was made a gentleman of the bed-chamber, and sent on several unimportant embassies to France.

Upon the death of his uncle Cranfield, earl of Middlesex, in 1674, the estates devolved upon him, and two years afterwards he succeeded by creation to the title. He also succeeded to his father in 1677. In 1684 he was constituted lord-lieutenant of Sussex. He early engaged for the prince of Orange, and accompanied the Princess Anne on her flight from her father's court. On the succession of the prince and princess of Orange to the throne, Dorset was sworn of the privy-council, and made lord-chamberlain of the household. He had the honour of being four times appointed regent of the kingdom during his majesty's absence. In 1698 he retired somewhat from public life; he spent the remainder of his years in comparative obscurity. He died at Bath in January 1705-6. Horace Walpole has passed this high eulogium upon Dorset, that "he had as much wit as his first master Charles II., or his contemporaries, Buckingham and Rochester, without the king's want of feeling, the duke's want of principle, or the earl's want of thought." Prior, Dryden, Congreve, Addison, and Pope, write in the praises of this nobleman. Pope's lines commencing

"Dorset, the grace of courts, the muse's pride,

are well-known, and sufficiently complimentary.

Sir Cloudesley Shovell.

BORN A. D. 1650.-DIED A. D. 1707.

THIS brave man was descended from parents so extremely poor, that they were incapable of making any better provision for him in life than that of binding him to a shoemaker. His genius, ill-brooking such an occupation, and displaying itself even in the most early periods of his life, he was recommended by Sir Christopher Mings, who had casually noticed his conduct, to Sir John Narborough, who received him, and appointed him one of his cabin boys, when no more than nine years old. It is related of him that, while yet a boy, he undertook to swim through the line of the enemy's fire, in one of the piratical ports on the coast of Barbary, and convey some despatches to a distant ship, which it would have been extremely inconvenient for the commanderin-chief to have transmitted by any other less concealed means. These and some other actions impressed so high an opinion of him on the mind of his patron, that almost ere he had reached manhood, he was intrusted by Sir John with missions of great importance and delicacy. He was sent more than once to the dey of Tripoli to make remonstrances against the piratical conduct of his corsairs: his arguments proved insufficient to bend the haughty mind of the barbarian, but the observations made by him, when attempting to perform the objects of his mission, were such as enabled him to form a plan for the demolition of the enemy's squadron, notwithstanding it lay at anchor under the very guns of the town. Having communicated his project to the admiral, Sir John, without hesitation, appointed the young hero to superintend and conduct the execution of his own plan. The most complete suc

cess crowned the attempt, and Shovell was rewarded for his skill and gallantry with the command of the Sapphire frigate.

From the month of March, 1675, the period when the occurrence just mentioned took place, to the year 1686, he remained constantly employed in the Mediterranean. The catalogue of his successes against the states of Barbary would be tedious in the recital. On his return to England, James II., in the midst of that ferment which preceded the revolution, entertained so high an opinion of Shovell's honour, as to appoint him captain of the Dover, although his political principles were known to be inimical to the wishes of the tottering sovereign.

Among the first naval appointments of the new reign was that of Mr Shovell to be captain of the Edgar, on board which ship he led the van of Admiral Herberts' squadron, at the battle in Bantry-bay, where he distinguished himself so remarkably, that King William conferred on him the honour of knighthood, at the same time when the earl of Torrington was raised to the peerage. At the time the French fleet made its sudden and unexpected appearance in the British channel, in the year 1690, Sir Cloudesley commanded a light detached squadron, owing to which circumstance he was prevented from sharing in the unmerited obloquy so generally cast on the many brave men who commanded under the earl of Torrington. He remained in constant employ; and having been in the interim promoted to be rear-admiral of the red, bore a distinguished share in the defeat of the Count de Tourville.

In 1694 Sir Cloudesley, who had been advanced to the rank of viceadmiral of the red, was appointed second in command under Lord Berkeley, of the fleet sent into Cameret bay; and when the latter struck his flag for a time, which he did on the return of the armament to England, Sir Cloudesley succeeded him in his command, and, by the express order of King William, proceeded against Dunkirk. His employment ceased for a time, with his having commanded the escort which attended King William to Holland, immediately previous to the peace of Ryswick. Sir Cloudesley assumed the command of a strong fleet sent into the channel, as he afterwards did during the two succeeding years; a cautionary show of resistance, which, in all probability, tended to render the actual display of it unnecessary till after the accession of Queen Anne.

In 1703 he commanded the fleet of Britain stationed in the Mediterranean; and, in the ensuing year, commanded the van of the combined fleet in the battle of Malaga. In the ensuing year he was engaged in co-operating with the duke of Savoy at the siege of Toulon, the failure of which was certainly by no means ascribable to any want of exertion on the part of the fleet. On his return homewards, his vessel, the Association, together with two other ships of war, one carrying seventy, the other fifty guns, was unfortunately cast away on the rocks of Scilly, on the evening of the 22d of October, 1707. Sir Cloudesley's body, which was taken up on the Scilly islands, was conveyed to England, and buried, with great funeral pomp, in Westminster-abbey, at the public expense.

A particular circumstance attending his death has been preserved in the family of the earl of Romney, and is too interesting to be omitted: "The admiral was not drowned; but, after having reached the shore

in safety, was, according to the confession of an ancient woman, by her treacherously and inhumanly murdered. This atrocious act she, many years afterwards, when on her deathbed, revealed to the minister of the parish who attended her, declaring she could not die in peace till she had made this confession. She acknowledged having been led to commit this horrid deed for the sake of plunder; and that she then had in her possession, among other things, an emerald ring, which she had been afraid to sell lest it should lead to a discovery. This ring, which was then delivered to the minister, was by him given to James, carl of Berkeley-in possession of whose family it now remains—at his particular request, Sir Cloudesley Shovell and himself having lived on terms of the most intimate friendship. The manner of his death, as well as the discovery of the ring, is related differently by Campbell and others; but from the channel through which the communication was made, we have every reason to conclude that this account is undoubt· edly most authentic."

Sir George Rooke.

BORN A. D. 1650.-DIED A. D. 1708.

SIR GEORGE ROOKE, son to Sir William Rooke, the descendant of a very ancient Kentish family, after serving for nearly twenty years in the royal navy as lieutenant and captain of divers ships of war, was, at the epoch of the revolution, captain of the Deptford.

The first enterprise in which we find him engaged, was the relief of Londonderry, at that time closely besieged, and severely pressed by the catholic army and the French allies of James. The eagerness and the ability which he displayed on this occasion interested the earl of Torrington so much in his favour, that he was, as it is said, in consequence of the express recommendation of that noble lord, advanced to the rank of rear-admiral of the red. In this station he served under his unfortunate patron and friend at the battle of Beachy-head. In the month of May, 1692, a very few days only previous to the memorable encounter off Cape la Hogue, he was specially chosen by his colleagues to transmit to the admiralty board a loyal address from the flag-officers and captains of the fleet, professing, in the warmest terms, their attachment to their majesties and their government. He was on this occasion promoted to be vice-admiral of the blue, and bore a very conspicuous part in the great engagement with the French fleet.

In the ensuing spring he received the honour of knighthood, and was promoted to be vice-admiral of the white squadron. Almost immediately afterwards he was ordered to the Straits, for the purpose of convoying thither a very numerous fleet of merchant-ships, amounting to no less than four hundred sail. The force put under his command consisted of twenty-one ships of two decks, English and Dutch, two frigates, and five smaller vessels. The grand fleet, under the orders of the joint admirals, Shovell, Delawal, and Killegrew, for the better protection of so valuable a stake, saw Sir George in safety, so far as the distance of fifty leagues to the south-west of Ushant. Such, however, was the address of the enemy, the correctness of their information, and

the total want of it on the part of Britain, that the armaments of Brest and Toulon had formed a junction in Lagos bay, where they continued quiet, in expectation of their prize, without any of the commanders in the combined squadrons being in the slightest degree aware of the circumstance, or of the danger that awaited them. The misfortune, though great, was alleviated, in a considerable degree, by the ability and activity of Sir George; more than three-fourths of the fleet were preserved, and, of the ships sent for its protection, three only, and those belonging to the Dutch, who behaved with the most conspicuous gallantry on the occasion, fell into the hands of the Count de Tourville.

In 1698 Sir George was chosen representative for the town of Portsmouth, and he soon afterwards had an opportunity of displaying his abilities as a statesman as well as a naval commander. A formidable confederacy had been entered into between the northern powers of Russia, Denmark, and Poland, the avowed object of which was the destruction of the young king of Sweden. Britain could not calmly look on and permit so dreadful an invasion of the rights of nations; and Sir George was accordingly sent into the Sound with a fleet, fitted out with the intention of acting in conjunction with the Dutch, not only for the purpose of freeing Sweden from the terrors of annihilation, but compelling her confederated foes to agree to an equitable peace. The moderation and the firmness of the British admiral on this occasion, reflected the highest honour on his judgment as an officer, and his integrity as a man. While, on the one hand, he declared himself to the Danes and their allies fully determined to crush their injurious project, on the other he most peremptorily resisted every solicitation made to him by the youthful sovereign of Sweden to continue the war even for an instant longer than was absolutely necessary for the acquisition of a fair and honourable peace. His answer to the king himself is too memorable for us to omit:-"I was," said Sir George in reply to him, "sent hither to serve your majesty, but not to ruin the kingdom of Denmark." The treaty of Travendahl was accordingly concluded in despite of every remonstrance the impetuous Charles could make, and every objection which his heated imagination could propose.

On the prospect of a war with France in 1701, Sir George was again invested with the chief command; but that power considering the hour of hostility not yet arrived, peace remained unbroken till after the accession of Queen Anne. Among the very first acts of her majesty's reign, is to be reckoned the appointment of Sir George to be vice-admiral of England, and commander-in-chief of the British fleet. The first enterprise resolved on by government was the attack of Cadiz; and the failure of it, though not in the slightest degree imputable to Sir George, was most uncandidly attempted to be attributed to him by some of the virulent party-writers of the time, and by Burnet in particular. Fortune, however, seemed ready to afford him some recompense for his recent disappointment; for he had scarcely left Cadiz on his return home, when he received intelligence that a most valuable fleet of Spanish galleons had put into Vigo, together with their escort, commanded by that well-known officer, Mons. Chateau Renaud. Sir George instantly resolved on attempting the capture of the fleet, and succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations. The treasure and articles of merchandise taken and destroyed on this occasion amounted

to between four and five millions sterling; while the injury sustained in respect to ships of war, had never been exceeded, except in the instances of the destruction of the Armada, and the battle off Cape La Hogue. Twenty ships and vessels of war, fifteen of which were of two decks, together with thirteen galleons, were included in the destruction and capture made and effected on this occasion.

The year 1704 formed a very distinguished epoch in the life of Sir George. In the month of January the very honourable trust of conveying King Charles III. to Spain was confided to him. By his firmness added to the greatest complacency of manners, he got over a variety of delicate and absurd punctilios on this occasion, particularly one where the honour of the British flag was concerned, with the highest credit to himself, and the maintenance of his country's dignity. In respect to more active service, the capture of Gibraltar still stands with undiminished lustre, one of the brightest gems that ever ornamented British valour or British conduct, as well in respect to the execution as to the plan of the enterprise.

He is said, when on his deathbed, to have made the following impressive answer to some persons present at the execution of his will, and who could not refrain from making some remarks on the narrowness of his circumstances. "What I leave," said he, " 'tis true, is not much, but what I do leave, has been honestly acquired. It never cost a seaman a tear, or the nation a farthing." From the time he quitted the line of active service, he was intolerably afflicted with the gout, which put a period to his life at a very premature age. This event took place on the 24th of January, 1708-9, Sir George being then in his fiftyeighth year. His executors caused a magnificent monument to be erected to him in Canterbury cathedral.

Henry, Earl of Clarendon.

BORN A. D. 1638.-DIED a. d. 1709.

HENRY, second earl of Clarendon, was born in 1638. He was early initiated by his father into the mysteries of politics, being employed by him in the king's secret correspondence, so that he generally passed half the day in writing in cypher or decyphering. In this trust young Hyde conducted himself with extreme faithfulness and the greatest prudence. After the restoration he was appointed chamberlain to her

majesty.

On his father's death, he took his seat in the house of lords, and, though he warmly resented the usage which his parent had received at the hands of the court, yet, as he keenly opposed the bill of exclusion, he was taken into favour, and made a privy-councillor. On the accession of James II. he became lord-privy-seal, and afterwards lordlieutenant of Ireland. His attachment, however, to the protestant cause would not allow him to support the king in his designs on the religion of the country, and he was ultimately stripped of his official employments.

He declined to take the oath of allegiance at the revolution, and was subjected to a brief imprisonment in the Tower in consequence. He