EXPEDITION OF ADMIRAL NEVIL TO THE WEST INDIES.

Their impatience was not a little inflamed by the success of Pointis in America, where he took Carthagena, in which he found a booty amounting to eight millions of crowns. Having ruined the fortifications of the place, and received advice that an English squadron under admiral Nevil had arrived in the West Indies, with a design to attack him in his return, he bore away for the straits of Bahama. On the twenty-second day of May he fell in with the English fleet, and one of his fly-boats was taken; but such was his dexterity, or good fortune, that he escaped after having been pursued five days, during which the English and Dutch rear-admirals sprang their fore-top-masts and received other damage, so that they could not proceed. Then Nevil steered to Carthagena, which he found quite abandoned by the inhabitants, who after the departure of Pointis had been rifled a second time by the buccaneers, on pretence that they had been defrauded of their share of the plunder. This was really the case; they had in a great measure contributed to the success of Pointis, and were very ill rewarded. In a few days the English admiral discovered eight sail of their ships, two of which were forced on the shore and destroyed, two taken and the rest escaped. Then he directed his course to Jamaica, and by the advice of the governor, sir William Beeston, detached rear-admiral Meeze with some ships and forces to attack Petit-Guavas, which he accordingly surprised, burned, and reduced to ashes. After this small expedition, Nevil proceeded to the Havannah on purpose to take the galleons under his convoy for Europe, according to the instructions he had received from the king; but the governor of the place, and the general of the plate-fleet, suspecting such an offer, would neither suffer him to enter the harbour, nor put the galleons under his protection. He now sailed through the gulf of Folrida to Virginia, where he died of chagrin, and the command of the fleet devolved on captain Dilkes, who arrived in England on the twenty-fourth day of October, with a shattered squadron half manned, to the unspeakable mortification of the people, who flattered themselves with the hopes of wealth and glory from this expedition. Pointis steering to the banks of Newfoundland, entered the bay of Conceptione, at a time when a stout English squadron, commanded by commodore Norris, lay at anchor in the bay of St. John. This officer being informed of the arrival of a French fleet, at first concluded that it was the squadron of M. Nesmond come to attack him, and exerted his utmost endeavours to put the place in a posture of defence; but afterwards understanding that it was Pointis returning with the spoil of Carthagena, he called a council of war, and proposed to go immediately in quest of the enemy. He was however over-ruled by a majority, who gave it as their opinion that they should remain where they were without running unnecessary hazard. By virtue of this scandalous determination, Pointis was permitted to proceed on his voyage to Europe; but he had not yet escaped every danger. On the fourteenth day of August he fell in with a squadron under the command of captain Harlow, by whom he was boldly engaged till night parted the combatants. He was pursued next day; but his ships sailing better than those of Harlow, he accomplished his escape, and on the morrow entered the harbour of Brest. That his ships, which were foul, should out-sail the English squadron, which had just put to sea, was a mystery which the people of England could not explain. They complained of having been betrayed through the whole course of the West Indian expedition. The king owned he did not understand marine affairs, the entire conduct of which he abandoned to Russel, who became proud, arbitrary, and unpopular, and was supposed to be betrayed by his dependents. Certain it is, the service was greatly obstructed by faction among the officers, which with respect to the nation had all the effects of treachery and misconduct.