1904. | 
could fearcely make out “what it was. 
‘They did, however, make it out jby the 
help of the character of our enemy, and 
looked on, with no little admiration of our 
ftrength andcourage. But what have we 
done now? We may come to change 
characters with our enemy, if we goon in 
this courfe ; and that which was a war of 
England with France for ihe rights of 
nations, may become a war of France with 
England on like pvinciples. We not 
only degrade: ourfelves, but, by enabling 
our enemy to change fides, which is now 
open to him, we enoble him. 
This month has produced an attempt, 
more ftrenuous than ufual, to deftroy the 
enemy’s flotilla off Boulogne. Various 
were the reports, bothas to the means and 
the fuccefs of this enterprife. Lord Keith, 
who commanded on that occafion, ftated 
. the damage done to the enemy, to have 
been very infignificant. We have fince 
feen the French admiral’s account, which 
is_in fubftance the fame. It appears that 
he expected an attack, by fire-fhips, on 
what he calls his‘ line of anchorage, which 
was a flotilla at anchor, in the outer har- 
hour. He therefore difpofed of his gun- 
boats fo that they opened a paflage for our 
fire-fhips, which therefore pafled within 
the line, and exploded clofe upon the fhore, 
and at too great a diftance from the gua- 
boats to injure them ;-which operation was 
. facilitated by a great number of the ¢ne- 
my’s boats well armed, and pinnaces. with 
large howitzers, deftined to give a direc» 
tion to the fire-fhips, drifting with the 
wind, and having no one on board to con- 
duct them. One of the French pinnaces 
was deftroyed by the blowing up of a fire- 
fhip, and one officer, thirteen foldiers, and 
feven failors belonging to her were killed. 
The French Admiral (Bruix) flates, that 
only fix men befide were wounded, in his 
wholeline. The fire-fhips were of a new 
conftruction; but we have no authentic 
document which proves what that was. 
It is generally ftated, that they were vef- 
fels with gunpowder in the hold, covered 
with flint ftones clofely packed; and that 
each had a fpecies of clock-work, fet to 
go from ten minutes till fix hours, at the 
end of which, the veffel exploded by the 
Operation of the machimery. Each of 
thefe was towed by a catamaran, conduct- 
ed by one-perfon with a paddle. Both the’ 
fire-fhips and the catamarans were calcu 
lated to make little fhow upon the water. 
And the principal error feems to have heen, 
that the fire-thips were not grappled with 
the enemy’s boats, but abandoned to the 
wind and waves, or rather to the enemy’s 
dilcretion. 
State of Public Affairs in Ofteber, 1804. 
| 
To compenfate for this failure, which 
was little fhort of difgrace, a very gallant 
fervice has been performed in Hieres-bay, 
by the boats of the Narciffus, Sea-horfe, 
and Maidftone, which deflroyed eleven 
French merchant veflels, and towed one 
out, notwithftanding the enemy were fully 
prepared, their veflels being moured head 
and ftern, with their bars on, the beach, 
and under the proteflion of the batteries, 
and mufquitry even from the very houfes. 
Lieutenant Thompfon commanded in this 
affair, having under him Lieutenants Hyde 
Parker, S$. R. Lumley, and Ogle Moore, 
all of thofe brave officers diftinguifhing 
themfelves by the cool and fteady perform. 
ance of a hazardous duty. 
A {mall advantage has alfo been gained 
by ourcruizers under Sir James Saumarez, 
which lately drove five of the enemy’s 
luggers, full of troops, on fhore, among 
the rocks, off Cape Grofnez, where they 
were utterly wrecked. 
Difpatches have been received in France, 
from General Decaen, Governor of the 
Maritius, fiating the capture of the Al- 
thea, an Englith Indiaman, on her way 
home, by the French frigates, la Belle 
Poule, and Atalanta, belonging to Admi- 
ral Linois’s fquadron. She is ftated to 
be worth four hundred thoufand pounds. 
But whatever her value is, this plain quet- 
tion is fuggefted by the capture of the Al- 
thea—-what is become of the Englith fleet 
in the Indian Seas > We hear no more of 
that {quadron than if it belonged to the 
Emperor of China. It is not the lofs of. 
a fhip, though a vichly Jaden Indiaman, 
but the difgrace we fuffer in fuch a cape 
ture, that is to be lamented. 
A. fortunate accident, however, has 
produced good out of evil. In the Aithea, 
a number of private letters were intercept- 
ed, from perfonsin this country, to their 
friends in India, which have been malicie 
oufly, but igoorantly alfo, publifhed in 
France. Intrigues in St. Stephein’s Cha- 
pel, at St. James’, and in the India houfe 
are difclofed by this puhl-cation, Our 
enemies had not fill tolearn, that there 
were intrigues in thole places. But the 
worth that’ exifts amid the rubbifh of 
courts is not always dilclofed. Among 
the intercepted letters 1s one from Lord 
Grenville to the Marquis Wellefley, 
which does honour to the writer, and to 
his country. ‘The tone of this letter is 
difinterefted and dignified. The writer is 
opening his bofom to his friend; and he 
is exhibited to the public, who come at 
the fecret,im fuch colours as th: hypecrite 
aflumes to gain a name. Notwithfanding 
his reipe& and aifection for Mr. Pitt, we 
fee 
7 
