224 



Two French frigates, and hordes of pri- 

 Tateers had been cruifmg, with too much fuc- 

 cefs, againft our fcattered tranfports and mer- 

 chantmen. The frigates had lately been 

 daring enough to look into the harbour of 

 Carlifle Bay, and the Charon of 44 guns 

 armed tn jiute^ one of the earlieft arrivals of 

 the Spithead fleet, had been fent out, with La 

 Pique frigate, in purfuit of them. 



The Lseda frigate^ employed to convoy 

 a fleet of viduallers from Cork, had, been 

 upfet in a gale, and, unhappily, funk to the bot- 

 tom, with all hands on board, feven only 

 excepted. Thefe had fmce arrived in one of 

 the viduallers, at Barbadoes ; but feveral of 

 the convoy, left unproteded by this fatal ac- 

 cident, had been captured by the enemy's 

 crtilfers. 



The commander In chief was ftill un- 

 heard of ; nor was there any accurate intelli- 

 gence of the fleet, although a few ftraggling 

 veflfels had arrived. 



This was the fum of the news that greet- 



