Chap. VI.

during the Reign os §tyeen Ann.

783

1704.

fWgencels m e Spa-^ Ships.

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tion and Advice home, with the Trans-ports and Trade. He did not get clearof the River, and put to. Sea, ’till theninth, and stretching away, S. S. W.the next Day, a little before Noon, ashe was hauling in towards Cape St. Vin-cent, he got Intelligence, by a DutchPrivateer, of three Spanish Ships ofForce, and a small Dogger, bearing, theNight before, South, and then, as theCaptain judged, about ten Leagues di-stant ; Upon which he detached someShips to fail 8. by E. and S. S. E.himself standing S. E with the Rest.In the Evening, it was believed,they hada Sight of them, and therefore Rear-Admiral Dilkes was ordered to continuethe Chafe, with the Kent and Bedford,of seventy, and the Ant Hope, of fiftyGuns. The next Day, it blew veryhard, and continued so the followingNight.

The twelfth, he came up with them,and took them after some Resistance;(/) But, by Reason of bad Weather,Calms, and contrary Winds, did notget, with his Prizes, to Lisbon , ’till thefive and twentieth, and then the St. The-resa, one of them, was lost as he was go--

ing in.

Two Engli-Jh Men of War, (the Leo-pard and Charles Gaily) which were

1704,

cruising, about the fame Time, forceda French Ship of thirty Guns alhoar, ona Sand-bank, near Ayamont. AnotherEnglish Man of War, (the Montague)took a small Spanish Ship, near CapeSpartel, laden with Horfe-lhoes, Nailsand Rosin ; And a Dutch Man of Warforced a very rich Spanish Ship alhoar,on the Coast of Algarva,

Sir George continued Cruising, ’till s * r Ge orgehe had Advice that the Scandetoon Fleet LTsbon!

(g) was safe out of the Streights-, Afterwhich he returned to the River of Lis-bon, the ninth of April ; Where he re-cei ved Orders from Her Majesty to pro-ceed up the Streights ; Pursuant to A Council ofwhich, the Manner of the Fleet’s Pro-needing was regulated, in a Council ofWar, the eighteenth, (h) The twentyfirst, one second-Rate, four Third- The FleetRates, and two Fire-lhips joined the re-infirced \Fleet from England ; And soon afterthe Admiral detach’d the Expedition,

Exeter and Advice, with the Transportsand Merchant-Ships for England.

The five and twentieth, a Council Comdufof War was called, at the Desire of the War.

King of Spain, to consider of a Paperdelivered by the Almirante of Caflille .

CO

I shall now leave Sir George Rookefor a while, in the River of Lisbon, to

9 N give

(f) He had then, with him, the Kent , Bed-ford, Suffolk, Antilope, and Panther, the three5 rst Third-Rates, and the other two Fourths. Byeleven, he came up with them, and the Panther,which was the head-most of ours, engaged them.The Suffolk, getting the Wind of them, did thefame, as also the Antilope, and the Dutch Priva-teer ; Insomuch that one of sixty Guns struck,after exchanging several Broadsides.

The Rear-Admiral could not get his own Shipin Reach of them 'till Noon, and then engagingthe Commadore, which was a Ship also of sixtyGuns, she struck to him in a little Time, as thethird did soon after, which was a Merchant-ftipof four and twenty Guns ; In this Action, thePanther had her Fore-top-Mast shot by the Board,the Suffolk her Main-Mast, and the Antilope’sMasts and Yards were wounded. The two Shipsbeforementioned, of sixty Guns,were Gallion-Menof War, one called the Port a Cœli, and the otherthe St. 'Theresa, and came from St. Sebastian'swith Bombs, Guns, Iron-Bars, (Ac. being boundfor Cadiz, where (as it was reported) they wereto be fitted out for the Weft-Indies , the Comma-dore, Don Diego Bicuna, having a Commistson tocommand all the Fleet designed thither ; And inthese Ships were taken near seven Hundred Pri-soners.

($) A VERY happy Accident (fays Bp Bur-net) preserved this Fleet, from falling into theHands of the Enemy. .The French Fleet, in theirWay from Bred up the Streights, to join the Tou-lon Squadron, lay in Tunis-B ay, and nothing couldhave fayed this Rich Fleet, which had but three

or four Erigats for their Convoy, from being ta.ken, but that which happened, in the critical Mi-nute, in which they needed it. A thick Fog co-vered them all the while, that they were sailingby that Bay, so that they had no Apprehension ofthe Danger they were in, 'till they had pass'd it. Burrhett

(h) At this Council were present, of the En-glish, Vice-Admiral Leake, of th t Blue, and Rear-Admiral Dilkes, of the White-, And, of theDutch, Admiral Callemherg, Vice-Admiral IVaf-senaer, and Rear-Admiral Fanderdujsen. Her Ma-jesty's Orders, of the four and twentieth, andeight and twentieth of March, and Mr. Secreta-ry Hedges’0 Letter, of the fame Date, were read,whereupon, it was determined, to proceed up theStreights, according to a Resolution taken, thetwelfth Instant ; But if the Portuguese Troops ,designed, under the Command of the Prince ofHesse, for Catalonia, could be embarked in eightor ten Days, it was thought convenient to stay forthem, and that Orders should be left, for the Shipsexpected from England, to join the Fleet, in Al.tea- Bay ; But not finding it there, to repair to Al-giers for their better Security.

(i) Proposals made by the Almirante of Ca-stille.

The sixth of May, N. S. 1704. the Almiranteof Castille proposed, by Order from His Catho-lick Majesty, to Admiral Rooke , and the otherFlag-Officers of the Englijh and Dutch Fleet,that, in their Voyage to the Mediterranean , theirchief Design should be, to go to Barcelona, toexecute there what had been resolved on, andwhich would be of so great a Benefit, not only to