Let us here pause a moment to reflect upon the situation of the Queen-Charlotte, thus opposed single-handed (for neither the Gibraltar nor the Brunswick, her two seconds, were near enough to aid her), to one French 120, and two 80 gun ships. Had M. Villaret, or rather the Conventional deputy, Jean-Bon-Saint-André, who, to all intents and purposes, was the commanding officer of the French fleet, possessed firmness enough, at the moment the Queen-Charlotte's fore topmast came down, to have bore up with the Montagne athwart the hawse of the British three-decker, the latter, without some extraordinary interposition in her favour, must either have sunk or surrendered.

Prevented by the hasty flight of the French admiral and his second astern, and the loss of her fore topmast at so critical a moment, from taking up with the antagonist of her choice, the Queen-Charlotte could only continue, as she did, to pour her heavy broadsides into the Juste, still, with herself; making slow way to the westward, or towards the van of the two lines. In a very few minutes the Juste, who was distantly engaged on the opposite or windward side with the Invincible, lost first her foremast, and then her main and mizen masts. About the same time the Queen-Charlotte's main topmast came down. The loss of a second topmast, and the damaged state of her rigging and lower yards, rendered the ship wholly unmanageable ; and although, having silenced the fire of the Juste, she was desirous to go ahead in quest of a fresh opponent, the Queen-Charlotte could barely keep steerage-way.

The Juste still lay abreast of the latter ship to windward, with a French jack hoisted at her bowsprit-end, and a spritsail set, to carry her, if possible, clear of her foes. Owing to her being painted similarly to the Invincible, who now lay at a short distance ahead of her, but was concealed by the smoke, the Juste, seen but indistinctly from the same cause, escaped the attention of the Queen-Charlotte, until, wearing round, she passed under the latter's stern, and gave her a raking broadside; one of the shots from which, a 36-pounder, passed through the British ship's wing-transom. At the same moment a French three-decker, close hauled, was seen on the Queen-Charlotte's weather quarter, approaching under all sail, and evidently intending to weather the whole British line before she ran to leeward. Just, however, as the three-decker, which was the Républicain from the rear division, had advanced to a position from which her guns could bear on the Queen-Charlotte, and just as the latter was expecting to receive, and preparing to return her fire, the main and mizen mast of the former, at whom the Gibraltar was then distantly firing from to windward, went by the board. The Républicain instantly bore up, and passed within gun-shot astern of the Charlotte ; but such was the state of confusion on board, that the French three-decker let slip the favourable opportunity, and ran by without firing.

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