VISIT OF THE FRENCH FLEET TO PLYMOUTH.

Evening Post, Issue 219, 20 October 1865, Page 2

VISIT OF THE FRENCH FLEET TO PLYMOUTH.

Plymouth presented on Monday morning a strange aspect such as it never shovred before, and never could have been imagined possible. The French colours were seen floating on the Hoe, the highest point of the land, where the old citadel of Charles 11., now strengthened into a most formidable fortress, guards the entrance from the Sound to the commercial side of Plymouth, and three French ships were anchored within the fortified line which the breakwater traces across the magnificent anchorage of the Sound, which leads up to the Ilamoaze, where lies all the wealth of national military and naval stores under the watchful eye of the Admiralty at Mount Wise, and the guardship of the Admiial. The big gun blazed away from the admiral's ship, the Impregnable, the huge hull and masts of which were seen, far to the right, over Stonehouse and Devonport, and the citadel thundered in, clouds of white smoke ; while from the largest of the French ships — a two-decker iron-clad of 52 guns — came the answering thunder with a sharpness and rapidity that seemed to tell of the vigour and activity of the crew. The Achilles, lying near, but towards the west-end of the breakwater, soon takes up the firing with a slow and heavy booming, compared with the French two-decker, and an Austrian frigate joins. Thus the whole scene looks for the moment like a battle ; but we soon see it is only a complimentary affiiir by the foreground of the picture, for here steams pompously along past the men-of-war, and through the crowd of pleasure boats and yachts> the long slender Admiralty yacht, with her light-painted raking ma9ts and funnels>.

And ihe^rglden anchor on a crimson flag at the main. Nothing can well be considered more imposing, and at the same time more picturesque in its beauty, than the view from the Hoe across the Sound out to the breakwater and to seaward. As a great naval position it is wonderfully formed, naturally by the land which stretches on «ach side of the large bay, called the Sound ; on the east to a point finished off by the Mewstone, which is separate irom the promontory fortified by Straddon forts; on the west by the beautiful wooded hill and parklike grounds of Mount Edgcumbe, high above which is seen another and stronger fort, called Treganthe, while almost in the centre lies the strong island fortress of St. Nicholas or Drake's Island, from Sir Francis Drake, who did great things in his day ior Plymouth. The breakwater is now converted into an immense fortress, by a large central battery and two flanking works, one at each extremity. The high ground of Stonehouse has also been strongly fortified as the position for the marines, and Drake's Island is now almost one huge casemated fort. The citadel is itself an enormous work, besides the guns on the ramparts having the whole of the face of the rock on which it stands traversed by terraces, with plattorms mounted with heavy guns, 68pounders, and the old Armstrong breechloader 112-pounder. Our French visitors are able to see for themselves what probably they knew quite as well before, that Plymouth is a strong place from the Sound, which is its sea face, and as to the land defences, they extend in a more or less completed state from the one point opposite the breakwater to the other by a circuit of outposts ranging over an arc of several miles inland, with a radius of about four mile. The works on some of these forts have been suspended for sonic weeks past, in ¦ consequence of a strike amongst the workmen. The English and French ships lie just inside the breakwater, in what is called the man-o'- war's anchoiing ground, in the following order :— the Achilles, to the extreme west ( next to her the Prince Consort ; then comes the Royal Sovereign, 4, turret ship, which \xjokt obsolutely insignificant and more like a dredging barge than anything else, especially in contrast with its Trench neighbour, the Magenta, 52, which looks as if she could with a concentrated broadside from her two tiers of guns, poured down upon the deck of the turret-ship, completely annihilate her. Close by the Magenta float the FlanJre, 36 guns, and the gunboat L'Ariel. Abreast of the French ships is the Constance frigate, newly out of dock, and just commissioned— a wooden ship. To the extreme east of the line lies the Austrian frigate, a well-looking ship enough, but, if we judge by her firing, rather slaokly handled.— News of the World, July 23.