him, Vice-Admiral Barrington, second in command; ViceAdmiral Darby, third in command; and Rear-Admiral Digby, fourth, in the Prince George, which ship Prince William joined on the 24th of May.

In the month of June, Admiral Geary sailed from Spithead with twenty-three sail of the line, and was joined at sea by some others, to cruise in the Soundings, for the purpose of preventing a junctionof the French and Spanish squadrons. On the 4th of July, the fleet discovered and gave chase to a French convoy, twelve sail of which were overtaken and captured. They were from St. Domingo bound to France; the remainder with La Fier of 50 guns, effected their escape under cover of a thick fog. The value of the captured ships was estimated at one hundred and twenty-six thousand pounds.

On this occasion, the first captain of the flag ship, was the gallant Kempenfelt, who in the Royal George at Spithead

On the 18th of August, Admiral Geary returned to Portsmouth with the channel fleet, and resigned his command. It was offered to Vice-Admiral Barrington, who had been his second, but that brave and excellent officer thought proper to decline accepting it; Vice-Admiral Darby who stood next in command was, therefore, appointed.

On the day that Admiral Geary struck his flag on board the Victory, he gave a dinner to the captains of the fleet, to which, Prince William Henry was invited. On the occasion of his father's health being drank, his Royal Highness rose, to the surprise of all present, and made a very neat and appropriate speech. It was the first that he ever made in public, and it shall, therefore, be here inserted.

"Admiral Geary, and Captains of the Fleet,

"You may, perhaps, deem it presumptuous in me to present myself to your notice on this occasion, to return you my most sincere thanks for the loyal

manner in which you have drank my royal Father's health. As a father, I am proud to speak of him with all the fulness of filial affection, and I am certain that there are few monarchs, who have swayed the sceptre of these realms, to whom the title of the father of his people is more justly due. Involved as the nation is at present in a most unnatural war, for it cannot be considered in any other character than that of a child fighting against its parent; it becomes every one to join heart and hand to bring the rebellion to a speedy and fortunate issue, and to crush the insidious enemies, who have so dishonourably to themselves entered into an alliance with the revolutionists, with the hope of reducing this great and noble nation to the lowest rank in the scale of nations, and with the avowed intent of wresting from it its foreign possessions and distressing its trade and commerce. I am proud to say that the safety, the glory and honour of the country depend upon its navy, and when I see myself surrounded by such men as are here present, I have no fear for the stability of my Father's crown, the integrity of his foreign possessions, or the safety of my country. We are now fighting single handed, the combined naval powers of France and Spain; it becomes us not to underrate a gallant and enterprising enemy; but in awarding them the merit which belongs to them, I consider that our merit will be the greater, if we obtain a victory over them, and which I make no doubt will always be the case, whenever they will give us an opportunity of trying our strength with them. For myself individually, I shall consider those days as the proudest and the noblest in my life, in which I may be called upon to shed my blood in the defence of my Father's flag, and should I ever be called upon to lead his fleet against his enemies, my first study shall be to imitate the example of that brave and noble officer, who has done me the honour this day to invite me to his table, and whose retirement from the command of the channel fleet must be a source of regret to all, who have had an opportunity of witnessing the high degree of nautical skill, which he has displayed on the most trying occasions; his determined bravery in the hour of battle, and his general devotedness to the cause of his country. 1 request you will accept of my apology for this intrusion upon your time, and if I have not delivered myself with the graces of elocution, I am certain that I have spoken with all the sincerity of a sailor's heart, who glories in the profession to which his Father has appointed him, and who, he most sincerely hopes, will never be induced by any dishonourable act, unworthy of the British sailor, or the rank in life to which he was born, to sully the flag under which he fights, or tarnish the character which belongs to him as a British subject. I hope, I am not out of order in requesting you to fill your glasses, and drink to the health of Admiral Geary."

The applause lasted some minutes after his royal Highness had concluded his speech, and on Admiral Geary returning thanks on his health being drunk; he paid some well-deserved compliments to the character of his Royal Highness, in which Admiral Digby cordially joined, nor were they the fulsome

adulations of the courtier to the royal rank of the young hero; but the spontaneous effusions of a heart, which possessing a high degree of merit of its own, knows how to appreciate it in others.

It was frequently a subject of complaint, joined with no little share of ridicule at the frequent and almost periodical returns of the channel fleet to port, it seldom keeping the sea longer than two months, when it was found necessary, or as it may be more aptly expressed, convenient to return to port, for the purpose of refitting. In the present state of our navy, such a practice would not be allowed, but under circumstances of the most pressing nature; the sailing of the channel fleet was looked upon more as a temporary cruise, and the enemy knew well how to take advantage of this regular absence of the English fleet from their shores, for they generally succeeded in effecting a junction with their allies, or they sent out their small flying squadrons, which were seldom heard of until they made their appearance in a distant quarter of the world, where they committed all imaginable injury upon our commerce, frequently devastating the sea port towns of our colonies, and enriching themselves with the plunder of the inhabitants. It was their frequent return to port, which occasioned the stinging epigram upon Lord Howe, when he was commander of the channel fleet.

"Lord Howe he went out.
Lord! how he came in."

When the channel fleet under Admiral Geary came to an anchor at Portsmouth, the sickness amongst the men was truly alarming. A kind of epidemic appeared to rage throughout the whole of the fleet, there being at one time above three thousand on the sick list. It was calculated at the time, that had the fleet circumnavigated the globe, the amount of sickness could not have been greater. In the midst of it all, however, Prince William enjoyed the most perfect state of health, not having a single day's illnes, during the whole of the two months cruise. It must, however, be generally remarked, that with

the exception of an hereditary complaint, to which the royal family are subject, and some people affirm that there are two, it must be admitted, that a family with better or more wholesome constitutions could not be found in England, than the royal family exhibited in their youth, before it was worn down and emaciated by vice and debauchery.

If, however, Prince William escaped the contagion of sickness, he was not exempt from the perils incidental to his profession, for his life was at one time in considerable danger when in a storm off Cape Finisterre, the Prince George, and the Duke of 90 guns were driven so close to each other, that a collision was momentarily expected, which if it had taken place, would in all probability have sent both ships to the bottom. It was a most trying and anxious moment; all the expedients were tried, which the highest nautical skill could suggest, and after the most strenuous exertions by the respective crews, the impending danger was averted, and the ships and the men providentially saved.

On the 28th August, the Prince George set sail again from Spithead on a cruise, with twelve sail of the line and two frigates, for the protection of the homeward bound West India trade. Notwithstanding, however, this apparent activity in sending out different squadrons to sea, the disasters which befel the maritime commerce of the country at this particular juncture was of the most serious and alarming nature. The channel fleet was cruising off Cape Finisterre; Admiral Digby was at sea with a powerful squadron, and Vice Admiral Darby was in another part of the channel in the Britannia of one hundred guns, with aformidable fleet under his command, and under the powerful protection of these respective fleets, a rich and considerable convoy, attended by the Ramilies and two frigates, sailed from Portsmouth, and were intercepted by the combined fleets under Don Lewis de Cordova. The Ramilies with the frigates, and a few merchantmen escaped; but more than fifty sail were carried into Cadiz. Besides the immense value of the merchandize, a number of the ships were loaded with naval and military stores, for the settlements in their respective places of

destination. About the same time, an account was received of the capture of fourteen ships of the outward bound Quebec fleet, by some American privateers off the banks of Newfoundland, and this concurrence of losses spread a general gloom throughout the nation; the people were dissatisfied with the administration of affairs both at home and abroad, and the public despondence was at this period, not a little increased by an alliance which had been entered into by the northern Powers, under the name of " the armed neutrality," and by the disposition which was evinced by Holland at the same time to come to an open rupture, on the first ground of complaint which could be well established.

Admiral Digby's fleet kept the sea for about three months, during which time he caught a glimpse of the enemy's fleet, which, under a Nelson, or a Codrington, would have ended in obtaining a full view of them, and conducting them afterwards into a British port; for, although there was no actual deficiency of personal bravery in the British navy, yet, the hostile fleets frequently obtained a glimpse of each other, and immediately afterwards, either darkness or a fog came on, and when the morning light appeared, or the fog had dispersed, the glimpse was gone also, and the English fleet then regularly returned into port to refit, or for a fresh supply of provisions. A fleet leaving an English port, and being obliged to return into port in two months for provisions, would at the present day, be the precursor of the dissolution of the Board of Admiralty, and justly expose them to the odium of the whole nation.

It was in some respects, fortunate for the future interests of the British navy, that the son of the King of England became himself an eye-witness of many of the glaring abuses, which existed at this time in the administration of the naval affairs of this country, for although the lowness of the rank which he held, prevented him from openly exposing them, yet he treasured them in his memory, and afterwards turned his observations to good account for the benefit of his country. The character of his Royal Highness, was, indeed, now begining to settle itself into something of a definite kind, and his