HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
and general Clarke, to whom, after 
an ineffectual defence, it surrendered 
on the 16th of September. 
These defeats and losses not only 
diminished the strength of the 
French at sea, but, what was more 
detrimental to them, greatly dis- 
couraged their seamen; and re. 
duced their hopes merely to such 
advantages as might be gained by 
depredations on the British com- 
merce. Herein they met with con- 
siderable success, before the close 
of the present year ; especially on 
that branch of trade carried on with 
Turkey, which, from the necessity of 
traversing the whole of the Medi- 
terranean, lay more exposed to their 
annoyance than any other. In or. 
der to intercept this, together with 
that from the ports of Italy, a squa- 
dton, of nine ships of the line, was 
put under the command of admiral 
ichery, an experienced and re~' 
solute seaman. ‘The trade of the 
Mediterranean, amounting to sixty 
sail, with valuable cargoes, was 
escorted by three ships of the line, 
and four frigates ; it had proceeded, 
On its way homeward, as far as the 
latitude of Cape St. Vincent, where 
it was attacked by the squadron 
commanded by Richery, and one 
half of it was taken, together with 
a ship of the line. 
Conformably to the predatory 
system of warring at sea, now 
adopted by the French, besides 
Richery’s squadron, which was fitted 
out at Toulon, they prepared two 
others at Rochefort, in order to in- 
tercept the homeward-bound fleet 
from Jamaica; but they took only 
twelve, the value of which hardly 
reimbursed the expence of fitting 
out those squadrons. 
_ But the defeats, losses, and dis- 
appointments, of the French, at sca, 
[139 
were amply counterbalanced bytheir 
successes “at land; their compulsory 
retreat across the Rhine excepted, 
they had succeeded in every other pro- 
ject, and completely frustrated the 
attempts of the coglesced powers. 
Two of the principal members of 
that formidable confederacy had 
beendetached from it, besides others 
of secondary note. They had re- 
volutionized the governments of 
all the countries they had subdued, 
together with the minds of a large 
majority of the inhabitants, The 
Austrian Netherlands, to which their 
ancient denomination of Belgium 
was now solemnly affixed, were, in 
general, well affected to the French 
republic, from the remembrance of 
the tyranny and haughtiness they 
had experienccd under the house of 
Austria, The German provinces, 
on the left side of the Rhine, seemed 
mostly willing tounite with France, 
rather than to return to the do. 
minion of their former masters; 
and the dispositions of the people 
of Switzerland, of the Protes. 
tant cantons especially, were be- 
coming much more favourable to 
the French than they had hitherto 
appeared. 
Unwearied pains had been taken, 
by the French government, ever 
since the commencement of the re- 
‘volution, to conciliate the people of 
Switzerland. ‘Though principles of 
democracy, nearly similar to those 
professed by the French, prevailed 
in some of the inferior cantons, the 
greater were governed aristocrati- 
cally, and warmly opposed the in- 
troduction of French politics. The 
time was not yet arrived for the 
French to proceed to violent mea. 
sures against the Helvetic body : 
they contented themselves with the 
private encouragement of those nu- 
merous 
