386 A VOYAGE TO Book IX; 



When the Vigilante arrived near the coafl of this 

 ifland, the atmofphere was filled with fuch a thick 

 fog, that to have attempted to approach fo near as 

 to have a fight of it, would have been dangerous : 

 accordingly the marquis flackened fail, and tacked 

 till the weather fnOuld clear up, that he might make 

 the ifland without any danger. On the thirtieth of 

 May, he difcovered near him a frigate of forty guns, 

 which he immediately knew to belong to the enemy ; 

 and elevated v/ith the hopes of fuch a capture, be- 

 gan to fire at the frigate, which, as had been con- 

 certed, feigned a flight ; and, favoured by the fog, 

 drew the Vigilante, which eagerly gave her chace to 

 that part of the coall where the other fhips of the 

 Engliih fquadcpn lay : fo that when the fog, which 

 hitherto intercepted the fight of diftant objects, be- 

 came difperfed, the Vigilante found herfelf in the 

 midft of Mr. Warren's fquadron. Then the frigate 

 which had decoyed her into the fnare, together with 

 two men of war, the one of fixty and the other of 

 fifty guns, began about half an hour after one in 

 the afternoon, to pour their fire into her, as a 

 fhip, whofe fafe arrival would have fruftrated their 

 enterprize. Another great difadvantage to the Vi- 

 gilante, befides this fuperiority v/as, her being fo 

 deep loaded with military (lores, that ilie could 

 make no ufe of her lower tier. But neither this dif- 

 parity, nor the fight of two other iliips at a fmall dif- 

 tance could intimidate the French from making a vigo- 

 rous refiftance till nine o'clock at night, when the fliip 

 being battered in every , part, full of water, and her 

 rudder fliot away, they furrendered ; lefl their heroic 

 courage might have been mifconflrued to have pro- 

 ceeded only from a favage defpair. To this misfor- 

 tune France may attribute the lofs of that important 

 place : for the ignorance of the befiegers, whofe con- 

 dud fhewed them not to have a fingle ray of military 

 knowledge, the vigorous refutaiicc of the forts, which 

 X they 



