HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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into three different squadrons, one of which always continued on the station,while the other two repaired to the coast of Portugal, for the purpose of takingon board provisions, and refreshments. The detachment under admiral Stayner,consisting of seven ships, he himself being in the Speaker, which, though asecond rate, mounted only sixty guns *, fell in with the long-expected prey.The enemy’s squadron consisted of eight very large ships, all fitted for war. Suchwa3 their force, and so elated were their commanders at their supposed superi-ority, that they appeared extremely careless as to avoiding an engagement withships whose efforts against them they held in the utmost contempt, on account oftheir own far superior elevation above the surface of the water ; and which theymost arrogantly and affectedly compared to as many fishing-vessels. The eventproved the vanity and folly of this opinion. Owing to particular causes, notexplained, four of the ships under the orders of Stayner were unable to joinin the action ; but the Speaker, with two others, mounting fifty guns each,the Plymouth and the Bridgewater, so furiously attacked the Spaniards, thatafter a spirited action of some hours, two of the enemy’s vessels were sunk,two driven on shore, and two captured: so that, out of the whole, two, oras some historians will have it, one only, was fortunate enough to make itsescape. The specie and bullion found on board the prizes amounted in valueto six hundred thousand pounds, a sum that not only distressed the enemy bythe loss, but trebly repaid the expence of the expedition, and raised into a veryconsiderable share of popularity the abilities of Cromwell, who had projectedit. The success of one enterprise almost naturally, as it might be supposed,gave immediate birth to a succeeding one. In the ensuing year, Blakehaving under him the same officers whose services had, on the former occasion,been so much approved of, returned back to the same quarter, with a forcesuperior to that which he had before commanded. The object of the secondvoyage was precisely the same with that of the first; but Blake and his asso-ciates having received intelligence, on their arrival off' Cadiz, that their ex-pected prize had reached Teneriffe, where it was secured in the best manner-skill could suggest, being defended by several formidable batteries from the shore,he immediately repaired thither with the British fleet, and found the difficultieswhich had been represented to him, by no means exaggerated. Six galleons, of theLargest size, lay moored with their broadsides fronting the sea ; within them, at a

* Sixty in time of war, and fifty-four in time of peace.

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proper