(see the Admiralty lists), and officially as well as otherwise addressed, "captain." *

A slight sketch of the naval strength of England's maritime allies in the war may here with propriety be introduced. Holland, according to her published accounts, possessed a navy amounting to 119 vessels, from a 74-gun ship to a six-gun cutter. But this was on paper: when analyzed, the Dutch navy dwindles into comparative insignificance. For instance, of the 49 "ships of the line," the largest, owing to the local impediments formerly noticed, � Was not superior to a second-class British third-rate; and of those there were but 10 in all. The remainder. of the Dutch line was composed of 64 and 54 gun-ships ; the latter a class expelled from the line of battle, by all other navies, but retained by the Dutch as a handy description of two-decker for their shallow waters. Some of the Dutch frigates were fine vessels, but very few of them carried heavier metal than long 12-pounders ; and the designation of frigate descended to ships of 500 tons, mounting twenty-four 8-pounders, including four in the 'tween decks amidships. We shall, however, for consistency sake, when having occasion to mention these vessels, call them corvettes. Upon the whole, the navy of Holland, especially as by far the greater proportion of the ships lay rotten, and rotting, in dock or at their moorings in the different harbours, was little more than a nominal advantage to England in the war she was about to commence.

Spain, according to a list given in Schomberg's fourth volume, possessed a navy which, in numerical amount, vied with that of France. Out of a total of 204 vessels, 76 were of the line, mounting from 112 � to 60 guns; of which latter class, and of 64s, there were but 11. Of the 76 ships of the line, 56 appear to have been in commission, and, of the under-line vessels, 105 ; comprehending four-fifths of the whole Spanish navy. This was an extraordinary large proportion, and out of which Spain might well stipulate to join the confederacy with 60 sail of vessels, great and small : a reinforcement, however, as the sequel will show, that proved of very little use. Portugal undertook to furnish six sail of the line and four frigates; which constituted nearly the whole amount of her navy. Her line-of-battle ships consisted chiefly of 74s, were fine vessels, and partly officered by Englishmen. The navy of Naples is represented to have been composed, including 74 gun-boats, of 102 vessels, mounting 618 guns, and manned by 8614 men. The principal part, if not the whole, of the line-of-battle force in this navy, consisted of