74 THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS. 



The Queen Charlotte led to the attack. It was 

 Lord Exmouth's intention not to reply to the ene- 

 my's fire in bearing down, unless it should become 

 galling. In that case, the middle and main-deck 

 guns, thirty long 24-pounders, w^ere to have opened ; 

 keeping the upper deck for shortening sail, and the 

 lower for working the cables. The guns on these 

 decks were not primed until the ship had anchored. 

 But the Algerines reserved their fire, confident in 

 the strength of their defences, and expecting to carry 

 the flag-ship by boarding her from the gun-boats, 

 which were all filled with men. Steered by the 

 master of the fleet, Mr. Gaze, who had sailed with 

 Lord Exmouth in every ship he commanded from 

 the beginning of the war, the Queen Charlotte pro- 

 ceeded silently to her position. At half-past two, 

 she anchored by the stern, just half a cable's length 

 from the Mole-head, and was lashed by a hawser to 

 the mainmast of an Algerine brig, which lay at the 

 entrance of the harbour. Her starboard broadside 

 flanked all the batteries from the Mole-head to the 

 Light-house. The Mole was crowded with troops, 

 many of whom got upon the parapet to look at the 

 ship ; and Lord Exmouth, observing them as he 

 stood upon the poop, waved to them to move away. 

 As soon as the ship was fairly placed, and her ca- 

 bles stoppered, the crew gave three hearty cheers, 

 such as Englishmen only can give. Scarcely had 

 the sound of the last died away, when a gun was 

 fired from the upper tier of the eastern battery ; and 

 a second, and a third followed in quick succession. 

 One of the shots stnick the Superb. At the first 

 flash. Lord Exmouth gave the order, " Stand by ! " 

 at the second, " Fire ! " The report of the third gun 

 was drowned in the thunder of the Queen Charlotte's 

 broadside. 



The enemy now opened from all their batteries. 

 None of the ships, except the Queen Charlotte and 

 Leander, had yet reached their stations. Prepara- 

 tions had been previously made in all, to avoid the 



