The war had been unsuccessful by land.
By sea a great advantage had been gained, but had not been improved.

The general expectation had been that the victory of May would be followed by a descent on the coast of France, that Saint Maloes would he bombarded, that the last remains of Tourville's squadron would be destroyed, and that the arsenals of Brest and Rochefort would be laid in ruins.

This expectation was, no doubt, unreasonable.

It did not follow, because Rooke and his seamen had silenced the batteries hastily thrown up by Bellefonds, that it would be safe to expose ships to the fire of regular fortresses.

The government, however, was not less sanguine than the nation.