1813	Light Squadrons and Single Ships	158

On the 16th of December, 1812, the French 40-gun frigate Gloire, Captain Albin-Réné Roussin, sailed from Havre, with a very strong south-east wind, which carried her as far as the Lizard, and there left her, on the afternoon of the 17th, entirely becalmed. On the 18th, at daylight, the Gloire found herself nearly in the midst of nine vessels, the greater part of them evidently merchantmen. Two of the number, however, were vessels of war : the nearest was the British 18-gun ship-sloop Albacore (sixteen twenty-six 32, and eight 12, pounder carronades and two long sixes, with a crew of 121 men and boys), Captain Henry Thomas Davies ; and, about four miles to the westward of her, was the 14-gun brig-schooner Pickle, Lieutenant William Figg. At 8 a.m. the Gloire, who had been standing on the starboard tack, wore with a light air of wind and edged away for the Albacore, then bearing from her north-east by north. Each ship soon ascertained that the other was an enemy; and at 9 a.m. the Gloire hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, and made all sail to escape. Judging by this, probably, that the apparent French 40-gun frigate was an armée en flûte or large store-ship, Captain Davies crowded sail in chase, followed, at some distance, by the Pickle ; the latter and the Albacore making repeated signals, to apprize the vessels in sight of the presence of an enemy.

At 10 h. 12 m. a.m., having by carrying down the breeze arrived within carronade range on the French frigate's weather quarter, the Albacore opened her fire ; whereupon the Gloire hoisted French colours and fired in return, hauling up a little, to bestow a raking broadside upon her unequal antagonist. To avoid this the Albacore tacked. The breeze soon afterwards fell to nearly a calm ; and at 11 a.m., finding her antagonist much too strong for her, the Albacore discontinued the action, with her fore spring-stay shot away, her rigging a good deal damaged, and, what was the worst of all, with the loss of one lieutenant (William Harman) killed and six or seven men wounded. Strange to say, the French frigate herself did not seem disposed to renew the action, but wore and made all sail to the westward.

At 1 p.m., the Pickle having closed and a light breeze having sprung up from the southward, the Albacore again made sail, and at 3 p.m. was joined in the chase by the 12-gun brig-sloop (late gun-brig) Borer, Captain Richard Coote, and 4-gun cutter Landrail, Lieutenant John Bill. At 5 P.M. the Albacore began firing her bow-chasers ; as, on coming up, did two out of her three (for the Landrail to have fired her 12-pounder carronades would have been a farce) formidable consorts. To this alarming cannonade, the Gloire replied with her stern-chasers, and continued running from the " escadrille," as if each of her four pursuers had been a frigate like herself. thus the chase continued, but without any firing after 7 p.m., until midnight on the 19th ;

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