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IIISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

defensive and offensive naval war, in every part of the world, the Mediterraneanexcepted ; to about 32 ships of two decks, mounting from 46 to 76 guns each;Britain was able, in the space of six weeks, to collect, on the occasion of thisdesultory attack, a force, which including some Dutch ships consisted of 40 sail ofthe line, besides frigates and inferior vessels. This was effected, after every otherbranch of a diffused service was fully and completely provided for, and sufficientforce left for the protection of those widely-dispersed territories and possessionswhich it was incumbent on Britain to guard with particular attention.

But though the wonderful inferiority, in point of force, with which the gallantand enterprising Forbin was, in obedience to the commands of his sovereign, in-duced to undertake this expedition, may prove the desperate state to which theaffairs of Louis were reduced; yet it serves to shew at the same time, how evi-dently superior in respect to sailing must have been the quality of the shipscomposing that squadron, without which pre-eminence it would appear incre-dible, if not impossible, for the armament to have proceeded from Dunkirk inthe face of such a fleet as that which opposed them under the orders of Sir GeorgeByng: that it should have proceeded as high as the Firth of Edinburgh, andshould afterwards have effected its return back to its own port, after sustaining a loss,which, taking all circumstances into consideration, must be considered trivial inthe extreme. There remains behind a still stronger evidence of this allegedsuperiority, which the French ships possessed in respect to form over thoseof the English, and this arises from the particulars of the loss which the enemysustained on this occasion. It was confined entirely to ships which had oncebeen in the possession of, and had been built by the Englifh themselves; ofthese the Salisbury, of 50 guns, was taken; the Blackwall, of the sameforce, with the Deal Castle and Squirrel, of 24 guns each, cither founderedat sea, or were wrecked on the coast of Holland. These accidents furnishself-evident examples either of a superiority in skill, with respect to the French,or a strange predilection for particular and absurd principles, which strongly in-fluenced the minds of British marine architects at that period. The advantage inpoint of sailing appears beyond controversy to have been in favour of the Frenchships, the Salisbury falling alone a victim, as the rest in all probability wouldhave done, notwithstanding Forbin’s ability and address *, had not his ships, to use

the

* Sec the official account given by Sir George Byng :

“ The ship that went up yesterday came down this morning, and is now within two leagues of us;she appears to be a ship of 60 guns, but has now no fag cn board. We saw this morning, when

they