[7] Minorca, an island in the Mediterranean, on the eastern coast of Spain, is about thirty miles in length and twelve in breadth, and is chiefly valuable for the excellent harbour of Port Mahon. In September, 1708, Minorca was taken by Admiral Leake and a land force under Lieut.-General Stanhope, after a siege of about three weeks. The island was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Utrecht, and remained in its possession until 1756, when, in April of that year, it was besieged by the French, under Marshal the Duke de Richelieu. After a brave defence by the Governor, General Blakeney, the garrison, consisting of the 4th, 23rd, 24th, and 34th regiments, surrendered, and, in consideration of their gallantry, were permitted to march out with all the honors of war. At the peace of Fontainebleau, in 1763, Minorca was restored to the English in exchange for Belle-Isle. In February, 1782, the garrison, under the Governor, Lieut.-General the Honorable James Murray, after suffering severely from sickness, surrendered to the Duke de Crillon, the Commander-in-Chief of the combined French and Spanish forces, and Minorca was retained by Spain at the peace of 1783. Minorca again surrendered to a British force under General the Honorable Charles Stuart, on the 15th of November, 1798; and at the peace of Amiens, in 1802, Minorca was restored to the Spaniards, under whose sway it remains at the present period. [8] The nature of the services on which the _Marine Corps_ were employed has since obtained for them the Royal authority to bear the motto, “_Per mare, per terram_.” [9] “On the morning of Sunday, the 10th of June, 1688, a day long kept sacred by the too faithful adherents of a bad cause, was born James Francis Edward Stuart, the most unfortunate of princes, destined to seventy-seven years of exile and wandering,--of vain projects,--of honours more galling than insults,--and of hopes such as make the heart sick.”--‘History of England,’ by _Thomas Babington Macaulay_. Vol. ii. page 363. [10] _James Francis Edward_, “_The Pretender_,” son of _James II._, and of _Mary_, daughter of the Duke of Modena, his second wife; was born on the 10th June, 1688. He married, in 1719, Mary Clementina, daughter of Prince James Sobieski, and granddaughter of John Sobieski, King of Poland. He died on the 1st June, 1766 (aged 78 years), leaving issue two sons:-- 1. _Charles Edward Louis Cassimir_, termed in England “_The Young Pretender_;” born on the 30th November, 1720, who married the Princess Stohlberg of Germany, and died at Rome, without issue, on the 31st January, 1788. 2. _Henry Benedict_, called _The Cardinal York_; born on the 24th March, 1725. When the last grand effort for the restoration of his family, in 1745, proved abortive, he took holy orders, and was elevated to the Purple by Pope Benedict XIV. in 1747, and died at Rome in 1807. The Cardinal was the last male branch of the House of Stuart.