a holy war, no earthly arm was allowed to achieve
the triumph. Human agency was put aside, and all human defences
prostrated; and then, when the unresisted invader touched the object of
his hope, the elements were commissioned against him. That the vigilance
of a blockading force should be so eluded, and that unusual misfortunes
should prevent a fleet from sailing till nothing remained for it to do;
that the enemy's two commanders should be separated from their force
when it sailed, and afterwards prevented, by so many well-timed
casualties, from rejoining it; that when the fleet had actually arrived
in the destined port, half should be blown out to sea again before they
could anchor, and the rest driven from their anchors before they could
land the troops; that the returning ships should be prevented from
meeting their commanders; and that every disappointment should just
anticipate the moment of success;--such a combination of circumstances
it were folly and impiety to ascribe to anything less than the hand of
God.

A victory would have saved the country, but it would not have afforded
such ground for assured confidence in her future trials. This
deliverance was a pledge of protection through the terrible struggle of
the next twenty years; when, long disappointed in her hopes, and at
length deserted by her last ally, England still maintained her good
cause with a firmness more honourable to her character than even the
unrivalled triumph she achieved. It remains a pledge, that amidst all
dangers she may perform her duty as a Christian country, in full
reliance upon God's blessing: or, should the greatness of her trials
confound all human resources, that she may wait, in quietness and
confidence, for God's deliverance.

It was Sir Edward Pellew's fortune, as he had been prominent in the
services connected with the sailing of this armament, to mark the return
of it by a battle, the only one fought, and equally singular in its
circumstances, and appalling in its result. He put to sea with the
_Indefatigable_ and _Amazon_ on the 22nd, and supposing the enemy to
have gone to the southward, cruised off Capes Ortugal and Finisterre
until the 11th of January. On the 2nd, the _Amazon_ carried away her
main-topmast, and on the 11th, the _Indefatigable_ sprung her
main-topmast and topsail-yard in a squall, and was obliged to shift
them. Returning towards the Channel, on the 13th of January, at a little
past noon, the ships bei