WILLIAM AND MART.

319

The Gazette which announced these creations announced chap.also that the King had set out for the Continent. He had, be—fore his departure, consulted with his ministers about the meansof counteracting a plan of naval operations which had beenformed by the French government. Hitherto the maritime warhad been carried on chiefly in the Channel and the Atlantic.

But Lewis had now determined to concentrate his maritime Fr hforces in the Mediterranean. He hoped that, with their help, i ,lau ofthe army of Marhal Noailles would be able to take Barcelona,to subdue the whole of Catalonia, and to compel Spain to suefor peace. Accordingly, Tourville’s squadron, consisting offifty three men of war, set sail from Brest on the twenty fifth ofApril and passed the Straits of Gibraltar on the fourth of May.

William, in order to cross the designs of the enemy, deter-Englishmined to send Russell to the Mediterranean with the greater ^" ofpart of the combined fleet of England and Holland. A squadronwas to remain in the British seas under the command of the Earlof Berkeley. Talmash was to embark on board of this squadronwith a large body of troops,, and was to attack Brest, whichwould, it was supposed, in the absence of Tourville and hisfifty three vessels, be an easy conquest.

That preparations were making at Portsmouth for an expe-dition, in which the land forces were to bear a part, could notbe kept a secret. There was much speculation at the Rose andat Garraway’s touching- the destination of the armament. Sometalked of Rhe, some of Oleron, some of Rochelle, some ofRochefort. Many, till the fleet actually began to move west-ward, believed that it was bound for Dunkirk. Many guessedthat Brest would be the point of attack; but they only guessedthis: for the secret was much better kept than most of the se-crets of that age.* Russell, till he was ready to weigh anchor,

* LTIermitage, May After mentioning the various reports, hesays, “De tous ces divers projeta qu’on s'imagine aucun n’est venu a la