inches; and she was of 2615 tons burden. Her net complement,
including marines and boys, was 891. She was, and continued to be, the
finest three-decker in the service. She excelled in all essential
qualities, rode easy at her anchors, carried her lee-ports well, rolled
and pitched quite easy, steered, worked, and stayed remarkably well, was
a weatherly ship, and lay to very close, close-hauled under whole or
single reefed top-sails. She went nine knots, and under all large sail
eleven knots.

She was followed by the _Nelson_, of the same size, the _Britannia_,
built at Plymouth, and the _Prince Regent_ at Chatham. Two others of a
somewhat similar size were subsequently added, the _London_, built at
Plymouth, and the _Princess Charlotte_ at Portsmouth, in the year 1813.

The prizes captured during the year 1807 nearly doubled that of any
other period. At the same time, the losses sustained by the navy were
greater than had ever before occurred, amounting to no less than 38
ships. Of these, no fewer than 29 foundered at sea or were wrecked, a
large proportion of their crews perishing with them. The navy of
England had, however, greatly increased. At the commencement of 1815
she possessed 124 line-of-battle ships, averaging each 1830 tons;
whereas at the end of the previous century, they averaged only 1645
tons. If we take a glance back to a still more distant period, we shall
judge better of the enormous progress made during the last two
centuries. In the year 1641 the navy of England consisted of 42 ships,
the aggregate tonnage of which was 22,411 tons. At the period of which
we are writing it amounted to 966,000 tons, and within fifty years of
that period, Scott Russell launched in the Thames one vessel of 22,500
tons, being in excess by 89 tons of the whole British fleet at the time
of Charles the First. At that period about 8000 men were considered
sufficient to man the navy, while in 1814, 146,000 men were voted; the
navy estimates amounted to 18,786,509 pounds, and the burden of 901
ships amounted to 966,000 tons.

England, taught by the loss of several frigates captured by American
ships of the same class, though vastly superior in size, began to
construct frigates to compete with her foes. Three small-class
seventy-fours, the _Majestic, Goliath_, and _Saturn_, were cut-down so
as to retain their main-deck batteries, on which they were armed with 28
long 32-pounders, while on their lower-decks they