In 1694, Sir Cloudefley commanded, as vice admiral of the Red, under lord Berke ley, admiral of the Blue, in the unfuccefsful expedition to Camaret-Bay. Lord Berkeley returning to London in Auguft, the command of the fquadron, which confifted now only of frigates and fmall fhips, devolved upon Sir Cloudesley, who received exprefs inftructions to undertake the bombardment of Dunkirk, at all events. Accordingly he attempted it,though without any good effect, through the fault of the engineer; who probably, for want of fufficient intelligence of the preparations which the French had made against this defign, had promifed more than either he or any other man could perform. Sir Cloudefley, however, took care to demonftrate from his conduct that no fault lay in him; for he went with a boat within the enemy's works, and fo became an eye-witness of the impoffibility of doing what his orders directed to be done: and, therefore, on his coming home, be was perfectly well received, and confidered as a man who would command fuccefs where it was poffible, and omit nothing in his power where it was not. The remainder of this war was carried on at fea, chiefly by bombarding the towns and forts on the French coaft; in which Sir Clouddefley Shovel had his fhare; and after the peace of Ryfwick, he was always confulted by his majefty, when maritime affairs came under confideration.

In 1704 Sir George Rooke commanded the grand fleet in the Mediterranean; to reinforce which, Sir Cloudefley Shovel was fent with a powerful fquadron. He joined the fleet in the middle of June, and was very inftrumental in the fuccefs that followed. He affifted in the reduction of Gibraltar, and had a confiderable bare in the action off Malaga: in which he behaved with the utmost bravery, and fhowed himself to be a moft able feaman. In 1705, being made rear-admiral of England, and admiral and commander in chief of the fleet, he was commiffioned to act jointly with the earl of Peterborough, as admiral of the fleet deftined for the Mediterranean. They failed from St. Helen's in the latter end of May, and on the 22d of June arrived at Lisbon, where they were joined by Sir John Leake and the Dutch admiral Allemonde. From thence they proceeded to the bay of Altea, and there took in king Charles III. of Spain, who preffing the earl of Peterborough to make an immediate attempt on the city of Barcelona, and the province of Catalonia, where he was affured the people were well affected to him, the prope

fel was agreed to: the fleet failed to Barcelona in the middle of August; and the fiege being undertaken, the city furrendered on the 4th of October. It is obferv ed by Dr. Campbell, that there never was an admiral in a more untoward fituation than Sir Cloudefley Shovel found himself in when the fiege of Barcelona was undertaken. The fcheme itself appeared very impracticable; the land officers were divided in their opinions; the prince of Heffe was not upon converfable terms with the earl of Peterborough ; all things necessary for the fiege were,in a manner, wanting, and all hopes of fupply depended on admiral Shovel; who, on this occafion, gave the most signal proofs, not only of his vigilance, dexterity, and courage, but of his conftancy, patience, and zeal for the public fervice. He furnished guns for the batteries, and men to play them; he landed for the ufe of the army almost all the military ftores of the fleet; he not only gave prudent advice himself, in all councils of war, but he moderated the heats and refentments of others; and, in thort, was fo ufeful, fo ready, and fo determined in the fervice, and took such care that every thing he promifed fhould be fully and punctually performed, that his prefence and counfels, in a manner forced the land officers to continue the siege, till the place was taken, to the furprize of all the world.

After the unfuccefsful attempt upon Toulon in 1707, in which Sir Cloudeney performed all in his power, he bore away for the ftreights; and having left part of his fleet at Gibraltar, for the fecurity of the coats of Italy, proceeded on his way home with the remainder, confifting of ten thips of the line, five frigates, four fire fhips, a floop, and a yatcht. On the 22d of October, he came into the Soundings, and in the morning had ninety fathom water. About noon, he lay by ; but at fix in the evening he made fail a gain, and ftood away under his courses, believing, as it is prefumed, that he faw the lights on Scilly; foon after which ke made fignals of danger, as feveral other hips did. Sir George Byng, who was then within less than half a mile to the windward of him, faw the breaches of the fea, and foon after the rocks, called the Bishop and his Clerks; upon which the admiral truck, and in two minutes there was nothing more feen of him, or his hip the Affociation. There were near nine hundred perfons on board the admiral's fhip when the was loft, and not one of them efcaped. The chaplain happened to go on board another ship that morning,

in order to adminifter the facrament to fome dying people, and thereby his life was faved. A thip of feventy guns, and another of fifty, were loft at the fame time. Sir CloudeДley Shovel's body was thrown afhore the next day on one of the Scilly inlands, when fome fishermen took it up, and having ftolen a valuable emerald ring from the finger, ftripped and buried him. This coming to the ears of Mr. Paxton, who was Purfer of the Arundel, he found out the fellows, declared the ring to be Sir Cloudefley Shovel's, and obliged them to discover where they had buried the body; which he took up, and carried in his own fhip to Portsmouth, whence it was conveyed to London, and interred with great folemnity in Westminster-abbey, where a monument of white marble was erected to his memory by the queen's direction. The monument was executed in an expenfive manner, but the defign is exceedingly deficient in point of tafte. It has on it the following infeription: "Sir Cloudefley Shovel, knight, rear-admiral of Great Britain; admiral, and commander in chief of the fleet; the juft rewards of his long and faithful fervices. He was defervedly beloved of his country, and efteemed, though dreaded by the enemy, who had often experienced his conduct and courage. He was fhipwrecked on the rocks of Scilly, in his voyage from Toulon, the 22d of October, 1707, at night, in the 57th year of his age. His fate was lamented by all; but especially the fea faring part of the nation, to whom he was a worthy example. His body was flung on the shore, and buried with others in the fands; but being foon after taken up, was placed under this monument; which his royal miftrefs has caufed to be erected, to commemorate his fteady loyalty, and extraordinary vir

tues."

Life of Sir Philip Sidney. SIDNEY (Sir Philip) one of the greateft men of his time, was the fon of Sir Henry Sidney, lord deputy of Ireland, and was born (as is supposed) at Penfhurft in Kent, the 29th of November, 1554. After being initiated in grammar-learning at a school in Shrewsbury, he was fent, when very young, to Chrift-Church College in Oxford, where he continued till he was about feventeen years of age, and made an extraordinary progrefs in literature. Upon leaving the university, he travelled into foreign countries, and was at Paris in 1572, at the time of the dreadful maffacre of the Proteftants there; and on this occafion be fled with other Englishmen to the houfe of Sir Francis Walfingbam, then ambaffador from queen Eli

zabeth to the court of France. He afterwards vifited many parts of Germany, Hungary, and Italy, and returned to England in 1575. The earl of Leicester, who was his uncle, then introduced him at court, and he became one of the queen's favourites. In 1576, when not above one and twenty years old, he was fent by her majefty to congratulate Rodolphus II. upon his acceffion to the imperial throne. He was alfo entrusted with fome other private commiffions of more importance, all which he executed greatly to the fatisfaction of the queen. In his return from this ambaffy, he went to pay his compliments to Don John of Auftria, then viceroy in the Low Countries for the king of Spain. Don John is faid to have been the proudest man of his time, haughty and imperious in his behaviour, and accuftomed to treat the ambaffadors who came to his court with great infolence and fuperiority. At first, therefore, he paid but little refpect to Sidney, on account of his youth, and feeming inexperience. But having had occafion to hear him talk, and give fome account of the manners of every court where he had been, he was ftruck with the junefs and acutenes of his obfervations, and the vivacity and gracefulness of his manner, that he ever after treated him with great familiarity, and paid him more refpect in his private character, than he did to any ambassador from whatever court.

In 1579, when a marriage was in agita. tion betwixt queen Elizabeth and the duke of Anjou, Mr. Sidney took the liberty of writing a long letter to her majelty, to diffuade her from the propofed match; which was written with unufual elegance of expreffion, and much force of reafoning, and in which he difplayed a great compafs of knowledge. It was fome time after this, that a violent difpute happened between Mr. Sidney and Edward Vere earl of Oxford, of which the following account is given. One day as Mr. Sidney was playing at tennis, the earl of Oxford came into the court, and wanted the other to give place to him, and depart; "forgetting to entreat that (fays lord Brook) which he could not legally command. *" Mr. Sidney not complying, the earl began to expoftulate more roughly, and at laft commanded Mr. Sidney and his companion to quit the court. Sidney thereupon calmly answered," that if his lordfhip bad been pleased to exprefs his defire in milder terms, perhaps he might have led out thofe, that he thould now find NOTE.

*Life of the renowned Sir Philip Sidney, by Sir Fulk Greville, Lord Brook.

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