About the same time Vice-admiral Onslow had obliged the ship which carried the Dutch vice-admiral's flag to strike her colours. Many others had also surrendered. During the action the two fleets had approached so near the coast of Holland, being within five miles of it, that they had only nine fathoms of water. The first thing, therefore, to which Admiral Duncan directed his attention was to get the heads of the disabled ships off shore. This was indeed difficult and dangerous; for the wind continued for some time to blow strong from west-south-west to west-north-west, and consequently directly on the coast of Holland; as soon as it shifted to the north the admiral made the signal to wear, and stood to the westward. On October 14th he succeeded in reaching Orford Ness, the _Venerable_ being so leaky that, with all her pumps going, she could be scarcely kept free of water. During the action one of the enemy's ships caught fire and drove very near the _Venerable_; but no mischief was done. The British squadron suffered much in their masts, rigging, etc. The number of killed and wounded on board of the British ships was very great; but that of the Dutch much greater, five hundred men being killed and wounded on board two of their ships only. Besides the Dutch admiral's ship, eight others of the line and two frigates were captured. The Dutch attributed their defeat to the circumstance that Vice-admiral Storey fled into the Texel with the greater part of his division soon after the action began. It was in connection with this engagement that the incident occurred which forms the subject of the illustration on the cover of this volume. The admiral's ship, the _Venerable_, was so hotly pressed that more than once her colours were shot away. On one of these occasions the flag is said to have been rescued and replaced by Jack Crawford, one of the _Venerable's_ men, in some such way as is described in the following lines:-- We had battled all the morning, 'mid the never-ceasing hail Of shot and shell and splinter, of cable--shred, and sail; We had thrice received their onslaught, which we thrice had driven back, And were waiting, calm and ready, for the last forlorn attack; When the stainless flag of England, that has braved a thousand years, Was shot clean from the masthead; and they gave three hearty cheers. 'Twas the purpose of a moment, and the bravest of our tars Plunged headlong in the boiling surf, amid the broken spars; He snatched the shot-torn colours, and wound them round his arm, Then climbed upon the deck again, and there stood safe and calm He paused but for a moment--for it was no time to stay-- Then leaped into the rigging that had yet survived the fray; Higher yet he climbed and higher, till he gained a dizzy height, And then turned and paused a moment to look down upon the fight.