force to France. Conformably to the plans of the French and Spanish minifters, the most confiderable part of the Spanish navy was to have effected a junction with the French fleet at Breft; and, after being joined by a numerous fquadron of Dutch hips of war, they were to have put forth altogether to fea, to the amount of more than feventy fail of the line; a ftrength which, they entertained fangaine hope, would prove more than fufficient to fupport effectually the execution of their defigns against the British dominions.

In the lift of the Spanish fleet, intended for Breft, were fix of one hundred and twelve guns, and one of a hundred and thirty-fix, esteemed the largeft vellel in Europe; of the other hips compofing this formidable armamant, two were of eightyfour, and eighteen of feventy-four guns: but they were manned by an inconfiderable proportion of feamen. The Spanish miniftry had imagined, that this deficiency might be remedied by the fubftitution of a number of expert artillery-men; but even of thefe there was not a fufficiency procured to encounter the fkill and activity of the British

feamen.

The officer pitched upon for the command of the fquadron, deftined to act against this great force, was admiral Jervis, whofe naval abilities had been confpicuoufly difplayed on many preceding occations, and who was accompanied by other officers of fuch diftinguished merit, that no doubt was entertained, by the public, that, notwithstanding the vaft fuperiority of firength and numbers, on the part of the Spaniards, they would not prove equal in battle to the British officers and fea

men. The fquadron, under the. command of admiral Jervis, amounted to no more than fifteen fhips of the line, and fome frigates. He was cruizing off Cape St. Vincent, on the coaft of Portugal, when he received intelligence of the Spanish fleet's approach, and he prepared immediately for battle. On the fourteenth of February, at the dawn of day, it was difcovered, amounting to twenty-feven fale of the line. By carrying a prefs of fail, he closed in with the enemy's fleet before it had time to connect, and form into a regular order of battle. Such a moment, to speak his own words, was not to be loft: confiding in the fkill, valour, and difcipline, of his officers and men, and conscious of the neceflity of acting with uncommon refolution on this critical occafion, he formed a line, with the utmoft celerity, in order to pafs through the enemy's fleet, and hav ing completely effected his defign, he thereby feparated one-third of it from the main body, and by a vigorous cannonade compelled it to remain to leeward, and prevented its rejunction with the centre till the evening. After having thus broken through the enemy's line, and, by this daring and fortunate nieafure, diminished his force from twenty feven fhips to eighteen, it was perceived that the Spanish admiral, in order to recover his fuperiority, was endeavouring to rejoin the fhips feparated from him, by wearing round the rear of the British lines; but commodore Nelfon, who was in the rear-moft fhip, directly wore and prevented his intention, by flanding towards him. He had now to encounter the Spanish admiral of one hundred and thirty-fix guns, aided by two others, each of:

them three deckers: he was happily relieved from this dangerous pofition, by the coming up of two fhips to his affiftance, which detained the Spanish admiral, and his feconds, till he was attacked by four other British fhips; when, finding that he could not execute his defign, he made the fignal for the remainder of his fleet to form together for their defence. The British admiral, before they could get into their ftations, directed the rear-moft of them, fome of which were entangled with each other, to be attacked. This was done with fo much judgement and fpirit, that four of them were captured, one of which ftruck to his own fhip. In the mean time, that part of the Spanish fleet which had been feparated from its main body had nearly rejoined it, with four other fhips, two of which were not in the engagement. This was a ftrength, more than equal to that which remained of the British fquadron, fit, after fo fevere a conteft, for a fresh action. Had it been renewed, the Spaniards had ftill thirteen fhips anhurt, while of the fifteen, of which the British fquadron confified, every one had fuffered in fo unequal an encounter. It drew up in compact order, not doubting of vigorous efforts, on the part of the enemy, to retake his loft veffels: but the countenance and pofition of the British fquadron was fuch, that the Spanish, though fo powerfully reinforced, did not dare to come into close action. Its fire was diftant and ineffectual, and left the British fquadron to move laturely off with the four captured reffels, two of them carrying one hundred and twelve guns, one eighty-four, and the other feventy

four. The flain and wounded, on board of thefe, before they struck, amounted to fix hundred, and on. board of the British fquadron to half that number. The amount of the killed and wounded in the other Spanish fhips was computed equal to that in thofe that were taken.

The fuperiority of naval fkill, difplayed in this celebrated action, ftruck all Europe with aftonifliment. Nothing lefs indeed could have procured a victory over an enemy fo much fuperior in ftrength and numbers, and no ways deficient in courage. The people in Spain were loud in their complaints, that their countrymen were impreffed into a fervice for which they were unqualified, and against a nation with which they had no reafon to quarrel. The upper claffes, and the government itfelf, were looked upon, by the generality, as acting under constraint: but the remonftrance of the recent victories of the French, over their best troops and commanders, and of the danger to which the monarchy had been expofed, effectually filenced all degrees of men, while the majority bore, with fecret indignation, the ignominy of a yoke which they were aflamed to avow. The ancient and noble kingdom of Spain was, at this time, in a fituation not more humiliating than odd and whimfical. The Spaniards, in general, detefted the French, and particularly the French infidels: the throne of Spain was occupied by the fecond branch of the house of: Bourbon; and which, in 1792, hadmanifefted an anxious folicitude for the life of Lewis XVI. yet the king and people of Spain were leagued with the regicides against:

the

the Auftrians and English, their old as well as natural friends and allies. The advantages, it might naturally be fuppofed, muft have been great, that feduced them into fo ftrange a fituation. By no means! They got nothing but hard blows from the British navy.

The gratitude of the public, in England, to thofe brave officers and men, who had won fo extraordinary and unprecedented a victory, was expreffed with a warmth and exultation that had not been felt for many years. All claffes and bodies of the community were eager to testify the fenfe they entertained of the very uncommon merit of the admiral who had performed fo important a fervice, at a time when it was fo needful, and who had thereby reflected fo much glory on the national character. To the juft applaufes of the public, government added the honours of the peerage, by creating him Earl of St. Vincent, in order to perpetuate, together with his name, the memory of this fplendid action.

The vanquished fleet withdrew to Cadiz, whither it was immediately followed by the victors, who blocked it up in so close a manner, that not one of the numerous fhips of force, belonging to Spain, in that capacious harbour, durft venture out beyond the reach of the many powerful batteries erected for its defence. Here the British fquadron continued in fight of the place, and in command of all the neighbouring feas; taking numbers of the enemy's veffels, and performing many gallant actions.

The two moft remarkable we shall relate. An attempt was made, in the night of the third of July, to bombard the city of Cadiz. Commodore Nelfon conducted this bold enter

prize with his ufual dexterity and fpirit. The imperfect fuccefs that attended it, was owing to the bad condition of the mortar-piece, employed upon this occafion, which was intirely damaged by continual ufe. The Spaniards having armed, and manned, with their bravest seamen and foldiers, a number of large boats and launches, fallied out of the harbour upon the English. The conflict was obftinate, and both fides behaved with great valour. The commanding-officer of the Spaniards, Don Miguel Tyrafom, attacked the commodore with the utmoft refolution, and, though taken, did not yield until, out of twenty-feven men in his barge, eighteen were killed, and himself, and all the others, wounded. It was not till after a long and defperate defence that the Spaniards were driven back into the harbour.

Two nights after this action, another bombardment was attempted, with more fuccefs. Commodore Nelfon, who, to use the expreffion of admiral Jervis, was always prefent in the moft arduous enterprizes, had again the command of this. Advancing with the bomb-veifels, as near to the fhore as it was practicable, he threw into the town, and among the fhipping in the harbour, a

large number of fhells that did confiderable execution upon both. Ten of the largest men of war were obliged to warp out of their range, and the townfpeople fled in great numbers. The effects produced by this bombardment had been fo detrimental to the enemy, that another was fhortly after intended, and the preparations completed, when its execution was prevented by the violence of the wind, that continued fomewhile to blow out of the har

bour,