When Queen Anne died in 1714, there were in our Navy seven first-rates, thirteen second-rates, forty-two third-rates, sixty-nine fourth-rates, forty-two fifth-rates, and twenty-four sixth-rates. As to the meaning signified by these classes, the first-rates were vessels of one hundred guns, or upwards, carrying them on three decks. Second-rates carried from ninety to one hundred guns on three decks: third-rates had from sixty-four to eighty-four guns on two complete decks: fourth-rates had from fifty to sixty guns on two decks: fifth-rates had from thirty to forty-four guns, whilst sixth-rates carried only twenty to thirty guns. There were also in the service smaller vessels classed as sloops, and others classed as gun-brigs and bombs. The progress which had been going on in rigging, during the early years of the eighteenth century, continued in respect of size of tonnage and also in the weight of armament now carried. Regard, too, was paid to the proper seasoning of timber. The action of the Navy Board in 1719 established a scale of dimensions and tonnage for the construction of ships of the six separate rates, and this influence was felt for nearly a century after, although the establishment was not always strictly adhered to. Improvements went on with regard to internal structure and ventilation, and in order to counteract the injurious effects of bilge water. The result was that both the health of the ship herself and of her crew were improved when once the foul gases accumulating below had been overcome. Collaterally with the progress of the science of naval architecture in England was the development in France. Ever since the time of Jean Baptiste Colbert, during the reign of Louis XIV., France had stood superior to any European Power in ship-designing. Nor were English naval architects and shipwrights slow to avail themselves of whatever opportunity presented itself for studying the lines and structure of the foreigner. Whenever one of the crack ships of the enemy became an English prize it followed that within the next few years an improved English man-of-war, based on the design of the foreigner, would be launched. As an example of the beautiful vessels which France was capable of building, about the middle of the eighteenth century, the illustration in Fig. 65 will at once be evidence. This is the Terrible, captured from the French in 1747, and afterwards passed into the English Navy. She was a two-decker with three masts, and carried 74 guns. Her gun-deck was 164 feet 1 inch long, and her beam was 47 feet 3 inches, while her depth was 20 feet 7½ inches. Her tonnage worked out at 1590. The illustration has been taken from a contemporary print in the Royal United Service Museum.

Fig. 66 represents H.M.S. Royal George, of 100 guns, one of the most famous ships of the eighteenth century. Her size—2047 tons—alone makes her remarkable, apart altogether from her good looks. Her length on the keel was 143 feet 5½ inches, beam 51 feet 9½ inches, depth 21 feet 6 inches. Built at Woolwich she ended her days as tragically as another vessel we mentioned before, and owing to a similar cause. While she was being careened as she lay at anchor in Spithead for some repairs to her hull below the waterline, she sank on August 29, 1782. To-day she is still famous as the ship in which Rear-Admiral Kempenfelt, together with nine hundred men, women, and children, went down to their graves. The illustration is taken from an engraving, by T. Baston, in “Twenty-two Prints of several of the Capital ships of his Majesties Royal Navy,” in the Print Room of the British Museum.

Still another experiment was made in 1761 in order to find some suitable method for sheathing ships’ bottoms. At last lead had been finally discarded. But now the sensible plan of using copper was tried on the Alarm, a 32-gun frigate. Finding that not only did this preserve the ship’s planking, but also increased the speed of the ship through the water, vessels of all classes were subsequently covered in the same way. The plates of copper were affixed to the hull, tough sheets of paper being placed in between the sheathing and the hull.

Nelson’s historic flagship, the Victory, of 100 guns, was built in 1765. Her immediate predecessor of the same name was launched in 1735, being the finest first-rate of her time, until she was lost in a terrible storm off the Alderney Race, every one of the 1000 souls on board perishing with her. The illustration of Nelson’s Victory in Fig. 67 was taken recently in Portsmouth Harbour where this fine old ship still swings to the tide. Her length is (measured on the gun-deck) 186 feet, beam 52 feet, depth of hold 21 feet 6 inches, whilst her tonnage is 2162, or slightly larger than the Royal George previously mentioned. The reader will notice the Jack flying in the place previously referred to. Very interesting to us who have traced its development is the stage at which the bow has arrived. Gone is the towering forecastle, though the name still survives as designating the fore-part of even small cabined craft. Even the diminished rake of the seventeenth century from bow to stern has disappeared too. In order that the reader may also obtain some idea of the stern, and the three lanterns which would have been part of the ship’s inventory when she set out for the Mediterranean on her last voyage with Nelson, the illustration in Fig. 68 may be worthy of notice. It is only quite recently that the Admiralty have added these replicas, which look not a little incongruous as they tower above submarines and torpedo-boats churning up the water below. The flags flying in Fig. 67 were intended to represent Nelson’s immortal signal. It was quite recently discovered, however, that the wrong signals had been flown on Trafalgar Day each year, for the code of a far too modern date was relied upon. This mistake has been rectified, and the correct flags are now flown on October 21.

The illustration in Fig. 69 represents a corvette of about the year 1780. Corvettes were vessels having far less freeboard and without the high quarter-deck. They were ship-rigged and carried less than twenty guns. Those carried on the ship before us would be six-pounders. Her crew would number 125, her tonnage would be 340, her length on the gun-deck, 101 feet, length of keel, 85·5 feet, beam 28 feet, depth of hold 12·5 feet. As to her canvas carried, the triangular headsails with the two spritsails will be seen. In addition to her courses, she carries topsails, topgallants, and royals on the fore and main masts. The converted lateen has already been referred to, but it should be noticed that while she has on the mizzen a topsail, topgallant and royal, and also a cross-jack yard, yet no sail is set on the latter, as it is to-day on a full-rigged ship. This yard had been in use since the beginning of the seventeenth century, and it was not until 1840 that a Yankee skipper took it into his head to introduce the sail which is known as the cro’jack. The French, since from this spar no sail was set, called it the “barren yard”—vergue sec.[106] It was during this century that the frigate proper as a fast cruiser was introduced into the English Navy. Still stirred to energy by the activity displayed by the French, the dimensions of English ships were constantly being increased during the last years of the eighteenth century. The capture, in 1792, of the fine three-master Commerce de Marseilles, with a tonnage of 2747, and a length of over 200 feet, came as a welcome prize to our fleet which had nothing to equal her in respect either of size or armament. Again the design embodied in her was carefully studied by our experts, and before the close of the century two important improvements were made in English men-of-war. The first was to cease placing the lower battery so low down to the water. The reader will readily see that if the enemy were to leeward—as in all probability he should be—our lower ports must necessarily be kept closed unless there were only such a faint draught of wind as scarcely caused the ship to heel over. The French were thus at a great advantage in being able to fire from every one of their guns down to the lowest tier. The second improvement consisted in giving our newer ships a length far greater in proportion to the beam.