Page:The history of yachting.djvu/255

 Rh their calculations from fifty to seventy-five years more.

It must be stated, however, that the remark of the learned Justice Lushington was not strictly accurate; for the vessel that "brought over" the future King of England from Holland, was the ship Briel, although William left the shores of Holland on board the Princess Mary and later boarded the Briel and landed from the Princess Mary in England.

After disembarking the future King, the Princess Mary enjoyed many years of dignified and honorable employment. She was used as a royal yacht during the reigns of William III. and Queen Anne: and upon the death of the Queen she came into possession of his Majesty, King George I. But in 1714, by his order, she ceased to form a part of the royal establishment; and about the middle of the eighteenth century, during an outburst of economy, she was sold by the Government, to Messrs. Walters & Co., of London, who changed her name to the Betsy Cairns, in honor of a West Indian lady of that name. She was then variously employed: as a West Indiaman, privateer, and Smyrna figger. For about fifty years she was employed in this kind of work, until in 1810 she enjoyed a glimpse of her former glory by being chartered into the royal service for a few months, and becoming a transport under King George III., being present at the siege of Cadiz, and becoming also the headquarters of the Royal Marine Artillery.