It was about twenty minutes to nine, as the _Formidable_ was nearing the centre of the French line, that the vast bulk of the _Ville de Paris_ began to loom up ahead of them. There was no mistaking De Grasse's flagship. Her towering canvas, her tall sides and lofty bulwarks, her triple tier of ports, all these marked out the pride of the French fleet among the other ships, even without the identifying feature of the figure-head, the great shield at the bows with the arms of Paris heraldically emblazoned in gold and crimson and blue. Just before this, as Captain Fanshawe of the _Namur_, next astern of Rodney, noted, our ships had slackened fire to let the smoke drift off. Each flagship could thus distinguish the other easily as they closed. Each, of course, bore at her mast-head her Commander-in-Chief's personal standard; the _Ville de Paris_ De Grasse's plain white Bourbon flag, the 'Cornette Blanche'; the _Formidable_, Rodney's flag as Admiral of the White, the red cross flag of St. George. It was a dramatic moment as the two leaders drew together to cross swords. The _Formidable's_ men felt it. They redoubled their efforts and blazed away with every gun that would train into the imposing-looking French three-decker's bows as she came on, leading off with a tremendous cannonade of round-shot and grape that made terrible havoc along the crowded decks of the _Ville de Paris_. To the utter surprise of all there was next to no reply. A loose, irregular discharge came back, fired hurriedly and badly aimed. That was all. With a weak, half-hearted fire from about half her guns, the _Ville de Paris_ surged past the _Formidable_ and vanished in the smoke astern. It was indeed a pitiful exhibition. The fierce broadsides of Rodney's ships ahead had done their work. Every British captain had reserved at least one of his broadsides for the _Ville de Paris_, 'sickening' her, in the expressive Old Navy phrase, and after that the startling rapidity of the outburst with which the _Formidable_ greeted her approach had completed the demoralisation on board. It flurried and staggered the French flagship's crew, and before they could recover themselves they had gone astern. As De Grasse went by some of the _Formidable's_ batteries got off four double-shotted rounds into the _Ville de Paris_, none less than three, with such magnificent smartness did Rodney's gunners handle their guns.