THE 17TII OF OCTOBER. 413 that, in some Ibnn or other, a naval attack was to chap. be made, Dundas, as we saw, acted almost under " ' • compulsion, and was therefore deserving of par- don ; but to carry yet further the sacrifice of our naval renown, to let our fleet fall under the con- trol of an anxious French landsman, who insisted upon condemning it to take part in an exhibition which our captains all saw to be vain and humili- ating, and to make such concession with no other object than that of guarding against the misfor- tune of there appearing to be a divergence be- tween the resolves of the French and the English Admirals — this, surely, in a choice of two evils, was a palpable choice of the greater one. It is true that the French had exerted their pressure by coming at the last moment, and causing Dun- das to understand that they would have their own line, or none ; but the very circumstance of being subjected to such a process as that might well have inclined our Admiral to disclose his honest anger, and exert that austere kind of firm- ness which is commonly thought to be of great efficacy as a means of resistance to threats. So, at least, it would seem. Lord Eaglan had hitherto thought ; for, flexible as he had been in from time to time yielding to the proposals of the French, he had not yet suffered them to gain their way by threatening to resort to sole action ; and upon the only two occasions where they ven- tured on any such method, he had brought them back to propriety by a wholesome and effective severity, which was better fitted to preserve retil
