He showed that when engaged to leeward they fell off by alternate ships as soon as they were hard pressed, and kept reforming their line to leeward, so that the British had continually to bear up, and expose themselves to be raked aloft in order to close again.

In this way, as he pointed out, the French were always able to clip the British wings without receiving any decisive injury themselves.

In a MS.

note to his 'Fighting and Sailing Instructions,' he puts the matter quite clearly.

'In the battle off Granada,' he says, 'in the year 1779 the French ships partially executed this manoeuvre, and Sir Charles [H.] Knowles (then 5th lieutenant of the Prince of Wales of 74 guns, the flagship of the Hon.