This manoeuvre was executed during the time that the frigate's head was being directed to the southward, for the purpose of giving the French ship the contents of our port battery for the second time; and the guns had just been discharged when, as the smoke blew away, we saw that our antagonist had put her helm down and was trying to come to the wind upon the port tack, with the object, as we supposed, of returning our fire. But as her head swept sluggishly round and she began, with apparent difficulty, to come-to, her mainmast went over the side, and she fell off again without having fired a single gun.  The sight of the falling mast was greeted by our lads with an enthusiastic cheer, and then our helm was put up to wear round upon the other tack, when the master--who all this time had been anxiously pacing the poop--suddenly ran to the head of the poop-ladder and shouted, "She strikes, sir! she strikes!" and jumping upon the breech of a gun, I saw the tricolour being slowly hauled down from the ensign staff upon which it had been hoisted when her mizenmast fell.  The Captain, too, sprang up beside me in time to see the flag go fluttering in over the taffrail as it was hauled down.