But when the battle did take place, the result was such as to confound instead of justifying her patriotic expectations.

In April, the English Admiral Rodney inflicted on the Count de Grasse a crushing defeat off the coast of Jamaica.

In September, the combined forces of France and Spain were beaten off with still heavier loss from the impregnable fortress of Gibraltar; and the only region in which a French admiral escaped disaster was the Indian Sea, where the Bailli de Suffrein, an officer of rare energy and ability, encountered the British admiral, Sir Edward Hughes, in a series of severe actions, and, except on one occasion in which he lost a few transports, never permitted his antagonist to claim any advantage over him; the single loss which he sustained in his first combat being more than counterbalanced by his success on land, where, by the aid of Hyder Ali's son, the celebrated Tippoo, be made himself master of Cuddalore; and then, dropping down to the Cingalese coast, recaptured Trincomalee, the conquest of which had been one of Hughes's most recent achievements.[12] The queen felt the reverses keenly.

She even curtailed some of her own expenses in order to contribute to the building of new ships to replace those which had been lost; and she received M.de Suffrein, on his return from India at the conclusion of the war, with the most sincere and marked congratulations.

She invited him to the palace, and, when he arrived, she caused Madame de Polignac to bring both her children into the room.