New-York tribune., 1905-08-19
CAPTURE OF PORTSMOUTH.
trafalgar Forgotten in English
Welcome of French Fleet.
Portsmouth. August Q.

,hfr eud nrfnE a rev satuteS II nov lies IN the
nu.r hsreor Of the best defended naval strong
bold ~ the Empire. and guard outside is the
-hsunel squadron I'm double lines Of battleships
and rruisers-the mighty floating rampant which
.ompletes the lines Of fortifcations carried sea
qs-d 10 the entrances Of Spithesd and the soent
,,s inland around the dockyards II has come
: nth hying colors and with the strains Of the
v,-sefsase waited in from the shore batteries.
-,sr. another French feet failed 10 force an
.rsrce few centuries ago. That was when
:. English May Rose went down IN a gale and
r,.s r-~pt hack into port to plan night attack
- tho French Esileys. Admiral D'Annebault
=. b.ut upon following the English feet and
s.s,-orIng IL. hut he dissuaded hy his pilots
and .cufflsd hack IN France after rsding the
,s,. ~ Wight and skirmishing with the English
s--hsrs Vice Admiral Csillsrd has been luckier
,- his adventure. He has paid few ceremo-
rior,s calls djned one night with she King and
,-fh the lords - the Admiralty the next day,
rrstrhsd = Yacht race of Cowes and allowed the
-oyal yacht 10 pass within the lines of his feet:
sn6 noR he is the master Of gray OLD Ports
-,o1lth encircled as ii is with fortresses and
bsftleships Tonight he is the hero ~ the civic
tsnoue-. tomorrow he viii be the chief guest at
ne London CiuidhaU and before the week ends
the King will have entertained him at Windsor,
he Prime Minister in Downing-st.. the Foreign
sscretarv Al Lansdowne House and the Houses
q Parliament st Westminster Hall
There are p-ecedents for this successful French
inrasion In 1874 King Louis Philippe came 10
Portsmouth, in frigste with steam paddles
under escort Of small squadron with two lines
of ha1Ieships and Prince Albert and the Duke
q Wellington met him; Queen Victoria reviewed
his feet and his officers and men were enter
taned sr banquet and ball Twenty-one years
af,erwar5 a Bouapartist feet anchored in Spit
head. and there We're henquets balls and con-
oerts in return for cylities received by British
squadron Al Brest and Cherbourg. The earliest
French and English ironclads were then abreast
outside the harbor. and SO badly designed were
they that the officers Of neither fleet were dis
posed 10 l7ast Of their naval progress A
quarter century slipped by and the French in
vsders came again, but this time with the ensign
q z republic. and Queen Victoria who had liked
The Orlesuist King and befriended the Empress
Eugene. accommodated herself 70 the altered
conditions She reviewed the French and English
heets Of Cowes, received Admiral Gervais with
era acious courtesy and gave orders for round
Of baneuets and balls at Portsmouth The
bsttleships then anchored in spithead were of
The newest type and the most approved designs
known in naval architecture-vesses like the
J. x
Rodney. the Howe and the Csmperdown. That
was only fourteen years ago and every one Of
them * now considered obsolete The French
have come again. not like Louis PHILIPPE With
= experimental st.sn paddle friEst=. nor like
~ ike Admiral Gervsis. with ships tbe hest Of
ihs time Yet destined 70 be short lived in the
sf-1gEls for the survival of the ft+est but with
hsttleshirs snd zrrnorsd cruisers which are
mr. likely 70 ne surpassed IN defensive
strength. speed. unan9uvrinE or battery power
for ! long period. They are received hy vessels
~ the Channel feet and cruiser squad drons
which. 18th few exceptions. have been launched
during the last three years and represent sea
power its maximum. and after living al anchor
f. Two dsvs in Spithesd they are allowed n
steam into port and 70 be rnoored At the jetties
IN the dockvards though they were British
hips returning from long cruise The inter
nstionsl revel n neighboriv feeling which has
followed their appearance of the Nab lightship
is indeed entirelv without precedent in English
hstorv
The signiicsnce n this French capture Of the
British naval base has been emphasized by the
-soht rsce Witnessed by the combined feet
Nature has provided under the lee of the Isle Of
wight sheltered sea where yachts can wing
'rsnasd with the quietude and tranquil beauty
y ne scene. Engineering science has interviewed
and converted it into an impregnable British
sea strongly intrenched from Cumberland 10
M0nckton and thence 10 Calshot against foreign
fttsck and the dockysrds behind the fortresses
and shore batteries have all the potential en-
ergies of marine warfare Yet when the Two
hests came 10 anchor in four parallel lines
sretching from West Cowes toward Stokes Bay.
and the ships had been dressed and the official
visits exchanged, day passed while the officers
gun1ers and sailors were idly watching the
Yachts they We're beating 10 windward or
running freely Rith The freshening breeze For
twenty years France had been resenting per
adious Albion's occupation OF Egypt and
sireugthening its naval forces for the conquest
o. Portsmouth and the command Of the Mediter-
ranesu. and all the while England had been
oautiously applying the double power standard
and building as many battleships and armored
cruisers a. France and Russia combined. Yet
here We're the French and English ships lying
abreast. tricked out with rainbow bunting in
honor Of the King and Of themselves and the
crews unmindful either Of the adamantine
strength Of q naval arsenal and its land fortif-
cations or of the destructive powers OF their
oSn hoatfng fortresses. were Iistless spectators
O tranquil reach Of sheltered water dotted
"sr with pleasure craft on summers day,
Win miniature feet OF Yachts tackns or drift
.F toward the stakeboat in a race for the
Algs Cup. The French we're on the eve Of
.sAhg Portsmouth. but il was noture's triumph;
-''' ne steel sheathed leviathans themselves the
inesses. The Solent was what she had designed
P" % hes realm Of peace.
= >so was il = holiday feet when the King
9Deen in their royal Yacht approsc ched the
Seshps this morning and entered the lines
-h' 'omhned feet united in royal salute and