*40

HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

exertions made by France during the preceding contest, taught the nation, aswell as the government, that no remission of exertion ought to take place thatcould in any degree contribute towards keeping so active and dangerous a foe inconstant check. Britain, at the commencement of the eighteenth century,seemed to hold, as by the joint consent of all Europe, the honourable, and cer-tainly enviable office ot mediator between all countries involved either in war, orin dispute. The appearance of her fleet, in conjunction with the small reinforce-ment which joined it for form-sake from Holland, secured for a time the navaltranquillity oi northern Europe; and reftored almost by its appearance only,peace to Charles of Sweden, whose early age and depressed situation naturallyseemed, at that time, to claim protection and support. The gentleness with whichthis service was executed, w ill stand to the latest ages a proud and indelible ex-ample of Britain’s forbearance, and her attention to the intereft of that very anta-gonist, from which she came first to demand equity, and secondly to punish, shouldviseless obstinacy render it necessary. When Charles, in all the plenitude of thatpower at the head of which he then considered himself, viewing the force of thearmament which was sent to his relief, complained that the bombs of the alliedpowers either flew over, or fell short of the Danish fleet, the English commander-in-chief mildly and memorably replied, that he was “ sent thither to serve the“ king of Sweden, but not to ruin the king of Denmark.”

This expedition w'as scarcely concluded, ere Louis the Fourteenth, conceivinghimself sufficiently recruited from those numerous disasters which he had ex-perienced in the preceding contest, betrayed a manifest inclination of again dis-turbing the peace of Europe by an attempt to dictate to England who should.beits sovereign. On the death of the unfortunate James, the proclamation of thatpersonage w hose legitimacy had been so strenuously disputed by the people ofEngland, became an insult that could scarcely be passed over in silence,'-eventhough the subsequent conduct of the French monarch had not been such as con-vinced the world that the mere form, affronting as it might be, was not intendedas an empty compliment to the pretended son of his deceased friend. Under theapprehension of that event, wdiicir w as clearly foreseen, but which it as yet layin the womb of time to discover when it would actually take place, orders weregiven for the immediate equipment of all the ships in the British navy that werein the best state for immediate service. Such was the condition of the marineat that time, and such the exertions made in expediting the public service, that,in the space of little more than six months, upwards of ninety ships of the line of

battle