This was always the anxiety which an East Indiaman’s skipper had to think of. Was he justified in remaining to fight: or was his chief duty to run away? His command was not primarily a fighting ship, but a means of trade. And even if he got his ship safe in port would he incur the displeasure of the Honourable East India Company’s directors? His job was too valuable to be thrown away by an error of judgment. It would be a fine feather in his cap if he could follow the example of Commodore Dance, and he was sure to be well rewarded by his Company. To deal a smashing blow at the nation’s enemy would ensure fame for this captain to the end of his days and after. But—_if_ he should forget that his first duty was to get the valuable cargo home he might find himself a broken man and not a hero.
Such, then, was the position of Captain Meriton in the incident we are discussing. He had to take in the situation at a glance and form a quick but not hasty judgment, and then act accordingly, flinging out his signals and disposing his squadron. At four o’clock the _Minerve_ went ahead and then bore down as if intending to get alongside the _Windham_. Now this was a mode of attack which the Indiamen in the present instance had reason to fear least of all, for they chanced to have plenty of soldiery on board. The _Windham_ therefore made sail so as to strike the French frigate on the port side at the quarter, whilst the _Ceylon_ and _Astell_ closed on their consort so as to assist in this manœuvre. However, the _Windham_ had been greatly damaged in regard to her sails and rigging, so did not possess enough way to act as she had hoped. The result was that the _Minerve_ was able to cross her bows only a few yards away. All this time the three Indiamen had kept up an incessant and well-aimed musketry fire from their troops on board.
Just as the _Minerve_ got out of gun-shot—that is to say, about a mile away—the _Astell_ passed astern of the _Windham_ and became the headmost and weathermost ship. The _Windham_ was now the sternmost and leewardmost vessel of the three, and the _Minerve_, true to the best tradition of tactics employed by Nelson and other great admirals, endeavoured to cut the _Windham_ off from the other two: but the best laid schemes of clever tacticians sometimes do not fructify: for the _Minerve_ now lost her main and mizen topmasts, and there came a lull in the contest, though not for long. It was now six in the evening, and the _Bellone_, followed by the _Victor_, began a most destructive fire on the _Windham_. Taking up her position presently a little farther on, the _Bellone_ began to attack the commodore’s ship, whilst with her foremost guns she attacked the _Astell_. The _Victor_ was some distance away, and so her fire at the _Windham_ was not so effective. Captain Meriton now endeavoured to close with the French frigate in order that he might be able to give full opportunity to the troops’ musketry, but had the misfortune to receive a severe wound in the neck from grape-shot. The command therefore fell to the chief mate, Mr T. W. Oldham. But the latter, being himself wounded not many seconds later, was obliged to yield the command to the second mate, Mr T. Fenning. By seven o’clock the poor _Ceylon_, which had endured much, was in a sorry plight. Her two principal officers had been wounded, her masts, rigging and sails were all damaged badly, all the guns on her upper deck had been disabled and five on the lower deck. Her hull, too, had been so badly holed that she was leaking to such an extent that she made three feet an hour. In addition, many of her people had been killed and wounded.