OF THE LATE JOHN CLEUK, ESQ. OF ELDIN. 117 



very little attention had yet been paid to the subject of Naval 



Tactics. 



The oldest work we know of that treats of Naval Tac- 

 tics, is that of the learned Jesuit Pere Hoste, Professor of 

 Mathematics in the Royal College at Toulon, and entitled 

 VArt des ArmSes Navales. It is an elementary and distinct 

 exposition of the ordinary manoeuvres at sea, and has no pre- 

 tensions to any thing more. It was, however, highly regard- 

 ed at the time : the author, when he presented it to Louis the 

 XIV. in 1697, was well received, and had a pension given 



him. 



There v/as no book on the subject in the English language j 

 and the conduct of our sea-fights, though it had so often pro- 

 ved successful, did not display much extent or variety of re- 

 sources. It had usually happened that the British fleet was 

 eager to engage, and that the enemy was unwilUng to risk a 

 o-eneral action ; our object, therefore, had almost always been 

 to gain the 'weather-gage, as it is called, of the enemy, or to 

 place ourselves to windward of his fleet. When that fleet was 

 drawn out in line, in the manner necessary for allowing every 

 ship its share in the action, the British fleet bore down from 

 the windward on the enemy, lying to as it is termed, or almost 

 Jixed in its position ; the whole line, and also the broadside of 

 each individual ship, being nearly at right angles to the direc- 

 tion of the wind. 



Under these circumstances, the British fleet had usually 

 pursued one of two methods of making the attack. The one 

 consisted in forming a line parallel and directly opposite to 

 that of the enemy ; after which each ship bore down on that 

 which was immediately opposed to it. According to the 

 other method, the British fleet, on the opposite tack to that of 

 the enemy, ran along parallel to it, and within fighting dis- 

 tance, 



