, rendered this practice of theirs impossible.

The Centurion being thus prepared, and nearing the galeon apace, there happened, a little after noon, several squalls of wind and rain, which often obscured the galeon from their sight; but whenever it cleared up, they observed her resolutely lying to; and towards one o'clock; the Centurion hoisted her broad pennant and colours, she being then within gun-shot of the enemy. And the commodore observing the Spaniards to have neglected clearing their ship till that time, as he then saw them throwing overboard cattle and lumber, he gave orders to fire upon them with the chace-guns, to embarass them in their work, and prevent them from completing it, though his general directions had been not to engage till they were within pistol-shot. The galeon returned the fire with two of her stern-chace; and, the Centurion getting her spritsail yard fore and aft, that if necessary she might be ready for boarding, the Spaniards in a bravado rigged their spritsail yard fore and aft likewise. Soon after, the Centurion came abreast of the enemy within pistol-shot, keeping to the leeward with the view of preventing them from putting before the

wind, and gaining the port of Jalapay, from which they were about seven leagues distant. And now the engagement began in earnest, and, for the first half hour, Mr. Anson over-reached the galeon, and lay on her bow; where, by the great wideness of his ports he could traverse almost all his guns upon the enemy, whilst the galeon could only bring a part of hers to bear. Immediately on the commencement of the action, the mats, with which the galeon had stuffed her netting, took fire, and burnt violently, blazing up half as high as the mizen-top. This accident (supposed to be caused by the Centurion's wads) threw the enemy into great confusion, and at the same time alarmed the commodore, for he feared lest the galeon should be burnt, and lest he himself too might suffer by her driving on board him: but the Spaniards at last freed themselves from the fire, by cutting away the netting, and tumbling the whole mass which was in flames into the sea. But still the Centurion kept her first advantageous position, firing her cannon with great regularity and briskness, whilst at the same time the galeon's decks lay open to her top-men, who, having at their first volley driven the Spaniards from their tops, made prodigious havock with their small arms, killing or wounding every officer but one that ever appeared on the quarter-deck, and wounding in particular the general of the galeon himself. And though the Centurion, after the first half hour, lost her original situation, and was close alongside the galeon, and the enemy continued to fire briskly for near an hour longer, yet at last the commodore's grape-shot swept their decks so effectually, and the number of their slain and wounded was so considerable, that they began to fall into great disorder, especially as the general, who was the life of the action, was no longer capable of exerting himself. Their embarassment was visible from on board the commodore; for the ships were so near, that some of the Spanish officers were seen running about with great assiduity, to prevent the desertion of their men from their quarters: but all their endeavours were in vain; for after having, as a last effort, fired five or six guns with more judgment than usual, they gave up the contest; and, the galeon's colours being singed off the ensign staff in the beginning of the engagement, she struck the

standard at her main-top-gallant mast head, the person, who was employed to do it, having been in imminent peril of being killed, had not the commodore, who perceived what he was about, given express orders to his people to desist from firing.

Thus was the Centurion possessed of this rich prize, amounting in value to near a million and half of dollars. She was called the Nostra Signora de Cabadonga, and was commanded by the general Don Jeronimo de Montero, a Portuguese by birth, and the most approved officer for skill and courage of any employed in that service. The galeon was much larger than the Centurion, had five hundred and fifty men and thirty-six guns mounted for action, besides twentyeight piedreroes in her gunwale, quarters, and tops, each of which carried a four pound ball. She was very well furnished with small arms, and was particularly provided against boarding, both by her close quarters, and by a strong net-work of two inch rope, which was laced over her waist, and was defended by half pikes. She had sixty-seven killed in the action, and eighty-four wounded, whilst the Centurion had only two killed, and a lieutenant and sixteen wounded, all of whom but one recovered: of so little consequence are the most destructive arms in untutored and unpractised hands.'

There was found on board of the prize, 1,313,843 pieces of eight, and 35,682 ounces of virgin silver, besides other valuable commodities. But the joy of the captors was nearly damped on a sudden by a most tremendous accident: for no sooner had the galeon struck, then one of the lieutenants coming to congratulate Mr. Anson on his prize, whispered him at the same time, that the Centurion was dangerously on fire near the powder-room. The commodore received this dreadful news with apparent composure; and gave such judicious directions as happily succeeded in extinguishing the fire. The securing of the prisoners was the next important point, for they were above double the number of the English, and some of them, when they were brought on board the Centurion, and had observed how slenderly she was manned, and the large proportion which the striplings bore to the rest, could not help expressing themselves with great indignation to be VOL. IV.(76) 3 A