while the effect of Colbert's work still lasted in the hands of his
son, writes:--"When I was first brought prisoner thither, I lay four
months in a hospital at Brest for care of my wounds. While there I was
astonished at the expedition used in manning and fitting out their
ships, which till then I thought could be done nowhere sooner than in
England, where we have ten times the shipping, and consequently ten
times the seamen, they have in France; but there I saw twenty sail of
ships, of about sixty guns each, got ready in twenty days' time; they
were brought in and the men were discharged; and upon an order from
Paris they were careened, keeled up, rigged, victualled, manned, and
out again in the said time with the greatest ease imaginable. I
likewise saw a ship of one hundred guns that had all her guns taken
out in four or five hours' time; which I never saw done in England in
twenty-four hours, and this with the greatest ease and less hazard
than at home. This I saw under my hospital window."

A French naval historian cites certain performances which are simply
incredible, such as that the keel of a galley was laid at four
o'clock, and that at nine she left port, fully armed. These traditions
mar be accepted as pointing, with the more serious statements of the
English officer, to a remarkable degree of system and order, and
abundant facilities for work.

Yet all this wonderful growth, forced by the action of the government,
withered away like Jonah's gourd when the government's favor was
withdrawn. Time was not allowed for its roots to strike down deep into
the life of the nation. Colbert's work was in the direct line of
Richelieu's policy, and for a time it seemed there would continue the
course of action which would make France great upon the sea as well as
predominant upon the land. For reasons which it is not yet necessary