On the 12th of December we stood from Quibo to the westward.  We had little doubt of arriving soon upon our intended station,* as we expected, upon increasing our offing from Quibo, to fall in with the regular trade wind.  But, to our extreme vexation, we were baffled for near a month, either with tempestuous weather from the western quarter, or with dead calms and heavy rains, attended with a sultry air.  As our hopes were so long baffled, and our patience quite exhausted, we began at length to despair of succeeding in the great purpose we had in view, that of intercepting the Manila galleon; and this produced a general dejection amongst us, as we had at first considered this project as almost infallible, and had indulged ourselves in the most boundless hopes of the advantages we should thence receive.  However, our despondency was at last somewhat alleviated by a favourable change of the wind; for on the 9th of January a gale for the first time sprang up from the north-east.  As we advanced apace towards our station our hopes began to revive, for though the customary season of the arrival of the galleon at Acapulco was already elapsed, yet we were by this time unreasonable enough to flatter ourselves that some accidental delay might, for our advantage, lengthen out her passage beyond its usual limits.  On the 26th of January, being then to the northward of Acapulco, we tacked and stood to the eastward, with a view of making the land.

(Note.  Off Cape Corrientes (20 degrees 20 minutes north).  Anson hoped to intercept the Manila galleon here.)

A MORTIFYING DELUSION.

We expected by our reckonings to have fallen in with it on the 28th; but though the weather was perfectly clear, we had no sight of it at sunset, and therefore we continued on our course, not doubting but we should see it by the next morning.  About ten at night we discovered a light on the larboard-bow, bearing from us north-north-east.  The Trial’s prize, too, which was about a mile ahead of us, made a signal at the same time for seeing a sail; and as we had none of us any doubt but what we saw was a ship’s light, we were all extremely animated with a firm persuasion that it was the Manila galleon, which had been so long the object of our wishes.  And what added to our alacrity was our expectation of meeting with two of them instead of one, for we took it for granted that the light in view was carried in the top of one ship for a direction to her consort.  We chased the light, keeping all our hands at their respective quarters, under an expectation of engaging in the next half-hour, as we sometimes conceived the chase to be about a mile distant, and at other times to be within reach of our guns; and some on board us positively averred that besides the light they could plainly discern her sails.  The Commodore himself was so fully persuaded that we should be soon alongside of her, that he sent for his first Lieutenant, who commanded between decks, and directed him to see all the great