t to the
Mediterranean; to join the Spanish fleet in his return; and to act in
concert with them, until he should be joined by the fleet from Turkey
and the Straits, and accompany them back to England. About the latter
end of October he set sail from Saint Helen's, and in January arrived
at Cadiz with the ships under his convoy. There leaving rear-admiral
Hopson, he proceeded for the Mediterranean. In the bay of Gibraltar he
was overtaken by a dreadful tempest, under a lee-shore, which he could
not possibly weather, and where the ground was so foul that no anchor
would hold. This expedient however was tried. A great number of ships
were driven ashore, and many perished. The admiral's ship foundered at
sea, and he and all his crew were buried in the deep, except two Moors
who were miraculously preserved. Two other ships of the line, three
ketches, and six merchant ships were lost. The remains of the fleet
were so much shattered, that, instead of prosecuting their voyage,
they returned to Cadiz in order to be refitted, and sheltered from the
attempts of the French squadrons, which were still at sea under the
command of Chateau-Renaud and Cabaret. On the twenty-fifth day of April,
the king-closed the session with a speech in the usual style, and the
parliament was prorogued to the eighteenth day of September. [053]
_[See note K, at the end of this Vol.]_

THE ENGLISH ATTEMPT TO MAKE A DESCENT IN CAMARET-BAY.

Louis of France being tired of the war, which had impoverished his
country, continued to tamper with the duke of Savoy, and, by the canal
of the pope, made some offers to the king of Spain, which were rejected.
Meanwhile he resolved to stand upon the defensive during the ensuing
campaign, in every part but Catalonia, where his whole naval force might
co-operate with the count de Noailles, who commanded the land army.
King William having received intelligence of the design upon Barcelona,
endeavoured to prevent the junction of the Brest and Toulon squadrons,
by sending Russel to sea as early as the fleet could be in a condition
to sail; but before he arrived at Portsmouth, the Brest squadron had
quitted that harbour. On the third day of May the admiral sailed
from St. Helen's with the combined squadrons of England and Holland,
amounting to ninety ships of the line, besides frigates, fire-ships,
and tenders. He detached captain Pritchard of the Monmouth with
two fire-ships, to destroy a fleet of French merchant s