government, in order that the captors might not suffer for the prowess they had-displayed in riddling the hulls of the captured ships, paid for each of the three destroyed 74s, the Guerrier, Heureux, and Mercure, the sum of �20,000 ; which was as much as the least serviceable of the remaining three 74s had been valued at. Of these, the Conquérant was about 50 years old, and of no greater tonnage than the Theseus, the largest ship, except the Minotaur, in the fleet that took her. The Aquilon, or, as newly named, Aboukir, was built at Lorient in the year 1793, measured 1869 tons, and, but for her shattered state, would have been a useful ship : as it was, both of these ships remained in port until they were broken up. Not so with the remaining 74, the Spartiate, nor with the 80-gun ships Tonnant and Franklin. All three of these ships were built at Toulon ; owing to which on account of the superior durability of the Adriatic oak,* their value became greatly enhanced. The Tonnant was launched in 1791-2, the Franklin, in the spring of 1797, and the Spartiate, as recently as the commencement of the year in which she was captured. The following are the principal dimensions of the three ships

The two 80s were of about the same dimensions as the Sans-Pareil, taken by Lord Howe ; but the Franklin, in point of materials, workmanship, and qualifications, was considered to be the finest two-decked ship in the world. In order to show what an immensely powerful ship a French 80 is, we here couple, with the force of the Franklin, that of a British three-decker of the 98-gun class:

* A very intelligent writer, when remarking on the properties and qualities of timber, says, "The oaks of the southern parts of Europe are preferable to any others ; those of Provence, the Italian and Turkish sides of the Adriatic sea, have long been esteemed for their superior quality : with these, aided by supplies from Corsica, the ships at Toulon have been built, which are considered to exceed in durability all others constructed of oak." - Knowles on preserving the Navy, p. 2.

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