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HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



covered. But, in spite of all precautions, she was seen from 

 the land, and information of her presence was sent to Manilla, 

 where a force consisting of two ships of thirty-two guns, one of 

 twenty guns, and two sloops of ten guns, was at once equipped : 

 it never sailed, however, on account of the monsoon. 



On the 20th of June, at sunrise, the man at the masthead of 

 the Centurion discovered a sail in the southeast quarter. A 

 general joy spread through the ship, and the commodore in- 

 stantly stood towards her. At eight o'clock she was visible 

 from the deck, and proved to be the famous Manilla galleon. 

 She did not change her course, much to Anson's surprise, but 

 continued to bear down upon him. It afterwards appeared that 

 she recognised the hostile sail to be the Centurion, and resolved 

 to fight her. She soon hauled up her foresail, and brought to 

 under topsails, hoisting Spanish colors. Anson picked out 

 thirty of his choicest hands and distributed them into the tops 

 as marksmen. Instead of firing broadsides with intervals be- 

 tween them, he resolved to keep up a constant but irregular fire, 

 thus baffling the Spaniards if they should attempt their usual 

 tactics of falling down upon the decks during a broadside and 

 working their guns with great briskness during the intermission. 

 At one o'clock, the Centurion, being within gunshot of the 

 enemy, hoisted her pennant. The Spaniard now, for the first 

 time, began to clear her decks, and tumbled- cattle, sheep, pigs, 

 goats, and poultry promiscuously into the sea. Anson gave orders 

 to fire with the chase-guns : the galleon retorted with her stern- 

 chasers. During the first half-hour he lay across her bow, 

 traversing her with nearly all his guns, while she could bring 

 hardly half a dozen of hers to bear. The mats with which the 

 galleon had stuffed her netting now took fire, and burned 

 violently, terrifying the Spaniards and alarming the English, 

 who feared lest the treasure would escape them. However, the 

 Spaniards at last cut away the netting and tossed the blazing 

 mass into the sea among the struggling and roaring cattle. The 



