parte, great general as he was, could not understand the
nature of England's strength, and was indeed profoundly ignorant of all
that concerned maritime power and commerce. The British navy was in
admirable condition, both as regards material and men; it was blockading
the Dutch in the Texel, and the ships of France and Spain in every port
in which they lay from Toulon to Flushing, and the thunder of its guns
was soon to be heard in the north. In India Lord Wellesley had not only
crushed resistance and added a vast territory to the company's
possessions, but was establishing the British rule on a firm basis, and
there, too, British ships would have to be reckoned with. On January 14
the government placed an embargo on the ships of Russia, Sweden, and
Denmark. Orders were sent for the capture of the Danish colonies in the
West Indies, and a fleet was prepared to sail for the Baltic under Sir
Hyde Parker, and with Nelson as second in command.

Yet, though undismayed by her foes, England was sorely dismayed by the
sufferings of her poor. Peace was very needful for her. Wealth indeed
was rapidly increasing; her foreign trade which in 1792 was L44,500,000
in value had risen to over L73,750,000. But the poor lacked bread. The
increase in the manufacturing population caused an increased demand for
food, and England depended on supplies of cereals from abroad. The war
restricted the importation of corn and sent up its price. The hopes
fixed on the harvest of 1800 were disappointed; the stock of the
previous year was exhausted, and wheat rose to the famine price of
120s. a quarter. Bread riots were raised in various places, and were in
some cases due to a belief, existing even among persons of education,
that the high price of corn was largely caused by the dealers. Some
dealers were prosecuted under the old statutes against "forestalling and
regrating," and when one named Rusby, charged with buying oats at 41s. a
quarter and selling them again in the same market at 44s., was found
guilty, Lord Kenyon congratulated the jury on the benefit which their
verdict conferred on the country. On appeal his law was questioned and
the proceedings dropped. The future looked even darker than the present,
for the Russian embargo cut off a main source of supply. The desire for
peace was general. Pitt, whose health was giving way, was full of
anxiety, for the scarcity seemed likely to embarrass the government in
its efforts to maintain the honou