179^- memoirs of brigadier Resen, 205 



struck his young imagination. From Lcith they 

 sailed for the Thames, and visited London and its 

 court in king William's time. Before their return 

 :home the commodore was left by his uncle to learn 

 his profefsion, as a volunteer on board the French 

 . fleet then fitting out against England. He went out 

 with admiral Tourville on board his own lliip, and 

 .was in the great battle of 1692, that ended so fatally 

 for the glory of Louis xiv. and the navy of France. 

 The old gentleman, when mentioning this event, 

 used to give us a little air they sung in going out, 

 .but slyly added, that their tune wms changed in co- 

 ming back; so that we see pa ita, fa ira, the 

 song of that day as well as of this, has not been 

 always t uly prophetic. He mentioned nothing else 

 remarkable except that he was at Pondicherry when 

 Louis XIV. died, during his service in the French 

 ■navy, which he quitted for his own native service 

 soon after their return from India. About the 

 year 17 13, Peter the Great liaving applied to the 

 Daniili court for some naval officers of experi- 

 ence, our commodore was one of those sent him, 

 and he commanded a vsfssl in the great fleet waicli 

 anchored before Copenhagen in the year 1716, under 

 ■ the orders of the emperor in person. Here he made 

 acquaintance with a young Rufsian boy whom Peter 

 brought on boa-d to see the tieet, from a school at 

 . Copenhagen, wlio will be mentioned in ihe anec- 

 dotes. 



TIic commodore accompanied his master in tl;e 



, Caspian ;;3 well ::s the Baltic; and at the siege of 



Durbcnt in Persia, in the year 1722, he nict with-ai 



