S24 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



scheme, much expence was incurred, 

 and many buildings were erected 

 for diHercnt otlices. Put a very- 

 short trial verified the prediction!} of 

 sorbe of the most intelligent of the 

 old officers of t'lP navy, who had 

 early asserted, 'liatitsdiminutivesize 

 and the narrowness of its entrance, 

 would preclude line of battle ships 

 from getting readily to sen; and 

 after nearly risking the loss of two 

 three deckers and a sevf'n'y-four, 

 this plan, perlia|)S origina mg in in- 

 terested motives, was at length 

 abandoned. 



It was, however, to be regretted, 

 during this period, in other respects 

 honourable to the naval administra- 

 tion of the country, that a total want 

 of intelligence of the enemy's de- 

 signs, state of preparation, or move- 

 ments, prevailed in an unaccountable 

 degree, and appears to have been 

 handed down to the present board 

 of admiralty from their predeces- 

 sors. A circumstance somewhat 

 excusable in the latter, but, in the 

 present case, strange indeed, as it 

 should seem that the means of ac- 

 quiring information of this nature 

 would exclusively belong to nauti- 

 cal arraHgement, carried into efi'ect 

 by the powerful aids to be derived 

 from a seat in the cabinet. In this 

 respect, however, lord Barham and 

 lord Melville were completely upon 

 a par. It certainly was owing to 

 this strange want of precaution, or 

 method, that not only the frigates 

 aud single ships ot the enemy, but 

 even their entire Heets, escaped from 

 their ports, which were supposed to 

 be ia a state of strict blockade, and 

 it was only by the accounts of their 



depredations, in our colonies, ptthe 

 news of their return to Europe, 

 that even their having sailed came to 

 be known ! 



An action took place, arising out 

 of a circumstance of this kind, so 

 honourable to the j)arties concern- 

 ed, that wc cannot omit giving it 

 particular mention. The Cleopatra, 

 a small 32 gun British frigate, com- 

 manded by sir Robert Laurie, after 

 sustaining a very long but unequal 

 contest with the Villede Milan, one 

 of the enemy's largest frigates, Mas 

 compelled to surrender, but not un- 

 til he had so completely disabled his 

 huge opponent, as to render both 

 vessels, (now French,) an easy cap- 

 ture to the Leander, captain Talbot, 

 one of the most promising young 

 officers in the service, who, by this 

 means, and scarcely firing a gun, had 

 the option of commanding one of the 

 very finest and mest desirable fri- 

 gates in the French navy. But with 

 that generosity of spirit, whichever 

 characterises the British officer, 

 captain Talbot deferred this mate- 

 rial object to sir Robert Laurie, to 

 whose spirit, bravery, and persever- 

 ance alone, he generously ascribed 

 the double capture of the Ville de 

 INlilan, and her prize the Cleopatra, 

 as, if the Frenchman had not been 

 so beaten, she certainly would not 

 havf proved so easy a prize.* 



Bci'orc wc proceed to the account 

 of the ever memorable transactions 

 of lord Nelson, whom we left wait- 

 ing the arrival of the Toulon squa- 

 dron in the Sicilian seas, it may not 

 be deemed uninteresting to state 

 another proof ol the genuine noble- 

 ness of character of the British sea- 

 man, 



Vide CaptaJu Talbot's exsellent letter upon this subject in the appendix. 



