of Portugal he showed no more respect than had been shown by Boscawen when he pursued La Clue into the waters of Lagos, where Suffren, then a lieutenant in _L’Océan_, had been taken prisoner. The action of Porto Praya is one which is at once difficult to tell in detail but easily summed up. Five vessels composed his command—_Le Héros_, 74 (flagship), _L’Annibal_, 74, _Le Vengeur_, 64, _L’Artésien_, 64, and _Le Sphinx_, 64. When he stood in at the head of his squadron, _L’Annibal_ and _L’Artésien_ were close to _Le Héros_. Suffren could not lie to for the _Vengeur_ and _Sphinx_, lest he should be carried to the leeward by wind and current. He struck in at once among the huddle of Johnstone’s squadron, composed of the =Hero=, 74, =Monmouth=, 64, =Romney=, 50 (flagship), =Jupiter=, 50, and =Isis=, 50, and three frigates, which were mixed with East Indiamen and transports. There was a wild scene of cannonading, collisions, boardings and attempts to board, in which the three ships which were closely engaged did, and suffered, much damage. They were not in force to overpower Johnstone, and the _Sphinx_ and _Vengeur_ not only came up late, but did not press their attack close. After a couple of hours’ hot work, Suffren cut his cables and left the anchor he had dropped to hold him in position during his attack. He was followed out by the _Annibal_ and _Artésien_ and the East Indiaman =Hinchinbroke=, which had been captured. Johnstone followed his opponent at leisure and timidly. The =Hinchinbroke= was retaken, but no zeal was shown to renew the action. Johnstone, a blustering, pamphleteering man of no reputation as an officer, made an attempt to conceal his own want of conduct and spirit by bringing Captain Sutton of the =Isis= to a court martial, by which he was honourably acquitted, and the two fought a series of lawsuits. Though his attack failed to achieve victory, it showed the English naval officers that in Suffren they had an opponent of an enterprising spirit rare in the accomplished service to which he belonged. He had so far gained his object that Johnstone remained at Porto Praya repairing damages till the 1st May. In the meantime the French officer pushed on, and reached the Cape on the 21st June. The troops he landed under the command of Count Conway were sufficient to garrison the Dutch settlement against the English expedition. While Suffren was refitting at False Bay, the English squadron appeared on the coast. It made no attempt to assail the French squadron or the colony, but several Dutch East Indiamen which had anchored in Saldanha Bay were captured on the 22nd of July. After cruising for a time off the Cape, Johnstone sent Captain Alms to India, and went first to Saint-Helena, and then home. On the 26th August Suffren left the Cape for Port Louis, which he reached on the 25th October.