By the time our people had helped their comrade out of the water, and were making the best of their way to the squadron, the flames had taken possession of every part of the town, and had got such hold, both by means of the combustibles that had been distributed for that purpose, and by the slightness of the materials of which the houses were composed, and their aptitude to take fire, that it was sufficiently apparent no efforts of the enemy (though they flocked down in great numbers) could possibly put a stop to it, or prevent the entire destruction of the place and all the merchandize contained therein. A whole town on fire at once, especially where the buildings burnt with such facility and violence, being a very singular spectacle, Mr. Brett had the curiosity to delineate its appearance, together with that of the ships in the harbour. Our detachment under Lieutenant Brett having safely joined the squadron, the commodore prepared to leave the place the same evening. He found when he first came into the bay, six vessels of the enemy at anchor; one whereof was the ship, which, according to our intelligence, was to have sailed with the treasure to the coast of Mexico, and which, as we were persuaded she was a good sailor, we resolved to take with us. The others were two snows, a bark, and two row gallies of thirty-six oars a-piece. These last, as we were afterwards informed, with many others of the same kind built at divers ports, were intended to prevent our landing in the neighbourhood of Callao, for the Spaniards, on the first intelligence of our squadron and its force, expected that we would attempt the city of Lima. The commodore, having no occasion for these other vessels, had ordered the masts of all five of them to be cut away at his first arrival, and on his leaving the place they were towed out of the harbour and scuttled and sunk; and the command of the remaining ship, called the _Solidad_, being given to Mr. Hughes, the lieutenant of the _Tryal_, who had with him a crew of ten men to navigate her, the squadron, towards midnight, weighed anchor and sailed out of the bay, being at present augmented {189} to six sail, that is, the _Centurion_, and the _Tryal's_ prize, together with the _Carmelo_, the _Teresa_, the _Carmin_, and our last acquired vessel the _Solidad_.