what tack she would go upon, it was thought prudent to keep on our course, as we must by this means unavoidably come near her, rather than to change it on conjecture, when, if we should mistake, we must infallibly lose her. Thus then we continued the chace about an hour and an half in the dark, some one or other on board us constantly imagining they discerned her sails right ahead of us; but at length Mr. Brett, our second lieutenant, did really discover her about four points on the larboard-bow, steering off to the seaward. We immediately clapped the helm a-weather, and stood for her, and in less than an hour came up with her, and having fired fourteen shot at her, she struck. Our third lieutenant, {167} 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 vessel was named the _Santa Teresa de Jesus_, built at Guaiaquil, of about three hundred tuns burthen, and was commanded by Bartolome Urrunaga, a Biscayer. She was bound from Guaiaquil to Callao; her loading consisted of timber, cocao, coconuts, 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 sterling. It is true her cargoe 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.