killed feveral men on board one of them, they were both glad to furrender. It seemed that nothing could have exceeded the horrors of the night; but the opening of daylight difclofed a fpectacle ftill more dreadful. Numbers of men were feen in the midft of the flames, crying out for pity and help; others floating upon pieces of timber, expofed to an equal, though lefs dreadful danger, from the oppofite element. Even thofe in the fhips where the fire had yet made a lefs progress, expreffed in their looks, geftures, and words, the deepeft diftrefs and defpair; and were no lefs urgent in imploring affiflance. victors The generous humanity of the now at leaft equalled their extraordinary preceding exertions of valour; and was to them far more glorious. Nor were the exertions of humanity by any means attended with lefs danger, nor with circumstances lefs terrible in the appearance, than those of active hoftility. The honour and danger, however, in this inftance, lay entirely with the marine brigade, and with their intrepid commander. The firing, both from the garrifon and gun-boats, inftantly ceafed, upon the firft appearance of the difmal fpectacle prefented by the morning light; and every danger was encountered in the endeavours to refcue the diftreffed enemy from furrounding deftruction. In thefe efforts, the boats were equally expofed to the peril arifing from the blowing up of the fhips as the fire reached their magazines, and to the continual discharge, on all fides, of the artillery, as the guns became to a certain degree heated. It was ins deed a noble exertion! and a more ftriking inftance of the ardour and boldness with which it was fupported, needs not to be given, than that of an officer and twentynine private men, all feverely, and fome moft dreadfully wounded, who were dragged out from among the flain in the holds of the burning fhips, and most of whom reco vered in the hofpital at Gibraltar. In thefe extraordinary efforts to fave an enemy from perishing, though the moft aftonishing intrepidity was fhown by all the offi cers and men, yet their gallant commander was peculiarly diftin guifhed; and his life was repeatedly in the most imminent danger. Befides his being the firft to ruft on board the burning veffels, and to fet the example of dragging with his own hands the terrified victims from the midst of the flames, his pinnace being close to one of the largest fhips when fhe blew up, the wreck was fpread all round to a vast extent, and every object being for a confiderable time buried in a thick cloud of fmoke, General Elliot and the garrifon fuffered the moft poignant anguish and diftrefs, confidering the fate of their brave and gene rous friends, and of his bold companions, as inevitable. Indeed, their efcape was little lefs than miraculous, though not quite complete; for the cockfwain and fome of the crew were killed, others wounded; and a large hole ftruck, by the falling timber, through the bottom of the pinnace; which was only faved for the inftant from going to the bottom, by the feamen ftuffing the hole with their jackets, and by that that means keeping her above water until other boats arrived to her affiftance. Another gun-boat was funk at the fame inftant, and a third fo much damaged as to be with difficulty faved. Something near or about 400 men were faved by thefe exertions, from inevitable deftruction; and it may be truly faid (and highly to the honour of our national character) that the exercife of humanity to an enemy, under fuch circumftances of immediate action and impending peril, was never yet difplayed with greater luftre than upon this occafion. It was highly fortunate that much the greater part of the troops and feamen on board the fhips had been removed, before the effective and admirably directed attack made by Capt. Curtis with the gun-boats, could have been attempted. Numbers, however, perifhed; and it is fuppofed, at a very moderate estimate, that the enemy could not have loft lefs than 1500 men, including the prifoners and wounded, in the attack by fea. Admiral Don Moreno left his flag flying when he abandoned his fhip; in which ftate it continued, until it was confumed or blown up with the veffel. Eight more of the fhips blew up fucceffively, with dreadful explosions, in the courfe of the day. The tenth was burnt by the English, when they found fhe could not be brought off. It does not appear that the Spanifh gun and mortar-boats took any great fhare in this attack. They were intended to flank the English batteries, while they were attacked directly in front by the fhips, and to throw their fire in fuch directions, as it was thought, befides increafing the general confufion and diforder, would render it impoffible for the men to stand to their guns. It feems probable that their spirit of adventure funk, under the dreadful fire from the garrifon. The Spanish accounts only mention, that the rifing of the wind, and a fwell of the fea, prevented their producing the expected effect. Only two of the bomb-ketches came forward; but thefe continued to throw fhells without intermiffion into the fortrefs, during the whole day and night of the attack. Nor did the fleet perform the fervices which were expected or threatened, by making attacks on all practicable parts of the fortrefs, and thereby chufing, at leaft, a diverfion in favour of the battering fhips. This failure has been attributed to an unfavourable wind. The lofs fuftained by the enemy, under the astonishing fire which the garrifon continued to throw upon the ifthmus during the whole time of attack, cannot be afcertained; their own various and contradictory accounts being fo evidently calculated to depreciate their lofs both by fea and land, that the lifts of killed and wounded officers, and of prisoners, which could not be concealed, feemed almost neceffary to their acknowledging that any was fuftained. A letter from a French officer, dated on the evening of the 8th, giving an account of the attack upon the works on that day by the garriton, which was published in the foreign gazettes, contains the following pathetic paffage, which may af ford ford fome idea of the effect produced by a fimilar or greater fire on the 13th viz. "The eye is "fatigued and the heart rent with "the fight and groans of the dying and wounded, whom the "foldiers are this moment carry ing away; the number makes 66 a man thudder; and I am "told, that; in other parts of the "lines, which are not within view "of my poft, the numbers are ftili "greater. Fortunately for my feelings, I have not, at this in"ftant, leiture to reflect much on "the ftate and condition of man“kind.” * The lofs on the fide of the garrifon was lefs than could have been conceived; and was nearly confined to the artillery corps, and to the marine brigade. A few brave officers and men loft their lives, and a much greater number were wounded. From the 9th of Auguft to the 17th of October, the whole number of non-commiffioned officers and private men flain, amounted to fixty-five only; but the wounded were no lefs han $88. Of commiffioned officers, twelve were in that time wounded, of whom a captain and a lieutenant died. Nor was, the damage done to the works fo confiderable as to afford any room for future apprehenfion; or at all to hold any proportion with the violence of the attacks, and the ex-, ceffive weight of fire they fuf'tained. Such was the fignal and complete defenfive victory,obtained by a comparatively handful of brave men, over the combined efforts and united powers, by fea and by land, of two great, warlike, and potent nations, who fparing no expence, labour, or exertion of art, for the attainment of a favourite object, exceeded, all former example, as well in the magnitude as in the formidable nature of their preparation. A victory which has fhed a fignal blaze of glory over the whole -garrifon, but which cannot fail particularly to immortalize the name of General Elliot, and to hand down to pofterity, with diftinguished honour thofe of Lieutenant-General Boyd and the other principal officers. '1 The enemy refted all their hopes now, at least oftenfively, on the defeat of Lord Howe's fleet; or at any rate, on preventing the intended relief, and thereby reducing the unconquered garrifon to the neceflity of a furrender, through the mere failure of ammunition and provifions. This afforded the only fubject of confolation; and nothingfeemed to be fo ardently wifhed for as the arrival of the English fleet: an event which, it was held out, would afford an happy opportunity for converting all paft difgrace into an augmentation of prefent glory. In the mean time, Lord Howe met with much delay, through contrary winds and very unfavourable weather, on his way to Gibraltar; which was rendered exceedingly irkiome by the anxiety and apprehenfions that prevailed relative to the fituation of things at that fortrefs, under a knowledge of the menaced attack. It was not until the fleet had arrived near the fcene of action that this doubt and apprehenfion were removed, by intelligence received from the coast of Portugal of the total difcomfiture of the com forces, in their grand affault upon that place. Advice was alfo received that the united fleets, instead of waiting, as was expected, to encounter the British force off Cape St. Mary (a fituation which would have prefented a fair fcene for general action on all fides) had taken their station in the Bay of Gibraltar, as a measure for preventing the intended fupply. At this critical point of time, a violent gale of wind in the Straits threw the combined fleets at Algeziras into the greatest difor. der, and expofed them to no fmall danger. This happened on the night of the 10th of October; and during the courfe of the ftorm much damage was done. One fhip of the line was driven afhore near Algeziras; two more were driven to the eastward into the Mediterranean; others loft mafts or bowfprits; and many fuffered more or lefs damage. The St. Michael, a fine Spanish fhip of 72 guns, was driven across the bay under the works of Gibraltar; where the fire of the batteries increafing the terror and confufion on board, fhe run aground, and was taken by the boats of the garrifon; her com. mander, Admiral Don Juan Moreno, with 650 feamen and fol. diers, became prifoners of war. The enemy, upon difcovering the fate of the St. Michael, began and continued for feveral days a moft furious fire upon the fortrefs, throwing at the fame time an infinite number of fhells at the St. Michael, in the hope of deftroying her as the lay afhore. This fire, however, produced no other effect than fome fmall lofs of men, and much trouble to thofe who were employed in getting off VOL. XXV. the St. Michael; which was, how ever, done in three or four days, without any other damage to the fhip than what she received from the ftorm or the ground; and that, excepting the lofs of a mast, was in no degree effential. 09. 11. On the morning that fucceeded the ftorm, the British fleet (which had felt it, but without loss or damage) entered the Strait's mouth in a clofe line of battle a-head; and about an hour after night, the van arriving off the Bay of Gibraltar, a most favourable opportunity was offered to the ftore-fhips of reaching their destined anchorage, without any moleftation from the enemy; but, through fome inattention of the captains to the peculiar circumftances of the navigation laid down in their inftructions, only four of the thirtyone fail which accompanied the fleet, effected their purpose. The reft having miffed the bay, were driven through the Straits into the Mediterranean during the night, and were no fmall incumbrance to the fleet in its fubfequent operations. While Lord Howe was collecting his convoy in the Mediterranean, and preparing to escort them back to the rock, the enemy were under no fmall anxiety for the fafety of the two line of battle fhips, which had been driven from Algeziras out of the Straits on the night of the ftorm. To recover these, and in the hope of inter-' cepting or preventing the return of the ftore-fhips, the combined fleets failed from Algeziras on the 13th, their force being now lef fened, by three difabled fhips which they were obliged to leave [*Q] behind, behind, by the St. Michael taken, and by the abfence of two others. The British fleet was a-breaft of Fungarola, a large port-town lying between Malaga and Gibral tar, when advice was received of the approach of the enemy. Upon this intelligence, while the fleet was clofing and forming a line of battle, the Buffalo of 60 guns, was detached with thofe ftore fhips which had yet been collected to the Zafarine Ifands, which lie upon the coaft of Barbary, about fixty leagues above Gibraltar. The Panther, of the fame force, being left in the bay of Gibraltar for the protection, as they arrived, of the fore-fhips, Lord Howe's force now only amounted to thirty-two fail of the line. About fun-fet, the enemy were defcried in great force, at about fix leagues diftance in line of battle, with a ftrong wind full in their favour, and bearing directly down upon the English fleet. They amounted in number to fixty-four fail, of which forty-nine were fquare rigged, and about fortytwo feemed to be of the line, including feveral very large threedeckers. About nine o'clock advice was received from the advanced frigates, that the enemy had hauled their wind, and bore up; and at two in the morning, that they had tacked. By daylight they were perceived clofe in with the land, and at fuch a distance as not to be vifible from the deck. It would feem, that during that time they had recovered the two miffing fhips. It was difcovered in the morning, that feveral of the tranfports had not gone with the Buffalo on the preceding evening, and that fe veral others had joined the fleet in the night. Upon this account, the wind happening to become favourable, the fleet proceeded in order of battle towards the mouth of the Straits, and paffed eighteen of the convoy fafe to Gibraltar Bay. By the 18th the veffels under the convoy of the Buffalo having rejoined the fleet, were fent into Gibraltar; two regiments, which were on board the fhips of war and frigates, were likewife landed; and a fcarcity of ammu nition in the garrison, which seems not to have been provided for, was remedied by Lord Howe's fending in a supply of 1500 barrels of powder from the fleet. During the performance of thefe effential fervices, the combined fleets of the enemy never once came in fight; but at the break of day, on the 19th, the British fleet being then in the entrance of the Gut, and inclofed between the oppofite points of Europa and Ceuta, they appeared at no great dif tance to the north-eaft. The British commander law that it would be the highest imprudence and rafhnefs to hazard an action in the Gut. There was not fufficient room for forming the line of battle; much lefs for the evolutions which might be neceffary in the courfe of an engagement. The danger arifing in fuch circumftances, from the vicinity of the enemy's coafts, was not an object of lefs confideration than their fuperiority in number and force. The wind blew full from the Mediterranean, and was of courfe entirely in their favour; and, befides all the advantages to be derived from friendly fhores, and fuch a perfect knowledge of them and |