ducted to the
famous dockyard, constructed by Bonaparte, which had been the source of
so much uneasiness to this country; and could not help being surprised
at the smallness of the means which he had been able to obtain for the
overthrow of our naval power. The docks did not appear to us at all
large; but they are very deep, and during the siege, by the English and
Prussian troops, contained 20 ships of the line, besides 14 frigates.
When we saw them they were lying in the Scheldt, and being all within
two miles of each other, presented a very magnificent spectacle.

In the arsenal were 14 ships of the line on the stocks, of which seven
were of 120 guns; but these vessels were all demolished except one,
shortly after we left them, in virtue of an article in the treaty of
Paris. Bonaparte had for long been exerting himself to the utmost to
form a great naval depot at Antwerp; he had not only fortified the town
in the strongest possible manner, but collected immense quantities of
timber and other naval stores for the equipment of a powerful fleet. The
ships first built, however, had been formed of wood, which was so ill
seasoned, that, ever since their construction, above 200 carpenters had
been employed annually to repair the beams which were going to decay.

In the citadel, which is a beautiful fortification in the finest order,
we conversed with various English soldiers who had been in the attack on
Bergen-op-Zoom, of which they all spoke in terms of the utmost horror.
Its failure they ascribed not to any error in the plan of attack, which
they all agreed was most skilfully combined, but to a variety of
circumstances which thwarted the attack, after its success appeared to
have been certain. Our troops, they said, went round the ramparts, and
carried every battery; but neglecting to spike the guns, the French came
behind them, and turned the guns they had recently captured against
themselves. Much also was attributed to the hesitation occasioned by the
death of the principal officers, and the unfortunate effect of the
discovery of some spirit cellars, from which the soldiers could not be
restrained. We were much gratified, by hearing the warm and enthusiastic
manner in which even the private soldiers spoke of their gallant
commander, Sir Thomas Graham; While we admired the frank, open and
independent spirit which these English soldiers in garrison at Antwerp
evinced, we could not help observing, that they did not conve