When within a mile of the enemy a signal was made to shorten sail, but the hot-headed vice-admiral, Sir William Berkeley, kept on till, half a mile ahead of the rest of us, he encountered the fire of over twenty of the Dutchmen. We watched the gallant though unequal conflict. Unflinchingly his ship received the tremendous broadsides of the enemy, and, undaunted, Sir William returned the fire, till at length the combatants were lost in a heavy pall of smoke. Gradually the noise of the struggle ceased and the smoke cleared away. Then, to our dismay, we saw the gallant vessel a helpless, dismasted wreck in the possession of the Dutch. Now came our turn, and before we were within a comfortable distance our spars and rigging began to fall on the deck in a manner that none of us had previously experienced. The solution of the mystery was afforded shortly afterwards by three seamen being cut in two apparently by one shot, which finished up its career of death by splintering the base of the mainmast. The bos’n, who was standing close to me, hastened to where the missile lay, and lifting it up he exclaimed: "That’s where they have us! ’Tis a chain shot--a new invention of that stubborn fiend de Wit!" We were soon hotly engaged. Dead and wounded encumbered our decks, while the new and stately appearance of the _Prince Royal_ altered till our ship resembled a butcher’s shambles. Nevertheless, against tremendous odds, we kept up a hot fire, and had the satisfaction of seeing more than one of the towering sides of the Dutchmen crumbled into a shapeless mass of charred and splintered timbers. With the approach of night both fleets withdrew; but for us there was little rest, as all hands were employed reeving fresh rigging, splicing spars, and plugging shot holes, while our dead were committed to the deep, and the wounded transhipped to one of the smaller vessels. As the sun rose we descried the enemy lying a mile from us. Without hesitation both sides made ready to renew the sanguinary combat. The wind was now much lighter, and in consequence our ships triced up our lower-deck ports and ran out their formidable array of guns--a sight that gave us additional courage,--and the result was not lost upon the Dutch. In spite of their number we stuck closely to them, the flagship of Van Tromp, who fought in a manner worthy of our former foeman, his redoubtable sire, being singled out as a prize worth taking. Three vessels engaged his ship, and were within an ace of making him haul down his flag, when de Ruyter threw seven of his largest vessels between Van Tromp and our shattered ships. Then through the smoke we perceived that sixteen ships had reinforced the already superior number of the Dutchmen, and, to save ourselves from total destruction, Albemarle hoisted a signal for the English to retreat slowly towards the mouth of the Thames.