On joining the _Prince Royal_ I was surprised at her size, equipment, and smartness. Practically a new ship, she was commanded by the veteran Sir George Ascue, and her crew were all men who had seen active service against the Dutch, the Spaniards, or the Barbary pirates. Compared with the _Gannet_ the _Prince Royal_ was as a mastiff by the side of a lapdog, while the smallest of her 100 guns was larger than the heaviest piece of ordnance in my first ship. With a favourable wind the fleet arrived off the Forelands and thence beat up for the Downs, where we were in a position to meet either the Dutch or the French squadrons; but off Dover we learned from a fishing boat that Beaufort was seen heading back towards Brest in order to refit some of his ships, so that for the time our chances of smelling powder were very remote. CHAPTER XV--Of the Famous Sea Fight of Four Days During the whole of the month of May the English fleet remained cruising betwixt Gravelines and Dover, till Albemarle began to revile the Dutch for their cowardice in fearing to leave their harbours, while of de Beaufort we had neither signs nor tidings. At length, on the last day of May, news was brought that the French fleet was actually in the Channel once more, and that de Ruyter and Van Tromp, with eighty sail, were already on the way to effect a union with de Beaufort. A hurried council of war was held on board the flagship, and here Albemarle made the first great mistake of his life; for it is reported he held the Dutch so cheaply that he ordered Prince Rupert to take twenty vessels of our fleet and make to the westward to find and engage the French, while he relied on his remaining fifty-four ships to meet the formidable array of Dutchmen. This counsel our captain, Sir George Ascue, ventured to oppose, but honest George in his wrath bade him hold his tongue, and Prince Rupert hastened on board his ship to detach the squadron of twenty ships in order to seek de Beaufort. Before nightfall we saw them hull down, and we set sail so as to arrive off the coast of Holland and destroy de Ruyter’s craven fleet. Craven we dubbed them; but when, on the morning of the 1st of June, we found the Dutch fleet lying at anchor, to our surprise they immediately slipped their cables and stood out to meet us, with a courage and determination that made Albemarle bitterly regret his lack of caution. On board the _Prince Royal_ all was bustle and excitement, yet our preparations were made without untoward confusion. Sir George made a stirring speech, the drums beat to quarters, and then came that irksome interval before opening fire that tells so acutely on the nerves of even the most hardened veteran. The action began in a strong wind that, blowing athwart the tide, raised such a steep sea that most of our ships were unable to open their lee’ard lower-deck ports, a misfortune that more than outbalanced our advantage in having the weather gauge.