HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
three frigates: one of the latter 
was captured by the English, and 
two foundered at sea, with one of 
the firmer. The other, after a 
desperate engagement, with some 
ships of the British squadron, off 
Brest, ran ashore to prevent the 
being taken. 
The fate of this fleet proved, even 
to sense, what needed no proof in 
the eye of reason, that a superior 
naval force is not, in all cases, a cer- 
tain security against invasion. Ire- 
land, notwithstanding the superio- 
rity of the English fleet, was sixteen 
days at the mercy of the enemy, 
and saved from attack only by the 
elements. 
- Such was the issue of this famous 
expedition: the real objeét of which 
had long kept Europe in suspense. 
Some thought it Portugal, others 
the English outward-bound fleets. 
Few imagined it was so hazardous 
an enterprize as the invasion of 
Ireland. The strength of the Pro- 
testants there alone was deemed 
fully sufficient to repel such an at- 
tempt, and the Roman Catholics 
had so many reasons to be satisfied 
with the conduét of government, 
_that no suspicions were entertained 
of any desire, on their part, to ex- 
change their conneétion with Eng- 
land for one with France, whose 
treatment of those who were be- 
come its dependants, under the 
name of allies, afforded, certainly, 
no encouragement to follow their 
example. 
_ The close of 1796 was marked 
by the death of Catharine II. em- 
“ae of Russia. Catharine, as we 
ve seen in the preceding volumes 
of this work, had subdued by her 
policy, or herarms, the Crimea, the 
Cuban, with a part of the frontier of 
Turkey, and almost one half of Po- 
[199 
land. Indulging still in her ambi- 
tion of conquest ; inflamed, not sa- 
tiated,by so much success, she sought 
still to extend her dominion, where-~ 
ever it was bounded only by that 
of a neighbour, not by the hand 
of nature. She contrived to stretch 
forth, as it were, both her arms, 
the one in Europe, the other in 
Asia; but contrarily to what had 
been usually experienced, both by 
herself and predecessors, while she 
made a conquest of no small im- 
portance in the north of Europe, 
she was vigorously repelled from 
the softer climate of Asia. By ca- 
resses and intrigues she induced the 
inhabitants of Livonia to insist on 
the fulfilment of an ancient conven- 
tion, whereby the Courlanders were 
obliged to bring all their merchan- 
dizes to Riga; though they had, on 
their own coasts, excellent harbours, 
happily situated. A quarrel, which 
had naturally arisen on this subjeét, 
between the Livonians and Cour- 
landers, was not yet terminated, 
when the empress sent engineers 
into Courland, to mark outa canal 
for facilitating the merchandize of 
that country into Livonia. The 
Courlanders, seeing this, and fear- 
ing lest they should be soon forced 
to make use of this canal, thought 
it better for them to be protected, 
than oppressed, by the empress, and 
to be her subjeéts rather than her 
neighbours. 
Catharine, informed of these dis- 
positions, called to her the duke of 
Courland, the feeble son of the fa- 
mous Biren, under the pretext of 
having occasion to confer with him 
on matters of importance. But no 
sooner was that prince at the foot 
of the throne of the Autocratrix 
of the north, thanthestates of Cour- 
land held an assembly. The nobi- 
[O 4] lity 
