The same day Captain Constable, of the _Windsor_, was tried; his own officers vindicated him from cowardice, but the rest of the charge being clearly proved he was sentenced to be cashiered and to be imprisoned during Her Majesty's pleasure. The next day Captain Wade was tried, and the charge being fully proved by sixteen commissioned and warrant officers on board his own ship, as also that he was drunk during the whole time of the engagement, he, making little or no defence, had the same sentence with Kirby. As for Captain Hudson, he died a few days before his trial should have come on, and thereby avoided dying as Kirby and Wade did; for his case was exactly the same with theirs. The reflections he made on this unhappy business threw the brave admiral into a deep melancholy, which soon brought him to his end; for he died on November 4th, 1702, of a fever engendered by his wounds and worries. The condemned captains were sent home from Jamaica on board Her Majesty's ship the _Bristol_, and arrived at Plymouth on April 16th, 1703, where, as in all the western ports, there lay a warrant for their immediate execution, and they were shot on board the ship that brought them home. The mortification felt by the admiral at the failure of his officers is indicated in the answer he gave to one of his lieutenants who expressed sorrow for the fact that the admiral had lost his leg. "Why, yes," said the fine old sailor, "I am sorry for it too, but I would rather have lost them both than have seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation." The French accounts of this engagement represent the whole affair to their own advantage; but M. Du Casse, who was a brave man, and withal by far the best judge of the circumstances, has put the matter out of dispute by the following short letter, written by him immediately after his arrival at Carthagena; the original of which is said to be still in the hands of Admiral Benbow's family. "Sir,--I had little hopes, on Monday last, but to have supped in your cabin; but it pleased God to order it otherwise; I am thankful for it. As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up; for, by God, they deserve it. "Yours, "DU CASSE." DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH FLEET IN THE FARO OFF MESSINA. BY JOHN CAMPBELL. Early in the year 1718 the activity of the naval preparations in England, rendered necessary by the disturbed condition of Europe, excited considerable anxiety and comment.