He was then employed in the recruiting service in England, and on June 24th, 1795, he purchased a majority in his own regiment. That year his mother died. Two years later, at the early age of twenty-eight, he became senior lieutenant-colonel of the 49th. His predecessor had been obliged to sell out on account of some mismanagement, and had left the regiment in a most disorganized state requiring a firm hand to bring it under control. The year 1797 was one of the most disastrous that England had ever experienced. Although in 1795 the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon had been added to the English Crown, the powers of Europe were now combining against her. Prussia, Sweden, and Spain had come to terms with the republic of France. Bonaparte had overrun the north of Italy, and in October, 1796, Spain had been forced to declare war against England. The Dutch, French and Spanish fleets formed a powerful armada for the invasion of England, while in Ireland the black flag of rebellion had been raised. There was dearth and famine and discontent at home, while generals and armies were uniformly unsuccessful abroad. Once again, though, as of old, the wooden walls of England proved her salvation. By a brilliant victory off Cape St. Vincent on February 14th, 1797, Jervis and Nelson crushed the Spanish fleet and put a stop to the meditated invasion. Worse than {11} attacks from the enemy abroad was the discontent that had crept into both the army and navy of England, and which broke out into open mutiny during this year. There were grievances, no doubt, for soldiers and sailors at that time were treated with the greatest severity. Recruited as the service was by means of the press gang, it was impossible to expect a high standard of conduct from those who were pressed from the prisons and the slums. It is rather to be wondered at that with such material England's navy did so well. [Sidenote: Mutiny in the navy] It was in the month of April, 1797, that the crews of the Channel fleet rose in rebellion, and the disaffection spread with extraordinary rapidity all over the world. At the Cape of Good Hope the squadron stationed there rose in revolt. In the West Indies, off Porto Rico, the crew of the _Hermione_, infuriated by the cruelty of their captain, killed all their officers and delivered the ship over to the Spaniards. At the mouth of the Texel, Admiral Duncan, who was blockading the coast of Holland, was deserted by all of his ships save two, and only by skilful manoeuvring succeeded in keeping the enemy in ignorance of his perilous position. The mutiny came at a time when England was pressed on all sides, and had the state of affairs been known by the French and the Dutch, irredeemable disaster would probably have resulted. Even the army was affected. At Woolwich the artillerymen were insubordinate, and it was believed {12} that secret agents of the French were at work corrupting the army.