Regla, and Oriente, put about on the larboard tack, and stood after the Prince-George, or rather, towards the head of that part of the British line still on the starboard tack.

The Orion tacked, next in succession to the Prince-George ; and the Colossus, as soon as she had arrived in the wake of the former, prepared to do the same, but, while in stays, had her fore yard and foretopsail yard shot away in the slings, and her fore topmast shot away a little above the cap. Thus disabled from tacking, the Colossus was obliged to wear, and just, as she had got her head to the eastward, was menaced with a raking broadside from the leading three-decker of the Spanish lee division. This manifestation of an attack upon her disabled companion, induced the Orion, in a very gallant manner, to back her main topsail and lay by to cover her. The Spanish ship, however, made no such attack, and the Orion pressed on to the assistance of the van ; the ships of which had been directed, by signal No. 34, to alter course a point to starboard, and directly afterwards, by No. 40, to pass through the enemy's line.

The four next British ships, coming up in line on the starboard tack, were the Irresistible, Victory, Egmont, and Goliath. The first of these, having fired her starboard guns at the enemy's weather division, became exposed to the successive fire of the two leading three-deckers of the lee division. After discharging three or four broadsides in return, the Irresistible stood on a little, and then tacked to support the van.

Meditating, now, a bold manœuvre, the Spanish vice-admiral steered to cut the British line ahead of the commander-in-chief ; but the Victory was too rapid in her advance, and forced the Spanish three-decker to tack close under her lee ; raking her, while in stays, with destructive effect. This three-decker, which was, we believe, the Principe-de-Asturias, now bore up, in utter confusion ; as, after exchanging a few broadsides with the Egmont and Goliath in passing, did the second three-decker, followed by all the six remaining ships of the lee division, except the Oriente : which ship gallantly kept on upon the larboard tack, and, passing to leeward of the British line unobserved in the smoke, succeeded, after the exchange of a few shot with the Lively and one or two of the other British frigates in the rear, in joining her van. This interesting period of the action, we have endeavoured to render more intelligible by the following diagram

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