ich fifty were ships of the line and twenty were
fire-ships; in 1671, from seventy the number had increased to one
hundred and ninety-six. In 1683 there were one hundred and seven ships
of from twenty-four to one hundred and twenty guns, twelve of which
carried over seventy-six guns, besides many smaller vessels. The order
and system introduced into the dock-yards made them vastly more
efficient than the English. An English captain, a prisoner in France
while the effect of Colbert's work still lasted in the hands of his
son, writes:--

"When I was first brought prisoner thither, I lay four months in
a hospital at Brest for care of my wounds. While there I was
astonished at the expedition used in manning and fitting out
their ships, which till then I thought could be done nowhere
sooner than in England, where we have ten times the shipping,
and consequently ten times the seamen, they have in France; but
there I saw twenty sail of ships, of about sixty guns each, got
ready in twenty days' time; they were brought in and the men
were discharged; and upon an order from Paris they were
careened, keeled up, rigged, victualled, manned, and out again
in the said time with the greatest ease imaginable. I likewise
saw a ship of one hundred guns that had all her guns taken out
in four or five hours' time; which I never saw done in England
in twenty-four hours, and this with the greatest ease and less
hazard than at home. This I saw under my hospital window."

A French naval historian cites certain performances which are simply
incredible, such as that the keel of a galley was laid at four
o'clock, and that at nine she left port, fully armed. These traditions
may be accepted as pointing, with the more serious statements of the
English officer, to a remarkable degree of system and order, and
abundant facilities for work.

Yet all this wonderful growth, forced by the action of the government,
withered away like Jonah's gourd when the government's favor was
withdrawn. Time was not allowed for its roots to strike down deep into
the life of the nation. Colbert's work was in the direct line of
Richelieu's policy, and for a time it seemed there would continue the
course of action which would make France great upon the sea as well as
predominant upon the land. For reasons which it is not yet necessary
to give, Louis came to have feelings of bitter enmity against Holland;
and as