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in the whole nation, by the war with America. Added to this, the navy, generally, had been badly treated for some years by the government; the dissatisfaction which existed, reached from the highest to the lowest branches of the service, and, on more than one occasion, broke out into open mutiny. It was to this state of things, that the admiral was indebted for a severe disappointment which he experienced, soon after his arrival in the West Indies, when, having encountered the French fleet of twenty-three ships, and having a prospect before him of another splendid victory, he saw it escape from his hands, in consequence of the neglect with which his signals were treated. To the restoration of discipline all his attention was, therefore, most forcibly directed; and having in the West Indies an active sphere for exercise, he soon reformed the service thoroughly, and made it capable of those gallant actions which soon afterwards crowned his exertions.

Among these, was the capture of St. Eustatius and other Dutch Islands, on account of the hostile and treacherous part which they took in the American war,-a capture, however, which, though apparently promising a golden harvest to the captors, involved the admiral in a course of litigation with private individuals, which was attended with endless losses and anxiety. The confiscation of the property found in St. Eustatius, which was immense, created various disputes at home, together with accusations in Parliament, which gave him the greatest annoyance. A severe complaint having obliged him to return to England, in the latter part of 1781, he had an opportunity of successfully vindicating himself in the House of Conimons. Bad as his health was at that time, no sooner did the unfortunate news arrive of the drawn battle between the French and British fleets off the Chesapeake, and of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis's army, than he offered to return to the West Indies without delay, where he arrived in March, 1782, in time to put a stop to the conquests which the enemy were every day making, and to forward arrangements for a general battle, to which he was determined to bring them on the first opportunity.

The French fleet, which consisted of thirty-three sail of the line, and two ships of fifty guns, and having on board 5,400 unen, accompanied with heavy cannon and every other requisite for the reduction of Jamaica, their immediate object, was at this period anchored in Fort Royal Bay, Martinique, under the command of a very brave officer, the Count de la Grasse. It was his design to form a junction, if possible, with the Spanish fleet and land forces waiting at St. Domingo, in order that the combined hosts might overwhelm the British fleet in case of resistance. To prevent this junction, to preserve the West Indies, and even the independence of England itself,-which was never more, seriously endangered,was the tremendous task that now devolved upon the man, who, a few years before, was an exile from her shores. How gloriously that great duty was accomplished, we need not say. Many narra

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tives of the battle have long been before the world. We shall only glance at a few of its leading features.

sea.

Intelligence was received by Rodney, on the morning of the 8th of April, that the French fleet had unmoored and were putting to The British fleet, which had been waiting prepared for this event, without loss of time stood towards the enemy with all the sail they could crowd. The next morning they came in sight of each other, and a partial action ensued, which, together with an accident that happened to one of their vessels, reduced the French fleet to thirty-two ships of the line. By great efforts, however, de Grasse avoided further encounter during that and the two following days. But on the 12th he was so much pressed by Rodney that he could no longer think of escaping, and the line of battle was formed.

Sir Gilbert Blane, who attended Rodney as his physician, gives to Lord Cranstoun the credit of suggesting the breaking of the enemy's line. His narrative of the battle is concise and animated.

About half an hour before the engagement commenced, at breakfast on board of the Formidable, the company consisting of the Admiral, Sir Charles Douglas, captain of the fleet (an officer whose functions nearly correspond with those of the adjutant-general of an army), Captain Simmons, commander of the ship, Lord Cranstoun, a volunteer post captain, the admiral's secretary, and myself, the conversation naturally turned on the glorious prospects of the day; and Lord Cranstoun remarked, that if our fleet maintained its present relative position, steering the same course close hauled on the opposite tack to the enemy, we must necessarily pass through their line in running along, and closing with it in action.

'The Admiral visibly caught the idea, and no doubt decided in his own mind at that moment, to attempt a manoeuvre at that time hitherto unpractised in naval tactics. It was accordingly practised by him with the most complete success, setting the illustrious example in the ship which bore his own flag; for the signal for close action being thrown out, and adhered to in letter and spirit for about an hour, and after taking and returning the fire of one half of the French force, under one general blaze and peal of thunder along both lines, the Formidable broke through that of the enemy. In the act of doing so, we passed within pistol-shot of the Glorieux, of seventy-four guns, which was so roughly handled, that, being shorn of all her masts, bowsprit, and ensign staff, but with the white flag nailed to the stump of one of the masts, breathing defiance as it were in her last moments, became a motionless hulk, presenting a spectacle which struck our Admiral's fancy as not unlike the remains of a fallen hero, for being an indefatigable reader of Homer, he exclaimed, that now was to be the contest for the body of Patroclus; but the contest was already at an end, for the enemy's fleet being separated, fell into confusion, a total rout ensued, and victory was no longer doubtful.'-vol. ii. pp. 228–231.

The admiral, writing to Lady Rodney, says;

The battle began at seven in the morning, and continued till sunset, nearly eleven hours; and by persons appointed to observe, there never was seven minutes' respite during the engagement, which, I believe, was the

severest that ever was fought at sea, and the most glorious for England. We have taken five, and sunk another. Among the prizes the Ville de Paris, and the French admiral, grace our victory.

'Comte de Grasse, who is at this moment sitting in my stern gallery, tells me that he thought his fleet superior to mine, and does so still, though I had two more in number; and I am of his opinion, as his was composed all of large ships, and ten of mine only sixty-fours.'- vol. ii. p. 253.

When the news of this decisive victory arrived at home, the nation, which had, of late, been greatly depressed, by the series of disasters with which the American war was attended, became almost frantic with joy; thanks were voted by the two houses of Parliament, and the dignity of the peerage was conferred upon Rodney, as well as a pension of 20007. He was compelled, however, suddenly to quit the scene of his glory, having been peremptorily recalled by the new ministry, who had come into power on the 19th of March. The order of recall was, indeed, given before they could have heard of the victory; but the manner in which he was universally received, upon his return to England, more than compensated for this slight, which, though ill-intended, contributed only to raise him to a higher station in the public esteem.

The peace which followed left no further opportunity of employment to Lord Rodney. He had been much subject to the gout, and after enduring repeated paroxysms of this malady, it at length attacked him in the stomach, and terminated his existence on the 23d of May, 1792, in the 74th year of his age, he having been then in the navy sixty-two years, and upwards of fifty years in commission.

General Mundy's concluding remarks upon Lord Rodney's life and character will not give the less pain to generous bosoms, because he has expressed himself with mildness.

It would be superfluous, in this place, to offer any lengthened observations upon the character and actions of this celebrated commander and truly great man, since the reader will best be able to form an opinion of them from a perusal of the preceding pages. To state that he did not pass through a long and active public life, without becoming occasionally the object of attack and censure, is but to say that he was successful and eminent; but his political enemies, as soon as their immediate design had been attained, did not hesitate to bestow upon him the highest eulogiums, and his services, at a time when the naval renown of this nation was beginning to decline, and the desponding spirits of many of his countrymen considered its revival as hopeless, must ever awaken in the truly British mind sentiments of gratitude, veneration, and affection. However the splendour of more recent events may have tended to eclipse the actions of this great naval officer in the eyes of the present generation, let it never be forgotten, that his skill and resolution, contending with, and overcoming obstacles, of which, in these days of improved and strict discipline, the modern commander can form no conception, set an example, and roused a spirit which has led the way to the proudest triumphs of the British navy.

' Other commanders may have gained more victories, but be it remem

bered that whenever Rodney fought an enemy, and his officers did their duty, he conquered.

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Notwithstanding a long career, attended with such splendid and successful achievements as might have been supposed adequate to have placed Lord Rodney in easy, and indeed affluent, circumstances, it must be recorded that he died poor; but so did Aristides.

It has been alleged (it is to be feared with too much truth) that those in high command in foreign stations, by sea and land, have not always acquired the wealth of which they were proved to be possessed, through the purest means. The great Marlborough himself was not altogether clear of a suspicion of underhand dealings with commissaries. It will, indeed, be invidious to probe to the quick the methods by which eminent characters, in our own times, have accumulated fortunes by practices allied to this. The West Indies have not been so much the scene of peculation and public robbery as the other hemisphere, though not entirely free from similar imputations. The fortunes made by commanders have been chiefly made by prize-money.

It has been seen, in the course of this work, that Lord Rodney, so far from being a gainer, had been a loser from this source; and he was frequently heard by his friends and those about him to descant on the superior enormity of public frauds, abases, and robberies, above private delinquencies, inasmuch as the public had not the same facility of defending itself against them, which gave an additional moral turpitude in their perpetration. He therefore not only kept clear of all direct lucre himself, but, as far as was possible, watched the proceedings of others in the unavoidable pecuniary dealings of those who supplied or contracted for the necessary provision of the fleet.

The consequence of all that has been said was, that Lord Rodney died in an honourable poverty, more enviable than all the gratifications derivable from the utmost affluence dishonourably acquired.

No less multiplied than vexatious were the law-suits against which Lord Rodney had to defend himself in the last ten years of his life, by which his private fortune was greatly impaired.'-vol. ii. pp. 363–366.

One or two anecdotes of Rodney's kindness of heart will be read with pleasure. That of the bantam-cock is not the least amusing.

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Being not only a great sea-officer, but a man of highly-polished manners, he had always young men of family who walked his quarter-deck; and, in his relations of little incidents which happened on board, I was often charmed with the effusions of his heart.

• When his dinner was going aft, he has often, he says, seen the hungry mids cast over the dishes a wistful eye with a watery mouth; upon seeing which, he has instantly arrested their supporters, and ordered the whole of his dinner, save one dish, to be carried to the midshipmen's mess.

When a woman, who had, contrary to the rules of the navy, secreted herself in her husband's cabin, and fought a quarter-deck gun in the room of her wounded husband, who was down in the cockpit, was discovered, Lord Rodney severely reprimanded her for a breach of orders, but gave her, immediately after, ten guineas, for so valiantly sustaining the post of her wounded husband.

The little bantam-cock which, in the action of the 12th of April,

perched himself upon the poop, and, at every broadside poured into the Ville de Paris, cheered the crew with his "shrill charion," and clapped his wings, as if in approbation, was ordered by the Admiral to be pampered and protected during life.'-vol. ii. pp. 374, 375.

When his present Majesty adopted the profession of the navy, he commenced his career under Rodney, whom he always afterwards treated with every possible mark of kindness and sincere friendship. The speech which he pronounced in the House of Lords, after the gallant Admiral's death, reflects so much credit upon his head and heart, that we are induced to present it to the

reader.

"I cannot," said his Royal Highness, "give a silent vote on the present cccasion. The services of the late Lord Rodney are so great, that it did infinite honour to his Majesty's Ministers to pay every respect to his memory. Such services merited the highest rewards from his country, and Į am happy to bear this public testimony to their value and importance. For myself, I have particular reason to endeavour to do justice to the singular merits of my deceased friend, who, unhappily for this country, is no more; but I hope the House will indulge me a few moments, while I briefly recall to their recollection the noble services his Lordship had rendered, which I am certain they never can forget.

“I must first remind their Lordships that Lord Rodney had taken Martinique, Grenada, &c., &c., from the French in the war before the last. In the last war, in going ont to Gibraltar, he had taken a Spanish admiral with a valuable convoy. Without this most seasonable and fortunate capture, Gibraltar was so short of provisions, that the most serious consequences were to be apprehended. He had abundantly supplied the garrison, and happily relieved it. The House will recollect that Lord Rodney had taken the island of St. Eustatius and a Dutch convoy; but the most glorious period of his life was the 12th of April, 1782, which will ever be held as a most sacred epoch in this country. The enemies of England were vain enough to think they could crush her for ever; but the event of that day clearly proved, that a British fleet of nearly equal force, when opposed to a French fleet, will be sure to beat them.

The victory of the 12th of April was the more honourable to Lord Rodney, as it was obtained over De Grasse, one of the best and bravest admirals that France ever produced. Had it been in the power of valour to have saved a brave man from disgrace and misfortune, it would never have been the lot of De Grasse to have been disgraced and banished from the French court-a conduct, however, that had too often prevailed in courts. It was that victory which decided the fate of the war, and taught our particular enemy, France, that, however for a moment we might be depressed, we arose, after a seeming defeat, with renovated strength and

courage.

"I trust," concluded his Royal Highness, "the House will pardon my expatiating on the virtues and great professional merits of my departed friend, for which myself and every officer of the British navy entertain the highest respect and veneration."-vol. ii. pp. 382-384.

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