The _Zealous_ was wonderful. She had but one man killed and seven wounded, and preserved even her rigging so uninjured that she alone of all the fleet was in a position to chase the two unengaged French ships of the line, and the two frigates which made their escape the next morning, and yet she had been in the first of the fight. The battle was practically won in the first few minutes. The action did not begin till forty minutes past six, and by fifty minutes past the _Guerrier_ had been dismasted and captured, and ten minutes after that the _Spartiate_ and the _Conquérant_ were almost dismasted and ready to be taken possession of, while the _Aquilon_ and the _Peuple Souverain_ were taken possession of at half-past eight. By the overpowering of the first three ships the fleets were ten to ten when night closed in at seven o'clock. This was partly neutralised by the _Bellerophon's_ drifting out of action, shortly before the _Orient_ blew up, a good deal owing to her fire, though she was blown out of action herself. But this in turn was neutralised by a fortunate accident. As I have mentioned, the _Culloden_, _Alexander_ and _Swiftsure_ were some miles from the rest of the fleet when the action commenced, but the former saw and at once abandoned her prize, and the latter, too, were signalled to return. The _Culloden_, running down the wind, naturally had the advantage of the others, which were beating up, but it was dark before any of them could approach. Now, there was not a man in all our fleet, saving the Admiral, with such a stomach for fighting as Captain Troubridge; and in his anxiety to support his chief, he did not proceed with quite the coolness of Captain Foley, of the _Goliath_, who led our van in rounding the shoal, and shared with the Admiral the credit of keeping such a steady and seamanlike course when every minute reduced our chance of taking up our anchorage by daylight. Captain Foley of course had daylight, and Captain Troubridge had not; but Troubridge was essentially a fighter, willing to take any number of risks in the face of an enemy. The result was that the _Culloden_ stuck on the tail of the shoal, and lay there bumping heavily. The loss of such a formidable fighter as Captain Troubridge probably saved the _Généreux_ and the _Guillaume Tell_, the two French ships of the line which got away on the following day; but he himself generously said that he believed it helped to win the battle, by letting such good men as Captain Ball and Captain Hallowell, who were certainly two of the finest captains in the fleet, sail straight on into the battle without having to feel their way--which they did, for the _Culloden_, hanging on the edge of the shoal and exhibiting lanterns and other signals, served as a kind of lighthouse.