HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



S27 



from. Br.est, apparently with a de- 

 sign to fight the English squadron 

 blockading that port, commanded by 

 lord Gardner : the former consisting 

 of twenty- five sail of the line, the lat- 

 ter but of seventeen. Notwithstand- 

 iug this great disproportion of 

 strength, the French Heet returned 

 into harbour, satisfied with the bra- 

 vado of having ventured once out of it 

 in so many years, and left the Eng- 

 lish admiral to pursue his system of 

 blockade, without any attempt at its 

 further interruption. 



The expedition of lord Nelson 

 had been such, that, on the 1 5th of 

 May, he was ?0 leagues to the east- 

 ward of Madeira, and on the 4th of 

 June he came to anchor in Carlisle 

 bay, off Barbadocs, after a fortu- 

 nate passage, where ho received in* 

 telligence, that the combined fleet, 

 under admiral Villeneuve, had ar- 

 rived at Martinique, on the 14th of 

 ]\Iay, nearly three weeks before; 

 but that, most providentially, this 

 powerful armament had hitherto 

 remained inactive, with the excep- 

 tion of its having attacked and car- 

 ried the Diamond Rock, by a force 

 detached for that purpose. The 

 most sanguine hope or expectation 

 of lord Nelson could hardly have 

 suggested this extraordinary inac- 

 tivity to have resulted from such 

 great preparation and such real 

 utreugth; he accordingly, having been 

 joined by admiral Cochrane and two 

 ships of the line, prepared to sail in 

 quest of the enemy, and attack them 

 wherever they might be found. 



The joy and exaltation which pre- 

 Tailed in the British islands at this pe- 

 riod, may easily be conceived. Aban- 

 doned of all hope, they had seen their 

 successive and entire destruction, in 

 the arrival of one of the most formi- 

 daWe fleets that had ever been wit- 

 9.C»sed in that quarter of the globe, 



without any force adequate to even 

 the chance of eflectual resistance. 

 From this gloom of despair, they 

 were roused by the appearance, on 

 a day auspicious to the prospect of 

 their deliverance from the surround- 

 ing peril of the British fleet, on the 

 anniversary of the birth of the best 

 of sovereigns ; and that ileet com- 

 manded by lord Nelson, From 

 that moment, not a doubt remained 

 of relief; the inferiority of force, 

 great as it was, was never once 

 takin into con.sideration ; for Nel- 

 son and victor}' were inseparable, 

 even in idea, and nothing was look- 

 ed for but the discomfiture and dis- 

 grace of the arrogant invader. 



To what the strange inactivity of 

 the enemy's force was owing, is not 

 clearly understood: by some It is at- 

 tributed to the mortality among the 

 troops, of whom it is asserted, not 

 less that 3Q00 perished in Martinico, 

 from the disorders incident to those 

 climates, while the remaining force 

 was sickly in the highest degree. By 

 others, it was as confidently stated, 

 that the best understanding did not 

 exist between the French and Spa- 

 nish commanders, as to the objects 

 of the enterprize. It is possible 

 that their inertness may have pro- 

 ceeded from both causes, for the 

 first alicdged fact is certain ; and, 

 M'ithout any apparent motive, it was 

 ascertained, that the Spanish squa- 

 dron, under admiral Gravina, had, 

 about this period, separated from 

 that of the French, and was sup- 

 posed to have sailed upon some 

 secret expedition. 



As the recoTiery of the island of 

 Trinidad, the ancient possession of 

 Spain, would probably be the ob- 

 ject of admiral Gravina, and con- 

 curring reports strengthening this 

 conjecture, lord Nelson having cm- 

 ployed only S-i hours in taking in 



(l 2 water 



