1759, is a fource of exquifite gratification to the furviving officers and crew of His Majefty's late frigate the Veftal, who were under his command that day, when he engaged and took the Bellona French frigate of 32 guns, after a defperate and well-fought action of four hours; for which fignal fervice he was prefented by Lord Anion, then Firft Lord of the Admiralty, to his late Majefty King George the Second, who, in a very flattering manner, expreffed his high fenfe of the fervices rendered to his country by Captain Hood,

After this reception from his Sovereign, be went out again in the Vestal, and finished his gallant conduct for this war, by compelling the Modefte, a French fhip of forty guns, to take fhelter under the fort of the ifland of Terriff, in the Gut of Gibraltar.

In the interval of peace, between 1763 and 1778, he was indifferently employed in the fervice of his country as Captain of a guardfhip, Commodore at Hallifax, and Commillioner of Portsmouth Yard; and his patent of Baronetage is a moft honourable certificate of his zeal and ability in the dif. charge of the duties of thofe important fituations.

The latter end of the year 1780, his Lordfhip was called upon by his Sovereign, and the Miniftry of that period, to ferve as fecond in command in the Weft Indies, and by his diftinguished conduct in his firft rentontre with the French fleet, after his arrival in whofe feas, on the 29th of April (when acting as fenior officer in Lord Rodney's ab fence, at St. Euftatius,) he fully confirmed the wisdom of His Majesty choice, as well as the high opinion entertained of his profeffional merit from his fervices in the former

war.

It is fearcely neceffary to remind my countrymen of the infinite fkill and intrepidity exhibited by his Lordship in attempting the relief of St. Kitts, in the face of a very fuperior force, and which only failed of fuccefs from the garrifon not being able to hold out till a reinforcement of troops could arrive.

With refpect to his conduct on the 12th and 19th of April, Lord Rodney's own letJer fufficiently establishes his claim to the fupport of a generous and brave nation; for, in his Lordship's official dispatches of thole engagements on the fubject, he fays, "The noble behaviour of my Second in command Sir Samuel Hood, who in both actions moft confpicuoufly exerted himfelf, demands my ❤armeft encomiums." And the corroborating teftimony of the greateft part of the fleet will acquit me of prefumption in ftating what Lord Rodney, poffibly from the events not coming within his own view, omitted, that, out of five fhips captured on the 12th, three, viz. the Ville de Paris, Caefar, and

Ardent, abfolutely truck to Lord Hood's divifion; and the Ville de Paris, Comte de Graffe's fhip, to the Barfieur, on which his Lordthip's flag was flying.

On the 19th he added to his former reputation; being detached with a fquadron from the grand fleet, he overtook in the Mona paffage, and captured, two of the enemies fhips of the line, a frigate and a floop of war.

The noble Lord whofe exemplary services I have with fo much pleasure recited, I leave as a public chara&er, in the possession of immortal fame, and as a private man in the happy enjoyment of those superior comforts arifing from fuperior virtue and from the confequent esteem of all good men.

The fame fubject continued, by an Officer.

WHEN the late contest for Westminster began, the enemies of Lord Hood alledged, "that when he was formerly elected, it was folely in confideration of his meritorious fervices as a naval officer;" but fince that time they have thewn a disposition to retract whatever portion of truth may have fal en from their pen. They hired one Swaile, an obscure and infignificant man, to set his name to a moft malicious fallehood, which he himself exprefles thus: "Lord Hood had in fact nothing to fay to the action of the 12th of April;" and he refers the Public for information to Lord Rodney. Now I who fhared in that battle, and who had an opportunity of witneffing the conduct of Lord Hood on feveral other occafions, will fairly ftate not only my own opinion, hut the opinions of other men, believing them to be perfectly juft. I begin with obferving, that were any perfon to apply for the opinion of Lord Rodney, that brave and deferving commander would readily acknowledge that Lord Hood had been grofsly traduced. I affert this, not only because I know that his Lordship has fhown his willingness to fupport Lord Hood in the prefent conteft, but becaule I am certain that he is not capable of publishing any thing that is not strictly true. Now the following is the well-earned compli ment paid by him to Lord Flood after the memorable affair of the 12th of April. “The noble behaviour of my second in command, Sir Samuel food, who, in both actions, moft confpicuously exerted himfelves, deferves my warmest encomiums." To this I add what the Annual Regifter fays refpecting the two actions alluded to."The whole divifion were in a few minutes closely engaged; and for more than an hour were exceedingly preffed by the great fuperiority of the enemy's numbers. The Barfleur, Sir Samuel Hood's own fhip, had at one time ferven, and generally three ships, firing upon

her;

her; and none of the divifion efcaped the encounter of a very difproportionate force. Nothing could be more glorious than the firm and effective refiftance, with which, and without once fhrinking, they fuftained all the eflorts of so great a fuperiority." While Sir Samuel was making this gallant display of courage and fkill, the centre and rear divifions were unfortunately becalmned. What follows next alludes to the latter part of the action of the 12th of April." At length Sir Samuel Hood came up in the Barfleur, and poured in the Ville de Paris a moft tremendous and deftructive broadfide, which is faid to have killed fixty men outright but Monfieur de Graffe, wishing to fignalize as much as poffible, the lofs of fo fine and fo favourite a fhip, endured the repetition of this fire for about a quarter of an hour longer. He then ftruck his flag to the Barfleur; and furrendered himself to Sir Samuel Hood. It was faid, that at the time the Ville de Paris ftruck, there were but three men left alive and unhurt on the upper deck, and that the Count de Graffe was one of the three." As to the contemptibie maneuvre of rendering Lord Hood unpopular, by publishing that his divifion loft no men on the memorable occafion men tioned, it appears fo impudent that I muft add a word on that fubject. If the divifion he had the honour to command, had not loft a single man, ftill Lord Hood's exertions might have been equally great and ferviceable. When Sir John Jervis took the Pegale, he killed and wounded two hundred of the enemy; while in his own fhip not one man was killed, and only three or four were wounded. And in the action of the 12th of April itfelf, the Marlborough, the leading fhip, after hav.ng received the first broadfides of twenty-three line of battle flips, had only three men killed, and fixteen wounded. Lord Hood did not wish to fee his men killed; his ambition was to kill thofe of his enemy. Neverthelets, he did lofe many men-his own fhip having had ten killed, and thirty-feven wounded. The Formidable, the gallant Rodney's fhip, which every French commander was eager to affail, had only fifteen killed, and thirty-nine wounded. Admiral Drake had three killed, and twenty-two wounded. As to the whole of Lord Hood's divifion, which his enemies have faid loft no men either in killed, wounded, or miffing, it did lofe, according to Lord Rodney's official account in killed and wounded, three hundred and feventy-nine men; none were miffing, becaufe Lord Hood took care not to lofe any of his fhips. Lord Rodney's divifion had four hundred and twenty-two killed and wounded. Admiral Drake's killed and wounded amounted to 218. But here I muft

delire to remark, that in Lord Rodney's letter, no account was given of the lofs in the Centaur of 74 guns, one of the fhips in Lord Hood's divifion; nor in that of the Alcide, a 74, in Sir Francis Drake's divifion. The public do not need to be reminded, for they cannot yet have forgot, that out of the eight line of battle fhips taken or destroyed in April, 1782, two were captured by Lord Hood ieveral days after the general conflict. From the above circumstances it appears. that when Lord Hood's friends are difpofed to recount his meritorious actions, they have a full and indifputable right to rank his conduct in April, 1782, among the foremost of them.

With regard to the affair of Saint Kitt's, it has been deemed by foreigners, and by almoft every British officer with whom I have converfed, the moft matterly manoeuvre that the Naval Hiftory of England furnishes.The French, with thirty-two fail of the line, had gained a very advantageous anchorage: but Lord Hood, with twenty-two fail, by his extraordinary difcernment and addrefs, drew them from that anchorage, and seized it himself. When he had done all that could be done for the island, he cut and run; and for this excellent reafon-he did not choose to engage thirty-four fail of the enemy's fhips with twenty-two, at a time when he believed Lord Rodney lay at a neighbouring island with a reinforcement: Two ships had joined the thirty-two that were under M. de Gralle at the time Lord Hood first fell in with him. By the encounters which the two fleets had before St. Kitt's, the French had near 500 men killed, and they sent above a thousand of their wounded to St. Euftatius. The fleet under the illuftrious Hood had only 72 killed, and 244 wounded.

I fhall not proceed farther in the vindication of the character of my gallant friend.→→ His deferts are great, and they are acknowledged by the wile and the good; he defies his enemies to injure him while they adhere to truth.

Character of the

A POST CAPTAIN.

celebrated Captain Cook. By Dr. Kippis extracted from the Life of that eminent Navigator, just published.. ROM the relation that has been given of

FRO

Captain Cook's courfe of life, and of the important events in which he was engaged, my readers cannot be ftrangers to his general character. This, therefore, might be left to be collected from his actions, which are the best exhibitions of the great qualities of his mind. But, perhaps, were I not to endeavour to afford a fummary view of him in thefe refpects, I might be thought to fail in that duty which I owe to the public on the prefent occafion.

It cannot, I think, be denied that genius belonged to Captain Cook in an eminent degree. By genius I do not here underftand imagination merely, or that power of culling the flowers of fancy which poetry delights in; but an inventive mind, a mind full of refources, and which, by its own native vigour, can fuggeft noble objects of purfuit and the most effectual methods of attaining them. This faculty was poffeffed by our navigator in its full energy, as is evi dent from the uncommon fagacity and penetration which he discovered in a vaft variety of critical and difficult fituations.

To genius Captain Cook added application, without which nothing very valuable or permanent can be accomplished, even by the brighteft capacity. For an unremitting at tention to whatever related to his profeffion he was dinguished in early life. In every affair that was undertaken by him his affiduity was without interruption, and without abatement. Wherever he came, he suffered riothing which was fit for a feaman to know or to practife to pass unnoticed, or to efcape His diligence.

The genius and application of Captain Cook were followed by a large extent of knowledge; a knowledge which, befides a confummate acquaintance with navigation, comprehended a number of other feiences. In this respect, the ardour of his mind role above the difadvantages of a very confined education. His progrefs in the different branches of the mathematics, and particu larly in aftronomy, became fo eminent, that at length he was able to take the lead in making the neceffary obfervations of this kind in the courfe of his voyages. He attained, likewise, to fuch a degree of proficiency in general learning, and the art of compofition, as to be able to exprefs himfelf with a manly clearness and propriety, and to become refpectable as the narrator as well as the performer of great acti

ons.

Another thing frikingly confpicuous in Captain Cook was the perfeverance with which he pursued the noble objects to which his life was devoted. This, indeed, was a moft diftinguished feature in his character; in this he fcarcely ever had an equal, and never a fuperior. Nothing could divert him from the points he aimed at; and he perfifted in the profécution of them through difficulties and obftructions which would have deterred minds of very confiderable ftrength and firmness.

What enabled him to perfevere in all his mighty undertakings was the invincible fortitude of his fpirit. Of this, inftances with out number occur in the accounts of his expeditions; two of which I fhall take the li berty of recalling to the attention of my

readers. The first is, the undaunted magnanimity which he profecuted his discoveries along the whole fouth east coast of New Holland. Surrounded as he was with the greateft poffible dangers, arifing from the perpetual fucceffion of rocks, foals, and breakers, and having a thip that was almost fhaken to pieces by repeated perils, his vigorous mind had a regard to nothing but what he thought was required of him by his duty to the public. It will not be easy to find, in the hiftory of navigation, a parallel example of courageous exertion. The other circumstance. I would refer to is, the boldness with which, in his fecond voyage, after he left the Cape of Good Hope, he pushed forwards into unknown feas, and penetrated through innumerable mountains and islands of ice in the fearch of a fouthernt continent. It was like launching into chaos; all was ob fcurity, all was darknets before him; and no event can be compared with it, except the failing of Magelhaens, from the ftraits. which bear his name, into the Pacific Ocean.

The fortitude of Captain Cook being founded upon reafon and not upon instinct, was not an impetuous valour, but accompa nied with felf poffeffion. He was mafter of himself on every trying occafion, and seemed to be the more calm and collected the greater was the exigence of the cafe. In the moft perilous fituations, when our commander had given the proper directions concerning what was to be done while he went to reft, he could fleep. during the hours he had allotted to himself, with perfect com. pofure and foundnefs. Nothing could be a furer indication of an elevated mind; of a mind that was entirely fatisfied with itself, and with the measures it had taken.

To all thefe great qualities Captain Cook added the most amiable virtues. That it was impoffible for any one to excel him in humanity is apparent from his treatment of his men through all his voyages, and from his behaviour to the natives of the countries which were discovered by him. The health, the convenience, and, as far as it could be admitted, the enjoyment of the feamen, were the conflant objects of his attention; and he was anxiously folicitous to meliorate the condition of the inhabitants of the feveral iflanis and places which he vifited. With regard to their thieveries, he candidly apologised for and overlooked many offences which others would have sharply punifhed, and when he was laid under an indifpenfable neceffity of proceeding to any acts of feverity, he never exerted them without feeling much reluctance and concern.

In the private relations of life Captain Cook was entitled to high commendation.

Не

He was excellent as a husband and a father, and fincere and fteady in his friendships; and to this it may be added, that he poffeff ed that general fobriety and virtue of character, which will always be found to conffitute the beft fecurity and ornament of other moral qualifications.

With the greatest benevolence and humanity of difpofition Captain Cook was occafionally fubject to a haftiness of temper. This, which has been exaggerated by the few (and they are indeed few) who are unfavourable to his memory, is acknowledged by his friends, It is mentioned both by Captain King and Mr. Samwell in their deline. ations of his character. Mr. Hayley, in one of his poems, calls him the mild Cook; but perhaps that is not the happiest epithet which could have been applied to him. Mere mildness can scarcely be confidered as the moft prominent and distictive feature in the mind of a man, whofe powers of underftanding and of action were fo ftrong and elevated, who had fuch immenfe difficulties to ftruggle with, and who must frequently have been called to the firmeft exertions of authority and command.

Laftly, Captain Cook was diftinguished by a property which is almost universally the concomitant of truly great men, and that is, a fimplicity of manners. In conversation he was unaffected and unaffuming; rather backward in pushing discourse, but obliging and communicative in his anfwers to thofe who addreffed him for the purposes of information. It was not poffible that, in a mind conftituted like his, fuch a paltry quality as vanity could find an existence.

Humorous Relation of the Diftreffes of a

I

SIR,

Bafoful Man.

Indies.

This uncle I had very rarely heard my father mention, and it was generally believed that he was long fince dead, when he arrived in England only a week too late to close his brother's eyes. I am ashamed to confefs, what I believe has been often experienced by thofe, whofe education has been better than their parents, that my poor father's ignorance, and vulgar language, had often made me blush to think I was his fon; and at his death I was not inconfolable for the loss of that, which I was not unfrequently ashamed to own. My uncle was but little affected, for he had been separated from his brother more than thirty years, and in that time he had acquired a fortune which he ufed to brag, would make a Nabob happy; in short, he had brought over with him the enormous this he built his hopes of never ending hapfum of thirty thousand pounds, and upon pinefs. While he was planning schemes of greatnefs and delight, whether the change of climate might affect him, or what other cause I know not, but he was fnatched from all his dreams of joy by a fhort illness, of which he died, leaving me heir to all his property. And now, fir, behold me at the age of twenty-five, well stocked with Latin, Greek, and Mathematics, poffeffed of an ample fortune, but fo awkward and unverfed in every gentleman-like accomplishment, that I am pointed at by all who fee me, as the wealthy learned clown.

I have lately purchased an estate in the country, which abounds in (what is called) a fashionable neighbourhood; and when you reflect on my parentage and uncouth manner, you will hardly think how much my company is courted by the furrounding families, especially by thofe who have marriageable daughters. From thefe gentlemen I have received familiar calls, and the most preffing invitations, and though I wished to accept their offered friendship, I have repeatedly excused myself under the pretence of not being quite fettled; for the truth is,

that