to mediate the peace with Portugal' (ib. pp. 760-9).
On 3 March Sandwich accordingly sailed from Portsmouth, and arrived at Madrid on 26 May 1666. In September 1668 he returned to England, having satisfactorily accomplished the objects of his mission, and concluded a treaty with Spain which Pepys heard 'was acknowledged by the merchants to be the best peace that ever England had with them' (27 Sept. 1667). In August 1670 he was appointed president of the council of trade and plantations, and on the outbreak of the Dutch war in 1672 was second in command of the English fleet under the Duke of York. When the French contingent, under the Count d'Estrees, had joined, it formed the white squadron, and Sandwich was admiral of the blue. So organised, the fleet numbered some eighty-one capital ships besides small craft, fireships, &c., bringing the total up to about 118. On 22 May they anchored in Solebay, in line parallel to the coast, the blue squadron being to the north. The story is told on weak evidence, although in its general outlines it is not improbable, that on the 27th Sandwich pointed out to the duke that with the wind easterly, as it then was, the fleet would be in great danger if the Dutch came suddenly on them, and advised either that they should put to sea, or an absurd alternative not likely to have been suggested that they should move nearer in shore ; but that the duke slighted his advice, with some 'indecent reflection' that it was dictated by a fear for his own safety (Burnet, Hist. of own Time, i. 562 ; Columna Rostrata, p. 217 ; Campbell, ii. 234). The fleet did not move, and the danger which Sandwich is said to have anticipated actually occurred the next day, 28 May. The wind was north-easterly, and at daybreak the Dutch fleet was seen coming down before it. Fortunately, the breeze died away ; and when it had freshened again, it had shifted to the southward of east. This gave the English time to prepare hurriedly for action, and to stand out to meet the enemy, Sandwich, with the blue squadron, leading. D'Estrees, with the French squadron, not understanding, or not choosing to follow, when, as vice-admiral, it was his privilege to lead, went off" on the other tack to the southward. There he was kept in check all day by a squadron of the enemy, while between their main fleet and the English the fight raged with exceeding fury. The English were outnumbered and surprised, and nothing but their obstinate valour especially that of Sandwich and the blue squadron prevented their being overpowered. Sir Joseph Jordan [q. v.], who, as vice-admiral of the blue squadron, commanded the van, beat back his immediate assailants and was able to go to the assistance of the duke, who was hard pressed. Sandwich, in the Royal James, was at the time holding his own. He had beaten off repeated attacks and had sunk several fireships. Later on, in the heat of the action, while the captain was below in the hands of the surgeon [see Haddock, Sir, Richard], the Royal James was successfully grappled by a fireship. Almost immediately she was wrapped in flames, and presently blew up, with the loss of Sandwich and nearly all on board. It was said that Sandwich was urged to leave the ship, but refused, in consequence of the insulting remark of the duke the day before ; it is more probable that the catastrophe followed so quickly that time was not permitted him. On 10 June a man-of-war ketch found the body floating on the sea near Harwich. It was recognised by the star on his coat, and brought into Harwich. The face was slightly burnt, otherwise the body was unblemished. It was embalmed and taken to London, where, in a public funeral, it was buried in the Chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey, 3 July 1672.
The accidents of fortune and the sensational manner of his death have perhaps given Sandwich a greater reputation than he deserved. His birth, his marriage, and the friendship of Cromwell had raised him, without any proof of remarkable ability, to the command of the fleet under the Commonwealth. On the resignation of Richard Cromwell, bound by no ties to the parliamentary government, he was easily persuaded that patriotism agreed with interest, and that it would be advantageous to the country and to himself to support the king. He then raised himself to a position of honour and authority. His daily gossip and behaviour, as recorded by Pepys, often in minute detail, show him as a man of easy, comfort-loving temper, with notions of morality not too strait-laced for the times, and broad views about religion which, in that age, might seem atheistical (e.g. 7 Oct. 1660, 12 Jan., 9 Sept. 1663). On the other hand, amid almost universal corruption and greed, no special charge was laid against him save that of 'breaking bulk' in the case of the prizes, which, though a grave indiscretion, was certainly not the gross abuse it was represented to be. Except off Bergen, he never commanded in chief; and though the decisive movement off" Lowestoft on 3 June 1665 was made by him, and the credit of snatching the victory from De Ruyter at
