32

THE RUSSIAN FLEET

os their powder 1 ; the shot just reached, but the St.Paul returning the fire the ball fell at least one-thirdshort of the enemy. About 7 in the morning theSwedish Admiral gave the signal for the line ofbattle, and having formed kept plying out. 2 Captain-Commodore Scheltinga made the same signal on theRuss side, the Tsar having struck his flag two daysbefore. Also the Arundel ran upon the MiddleGround, a shoal betwixt Nargen and Karl 3 island ;half an hour after, the Swedes dismissed the snowDiana, and she joined the Russ fleet; at 11 theArundel got off; and by noon some of the Russianships were within a league of the Swedes, all stillcontinuing the chase. The wind this forenoon wasfrom West to West South West a moderate gale,but at 1 o’clock 4 veered to north west; at the sametime a signal was made from the snow Princess,and repeated by Captain-Commodore Scheltinga,for the fleet to make more sail. This snow keptabout a league’s distance from the headmost of theRuss, and the officers discovered by this signal thatthe Tsar had quitted his ship : whereas all expectedhe would have kept aboard without hoisting his flag :however, the chase continued and several galleysand brigantines came up from Revel to tow the shipsin case of a calm. There was not much wind thisafternoon and the Swedes, apprehensive of the dis-advantage if a calm should ensue, made their utmostefforts to get out to sea; but one of them, notsailing so well as the rest, in turning out 5 was aboutan English mile to the leeward. 6 At 5 in the evening,

1 MS. ‘ power ;' but ( powder' seems to be meant. (See p. 24.)

2 Beating, or working out.

3 MS. ‘ the Carles.’ 4 MS. ‘ one a clock.’

5 Working or beating out. ‘Turning out ’ was in use amongst

Elizabethan seamen. (See i. p. 288.)

6 In modern times we have dropped ‘ the ’ before ‘ windward ’and ‘leeward.’