• 27 *

Chap XXVI. from the I, os James I, to the Revolution, 510

*627. 1. " The Want of timely Supplies

“ of Mony.

2. <f The not adhering to the Reso-" lutions at first taken ; for altho’ all‘ f the Ships had their sealed Rendez-

vous for St. Martin’s, yet was it de-

termined, when theFleet was at Sea,tc to go to Bourdeaux, and altho’ the^ chiefest Hopes of Success depended• f on Expedition, yet were many Ships«« order’d to chafe some which belong’d" to Dunkirk, untill it was within an" Hour of Night, insomuch that the“ Fleet was thereby divided, and those" which gave Chase wandered to and" fro, at least eight Days, not daring to««■ go either to St. Martin's oxBourdeaux,t{ lest they should be discovered, nay" even those forty which remain’d in“ the Body were upon the Point of re-" turning, for want of sufficient Provi-" sions for the Soldiers.

3. " That before Soubize was senttc to Rochel, the Duke acquainted him" with his Thoughts of landing the" Troops on the Isle of Oleron, whichtc he well approved of, the Forces" there being but few, and the Forts<f weakly mann’d and victual’d,dissuad-IC ing him, at the same Time, from

" going to the Isle of Rhee, because 1627," there was on that Island a considerable" Force of Horse and Foot, and a Ci-tf tadel well fortified; But the Duke" not staying for the Return of Soubize ,

“ altered his Resolution, and shaped hisfC Course for the Isle of Rhee .

4. tf When the Troops were land-t{ ed, and had, by the Assistance oftc Providence, put to Flight the Ene-" my’s Troops that oppos’d them, the" taking Advantage of the Fear and" Confusion they were in was wholly" neglected; For four Day’s Time was" given them to gather into the Citadel" most of the Provisions of the Town“ and Country.

5. The Reaving the Fort de la“ Pree behind them, near the Place" where they landed, without so muchft as summoning it, which gave the

Enemy an Opportunity of Landing" three or four Thousand Men, and" two Hundred Horie, in the Monthtf of October, by which our Troops" were defeated, as has been related.

6 . ^ That altho’ our Fleet was of" sufficient Strength to engage all they" might have met with, yet, for Want" of small and proper Vessels, the E-

“ nemy’s

ett.

“ fed, viz. by discovering the Faults and Over-" sights past, to make them serve as a Warning" for Time to come.

“ I would not be so bold and presumptuous,“ as to examine the Grounds of this last Design“ upon the Island of St. Martins, or theCarri-“ age of it upon their arriving and landing ; For“ I never doubted, but that a Matter of such“ great Consequence, as the Breach of Peace be-“ tween Princes, and wherein his Majesty’s Ho-" nour was to be engaged, and the Reputation of" the chief Commander considered, was not only“ discussed and argued by the grave and wife Se-tt nators of the State, but Advice taken of the“ most experienced Captains, both by Land and“ Sea, this Kingdom could afford, which being“ so, the Success must be referred to him who is

the Giver of all Victories, for I am like the“ Carthaginian who did not esteem the less of“ a General that lost a Battle, but of such as" fought against Reason ; For Success is the Mea-“ sure of Fools j whereas Conduct proceeds from“ Judgment.

“ Thts Expedition, to the Island of St. Mar-“ tin’s, was begun, on the seventeenth of June,“ 1627. that Place being designed for the Ren-

dezvous { and to that End, the Ships of Provi-" sions, that attended the Resort of the Army tou Plymouth, were drawn together at Portsmouth," tho’ with ill Success : First, in Respect one of" those Ships miscarried, and others were in Dan-" ger to have done the like, Secondly, I must" make the Rendezvous a tPortsmouth, theGround" of my Argument, to except against the Carri-" age of the Action, and. the chief Cause os the" the Mischief that ensued.

“You must understand that §/oHe/s Bay where“ our Ships rode, is forty Leagues from Ply-“ mouth, by the Way of St. Helen’s Point, and" the Course of the Channel is East-North-East," and West-South-West; Ujhant, which is the" Head-land of France, and by which you must“ pass either from Plymouth or Portsmouth, if you“ will fail to St, Martin’s, is twenty-six Leagues" from Plymouth, South-Westerly; So that there" was forty Leagues run, to fetch these Ships," which would have brought themselves ; and a“ Ship lost, which had not so happened but bv“ their going to fetch them.

“ Now should they have held a grave Consul-" tation, if they had done well, how to proceed“ afterwards, which should have consisted of three“ Propositions. The one, Whether to keep the" Sea with that Easterly Wind, or no » which in" little Space would bring them to Leeward of“ all k The second, Whether to land in Conquet“ Road, or some Part of France ? The third

and last was, Whether to return to Plymouth" or Falmouth, there to attend a better Oppor-“ tunity of Wind j But to be short, unadvised“ they took the worst of all the three, and kept“ the Sea, till they were to Leeward of all French" Shoars, in which Space, they had Pursuit of" certain Dunkirkers, whom indiscreetly they“ chased a whole Day, when in two Hours they" might have'discerned whether they could fetch“ them up or no,

" If they had anchored in France, or any Part" of that Coast, Notice would have been taken" of it by the French, and it would have given“ a sudden Alarm, and been a Cause to arm all« Places they might suspect we would attempt,

“ If