intended to have it thence inferred, that they took no further part in the action. An officer of one of the line-of-battle ships, apparently the Namur, in a letter published on the same day as the official account, considers that the tacking of the French ships " gave the frigates in the rear the credit of taking a good share in the action. " The French indeed represent, that every one of their ships, when the squadron got on the larboard tack, found herself assailed by a ship of the line to windward and a frigate to leeward, the latter placing herself in a comparatively safe but harassing position on the quarter. This is saying too much. What the frigates really did may be thus stated : The Phoenix, by her skilful manoeuvres, decoyed the French squadron within sight of the British squadron. This frigate, then, accompanied by the Santa-Margarita, gallantly fought, and considerably annoyed, the rearmost French ship ; so much so, doubtless, as to have checked the way of all the French ships, and thereby enabled Sir Richard the more quickly to overtake them. When the French squadron tacked, the Santa-Margarita got thrown out, because she had received a dangerous shot in the magazine, besides several other shot in her starboard side ; to stop the holes of which the ship was obliged to be kept on the heel for two hours. But the Santa-Margarita's place was ably supplied by the Rêvolutionnaire, who, with the Phoenix, gave the finishing blow to the Scipion. The �olus exchanged a few distant shot with the French ships as they passed to windward, and made herself useful in taking possession of the Mont-Blanc after that ship had struck to the Cæsar.

The capture of M. Dumanoir's squadron may fairly be considered as an emanation from the Battle of Trafalgar. So that, out of the 18 sail of the line which France possessed on the morning of the 21st of October, in a fortnight afterwards she could count only five, and those five shut up in a Spanish port, helpless to themselves and useless to their country. The news of these sad reverses reached the French emperor in Austria, in the midst of his brilliant triumphs. Napoléon is said to have flown into the most violent rage, and to have declared, in allusion to Byng's fate, that he would teach French admirals how to conquer. " Je saurai bien apprendre aux amiraux fran�ais � vaincre. " In a little time, however, Buonaparte's habitual duplicity resumed its sway over his mind ; and he was weak enough to imagine that, because he told the legislative assembly that a few of his ships had been lost in a storm, � and the Moniteur and other French papers refrained from publishing a word on the subject, the world at large were a jot less wise respecting the real fate of the Franco-Spanish fleet.

The French emperor subsequently gave a gracious reception to Captains Lucas, Infernet, Magendie, and Villemadrin; saying to

*  Victoires et Conquetes, tome xvi. p 197.

�  See page 109

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