oard. Still, if such was the case, it does not
detract from the praise due to those who had made the attack. The whole
fortress was forthwith blown up, with the exception of one portion,
which was allowed to stand for a few days to enable the _Edinburgh_ to
try some of her heavy guns against it, and it was finally levelled with
the rest of the works.

The winter season coming on, compelled the fleet to return to England.
Whatever may be said of the gallant old admiral's conduct during the
war, it was acknowledged that the crews of his ships, though
inexperienced when they set sail, returned in a high state of
efficiency.

While these proceedings were taking place in the Baltic, in order as
much as possible to annoy the Russians in all portions of their vast
territory, a small British squadron, consisting of the _Eurydice_,
Captain Ommaney, the _Miranda_, Captain Lyons, and the _Brisk_,
Commander Seymour, were sent into the White Sea, where, though they
found it impossible to attack Archangel, they destroyed several
government establishments. The _Miranda_ also, steaming up the river
Kola for thirty miles, attacked the capital of Russian Lapland, of the
same name, and, with her yardarms almost over the walls, set the city on
fire and destroyed most of the public buildings and magazines. In spite
of the hot fire with which his ship was assailed from the batteries,
Captain Lyons returned from his gallant enterprise without losing a man,
and, after capturing a fleet of merchant-vessels, rejoined Captain
Ommaney.

The most unfortunate event of the whole war occurred on the Pacific
coast, when a small English and French squadron, in attempting to take a
number of Russian vessels anchored off Petro Pauloffsky, they were
driven off, while by bad management the whole of the Russian vessels
escaped.

The following year Admiral Dundas, being appointed to the command in the
Baltic, sailed in the _Duke of Wellington_, of 130 guns, with
Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour as his second in command in the
_Exmouth_, of 90 guns, and numerous other line-of-battle ships,
block-ships, and smaller vessels, nearly all fitted with the screw, and
upwards of twenty gunboats. At the end of May the fleet arrived off
Cronstadt, when the two admirals, going on board the _Merlin_, which,
under the command of Captain Sulivan, had been actively surveying that
and other places in the Baltic, stood in to examine the works and the
Russian fleet p