“Just at first,” says a passenger on board the “Cornwallis,” “when we saw the enemy coming we wished we had had the convoy; but we soon forgot that when our blood warmed, for all on board had to turn to and work his best. Everybody on board did not seem to mind at all, down to the little boy who serves us in the cabin, although we could see they more than twice outnumbered all of we, for one Englishman is as good as two frog-eaters, and I am sure as good as any two of those rags of Spaniards. I saw that little David, the cabin lad who carried up the powder from below, sang merry until he had no wind with running up and down so much, and he only cried one bit at first, when a splinter from the boat’s bottom cut his forehead. His face was very black from the smoke, and he looked mighty comick when I wrapped his head up in my large kerchief, which I did when I was recovered from my fright. “It was at ten o’clock on Monday morning, July 28th, 1806, a very hot day with little wind, that we engaged in coming through the Gutt, and we fought them for getting on for two hours, till nearly noon, about fifteen to twenty miles from Gibraltar.... The captain, seeing as how I was quite well again from my sea-sickness, and that I look steady, gave me the charge of all the powder, which gave me plenty to do. To every man on board cutlasses was served out, for we must not trust to our cannon alone, as they mostly try to board a ship, and take it by power of numbers. “If a light wind, they make use of their oars and sweep along very fast, and board on all quarters at once if they can. Our ship with her stern gun, a long 9–pounder, spoke such language as they could not understand. She fired about sixty shots, and kept them at their proper distance, and was our principal defender. I suppose we fired two hundred shots on the whole, and did much damage to the gun-boats, one of which we sunk, and many of her men, thank God, was drowned in the sea, though the other boats being near picked up some. Once or twice when we struck them with our grape their shrieks was very awful and loud. “Captain Anthony behaved bravely, and much praise is due to him for his spirited conduct. Mr. Mitchell, from Berwick on Tweed, fought with uncommon vigour; he fired three of the guns. As soon as one was discharged he ran to another; and directed the shot in a gallant style. The first shot that the Spaniards fired blew away the bottom of the boat which hung astern of the ship, and broke the cabin windows. A piece of wood from the boat struck me in the back, and I was much alarmed lest I was shot; but I received no hurt, only a great fright, at which Captain Anthony found time to laugh heartily.