CHARLES II.

i75

and by presenting himself to every danger, had chap.drawn upon him all the bravest of the enemy. lxv.He killed Van Ghent, a Dutch admiral, and beat u>:i.off his Ihip: He funk another Hup, whichventured to lay him aboard: He funk threefire-ships, which endeavoured to grapple withhim: And though his vessel was torn in pieceswith shot, and of a thousand men file contained,near fix hundred were laid dead upon the deck,he continued still to thunder with all his artilleryin the midst of the enemy. But another fire-ship,more fortunate than the preceding, having laidhold of his vessel, her destruction was now in-evitable. Warned by Sir Edward Haddock, his sandwichcaptain, he refused to make his escape, and kllled -bravely embraced death as a shelter from thatignominy, which a rash expression of the duke’s,he thought, had thrown upon him.

During this fierce engagement with Sandwich,de Ruyter remained not inactive. He attackedthe duke of York, and fought him with suchfury for above two hours, that of two-and - thirtyactions, in which that admiral had been engaged,he declared this combat to be the most obsti-nately disputed. The duke’s ship was so shat-tered, that he was obliged to leave her, andremove his flag to another. His squadron wasoverpowered with numbers; till Sir Joseph Jordan,who had succeeded to Sandwich’s command,came to his assistance; and the sight, being moreequally balanced, was continued till night, whenthe Dutch retired, and were not followed by