by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XX
THE FIGHT OFF DUNKIRK
As soon as the _Fan Fan_ had been brought to an anchor the boat waslowered, and Cyril was rowed on board the Admiral's ship.
Albemarle was on the poop, and Cyril made his report to him.
"Very well, sir," the Duke said, "I dare say I shall be able to makeyou of some use. Keep your craft close to us when we sail. I seem toknow your face."
"I am Sir Cyril Shenstone, my Lord Duke. I had the honour of meetingyou first at the fire in the Savoy, and Prince Rupert afterwards wasgood enough to present me to you."
"Yes, yes, I remember. And it was you who saved the _Henrietta_ fromthe fire-ship at Lowestoft. You have begun well indeed, young sir,and are like to have further opportunities of showing your bravery."
Cyril bowed, and then, going down the side to his boat, returned tothe _Fan Fan._ She was lying in almost smooth water, and Sydney hadcome up on deck again.
"You heard no news of the Dutch, I suppose, Cyril?"
"No; I asked a young officer as I left the ship, and he said that, sofar as he knew, nothing had been heard of them, but news had come in,before the Admiral sailed from the Downs, that everything was readyfor sea, and that orders were expected every hour for them to putout."
"It is rather to be hoped that they won't put out for another twodays," Sydney said. "That will give the Prince time to rejoin withhis squadron. The wind is favourable now for his return, and I shouldthink, as soon as they hear in London that the Dutch are on the pointof putting out, and Albemarle has sailed, they will send him ordersto join us at once. We have only about sixty sail, while they saythat the Dutch have over ninety, which is too heavy odds against usto be pleasant."
"I should think the Duke will not fight till the Prince comes up."
"I don't think he will wait for him if he finds the Dutch near. Allsay that he is over-confident, and apt to despise the Dutch too much.Anyhow, he is as brave as a lion, and, though he might not attackunless the Dutch begin it, I feel sure he will not run away fromthem."
The next morning early, the _Bristol_ frigate was seen returningfrom the east. She had to beat her way back in the teeth of the wind,but, when still some miles away, a puff of white smoke was seen todart out from her side, and presently the boom of a heavy gun washeard. Again and again she fired, and the signal was understood to bea notification that she had seen the Dutch. The signal for thecaptains of the men-of-war to come on board was at once run up to themast-head of the flagship, followed by another for the Fleet to beprepared to weigh anchor. Captain Bacon, of the _Bristol_, went onboard as soon as his ship came up. In a short time the boats wereseen to put off, and as the captains reached their respective shipsthe signal to weigh anchor was hoisted.
This was hailed with a burst of cheering throughout the Fleet, andall felt that it signified that they would soon meet the Dutch. The_Fan Fan_ was under sail long before the men-of-war had got up theirheavy anchors, and, sailing out, tacked backwards and forwards untilthe Fleet were under sail, when Cyril told the boatswain to place herwithin a few cables' length of the flagship on her weather quarter.After two hours' sail the Dutch Fleet were made out, anchored offDunkirk. The Blue Squadron, under Sir William Berkley, led the way,the Red Squadron, under the Duke, following.
"I will put a man in the chains with the lead," the boatswain said toCyril. "There are very bad sands off Dunkirk, and though we might getover them in safety, the big ships would take ground, and if they didso we should be in a bad plight indeed."
"In that case, we had best slack out the sheet a little, and take upour post on the weather bow of the Admiral, so that we can signal tohim if we find water failing."
The topsail was hoisted, and the _Fan Fan,_ which was a very fastcraft in comparatively smooth water, ran past the Admiral's flagship.
"Shall I order him back, your Grace?" the Captain asked angrily.
Albemarle looked at the _Fan Fan_ attentively.
"They have got a man sounding," he said. "It is a wise precaution.The young fellow in command knows what he is doing. We ought to havebeen taking the same care. See! he is taking down his topsail again.Set an officer to watch the yacht, and if they signal, go about atonce."
The soundings continued for a short time at six fathoms, whensuddenly the man at the lead called out sharply,--
"Three fathoms!"
Cyril ran to the flagstaff, and as the next cry came--"Twofathoms!"--hauled down the flag and stood waving his cap, while theboatswain, who had gone to the tiller, at once pushed it over tostarboard, and brought the yacht up into the wind. Cyril heard ordersshouted on board the flagship, and saw her stern sweeping round. Amoment later her sails were aback, but the men, who already clusteredround the guns, were not quick enough in hauling the yards across,and, to his dismay, he saw the main topmast bend, and then go overthe side with a crash. All was confusion on board, and for a time itseemed as if the other topmast would also go.
"Run her alongside within hailing distance," Cyril said to theboatswain. "They will want to question us."
As they came alongside the flagship the Duke himself leant over theside.
"What water had you when you came about, sir?"
"We went suddenly from six fathoms to three, your Grace," Cyrilshouted, "and a moment after we found but two."
"Very well, sir," the Duke called back. "In that case you havecertainly saved our ship. I thought perhaps that you had beenover-hasty, and had thus cost us our topmast, but I see it was notso, and thank you. Our pilot assured us there was plenty of water onthe course we were taking."
The ships of the Red Squadron had all changed their course on seeingthe flagship come about so suddenly, and considerable delay andconfusion was caused before they again formed in order, and, inobedience to the Duke's signal, followed in support of the BlueSquadron. This had already dashed into the midst of the Dutch Fleet,who were themselves in some confusion; for, so sudden had been theattack, that they had been forced to cut their cables, having no timeto get up their anchors.
The British ships poured in their broadsides as they approached,while the Dutch opened a tremendous cannonade. Besides their greatinferiority in numbers, the British were under a seriousdisadvantage. They had the weather gauge, and the wind was so strongthat it heeled them over, so that they were unable to open theirlower ports, and were therefore deprived of the use of their heaviestguns.
Four of the ships of the Red Squadron remained by the flagship, toprotect her if attacked, and to keep off fire-ships, while her crewlaboured to get up another topmast. More than three hours wereoccupied in this operation, but so busily did the rest of the Fleetkeep the Dutch at work that they were unable to detach sufficientships to attack her.
As soon as the topmast was in place and the sails hoisted, theflagship and her consorts hastened to join their hard-pressedcomrades.
The fight was indeed a desperate one. Sir William Berkley and hisship, the _Swiftsure,_ a second-rate, was taken, as was the_Essex,_ a third-rate.
The _Henry,_ commanded by Sir John Harman, was surrounded by foes.Her sails and rigging were shot to pieces, so she was completelydisabled, and the Dutch Admiral, Cornelius Evertz, summoned Sir JohnHarman to surrender.
"It has not come to that yet," Sir John shouted back, and continuedto pour such heavy broadsides into the Dutch that several of theirships were greatly damaged, and Evertz himself killed.
The Dutch captains drew off their vessels, and launched threefire-ships at the _Henry._ The first one, coming up on her starboardquarter, grappled with her. The dense volumes of smoke rising fromher prevented the sailors from discovering where the grapnels werefixed, and the flames were spreading to her when her boatswaingallantly leapt on board the fire-ship, and, by the light of itsflames, discovered the grapnels and threw them overboard, andsucceeded in regaining his ship.
A moment later, the second fire-ship came up on the port side, and sogreat a body of flames swept across the _Henry_ that her chaplainand fifty men spr
ang overboard. Sir John, however, drew his sword,and threatened to cut down the first man who refused to obey orders,and the rest of the crew, setting manfully to work, succeeded inextinguishing the flames, and in getting free of the fire-ship. Thehalliards of the main yard were, however, burnt through, and the sparfell, striking Sir John Harman to the deck and breaking his leg.
The third fire-ship was received with the fire of four cannon loadedwith chain shot. These brought her mast down, and she drifted by,clear of the _Henry,_ which was brought safely into Harwich.
The fight continued the whole day, and did not terminate until teno'clock in the evening. The night was spent in repairing damages, andin the morning the English recommenced the battle. It was againobstinately contested. Admiral Van Tromp threw himself into the midstof the British line, and suffered so heavily that he was only savedby the arrival of Admiral de Ruyter. He, in his turn, was in a mostperilous position, and his ship disabled, when fresh reinforcementsarrived. And so the battle raged, until, in the afternoon, as if bymutual consent, the Fleets drew off from each other, and the battleceased. The fighting had been extraordinarily obstinate anddetermined on both sides, many ships had been sunk, several burnt,and some captured. The sea was dotted with wreckage, masts, andspars, fragments of boats and _debris_ of all kinds. Both fleetspresented a pitiable appearance; the hulls, but forty-eight hours agoso trim and smooth, were splintered and jagged, port-holes wereknocked into one, bulwarks carried away, and stern galleries gone.The sails were riddled with shot-holes, many of the ships had lostone or more masts, while the light spars had been, in most cases,carried away, and many of the yards had come down owing to thedestruction of the running gear.
In so tremendous a conflict the little _Fan Fan_ could bear but asmall part. Cyril and Lord Oliphant agreed, at the commencement ofthe first day's fight, that it would be useless for them to attemptto fire their two little guns, but that their efforts should beentirely directed against the enemy's fire-ships. During each day'sbattle, then, they hovered round the flagship, getting out of the waywhenever she was engaged, as she often was, on both broadsides, andalthough once or twice struck by stray shots, the _Fan Fan_ receivedno serious damage. In this encounter of giants, the little yacht wasentirely overlooked, and none of the great ships wasted a shot uponher. Two or three times each day, when the Admiral's ship had beatenoff her foes, a fire-ship directed its course against her. Then camethe _Fan Fan's_ turn for action. Under the pressure of her twelveoars she sped towards the fire-ship, and on reaching her a grapnelwas thrown over the end of the bowsprit, and by the efforts of therowers her course was changed, so that she swept harmlessly past theflagship.
Twice when the vessels were coming down before the wind at a rate ofspeed that rendered it evident that the efforts of the men at theoars would be insufficient to turn her course, the _Fan Fan_ wassteered alongside, grapnels were thrown, and, headed by Lord Oliphantand Cyril, the crew sprang on board, cut down or drove overboard thefew men who were in charge of her. Then, taking the helm and trimmingthe sails, they directed her against one of the Dutch men-of-war,threw the grapnels on board, lighted the train, leapt back into the_Fan Fan_, rowed away, and took up their place near the Admiral, thelittle craft being greeted with hearty cheers by the whole ship'scompany.
The afternoon was spent in repairing damages as far as practicable,but even the Duke saw it was impossible to continue the fight. TheDutch had received a reinforcement while the fighting was going onthat morning, and although the English had inflicted terrible damageupon the Dutch Fleet, their own loss in ships was greater than thatwhich they had caused their adversaries. A considerable portion oftheir vessels were not in a condition to renew the battle, and thecarpenters had hard work to save them from sinking outright.Albemarle himself embarked on the _Fan Fan_, and sailed from ship toship, ascertaining the condition of each, and the losses its crew hadsuffered. As soon as night fell, the vessels most disabled wereordered to sail for England as they best could. The crew of threewhich were totally dismasted and could hardly be kept afloat, weretaken out and divided between the twenty-eight vessels which aloneremained in a condition to renew the fight.
These three battered hulks were, early the next morning, set on fire,and the rest of the Fleet, in good order and prepared to give battle,followed their companions that had sailed on the previous evening.The Dutch followed, but at a distance, thinking to repair theirdamages still farther before they again engaged. In the afternoon thesails of a squadron were seen ahead, and a loud cheer ran from shipto ship, for all knew that this was Prince Rupert coming up with theWhite Squadron. A serious loss, however, occurred a few minutesafterwards. The _Royal Prince_, the largest and most powerful vesselin the Fleet, which was somewhat in rear of the line, struck on thesands. The tide being with them and the wind light, the rest of theFleet tried in vain to return to her assistance, and as the DutchFleet were fast coming up, and some of the fire-ships making for the_Royal Prince_, they were forced to give up the attempt to succourher, and Sir George Ayscue, her captain, was obliged to haul down hisflag and surrender.
As soon as the White Squadron joined the remnant of the Fleet thewhole advanced against the Dutch, drums beating and trumpetssounding, and twice made their way through the enemy's line. But itwas now growing dark, and the third day's battle came to an end. Thenext morning it was seen that the Dutch, although considerablystronger than the English, were almost out of sight. The latter atonce hoisted sail and pursued, and, at eight o'clock, came up withthem.
The Dutch finding the combat inevitable, the terrible fight wasrenewed, and raged, without intermission, until seven in the evening.Five times the British passed through the line of the Dutch. On bothsides many ships fell out of the fighting line wholly disabled.Several were sunk, and some on both sides forced to surrender, beingso battered as to be unable to withdraw from the struggle. PrinceRupert's ship was wholly disabled, and that of Albemarle almost asseverely damaged, and the battle, like those of the preceding days,ended without any decided advantage on either side. Both nationsclaimed the victory, but equally without reason. The Dutch historianscompute our loss at sixteen men-of-war, of which ten were sunk andsix taken, while we admitted only a loss of nine ships, and claimedthat the Dutch lost fifteen men-of-war. Both parties acknowledgedthat it was the most terrible battle fought in this, or any othermodern war.
De Witte, who at that time was at the head of the Dutch Republic, andwho was a bitter enemy of the English, owned, some time afterwards,to Sir William Temple, "that the English got more glory to theirnation through the invincible courage of their seamen during thoseengagements than by the two victories of this war, and that he wassure that his own fleet could not have been brought on to fight thefifth day, after the disadvantages of the fourth, and he believedthat no other nation was capable of it but the English."
Cyril took no part in the last day's engagement, for Prince Rupert,when the _Fan Fan_ came near him on his arrival on the previousevening, returned his salute from the poop, and shouted to him thaton no account was he to adventure into the fight with the _Fan Fan_.
On the morning after the battle ended, Lord Oliphant and Cyril rowedon board Prince Rupert's ship, where every unwounded man was hard atwork getting up a jury-mast or patching up the holes in the hull.
"Well, Sir Cyril, I see that you have been getting my yacht knockedabout," he said, as they came up to him.
"There is not much damage done, sir. She has but two shot-holes inher hull."
"And my new mainsail spoiled. Do you know, sir, that I got a severerating from the Duke yesterday evening, on your account?"
Cyril looked surprised.
"I trust, sir, that I have not in any way disobeyed orders?"
"No, it was not that. He asked after the _Fan Fan_, and said that hehad seen nothing of her during the day's fighting, and I said I hadstrictly ordered you not to come into the battle. He replied, 'Thenyou did wrong, Prince, for that little yacht of yours did yeomen'sservice during the first two
days' fighting. I told Sir Cyril to keepher near me, thinking that she would be useful in carrying orders,and during those two days she kept close to us, save when we weresurrounded by the enemy. Five times in those three days did she avertfire-ships from us. We were so damaged that we could sail but slowly,and, thinking us altogether unmanageable, the Dutch launched theirfire-ships. The _Fan Fan_ rowed to meet them. Three of them werediverted from their course by a rope being thrown over the bowsprit,and the crew rowing so as to turn her head. On the second day therewas more wind, and the fire-ships could have held on their course inspite of the efforts of the men on board the _Fan Fan_. Twice duringthe day the little boat was boldly laid alongside them, while thecrew boarded and captured them, and then, directing them towards theDutch ships, grappled and set them on fire. One of the Dutchmen wasburned, the other managed to throw off the grapnels. It was all doneunder our eyes, and five times in the two days did my crew cheer yourlittle yacht as she came alongside. So you see, Prince, by orderingher out of the fight you deprived us of the assistance of as boldlyhandled a little craft as ever sailed.'
"'I am quite proud of my little yacht, gentlemen, and I thank you forhaving given her so good a christening under fire. But I must stay nolonger talking. Here is the despatch I have written of my share ofthe engagement. You, Sir Cyril, will deliver this. You will now rowto the Duke's ship, and he will give you his despatches, which you,Lord Oliphant, will deliver. I need not say that you are to make allhaste to the Thames. We have no ship to spare except the _Fan Fan_,for we must keep the few that are still able to manoeuvre, in casethe Dutch should come out again before we have got the crippled onesin a state to make sail. '"
Taking leave of the Prince, they were at once rowed to the Duke'sflagship. They had a short interview with the Admiral, who praisedthem highly for the service they had rendered.
"You will have to tell the story of the fighting," he said, "for thePrince and myself have written but few lines; we have too manymatters on our minds to do scribe's work. They will have heard, erenow, of the first two days' fighting, for some of the ships that weresent back will have arrived at Harwich before this. By to-morrowmorning I hope to have the Fleet so far refitted as to be able tofollow you."
Five minutes later, the _Fan Fan_, with every stitch of sail set,was on her way to the Thames. As a brisk wind was blowing, theyarrived in London twenty-four hours later, and at once proceeded tothe Admiralty, the despatches being addressed to the Duke of York.They were immediately ushered in to him. Without a word he seized thedespatches, tore them open, and ran his eye down them.
"God be praised!" he exclaimed, when he finished them. "We had fearedeven worse intelligence, and have been in a terrible state of anxietysince yesterday, when we heard from Harwich that one of the ships hadcome in with the news that more than half the Fleet was crippled ordestroyed, and that twenty-eight only remained capable of continuingthe battle. The only hope was that the White Squadron might arrive intime, and it seems that it has done so. The account of our losses isindeed a terrible one, but at least we have suffered no defeat, andas the Dutch have retreated, they must have suffered well-nigh asmuch as we have done. Come along with me at once, gentlemen; I mustgo to the King to inform him of this great news, which is vastlybeyond what we could have hoped for. The Duke, in his despatch, tellsme that the bearers of it, Lord Oliphant and Sir Cyril Shenstone,have done very great service, having, in Prince Rupert's littleyacht, saved his flagship no less than five times from the attacks ofthe Dutch fire-ships."
The Duke had ordered his carriage to be in readiness as soon as helearnt that the bearers of despatches from the Fleet had arrived. Itwas already at the door, and, taking his seat in it, with LordOliphant and Cyril opposite to him, he was driven to the Palace,learning by the way such details as they could give him of the lasttwo days' fighting. He led them at once to the King's dressing-room.Charles was already attired, for he had passed a sleepless night, andhad risen early.
"What news, James?" he asked eagerly.
"Good news, brother. After two more days' fighting--and terriblefighting, on both sides--the Dutch Fleet has returned to its ports."
"A victory!" the King exclaimed, in delight.
"A dearly-bought one with the lives of so many brave men, but avictory nevertheless. Here are the despatches from Albemarle andRupert. They have been brought by these gentlemen, with whom you arealready acquainted, in Rupert's yacht. Albemarle speaks very highlyof their conduct."
The King took the despatches, and read them eagerly.
"It has indeed been a dearly-bought victory," he said, "but it ismarvellous indeed how our captains and men bore themselves. Neverhave they shown greater courage and endurance. Well may Monk saythat, after four days of incessant fighting and four nights spent inthe labour of repairing damages, the strength of all has well-nighcome to an end, and that he himself can write but a few lines to tellme of what has happened, leaving all details for further occasion. Ithank you both, gentlemen, for the speed with which you have broughtme this welcome news, and for the services of which the Duke ofAlbemarle speaks so warmly. This is the second time, Sir Cyril, thatmy admirals have had occasion to speak of great and honourableservice rendered by you. Lord Oliphant, the Earl, your father, willhave reason to be proud when he hears you so highly praised. Now,gentlemen, tell me more fully than is done in these despatches as tothe incidents of the fighting. I have heard something of what tookplace in the first two days from an officer who posted up fromHarwich yesterday."
Lord Oliphant related the events of the first two days, and then wenton.
"Of the last two I can say less, Your Majesty, for we took no partin, having Prince Rupert's orders, given as he came up, that weshould not adventure into the fight. Therefore, we were butspectators, though we kept on the edge of the fight and, ifopportunity had offered, and we had seen one of our ships too hardpressed, and threatened by fire-ships, we should have ventured so farto transgress orders as to bear in and do what we could on herbehalf; but indeed, the smoke was so great that we could see butlittle.
"It was a strange sight, when, on the Prince's arrival, his ships andthose of the Duke's, battered as they were, bore down on the Dutchline; the drums beating, the trumpets sounding, and the crewscheering loudly. We saw them disappear into the Dutch line; then thesmoke shut all out from view, and for hours there was but a thickcloud of smoke and a continuous roar of the guns. Sometimes a vesselwould come out from the curtain of smoke torn and disabled. Sometimesit was a Dutchman, sometimes one of our own ships. If the latter, werowed up to them and did our best with planks and nails to stop theyawning holes close to the water-line, while the crew knotted ropesand got up the spars and yards, and then sailed back into the fight.
"The first day's fighting was comparatively slight, for the Dutchseemed to be afraid to close with the Duke's ships, and hung behindat a distance. It was not till the White Squadron came up, and theDuke turned, with Prince Rupert, and fell upon his pursuers like awounded boar upon the dogs, that the battle commenced in earnest; butthe last day it went on for nigh twelve hours without intermission;and when at last the roar of the guns ceased, and the smoke slowlycleared off, it was truly a pitiful sight, so torn and disabled werethe ships.
"As the two fleets separated, drifting apart as it would almost seem,so few were the sails now set, we rowed up among them, and for hourswere occupied in picking up men clinging to broken spars andwreckage, for but few of the ships had so much as a single boat left.We were fortunate enough to save well-nigh a hundred, of whom morethan seventy were our own men, the remainder Dutch. From these lastwe learnt that the ships of Van Tromp and Ruyter had both been sodisabled that they had been forced to fall out of battle, and hadbeen towed away to port. They said that their Admirals CorneliusEvertz and Van der Hulst had both been killed, while on our side welearnt that Admiral Sir Christopher Mings had fallen."
"Did the Dutch Fleet appear to be as much injured as our own?"
"No, Your Majesty. Judging
by the sail set when the battle was over,theirs must have been in better condition than ours, which is notsurprising, seeing how superior they were in force, and for the mostpart bigger ships, and carrying more guns."
"Then you will have your hands full, James, or they will be ready totake to sea again before we are. Next time I hope that we shall meetthem with more equal numbers."
"I will do the best I can, brother," the Duke replied. "Though wehave so many ships sorely disabled there have been but few lost, andwe can supply their places with the vessels that have been buildingwith all haste. If the Dutch will give us but two months' time Iwarrant that we shall be able to meet them in good force."
As soon as the audience was over, Cyril and his friend returned tothe _Fan Fan_, and after giving the crew a few hours for sleep,sailed down to Sheerness, where, shortly afterwards, Prince Rupertarrived with a portion of the Fleet, the rest having been ordered toHarwich, Portsmouth, and other ports, so that they could be morespeedily refitted.
Although the work went on almost without intermission day and night,the repairs were not completed before the news arrived that the DutchFleet had again put to sea. Two days later they arrived off ourcoast, where, finding no fleet ready to meet them, they sailed awayto France, where they hoped to be joined by their French allies.
Two days later, however, our ships began to assemble at the mouth ofthe Thames, and on June 24th the whole Fleet was ready to take tosea. It consisted of eighty men-of-war, large and small, and nineteenfire-ships. Prince Rupert was in command of the Red Squadron, and theDuke of Albemarle sailed with him, on board the same ship. Sir ThomasAllen was Admiral of the White, and Sir Jeremiah Smith of the BlueSquadron. Cyril remained on board the _Fan Fan_, Lord Oliphantreturning to his duties on board the flagship. Marvels had beeneffected by the zeal and energy of the crews and dockyard men. Butthree weeks back, the English ships had, for the most part, beencrippled seemingly almost beyond repair, but now, with their holespatched, with new spars, and in the glory of fresh paint and newcanvas, they made as brave a show as when they had sailed out fromthe Downs a month previously.
They were anchored off the Nore when, late in the evening, the newscame out from Sheerness that a mounted messenger had just ridden infrom Dover, and that the Dutch Fleet had, in the afternoon, passedthe town, and had rounded the South Foreland, steering north.
Orders were at once issued that the Fleet should sail at daybreak,and at three o'clock the next morning they were on their way down theriver. At ten o'clock the Dutch Fleet was seen off the NorthForeland. According to their own accounts they numbered eighty-eightmen-of-war, with twenty-five fire-ships, and were also divided intothree squadrons, under De Ruyter, John Evertz, and Van Tromp.
The engagement began at noon by an attack by the White Squadron uponthat commanded by Evertz. An hour later, Prince Rupert and the Duke,with the Red Squadron, fell upon De Ruyter, while that of Van Tromp,which was at some distance from the others, was engaged by SirJeremiah Smith with the Blue Squadron. Sir Thomas Allen completelydefeated his opponents, killing Evertz, his vice- and rear-admirals,capturing the vice-admiral of Zeeland, who was with him, and burninga ship of fifty guns.
The Red Squadron was evenly matched by that of De Ruyter, and eachvessel laid itself alongside an adversary. Although De Ruyter himselfand his vice-admiral, Van Ness, fought obstinately, their ships ingeneral, commanded, for the most part, by men chosen for their familyinfluence rather than for either seamanship or courage, behaved butbadly, and all but seven gradually withdrew from the fight, and wentoff under all sail; and De Ruyter, finding himself thus deserted, wasforced also to draw off. During this time, Van Tromp, whose squadronwas the strongest of the three Dutch divisions, was so furiouslyengaged by the Blue Squadron, which was the weakest of the Englishdivisions, that he was unable to come to the assistance of hisconsorts; when, however, he saw the defeat of the rest of the DutchFleet, he, too, was obliged to draw off, lest he should have thewhole of the English down upon him, and was able the more easily todo so as darkness was closing in when the battle ended.
The Dutch continued their retreat during the night, followed at adistance by the Red Squadron, which was, next morning, on the pointof overtaking them, when the Dutch sought refuge by steering into theshallows, which their light draught enabled them to cross, while thedeeper English ships were unable to follow. Great was the wrath anddisappointment of the English when they saw themselves thus baulkedof reaping the full benefit of the victory. Prince Rupert shouted toCyril, who, in the _Fan Fan_, had taken but small share in theengagement, as the fire-ships had not played any conspicuous part init.
"Sir Cyril, we can go no farther, but do you pursue De Ruyter andshow him in what contempt we hold him."
Cyril lifted his hat to show that he heard and understood the order.Then he ordered his men to get out their oars, for the wind was verylight, and, amidst loud cheering, mingled with laughter, from thecrews of the vessels that were near enough to hear Prince Rupert'sorder, the _Fan Fan_ rowed out from the English line in pursuit ofthe Dutch.
