completed. On the 8th they espied a sail to the north-east, which they hoped might prove another of their squadron; but finding it steer away from the island, and concluding it to be a Spaniard, they forthwith sent all hands on board the Centurion, heaved anchor, and gave chase. At night they lost sight of their object, nor could they discern it again the next day, so that, giving up the pursuit, they prepared to return to Juan Fernandez. Now, however, they were agreeably surprised by the appearance of a ship, different from the one they had at first perceived: upon this they immediately bore down; it was overtaken without difficulty and seized without resistance; and it proved to be the Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo, a merchantman, bound from Callao to Valparaiso. Her cargo was of sugar and broad cloth, but comprised several chests of wrought silver and dollars, while the news obtained from the prisoners was scarcely less acceptable. Now first were the English informed that Pizarro had been forced back into the Rio de la Plata, with the loss of two of his largest ships; that an embargo had been laid upon all the shipping by the Viceroy of Peru, in the month of May preceding, from an apprehension that Anson might arrive about that period; but that on the account sent overland by Pizarro of his own distresses, part of which they knew that the English squadron must also have experienced, and on their having no news of it for eight months after it was reported to have sailed from St. Catherine's, they were convinced that it must either have perished or put back, and, therefore, on the earnest application of the merchants, the embargo had been lately taken off.

With this prize, and with the prospect thus afforded of making more, did Anson steer back to Juan Fernandez. It is remarkable that, when the Spaniards in the Carmelo saw the Trial sloop at anchor, they expressed their astonishment that the Commodore, after all his fatigues and hardships, should have had the industry, besides refitting his other ships, to build this new one; and it was with great difficulty

1740.

PRIZES TAKEN BY ANSON.

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they could be prevailed on to believe that it had come from England with the rest of the squadron; they insisting that it was impossible such a bauble could pass round Cape Horn, while the best ships of Spain were compelled to put back.

Anson now determined, from the information he had received, to separate his ships and employ them in distinct cruises, so as to increase the chance of captures. According to this resolution, the Trial, ere long, fell in with a Spanish merchant vessel, so large that it had often been manned and fitted out by the Viceroy of Peru as a man-of-war. The Trial, on the contrary, was so small and so low in the water, that the Spaniards were at first superstitiously alarmed at seeing nothing but a cloud of sail without any ship in pursuit of them; however, they soon recovered their spirits; for, altering their course in the night, and shutting up their windows to prevent any of their lights from being seen, they thought themselves secure. But a small crevice in one of the shutters baffled their precaution: through this the Captain of the Trial perceived a light which he chased, until, coming within gunshot, he alarmed them with a broadside and compelled them to surrender. This capture proved of great advantage to the expedition; for, the Trial having become dismasted and leaky, it was judged necessary to scuttle and sink her, transferring her crew and stores to her prize, and commissioning the latter as a new frigate in His Majesty's service. The Centurion was no less fortunate, taking two merchant ships with cargoes of considerable value.

Among the prisoners made in this last capture was one John Williams, an Irish vagrant of indifferent character, calling himself a pedlar, and being probably a thief: he was in rags, and had just been released from the prison of Paita. Yet this man, by a singular turn of fortune, now decided the destiny of the town which had so lately held him in its dungeons. For it was he who informed the Commodore that a Spanish vessel, having seen the Gloucester, had by this

that an express

time given the alarm to the whole coasthad been sent to Lima-that the entire English squadron was supposed to be at hand - that the Royal Intendant at Paita, apprehending an attack, was busily employed in removing the King's treasure and his own to an inland town. Anson, perceiving from this news that no further prizes would be found at sea, and allured by the accounts which Williams also gave of the great wealth of Paita, and of its defenceless condition, resolved to land his men and assail that place. He was so near it, that the execution ensued the very night after the design.

The town of Paita is built on a most barren soil, consisting only of sand and slate; the houses are but ground-floors, the walls constructed of split cane and mud, and the roofs thatched with leaves; an architecture, which, however slight, is sufficient for a climate where showers are considered a prodigy; so that we are told some rain falling in 1728 had ruined a great number of buildings, which mouldered away, and, as it were, melted before it. The town itself was open, and had only a small fort for its defence. Such being the weakness of the place, Anson conceived that his boats would be sufficient to attack it, and accordingly he manned them with 58 picked men, and entrusted them to Lieutenant Brett. Had he appeared in sight with his ships, they might, as he apprehended, have given the inhabitants the alarm from a considerable distance, and allowed them leisure to remove their most valuable effects. Brett and his boats, on the contrary, approaching in the night, had already entered the mouth of the bay before they were discovered;then first they heard a cry LOS PERROS INGLESES! "the English dogs are coming;' then first they saw several lights hurrying to and fro in the fort, and other marks of general commotion. The Spaniards had time to load several of their cannon, and to point them towards the landing place; and the first shot passed close to one of the boats, whistling just over the heads of the crew: the English, however, only plied their oars with redoubled ardour, and had disembarked

1740.

TAKING OF PAITA.

47

before the second gun was fired. Having entered one of the streets which protected them from further fire, and formed themselves into a body, they rushed forward with drums beating and loud shouts to the Plaza, or principal square, of which the fort formed one side, and the Governor's house* another. On entering the Plaza the sailors received a volley from the merchants, who owned the treasure then in the town, and who, with a few others, had ranged themselves in a gallery that surrounded the Governor's house; but no sooner was their fire returned than they fled in confusion. The English then divided into two parties, the one to attack the fort, which the garrison (only one weak company) forsook at their approach without resistance; the other to seize the Governor. This dignitary had however already fled, displaying but little of the true Spanish gallantry, in either sense of that word; for he had sprung from bed and escaped half naked without thought or care of his wife, whom he had married but three or four days before, and whom he now left behind him.

Sixty English sailors were now therefore the undisputed masters of this town. Meanwhile the Commodore, in expectation of the issue, had, after some delay, steered his ship towards the harbour, and had the joy as he approached to see the British colours flying from the flagstaff of the fort. A fresh band of British, all eager for booty, now poured on shore. Neither public nor private property was spared: even the churches were rifled of their plate; and it was a strange spectacle, says an eye-witness, to behold the sailors decked forth in all the finery which the Spaniards had left behind them in their flight, laced and embroidered coats above their own tarred jackets, not forgetting tie or bag wigs; nay, the latest comers, finding no other, in women's

The word House seems more appropriate in these towns than their favourite term of Palace. At Castro Mr. Byron observes, "The soldiers "upon our journey had given us a pompous account of El Palacio del Rey, "as they styled the Governor's House, and therefore we expected to see "something very magnificent, but it was nothing better than a huge "thatched barn partitioned off into several rooms." Narrative, p. 159.

gowns and petticoats! During this time the Spaniards were mustering their force from all parts of the country on an adjacent hill: there were amongst the rest about two hundred horsemen, seemingly well armed and mounted; nevertheless the English remained in possession of the town two whole days without molestation. The amount of public treasure which they found in wrought silver and coin was upwards of 30,000l.; the private plunder, though not exactly ascertained, must also have been considerable. But the chief wealth of Paita lay in stores and merchandise, which the Commodore could neither use nor remove; and these accordingly, before he re-embarked on the third morning, he fired, assisting the conflagration with tar-barrels and other combustibles, and reducing the whole town to a heap of ashes; an act which, as it appears to me, can scarcely be defended in civilised war, and which, striking not so much at the Spanish Government as at unoffending and industrious individuals, has imprinted a deep blot on the glory of Lord Anson's expedition. *

A redeeming feature is, however, to be found in Anson's treatment of the prisoners made in his prizes at sea, and amounting altogether to nearly ninety persons. Several had been passengers in the ships; amongst them some ladies of rank, and a son of the Vice President of the Council of Chili. All these when first taken were in the utmost alarm, having, from the former barbarity of the Buccaneers, imbibed the most terrible idea of the English, and expecting every aggravation of ill usage. It was the constant endeavour of Anson to assuage their apprehensions and deserve their gratitude; his courtesy and indulgence were conspicuous to all. The ladies especially were most carefully protected from insult, allowed to retain their own apartments, and treated with the same attention and respect as before their capture.

* The Spaniard, Ulloa, who was on this coast at the same time, observes of the conflagration: "Personne ne pouvait se figurer qu'un procédé "si barbare eut été permis par le Commandant de l'Escadre, et en effet 66 on a su depuis que cette action lui avait fort déplu." (Voyage d'Amérique, vol. ii. p. 9. ed. 1762.) But this is not confirmed by Anson's own narrative.