the helm a-weather and stood for her, and in less than an hour came up with her, and having fired fourteen shots at her, she struck.  Our third lieutenant, Mr. Dennis, was sent in the boat with sixteen men to take possession of the prize and to return the prisoners to our ship.  This ship was named the “Santa Teresa de Jesus”, built at Guayaquil, of about three hundred tons burthen, and was commanded by Bartolome Urrunaga, a Biscayer.  She was bound from Guayaquil to Callao; her loading consisted of timber, cacao, cocoa-nuts, tobacco, hides, Pito thread (which is very strong and is made of a species of grass) Quito cloth, wax, etc.  The specie on board her was inconsiderable, being principally small silver money and not amounting to more than 170 pounds sterling.  It is true her cargo was of great value, could we have disposed of it, but the Spaniards having strict orders never to ransom their ships, all the goods that we took in these seas, except what little we had occasion for ourselves, were of no advantage to us.  Indeed, though we could make no profit thereby ourselves, it was some satisfaction to us to consider that it was so much really lost to the enemy, and that the despoiling them was no contemptible branch of that service in which we were now employed by our country.

I have before observed that at the beginning of this chase the Centurion ran her two consorts out of sight, for which reason we lay by all the night, after we had taken the prize, for Captain Saunders and Lieutenant Suamarez to join us, firing guns and making false fires every half-hour to prevent their passing us unobserved; but they were so far astern that they neither heard nor saw any of our signals and were not able to come up with us till broad daylight.  When they had joined us we proceeded together to the northward, being now four sail in company.

DESPOILING THE SPANIARDS.

On the 10th of November we were three leagues south of the southernmost island of Lobos, lying in the latitude of 6 degrees 27 minutes south.  We were now drawing near to the station appointed to the Gloucester, for which reason, fearing to miss her, we made an easy sail all night.  The next morning at daybreak, we saw a ship in shore, and to windward, plying up to the coast.  She had passed by us with the favour of the night, and we, soon perceiving her not to be the Gloucester, gave her chase; but it proving very little wind, so that neither of us could make much way, the Commodore ordered the barge, his pinnace, and the Trial’s pinnace to be manned and armed, and to pursue the chase and board her.  Lieutenant Brett, who commanded the barge, came up with her first, about nine o’clock, and running alongside of her, he fired a volley of small shot between the masts, just over the heads of the people on board, and then instantly entered with the greatest part of his men; but the enemy made no resistance, being sufficiently frightened by the dazzling of the cutlasses, and the