dously in several parts
through horrid clouds of smoke; nothing was heard but the crackling of
the flames, mingled with the dismal cries of terror and distraction;
nothing was seen but acts of frenzy and desperation. The miserable
wretches, affrighted at the horrors of such a conflagration, sought a
fate less dreadful by plunging into the sea, and about three hundred men
were preserved by the boats belonging to some ships that accompanied the
admiral in his voyage, but five hundred perished in the ocean.

DESCENT AT CANCALLE BAY.

The king of Great Britain being determined to renew his attempt upon the
coast of France, ordered a very formidable armament to be equipped
for that purpose. Two powerful squadrons by sea were destined for the
service of this expedition: the first, consisting of eleven great ships,
was commanded by lord Anson and sir Edward Hawke; the other, composed of
four ships of the line, seven frigates, six sloops, two fire-ships, two
bombs, ten cutters, twenty tenders, ten store-ships, and one hundred
transports, was put under the direction of commodore Howe, who had
signalized himself by his gallantry and conduct in the course of the
last fruitless expedition. The plan of a descent upon France having
been adopted by the ministry, a body of troops, consisting of sixteen
regiments, nine troops of light horse, and six thousand marines, was
assembled for the execution of this design, and embarked under the
command of the duke of Marlborough; a nobleman, who though he did not
inherit all the military genius of his grandfather, yet far excelled him
in the amiable and social qualities of the heart: he was brave beyond
all question, generous to profusion, and good-natured to excess. On
this occasion he was assisted by the councils of lord George Sackville,
second in command, son to the duke of Dorset; an officer of experience
and reputation, who had, in the civil departments of government,
exhibited proofs of extraordinary genius and uncommon application. The
troops, having been encamped for some time upon the Isle of Wight, were
embarked in the latter end of May, and the two fleets sailed in the
beginning of June for the coast of Bretagne, leaving the people of
England flushed with the gayest hopes of victory and conquest. The two
fleets parted at sea: lord Anson, with his squadron, proceeded to the
bay of Biscay, in order to watch the motions of the enemy's ships, and
harass their navigation; while co