Astell hauled sharp up, and, passing astern of the Windham, became the headmost and weathermost ship. At 4 h. 30 m, p.m., having passed obliquely down the British line, the Minerve wore, with the intention of cutting off the Windham, who was now the sternmost and leewardmost ship. No sooner, however, had the Minerve hauled to the wind on the starboard tack, than her main and mizen topmasts came down close to the caps.

A respite was thus afforded to the three Indiamen ; but it was not of long duration, for at 6 p.m. the Bellone, followed by the Victor, commenced a heavy and destructive fire on the Windham. Passing on, the Bellone took up a position on the lee beam of the Ceylon, as the commodore's ship ; directing her foremost guns at the Astell. Meanwhile the Victor kept up a smart, but, on account of the distance she maintained, not very effective, fire on the lee quarter of the Windham. At 6 h. 30 m. p.m., while endeavouring to close the French frigate, in order to give full effect to his musketry, Captain Meriton received a severe grapeshot wound in the neck ; and the command of the Ceylon, in consequence, devolved upon the chief mate, Mr. Thomas Widlock Oldham ; who, in a minute or two afterwards, being himself severely wounded, was obliged to leave the deck in charge of the second mate, Mr. Tristram Fenning. At about 7 p.m., having had her masts, rigging, and sails badly wounded. and cut, all her upperdeck, and five of her lowerdeck, guns disabled, and her hull so badly struck, that she made three feet water an hour ; and having also sustained a serious loss in killed and wounded, the Ceylon bore up and ceased firing, passing astern of the Bellone; who was still engaging the Windham, at this time close abreast of the Astell to leeward, and consequently sheltering the latter from the fire of the frigate. The Windham, it appears, hailed the Astell repeatedly, proposing a joint attempt to board the Bellone ; but, not understanding, we suppose, the purport of the hail, the Astell put out her lights and made sail, and received, just as she had passed clear of her consort, a heavy parting fire from the frigate.

At about 7 h. 20 m. p.m., being in the unmanageable state already described, the Ceylon hauled down her colours, and was taken possession of by a boat from the Minerve, then coming up on her starboard quarter. Shortly afterwards, in passing the Windham, the Ceylon hailed that she had struck. The Astell, just before she put out her lights, had received the same information, and had then her fore and main masts badly wounded, and her rigging and sails greatly disabled. The Windham, who by the Astell's departure was now left quite alone, finding that her damaged masts and the state of her rigging would not admit of her making sail, continued the action, chiefly for the purpose of favouring the escape of the Astell ; when, at 7 h. 45 m. p.m., having had nine of her guns dismounted, and sustained a serious loss in killed and wounded, the Windham hauled

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