WILLIAM AND MARY.

53

Tourville, looked on in helpless despondency while the secondconflagration proceeded. The conquerors, leaving the ships ofwar in flames, made their way into an inner basin where manytransports lay. Eight of these vessels were set on fire. Severalwere taken in tow. The rest would have been either destroyedor earned off, had not the sea again begun to ebb. It wasimpossible to do more; and the victorious flotilla slowly retired,insulting the hostile camp with a thundering chant of “ Godsave the King.”

Thus ended, at noon on the twenty-fourth of May, thegreat conflict which had raged during five days over a wideextent of sea and shore. One English fireship had perished inits calling. Sixteen French men of war, all noble vessels, andeight of them threedeckers, had been sunk or burned down tothe keel. The battle is called, from the place where it ter-minated , the battle of La Hogue. *

The news was received in London with boundless exultation.In the fight on the open sea, indeed, the numerical superiorityof the allies had been so great that they had little reason toboast of their success. But the courage and skill with whichthe crews of the English boats had, in a French harbour, insight of a French army, and under the fire of French batteries,destroyed a fine French fleet, amply justified the pride withwhich our fathers pronounced the name of La Hogue. That wemay fully enter into their feelings, we must remember that this

* London Gaz., May 2G. 1692; Burchett’s Memoirs of Transactions atSea; Baden to the States General, *■ ' ; Life of Janies, ii. 494; Russell's

June -l.

Letters in the Commons’ Journals of Nov. 28. 1692; An Account of theGreat Victory, 1692; Monthly Mercuries for June and July 1692; Paris

Gazette, Van Almonde’s despatch to the States General, dated

June >.

June 1692 ‘ TIie French official account will be found in the MonthlyMercury for July. A report drawn up by Foucault, Intendnnt of the pro-vince of Normandy, will be found in M. Capefigue’s Louis XIV.

CHAP.XVIH.I6U2.

Rejoi-cings inEngland.