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HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

in preparation for that event, which was foreseen as probable, for some time beforfeit actually took place. Charles, who might be considered as the personal enemyof Holland, on account of that variety of affronts, which could not fail of irri-tating him, notwithstanding he considered it derogatory to the dignity of a kingto resent them publicly, had, perhaps, determined within his own mind, to seizethe first plausible opportunity that offered itself, of chastising the insults which inthe hour of distress had been offered to him. But a still more ostensible andforcible reason tended to dissolve those engagements, which, after the conclusionof the first war, had been entered into between Great Britain and Holland, forby the advice of persons who were high in the confidence of Charles, he hadbeen induced to enter into a secret treaty of alliance with Louis the Fourteenth.That prince, who had formed in his own mind the mighty project of crushingthe United Provinces, and raising himself into the political arbiter of Europe,finding that his former project of destroying England as a preliminary step, bypretendedly joining his force with that of Hdlland, had failed of success, resolvedon prosecuting his scheme anew, by a project directly contrary to the former.He pretendedly entered into a private negotiation with Holland, the substancfeof which he betrayed to Britain; and he effectually duped the Dutch into abelief of his sincerity, when he offered his mediation in a dispute relative to thdhonour of the British flag, which Charles had eagerly, though not very fairly,made use of, as a pretext for puttihg a considerable part of his navy into a^tate of equipment. The preparatidns made by the cohfederated sovereignsbeing considered as sufficiently advanced, Charles threw off the mask, and sentoiit a squadron under the orders of Sir Robert Holmes, to attack the homewardbound Smyrna fleet, which was then on its passage to Holland. This attempt,which scarcely deserved a better term than that of being a direct act of piracy,ih great measure failed: for though it had been the intention of the kihg tosend out an armament which was to have consisted of thirty-six ships of war,through some unaccountable delay, Sir Robert was obliged to put to sea withfive only. They were indeed of considerable force, he himself commandingthe Saint-Michael, of ninety guns; the earl of Ossory, as vice-admiral, theResolution, of seventy ; and Sir FrecheVille Hollis, as rear-admiral, or third incommand, the Cambridge, of the same force. The two other ships Werefourth rates : one of them the Gloucester, 6f fifty guns; the other, whose nameis not given, was of the same force.

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