her commander and crew had considered themselves so fortunate in having fallen in with.

For greater security, the Dumourier had since transhipped to herself 680 cases, containing each 3000 dollars, together with several packages of the reputed value, in the whole, of upwards of £200,000 sterling. The galleon was from Lima, bound to Spain, and had on board a cargo of an irnmense value. Both the Dumourier and San-lago arrived, before the end of the month, in safety at Plymouth ; and the latter ship and her precious lading, after a tedious litigation, were condemned as prize to the captors. This condemnation of a recaptured ship, however it might have been legally correct under the peculiar circumstances of the case, caused a great stir at Madrid, and was one of the principal causes of the war, which afterwards broke out between Great Britain and Spain.

On the 13th of May, at 5 p.m., latitude 42° 34' north, and longitude 13° 12' west, the British 12-pounder 32-gun frigate Iris * Captain George Lumsdaine, while standing to the southward, with the wind at north-north-east, discovered a strange sail in the north-east quarter. The Iris immediately hauled to the wind, and gave chase. At 6 p.m. she hove-to for the strange ship, which appeared to be a French national frigate. At 6 h. 30 m. a.m. an action commenced, and continued, without interruption, until 8 p.m. ; when the Citoyenne-Française, as the stranger proved to be, hauled on board her fore and main tacks, and shot ahead, clear of her opponent's guns. At 8 h. 15 m. p.m.,

* Class H the first Annual Abstract. As the force of British frigates will be frequently referred to, we have here drawn up a table of the long guns established upon the different classes, preserving the same letters of reference as are used in the Annual Abstracts.

It will be remarked that classes Z. A. and C. have ten 9s upon their quarterdeck and forecastle, instead of eight 9s and two 12s, as in the first annual abstract. The fact is, the 12s were exchanged for 9s soon after they were ordered. This however, is of little consequence, as the introduction of carronades effected an entire change in the quarterdeck and forecastle armament of almost every ship in the British navy.