In the early morning the admiral had called by signal for a boat from the _Phaëton_, and as her young officer, afterwards Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, K.C.B., was eagerly springing up the _Royal Sovereign's_ side, he was stopped by the noble old admiral's foot and the words, "Stop, sir; listen: go back immediately and tell your captain to go ahead of the squadron a long way, and, when far enough off, to make the signals for seeing first one or two strange sail, then more, and then a fleet; in short, to humbug those fellows astern. He will understand me. Go." The _Phaëton_ sailed well, but it took a long time to get to the admiral's "far enough," in order to give colour and credibility to her signals. At length, about three o'clock p.m., she made the signal for a stranger, then two, five, and then for a fleet, which was made by letting fly the top-gallant sheets and firing a lee gun. It was well known that the French had copies of our "Tabular" signals, and by them Captain Stopford announced that the fleet was English; the large recall flag (the Dutch ensign) was then hoisted to bring them into the squadron, and when time had been given for the supposed answer, the _Phaëton_ wore round, under easy sail, towards the squadron, thus implying that a fleet of English ships was following her, and, passing under the admiral's stern, gave him three cheers. By a happy coincidence two or three small distant vessels were at that time actually peeping up on the horizon; but the bait had been fully swallowed; a flood of signals was made by the enemy--their fire became languid--and at half-past six their whole force tacked off to the eastward, leaving our gallant squadron to enjoy the fruit of their bravery and wit. In the official announcement of this encounter the admiral gives full credit to his gallant companions, as well as to Sir C. Cotton and Sir Erasmus Gower, who, in the _Mars_ and _Triumph_, bore the brunt of the fray. Of the officers, seamen and marines, he says that, "instead of being cast down at seeing thirty sail of the enemy's ships attacking our little squadron, they were in the highest spirits imaginable, and although circumstanced as we were, we had no great reason to complain of the conduct of the enemy, yet our men could not help repeatedly expressing their contempt of them. Could common prudence have allowed me to let loose their valour I hardly know what might not have been accomplished by such men." Of the admiral himself we are told that, on the anxious morning he continued the operation of shaving, dressing and powdering with his usual composure, and observed to Captain Whitby, in his customary cool and dry manner, that he had been in similar situations before, and knew very well what they, the French, would do. More than once during the day he repeated that sooner than abandon his comrades in the slow sailers, the _Brunswick_ and the _Bellerophon_, the _Royal Sovereign_ should go down with her colours flying.