than it has appeared to be to many.  One of the foremost men in France, Bonaparte was ready to take the lead in any undertaking which seemed likely to have a satisfactory ending—­an ending which would redound to the glory of the chief who conducted it.  The most important operation contemplated was the invasion of England; and—­now that Hoche was no more—­Bonaparte might well claim to lead it.  His penetrating insight soon enabled him to see its impracticability until the French had won the command of the Channel.  Of that there was not much likelihood; and at the first favourable moment he dissociated himself from all connection with an enterprise which offered so little promise of a successful termination that it was all but certain not to be begun.  An essential condition, as already pointed out, of all the projected invasions was the receipt of assistance from sympathisers in the enemy’s country.  Hoche himself expected this even in Tate’s case; but experience proved the expectation to be baseless.  When the prisoners taken with Tate were being conducted to their place of confinement, the difficulty was to protect them, ’car la population furieuse contre les Francais voulait les lyncher.’  Captain Desbriere dwells at some length on the mutinies in the British fleet in 1797, and asks regretfully, ’Qu’avait-on fait pour profiter de cette chance unique?’ He remarks on the undoubted and really lamentable fact that English historians have usually paid insufficient attention to these occurrences.  One, and perhaps the principal reason of their silence, was the difficulty, at all events till quite lately, of getting materials with which to compose a narrative.  The result is that the real character of the great mutinies has been altogether misunderstood.  Lord Camperdown’s recently published life of his great ancestor, Lord Duncan, has done something to put them in their right light.  As regards defence against the enemy, the mutinies affected the security of the country very little.  The seamen always expressed their determination to do their duty if the enemy put to sea.  Even at the Nore they conspicuously displayed their general loyalty; and, as a matter of fact, discipline had regained its sway some time before the expedition preparing in Holland was ready.  How effectively the crews of the ships not long before involved in the mutiny could fight, was proved at Camperdown.

Though earlier in date than the events just discussed, the celebrated first expedition to Ireland has been intentionally left out of consideration till now.  As to the general features of the undertaking, and even some of its more important details, the documents now published add little to our knowledge.  The literature of the expedition is large, and Captain Chevalier had given us an admirable account of it in his ’Histoire de la Marine Francaise sous la premiere Republique.’  The late Vice-Admiral Colomb submitted it to a most instructive examination in the Journalof_the_ RoyalUnited_Service_Institution_