HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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Holland, carried with it sufficient terror to alarm and disturb the governmentof Spain even in its vitals.

In 1693, a part of the Smyrna convoy, surprised, through the neglect andinattention of the British government, by the count de Tourville, was com-pelled to take refuge within the Spanish ports, where many of them were burnt’,contrary to the known law of nations, by their pursuers. Yet this outragenecessity compelled a submissiomto, and the arrogance of superiority was baseenough to take advantage of it. After this time, no event took place suffi-ciently prominent to require any particular relation, or that served either toraise or depress the naval consequence and character of Spain. She had sunkbeneath the power of offence, and even the oppressive spirit of the French kingdisdained to drive her into lower insignificance.

Of the naval power of Portugal, it is totally unnecessary to give any detail,for where there is a perfect absence of substance, the visionary shadow canneither amuse, nor instruct.

France, that country of which so much mention has through necessity beenmade, in the account of the preceding state, presents an appearance almost herexact counterpart.. At the middle of the seventeenth century she was, and longhad been* nearly totally unknown as a naval power; but Louis the Four-teenth had no sooner assumed the reins of government, than the public rank*which the country over which he ruled had previously held, became verysuddenly changed.. The natural temper of the people, encouraged and aidedperhaps by the disposition of the reigning prince, the inclination of his advisers,and the situation of the kingdom itself, for a series of years, and withoutimpropriety might the term be encreased to centuries, had uniformly addicteditself to military pursuits. These were considered as the only true paths toglory, and the only species of employment into which it was not derogatoryto the character of a man of rank that he should enter; but the greoius of theyoung sovereign, convinced that the mere extension of empire, effected bymilitary conquest, could, at best, but create a splendid poverty, soon taught the ■haughty spirit of his subjects to penetrate through that mist of prejudice;which had so long enveloped and obscured their minds. To effect this hewas under the necessity of subduing that pride which he naturally inheritedfrom his forefathers, and encouraging the spirit of commerce among his peo-ple, as the only certain means of rendering them wealthy. The. characters

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