and esteem ourselves fortunate to regain our native country; leaving our enemies to triumph on the inconsiderable mischief they had suffered from a squadron which had filled them with such dreadful apprehensions.  We had reason to imagine the Spanish ostentation would remarkably exert itself on this subject, though our disappointment and their security neither originated in their valour nor our misconduct.  Such were the desponding reflections which at this time arose, on the review and comparison of our remaining weakness with our original strength:  And, indeed, our fears were far from being groundless, or disproportionate to our feeble and almost desperate condition:  For, though the final event proved more honourable than we foreboded, yet the intermediate calamities did likewise surpass our most gloomy apprehensions; and, could these have been predicted to us while at Juan Fernandez, they would doubtless have appeared insurmountable.

In the beginning of September, as already mentioned, our men being tolerably well recovered, and the season of navigation in these seas drawing nigh, we exerted ourselves in getting our ships ready for sea.  We converted the foremast of the Anna into a new main-mast for the Tryal; and, still flattering ourselves with the possible hope of some other ships of our squadron arriving, we intended to leave the main-mast of the Anna, to make a new mizen-mast for the Wager.  All hands being thus employed in preparing for our departure, we espied a sail to the N.E. about eleven a.m. of the 18th September, which continued to approach us till her courses appeared even with the horizon.  While advancing, we had great hopes that this might prove one of our squadron; but she at length steered away to the eastward, without hauling in for the island, on which we concluded that she must be Spanish.  Great differences of opinion now took place, as to the possibility of her people having discovered our tents on shore; some of us strongly insisting, that she certainly had been near enough to have seen something that had given them a jealousy to an enemy, which had occasioned her standing away to the eastwards.  Leaving these contests to be settled afterwards, it was resolved to pursue her; and, as the Centurion was in the greatest forwardness, all her hands were got immediately on board, her rigging set up, and her sails bent with all possible expedition, and we got under sail by five in the evening.

At this time we had so very little wind, that all the boats were employed to tow us out of the bay, and what wind there was lasted only long enough to give us an offing of two or three leagues, when it fell dead calm.  As night came on we lost sight of the chase, and were extremely impatient for the return of light, in hopes to find that she had been becalmed, as well as we; yet her great distance from the land was 3 reasonable ground for suspecting the contrary, as we actually found in the morning, to our great mortification; for, though the weather was