J.M.W.Turner: 

The Prince of Orange, William 111, Embarked from Holland' and Landed at Torbay

THIS picture is thus described in the Royal Academy Catalogue for 1832 :—“ The Prince of Orange, William III., embarked from Holland and landed at Torbay, November 4th, 1688, after a stormy passage. The yacht in which his Majesty sailed was, after many changes and services, finally wrecked on Hamburg Sands, while employed in the Hull trade” (" History of England”). We cannot say from what History of England Turner culled this interesting piece of information, but the scene itself is thus described by Macaulay :—“ A soft breeze sprung up from the south, the mist dispersed, the sun shone forth, and under the mild light of an autumnal noon the fleet turned back, passed round the lofty cape of Berry Head, and rode safe in the harbour of Torbay. The disembarkation immediately commenced. Sixty boats conveyed the troops to the coast. The Prince soon followed. He landed where the quay of Brixham now stands—a fragment of the rock on which the deliverer stepped from his boat has been carefully preserved, and is set up as an object of public veneration in the centre of that busy wharf.”