French, we sailed directly towards the Dutch coast, where we soon got sight of their fleet; a sand called the Galloper lying between. The Dutch seemed willing there to expect an attack from us: but in regard the Charles man-of-war had been lost on those sands the war before, and that our ships drawing more water than those of the enemy, an engagement might be rendered very disadvantageous, it was resolved in a council of war to avoid coming to a battle for the present, and to sail directly for Solebay; which was accordingly put in execution.

We had not been in Solebay above four or five days, when De Ruyter, hearing of it, made his signal for sailing, in order to surprise us; and he had certainly had his aim, had there been any breeze of wind to favour him. But though they made use of all their sails, there was so little air stirring, that we could see their fleet making towards us long before they came up; notwithstanding which, our admirals found difficulty enough to form their ships into a line of battle, so as to be ready to receive the enemy.

It was about four in the morning of the 28th of May, being Tuesday in Whitsun week, when we first made the discovery; and about eight the same morning, the blue squadron, under the command of the earl of Sandwich, began to engage with admiral Van Ghent, who commanded the Amsterdam squadron; and about nine the whole fleets were under a general engagement. The fight lasted till ten at night, and with equal fury on all sides, the French excepted, who appeared stationed there rather as spectators than parties; and as unwilling to be too much upon the offensive, for fear of offending themselves.

During the fight the English admiral had two ships disabled under him; and was obliged about four in the afternoon to remove himself a third time into the London, where he remained all the rest of the fight, and till next morning. Nevertheless, on his entrance

upon the London, which was the ship I was in, and on our hoisting the standard, De Ruyter and his squadron seemed to double their fire upon her, as if they resolved to blow her out of the water. Notwithstanding all which, the duke of York remained all the time upon quarter-deck, and as the bullets plentifully whizzed around him, would often rub his hands, and cry, Sprage, Sprage, they follow us still. I am very sensible latter times have not been over favourable in their sentiments of that unfortunate prince's valour, yet I cannot omit the doing a piece of justice to his memory, in relating a matter of fact, of which my own eyes were witnesses, and saying, that if intrepidity and undauntedness may be reckoned any parts of courage, no man in the fleet better deserved the title of courageous, or behaved himself with more gallantry than he did.

The English lost the Royal James, commanded by the earl of Sandwich, which, about twelve, (after the strenuous endeavours of her sailors to disengage her from two Dutch fire-ships placed on her, one athwart her hawsers, the other on her starboard side,) took fire, blew up, and perished, and with her a great many brave gentlemen as well as sailors; and amongst the rest the earl himself, concerning whom I shall further add, that in my passage from Harwich to the Brill, a year or two after, the master of the packet-boat told me that having observed a great flock of gulls hovering in one particular part of the sea, he ordered his boat to make up to it; when discovering a corpse, the sailors would have returned it to the sea, as the corpse of a Dutchman; but keeping it in his boat, it proved to be that of the earl of Sandwich. There was found about him between twenty and thirty guineas, some silver, and his gold watch; restoring which to his lady, she kept the watch, but rewarded their honesty with all the gold and silver.

This was the only ship the English lost in this long engagement. For although the Katherine was taken,

and her commander, sir John Chicheley, made prisoner, her sailors soon after finding the opportunity they had watched for, seized all the Dutch sailors who had been put in upon them, and brought the ship back to our own fleet, together with all the Dutchmen prisoners; for which, as they deserved, they were well rewarded. This is the same ship which the earl of Mulgrave, afterwards duke of Buckingham, commanded the next sea fight, and has caused to be painted in his house in St. James's Park.

I must not omit one very remarkable occurrence which happened in this ship. There was a gentleman aboard her, a volunteer, of a very fine estate, generally known by the name of Hodge Vaughan: this person received, in the beginning of the fight, a considerable wound, which the great confusion during the battle would not give them leave to inquire into; so he was carried out of the way, and disposed of in the hold. They had some hogs aboard, which the sailor, under whose care they were, had neglected to feed; these hogs, hungry as they were, found out and fell upon the wounded person, and between dead and alive eat him up to his very scull, which, after the fight was over, and the ship retaken, as before, was all that could be found of him.

Another thing, less to be accounted for, happened to a gentleman volunteer who was aboard the same ship with myself. He was of known personal courage, in the vulgar notion of it, his sword never having failed him in many private duels. But notwithstanding all his land-mettle, it was observed of him at sea, that whenever the bullets whizzed over his head, or any way incommoded his ears, he immediately quitted the deck, and ran down into the hold. At first he was gently reproached; but after many repetitions, he was laughed at, and began to be despised; sensible of which, as a testimonial of his valour, he made it his request to be tied to the mainmast. But had it been

granted him, I cannot see any title he could have pleaded from hence to true magnanimity; since to be tied from running away can import nothing less than that he would have still continued these signs of cowardice if he had not been prevented. There is a bravery of mind which I fancy few of those gentlemen duellists are possessed of. True courage cannot proceed from what sir Walter Raleigh finely calls the art or philosophy of quarrel. No! It must be the issue of principle, and can have no other basis than a steady tenet of religion. This will appear more plain, if those artists in murder will give themselves leave coolly to consider, and answer me this question, Why he that had ran so many risks at his sword's point, should be so shamefully intimidated at the whiz of a cannonball?

The names of those English gentlemen who lost their lives, as I remember, in this engagement.

Commissioner Cox, captain of the Royal Prince, under the command of the admiral; and Mr. Travanian, gentleman to the duke of York; Mr. Digby, captain of the Henry, second son to the earl of Bristol; sir Fletchvile Hollis, captain of the Cambridge, who lost. one of his arms in the war before, and his life in this ; captain Saddleton, of the Dartmouth; the lord Maidstone, son to the earl of Winchelsea, a volunteer on board the Charles, commanded by sir John Harman, vice-admiral of the Red.

Sir Philip Carteret, Mr. Herbert, Mr. Cotterel, Mr. Poyton, Mr. Gose, with several other gentlemen unknown to me, lost their lives with the earl of Sandwich, on board the Royal James; Mr. Vaughan, on board the Katherine, commanded by sir John Chicheley.

In this engagement, sir George Rook was youngest lieutenant to sir Edward Sprage; Mr. Russel, afterwards earl of Orford, was captain of a small fifth rate,

called the Phoenix; Mr. Herbert, afterwards earl of Torrington, was captain of a small fourth rate, called the Monck; sir Harry Dutton Colt, who was on board the Victory, commanded by the earl of Ossory, is the only man now living that I can remember was in this engagement.

But to proceed, the Dutch had one man-of-war sunk, though so near the shore, that I saw some part of her mainmast remain above water; with their admiral Van Ghent, who was slain in the close engagement with the earl of Sandwich. This engagement lasted fourteen hours, and was looked upon the greatest that ever was fought between the English and the Hollander.

I cannot here omit one thing, which to some may seem trifling; though I am apt to think our naturalists may have a different opinion of it, and find it afford their fancies no undiverting employment in more curious, and less perilous reflections. We had on board the London, where, as I have said, I was a volunteer, a great number of pigeons, of which our commander was very fond. These, on the first firing of our cannon, dispersed, and flew away, and were seen nowhere near us during the fight. The next day it blew a brisk gale, and drove our fleet some leagues to the southward of the place where they forsook our ship, yet the day after they all returned safe aboard; not in one flock, but in small parties of four or five at a time. Some persons at that time aboard the ship admiring at the manner of their return, and speaking of it with some surprise, sir Edward Sprage told them that he brought those pigeons with him from the Straits; and that when, pursuant to his order, he left the Revenge man-of-war, to go aboard the London, all those pigeons, of their own accord, and without the trouble or care of carrying, left the Revenge likewise, and removed with the sailors on board the London,