About eighty miners entered for the Nymphe and joined her at Spithead.  She sailed on her passage from Spithead to Falmouth very badly manned, having not more than a dozen seamen on board, exclusive of the officers, who were obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the sails, the captain setting the example wherever anything was to be done, and often steering the ship.  A corporal of marines was captain of the forecastle.  Arriving at Falmouth, after a rough passage, she soon picked up a few good men.  She took a convoy from thence to the Nore, another from the Nore to Hamburgh, and a third from Cuxhaven to the Nore again; never letting slip an opportunity to press as many men as could be spared from the merchant-ships.  The captain would remain in a boat all night, and think himself amply repaid if he obtained only one good man.  From the Nore, she returned to Spithead, and thence sailed on a cruize, in company with the Venus, Captain Jonathan Faulknor, having now a full proportion of good seamen, though she was still short of her complement, and none of the crew had ever seen a shot fired.  She parted company with the Venus in chase, but rejoined her on the 29th of May.  On the 27th, the Venus had engaged the French frigate Semillante, one of a squadron then cruizing in the Channel under the orders of Captain Mullon, of the Cleopatra.  The action had continued two hours, much to the disadvantage of the enemy, when the Cleopatra was seen coming up, and the Venus was obliged to fly.  On the Nymphe rejoining her, the two frigates went in pursuit of the enemy as far as Cherbourg.  Thence Captain Pellew proceeded to the North Channel, where some French cruisers were reported to have gone; but having swept the Channel without seeing anything of them, and taken on board his brother Israel, then living, a commander on half-pay, at Larne, he returned to Falmouth.  Here, on the 16th of June, the Nymphe pressed the crew of a South-seaman, which full manned the ship.

She sailed from Falmouth on the evening of the 18th.  That afternoon, Captain Pellew was informed that two French frigates had again been seen in the Channel, and he discussed with his brother Israel, at their elder brother’s table, the course most likely to intercept them.  After they had talked over the advantages of sailing along the English or the French coast, they at length determined to keep mid-channel.

An active and most anxious pursuit of the enemy for the last three weeks had made the crew not less eager than their commander; and the subject of the expected battle engrossed their sleeping and waking thoughts.  A dream of Captain Israel Pellew had perhaps some influence on the result.  His brother would not allow him to be called till they were just closing the French frigate, and meeting him as he ran on deck half dressed, he said to him, with much emotion,—­“Israel, you have no business here!  We are too many eggs