Sir Edmund Nagle, Sir Sidney Smith, Sir Richard Keats, Sir James Saumarez, Sir Philip Durham, Sir Charles V. Penrose, Admirals Barlow, and Reynolds.  Nothing equals the animating duties of a cruizing frigate squadron.  The vigilance in hovering on the enemy’s coast, or sweeping over the seas around it; the chase, by a single ship detached to observe a suspicious stranger, or by the whole squadron to overtake an enemy; the occasional action; the boat-attack;—­service like this gives constant life to a sailor.  In a line-of-battle ship, with the perfection of discipline, there is less demand for individual enterprise, and fewer of the opportunities which fit crews for exploits where all depends on rapidity and daring.  On the other hand, a single cruizer wants the stimulus supplied by constant emulation.  But in a squadron, all the ships vie with one another; and the smartest of them, herself always improving, gives an example, and a character to the whole.

In the middle of April 1794, Sir J.B.  Warren sailed from Portsmouth in the Flora, with the Arethusa, Concorde, Melampus, and Nymphe.  At daylight on the 23rd, he fell in with a French squadron off the Isle of Bass; the Engageante, Pomone, and Resolue, frigates; and the Babet, 22-gun corvette.  The enemy, who were standing to the north-west, made sail on perceiving the British squadron; the Commodore in l’Engageante being a-head, then Resolue, Pomone, and Babet.  Soon after, the wind shifted two points, from S.S.W. to south, giving the British the weather-gage, and preventing the enemy from making their escape to the land.

Outsailing her consorts, the Flora came up with the enemy at half-past six; and giving the Babet a passing broadside, stood on and attacked the Pomone.  The Pomone was at that time by much the largest frigate ever built, being only one hundred tons smaller than a 64-gun ship, and carrying long 24-pounders on her main deck.  The Flora, being only a 36, with 18-pounders, was a very unequal match for this powerful ship, which soon cut her sails and rigging to pieces, shot away her fore-topmast, and left her astern.  The Melampus, which, notwithstanding her endeavours to close, was still far to windward on the Pomone’s quarter; now fired on her, but unavoidably at too great a distance to produce any material effect, though the heavy guns of the enemy inflicted on her a greater loss than was sustained by any other ship in the squadron.  The Arethusa, which had previously cannonaded the Babet, while she was pressing on to overtake the frigates, soon came up with the Pomone, closed her to windward, and engaged her single-handed, and within pistol-shot, till she struck.  The Flora, in the mean time, took possession of the corvette.  A short time before the close of the action, the Pomone took fire, but her crew succeeded in extinguishing the flames.  At half-past nine, the Arethusa shot away her main and mizen masts, and compelled her to surrender.