According to English accounts, the Dutch had eighteen ships taken, and fourteen sunk in this action, besides such as were burnt or blown up. Yet their accounts admit of no more than nine ships taken, one, their admiral, blown up, and eight burnt. The English lost the _Charity_, a ship of forty-six guns, with most of her men, in the beginning of the fight; about two hundred and fifty men killed, and three hundred and forty wounded; on the other side, they lost at least six thousand men, including two thousand three hundred taken prisoners. There is very little room for doubt that if there had not been some mismanagement on the side of the English, this, which was the first, might also have been the last action in this war; for the Dutch fleet fled in great confusion, and if the English had pressed them vigorously, as they might have done, having the wind, so many ships might have been either sunk, disabled, or taken as must have forced a peace; in favour of which there was a very strong party in Holland, who did not like the domination of the pensionary De Witte and the dependence in which he held the states, who seldom ventured to do anything of importance when he was absent. This great opportunity was lost through the English fleet's slacking sail in the night, contrary, it is said, to the express directions of His Royal Highness the duke before retiring to rest. It is far from being an easy matter to determine how this came to pass. But the circumstances appear to have been as follows. The duke, as lord high-admiral, had two captains on board his ship--Sir William Penn, who had the rank of a vice-admiral, and Captain, afterwards Sir, John Harman. Sir William had retired as well as the duke, so that the command remained with Captain Harman, who was himself at the helm, when one Mr. Brounker, who was of the duke's bed-chamber, came and told him that "he ought to consider how much His Royal Highness's person had been already exposed in the action, and how much greater risk he might run if their ship, which was the headmost of the fleet, should fall in single with those of the enemy upon their own coasts." Harman heard him, but answered like an honest brave man as he was that he could do nothing without orders. Brounker upon this went to the duke's cabin and returned with orders, in His Royal Highness's name, to make less sail; these Captain Harman, without the least scruple, obeyed, though it caused some confusion in the fleet, several ships coming very near to running foul of each other.