[2] He reached Gottenburgh in safety; and having refitted his ship was on his return home, when he was attacked, on the coast of Norway, by two Danish men of war.

About two in the afternoon, the admiral of seventy guns, being a good sailer, got close under our lee-bow, and two of his seconds on our weather-bow, attempting to cross our hause, our main-top-mast and mizen yard being shot in pieces, we bore up round and fought our way through them, still keeping them from coming a-board us.

The vice-admiral, mounting sixty-six guns, being sternmost the squadron, intending then to cross our hause, having his decks full of men ready to enter; but our ship wearing round, we brought our broadside to his bow, and being all laden below with double and bar shot, and above with case and baggs, our shot did such good execution on them, that we brought his foreyard to the deck and laid him by the lee: by five in the afternoon we got clear of all the fleet, and stood to the eastward, they chacing us till night, and then steered on their course.

On the 17th instant, about one o'clock in the afternoon, we engaged two Danish men of war of forty guns each, within sight of the coast of Norway, where, after an hour's fight, captain Dawes, commander of the frigate, lost his left thigh by a great shot, of which he died before he could be handed down to the plat-form; at his expiring saying, "for God's sake do not yield the ship to those fellows."

The master next taking up the sword, received a mortal wound by a great shot, [which] entering his back and coming out at his right shoulder, took away with it his arm.