to those of the mercantile ports. Temptations of the most powerful nature were held out, to allure men of talent from their allegiance; and to gain them over to the service of the Americans, or their allies. It is to be feared that Sartine was too successful in this nefarious practice; and that there were persons so lost to all virtue, as to receive the wages of iniquity, under the miserable self-delusion, that they were assisting the cause of freedom.

That the French minister of marine and his colleagues were unprincipled enough to bribe men in public employment to betray their trust, has been fully proved. But the degradation of that government did not stop there. Estimating the moral dignity of others by his own corrupt mind, Sartine had the boldness to make an experiment upon the honesty of one of the brightest ornaments of the British navy. Admiral Sir George Bridges Rodney having fallen into pecuniary difficulties, chiefly through a severely contested election, was under the necessity of seeking a refuge in France from the importunity of his creditors. He was there when hostilities commenced, but could not venture to return home, on account of the embarrassment which had driven him abroad. To his applications for employment, the ministry at home paid no attention; though, if the services of such a man were ever wanted, it was at that critical period, when the navy was in a most dislocated condition.

Sartine, who knew the character and circumstances of Sir George Rodney, flattered himself, that the veteran's integrity might be overcome by the seductive influence of that powerful charm, which the crafty statesman had never yet found to fail when skilfully applied. This was a case, however, that required peculiar dexterity in the management, and an agency very different from any

ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE ADMIRAL RODNEY.

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that Sartine was in the ordinary habit of employing on such occasions. Among the admiral's friends at Paris, the principal was the Marechal Duc de Biron, a nobleman who stood deservedly high in the estimation of the public, as well as in the favour of the King. Sartine persuaded the weak monarch to lay his commands upon the duke to sound his friend the British admiral, and to make him the most liberal offers, if he would accept the command of a French fleet destined for the West Indies. The marechal did not very well relish the commission, for two reasons— one was, that he had too high an opinion of the admiral's honour, to believe that he would listen for a moment to the deceitful proposal; and, in the next place, he took it as an affront to himself to be thought capable of approving an action which, if it took place, must alienate him for ever from the person whom he now so highly valued.

The duke, however, in obedience to the royal mandate, invited Sir George to spend some weeks at his seat in the country. One morning, while walking in the gardens, the marechal began to introduce the subject, with as much cautious manœuvering as he could well practise; observing, that it was to be lamented an officer of such experience and gallantry should remain unemployed; and that there was now a signal opportunity for the display of his talents and the improvement of his fortune, in a country where he would meet with a more grateful return for his services that what he had met with in his own.

The admiral was struck; but, so far was he from being able to discover what this strange preamble would lead to, that, at length, he became alarmed, and imagined the duke must be deranged in his intellects; under which impression, he began to eye him with some apprehension. The duke

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34

RODNEY'S INCORRUPTIBILITY.

perceiving this, came to the point, and said, "that, as the King his master intended to make the West Indies the theatre of war, he had commissioned him to make unbounded offers to Sir George, if he would quit the English service, and accept the command of a French squadron on that station."

Those who have any recollection of the expressive countenance and piercing glance of the admiral, will readily figure to themselves the manner with which he received this address, and to which he made the following reply:"My distresses, it is true, have driven me out of my native country; but no temptation whatever can estrange me from her service. Had this overture been a voluntary one of your own, I should have deemed it an unpardonable insult, but I am glad to learn that it proceeds from a source that can do no wrong."-The duke was affected, but not surprised; for he had been too long acquainted with the noble mind of the admiral, to suppose that he would, under any circumstances, hesitate where his duty was concerned. Taking Sir George by the hand, the marechal apologized for the disagreeable trial he had put him to, offered him the unlimited use of his purse, and assured him of his unalterable regard. He did more, and served him effectually, by transmitting the particulars now related to the British ministry; in consequence of which, the admiral immediately received an invitation to return, with the assurance of being appointed to a command, as soon as an arrangement could be made for the purpose. Upon this, he availed himself of the proffered assistance of his friend the duke, by borrowing the sum of one thousand louis to discharge the debts he had incurred in Paris, and which was repaid soon after his arrival in London. It merits notice here, that when the intelligence reached

DEFEAT OF COUNT DE GRASSE.

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Paris of the defeat of Count de Grasse, the population of that city were inflamed with the most violent rage and resentment against the marechal, vehemently reproaching him with having brought that disaster upon their nation. The marechal replied, "that he gloried in the man whose liberty he had effected, and in the victory which he had so nobly won."

The following anecdote of Admiral Rodney will amuse the reader, as characteristic of his spirit in correcting impertinence. A little before his departure from Paris, the Duke de Chartres, better known afterwards as the infamous Orleans, took occasion to acquaint Sir George that he was about to have a command in the fleet which was to be opposed to that under his friend and countryman Admiral Keppel; asking him, in an insulting manner, what he thought would be the consequence of their meeting? "That my countryman will carry your highness home with him, to learn English," replied Rodney.

Though this brave officer returned to England in the spring of 1778, he did not obtain an appointment till the first of October in the following year. The Spaniards had now commenced the blockade of Gibraltar; and the French, at the same time, menaced the whole of our West India Islands. To provide, therefore, for the security of those valuable possessions, a fleet, consisting of twenty-two sail of the line, was placed under the command of Admiral Rodney, who, after throwing supplies into Gibraltar, was directed to make all possible despatch for the ulterior object of his destination. Admiral Digby's division was attached to this fleet; and the whole sailed from Plymouth on the 29th of December. General Mundy, in his interesting memoir and cor

36

PRINCE HENRY IN RODNEY'S FLEET.

respondence of Admiral Rodney, recently published, says, "It was a circumstance no less gratifying than flattering to Sir George Rodney, that he was selected by his Majesty to introduce his third son, Prince WilliamHenry, to the service of his country-a service to which his Royal Highness has ever shewn himself most devotedly attached; and in the duties of which, whilst in commission, he displayed much nautical talent, and maintained the most perfect discipline. His Royal Highness was placed, as a midshipman, on board the Prince George, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Digby— not nominally as a midshipman, but to do its duties; to have a thorough knowledge of the profession; to learn by practical experience the duties attached to the different stations, and to learn how to obey as well as how to command."

The uninformed reader might be led to suppose, from this statement and observation, that the Prince went for the first time to sea, under the particular care of Admiral Rodney; when, in fact, he had been already a year and a half in the service, and, in that time, had gone through much danger. The encounter of the channel-fleet with the combined French and Spanish squadrons in the preceding summer, exposed his Royal Highness to imminent. danger; and, if a general action had taken place, as there was every reason to believe would have been the case, the carnage must have been considerable. There are veterans yet living, who recollect with pleasure the firmness of the heroic youth on that memorable occasion; the resolution which he displayed in anticipating an engagement; and the evident mortification he felt at the disappointment of his expectations.

This feeling, indeed, prevailed throughout the fleet, and