372

No. XX.

VICE-ADMIRAL SIR RICHARD ONSLOW, BART. G.C.B.

ADMIRAL OF THE RED, AND LIEUTENANT-GENERAL OF THE

ROYAL MARINE FORCES,

HIS

Tuis naval officer was related to the Onslows, Earls of Onslow, the founder of which family was the Right Hon. Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons in five following parliaments, viz. from 1727 to 1761; who on his retreat received an unanimous vote of thanks, 6 for his constant and unwearied attendance in the chair, during the course of above thirty-three years.”

Sir Richard Onslow was a younger son of the late LieutenantGeneral Richard Onslow, brother to the Speaker. He was born in 1741, and bred in the naval service of the country, into which he entered at a very early period of his life.

How long Mr. Onslow remained a midshipman is uncertain ; but his first appointment as a Lieutenant occurred so early as December 27, 1758.

In July 1761, he was advanced to the rank of master and commander, in which situation he did not continue one year, having been made post into the Humber, a ship of forty guas, on the 14th of April 1762.

A long peace now ensued; but soon after the commencement of the American war, we find Captain Onslow serving under Admiral Earl Howe, whom he accompanied in his expedition to Rhode Island, in 1778, in quest of the French fleet. In July 1780, he captured the Dutch ship of war, Princess Caroline, of fifty-four guns.

In 1790, he was appointed to the command of the Magnificent, of seventy-four guns, at a time when a war with Spain about Nootka Sound was actually in contemplation! Hostilities with France soon after ensued; and in 1793, in consequence of a promotion connected with that event, the subject of this memoir was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the White.

After acting for some time as Post-Admiral at Plymouth, in 1796, Rear-Admiral Onslow was selected as second in command on board the fleet then fitting out under the orders of the late gallant Lord Duncan. This squadron, on which the

eyes of all England, and indeed of all Europe, were now fixed, was destined to act in the North Sea. On that occasion, he obtained the command of the Monarch, a seventy-four gun ship, and while his flag was flying on board of her, most powerfully contributed to the defeat of the Dutch naval forces, under Admiral De Winter.

The Monarch indeed commenced the action, and sustained greater injury than any one in the English line of battle, the Ardent alone excepted; notwithstanding which, the Jupiter, of seventy-four guns, and 550 men, with the flag of Vice-Admiral

, Reritjees on board, was obliged to strike to her.

Here follows a more particular account of this engagement:

“ The equinoctial gales having obliged Admiral Duncan to quit his station, and retire to Yarmouth to repair his ships, the Dutch commander De Winter embraced the opportunity to sail from the Texel, in order to join the Brest fleet. But the British admiral having received intimation of his motions by the cruizers which he had left off the Dutch coast, hastened in pursuit of him. His first object was to place his squadron between the Dutch fleet and the entrance of the Texel, so as to prevent the possibility of returning without being brought to action.

“On the morning of the 11th of October, he chased the Dutch fleet, and about noon came up with them about nine miles from the shore. The action commenced about forty minutes after twelve, Admiral Duncan in the Venerable, broke through the enemy's line, and with his division brought their van to close action, which was maintained with the utmost

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gallantry on both sides, for two hours and a half, when all the masts of the Dutch admiral's ship went by the board; still however, the brave Dutchman continued to fight in the most gallant style, till overpowered by numbers, and having loss more than half his crew, he was compelled to strike, and his colours were carried on board the Venerable.

“ About that same time, the Dutch vice-admiral surrendered to Vice-Admiral Onslow; and at four in the afternoon the action ceased, when ten sail of the line and one frigate had surrendered to the English. The remainder of the Dutch fleet, consisting of five sail of the line and several frigates, escaped by favour of the night.

“ This was one of the best contested actions of the whole war. The loss of the English in killed and wounded was 750, and that of the Dutch much more considerable. This victory completely defeated the grand object of the French Directory, and convinced them that it was much more easy to talk of wresting from the British the sceptre of the ocean, than to reduce their threats to practice.”

The gallant conduct of Vice-Admiral Onslow on this occasion was speedily recognised and recompensed by his country. He was accordingly created a Baronet, received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and presented with the freedom of the city of London, accompanied by a sword of 100 guineas value,

In 1799, Sir Richard resigned his command in the North Sea fleet, and nearly at the same time was promoted Admiral of the Blue. Subsequently to this, he was nominated to the lucrative sinecure appointment of Lieutenant-General of the Royal Marines, and honoured with the grand cross of the Order of the Bath.

The Admiral died at Southampton, on Dec. 27th, 1817, in the 77th year of his age.

On the death of great literary characters, the altars usually smoke with incense, statues are erected to their memory, the diurnal press teems with panegyric, and every tongue becomes eloquent in their praise. Amidst the splendour of distinguished talents, it is forgotten that a humble but meritorious class of men exists in this metropolis, who may be termed the accoucheurs of literature; for they assist at the parturition of every tome, and contribute essentially to the safe delivery of every author. Enthroned in the immediate view of the chapel, surrounded by compositors and pressmen, and ministered to by Levites, whom the vulgar call Printers' devils, the corrector, on perusing the first sheet of manuscript, immediately feels the pulse, and readily perceives the state, both bodily and mental, of his patient. By means of certain marks and signs, to the full as difficult of comprehension to the uninitiated as the prescri: tions of a modern physician, he delicately suggests meliorati

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and improvements; questions both dates and facts; and is critically correct, even to a comma, or a semicolon. The author's name is, indeed, affixed to the title-page, and his rank and degrees blazoned forth in due form and order; but it is by an unknown and an unseen hand that the stately quarto, the commodious octavo, or the spruce duodecimo, is ushered into the world, after being bereaved of its numerous errors and excrescences, and dressed out with a certain degree of taste and elegance for public exhibition.

William Preston, who appertained to, and was for many years considered as at the head of, this useful and meritorious body, was a native of Scotland. Born at Edinburgh, July the 28th, 1742, 0. S., he was extremely fortunate in respect to his education, which commenced at the High School, and was completed at the university of that city.

As his family was not rich, it became absolutely necessary for him to learn some profession, and luckily that of a printer was pitched upon. It was fortunate, too, that he became an apprentice to one of the Ruddimans, for this led to an intimacy with his learned and celebrated brother, and by becoming his amanuensis, he doubtless acquired a taste for style and composition, which proved highly beneficial to him in future life. Being ambitious of preferment, he repaired to London at the early age of 18, provided with ample testimo nials of his character, and a letter of introduction to one of the most eminent printers of his day. This was the late William Strahan, Esq., whose station as Printer to the King, and M. P., however respectable, was in some measure eclipsed by and completely merged in philosophical and literary connections; for he was the friend of Robertson and Blair; the associate of Franklin, at a period when the name of the latter had become illustrious in the annals of science; and the companion and confidant of Johnson, at a time when our great Lexicographer had been placed by his genius and his learning at the head of English literature !

Under the auspices of Mr. Strahan, Mr. Preston not only found employment as a compositor, but in a short time