Page 52 - INDIANNAVYV1

20 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. ;
to perish with them rather than recede. But like his prototype,
Lord Howard of Effingham, who defeated the great Spanish
Armada, in 1588,—and we do not deem the comparison un-
worth}^ the high renown of that great Admiral,—Captain Down-
ton, we are told, " did not despair that stratagem might avail
to supply the defect of force."
The Nabob, terrified by the appearance of the armament,
sent his Shabandar, or Custom-master, and several other
principal men, to the Viceroy, with a large present of pro-
visions, and many promises to obtain peace ; this the haughty
Admiral refused, not doubting, like the Spanish Duke of
]\Iedina Sidonia, that he could destroy the English ships ; after
which he intended to exact much severer terms, or the full
price of remission.
Early in the morning of the 20th of January, 1615, at low
water,^ Downtou sent the ' Merchant's Hope,' called in the
accounts, the 'Hope,' of oOO tons, to anchor at the south
entrance of the channel, where the galleons would not have
sufficient depth to come near her until the flood was high
the three other ships soon after came out of the cove, but
anchored again in the channel. These manoeuvres produced
the intended effect, which was to induce the Portuguese Admiral
to believe that the English ships had quitted Swally, in order
to put to sea and avoid an action. The ' Hope' had scarcely
anchored, before the whole fleet of the enemy were under sail,
in order to stop the channel ; the two smaller ships, with the
pinnace, which were foremost, simultaneously grappled and
boarded the ' Hope,' but the attack, being expected, was well
met. Downton, cutting the cables of the three other ships,
came down and fired into the enemy's ships entangled with the
' Hope,' the men of which had thrice beat off the Portuguese
who had boarded. In despair at finding themselves between
two fires, from which they suffered severely, the crews set
fire to all the three and took to the water. Upon this a number
of the " frigates," which had hitherto given no assistance, came
upon the scene, and saved many of the drowning men.
In the meantime the ' Hope ' had taken fire in her main and
fore rigging, but, nevertheless, her crew managed to disengage
her from the three ships, which were blazing fiercely and drove
on the sands, where they burnt until overwhelmed by the flood.
All this while the galleons kept on the outside of the spit,
across which they cannonaded the English ships within the
channel, which was answered, but with little loss on either
side.

* The Clianuel of Swally is about a mile and a-half in breadth, and seven in
length, and lies between the shore and a sand-bank of this length, whicli is
dry at low water. The ships, wlien Swally used to be the station, anchored in a
cove called Swally-hole, which runs into the land about midway in the channel.