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had come out of the fight were in lamentable condition. Tor-rington ordered some of them to be destroyed: the rest he tookin tow: he then fled along the coast of Kent, and sought a re-fuge in the Thames. As soon as he was in the river, he orderedall the buoys to be pulled up, and thus made the naviga-tion so dangerous, that the pursuers could not venture tofollow him*

It was, however, thought by many, and especially by theFrench ministers, that, if Tourville had been more enteiprising,the allied fleet might have been destroyed. He seems to haveborne, in one respect, too much resemblance to his vanquishedopponent. Though a brave man, he was a timid commander.His life he exposed with careless gaiety; but it was said that hewas nervously anxious and pusillanimously cautious when hisprofessional reputation was in danger. He was so much an-noyed by these censures that he soon became, unfortunatelyfor his country, bold even to temerity.**

There has scarcely ever been so sad a day in London as thaton which the news of the Battle of Beachy Head arrived. Theshame was insupportable: the peril was imminent. What if the

* Report of the Commissioners of the Admiralty to the Queen, datedShcerncss, July 38. 1090; Evidence of Captains Cornwall, Jones, Martinand Hubbard, and of Vice Admiral Dclaval; Burnet ii. 52., and SpeakerOnslow’s Note; M^moires du Mardchal de Tourville; Memoirs of Trans-actions at Sea by Josiah Burchett, Esq., Secretary to the Admiralty, 1703;London Gazette, July 3.; Historical and Political Mercury for July 1G90;Mary to William, July 2.; Torrington to Caermarthen, July 1. The accountof the battle in the Paris Gazette of July 15. 1690 is not to be read withoutshame: “ On a s<?eu que Ies Ilollandois s'estoient trfes bien battus, et qu’ilss’estoient comportcz cn cette occasion on braves gens, mais que les Angloisn’en avoient pas agi de meine.” In the French official relation of the battleoff Cape Bev^zier, — an odd corruption of Pevensey, — are some passagesto the same effect: “Les Hollandois combattircnt avec beaucoup de courageet de fermetd; mais ils ne furent pas bien secondez par les Anglois.” “LosAnglois se distingubrent des vaisseaux de Ilollaude par le peu de valeurqu’ils montrferent dans le combat.”

** Life of James, ii. 409.; Burnet, ii. 5.

Macaulay, History. V. 18

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