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VERSES on the PEACE.

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ATIATE of blood, with battles tir'd The pow'r of war withdraws his train, That late, with favage fury fir'd, Bade flaughter drench the mourning plain.

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THE

WEEKLY ENTERTAINER.

For MONDAY, February 17, 1783.

MEMOIRS of LORD RODNEY.

ORD Rodney is defcended from a family of long standing,

of which married Sir Thomas Brydges, of Keynfham, which occafioned the admiral's receiving the additional chriftian name of Brydges. Being deftined to a fea-life, he early entered into the royal navy, and, after going through the feveral fubordinate ftations, on the 9th day of November, 1742, received the commiffion of a captain.

In September, 1744, he was promoted to the command of the Ludlow Caftle, a fhip of 40 guns; and, in 1747, failed in the Eagle, of 60 guns, under the command of the brave lord Hawke; when, by his valour and conduct, he contributed to the fignal and important victory obtained on the 14th of October that year. The share he had in that engagement, may be collected from the following paffage in the letter of his commander to the admiralty: In paffing on to the first ship we could get near, we received many fires at a distance, 'till we came close to the Severne, of 50 guns, whom we foon filenced, and left to be taken up by the frigates a-ftern. Then perceiving the Eagle and Elizabeth, who had loft her fore-top-maft, engaged, we kept our wind a pfe as poffible, in order to affift them. This attempt of our we fruftrated by the Eagle's falling twice on board us, having had her wheel fhot to pieces, and all the men at it killed, and all her braces and bow-lines gone." T

VOL. I. 7.

One

One caufe of captain Rodney's fhip fuffering fo much, arose from the mifconduct of captain Fox, of the Kent, who was tried and broke on the 21 of December, in the fame year. The evidences against this cowardly officer were, the late admirals Watfon, Cotes, Saunders, and Sir George Rodney; the latter of whom declared, that he was left between two fires, when captain Fox might easily have come to his affiftance, but did not. This was the last action of confequence which happened before the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

In the month of May, 1749, he was appointed governor of Newfoundland; and on the zd of February, 1753, married lady Jane Compton, fecond daughter of the Hon. Charles Compton, and fifter to the earl of Northampton. This lady died on the 28th of January, 1757

In May, that year, he commanded the Dublin, of 74 guns. Soon after, he was appointed rear-admiral; and in July, 1759, was detached with a fleet of fhips and bombs to annoy the enemy at Havre-de-Grace. This commiffion he executed with fpirit and fuccefs. On the 3d, he anchored in the Great Road of Havre; where, having made a proper difpofition, the bombs proceeded to place themselves in the narrow channel of the river leading to Harfleur, it being the moft proper, indeed the only place to do execution from. At feven in the evening, two of the bombs were ftationed, as were all the reft early the next morning, from which time they continued to bombard for 52 hours, without intermiffior, and with fuch effect, that the town was feveral times in flames, and the magazine of stores for their flat bottomed boats burnt with great fury for upwards of fix hours, notwithstanding the efforts of feveral hundred men to extinguish it. In this attack, the explofion of the fhells overturned many of the flat bottomed boats; and the confternation of the town was fo great, that the inhabitants fled into the country.

Little damage was done to the fleet during the execution of this enterprize; after the performance of which, Sir George returned to England, where he continued but a short time to refit, and then went back to his ftation before Havre-de-Grace, and remained there during the rest of that year, and part of the following. In that time, it was his good fortune totally to deftroy all the preparations which the enemy had made for an invafion of England.

After the fervices performed on the French paft, the admiral had the honour to be chofen by that excht judge of active merit, the then Mr. Pitt, to take the command of a fquadron,. which was ordered to be fent to the Weft-Indies for the reduc

tion of Martinico. He failed from Spithead the 18th of October, 1761, with the Marlborough, Modefte, Vanguard, Nottingham, and Syren, large fhips; the Grenada, Thunderer, and Bafilifk bombs, and the Fly floop of war; and arrived at Barbadoes on the 22d of November alone, having parted company with the rest of his fquadron in a hard gale of wind, after he had left the Channel. He was joined by all his fhips on the 9th of December, and by the troops from Belleifle on the 14th, and thofe under general Monckton, from North America, on the 24th. He then ftaid a few days to refresh the men, and make the neceffary difpofitions for the enterprize.

On the 7th of January, 1762, the fleet arrived off MartiOn the 8th he anchored at St. Ann's Bay, and having filenced the enemy's forts, and deftroyed fome of their batteries, he landed the arms on the 16th. The fiege immediately commenced, and was carried on with fo much bravery, fpirit, and perfeverance, that a capitulation took place on the 7th of February, and the British colours were immediately hoifted all over the ifland. In taking of this important place, the army were materially affifted by their brethren of the navy; and that harmony fubfifted between them, which is abfolutely neceflary to enfure fuccefs in any attempt of the like arduous nature.

Immediately on the furrender of Martinico, the admiral and general determined to follow the blow they had ftruck: a detachment was therefore made from the army and navy, which forced St. Lucia and the refl of the islands to furrender at difcretion. An ignominious peace foon afterwards enfued, and the greater part of these important conquefts, dearly bought by the blood of numbers of our brave countrymen, were returned to the enemy, who were again left to re-establish their broken ftrength, and to prepare, by new fchemes of perfidy, to undermine the power which, by a foolish lenity, once more put arms into hands which they were fure would be turned against themfelves.

On the 21st of January, 1764, Sir George was raised to the dignity of a baronet of Great Britain; and on the 3d of December, 1765, was appointed mafter of the royal hofpital at Greenwich, in the room of admiral Townsend. He had, in the parliament which met at the acceffion of his prefent Majefty, been chofen member for Penryn, in Cornwall; and in 1768, engaged in a conteft at Northampton, which was attended with more expence, and more ruinous confequences, than any election that ever happed. This town had the misforture to be fituated near the feats of three peers, the earls of Hallifax, Northampton, and Spencer; who not agreeing who fhould be

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the members, fet up each a candidate: Sir George Ofborne, by the earl of Hallifax; Sir George Brydges Rodney, by the earl of Northampton; and Mr. Howe, by earl Spencer: but the two former were fuppofed to join in the fame intereft. After the exertion of almost every effort, legal or illegal, the fquandering away immenfe fums of money, and embroiling the town and neighbourhood in the most rancorous, inveterate, and lasting quarrels, the two first mentioned earls obtained the return in favour of thofe candidates they efpoufed. A petition was immediately prefented to the House of Commons, and Mr. Howe's right appeared fo evident, that before the matter came to be heard at the bar, it was agreed that the two baronets could not be allowed to fit for Northampton in that parliament. Their counfel therefore agreed to tofs up which of them fhould be the fitting member, and the lot fell on Sir George Brydges Rodney. To fum up the confequences of this conteft in a few words, the earls of Hallifax and Northampton embarraffed their circumftances in fuch a manner, that the first remained poor and diftreffed during the reft of his life: the earl of Northampton was under the neceffity of banishing himself, and died abroad; and our admiral became fo far involved, that he alfo was obliged to leave England, and in the end was fome time confined in a French prifon.

On a promotion of admirals in the year 1770, Sir George was appointed, on the 24th of October, vice-admiral of the red, and on the 28th of the fame month, vice-admiral of the white. In Auguft, 1771, he became rear-admiral of Great Britain, and foon after was obliged to refign his poft at Greenwich hospital. The preffure of the demands on him was now found too great to allow him to continue within the reach of his creditors with fafety. He therefore went to France, where he contracted fresh debts, and, in confequence of them, loft his liberty. In this distress, after having folicited and been refufed employment at home, he was affailed by the French miniftry with large offers to take the direction of the fleet of that nation, and become their port-admiral, This propofal was rejected, and every appearance feemed to declare that our brave countryman would be doomed to remain cooped up in a foreign gaol, while his fervices were wanted against the common enemy. At this juncture the duke de Noailles, with a degree of generofity and fpirit which do honour to the nobility of France, fent Sir George money fufficient to release him from captivity, and he was enabled once more to return to England.The man nature has well obferved, that

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