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 o

 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERAL SIR ROBERT WILSON. 
 
 Volume I.
 
 LIBKAHY 
 
 " "AAAo e"6os, iav avTOS tis fi yen'dfias tt)v iln/\r)V kcu /ueyaAd</a>x os KaL tovtov 
 evyevij c£ao-tV. KAI TH2 TE EYTEXEIAS AYTH KPATI2TH. t^s opa evye- 
 veias, to jiei/ awo npoyoviov emeucibv, to Se 6vj'ao"Ta>i', to 8e kv&6£<»v, TO AE AIIO 
 TH2 AYTOY KAAOKArAQIAS." 
 
 " And, lastly, him also they call noble that hath his own inbred dignity and 
 greatness of spirit. This is the best kind of NOBnjTT. So that nobility hall) 
 its ground either from ancestors eminent for justice ; or from such as have held 
 place and power ; or from such as have acquired rank and fame ; or from a man's 
 
 OWN UPRIGHTNESS AND HONOUR." — PLATO, quoted by SELDEN.
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERAL SIR ROBERT WILSON, 
 
 COMMANDER OF THE IMPERIAL MILITARY ORDERS OK MARIA THERESA OP AUSTRIA, 
 AND ST. GEORGE OP RUSSIA ; 
 KNIGHT GRAND CROSS OP THE ORDER OF THE RED EAGLE OP PRUSSIA, 
 AND OP THE MILITARY ORDER OP ST. ANNE OP RUSSIA ; 
 KNIGHT COMMANDER OP THE ROYAL PORTUGUESE MILITARY ORDER OP THE TOWER AND SWORD, 
 
 OF THE TURKISH CRESCENT, 
 
 AND OF THE ORDER OF MERIT OF SAXONY ; 
 
 COUNT OP THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE ; 
 
 ETC., ETC., ETC. 
 
 FROM AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS, JOURNALS, NARRATIVES, 
 CORRESPONDENCE, &c. 
 
 EDITED BY" HIS NEPHEW AND SON-IN-LAW, 
 
 THE REV. HERBERT RANDOLPH, M.A. Oxon. 
 
 WITH PORTRAIT. 
 
 Vol. 1. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 1862. 
 
 The right of Translation is reserved
 
 IX>NDON : PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SON'S, STAMFORD STREET, 
 AND CHAItrNG CROfiB.
 
 J_JiAJi.V.M.iV A 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 Q__ SANTA BARBARA 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Extract from the Will of General Sir Eobert Wilson. 
 
 This is the last will and testament of me, Robert 
 Thomas Wilson, General in the British Army, Colonel 
 of the 15th King's Hussars, and for the time being 
 Governor of Gibraltar, Commander-in-Chief, &c. &c., 
 Knight Grand Cross and Commander of various Orders 
 
 won in the fields of battle. 
 
 ****** 
 
 I give, devise, and bequeath to my son Belford Hinton 
 Wilson, Charge d'Affaires and Consul-General in her 
 Majesty's service, as heir-looms, all my military deco- 
 rations and insignia, including the Commander's Cross 
 of Saint George of Russia given me by the Emperor 
 Alexander on the field of battle at the head of the 
 Imperial Guards, after having had it first put round 
 his own neck and then having with his own hands 
 placed it round mine. Also Rembrandt's picture as 
 copied by my father, and the manuscript of his life 
 written by himself. And do further recommend that 
 he and his son living, Robert Belford Wallis, should 
 be considered the representative successors to such 
 memorials, records, and property as may be conducive 
 vol. i. b
 
 vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to family distinction and correspondingly meritorious 
 exertions. 
 
 I give, devise, and bequeath, &c. &c. &c. all my 
 manuscripts, letters, journals, &c. &c. &c. But direct 
 that none shall be published without the most com- 
 plete revision and judicious opinion as to the utility or 
 innocuous consequences of such proceeding. Also my 
 narrative of the Russian Campaign, the publication 
 of which will require the sanction of the Foreign 
 Secretary of State, as I was serving under the orders 
 of the Foreign Department. And I also recommend 
 a previous communication to the Russian Sovereign ; 
 and that the same measures should be adopted before 
 the publication of the remainder of the work, should I 
 live to finish it, up to the conclusion of the war in 
 Italy. The publication of the private letters, many 
 of which are of great interest, must likewise undergo 
 similar careful revision and decorous observance of 
 social propriety, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Witnessed and signed, August 17, 1847. 
 
 Crossing the line of "threescore years and ten," 
 with a steady gaze on death as now certain by God's 
 ordinance within a fast-closing boundary of time — 
 death so often fearlesslv confronted in his violent 
 assault in the prime of manhood — Sir Robert Wilson 
 deliberately and religiously set his hand to his last 
 will and testament on the seventieth anniversary of 
 his birth. 
 
 His vast intercourse with men during the momen- 
 tous events of his day in war and politics, and the part 
 that he had borne amidst those passions of contending 
 nations and parties, imposed upon him special duties
 
 INTRODUCTION. vn 
 
 of public and social relation. These would not die 
 with him ; for the written records of the facts, like 
 the facts themselves, would continue in being: and 
 therefore by the solemnity of his " will" he handed 
 down his view of these obligations and his charge to 
 fulfil them, to those to whom he was now constrained 
 by the law of mortality to entrust their execution. 
 That charge, to those who loved him in life and who 
 honour his memory in death, is sacred and inviolable. 
 
 The " Narrative of the French Invasion of Russia " 
 in 18 L 2, was the only finished work among the masses 
 of MSS. devised by his will ; consisting of journals, 
 narratives, note and anecdote books, letters from and 
 to persons of both sexes, of all ranks and degrees, and 
 of many nations — English, French, Russians, Germans, 
 Poles, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Spanish Ame- 
 ricans, Greeks, Turks, Egyptians, &c. &c. 
 
 In compliance with this solemn charge, before the 
 publication of the "Russian Campaign" the sanction 
 of her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 
 was asked and obtained. A copy was transmitted 
 through the Russian Ambassador to S. Petersburg; 
 the wishes of the Emperor were ascertained and as 
 far as possible complied with ; and the work was 
 published in the spring of 1860. It was received 
 with universal favour. In the words of one of its 
 critics, " it at once placed Sir Robert Wilson in the 
 first rank of military writers." 
 
 The intention expressed in his will to carry on the 
 work, if his life were spared, to the conclusion of the 
 war in Italy ; and the existence of all the materials 
 from which, aided by his memory, he would have 
 drawn that history, in the shape of a journal kept 
 with singular regularity and care during his employ- 
 
 b 2
 
 Vin INTRODUCTION. 
 
 merit in negotiations and with the armies, and of 
 letters and despatches through that time, seemed to 
 render the publication of his "Private Diary" next 
 in order both fit and natural. 
 
 There was a further family reason for this course of 
 publication. In the title-page of the " Eussian Cam- 
 paign," the Orders of Knighthood which he had re- 
 ceived for meritorious service from Foreign Sove- 
 reigns were as usual inserted after his name. This 
 marked the absence of British honours. It was due 
 therefore to Sir Robert Wilson's memory to bring 
 forward at once the proofs, gathered to a point in 
 those closing efforts of the struggling nations, that, 
 while the Sovereigns of Continental Europe who per- 
 sonally witnessed his prowess and his loyalty emu- 
 lously decorated him with the ensigns of their chivalry, 
 he had deserved as well of his own King and country. 
 
 The " Private Diary," with its appendices, was 
 accordingly published in January, 1861. 
 
 The proof thus furnished was received without a 
 challenge and with general recognition. It was con- 
 fessed to be unimpeachable and perfect in the fol- 
 lowing words, by one* whose own name will deservedly 
 command attention and respect : — 
 
 "In these volumes Mr. Randolph redeems his pro- 
 mise, t and lays before us the evidence upon which 
 Sir Robert Wilson must be acquitted or condemned, 
 and by which we must judge whether he really won 
 the title to that favour which his sovereign withheld 
 from him, and which we are told he ' proudly claimed.' 
 
 * Mr. Russell — at that time Editor of the " Army and Navy Gazette" — 
 the distinguished Correspondent of "The Times" during the Crimean 
 War.— Ed. 
 
 f See Introduction to the " Narrative of the French Invasion of 
 Russia." — Ed.
 
 INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 Let us say at once that never was vindication more 
 complete and conclusive. It is a vindication resting 
 upon no whimsical theories, nor laboriously drawn out 
 by subtle reasoning ; it rests upon a much broader and 
 more solid foundation — a foundation of facts — a very 
 concrete of brilliant services, performed in the light 
 of day, and before the eyes of Europe and its allied 
 kings and statesmen, acknowledged by all but the 
 nation whose duty it was to cherish those services, 
 and render in return the meed of gratitude and 
 honour which was their due. What these services 
 were is related in these volumes. We have now 
 abundant proof that the exception, so galling to a 
 loyal and patriotic man, by which Sir Robert Wilson, 
 •decore on all hands, remained unrewarded by his own 
 sovereign, was due to no misconduct or shortcomings 
 on his part, but to the jealousy, or worse, of others. 
 * * * We may remark, at the same time, that the testi- 
 mon} r to Sir Robert Wilson's eminent services which 
 is collected in these volumes, is of the highest order, 
 consisting, as it does, not merely of the detailed nar- 
 rative which is found in Sir Robert's own journal— a 
 journal, the value and interest of which may be judged 
 of from the fact that throughout the stirring scenes 
 in which the author was an actor, under all circum- 
 stances and difficulties, he kept it up with the greatest 
 care and minuteness — but of a number of despatches 
 and letters, by which the journal itself is supplemented 
 and confirmed." 
 
 The "proofs" then of high desert from his Sovereign 
 and his country may be regarded as so far established. 
 But more is required : and more shall be done. 
 
 Evidence shall be produced in the proper place and 
 time that Sir Robert Wilson's exclusion from the
 
 x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 customary rewards of conspicuous merit was the de- 
 termined and systematic injury of successive Govern- 
 ments on party grounds. 
 
 It shall be shown in one instance that the man who 
 resented it with vehement indignation, and denounced 
 it with impassioned eloquence when it was the act of 
 political adversaries against a political and personal 
 friend, inflicted the same injury when those relations 
 were altered in after years, and when he had himself 
 succeeded to ministerial power. 
 
 The two volumes of Biography now published bring 
 down Sir Eobert Wilson's personal history to the 
 peace of Tilsit. 
 
 The third volume will follow as speedily as time 
 and circumstances permit : containing a narrative of 
 his services in the formation and command of the 
 Lusitanian Legion in the Peninsular war in 1808-9. 
 A short abstract of the " Private Diarv," which 
 is a full autobiographical record during the years 
 1812-13-14, will be necessary to render the "Bio- 
 graphy " complete; and the "Life" will thus be 
 brought down to the conclusion of his military and 
 diplomatic employment under the authority of the 
 British Government. The same volume will fitly 
 commence the history of ministerial wrong in the dis- 
 tribution of the rewards of service. 
 
 Sir R. Wilson's " defence of the claim of Marshal 
 Ney to the benefit of the capitulation of Paris," which, 
 in his own words, "brought down upon him " [for the 
 time]* "the implacable resentment of the Duke of 
 Wellington ;" his share in the escape of Lavalette ; 
 
 * " For the time" only. In after years, as will be seen, when the cause 
 of this temporary irritation had ceased to operate, Sir Eobert W T ilson 
 enjoyed the warm and appreciating friendship of the Duke of Welling- 
 ton. — Ed.
 
 INTRODUCTION. Xl 
 
 the part which he took at the funeral of Queen 
 Caroline, not yet fully known to the public because, 
 in deference to the interests of others, he abstained 
 from giving all the details even in his masterly de- 
 fence in the House of Commons ;* his volunteer ser- 
 vice in Spain in 1823 ; his career in Parliament as 
 member for the borough of Southwark ; his private life 
 from 1832 to 1842 ; and finally his conduct as Gover- 
 nor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar, from whence 
 he only returned home to die ; — will be the subjects 
 of the following volumes. 
 
 It will be seen in them whether his dignity as a 
 man and his merit as a citizen were equal to his 
 renown as a soldier. 
 
 One episode there is of extraordinary interest. A 
 carefully detailed account of the negotiations on the 
 side of the Whigs,. in 1827 for the formation of Mr. Can- 
 ning's Ministry, in which he took a principal part. This 
 will be published in its place. 
 
 Sir Robert Wilson "proudly claimed" the honours 
 which he had "nobly won." Vain men only will call 
 his estimate and his vindication "vanity." Wise 
 men know, and just men and men capable of equal 
 merit will feel, that it was true " greatness of spirit." f 
 He pressed his claims through many years upon many 
 persons successively holding high offices in the State. 
 All acknowledged his rights, none conceded or effec- 
 tually vindicated them .J Not one was found of the 
 
 * The publication of the letter of Mr. Joseph Hume on this subject by 
 Lord Dundonald in his " Autobiography " — a worthy act of sympathising 
 justice — is an authoritative correction of the chief errors and misrepre- 
 sentations of the day. — Ed. 
 
 f " Meya\6$vxos. 6 fj.eyaXooi' avrhv afywv, a£ios &v" — "The magnanimous 
 man is one who judges himself deserving of great things, being truly 
 deserving." — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Lib. 4. 
 
 X Not till Dec. 1S35 did he even obtain the Colonelcy of a regiment. — Ed.
 
 xii 1XTK0DUCTI0K 
 
 noblest in rank, noble enough in nature, in his "inbred 
 dignity" to rise above the pettiest jealousies of party. 
 Not one in his high station remembered that place 
 and authority, regarded as God's gifts are for the 
 exhibition of the godlike attribute of justice, regarded 
 as held by the will of their fellow-men are a trust for 
 the public weal. 
 
 Near relationship in one who undertakes to write 
 or to edit the biography of a famous man has one 
 great advantage. As a general principle, such a one, 
 presuming him to be endowed with competent powers 
 by the gift of nature, brings a sympathetic intelli- 
 gence to bear upon actions and motives ; and honesty 
 only is wanted in addition to give the highest value 
 to his work. But it has one disadvantage. A pre- 
 judiced suspicion almost invariably arises, and may 
 always be appealed to by men whose instinct it is 
 to disparage those who transcend their own powers, 
 that kindred affection closes the eyes to faults and 
 disposes to exaggerate virtues. 
 
 For this reason among others the " Private Diary " 
 was published without excision and with (almost 
 literally) no correction ; and the " life " of Sir Robert 
 Wilson shall be recorded throughout as nearly as 
 possible in his own words. 
 
 It is no part of the design of these volumes — it 
 would be most discordant from the intention of Sir 
 Robert Wilson's "will," and a violation of thesacred- 
 ness of friendship and confidential correspondence — to 
 publish anything to the injury of private character. 
 But the conduct of public men, as it affects public 
 interests and the rights of others, must be dealt with 
 according to a different rule. Posthumous exposure, 
 as a certain penalty of unjust oppression, is almost
 
 INTRODUCTION. xm 
 
 the only check upon the unscrupulous abuse of 
 power. 
 
 "The Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles 
 Stewart " have been recently published. In this work 
 there is in general a sound estimate of Sir Robert 
 Wilson's character and actions : and his own relation 
 of one of his most prominent * deeds of valour is 
 honestly given in a note in full : so that careful 
 readers who know that small type may carry great 
 truth, can compare it with the dislocating narrative 
 in the more conspicuous type of the text. But 
 occasionally a fact is misstated, a questionable opinion 
 expressed, or a faulty conclusion drawn, in a man- 
 ner that does him less than justice : these shall be 
 controverted in the volumes to be published here- 
 after.f The grave maxim of Quintilian should be in 
 
 * In the great redoubt of Dresden. 
 
 t In the mean time it is necessary to meet some of the more prominent 
 errors to which circulation has thus been given. 
 
 In vol. ii., page 180, Lord Castlereagh's words are quoted from the 
 "Private Diary" — without Sir R. Wilson's comment upon them — in 
 justification of his transfer to the army of Italy in 1814. " If Sir R. 
 Wilson has the confidence of all other Governments, he wants that of his 
 own." There is a fallacy here. " Governments," in reference to Sir R. 
 Wilson's estimation in Europe, signify sovereigns with their ministers, the 
 commanders of their forces, their armies, and their people. " Govern- 
 ment," in reference to his estimation in England, signifies Lord Castlereagh 
 and one other. Who that other was shall be shown when the next error 
 receives its authoritative contradiction. 
 
 In vol. hi., page 298, a correspondence is reprinted from " The Times " 
 of May, 1853, in which the late Lord Londonderry, noticing a conversation 
 published by Lord John (Earl) Russell in his " Life of T. Moore," re- 
 specting Sir R. Wilson, denounces the facts stated as " invention from 
 the beginning," " a mare's nest," &c, " without a shadow of foundation." 
 Lord Londonderry's memory failed him. The facts were, as they pro- 
 bably would be from hearsay, inaccurately stated in details: but they 
 were no " invention," no " mare's nest ;" they had much more than a 
 " shadow ;" they had a solid substance of " foundation " in the main par- 
 ticidars ; and of this evidence shall be produced in its place. 
 
 In vol. hi., page 161, the author writes, after giving a very superficial
 
 xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the nrinds of writers of all times : * " Modeste et cir- 
 cumspecto judicio de tantis viris proiiuntiandam est, 
 ne, quod plerisque accidit, damnent quge 11011 intel- 
 ligniit." 
 
 P.S. The thanks of the Editor are due and are 
 gratefully tendered to Lord Donoughmore for his 
 voluntary offer and courteous transfer of valuable 
 MSS., letters, and despatches addressed by Sir R. 
 Wilson to Lord Hutchinson, several of which are 
 published in these volumes. — Ed. 
 
 London, November 25, 1862. 
 
 and unsatisfactory account of the proceedings at Cumberland Gate on the 
 14th of August, 1821, " It was a melancholy day for Sir Charles Stewart 
 and the British army, when one of its brightest ornaments, and the man 
 who had stood by his side on the summit of the great redoubt at Dresden, 
 ceased to dignify its ranks!" The only man who stood by Sir Robert 
 Wilson's side when he first scaled the redoubt, surmounted the crest, and 
 waved his cap in triumph on its summit, was Captain Charles, his own 
 faithful and gallant aide-de-camp. No sufficient evidence has been given that 
 Sir Charles Stewart was on the summit at all. Sir Iiobert Wilson's state- 
 ment is inconsistent with the supposition, and this note is an open challenge 
 to produce trustworthy witness of the fact. — Ed. 
 
 * " Modesty and a circumspect judgment should be used in pronouncing 
 upon the characters of men so great ; in order that we may not, as very 
 many do, condemn what we do not understand." — Quint. Ins. xl., § 20.
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. 1. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Pao;e 
 
 Early career of Sir Robert Wil- 
 son 1 
 
 His Father's Biography .. .. 3 
 
 Family long settled in Leeds . . 4 
 
 Industry and Ambition checked 5 
 
 Frugal Lite in London .. .. 6 
 
 Systematic Course of Study . . 7 
 Philosophical Researches and 
 
 Experiments 8 
 
 Friendship of Sir William Young 10 
 
 Electrical Experiment .. .. 11 
 
 Portraits of David Garrick, &c. 12 
 
 Rembrandt's Etching .. .. 13 
 
 An English Roast 14 
 
 A Visit to France 15 
 
 Experiments upon Tourmalin 16 
 
 Two large Pictures 17 
 
 Introduction to the Duke of 
 
 York 18 
 
 Management of a Theatre .. 19 
 
 The Speaker's Wig 20 
 
 The " Tombstone" Print . . . . 21 
 
 Sale of the Print 22 
 
 Married to Miss Hetherington 23 
 Lightning Conductors .. .. 24 
 A Noble Philosopher Discon- 
 certed 25 
 
 " Belshazzar's Feast " .. .. 26 
 
 Portrait of Erasmus .. .. 27 
 
 Compliment from Reynolds .. 28 
 
 " Raising of Jairus's Daughter " 29 
 
 Visit from the King and Queen 30 
 
 Hogarth's " Happy Marriage " 31 
 
 Conversation with the King . . 32 
 
 Page 
 Controversy with Dr. Franklin 33 
 Fellow of the Bolognese Aca- 
 demy 34 
 
 Electrical Apparatus .. .. 35 
 
 Paper presented to the King . . 36 
 
 Garrick's Funeral 37 
 
 Dyeing Cotton Scarlet .. .. 38 
 
 Figure of Queen Elizabeth .. 39 
 
 The Royal Family 40 
 
 Character of Sir Robert's Father 41 
 
 Concluding Remarks .. .. 42 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Reasons for writing this Memoir 43 
 
 Death of my Father . . . . 45 
 
 Advised not to enter the Army 46 
 My Father's Ideas on Religion, 
 
 &c 47 
 
 A Prediction Verified . . . . 48 
 Frightened by Omens .. .. 49 
 Winchester School— My Tra- 
 gedy 50 
 
 Tottenham Court Chapel . . . . 51 
 
 Ludicrous Accident 52 
 
 Colonel Bosville — Killed at Lin- 
 
 celles 53 
 
 Apply for a Commission in the 
 
 Guards 54 
 
 Recommended to the Duke of 
 
 York 55 
 
 Mr. Bosville and his Circle — 
 
 Fox, Grey, Sheridan, &c. .. 56 
 
 Arrival at Ostend 58 
 
 Commissioned as Cornet . . . . 59
 
 XVI 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 Page 
 Equivocal Bravery of Captain 
 
 Dare 60 
 
 Army Reviewed by the Em- 
 peror 61 
 
 Death of Captain Carleton .. 62 
 Premont carried by Assault .. 63 
 Cruelty of the Austrians . . . . 64 
 Movement on Villiers en Couche 65 
 Dangerous Position of the Em- 
 peror 66 
 
 Battle of Villiers en Couche .. 66 
 
 Defeat and Massacre of the French 68 
 
 French Officer Shot 69 
 
 Eetreat of the French Army . . 70 
 General Mansell unjustly Cen- 
 sured 71 
 
 Death of General Mansell .. 72 
 
 Surrender of Landre'cies .. .. 73 
 
 Kindness of the Peasantiy . . 74 
 
 Allies attacked by the Enemy 75 
 
 A Narrow Escape 76 
 
 Bravery of French Gendarmes 77 
 " Vive la Eepublique !" .. .. 78 
 Motives of the Crowned Heads 79 
 Treachery of the French King 80 
 French Defeated by Kaunitz .. 81 
 Allies Advance to Roubaix .. 82 
 Attack upon Mouveaux .. .. 83 
 Town and Church set on Fire . . 84 
 Movements of the Allies . . . . 85 
 Tourcoing attacked by the Allies 86 
 Disgusting Slaughter of Pri- 
 soners 87 
 
 The Village of Roubaix at- 
 tacked by the Enemy . . . . 88 
 Critical Position of the Rear- 
 guard 89 
 
 Pretty Sally— Her Gallantry .. 91 
 Encounter with an Austrian 
 
 Officer 92 
 
 Column arrives at Templcuve 93 
 
 Arrival of the Austrian Army 94 
 
 Templeuve Taken and Retaken 94 
 
 French Defeated by the Allies 96 
 
 ' raUantry of a British Brigade 97 
 
 Drunkenness in the Army .. 98 
 
 Page 
 Sir Robert Wilson's Autobio- 
 graphy ends 99 
 
 Allies Retreat upon Bois-le-Duc 100 
 Defence of the Passage of the 
 
 Waal 101 
 
 Sir Robert meets his Future 
 
 Wife 102 
 
 Her Family Connections . . .. 102 
 
 Gretna Green Marriage .. .. 104 
 Remarried at St. George's 
 
 Church 104 
 
 Letter from Mr. Perm .. .. 106 
 Battle of Egmont-op-Zee . . . . 107 
 Return of the Fifteenth to Eng- 
 land 108 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Sir Robert Embarks for the 
 
 Continent 110 
 
 Arrives at Cuxhaven .. .. 110 
 
 Fortifications of Hamburgh .. 112 
 
 Vienna — Lord Nelson .. .. 113 
 
 Introduced to the Emperor .. 114 
 
 Lord Minto's Diplomacy .. 115 
 
 Abbe' O'Reilly— Miss Amstein 116 
 
 Kindness of Baron Thugut .. 117 
 
 Stormy Passage to Venice .. 118 
 
 Proceeds to Verona 119 
 
 Englishmen esteemed Sea-Gods 120 
 Leaves Venice — Passes into the 
 
 Po 121 
 
 Ferrara and its Inhabitants .. 122 
 Letter from Lord William Bcn- 
 
 tinck 123 
 
 Arrives at Ancona 124 
 
 Loretto and the Virgin .. .. 125 
 
 Reaches Rome— St. Peter's .. 126 
 
 Leaves Rome for Naples .. .. 127 
 
 Storm at Mola di Gaeta .. .. 128 
 
 Naples and its Castles .. .. 129 
 
 Patriotism of the People .. .. 130 
 
 Arrival at Messina 131 
 
 Imprisonment of Dolomieu .. 132 
 
 Visit to his Cell 133 
 
 Dignified gratitude of Dolomieu 134
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 xvn 
 
 Page 
 His manliness and independence 135 
 Treatment in Prison .. .. 136 
 Gut of Scylla and Chary bdis .. 137 
 Terrible Storm — Return to Syra- 
 cuse 138 
 
 Ruins of Ancient Syracuse .. 139 
 
 Malta and its Harbour .. .. 140 
 
 Embarks for Egypt 141 
 
 Master loses his Reckoning .. 142 
 
 Received kindly by Lord Keith 143 
 Wretched condition of the 
 
 Horses 144 
 
 Heavy Torrent of Rain .. .. 145 
 
 Shooting Jackals and Wolves . . 146 
 Artful conduct of Mahometan 
 
 Guide 147 
 
 A filthy Caravanserai . . . . 148 
 
 Cudjas — the Aga's Palace .. 149 
 
 His Wives and Concubines .. 150 
 
 Introduced to the Aga .. .. 151 
 
 Beats a Retreat from Cudjas .. 152 
 
 Arrives at the Caravanserai .. 153 
 Distressed condition of the 
 
 Horses 154 
 
 Violent Storm of Thunder, 
 
 etc 155 
 
 Hurricane of Tremendous Seve- 
 rity 156 
 
 The Old Woman and her Pan 157 
 
 Embark for Alexandria .. .. 157 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 English Fleet Anchor in Abou- 
 kir Bay 
 
 Lord Nelson's Letter 
 Battle of Alexandria 
 Garrison of St. Julien Surrender 
 Controversy about Ancient Troy 
 Regulating Price of Provisions 
 Letter to Sir Sidney Smith 
 Mohammed, Prince of Fez 
 Turks behead six Frenchmen 
 Advance of the Army 
 Arrival of the Capitan Pacha 
 Gallantry of the Eighty-ninth 
 
 159 
 160 
 161 
 162 
 163 
 164 
 165 
 168 
 169 
 170 
 171 
 172 
 
 Page 
 French Dragoons taken Pri- 
 soners 173 
 
 French pleased at being Cap- 
 tured 174 
 
 French Despatches Recovered 174 
 Disposition of the French Forces 176 
 Bad Conduct of Turkish Troops 177 
 Arrival at the Town of Sais .. 178 
 The Turkish Grand Vizier .. 179 
 Presented by him with two Horses 180 
 Journey in the Desert .. .. 181 
 Encounter with a French Con- 
 voy 182 
 
 Surrender of the Convoy . . . . 183 
 Seven hundred Camels, &c, 
 
 taken 184 
 
 Repetition of Buonaparte's stra- 
 tagem 185 
 
 Buonaparte and the Garrison 
 
 of Jaffa 186 
 
 Presented with a Mameluke 
 
 Sabre 187 
 
 Capitan Pacha and Ibrahim Bey 188 
 
 Blood Horses of Arabia Felix . . 189 
 Osman Bey and his Mamelukes 
 
 richly dressed and mounted 190 
 
 Mahomed Bey and Regnier .. 192 
 
 Present of Suliman Aga .. .. 193 
 Reconnoitres the defences of 
 
 Gizeh 194 
 
 Flag of Truce from the Garrison 195 
 
 The Pyramids, and Strabo .. 196 
 
 Catacombs of Saccara . . . . 197 
 Excellent Condition of our 
 
 Army 198 
 
 French Evacuate Cairo .. .. 199 
 Leaves Cairo and Reaches Ro- 
 
 setta 200 
 
 Siege of Alexandria 201 
 
 Sally of a French Column .. 202 
 The Tower of Marabout Taken 203 
 Good Conduct of General Coote 204 
 Despatches to General Hutchin- 
 son 205 
 
 Discontent of the French Garri- 
 son 206
 
 xvm 
 
 CONTEXTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 Page 
 Batteries open on Fort des 
 
 Bains 207 
 
 Menou proposes to Capitulate.. 208 
 
 His Judgment and Humanity 209 
 Bossession Taken of Enemy's 
 
 Lines 210 
 
 Interview with General Menou 211 
 Statues and Sarcophagi .. .. 212 
 Takes Leave of General Coote . . 213 
 Enormous Waterspouts .. .. 214 
 Arrival in Malta Harbour .. 215 
 General Pox and French Captain 216 
 Perform Quarantine at Toulon 217 
 Bobespierre's Friend and Agent 218 
 Fourier's interesting Discovery 219 
 Visit to the Theatre .. .. 220 
 " France too Great for a Re- 
 public" 221 
 
 Marseilles — its Eoads and Inns 222 
 
 Fontainebleau — Paris .. .. 223 
 Magnificence and Meanness of 
 
 Paris 224 
 
 Its Public Buildings and So- 
 ciety 225 
 
 Profligacy and Dissipation in 
 
 Paris 226 
 
 Leaves Paris and arrives at 
 
 Calais 227 
 
 Embarks on Board the Mi- 
 nerva, and Arrives in Old 
 
 England 228 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " History of British Expedition 
 
 to Egypt" 230 
 
 Mr. Clarke's Letter to Sir R. 
 
 Wilson 231 
 
 Mr. Clarke's Visit to Asia 
 
 Minor, Egypt, Athens, &c. . . 232 
 Buonaparte's Attempt upon 
 
 India 234 
 
 Turks Massacred and Poisoned 235 
 Fourier's Letter to Sir Robert 
 
 Wilson 236 I 
 
 Letter to the Emperor of Austria 238 
 
 Page 
 
 War Proclaimed with France .. 240 
 Sir Robert Wilson ordered to 
 
 India 241 
 
 Corporal Punishment in the 
 
 Army 242 
 
 Letter from Sir F. Burdett .. 242 
 
 Letter from Colonel M'Mahon 243 
 
 Application to Lord M nigra ve .. 244 
 
 Letter from Lord Mulgrave . . 245 
 
 Letter from Count Woronzow.. 245 
 
 Autobiography Resumed . . . . 247 
 
 Anchor in the Cove of Cork .. 248 
 
 Robbery by the Ship's Cook .. 249 
 
 Encounter a Storm 250 
 
 Sir R. Wilson Reprimands him- 
 self .. *. .. m •• •• —■• \ 
 Accident to the Brig . . . . 252 
 Visits General Yorke .. .. 253 
 Dinner with the Consul .. .. 254 
 
 Steer for the Brazils 255 
 
 Ball-cartridge Firing .. .. 256 
 
 Militiaman and Heavy Dragoon 257 
 
 An everlasting Gale 258 
 
 Crossing the Line 259 
 
 Neptune and Amphitrite . . . . 259 
 
 Breakers close ahead .. .. 261 
 Wreck of the Britannia, Europe, 
 
 King George, &c 262 
 
 General Yorkc Drowned .. .. 264 
 
 Women and Children Saved . . 265 
 
 Good Conduct of the Seamen . . 266 
 
 The Charms of Navigation .. 267 
 
 The Britannia and StreatJiam 268 
 
 Great Loss of Treasure .. .. 269 
 
 General Gloom Prevails .. .. 270 
 
 Catamaran Boat 270 
 
 Proposal to Sir Home Popham 272 
 
 Bay of S. Salvador 273 
 
 Ludicrous Accident 273 
 
 Superb Palace 275 
 
 A "Man of Fortune's" Mar- 
 riage 276 
 
 Advantage of Free-masonry .. 277 
 Proceeds to Taparica to procure 
 
 Horses 278 
 
 Sail in a Hollow Tree .. .. 280
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 XIX 
 
 Page 
 
 Portuguese Jockeys 281 
 
 In a Whale-boat— Heavy Gale 282 
 
 Purser of the Leda Robbed . . 283 
 
 Robbery and Murder by Blacks 284 
 
 Leaves Taparica 285 
 
 Visits Sir David Baird .. .. 286 
 
 Death of Arbuthnot's Brother . . 287 
 
 Embarks on Board the Maria 288 
 
 Sickness of the Horses . . . . 289 
 
 A Court-martial 290 
 
 Christmas-day on Board .. .. 291 
 
 Table Bay 292 
 
 Land through the Surf .. .. 293 
 Sufferings on the March from 
 
 Heat and Thirst 294 
 
 Capture of Oxen 296 
 
 TeaFonteyn 297 
 
 Sufferings of the Troops .. .. 298 
 
 General Beresford 299 
 
 Action at Riet Valley .. .. 300 
 
 March to Stellenbosch .. .. 301 
 
 Hottentot Waggoner .. .. 302 
 
 Plundering of Wine Vaults .. 302 
 
 General Janssen's Question . . 304 
 
 Page 
 
 Scarcity of Water 305 
 
 Prize Money— Pretty Women 306 
 
 News of Lord Nelson's Victory 307 
 
 The Cape of Despair . . . . 308 
 
 Dutch Ladies 309 
 
 Severe Military Punishment .. 310 
 
 French Expedition to the Cape 311 
 
 False Alarm 312 
 
 Draught of the Rio de la 
 
 Plata 313 
 
 John Kemble's Gift 314 
 
 A Vicious Horse 315 
 
 A Contract of Marriage ., .. 316 
 
 Supper and Dancing .. .. 317 
 
 Deportment of the Company . . 318 
 Wright's Suicide and Pitt's 
 
 Death 319 
 
 Wish to Return to Europe .. 320 
 
 Arrives at St. Helena .. .. 321 
 
 Arrival of the China Fleet .. 322 
 
 Crew of the Lancaster .. .. 323 
 
 Magnificent Arab Horse .. .. 324 
 
 A Furious Gale 325 
 
 Off the Start 326 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 1. — Anecdotal Remarks 327 
 
 2. — General Count Staremberg to Sir Robert Wilson 332 
 
 3.— Lord Minto to Sir Robert Wilson 333 
 
 4. — Cape of Good Hope. — Orders of Sir Robert Wilson in command of 
 
 the Cavalry Detachment previous to Landing 333 
 
 5.— Sir Robert Wilson to Lord Hutchinson 340 
 
 6. — Memorandum of S. Salvador, or Bahia, 1805 342 
 
 7.— Memorandum of Madeira, 1805 348 
 
 8.— Memorandum of St. Helena, 1806 352 
 
 9. — Cape of Good Hope 354
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERAL SIR ROBERT WILSON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and early career of Sir Robert Wilson — His father's biography — 
 Family long settled in Leeds — Introduction to Hogarth, &c. — Syste- 
 matic course of study — Philosophical researches 'and experiments — Sir 
 William Young's presents — Rembrandt's etching — A visit to France — 
 Introduction to the Duke of York — Management of a theatre — the 
 Speaker's wig — Married to Miss Hetherington — Lightning conductors — 
 Belshazzar's Feast — Portrait of Erasmus — Compliment from Reynolds 
 — Visit from the King and Queen — Becomes Fellow of the Royal 
 Academy — Paper presented to the King — Garrick's funeral — Figure 
 of Queen Elizabeth — The Royal Family — Death and character of Sir 
 Robert's father. 
 
 Sir Eobert Wilson was born in London on the 
 17th of August, 1777. His childhood was passed in 
 the calm of a philosopher's home during the compara- 
 tive tranquillity of Europe. In 1788 his father died. 
 Soon after the political scene was changed, and the 
 sense of intolerable oppression in 1789 burst forth 
 in the desperate madness of the French revolution. 
 The circumstances of young Wilson's life and the 
 events of the day, acting upon a nature of extra- 
 ordinary energy, urged him on at that early age when 
 for the most part a boy is ruled by the hand of others 
 to assume the responsibility of self-direction. At the 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 EAELY CAREER OF SIR ROBERT WILSON. Chap. I. 
 
 age of sixteen he stepped out upon the arena of life — 
 in bearing a man and in spirit a hero. 
 
 In 1794 he entered the army ; and his military 
 career traversed the twenty years of war that followed, 
 to the peace of Paris in 1814. 
 
 Although in the course of these years he was once 
 only invested with a separate command, and that over 
 a foreign auxiliary corps, yet in every service and in 
 various employments he found or made opportunities 
 of beneficial activity ; formed close and lasting friend- 
 ships with all the most worthy men of every rank and 
 in the most exalted and important offices in every 
 nation ; upheld the character of his country ; and 
 moved among soldiers a knight and among citizens 
 a patriot — loyal and true-hearted — the never-failing 
 advocate of humanity, and the champion of freedom. 
 
 The tragical grandeur of war, its vast stage gor- 
 geous scenery and majestic action, its horrors and its 
 woes, excite the strongest emotions of admiration, pity 
 and terror ; its issues determine the place of nations in 
 the history of the world ; and men read in the records 
 of its defeats and triumphs the political destinies of their 
 race in coming time. The life of a soldier, therefore, 
 who has won his way to fame by conspicuous service 
 during these great struggles for national existence or 
 for empire possesses an enduring interest. 
 
 It is natural to inquire under what circumstances of 
 birth and social station the character was formed, 
 which has thus left a lasting name, and its impress 
 upon a generation. So long as no authentic memorial 
 exists room is open for imagination : random conjec- 
 tures take a shape and are committed to writing by 
 careless authors, and at last from frequent repetition
 
 Chap. I. HIS FATHER'S BIOGRAPHY. 3 
 
 obtain a credit which belongs only of right to the sub- 
 stance of truth.* 
 
 Benjamin Wilson, the father of Sir Robert, was 
 born at Leeds in 1721. He left to his children for 
 their example and instruction a manuscript history of 
 his remarkable and eventful life, but added a strict 
 injunction that it should never be published. This 
 injunction has been obeyed : but it was obej^ed with 
 great regret by Sir Robert Wilson. He saw in this 
 biography that which, in addition to various incident 
 and amusing anecdote, renders such narratives of the 
 highest value — the true relation by a perfectly honest 
 man of his own arduous and successful efforts in the 
 conscientious use of his natural gifts, to place himself 
 
 * This has been singularly exemplified in the instance of Sir Robert 
 Wilson. In his place in Parliament on one occasion in a debate on the 
 Mutiny Bill, he stated in substance that no man had had more opportunity 
 than himself of acquaintance with all classes in the army. This was com- 
 mented upon in the Clubs, and it was concluded that the words could only 
 mean that he had served in the ranks. A general officer who heard them 
 spoken, and had joined in this conversation and conclusion, some years 
 after, in a letter to an intending author who asked him to give any par- 
 ticulars with which he was acquainted of Sir Robert Wilson's early 
 military career, wrote, You may " safely assume that he first carried his 
 Brown Bess as a volunteer. From this position you cannot be driven.'* 
 Upon such authority the name of Sir Robert Wilson appeared in a small 
 volume entitled " Risen from the Ranks ;" in which there is also much 
 of faulty inference, and much of pure invention. 
 
 The truth is that from the moment of his entrance into the army Sir 
 Robert Wilson made the living human material with which he was to work 
 the subject of his nearest interest and most immediate study. He felt that 
 nothing was beneath him as a man which brought him into unity with the 
 mind and the feelings of his soldiers. And this was the secret of his popu- 
 larity : it was the vast moral power of sympathy. One as he was in heart 
 with the worthy and the brave, but showing himself considerate of weak- 
 ness, hopeful of reformation, temperate in punishment while scrupulously 
 just, all felt that in their commanding officer they had a comrade and a 
 friend, true as he was gallant, who would never fail to lead them along 
 the paths of duty to the heights of honour. — Ed.
 
 4 FAMILY LONG SETTLED IN LEEDS. Chap. 1. 
 
 worthily among his fellow-men. The record must still 
 be held sacred ; but it is considered that there will be 
 no violation of the spirit of the injunction if, in order 
 to correct the erroneous impressions that have arisen 
 from entire silence hitherto on the part of the family, 
 an outline of Benjamin Wilson's life is extracted and 
 made public : more especially as many of the facts of 
 his life are already recorded in the "Philosophical 
 Transactions of the Royal Society," and elsewhere. 
 
 The father of Benjamin Wilson, whose Christian 
 name was Major, was born at Leeds in 1674. He 
 married there in 1697 Miss Elizabeth Yates, of whose 
 family nothing is recorded in the manuscript. Four- 
 teen children were the issue of this marriage, of whom 
 Benjamin, therefore so named, was the youngest. 
 
 The family appear to have been long settled in Leeds. 
 Richard, a near relative of Major, was recorder of the 
 town. He left at his death 150,000/.; and upon his 
 authority Benjamin Wilson states that his father 
 u was the most considerable merchant in Leeds." Of 
 his wealth, influence, and popularity among his fellow- 
 townsmen, some remarkable instances are given. But 
 the misfortunes incident to great commercial prosperity 
 and extended speculation befel him about the time 
 that his youngest son was born. 
 
 At an early age the boy was sent to the great 
 school at Leeds : in consequence of a difference 
 with the master he was taken from it and sent to 
 another school ; there he remained until he was head 
 of it, when just as he had begun Greek he was 
 finally removed. This " cost him many tears," for 
 the spirit of emulation had been awakened in him, and 
 he felt a " strong desire " to " improve himself," and
 
 Chap. I. INDUSTEY AND AMBITION CHECKED. 5 
 
 to " excel others," and an " ardent ambition to be a 
 scholar." 
 
 But his natural genius had received an earlier 
 direction. His father, in the time of his prosperity, had 
 employed Parmentier,* a French artist of note, for three 
 years in decorating the walls and ceilings of his house 
 on Mill Hill with historical paintings in fresco the sub- 
 jects of which were chiefly scriptural. When the work 
 was finished " people flocked to see it." The beauty of 
 these paintings moved the admiration of the child, 
 and his inborn faculty of imitation soon shewed itself. 
 " I never," he writes, " was so happy as when I made 
 something like them." These copies were commended 
 and purchased " for pence and halfpence " by his 
 schoolfellows, and by this means his natural power 
 was stimulated to greater exertions. During this time 
 he taught himself writing, and had advanced so far 
 as to " attempt an imitation of a very fine specimen by 
 Mr. Allen, a famous writing-master in Leeds," before 
 either his schoolmaster or his parents knew that he 
 had touched a pen. 
 
 The check upon his industry and ambition by his 
 removal from school was a cruel grievance, but after 
 some time of comparative idleness " Providence began 
 to hold out a hand for his deliverance." 
 
 Monsieur Longueville, a painter employed by Mr. 
 Liston, Member of Parliament, of Gisborne Park in 
 Craven, in painting historical pictures in three colours, 
 having obtained possession of some of his drawings, 
 became interested in his welfare and offered to instruct 
 
 * Pamientier painted the altar-piece in St. Peter's Church at Leeds — 
 Moses receiving the Law. He also painted the staircase at Worksop Manor, 
 the seat of the Duke of Newcastle : this is considered his best work. — Ed.
 
 6 FRUGAL LIFE IN LONDON. Chap. I. 
 
 him in the art. With him he remained nearly twelve 
 months ; when hj the advice of a friend, a merchant in 
 Leeds, he determined to go to London. He travelled 
 by waggon and walked, and upon his arrival was 
 furnished by a relation with complete new clothing 
 and two guineas : this was the whole of his worldly 
 substance for his start in life. He found a lodging 
 for the first year in the house of a person who was 
 under some obligation to his family. The wife of this 
 man washed for him without charge ; and thus, during 
 this time, his only expense was for meat and drink. 
 He " lived upon bread and milk," and employed him- 
 self in painting, writing, and reading. The whole cost 
 of his living daring these twelve months did not exceed his 
 two guineas. 
 
 At the end of this year he obtained a clerkship at 
 the Registry of the Prerogative Court in Doctors' 
 Commons, where he received a salary of three half- 
 crowns a week. Out of this he saved " five shillings a 
 week and lived as well as an emperor." 
 
 He had always " an ambition to keep better com- 
 pany than himself :" and as long as his means did not 
 permit this, he was " content," he says, " to stay 
 at home and pass his time in self-improvement." 
 Patiently and hopefully he worked on, until he was 
 master of 50/. He then thought himself entitled to 
 improve his manner of living ; and in a short time 
 having obtained a recommendation to the Registrar 
 of the Charter-house he became his clerk, at an en- 
 larged salary amounting with fees to 15s. a week. 
 
 Improved means, and less laborious duties, enabled 
 him now to follow the bent of his genius, and more 
 freely indulge his taste in painting. He soon sue-
 
 Chap. I. SYSTEMATIC COURSE OF STUDY. 7 
 
 ceeded so well as to attract the attention and secure 
 the friendly offices of Hogarth, Hudson, Lambert, 
 Gravelot, Hay man, and others more or less eminent 
 in their art ; and was recommended by them to make 
 painting his profession. His young ambition, however, 
 would acknowledge no such bounds ; for already had 
 the accidental touch of another chord roused new sym- 
 pathies and awakened the consciousness of new powers. 
 
 Feeling a " desire to render himself agreeable in all 
 societies," and " determined that none should reproach 
 him with ignorance," he formed a resolution to " know 
 something of everything," and therefore set himself the 
 task to make some specific addition to his knowledge 
 every day for a year ; regularly recording his progress 
 and acquisitions in a note-book. 
 
 He began this systematic course with the periodicals 
 of the time — " Spectators," " Tatlers," and " Guar- 
 dians;" then "Gil Bias," "Don Quixote," and other 
 popular books. Next he read the " History of Eng- 
 land," "Rollins Ancient History," u Caesar's Commen- 
 taries," and " The Life of Charles XII. of Sweden." 
 Then the poets — " Shakespeare," " Dryden," " Pope," 
 " Prior," " Pope's Homer," " Virgil," " Milton" and 
 " Swift." After these he laboured long, and at first un- 
 successfully, with "Locke," but mastered him at length. 
 Then " Euclid," " Helsham's Lectures," " Desaguliers," 
 "Bacon," "Boyle," and "Newton's Principia and 
 Optics." 
 
 His study of these latter subjects excited a taste for 
 experimental philosophy, and this taste introduced 
 him to the acquaintance of Mr. Watson then an 
 apothecary and afterwards a doctor of medicine. 
 Mr. Watson was fond of experiments in electricity,
 
 8 PHILOSOPHICAL EESEAECHES Chap. I. 
 
 at that time a novel science. In exhibiting the velocity 
 of the fluid he caused it to pass through the length of 
 a lark-spit: this seemed to young Wilson a childish 
 mode of proving so important a fact, and he suggested 
 the employment of a piece of wire several hundred 
 feet in length. 
 
 Among other friends whom he had made was Mr. 
 John Smeaton the celebrated engineer. To him he 
 communicated his project, and Smeaton undertook to 
 prepare an apparatus for him at his house in the 
 country : but in the meanwhile Wilson proceeded with 
 experiments in his own rooms at the Charter-house. 
 
 Mr. Watson had been accustomed to use a glass 
 tube to excite the electricity, but Wilson " employed 
 a globe which he turned with a coach-wheel ;" and 
 excited the fluid by friction with the hand. Watson 
 seeing his success tried three globes, " but the effect 
 was not proportionate." 
 
 These pursuits introduced him to a very large 
 circle of acquaintance, from among whom he chose as 
 intimate friends only those of the most prominent in- 
 telligence and of the highest worth ; and his time being 
 almost at his own command he continued his studies 
 of painting, mathematics, and philosophy with vigour, 
 and soon forced himself into wider notice. 
 
 From observation of the facts of electricity, especially 
 of the effect of isolation, he suspected that the fluid was 
 not resident or engendered in vitreous and resinous 
 substances only, but that it was merely collected in 
 them and proceeded in reality from the earth itself. 
 This idea he communicated to Mr. Wollaston, Mr. 
 Hyde, Martin Ffolkes the President of the Royal 
 Societv, and to Mr. Watson.
 
 Chap. I. AND EXPERIMENTS. .0 
 
 Mr. Ffolkes urged him to prepare experiments for 
 the proof of his theory and gave him the further 
 advice, that as he meant to keep up his original study 
 of painting he should go to Ireland for two years for 
 that purpose ; saying, in explanation of the reason of 
 his advice, that early works painted there would not 
 appear against him in this country, and that so he 
 would start here with fuller mastery of his pencil and 
 better chances of success. 
 
 Wilson saw the prudence of this advice and de- 
 termined to adopt it, but chose first to pay a short 
 visit to Dublin to prepare the way for a longer resi- 
 dence. He started on this first expedition with a 
 friend on the day on which Balmerino and Kilmar- 
 nock were beheaded ; stopping on the way at Chester 
 where his friend was to join him. There he was 
 entertaining some of his acquaintance with electrical 
 experiments, when an idea suddenly struck him of a 
 mode by which he might positively determine his 
 theory ; but being pressed by his friend to proceed 
 on their journey without delay, he wrote to Mr. Elliot 
 in London and desired him to make the trial for him. 
 This letter he sent through the hands of Mr. Watson. 
 
 A letter of introduction which he took with him to 
 the Surgeon-general of Ireland procured him admission 
 to his friendship, and at his house he became acquainted 
 with Dr. Bryan Robinson, author of a treatise on the 
 iEther of Sir Isaac Newton. Through him he had 
 access to all the learned men of the University. Dr. 
 Cartwright, Professor of Experimental Philosophy, 
 gave him the use of the experiment-room at the 
 College, and there he made trial of the idea sug- 
 gested to his mind at Chester. He succeeded per- 
 
 VOL. i. b 2
 
 10 FRIENDSHIP OF SIB WILLIAM YOUNG. Chap. I. 
 
 fectly, and wrote at once an account of his " discovery '' 
 to Martin Ffolkes, Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Smeaton, and 
 others. After remaining about three weeks in Dublin 
 he returned with his friend to England. The vessel 
 in which they sailed struck upon a sand-bank near the 
 bar at Park Gate. Wilson overheard a whisper of 
 the mate to the captain, that she " would be lost." 
 The captain, with an oath, bid him " hold his tongue." 
 This alarmed Wilson and he communicated what he 
 had heard to his friend and some of the passengers. 
 Soon after the captain ordered his boat out under 
 pretence of fathoming; but the passengers in conse- 
 quence of this suspicious whisper rose and declared 
 that they would kill the first man who endeavoured 
 to leave the ship. The captain gave up the point, all 
 hands were employed to remove the cargo abaft, and 
 with the help of the flowing tide the vessel was got 
 safe off. 
 
 Wilson upon his landing was anxious to arrive in 
 London in time for a meeting of the Royal Society, at 
 which the letter written from Ireland on the subject of 
 his "discovery" was to be read: he therefore rode 
 on post-horses a hundred and eighty-eight miles in 
 twenty-three hours, and accomplished his object. Soon 
 after this in the same year, 1746, he published his 
 "discovery'' in a paper entitled "An Essay towards 
 an Explication of the Phenomena of Electricity 
 deduced from the iEther of Sir Isaac Newton." It 
 attracted notice, and procured him many friends ; 
 among whom was Mr., afterwards Sir William, Young. 
 This acquaintance proved of mutual interest and ad- 
 vantage. Wilson introduced Sir William to several 
 philosophical friends of his own who entertained him
 
 Chap. I. ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENT. 11 
 
 with various experiments in different sciences, and 
 Sir William invited him to his house in Kent, pre- 
 sented him with a valuable reflecting telescope, and 
 wished to give him a " library of philosophical boo7cs." 
 "Wilson thinking this a disproportionate generosity 
 declined the gift ; but as Sir William Young per- 
 sisted he at last was induced to " accept the works 
 of Bacon." At this house also he painted several 
 pictures for his host and his friends, and here he 
 enlarged his acquaintance considerably. 
 
 Soon after this he paid a visit to Cambridge and 
 there, through the introduction of Mr. Mason the 
 author of " Elfrida," and Mr. Edward Delaval the 
 author of several learned publications, became ac- 
 quainted with Gray the poet, Mr. Mitchell, and others. 
 
 In 1747 Dr. Franklin published his discovery of 
 the identity of lightning with electricity. Wilson's 
 attention was immediately awakened. On the occur- 
 rence of the first succeeding thunderstorm he happened 
 to be at the house of a friend near Chelmsford, and at 
 the moment was acting with others one of Shake- 
 speare's plays. He was playing the part of Henry IY. 
 when the storm came on, and running out in his royal 
 robes he extemporised an apparatus to test the dis- 
 covery — a curtain-rod inserted in a clean, dry quart 
 bottle, with a pin (or needle) fastened to it at the 
 other end. The bottle he held in his hand as he stood 
 upon the bowling-green, and the fluid was collected in 
 the rod so that sparks were drawn from it by himself 
 and all the rest. On the same day the same effects 
 were observed by Mr. Canton in London, and this 
 storm was the first occasion of the experiment being 
 tried in England. 
 
 vol. i. c
 
 12 PORTRAITS OF DAVID GAERICK, ETC. Chap. I. 
 
 In the same work, addressed to bis friend Collinson, 
 Franklin suggested the idea of protecting buildings 
 from the effects of lightning by means of conductors, 
 and particularly recommended that their ends should 
 be pointed. Wilson at once saw the value of the in- 
 vention ; but he dissented from the form recommended 
 by Franklin and published a paper in the "Trans- 
 actions " in which he recommended that the ends 
 should be rounded; giving it as his reason that the 
 pointed form was likely to " invite " or " solicit " the 
 lightning.* 
 
 A warm controversy arose upon this question. It was 
 purely, however, a question of philosophical principle. 
 
 In the spring of 1748 he set out once more for Ire- 
 land to spend two years there, in compliance with the 
 advice of the President of the Royal Society. During 
 this visit he spent his time in painting, philosophical 
 experiments, and writing his treatise on electricity 
 which was published soon after his return in 1750. 
 Among other advantages derived from this visit 
 was the friendship of the Earl of Orrery. 
 
 On his return to England he took the house in 
 Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, previously 
 occupied by Sir Godfrey Kneller. 
 
 The first portraits painted after his return were 
 those of Martin Ffolkes, Lord Orrery, Lord Chester- 
 field, David Garrick, and Mr. Foote. Here too he 
 painted Garrick as Romeo and Miss Bellamy as Juliet 
 in the tomb scene. From this picture an engraving 
 was taken which sold freely. 
 
 As an illustration of his talents for imitation, a cir- 
 
 * Franklin appears to have accepted this as a premiss but to have ques- 
 tioned ibe inference. — Ed.
 
 Chap. T. REMBRANDT'S ETCHING. 13 
 
 cumstance may be related which amused the artist 
 world at the time. Wilson was an enthusiastic admirer 
 of Rembrandt's works and a successful student of his 
 style and manner. At a public sale of pictures a 
 very fine drawing by that master was to be sold, 
 and he was anxious to possess it. He accordingly 
 attended the sale, and bid for it as far as 10/. against 
 Hudson the painter. Hudson obtained it at last but 
 was very angry at being obliged to give more than he 
 intended, and expressed himself very uncourteously. 
 Wilson restrained his resentment, but determined on 
 taking a pleasant revenge. 
 
 There was a very rare etching of Rembrandt's, 
 called the " Companion to the Coach." He obtained 
 a sight of this, observed it closely, and made a draw- 
 ing and then an etching of it from memory One 
 great difficulty was to obtain the sort of India paper 
 which Rembrandt used, but Wilson's resources did not 
 fail him : he suspected the cause of the greater thick- 
 ness of the paper to be that more sheets than one 
 were pasted together and pressed. In order to test 
 this he obtained a portion of Rembrandt's paper and 
 soaked it in hot water, when it separated at once 
 into four or five leaves. Having thus obtained the 
 means of carrying out his plan he struck off a print 
 from his etching, wrote in Dutch upon it " The Com- 
 panion to the Coach," and sent it in a portfolio with 
 a number of genuine Rembrandts, by a Dutchman, 
 to Mr. Hudson for sale. Mr. Hudson immediately 
 purchased it for 65. and told Mr. Herring, nephew to 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, and others, that it was 
 " the best piece of perspective," and " the finest light 
 and shade that he had ever seen by Rembrandt" 
 
 c2
 
 14 AN ENGLISH EOAST. Chap. I. 
 
 Wilson communicated the success of bis scheme to his 
 friend Hogarth, " who," he says, "loves a little mischief." 
 Hogarth persuaded him to repeat the experiment and 
 try its effect with Harding the famous printseller, who 
 had the reputation of being a first-rate connoisseur. 
 He accordingly etched an old man's head, and sent it 
 by the same Dutchman to Harding. Harding desired 
 time to examine it by candlelight. The next evening 
 he gave the two guineas demanded and a bottle of 
 wine into the bargain ; at the same time desiring the 
 Dutchman, if he met with any more such prints, to let 
 him have the first sight of them. After this Sir 
 Edward Dering, to whom Wilson mentioned his arti- 
 fice, asked his permission to take in Lord Duncannon 
 afterwards Lord Bessborough. In this he completely 
 succeeded. Mr. Pond the artist, and Dr. Chauncey fell 
 into the same snare — all supposed connoisseurs of 
 Rembrandt's works. 
 
 Wilson now determined to spend the money ob- 
 tained by his humorous fraud in a supper. Accord- 
 ingly he invited twenty-three artists to an " English 
 roast." Hogarth sat on his right, Hudson on his left. 
 The chief dish at table was a large sirloin of beef; 
 "decorated," he says, " not with greens or with horse- 
 radish, but covered all" over with the same kind of 
 prints" which he had sold. Mr. Hudson would not at 
 first believe that he had been taken in ; but " Hogarth 
 stuck his fork into one of the engravings, and handed 
 it to him." Wilson also produced his portfolio full of 
 the engravings in various stages of progress. All 
 expected that Hudson would have joined in the general 
 laugh ; but he took serious offence, and again ex- 
 pressed himself uncourteously. Wilson then told him
 
 Chap. I. A VISIT TO FRANCE. 15 
 
 that from that moment he determined to publish both 
 the prints, and to make known the fact of their sale to 
 him and to Mr. Harding. The landscape sold for six- 
 pence and the head for a shilling ; and so great was 
 the demand that both plates were almost entirely worn 
 away by frequent printing. 
 
 Among his acquaintance formed at this period were 
 Mr. Anthony Champion, Sir Thomas Robinson, and the 
 Marquis of Rockingham. Lord Rockingham bestowed 
 on him many singular marks of favour and attachment, 
 and at his house he stayed many months in the first 
 year of that nobleman's marriage, painting portraits 
 for him. 
 
 In 1756 he became a Fellow of the Royal 
 Society. 
 
 His most successful portraits so far were those of 
 Lord Rockingham, Lord Harcourt, Lord Camden, and 
 Sir George Savile. 
 
 We have now brought clown the personal history 
 of Benjamin Wilson to the time when his paintings 
 were bringing him in 1,500/. a year. His philosophical 
 experiments and researches, however, were not inter- 
 rupted. In this year he published, in conjunction 
 with Dr. Hoadley, the son of the Bishop of Winchester, 
 who had sought his acquaintance for that purpose, a 
 work entitled " Experiments and Observations upon 
 Electricity." A second edition was published in 
 1759. 
 
 Having heard that the Duke of Orleans had in his 
 gallery at Paris the picture by Rembrandt of which 
 the drawing purchased by Hudson at Richardson's 
 sale was the first sketch, he determined upon visiting 
 France. His friends Mr. Champion and Mr. Alston
 
 16 EXPERIMENTS UPON TOURMALIN. Chap. I. 
 
 accompanied him on this expedition. By the favour 
 of the Abbe Mazeas, librarian to the Duke de Noailles, 
 an old correspondent on scientific subjects, he obtained 
 permission from the Duke of Orleans to copy this 
 original. By the study of this picture he greatly ad- 
 vanced his knowledge of the art, and valued his copy 
 proportionately, specifically "desiring that it should 
 never be parted with."* 
 
 In order to convince the French philosophers, and 
 among others Dr. Le Monnier, of the truth of his 
 theory respecting the origination of electricity, he 
 repeated his experiments at St. Germain-en-Laye, and 
 communicated the results to the B,o} T al Society. 
 
 Soon after this French expedition iEpinus, a cele- 
 brated philosopher at S. Petersburg, published some 
 curious experiments upon the tourmalin. They at- 
 tracted the notice of Wilson and he repeated them 
 upon two very large specimens of that gem given him 
 by Dr. Heberden and Dr. More ton. He improved 
 upon the discoveries of iEpinus and received in ac- 
 knowledgment the gold medal of the Royal Society. 
 This he bequeaths by this MS. to his family, f but in 
 case of failure of succession orders it to be given to 
 the British Museum. His experiments are published 
 in the "Transactions" and in a separate treatise. This 
 publication called forth a rejoinder from iEpinus, to 
 which he replied and explained that the difference 
 depended upon the size of the tourmalins upon which 
 experiments were made. 
 
 His labours of various kinds now required larger 
 
 * It is now the property of Robert B. W. Wilson, his great-grandson — 
 a minor. — Ed. 
 
 t Also the property of Robert B. W. Wilson. — En.
 
 Chap. I. TWO LARGE PICTURES. 17 
 
 space and he took the house adjoining his own dwell- 
 ing—also the property of the heirs of Sir Godfrey 
 Kneller — formerly tenanted by the celebrated Dr. Rad- 
 cliffe and afterwards used as Queen Anne's wardrobe. 
 Here he received for the exhibition of his experiments 
 most of the foreign ministers and many philosophers, 
 among whom he mentions Clairaut, Condamine, and 
 De Lalande. 
 
 At this time Reynolds was rising into celebrity ; and 
 Hogarth, who had not equal success in portrait paint- 
 ing, proposed to Wilson to join him in this branch of 
 the art in order to secure what he considered a just 
 proportion of the public favour. Hogarth was so 
 anxious for this partnership that he applied to Garrick, 
 with whom both on account of his dramatic excellence 
 and his high qualities Wilson had formed a close in- 
 timacy, to persuade him to accept the proposal: for 
 good reasons, however, Wilson declined it. 
 
 Governor Watts, who had made a large fortune in 
 India with Lord Clive, employed him liberally in his 
 art and treated him with warm and generous friend- 
 ship. Among other acts of kindness he ordered two 
 very large pictures. One was the ceremony of Meer 
 Jaffier, Surajah Dowlah's general, taking the oath by 
 having the Koran placed on his head in the presence 
 of his son and the governor, on account of a treaty 
 made with Meer Jaffier in favour of the East India 
 Company before the battle of Plassey. The other 
 represented Lord Olive placing Meer Jaffier on the 
 Musnud. In this picture also Governor Watts was 
 introduced, in company with two famous jugga-Zeats or 
 black merchants — said to be worth twenty millions 
 sterling each — who had assisted the governor with
 
 18 INTRODUCTION TO THE DUKE OF YORK. Chap. I. 
 
 large loans in order to enable him to keep his engage- 
 ments with the Company. Watts died before this 
 second picture was finished, and Wilson sold it some 
 years after to Dr. Hird of Leeds for an annuity of 
 3U. 105. for his life. 
 
 Lord Mexborough, his sister Lady Stanhope, and 
 Sir Francis Delaval — all introduced to him by his 
 friend Mr. Edward Delaval — also showed him many 
 marks of special favour, and he painted several pic- 
 tures for them. But the most important kindness for 
 which he was indebted to Lord Mexborough was an 
 introduction to the Duke of York. As this was of 
 great consequence to him he relates the circumstances 
 very minutely. 
 
 On one occasion, at Lord Mexborough's table, Sir 
 Francis Delaval took an opportunity of mentioning to 
 the duke that Wilson was intimately acquainted with 
 Mr. Garrick. The duke upon this hinted that he was 
 somewhat displeased with Garrick for refusing to per- 
 form the " Fair Penitent " at his request. Wilson con- 
 veyed the information to Garrick the same evening, 
 and was desired by him upon the first opportunity to 
 tell the duke that he was ready at all times to per- 
 form that or any other play at the wish of his royal 
 highness. The duke was well pleased and appointed 
 a time ; and by this means the matter was adjusted 
 to the satisfaction of all parties. 
 
 Soon afterwards the duke told Wilson that he was 
 going to rehearse the play of the " Fair Penitent," in 
 order to perforin it with Lord Mexborough's family ; 
 and asked him to attend and give his opinion of the 
 performance, " especially with respect to himself." 
 Wilson felt a little alarm at the delicacy of the posi-
 
 Chap. I. MANAGEMENT OF A THEATEE. 19 
 
 tion, but resolved at all hazard to speak his honest 
 sentiments. After the duke had gone through one 
 remarkable speech in the character of "Lothario," 
 he appealed to Wilson for his opinion. " Sir," he 
 answered, " it is a new idea entirely ;" — (the exhibition 
 of the character) — " and I think if there was a little 
 more spirit introduced into the character it would 
 heighten it extremely." The duke was pleased, in a 
 little time after appointed him manager of his intended 
 theatre, and from this time appealed to him in all his 
 rehearsals and would never rest till he had satisfied 
 his judgment both in speech and action. 
 
 Many efforts were made to dislodge Wilson from 
 this place and favour ; but none succeeded and he con- 
 tinued a trusted friend and a frequent guest at the 
 duke's table, dining with him "three or four times 
 every week at York House." The duke also men- 
 tioned him with commendation to the King ; and told 
 him of it, as a satisfaction to his own conscience for 
 some trifling haste which he felt to have been un- 
 reasonable. 
 
 The whole fitting up and preparation of the theatre 
 in James Street Westminster, the painting of the 
 scenes, &c, was intrusted to Wilson ; and the entire 
 expenses under his management " did not exceed 600/. 
 from first to last." This, he says, "as it was the 
 entertainment of a prince to some of the first people 
 in the land, did me no discredit." The duke was well 
 satisfied with the effect and with his frugality. 
 
 This theatre was by order constructed only for 
 fifty persons. Much opposition was made to his 
 arrangements, but the duke supported him in eveiy- 
 thing and the theatre was, for its size, the most com-
 
 20 THE SPEAKER'S WIG. Chap. I. 
 
 plete that bad vet been seen in England. The 
 duke's habits were very exact and orderly, and 
 everything was conducted with the most perfect 
 regularity, silence, and propriety. The company also 
 was most exclusively select: Mr. and Mrs. Garrick 
 were indeed admitted to one rehearsal and two plays, 
 but this was a great favour. The duke generally 
 gave twenty tickets to Lord Mexborough and Lady 
 Stanhope for their "disposal to such persons as were 
 agreeable to him" but reserved the remaining thirty 
 to himself. The company used to assemble in an 
 elegant drawing-room, and the signal for their en- 
 trance into the theatre was Wilson's appearance in 
 the room. This was by the duke's special order. 
 
 Political party ran high at this time, and the duke 
 being in opposition resolved upon getting up the play 
 of "Jane Shore," as there were some words in it very 
 applicable to the times which he was desirous of 
 speaking. He insisted that Wilson should play the 
 Chancellor. Wilson earnestly declined it : but the duke 
 would take no excuse and even " held him while the 
 robes were put upon him." " The wig of the then 
 Speaker of the House of Commons was upon his head :" 
 and, as he had warned the duke, the consciousness of 
 his ridiculous figure threw him into uncontrollable 
 laughter. This was increased by the purposed gri- 
 maces of Mr. afterwards Sir John, Wrottesley equerry 
 to the duke — who played the part of Shore — behind 
 the side scenes. Wilson as Chancellor had to sit 
 by the duke, who often whispered to him to " blow 
 his nose :" but all to no purpose ; his mirth con- 
 tinued, and infected the audience who could not re- 
 frain from laughing also. This "disconcerted the
 
 Chap. I. THE "TOMBSTONE" PEINT. 21 
 
 duke a little," and after the play was over he told 
 Wilson that " he should never be his Chancellor 
 again." 
 
 Soon after this the Duke of York was suddenly 
 obliged to leave the kingdom for jiolitical reasons. He 
 told Wilson that he would give all his money to stay 
 in England a fortnight loiiger In about a fortnight the 
 ministry was changed, and the duke's friends, the 
 Bedford and Grenville party, came into office. On 
 the morning of his leaving Wilson breakfasted with 
 him at York House, and wrote several letters at his 
 dictation. The duke took his leave of him with many 
 expressions of kind feeling]; thanking him for his 
 conduct and the economy of his management of the 
 theatre, and desiring him to communicate to him 
 through Mr. Wrottesley all public news. 
 
 In the course of this intimacy the duke, in a 
 serious mood, told Wilson that he purposed soon to 
 change his manner of life. Wilson had often ob- 
 served that the excitement of hurry and late hours 
 was injurious to him, "his pulse at such times beat- 
 ing seldom less than eighty-six in a minute ;" and as 
 the duke permitted him always to speak freely, he 
 told him he feared that " this continual fever would 
 become very serious to him." This fear soon proved 
 to have had too good foundation, for the duke died 
 abroad three or four months afterwards. 
 
 Shortly before the duke went abroad, Wilson, in 
 order to please Lord Rockingham who was then 
 prime minister and who had promised to "take care 
 of him," published a print called the "Tombstone." 
 It represented the tomb of the Duke of Cumberland, 
 then recently deceased ; near it were Lords Bute,
 
 22 SALE OF THE PEINT. Chap. I. 
 
 Gower, Grenville, and the Duke of Bedford dancing 
 the Haze. Many more lords and others were intro- 
 duced. The print was very successful in its object ; 
 and Mr. Edmund Burke, Grey Cowper, and others, 
 pressed him much to try another political print. An 
 opportunity soon offered in the proposed repeal of the 
 Stamp Act in America. He called his second print 
 the " Repeal, or the Funeral of Miss Amy Stamp." 
 The Honourable George Grenville who strongly op- 
 posed the Bill was represented as the bearer of 
 Miss Amy in. a little coffin. Lord Bute was chief 
 mourner: the Duke of Bedford, Lord Sandwich, 
 Lord Halifax, Lord Temple, and others, made up 
 the train : Sir Fletcher Norton and Mr. Wedder- 
 burn were standard-bearers: the funeral service was 
 performed by Anti-Sejanus (Mr. Scot, of Leeds). 
 Near the open vault were skulls like those on Temple 
 Bar, on one of which was the inscription " Rebellion, 
 1714;" on the other, "Rebellion, 1745." In the 
 distance was the Thames with its wharves, where 
 goods for America were loading. In compliment to 
 Mr. Pitt a large box was being carried on board a 
 vessel with the inscription " Statue of Mr. Pitt ;" and 
 further off, on the river, were three ships of war, 
 named, in compliment to the ministry, the " Rocking- 
 ham," the " Grafton," and the " Conway." This print 
 he published within ten minutes after the Act was re- 
 pealed. In four days he sold above 2,000, at a shil- 
 ling each. On the fifth day two pirated copies came 
 out at half the price, and he was informed by credible 
 persons that above 16,000 of these were sold. 
 
 Soon after this publication, while he was in favour 
 with the Duke of York, Mr. Worsdale, painter to the
 
 Chap. I. MARRIED TO MISS HETHERINGTON. 23 
 
 Board of Ordnance, died. Lady Stanhope and other 
 persons of influence interested themselves in Wilson's 
 favour for the place ; and Lady Stanhope, as she was 
 walking with the duke in the park, persuaded him to 
 send Colonel Morrison one of his aides-de-camp then 
 with him, to Lord Granby the Master of the Ord- 
 nance, to ask for it. The answer was, that the place 
 was given away to a friend of the Duke of Gloucester. 
 Soon after, however, as he was dining at Lord Mex- 
 borough's where a large company were assembled, a 
 letter was brought to him from Colonel Morrison with 
 the information that Lord Granby had given him the 
 place. He immediately rose and presented the letter 
 to the Duke of York, who was at table and who 
 received it with expressions of great satisfaction. The 
 success was owing to the duke's personal application 
 to the Duke of Gloucester to abandon his claim for his 
 friend in Wilson's favour. He told Wilson that " his 
 brother had clone this in the most obliging manner :" 
 he then desired him to waive his thanks to himself 
 and to "wait upon the Duke of Gloucester the follow- 
 ing morning to thank him for the honour he had done 
 him ; and after that to wait upon Lord Granby." 
 
 Having now, at the age of fifty, a permanent 
 position and fixed income he determined to marry. 
 He might often, he says, have " married before ladies of 
 good fortune," but he could not endure a " gay, dressy, 
 dissipated turn, and flaunting disposition." Soon 
 after his appointment he became acquainted with 
 Miss Hetherington, a lady of good birth, but with 
 no dowry except her rare beauty and her many 
 virtues. He speaks with admiration of the first and 
 with warm affection of the last, and adds, " Something
 
 24 LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS. Chap. I. 
 
 further I have to say in her favour — that I saved more 
 money from the time I first knew her than I had ever 
 done in the same space of time." They were married 
 in 1771. By her he had seven children: 1. Frances, 
 married first to Col. Bosville, and secondly to General 
 Lewis Bayly Wallis. 2. Major Gilfrid, who died in 
 infancy. 3. Major William. 4. Robert Thomas, 
 born Aug. 17, 1777. 5. Jane Maria, who died in in- 
 fancy. 6. Edward Lumley. 7. Jane, married to the 
 Rev. Herbert Randolph. 
 
 The application of lightning conductors to buildings 
 was now becoming frequent and exciting much public 
 interest. Mr. Dames Barrington, brother of Lord 
 Barrington, after consultations with "Wilson who still 
 after his marriage carried on his philosophical pur- 
 suits in the leisure of his employment for the Board of 
 Ordnance, recommended the Dean and Chapter of St. 
 Paul's to secure their church by this means. Acting 
 upon this suggestion the Dean and Chapter addressed 
 a letter to the Royal Society, and a committee of elec- 
 tricians was nominated to carrv the recommendation 
 into effect. The members were Mr. Cavendish, Dr. 
 Watson, Mr. Canton, Mr. Delaval, Dr. Franklin, and 
 Mr. Wilson. Wilson strenuously urged that the iron 
 rods for so lofty a building should be much thicker 
 than those in general use : and although he could not 
 prevail to the full extent of his wishes and sugges- 
 tions, after much deliberation a partial concession 
 was made ; and it was determined that they should be 
 one inch and a half in diameter. 
 
 Some time after this he was commissioned by the 
 Board of Ordnance to inspect the gunpowder maga- 
 zines at Purfleet with a view to their protection by
 
 Chap. I. A NOBLE PHILOSOPHER DISCONCERTED. 25 
 
 the means of conductors, and to send in a report. 
 Upon the production of this report he was ordered to 
 carry it into effect : but delays and obstructions arose, 
 and the matter was eventually intrusted to the same 
 committee of members of the Royal Society that had 
 acted in the former instance. In this committee 
 Dr. Franklin contended, against the recommendation 
 of the report, for pointed conductors and it was car- 
 ried in opposition to Wilson. He, however, defended 
 his views, and gave further reasons for preference of 
 the rounded form in a paper printed in the " Transac- 
 tions." It was said that Franklin would answer this 
 but he never did so. 
 
 Wilson's naturally candid and truthful character 
 sometimes made him enemies. On one occasion a 
 noble lord, a member of the Royal Societ} r , was enter 
 taming a company of his friends when experiment 
 was made of an alleged invention of the host. Wilson 
 observed that this very experiment was to be found in 
 Newton's " Optics ;" and notwithstanding the hints 01 
 his friends he maintained his ground. His lordship 
 at last said, with some warmth, " Are you sure of 
 that?" Wilson answered, "Yes." And upon being 
 asked further, " Can you show it me?" again answered 
 in the affirmative. The book was brought, and he 
 immediately turned to the passage and presented it to 
 his lordship, who was much disconcerted and declared 
 that he had " never seen," or " did not remember 
 it." He treated Wilson very civilly for the rest 
 of the evening, but never forgave him. On another 
 occasion a " diploma " was designed and executed on 
 copper to be printed on vellum, for presentation to 
 foreigners who were to be admitted members of the
 
 26 * BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST. Chap. I. 
 
 Society. " Such a design," Wilson says, " with regard 
 to taste was never seen. On the top of it were the 
 sun, moon, planets, stars, comets, meteors, lightning, 
 rainbow, &c, &c. Down each side were suspended 
 mathematical apparatus, and other things that were 
 supposed to be the inventions of members. Not only 
 was the perspective of these instruments false, but 
 the design was so badly executed that it looked like a 
 show-board of a mathematical instrument maker. At 
 the bottom of this grand composition was the Giants' 
 Causeway, with a view of the sea. On the shore were 
 corals and several shells. The shells appeared as large 
 as haystacks, and one of the corals was taken for au 
 old oak-tree by Lord Moreton." As it was thought 
 by the council of the Society that some part of the 
 design required alteration, they requested Wilson to 
 undertake it. This he declined by letter, and told them 
 generally that the " design was bad, and the per- 
 spective false ;" adding that " as perspective was a 
 branch of geometry it would disgrace the Society " to 
 have such a thing exhibited abroad. One of the de- 
 signers threatened to have him censured for this letter ; 
 but some of his friends told him that if he attempted 
 it they would move the Society to return their thanks 
 to Wilson, and so the matter dropped. The diploma 
 was rejected by a vote of the council. 
 
 In the autumn of the same vear he visited York- 
 shire ; and at the houses of Sir George Savile, Lord 
 Mexborough, Lord Scarborough, Lord Irwin and 
 others, painted as many portraits as produced him 
 600/. 
 
 He had been at work at intervals for fourteen 
 years upon a large picture of Belshazzar's Feast.
 
 Chap. I. PORTRAIT OF ERASMUS. 27 
 
 This he now determined to finish. He did so and it 
 was sold for 460/. His own criticism of this picture is, 
 that it had " many faults but was not without con- 
 siderable merit ; particularly in the light and shade, 
 the disposition of the figures, and the richness of the 
 colouring." It was paiuted entirely from imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 He painted also the whole-length portrait of Shak- 
 speare for the Town Hall of Stratford on the occasion 
 of the Jubilee in 1769, at Garrick's expense; and was 
 present and assisted much in the celebration. It was 
 at his suggestion, as they were returning to London 
 in Garrick's coach, that the Ode and Jubilee were 
 brought upon the stage. This representation was very 
 lucrative. 
 
 In 1776 he published a work on phosphori, and 
 sent an account of his discoveries respecting the pro- 
 perties of light as they are exhibited by the effect of 
 the coloured rays upon these substances, to most of 
 the learned societies in Europe. 
 
 The celebrated Professor Euler, of S. Petersburg, 
 wrote a " Memoir " upon this paper, which was read 
 to the Imperial Academy. He transmitted a copy of 
 it to Wilson, who at the same time received notice 
 that he was elected a member of the Academy. 
 Flattering letters were also written to him from the 
 Royal Academy at Berlin, the Academy of Sciences 
 at Paris, and the Academy of Institutes at Bologna ; 
 with warm congratulations from many learned persons 
 at home and abroad, and especially from the President 
 of the Royal Society. 
 
 His friend, Dr. Heberden, wishing much for a copy 
 by Wilson of the celebrated portrait of Erasmus by 
 
 VOL. i. d
 
 28 . COMPLIMENT FROM REYNOLDS. Chap. I. 
 
 Hans Holbein, in Windsor Castle, procured a warrant 
 for his admission for this purpose from the lord cham- 
 berlain. During the progress of this work, as Wilson 
 was breakfasting one morning with Mr. Ramus the 
 favourite page of the King and an old friend of his 
 own, his Majesty entered the apartment, and seeing a 
 stranger retired immediately taking Mr. Ramus with 
 him. The purpose of this was to inquire who he was : 
 upon the information being given he asked very par- 
 ticularly whether he was the landscape or the portrait 
 painter. Hearing that he was the portrait painter, 
 the King returned to the room and commenced a 
 conversation on the subject of the " Erasmus " and 
 other matters. Wilson finding his Majesty very 
 gracious, took occasion to mention his picture of ' ' Bel- 
 shazzar " and asked permission to show it ; giving an 
 account of its progress and execution which so in- 
 terested and pleased the King that he easily gave the 
 leave. Wilson then showed his copy of the " Eras- 
 mus " with which his Majesty was much satisfied, and 
 " carried it himself to show it to the Queen." 
 
 Upon his return to London he sent the " Belshazzar " 
 to the Queen's house, and on the 22nd of August, 
 1776, it was placed by himself in a good light 
 read}^ for her Majesty's inspection. About a week 
 afterwards he attended there ; but the King not having 
 yet come from the levee, Reynolds the page in 
 waiting went with him into the room where he had 
 disposed the picture. Upon entering, Reynolds sud- 
 denly cried out, " Zounds ! this is a fine thing in- 
 deed !" " An involuntary compliment," Wilson says, 
 " which pleased me not a little, as it reminded me of 
 Moliere's old woman."
 
 Chap. I. RAISING OF JAIRUS'S DAUGHTER. 29 
 
 Upon the return of the King and Queen from 
 St. James's, they both saw the picture and expressed 
 their approbation in nattering terms, the King asking 
 many pertinent questions. " He did not appear," how- 
 ever, u to know the history of Belshazzar so well as the 
 Queen, for her Majesty explained a great part of it to 
 the King so readily," that Wilson suspected her of 
 having read it up very lately. The King inquired 
 whether the characters of the handwriting were 
 legible. He answered that " they were not ; for that the 
 soothsayers were not able to read them." Their Ma- 
 jesties both remarked that the picture was very rich 
 without being gaudy, and that it had a magnificent 
 effect. At this interview the King made many inquiries 
 respecting Wilson's early life, habits of study, pur- 
 suits, &c. ; and specially asked whether at that time 
 he had painted any other historical pictures. He men- 
 tioned that he was then engaged in painting one by 
 request for the hospital at Leeds his native town, 
 the subject he had chosen being the Eaising of 
 Jairus's Daughter : that he had made this choice 
 because it gave a good opportunity of contrast in 
 light and shade ; a manner which, as he was a great 
 admirer and student of Eembrandt, was favourite with 
 him. 
 
 He added, that as he conceived it difficult to give 
 the face of Christ a proper expression on that occa- 
 sion he had shown only the back of the head, which 
 gave him an opportunity of heightening the dignity 
 of the figure by representing the whole light illumi- 
 nating the chamber as proceeding from the face of 
 Christ only; and that by this means the imagination of 
 the spectator was left free to conceive what expression 
 
 d 2
 
 30 VISIT FEOM THE KING AND QUEEN. Chap. I. 
 
 he pleased. Their Majesties were much struck with 
 this idea, and inquired closely into the proposed mode 
 of treatment, &c. The King observed that he " sup- 
 posed Mr. Wilson was a long time in settling the 
 design and making alterations before he began to 
 finish off a picture." To this he replied, that he " never 
 made sketches or drawings for his pictures, but 
 painted them on the canvas at once : that before he 
 attempted anything he settled the plan and conduct of 
 the whole in his mind as to composition, light, shade, 
 &c. ; and when this was done, sat down to sketch 
 it with his pencil in colours, and finished it off at 
 leisure." 
 
 In the course of this conversation Wilson's candour 
 placed him in an embarrassing predicament. The 
 King in speaking of Hogarth, concerning whom he 
 made many inquiries as he was aware of Wilson's inti- 
 mate acquaintance, observed that he was highly com- 
 mendable for his "knowledge of light and shade." 
 Wilson replied that he "cfoY/ not think Hogarth excelled 
 in that particular branch of his art so much as he did in 
 others!' The Queen gracefully and amiably inter- 
 posed an observation which enabled him to recede so 
 far as to allow that his Majesty was partly right, for 
 that he " remembered some instances in which Mr. 
 Hogarth had managed that branch of the art to great 
 advantage." 
 
 Keferring to the picture of " Erasmus," the King 
 asked how long he had been engaged upon it, and 
 whether in copying it he had attended more to the 
 drawing or the pencilling. He replied that he at- 
 tended to both equally, but in the execution having 
 first settled the drawing, after the dead colour was
 
 Chap. I. HOGARTH'S " HAPPY MARRIAGE." 31 
 
 laid on he endeavoured to imitate the pencilling ; and 
 that he was eight or ten days about it : adding, that 
 although there was a circumstance connected with it, 
 which he explained, that threw some doubt upon its 
 genuineness, he himself was persuaded that it was 
 an original and considered it one of the finest Holbeins 
 he had ever seen. 
 
 In this conversation the King made repeated in- 
 quiries respecting the personal history of Hogarth, and 
 his paintings of which he was a great admirer. As 
 his Majesty spoke of the " Marriage a la Mode " with 
 high commendation, Wilson mentioned that Hogarth 
 had begun a subject which he called "The Happy 
 Marriage " but had never finished it. Upon more par- 
 ticular inquiry he informed their Majesties further, that 
 it was only one picture, and that not half finished ; 
 that it was of the same size with the " Marriage a la 
 Mode ;" that " the subject was the ceremony of break- 
 ing the cake over the heads of the bride and bride- 
 groom, which was an old English custom ; and that he 
 had made the bride very handsome." The Queen 
 asked particularly whether this was so. He repeated 
 the assertion, and added that " the father of the bride, 
 old Sir Eoger de Ooverley, was introduced with a glass 
 of wine in his hand and as a very happy man ; and that 
 in a corner of the room — a true old English hall — 
 were nine musicians playing upon various instruments 
 but in a whimsical way and with droll expressions, as 
 if they were intended to ridicule the nine Muses." The 
 King and Queen laughed heartily and inquired where 
 the picture was. Wilson did not know with certainty 
 at the time, but afterwards found that it was in the 
 possession of Garrick. Upon this discovery he asked
 
 32 CONVERSATION WITH THE KING. Chap. I. 
 
 Garrick to lend it to him which he readily did. 
 Wilson had it conveyed to the Queen's house, and 
 placed it by permission on a chair in the room where 
 their Majesties dined. In the middle of dinner the 
 King sent to inquire who painted the picture : he sent 
 back word that it was painted by Hogarth ; and 
 suspects that the reason of the inquiry was that the 
 bride was a handsome likeness of the Queen, and that it 
 looked as if it had been newly painted. He acids, " It 
 was the best coloured and most beautiful head I had 
 ever seen Hogarth paint." After dinner the King 
 sent for Wilson and made many inquiries about the 
 picture. In the course of conversation he observed 
 that he supposed that Hogarth told a story very well. 
 Wilson answered, " Pretty well, but he is apt some- 
 times to tell the wrong story" " How is that ?" said 
 the King. "Sir," he answered, " Mr. Hogarth was 
 one day dining with Sir George Hay, Mr. Garrick 
 and others, when he said he had an excellent story to 
 tell which would make them all laugh. Everybody 
 being so prepared he told his story, but instead of 
 laughing all looked grave, and Hogarth himself 
 seemed a little uncomfortable. After a short time, 
 however, he struck his hand very suddenly upon the 
 table and said that he had told the wrong story. 
 This caused no small amusement, and when he told 
 the right one at last it was so good in its way that 
 all the company laughed exceedingly." The King in- 
 quired some more particulars of u The Happy Mar- 
 riage," and Wilson told him that Hogarth had drawn 
 the ornaments of the chimney-piece in that picture 
 from some old carvings in a room in the Charter- 
 house, w 7 hich he had shown him when he was a clerk
 
 Chap. I. CONTROVERSY WITH DR. FRANKLIN. 33 
 
 there. " What !" said the King, hastily, " did he paint 
 that picture so long ago?" "Yes," said Wilson, 
 "except the head of the bride which was painted 
 only ten or twelve years ago." 
 
 After a lengthened conversation their Majesties 
 retired, both expressing their thanks very graciously 
 for the view of the picture. From this time Wilson 
 was often at court, and was always received with 
 flattering marks of favour. 
 
 On one occasion, having spoken of his philosophical 
 occupations, he thought it a fit opportunity to present 
 his work on phosphori to the King. This he did 
 through Mr. Ramus ; who afterwards told him that the 
 King had expressed himself much pleased, and had 
 spoken of it as " extremely clever." 
 
 To Mr. West the King's painter his Majesty spoke 
 in terms of high praise of the copy of the " Erasmus," 
 and at the same interview inquired whether he had 
 seen the " Belshazzar." He answered that he had seen 
 it and that he admired it greatly : upon which the 
 King said that he entirely agreed with him, and spoke 
 particularly of the management of the light and shade. 
 Mr. West explained that Wilson excelled greatly in 
 these effects from his philosophical knowledge. He 
 told the story of the roast beef decorated with the 
 offending imitations of Rembrandt, at which " his 
 Majesty laughed excessively ;" and then communi- 
 cated the facts of the controversy with Franklin. The 
 King inquired minutely into this, and was " much 
 struck with Wilson's views and reasons." 
 
 These conversations Mr. West himself repeated to 
 Wilson; but they were fully confirmed to him by 
 Mr. Ramus, who was present, and who added, that
 
 34 FELLOW OF THE BOLOGNERE ACADEMY. Chap. I. 
 
 Mr. West spoke of him in a very friendly manner, and 
 " very like a gentleman." 
 
 In the month of June, 1777, the board house be- 
 longing to the powder-magazines at Purfleet, to which 
 pointed conductors had been attached by recommen- 
 dation of the committee of 1772, was struck by light- 
 ning. In consequence of this accident the controversy 
 with Dr. Franklin and his supporters was revived in 
 full activity ; but as the series of papers on this and 
 one or two other similar occasions are published in the 
 " Transactions " it is unnecessary to relate particulars. 
 Wilson was not treated handsomely by the Society 
 in general, for a spirit of party mischievous to the 
 interests of true philosophy had been engendered : 
 yet he had many friends and warm defenders in it ; 
 among whom Dr. Musgrave deserves particular 
 mention. 
 
 Notwithstanding the opposition which by force of 
 numbers bore down his views in the meetings and 
 excited some warmth, he persevered in maintaining 
 them with calm dignity, and proceeded to establish 
 his principles by the evidence of experiment. 
 
 He addressed a paper to the Society in answer to 
 the report of a committee appointed to examine the 
 facts ; and a letter to the King expressive of his 
 anxiety for the safety of the royal residences, which 
 had been fitted with pointed conductors in the same 
 manner as the magazines at Purfleet. This letter he 
 presented himself to the King at Kew. On the same 
 day he received a letter from Signor Zanotti, President 
 of the Academy of Institutes at Bologna, announcing 
 his election as a Fellow of the Society. Wilson 
 was the ordy Englishman who had yet received that
 
 Chap. I. ELECTEICAL APPARATUS. \ 35 
 
 honour ; and this was the fourth European academy of 
 which he was now a member. 
 
 The King had suggested to him to prepare an appa- 
 ratus upon a large scale for testing his opinions on the 
 subject of blunt conductors. He determined, how- 
 ever, first to finish his picture of "Jairus's Daughter," 
 in order that he might have full leisure to devote to 
 the subject. He did so accordingly, and exhibited 
 it to their Majesties at the Queen's house on the 
 17th of July in the same summer. An engraving w T as 
 taken from this picture. 
 
 He now commenced his preparations. The King 
 took great interest in the proposal, and at Wilson's 
 request, in order that the experiments might be con- 
 ducted on a sufficient scale, promised the use of his 
 riding-house for their exhibition. This, however, was 
 rendered unnecessary by the offer of his friend 
 Mr. Wyat, the surgeon, of the use of the Pantheon in 
 Oxford Street for the purpose. 
 
 With the King's approbation he applied to the 
 Board of Ordnance for the means of carrying out his 
 project. Lord Amherst was at the board when he 
 explained his views. Having acquainted the members 
 with his Majest} f 's pleasure they at once made an 
 order for him to have everything he wanted from 
 the Tower, and undertook to pay all his other ex- 
 penses. From the Tower he ordered 24 drums 
 to form his cylinder, 2,800 yards of wire, and 
 600 yards of tin-foil. All other requisite articles not 
 in store he provided, as authorized, at the cost of the 
 board. 
 
 In about three weeks all was ready, and he pro- 
 ceeded to test the apparatus. As it was found to
 
 36 PAPER PRESENTED TO THE KING. Chap. I. 
 
 succeed according to his expectations he made the 
 result known to the King. In a few days he was sent 
 for to the Queen's house, when the King told him that 
 he, with the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Bishop of 
 Osnaburg, the Princess Royal, and two others of the 
 royal family, would be with him on the following 
 morning at the Pantheon to see the experiments. 
 
 They arrived accordingly, and stayed three hours. 
 All succeeded to Wilson's perfect satisfaction; and 
 when the exhibition was ended the King said, that 
 "if the Royal Society would not now be convinced 
 the apple-women from the street should be called in ; 
 for they certainly would be." He afterwards told 
 many of his nobles, and particularly Lord Suffolk 
 one of the secretaries of state, that they were " all 
 wrong about points ; for he had seen the experiments 
 at the Pantheon and was perfectly convinced by 
 them." 
 
 Two days afterwards they were shown to the Board 
 of Ordnance, and then to the Royal Society for six 
 days together. After further exhibition to the public 
 at the request of the proprietors of the Pantheon, the 
 apparatus was sent to the Tower by order of the Board 
 of Ordnance. 
 
 On the 13th of November he presented to the King 
 a paper which he had drawn up on the subject of these 
 experiments. It was afterwards presented to the 
 board and then to the Royal Society, and a com- 
 mittee was appointed to examine the facts. 
 
 Soon after the appointment of this committee Wilson 
 waited upon the King with his paper, and was asked 
 by him, " Whether he intended to publish it, whether 
 the Royal Society'did so or not ?" He answered that
 
 Chap. I. GARRICK'S FUNERAL. 37 
 
 "he did intend it, and proposed asking the Board oi 
 Ordnance to be at the expense of engraving the plates, 
 as he thought they ought to do so/' The King said 
 that he thought so too; and added, that "If they 
 would not he kneiv where to go." 
 
 Up to this time, in consequence of a private arrange- 
 ment of the late painter to the Board of Ordnance 
 before his death by which a natural son had been 
 taken into partnership with him, Wilson had only 
 received half the emoluments of the office. In this 
 year this Mr. Worsdale died ; and upon Wilson's own 
 application, seconded by a strong appeal from the 
 board to the Master-General, the full appointment 
 was conferred upon him by Lord Townshencl. 
 
 Dr. Demainbray the King's astronomer at Eich- 
 mond, to whom he paid a visit in the course of the 
 summer, showed him the observatory then perhaps 
 the best in Europe, and told him that " the King had 
 made the best observation on the transit of Yenus, 
 it being within 2", whereas that at Greenwich was 
 32"." 
 
 In September he printed his paper on the experi- 
 ments at the Pantheon. He presented a copy in 
 person to the King, who received it very graciously 
 and entered into conversation upon it. He also sent 
 copies to the Empress of Eussia and the King of 
 Prussia by their respective ambassadors. This paper 
 was published in January, 1779. 
 
 On the 20th of January in this year Garrick died 
 and his funeral was celebrated with great magnifi- 
 cence in Westminster Abbey. Wilson followed the 
 remains of his friend to the grave ; and the King after- 
 wards told a friend of his that " Dr. Samuel Johnson
 
 38 DYEING COTTON SCARLET. Chap. I. 
 
 and Wilson were the only two persons who shed tears " 
 on that occasion. Garrick had been a pupil of John- 
 son's in his early years. 
 
 Among some remarks on the characters of his 
 children at this time, he observes, " As to Robert* 
 although he is but one year and a half old, he seems 
 to be more lively than his brother and likely to turn 
 out a cleverer fellow." 
 
 Professor Allamand, of Leyden, with whom he had 
 a correspondence on the subject of phosphori, wrote 
 to him in reply to his communications that, in his own 
 opinion and that of others, he had "proved by his 
 experiments that rounded conductors were better and 
 less dangerous than pointed ones." In the course of 
 this correspondence an idea suddenly struck him, 
 which promised to account for some strange phosphoric 
 appearances which he had observed and published in 
 the second edition of his book on that subject ; and as 
 Professor Euler had noticed this publication and 
 attempted to account for these appearances upon a 
 theory of his own, he wrote a letter to him on the 
 25th of May, 1779, pointing out an error in his data 
 and giving his own solution in correspondence with 
 the philosophy of Newton. This paper he presented 
 to the Eoyal Society. 
 
 A Mr. Berkenholt, the son of a merchant in Leeds 
 and an acquaintance of Wilson's, had been twenty years 
 in the King's service without advancement, when a 
 common d} T er in the town discovered a method of 
 dyeing cotton scarlet. This suggested to Wilson a 
 
 * It is singular that the mother of Lady Wilson, when her daughter 
 was a few months old, makes a similar observation. " I never had so 
 sprightly and forward a child." — Journal qf Mrs. Belford.
 
 Chap. I. FIGURE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 39 
 
 means of helping his friend and he advised him to 
 apply himself to this invention ; telling him that 
 " industry and attention, with patience, produce as- 
 tonishing results in any study." At the same time 
 he pointed out to him what authors he should read, 
 made some chemical experiments for him, and ex- 
 plained the philosophy on which they seemed to 
 depend, and the reason why animal substances were 
 more apt to receive the scarlet dye than vegetable 
 substances.; the object being to discover some means 
 of giving to these latter the same repulsive property. 
 Mr. Berkenholt soon made great advances in this 
 direction and succeeded in making a better scarlet than 
 that of the Leeds inventor : besides improving several 
 other colours. Wilson, through the instrumentality of 
 Sir George Savile and others of his friends, assisted 
 him in an application to Parliament for a reward for 
 his discoveries. They were tested before the Lords of 
 the Treasury, Lord North being present : and upon the 
 report five thousand pounds were awarded to him. 
 
 On the breaking out of the Spanish war in the 
 summer of 1779 it was suggested to the Board of Ord- 
 nance, that as there was no figure of Queen Elizabeth 
 among the mounted sovereigns in the horse armoury in 
 the Tower, although the armour worn when she re- 
 viewed her troops at Purfleet on the invasion of the 
 Spanish armada was kept there, it was desirable that 
 this defect should be supplied. Upon this suggestion 
 it was determined that a figure of the queen properly 
 accoutred and attended by a page should be placed 
 among the rest, and the execution of the design was 
 intrusted to Wilson. He gave great attention to 
 this work and finished it in a manner very superior
 
 40 THE ROYAL FAMILY. Chap. I. 
 
 to that in which the other figures were clone : it was 
 resolved, therefore, that the group should be placed 
 in the Spanish armoury where the arms and imple- 
 ments taken from the armada were deposited. From 
 the richness of the ornaments and trappings and the 
 striking effect produced, it was supposed that Wilson 
 had "put the board to a very large expense for this 
 magnificent group." The total .cost, however, was 
 only one hundred and forty-nine pounds. 
 
 In 1780 he published a small popular treatise 
 entitled " A Short Yiew of Electricity." 
 
 On the 12th of August in this year he set out for 
 Windsor with his family : Sir Grey Cowper having lent 
 him his apartments in the Castle. As he was passing 
 the Queen's lodge on the following day, the King called 
 him by name from the window ; and after inquiring 
 whether the children were his, and "praising Robert 
 who would not pull his hat off" he "called to the 
 Queen who was dressing, to see Bob." On the 14th, 
 Wilson presented his book to the King, the Queen, 
 the Prince of Wales, and the Bishop of Osnaburg. 
 The whole royal family, and the Queen especially, were 
 " exceeding gracious ;" and one day on the terrace 
 " the King took hold of Bob and introduced him to those 
 who were in attendance as an exceeding fine boy." 
 
 Frequently during this visit he was admitted to 
 familiar intercourse " with the King and several of 
 the Princes," who all treated him with marked atten- 
 tion and kindness. Prince Adolphus once, "when 
 walking hand in hand with Major," said, " he supposed 
 that Robert was a very funny boy." " The next 
 year," his father writes, "Prince Octavius wanted to 
 take Bob's hand, but he refused by taking away his
 
 Chap. I. CHAKACTER OF SIR ROBERT'S FATHER. 41 
 
 hand." These are small incidents of childhood, but 
 they indicate the early bent of character. 
 
 The condescension and kindness of the King and the 
 royal family continued to the time of Wilson's death, 
 June 6th, 1788, but the manuscript ends abruptly 
 with the year 1783. 
 
 Of mild philosophy and courteous manners, faithful 
 to duty in all the relations of life, beloved by his family, 
 valued by his friends, sufficiently prosperous in the 
 world, and useful in his generation, he left to his 
 children and his children's children a legacy of honest 
 fame ; and one more example, brought home to their 
 own bosoms, of the power of the human will to accom- 
 plish all that it proposes for human happiness in ac- 
 cordance with God's will and uuder His blessing. 
 
 After the brief references to his favourite son's early 
 character quoted above, no further mention is made of 
 him in the manuscript ; but one traditional fact may be 
 added, illustrating the spirit and principles which 
 through life animated Sir Eobert Wilson as a soldier 
 and dignified him as a man. When he was first sent 
 to Westminster he found his elder brother subject to 
 the capricious tyranny too often exercised by the 
 stronger over the weaker in a public school. He at 
 once resented the wrong, and " fought thirty boys, one 
 after another, in his brother's defence."* 
 
 * This was related to me in these words by Edward Lumley Wilson his 
 younger brother, in May, 1849, as we were following the remains of our 
 relative to his grave in Westminster Abbey. The occasion was a remark 
 of mine, that I had never seen in death a form of such magnificent pro- 
 portions, or of more athletic power. My uncle spoke at the same time 
 with great impression of his brother's uncommon beauty of countenance in 
 his boyhood. 
 
 I had no idea at the time that the family papers would ever come into 
 my hands for publication, and therefore made no minute inquiry : but the 
 exact words remain in my memory. — Ed.
 
 42 CONCLUDING REMARKS. Chap. 1. 
 
 The generation of brothers, sisters, and intimate 
 early friends has passed away, and beyond these slight 
 notices, all that can now be known of the boyhood of 
 Sir Robert Wilson is contained in the fragment of 
 direct autobiography in the next chapter. 
 
 Extracts from a Journal kept during a Tour of Visits, 
 commencing aug. 16, 1825, and ending jan. 4, 1826. 
 
 Dec. 4, 1825. — To Grove Hall, the seat of Mr. Lee, a connection by 
 marriage. Mr. Lee's father, aged eighty-five, told me that he remembered 
 my grandfather, his uncommon stature, and remarkable beard, very well. 
 That he remembered also Mill Hill House, which was sold to the Recorder 
 when my uncle, who was the first English merchant settled in Russia, and 
 whom Peter the Great used familiarly to call " his English Jack," was 
 shipwrecked. In the wreck of this vessel property of my grandfather's to 
 a great amount was lost ; and this first caused the misfortunes of the 
 family. 
 
 The lands then sold are now in the possession of Mr. C. Wilson of Lid- 
 stone : the son of the Bishop of Bristol, and grandson of the Recorder. 
 Mr. Fountain Wilson is also a grandson of the Recorder by another son ; 
 and has, it is said, property to the value of 40,0007. per annum. My 
 grandfather was reported to be the richest merchant in Leeds of his time ; 
 and, Mr. Lee says, was greatly esteemed by high and low. He lived till he 
 was 110 years of age. 
 
 Dec. 5. — Went to Leeds and saw the Mill Hill property, now worth, as 
 I am informed, 100,0007. 
 
 The best hotel in the town is built on the site of Mill Hill House. 
 
 Went to the infirmary : to which my father gave his picture of the 
 Raising of Jairus' Daughter. 
 
 The " Daughter " in this picture was painted to represent my mother in 
 her youth. She was only forty-five when she died. On looking at the 
 picture I was instantly and forcibly struck by the likeness to my own 
 eldest daughter. It is still a family portrait. 
 
 The place of painter to the Board of Ordnance, procured for my father by 
 the Duke of York, was worth, it is said, 70007. per annum in time of war, 
 and 40007. in time of peace. My father was the first Englishman ever made 
 a member of the University of Upsal. The gold medal, and the diploma 
 of Russia signed hy the Empress Catherine, are in my possession. — R. W.
 
 Chap. II.] ( 43 ) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Reasons for writing this memoir — Death of my father — Advised not to 
 enter the army — My father's ideas on religion and morality — Winchester 
 School; my tragedy— Apply for a commission in the Guards — Recom- 
 mended to the Duke of York — Arrival at Ostend — at Courtray — 
 Commissioned as Cornet — Army reviewed by the Emperor — Battle of 
 Villiers en Couche — Defeat and massacre of the French — Retreat of 
 the French army — General Mansell unjustly censured; his death — 
 Kindness of the Flemish peasantry — Bravery of French gendarmes — 
 Treachery of Louis XVI. — French defeated by Kaunitz — Allies advance 
 to Roubaix — Attack upon Mouveaux — Slaughter of prisoners — Village 
 of Roubaix attacked by the enemy — Critical position of the rearguard 
 — Pretty Sally ; her gallantry — Encounter with an Austrian officer — 
 Column arrives at Templeuve — Arrival of the Austrian army — 
 Templeuve taken and retaken five times — French defeated by the allies 
 — Gallantry of the little British brigade — Prevalence of drunkenness in 
 the army — End of Autobiography — Lady Wilson ; her family connec- 
 tions — Marriage at Gretna Green and at St. George's — Sir Robert em- 
 barks for Holland — Battle of Egmont-op-Zee — Returns to England. 
 
 My dear Children, 
 
 The example of my father has determined me 
 to write a narrative of the principal transactions of 
 my own life. The relation merits attention and will, 
 I hope, contribute to yonr welfare. 
 
 There is always much to learn from private history, 
 when there is not only a record of actions, but when 
 the motives which determined and guided them are 
 unbosomed •, and you may rely on candour as well 
 as truth pervading the whole of my statements. 
 
 Guile has never been any part of my character. 
 What I have thought right I have always avowed 
 and done, to the great prejudice of my fortune but not 
 to the reproach of my name : I have no reason, therefore, 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 44 ' REASONS FOR WRITING THrS MEMOIR. Chap. II. 
 
 to shrink from any exposition of the circumstances 
 or feelings by which my conduct was governed. 
 
 I might and must have been much richer and more 
 prosperous if I had regulated this innate contempt of 
 worldly prudence by considerations of self-interest : but 
 perhaps under their influence I should have relaxed 
 those energies which obtained for me the regard which 
 I possess; and, notwithstanding titles and wealth, I 
 might have sunk into insignificance, rendered intoler- 
 ably painful by loss of self-respect. 
 
 I have taken as large a part as any man in the 
 affairs of the world in my time : I have seen more of 
 it, been more acquainted with its rulers and distin- 
 guished and remarkable men, had more opportunity 
 of being intimate with every class of society from 
 the highest to the lowest, than perhaps has ever 
 fallen to the lot of any other individual : and at 
 this eleventh hour I can indulge the proud reflec- 
 tion that I have maintained the post of honour in 
 general esteem to which all my aspirations were 
 directed, in subordination to the higher claims of 
 duty. Offended power has in vain attempted to wrest 
 from me the " golden opinions of mankind " as well as 
 of my own country, and the lightnings which it hurled 
 have only provided illumination for the more conspicu- 
 ous display of universal kind feeling and support. 
 
 Whether I am entitled to this " favour among men " 
 you shall now determine ; and a plain, unvarnished^ 
 ingenuous tale shall be presented and submitted for 
 your judgment. 
 
 Your grandfather's memoir unfortunately ceases at 
 the end of the year 1783, when I was only six years 
 old. lie lived till the year 1788, but no papers have
 
 Chap. II. DEATH OF MY FATHER. 45 
 
 come into my possession which supply me with suffi- 
 cient means to execute what he left unfinished. 
 
 I can only generally state that the same upright 
 conduct, the same spirit of philosophy, the same do- 
 mestic virtues which are registered so modestly yet in 
 such palpable characters in the pages traced by his 
 own hand, continued to grace the last years of his life. 
 
 Although the interests of his family had been para- 
 mount over every consideration of self-indulgence, 
 although for their benefit his life had been one of 
 much sacrifice as to worldly enjoyments, still his high 
 spirit of independence and sense of right determined 
 him, some years before his death, to resign the place 
 he held in the Ordnance when the Duke of Richmond 
 required that one of his political dependants should be 
 admitted as a rider upon the income. This act was 
 indeed censured by some, but it obtained the appro- 
 bation of his most valued friends ; and even the King 
 himself took the first opportunity my father offered 
 his Majesty at Buckingham House — where he always 
 went on the birthday — to commend a proceeding which 
 exemplified so much disinterestedness and character. 
 
 My father continued to pass the latter clays of his 
 life tranquilly in the bosom of his family, until a year 
 or two before his death when he was seized with a 
 paralytic affection : from this and from a second he 
 recovered, but was carried off by a third attack, after 
 several days' illness and at the age of sixty-seven. 
 
 I was then a Westminster boy, but had been 
 brought home and was sleeping in his apartment 
 when I awoke with a feverish dream — occasioned, no 
 doubt, by an expectation of the event and a half- 
 consciousness of what was passing. I fancied I saw 
 
 e 2
 
 46 ADVISED NOT TO ENTER THE ARMY. Chap. II. 
 
 him open my bed-curtains and heard him call me : I 
 sprang to his bedside and reached it almost the 
 instant after the spirit had departed. 
 
 My father was buried in St. George the Martyr's 
 burial-ground, then in the fields but now surrounded 
 by the noblest squares and streets of the metropolis. 
 I attended the funeral with my elder brother Major, 
 and shed tears of unfeigned sorrow. No father had 
 ever more tenderly loved a child : none was ever more 
 entitled to filial affection. I was indeed cherished 
 by him with a fondness which made him frequently 
 converse with me on serious subjects : as if he had 
 found reason in infancy, and as if he might with safety 
 repose confidence in its discretion. 
 
 On one occasion, however, I violated the secrecy he 
 had imposed without impairing his good will. After 
 his first paralytic attack he communicated to me, as we 
 were walking to dine with Mr. Delaval, that, " it being 
 his conviction that I might, if I would, cultivate natural 
 talents and rise to eminence honourable to myself and 
 beneficial to my family, he had in his will left me 
 1000/. more than he had left any of my brothers and 
 sisters ; to be applied to payment of the expenses of 
 my education without prejudice to the principal of 
 my fortune." I was gratified by this expression of 
 my father's opinion and proof of his love : but I had 
 no desire to benefit by the hold I had acquired upon 
 his affections to the mortification and prejudice of 
 my brothers and sisters. I therefore told my mother 
 what had passed, who very soon challenged his 
 partiality and persuaded him to cancel the bequest. 
 
 My father, on the same occasion, had earnestly 
 advised me not to go into the army, and not to marry
 
 Chap. II. MY FATHER'S IDEAS ON RELIGION, ETC. 47 
 
 before I was thirty-five ; to make the law my profes- 
 sion, and Parliament the object of a patriotic ambition. 
 
 It was my lot to disobey three of these injunctions ; 
 given indeed with too little attention to the pecu- 
 liarities of my disposition, but certainly not at variance 
 with the true interests of most young men gifted with 
 promising abilities, and assisted by a fortune sufficient 
 to secure them due means of development. 
 
 I also, from a searching spirit and eagerness for 
 information rather than from mere passing curiosity, 
 had become acquainted, even at an earlier period, with 
 my father's ideas on the general nature of religious 
 systems and on some of the most prominent doctrines 
 of the Christian Church. While he respected too much 
 the divinity of truth to mystify the acute perceptions 
 of a dawning reason, and to endeavour to darken the 
 light which poured in upon a young intelligence from 
 the Source of all light, he always earnestly directed 
 me to the duty of contemplating God through His 
 works, and to the great practical rule of Christian 
 morality, " Do to others as you would have them do 
 to you :" teaching me that it is our wisdom thus to 
 qualify ourselves to meet death, and what may be, in 
 God's will and providence, the destination after death 
 of that spirit which in this world animated the mortal 
 body. 
 
 My father was particularly fond of reading Shake- 
 speare to us all on winter evenings ; and I well 
 remember his devotional fervour in giving effect to 
 those passages which expressed his feelings on the 
 subject of the Creator and the mysteries of mor- 
 tality. His philosophy taught him to revere the 
 Almighty Architect of the universe, and his practical
 
 48 A PREDICTION VERIFIED. Chap. II. 
 
 wisdom was to make the social virtues the incense 
 of his adoration. 
 
 My mother and guardians, soon after my father's 
 death imagined that my education would proceed 
 with less interruption to study and less anxiety to 
 themselves in the country than in London, and there- 
 fore removed me to Winchester, where I was placed 
 under the care of Dr. Joseph Warton ; a master whose 
 name must be dear to every one who cherishes the 
 memory of benevolence adorned with learning and 
 high intellectual gifts. 
 
 My mother — who, gifted as she was with the im- 
 perishable charms of grace, had preserved her re- 
 markable beauty in her advancing years— had long 
 been in a declining state of health, and my father had 
 predicted that she would not survive him two years. 
 This prediction made a deep impression on her mind. 
 An abscess soon after his decease formed in her 
 side ; and a constitution always delicate sunk under 
 the disease within the prescribed time. 
 
 I was at Winchester when the danger was pro- 
 nounced to be imminent, and an express was sent for 
 me to return home. On receiving the letter I carried 
 it to Dr. Warton who gave me instant permission to 
 set off for London. But as it was the eve of a con- 
 tested election between Sir William Heathcote and 
 Mr. Chute, no post-horses could be procured. Dr. 
 Warton no sooner learnt my new distress than he 
 ordered out his own carriage, drawn by a pair of 
 pampered blacks seldom working, and directed his 
 coachman to " proceed with me until I could hire a 
 conveyance, even if to London." 
 
 It was not till the second stage that I could procure
 
 Chap. II. FRIGHTENED BY OMENS. 49 
 
 a post-chaise. I arrived too late. My mother had 
 expired the preceding day : often before her death 
 calling me by name to receive her blessing. 
 
 She was buried by the side of my father, whose coffin 
 I again looked upon with unaffected pain, although 
 the sorrow of youth is not of a permanent character. 
 
 The day on which I received the news of my 
 mother's danger was that on which I first knew also 
 of her serious illness : but the morning of that day 
 had dawned with an incident which, in spite of my 
 understanding and in the absence of any superstitious 
 tendencies, had made a sinister impression ; this, as 
 it were admonished me and made me certain that 
 I should not pass the day without some tidings of 
 calamity. Many years have rolled away : my common 
 sense revolts at and mocks the folly of the omen : but 
 I see now, as it were, before my eyes that omen, and 
 feel now again the heart- sinking sensation that I felt 
 then and at that moment when I was awakened by 
 a flight of crows hovering about my window. One 
 advanced, and cawed repeatedly, Woe ! — woe ! — woe ! 
 I got up, tried to shake off the load on my thoughts, 
 but the foreboding was immoveable ; and the more I 
 tried to treat it as a dream of the fancy, the more I 
 combated it as one of the follies which I had so often 
 been astonished at and ridiculed as a superstition of 
 the ancient world, the more I was persuaded it was 
 a messenger of some adversity if not of death. Such 
 is the infirmity of our nature that no man, I believe, 
 has ever existed who has not discredited his mental 
 powers by some such weaknesses, and made himself 
 the sport of shadows probably created by traditional 
 recitals and practices.
 
 50 WINCHESTER SCHOOL— MY TRAGEDY. Chap. II. 
 
 I returned to Winchester, but only for a short time. 
 However, before I left I got, as it is termed, " best 
 command " by a powerful exertion of memory at that 
 time unprecedented in the school ; having repeated at 
 standing out* no less than 11,500 lines out of Homer's 
 Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil, Horace, and Sallust. It was 
 an effort of ambition which I think rather pre- 
 judiced than strengthened the faculties : I had been 
 obliged during the preceding four or five months to 
 deprive mj'self of the greater part of the allotted time 
 for rest; since for this exhibition no respite was 
 allowed from the ordinary daily business of the 
 school. 
 
 I by no means pretend to have been a distinguished 
 classical scholar. I never drank deep enough of that 
 stream to root myself as an academician ; but I had 
 a great aptitude for learning and could master all I 
 undertook in the wa} T of translation, was a ready 
 Latin versifier generally aiding all the boys of my 
 form who wanted help, and so far advanced in Eng- 
 lish literature and in composition that soon after my 
 father's death I had written a tragedy regularly traced, 
 and with so much general skill and merit as at least 
 greatly to surprise. My brothers and sisters acted 
 the play, and jour auntf Jane was a principal per- 
 former. The play was called " Alonzo," whom I first 
 made a tyrant, and afterwards had the pleasure of 
 slaying as such. My plot was founded on the passage 
 in Cicero which I had read as a quotation, " How 
 
 * Seven days prior to Midsummer vacation : others have since done more 
 than I did.— R. W. 
 
 + Married March 27, 1806, to the Rev. Herbert Randolph, Rector of Let- 
 comhe Bassttt, Berks, and Vicar of Chute, Wilts ; the father of the Editor.
 
 Chap. II. TOTTENHAM COURT CHAPEL. 51 
 
 beautiful ! how lovely ! it is to slay a tyrant " — 
 " Tyrannum occidere." 
 
 On removal from Winchester, after passing some 
 little time in the house of a very respectable old lady 
 — a Mrs. Thompson — where I stayed during the course 
 of a dispute which I had with my guardian about 
 money allowances, I became the pupil of the Eev. 
 Mr. Thompson the clergyman of Tottenham Court 
 Chapel. My guardian was a very worthy man, but 
 so adverse to the general usages of public seminaries 
 that he sternly withheld those pecuniary supplies 
 which custom rendered indispensable. The contrac- 
 tion of small debts, which caused me vexation, was 
 a source of continual misunderstanding between my 
 guardian and myself, and was the consequence of his 
 unreasonable resistance to the habits of the time ; but 
 the spirit of opposition which it also generated in me 
 accelerated the hour of my emancipation, and hurried 
 on that awful moment of independence when all the 
 interests of life hang on the selection of an honourable 
 path. 
 
 During the time that I was under Mr. Thompson's 
 care I frequently officiated as his clerk in the desk 
 and at funeral services in the burial-ground ; but I 
 never ventured to attempt any of the musical duties 
 of the office. There never, perhaps, was a family less 
 gifted with musical capabilities than ours in my gene- 
 ration ; but the incompetency has happily not de- 
 scended. It was here also that I became acquainted 
 with a person of some subsequent notoriety and fame, 
 — Mr. Gale Jones, then apothecary and surgeon to 
 Mr. Thompson's establishment. He afforded me the 
 opportunity of witnessing several dissections, dis-
 
 52 LUDICROUS ACCIDENT. Chap. II. 
 
 coursed metaphysics with me so as really to enlarge 
 the powers of my mind, and would have persuaded 
 me to qualify myself for public speaking, by learning 
 to repeat the orations of the day and then extracting 
 and putting together the passages calculated to illus- 
 trate given subjects of argument. I promised to be a 
 fellow-student but relaxed. He steadily and inde- 
 fatigably proceeded ; and by a fund or stock of this role 
 eloquence attained much distinction at the spouting 
 clubs, at this time beginning to attract great public 
 attention, as avenues for the expression of public feel- 
 ing then highly excited by the agitators on the other 
 side of the water. 
 
 In the house of Mr. Thompson an accident occurred 
 to me which happily was confined to the ludicrous, 
 when a few moments more might have converted it into 
 the fatally serious. Having got into bed, I perceived 
 what I thought was a flame on the wall of the room. 
 I jumped up to examine it ; and as it seemed to recede 
 nearer the window as I approached I threw the window 
 open, thinking it might be the reflection from some 
 house on fire in the neighbourhood if not from our 
 own. I could perceive no burning source of light out 
 of or in the room itself; still, wherever I placed my- 
 self, an increasing reflection of flame danced along 
 with me. At last, much alarmed, I opened the door and 
 called ont, Fire ! Mr. Thompson rushed up-stairs, made 
 a spring at me as he approached, and plucked off my 
 nightcap which was burning nearly to my brow with- 
 out my having been conscious of the danger. The 
 nightcap being of woollen, the flame had fortunately 
 only crept ; except when, upon my opening the window, 
 it had been fanned into a momentary flare by the
 
 Chap. II. COLONEL BOSVILLE— KILLED AT L1NCELLES. 53 
 
 current of air. It was still a mercy that the bed had 
 not caught fire when I lay down. 
 
 Displeased by the rebuke I received — though it was 
 most justly merited for the negligence by which the 
 accident must have been occasioned — I soon after 
 quitted Mr. Thompson, returned to Mrs. Thompson 
 always my friend in the hour of tribulation, and deter- 
 mined to be subject to no further pedagogue govern- 
 ment. 
 
 My sister Fanny had in the year 1793 married 
 Colonel Bosville of the Coldstream Guards, brother of 
 Mr. Bosville of Thorpe Hall and of Lady Macdonald 
 and Lady Dudley and Ward. On account of that 
 marriage he was deprived by his uncle Sir William 
 Blacket, of the immense estate subsequently left 
 to Mrs. Beaumont, whom he had required Colonel 
 Bosville to marry when she was yet Miss Blacket. 
 Obliged a week after he had married my sister to 
 embark with his regiment for Holland, he was soon 
 afterwards killed in the action of Lincelles, where the 
 Guards acquired great credit. No officer in the corps 
 was more esteemed; and though 6 feet 4 inches in 
 height,* he was, from his corresponding symmetry of 
 form, considered one of the handsomest men in Europe. 
 
 On hearing the intelligence my sister, then at Stam- 
 ford, miscarried of a male child : so that even the 
 brother's estate was thus lost to the family, and my 
 sister left with but the remnant of her own fortune ; 
 part having been already applied to discharge Colonel 
 Bosville's debts, which she herself most generously 
 undertook to settle. 
 
 * His height occasioned his death, for a musket-ball struck him in the 
 head.— R. W.
 
 54 APPLY FOR A COMMISSION IN THE GUARDS. Chap. II. 
 
 Before Colonel Bosville went abroad and when he 
 was abroad I was strongly advised by him to be 
 guided by my father's counsel and not to enter the army, 
 which he described as a bad profession for profit, un- 
 favourable for intellect, and destructive of an indepen- 
 dent spirit. But such is the contradiction of youth in 
 general to the dictates of experience that few listen to 
 its teaching when offered as a gift : almost all like 
 to buy their wisdom at great cost ; and I was of such 
 a temper of mind that the more I was enjoined not to 
 pursue a military career the more I was desirous 
 of doing so. My brother-in-law's death, together 
 with the honours paid to his memory, instead of en- 
 feebling did but strengthen that inclination. This 
 feeling was at last kindled into an enthusiastic passion 
 for the profession, when I heard the cheers of the 
 multitude saluting a reinforcement going out to the 
 Guards as it was embarking at Greenwich. I said 
 to Mr. Bosville, with whom I had gone down to 
 witness the embarkation, that from that moment he 
 might consider me as one of those glory-hunters who, 
 he used to say, were "the derision of philosophy and 
 the plague of humanity." 
 
 Being a ward of Chancery I found that much time 
 must be consumed in getting an order for the purchase- 
 money of a commission. I therefore obtained a letter 
 of introduction from General Morrison — an old friend 
 of Colonel Bosville's — to Lord Amherst then acting 
 Commander-in-chief and to him I presented myself 
 with a request that he would give me a commission 
 in one of the regiments in Flanders. Lord Amherst 
 received me very kindly, expressed himself anxious to 
 gratify a wish formed in so good a spirit, said that the
 
 Chap. II. RECOMMENDED TO THE DUKE OF YORK. 55 
 
 Duke of York had all the commissions in his gift, but 
 advised me to present a memorial to the King at 
 Windsor and ask for a commission in one of the regi- 
 ments of Guards. I immediately drew up myself 
 a memorial recalling to the King's recollection my 
 father's enjoyment of his most gracious favour, my 
 sister's marriage and loss : and I concluded with the ex- 
 pression of a hope that I might obtain the opportunity 
 of proving my attachment to his Majesty. 
 
 General Gwynn, then equerry, approved ; and gave 
 me an opportunity of presenting the memorial to the 
 King in person at Windsor. The King took it as he 
 was going into chapel : and on coming out, seeing me 
 again, made several very encouraging remarks, asked 
 me many questions to no one of which did he give 
 me time to answer, and left me with the impression 
 that I had gained my cause. 
 
 The next day General Gwynn sent for me, and told 
 me by the King's command, that he would recommend 
 my going out to Flanders to the Duke of York " who 
 would provide for me." "Tell him," were the words, 
 " Frederick will take care of him." My friends in 
 general were not disposed to " put much confidence in 
 princes," and did all in their power to dissuade me 
 from an enterprise which had no other guarantee of 
 success than a verbal communication. I however was 
 firmly persuaded that their doubts were not warranted ; 
 and therefore I prevailed on my sister Fanny to let 
 me have the money I wanted for equipment — about 
 60/. : and 100Z. for my expenses, which I was sure would 
 be ample — till I could get a commission and an autho- 
 rity from the Court of Chancery to receive my allow- 
 ance, 180/. per annum, if my guardian persisted in his
 
 56 MR. BOSVILLE AND HIS CIRCLE— Chap. II. 
 
 opposition to apply it as I required, and rendered an 
 application to the court necessary. I took out with 
 me also a beautiful English mare — the pride of her 
 race and sex for she was as good as she was fair — 
 a very serviceable horse, and a groom of the name 
 of George, who was a civil brave fellow but with a 
 head too weak for his love of strong liquor. The 
 mare and horse I bought on credit of a liveryman of 
 the name of Bath, whose horses I had often ridden at 
 the expense of Mr. Bosville ; and George who was 
 the ostler of the yard took pleasure in following 
 my fortunes "for better or for worse." Two very 
 clever Scotch terriers, ugly to an exquisite degree of 
 beauty and well known in London, completed my 
 family. 
 
 Thus fitted out, with a red coat on my back some- 
 thing like a surgeon's, I bade farewell to my many 
 friends in London ; from whom, in consequence of the 
 ease and indulgence in which I had been long living 
 with them, it was certainly an effort and a pain to 
 withdraw myself. 
 
 I have before spoken of my very early introduction 
 by my father into the world's affairs, and his direction 
 of my mind to subjects very seldom brought under 
 youthful notice. But by Mr. Bosville's adoption of me 
 into his house and society, with whom my intimacy 
 commenced soon after I left Winchester, I was made 
 acquainted with men, manners, and politics, to a de- 
 gree of information that qualified me peculiarly for 
 intercourse with the circle in which I was living. 
 Mr. Bosville was himself very well informed, full of 
 anecdote, a philosophe and zealous politician of the 
 Cromwell school purified of its cant and hypocrisy.
 
 Chap. II. FOX, GREY, SHERIDAN, ETC. 57 
 
 He had served in the American war, and quitted the 
 army because he would not act any longer against the 
 cause of American independence. He had travelled 
 the grand tour, lived much in France, had made ac- 
 quaintance with the most remarkable men of Europe, 
 and expended a great portion of a large fortune in the 
 practice of an unbounded hospitality that attracted to 
 his board the most agreeable and eminent persons of 
 all countries, classes, and opinions. For many years 
 his table was open to them at the Piazza Coffee-house, 
 where he established it to avoid trouble : and here 
 Fox, Grey, Sheridan, Erskine, Fitzpatrick, Sir Francis 
 Burdett, Home Tooke, Paine, Parson East (the most 
 instructive and wit-exciting companion I ever knew), 
 Sir John Sinclair, Lord Moira, and all their friends and 
 friends' friends, associated on terms of perfect ease and 
 freedom, so that we frequently sat down to dine two 
 dozen when only half a dozen were expected. The only 
 rule of the menage was that no one should come in after 
 the clock had struck five, at which moment dinner was 
 announced. If any one entered afterwards it discom- 
 posed Mr. Bosville ; and to mark it he desired every 
 one to rise and make all possible noise and confusion 
 with chairs, plates, knives and forks, &c, as if the 
 arrival occasioned a general derangement. 
 
 This rule, and the penalty of its infraction, con- 
 tinued till Mr. Bosville's last illness, not many years 
 after he had established his table-d'hote in his own 
 house in Welbeck Street : so that very few persons 
 indeed ever ventured to present themselves after the 
 clock in the hall had finished its fatal stroke. Sir 
 Francis Burdett, who always wished to be yet not- 
 withstanding never could be, punctual, was a gentle
 
 58 ARRIVAL AT OSTEND. Chap. II. 
 
 exception ; but he frequently went away, rather than 
 expose himself to the frown or the clatter. 
 
 Toast-drinking after dinner was here, I believe, first 
 abolished ; and health-drinking at dinner was not en- 
 couraged. Ladies at that time were also not admitted. 
 It was only after I had married that your mother had 
 the privilege of a carte d'entree without ceremony. 
 
 It was impossible, in a circle so gifted with intelli- 
 gence and intellectually communicative, not to acquire 
 knowledge, habits of thinking, and manly tendencies. 
 It was a hot-bed for a young mind : and the passing 
 events of the day were impressed on my attention, as 
 I was appointed by the social meeting reader of the 
 evening paper — "The Courier" — which, during the 
 first period of the Revolution, teemed daily with im- 
 portant news of what was passing in Paris, bulletins 
 from the armies, &c. 
 
 My sister Fanny accompanied me to Dover, where I 
 embarked in an Ostend packet. Colonel Burton of the 
 Guards, and Colonel Milman, were fellow-passengers, 
 and it was settled that I should accompany them to the 
 Duke's head-quarters. Our passage was so good a one 
 that we arrived in ten hours after we left the pier — of 
 which I slept nine, not having been able to enjoy my 
 rest for a long time before from apprehension of some 
 untoward accident occurring to disappoint my hopes 
 or delay my departure. For several hours, however, 
 after landing I had a complete vertigo in my head, 
 and was obliged to go to bed. I have never forgotten 
 the seeming swimming of the room. 
 
 Having dined with the Governor we departed next 
 day for Courtray where we arrived without any acci- 
 dent. Colonel Edward Morrison, of the Coldstream
 
 Chap. If. COMMISSIONED AS CORNET. 59 
 
 G-uards, received me at Courtray with the most cordial 
 and flattering welcome, obtained my admission to the 
 Coldstream Guards' mess as an honorary member, and 
 undertook to present me to the Duke of York. The 
 Duke in the kindest manner addressed me, and after 
 some general conversation asked me whether I pre- 
 ferred a cornetey of cavalry, or an ensigncy in the 
 Guards ; and, if I liked cavalry, whether I had any 
 choice of regiment. I had already made acquaintance 
 at the Guards' mess with Colonel Churchill of the 15th 
 Light Dragoons ; and the fame of Elliott's Light Horse, 
 added to his engaging manners and gallant character, 
 determined me to select this corps. Colonel Childers 
 of the 11th, aide-de-camp to the Duke, would have 
 persuaded me to join him ; but Colonel Churchill urged 
 his claim of preference to the Duke, who rallied them 
 at the competition being so vehemently pressed and 
 acquiesced with my wish. I was immediately put in 
 orders as a Cornet ; and with no small degree of pride, 
 and feeling that I had shown a more correct discern- 
 ment than they, despatched the news to my friends in 
 England. 
 
 As the army was to move shortly it was thought 
 most eligible for me that I should not join the regiment 
 until the march commenced. In the interim I passed 
 my time very agreeably, and experienced general atten- 
 tion. Drinking and gaming were then very general 
 habits ; but I always considered the first vice as the 
 indulgence of a beast, and the latter as too replete 
 with peril, misery, and shame to afford any gratifica- 
 tion. Once in my life I did indeed suffer myself to 
 play whist two nights successively for high stakes, 
 and lost two hundred and fifty pounds : but I was 
 
 VOL. I. f
 
 60 EQUIVOCAL BRAVERY OF CAPTAIN DARE. Chap. II. 
 
 impelled by peculiar circumstances from which I could 
 not well disengage myself and not by any of a 
 gamester's passion. It was my first and last offence. 
 The money I could ill afford ; but the self-reproach 
 for such an act of criminal folly was the severest 
 punishment. 
 
 The army broke up its cantonments about the begin- 
 ning of April ; and I fell into the ranks of the troop to 
 which I belonged as it filed through Courtray. A 
 further acquaintance with the corps of officers made 
 me feel still more pleased that I had become a mem- 
 ber ; and indeed the men themselves took an interest 
 on all occasions in my welfare. 
 
 The corps of officers consisted of Colonel Churchill ; 
 Major Aylett ; Captains Pocklington and Ryan ; 
 Lieutenants Granby Calcraft, Blount, and Keir ;* 
 Cornets Butler and myself. Mr. Beaver was chap- 
 lain. A Captain Dare, of the York Chasseurs, was 
 for the first few weeks a volunteer. After the storm- 
 ing of one of the horn works at Yalenciennes he had 
 jumped on the parapet, and, after several bravadoes, 
 turned round and presented his seat to the enemy 
 who saluted it with a shower of grape, several of 
 which entered and avenged the indignity offered to 
 the Republicans. 
 
 Although I was naturally cheerful and good-tem- 
 pered, I was occasionally self-willed, and deservedly 
 checked in consequence. My chief resistance to dis- 
 cipline was at mess, where I could not brook the 
 duties of Boots ; but various heavy fines at last brought 
 me to my senses. 
 
 On passing to our first encampment we traversed 
 
 * Afterwards Sir William Keir Grant. — Ed.
 
 Chap. II. ARMY REVIEWED BY THE EMPEROR. 61 
 
 the ground near Cateau where General Mack had 
 obtained an advantage over the enemy a short time 
 previously. About five hundred Frenchmen had been 
 killed, and the hands and feet were still protruding 
 from the graves. 
 
 On the 16th of April the allied army, nominally 
 one hundred and twenty thousand but not more than 
 ninety thousand effective, assembled on the heights 
 above Cateau on a table-land to be reviewed by the 
 Emperor. It was a spring day of the old seasons, and 
 a magnificent spectacle was presented to the eye. 
 Philosophers would perhaps have contemplated it 
 with other feelings, but none could have been present. 
 I thought, however, that a beautiful girl* of the 14th 
 regiment of foot dressed with English cottage sim- 
 plicity, engaged more the attention of majesty, royalty, 
 and high authority than the lines of warriors and the 
 parade of war. Certainly she arrested the career of 
 the Court and Staff, and fixed their gaze for several 
 minutes. 
 
 The next morning, as soon as the fog cleared the 
 different columns were seen moving in their pre- 
 scribed directions : and ideas connected with the object 
 of their operations first caused some serious thoughts ; 
 but they were quickly dispelled by the animation of 
 the scene. 
 
 The army had been divided into eight principal 
 columns, commanded by Prince Christian of Denmark ; 
 Lieutenant-General Alvinzi; the Emperor, with the 
 Prince of Coburg as Commander-in-Chief; the Duke 
 
 * Her name was Sally — she served in all the actions, and united courage 
 and generosity with her beauty. It will be seen how we met afterwards 
 in Asia Minor and Egypt. — R. W. 
 
 F 2
 
 62 DEATH OF CAPTAIN CARLETON. Chap. IT. 
 
 of York, with General Otto as his lieutenant ; Sir 
 William Erskine ; Major-General Count Hadig ; 
 the Hereditary Prince of Orange ; and Major-General 
 Grosau. The points of attack were: Mazingenet, 
 Oisy, and the Forest of Nouvion ; Ribeauville, Was- 
 signy, and Genappe; Yaux and the Bois de Bohain; 
 Maretz and Preinont ; Creveeoeur and passage of the 
 Scheldt ; St. Hilaire. 
 
 The 15th was attached to the column of Sir William 
 Erskine, and in General Harcourt's brigade. On 
 arriving at Premont we found that the enemy were 
 clisadvantageously posted as to natural position, the 
 village being in a hollow, but strongly entrenched. 
 The regiment of Kaunitz was ordered to deploy, 
 descend the height, and storm the village in front. 
 During the execution of the manoeuvre the enemy 
 opened some guns, and a ball killed Captain Carleton, 
 aide-de-camp to General Yyse and uncle of your cousin 
 Dorchester. Whilst the Austrian infantry was ad- 
 vancing to the attack, which was gallantly made 
 and afforded a brilliant spectacle, the 15 th and the 
 Cuirassiers of Zetchwitz moved against the right of 
 the village ; to dislodge some French cavalry formed 
 in front of a Avood to the right of Premont, and gain 
 the rear of Premont so as to intercept the retreat 
 of the infantry. 
 
 Too much time was lost in making the disposition ; 
 and when the French cavalry, who showed good coun- 
 tenance to the last, retired, there was an apprehension 
 that the wood was ambuscaded : so that the operation 
 was not accomplished before the French flying from 
 Premont had crossed the plain which separated them 
 from the next village, where they had a reserve
 
 Chap. II. PREMONT CARRIED BY ASSAULT. 63 
 
 strongly posted. They lost, however, some cannon 
 and baggage. The other columns also succeeded, and 
 the enemy were driven back from all their advanced 
 works, leaving behind above thirty pieces of cannon 
 and about fifteen hundred killed, wounded, and pri- 
 soners. 
 
 The night was a memorable one, and I have never 
 forgotten the awful and meditative sight of thirteen 
 villages in flames. The horizon seemed to be indeed 
 on fire ; and, inexperienced as I then was in the 
 horrors of war, nature and education combined to 
 make me feel unhappy at so much calamity. 
 
 The distress of the poor children, amidst the tears 
 of their parents and their burning homes, the carnage 
 roar of cannon confusion and violence, particularly 
 moved my pity. I commiserated the sufferers on the 
 field of battle ; but, as they had reason to anticipate 
 their lot I have ever thought them less objects of 
 compassion than the inhabitants ; who, in all the 
 campaigns I have since witnessed, were made the 
 prey of friends as well as foes. 
 
 Premont having been carried by assault, I was told 
 that the lives of the survivors, the persons of the 
 women, and the property of every one, became the 
 lawful spoil of the conqueror ; but I found that this 
 right was also extended to all villages and hamlets 
 peaceably as well as forcibly occupied. Indeed, how 
 could it be otherwise, since the example was given 
 by battalions of barbarians in the Austrian service, 
 privileged to plunder and serving on the engage- 
 ment of maintaining themselves by rapine ? 
 
 The next morning I went forward to observe the 
 work of devastation, and before I reached the large
 
 64 CRUELTY OF THE AUSTRIANS. Chap. II. 
 
 village in front of our post, which the enemy 
 had evacuated during the night, we met hundreds 
 of soldiers returning with booty of all descriptions. 
 Some, indeed, had covered themselves with the silk 
 gowns, caps, &c, of the matrons; others had put on 
 the Sunday garments of the peasants ; and every one 
 seemed anxious to play a part in the masquerade. 
 Those who knew old France may best imagine to 
 themselves the ludicrous character of a scene which 
 metamorphosed Pandours and Croats into les gens de 
 la campagne of Picardy. 
 
 The houses had escaped conflagration at this hour,* 
 but the most virulent spirit of mischief had completed 
 the destruction of everything within them. The inha- 
 bitants had all fled or been murdered : but here and 
 there a cat was seen on the roofs, squatting in fearful 
 contemplation. 
 
 While I was roaming about, satisfying a melancholy 
 curiosity, a shot was fired at the extremity of the 
 village, and I then had an opportunity of seeing that 
 guilty employment made men very cowardly ; for the 
 streets were filled with marauders pouring out of 
 every house, and flying as if their lives depended upon 
 the speed of their heels. Several, having quilted 
 petticoats on, fell; but their comrades were too 
 frightened to laugh. The alarm having subsided the 
 fugitives returned, and their pillage system continued 
 during the whole day : every man and woman carrying 
 away something as a relic if not as a prize. 
 
 I have given this picture of first impressions. Con- 
 tinual repetitions never effaced them, but I shall only 
 notice in future extraordinary enormities. Do you, 
 
 * They were fired during the night on which we retired.— K. W.
 
 Chap. II. MOVEMENT ON VILLIEES EN COUCHE. 65 
 
 however, recollect that what I have described is the 
 daily occurrence of war. 
 
 The Prince of Orange, who had been charged with 
 the investment and siege of Landrecies, having opened 
 his trenches, the army reunited near Cateau on the 
 20th. I was very glad to see a movement in pro- 
 gress : as I conceived that, whether we went to right 
 or left, forwards or even backwards, we were sure of 
 accomplishing the capture of Paris in time. But occa- 
 sionally this confidence was staggered by the bold 
 attitude of the enemy and the skilful points of defence 
 he had chosen wherever we presented ourselves. 
 
 On the 21st Bellegarde's corps was attacked at 
 Nouvion, but he repulsed the assailants : and about 
 the same time we received accounts that the Hessians 
 had maintained their ground near Denain. 
 
 On the 23rd the 15th had taken the advanced posts 
 at Fontaine Antique with two squadrons of Leopold 
 Hussars, to observe the enemy who were stated to 
 have collected a large force in the Camp of Cassar, 
 near Cambray. We made a strong patrol in the 
 evening, and found the enemy so numerous that 
 General Otto who commanded on this flank of the 
 army, sent to the Duke of York for reinforcements. 
 Two squadrons of Zetchwitz Cuirassiers, an English 
 heavy brigade, and the 11th Light Dragoons under 
 General Mansell, were ordered to support us; and 
 they arrived the same night. 
 
 On the ensuing morning, the 24th of April, we 
 mounted and marched to attack and dislodge the 
 enemy from Villiers en Couche. The 15th ancLthe two 
 squadrons of Leopold preceded ; and, as all supposed, 
 were closely followed by the heavy cavalry though the
 
 66 DANGEROUS POSITION OF THE EMPEROR. Chap. II. 
 
 undulating character of the ground kept them from 
 view. This error continued until the 15 th and 
 Leopold were within half cannon-shot of the enemy's 
 position : yet, although every head was constantly 
 turned round with anxious look, especially as we 
 approached the French line, we were unable to per- 
 ceive a vestige of them. 
 
 At this period General Otto who had moved on 
 with the advance, received advice that the Emperor 
 who was on his road to Cateau, was intercepted by 
 the enemy in our front and must infallibly be taken 
 unless they were obliged to throw back their left. 
 Otto immediately halted our advancing line : and, 
 calling together the commanders told them the perilous 
 situation of his Sovereign, and the desperate position 
 in which the corps they commanded were placed by 
 the unexecuted orders given to General Mansell, and 
 the necessity of perishing sword in hand as assailants 
 rather than attempt an impracticable retreat, and by 
 it assure a dishonourable death. He then added, 
 " Gentlemen ! remember, your numbers do not permit 
 prisoners." 
 
 This speech, repeated to officers and men, was 
 received with enthusiastic cheers : and several non- 
 commanding officers of the English and Austrian 
 squadrons dashed forward and grasped each others' 
 hands to pledge mutual support ; while others mingled 
 their sabres and pointed to the sky, as if appealing 
 to Heaven as witness of their plighted faith. 
 
 The French cavalry appeared to be in one line, sup- 
 ported l^r a wood on the left and the village of Villiers 
 en Couche on the right. No infantry or cannon were 
 visible. On the word " March" being again given,
 
 Chap. II. BATTLE OF VILLIEES EN COUCHE. 67 
 
 although we could ill spare the detachment a small 
 body of Hussars was ordered to move on the wood, as 
 Otto suspected that there was a corps of the enemy 
 concealed in it: his suspicion was quickly verified 
 by two squadrons of cavalry withdrawing from it so 
 soon as the Austrian Hussars had fired with their 
 skirmishers a few feeling shot. 
 
 The enemy immediately sent forward from their 
 apparent main line a swarm of Chasseurs a Cheval, 
 who fired at a few paces from us,* as we were too 
 small a body to allow of being weakened by skir- 
 mishing parties of sufficient strength to protect our 
 advance, and too well instructed and too resolved to 
 answer the fire from our squadrons. 
 
 When we began to trot the French cavalry made a 
 movement to right and left from the centre, dashed in 
 a gallop towards wood and village, and at the same 
 moment we saw in lieu of them, as if created by magic, 
 an equal line of infantry with a considerable artillery 
 in advance, which opened a furious cannonade with 
 grape while the musketry poured its volleys. The 
 surprise was great and the moment most critical ; but 
 happily the heads kept their direction and the heels 
 were duly applied to the " charge, " which order was 
 hailed with repeated huzzas. 
 
 The guns w r ere quickly taken ; but we then found 
 that the chaussee which ran through a hollow with 
 steep banks lay between them and the infantry. 
 There was, however, no hesitation: every horse 
 was true to his master, and the chaussee was passed 
 
 * A Black Hussar fired at me as I was riding on the left flank of the 
 whole, and the ball grazed along my helmet just above the ear, striking off 
 the silver edging. — R. W.
 
 C8 DEFEAT AND MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH. Chap. II. 
 
 in uninterrupted impetuous career. It was then as we 
 gained the crest that the infantry poured its volley — 
 but in vain. In vain also the first ranks kneeled and 
 presented a steady line of bayonets. The impulse was 
 too rapid and the body attacking too solid for any 
 infantry power formed in line to oppose, although the 
 ranks were three deep. Even the horses struck mor- 
 tally at the brow of the bank had sufficient momentum 
 to plunge upon the enemy in their fall and assist the 
 destruction of his defence. 
 
 The French cavalry, having gained the flanks of 
 their infantry, endeavoured to take up a position in its 
 rear. Our squadrons still on the gallop closed to fill 
 up the apertures Avhich the French fire and bayonets 
 had occasioned, and proceeded to the attack on the 
 French cavalry, which, though it had suffered from the 
 fire of part of its own infantry, seemed resolved to 
 await the onset ; but their discipline or their courage 
 failed, and our horses' heads drove on them just as 
 they were on the half turn to retire. 
 
 A dreadful massacre followed in a chase of four 
 miles. Twelve hundred horsemen were cut down, 
 of which about five hundred were Black Hussars. 
 One farrier of the 15th alone killed twenty-two men. 
 The French were so panic-struck that they scarcely 
 made any resistance, notwithstanding that our numbers 
 were so few in comparison with the party engaged that 
 every individual pursuer found himself in the midst of 
 a flock of foes. 
 
 For a moment I was quite lost, having pursued a 
 well-mounted non-commanding officer and granted his 
 life after inflicting a severe wound in his sword arm as 
 he threw back his sabre at my face. While I was in
 
 Chap. II. FEENCH OFFICER SHOT. 69 
 
 doubt what course to take that I might save the 
 prisoner by consigning him to some special care,* he 
 assured me that a squadron to which he pointed was a 
 British squadron, and implored me to deliver him up 
 to it as he had no other chance of being preserved. I 
 began to move in the direction, when Quartermaster 
 Stewart, afterwards made an officer, rode up, and 
 without paying any attention to my words shot the 
 Frenchman through the head and then bade me follow 
 him " at speed." It was high time I did it, for at the 
 same instant the horsemen whom I had conceived to 
 be friends proved to be enemies and in their turn 
 pursued us : but I was well mounted and soon rejoined 
 the troops. I then learnt that Stewartf had watched 
 my course and guessed the perfidy of my captive. We 
 did not stop our foaming horses until we received a 
 salute from the guns of Bouchain. We then sounded 
 trumpet of recall, and the dispersed victors collected to 
 retire, but in very reduced numbers ; particularly the 
 Austrians, as their horses had been unable to keep up 
 with us : indeed, at the original charge, notwithstand- 
 ing the equal zeal of the riders, we certainly gained 
 three yards in ten. This retreat was not less formid- 
 able than the attack ; for we had only perforated not 
 dislodged the enemy, who, incredible as it may be 
 thought, had positively twelve thousand men with fifty 
 pieces of cannon in his position when we attacked and 
 
 * The preservation of a prisoner was in fact a disobedience of orders ; 
 but I could not resist bis appeals ; and I knew that if I left him he would 
 be overtaken by some of our men and killed. — R. W. 
 
 t I met this brave fellow afterwards in Devonshire, where he was 
 serving with a corps of Yeomanry. — R. W. A memorable presence of mind 
 in the man, and a noble watchfulness of guardian courage over a boy soldier 
 in his first trial of battle. The Providence must be confessed : it was the 
 first among many instances. — Ed.
 
 70 RETREAT OF THE FRENCH ARMY. Chap. II. 
 
 penetrated, and through the survivors of whom we had 
 to make our way back by force or stealth. We did, 
 however, retrace our steps in a good trot without 
 interruption, although squadrons and battalions were 
 formed on both flanks on the plain over which we 
 returned. Some might have been astounded, but I 
 believe most of the enemy thought we were a fresh 
 succour from Bouchain ; and indeed one officer came so 
 near on that supposition that he paid with his life for 
 his mistake. 
 
 When we arrived at the ravine we found it full of 
 retreating French baggage-waggons, artillery, &c, 
 and the village of Villiers en Couche, also choked with 
 the fugitive columns ; but we did not venture to stop 
 and secure any part of the prize. With difficulty, on 
 account of the steepness of the declivity, we de- 
 scended the very bank up which we had mounted in a 
 gallop. On the other side we found the guns we had 
 captured and they finally remained in our possession, 
 for the heavy brigade with failing hearts and humbled 
 looks soon afterwards made their appearance and 
 enabled us to recover the field of battle ; the enemv's 
 intact columns filing on Bouchain and Cambray. 
 
 General Otto was the first person who received us 
 on our return, but he had already sent word to the 
 Duke of York that we were lost by our excess of 
 ardour in the pursuit after an achievement which 
 rivalled any in military story. And reflecting on it 
 at this distant date, I do think it the most daring in 
 conception, the most resolute in execution, and the most 
 unaccountable in its success, that ever fell under my 
 notice : for the troops, particularly the infantry, were the 
 best regiments in the French service, and not a man
 
 Chap. II. GENERAL MANSELL UNJUSTLY CENSURED. 71 
 
 quitted his ranks until they were pierced by our 
 charge. 
 
 Our Commander, Sir William Aylett, was pierced 
 through and through the body with a bayonet at the 
 charge, and every man and horse was killed or touched 
 more or less severely by shot or steel. 
 
 General Otto, as I said, was the first to hail our 
 return : and his expressions were accompanied by the 
 most frantic gestures, especially when he heard that 
 no prisoners were taken by the enemy. Throwing up 
 his hussar cap in the air, he exclaimed, " C'est la fete 
 de St. George ! Huzza ! huzza ! huzza !" He was a 
 Hungarian, and at this time was above seventy years 
 of age. I heard him say he should die happy if he 
 could once more hear the trumpet sound a charge 
 against the Prussians. I thought him a savage ; but 
 nevertheless I was flattered when I afterwards found his 
 moustaches pressed to my cheek, in the customary 
 foreign manner of expressing cordiality and friendship. 
 
 We were sitting eating some refreshment on the 
 field when General Mansell was announced ; but Otto 
 immediately turned his back upon him, and said to 
 us, that " he never wished to see an Englishman who 
 was not brave although the sight was so rare." This 
 was a very unjust censure : for General Mansell's 
 conduct was entirely owing to a misconception of the 
 order brought to him by the aide-de-camp of General 
 Otto when on march, in consequence of which he 
 carried his brigade too far to our right. When he 
 heard the guns and volley he then discovered the 
 mistake, but too late to correct it. Otto, however, 
 would not receive him or hear his explanations, but 
 desired that they might be made to the Duke of York.
 
 72 DEATH OF GENERAL MANSELL. Chap. II. 
 
 On the 25th I went on picket and was obliged to 
 withdraw from my post five times during the night, as 
 the enemy, who had reassembled in our front, endea- 
 voured to surprise or cut us off. An old Hungarian 
 Hussar had been sent with me to conduct my opera- 
 tions, and I owe to his lessons on that occasion a tact 
 for that species of service in which I will venture 
 to say no British officer at a later period ever excelled 
 me. 
 
 At daybreak on the 26th I was attacked, but 
 although obliged to retire no prisoners fell into the 
 enemy's hands. At the same time the French army 
 under General Chapuis, fifty thousand strong, having 
 changed their plan of operations in consequence of 
 the defeat at Yilliers en Couche, filed through 
 Cambray and made, under cover of a favouring fog, 
 an assault on all the positions of the allied army : but 
 the cavalry of the Allies rushing forward broke through 
 their three lines, overthrew the whole, and took the 
 commander-in-chief, sixty pieces of cannon, &c. 
 Never was a victory obtained more rapidly or more 
 completely, the troops being surprised who calculated 
 on surprise. 
 
 In this action General Mansell fell, being determined 
 on death. His command had been taken from him, but 
 restored on the morning of the 26th at the entreaties 
 of General Ealph Dundas who had been appointed to 
 supersede him. The Duke of York in passing his line 
 before the charge had also said, " Gentlemen, you must 
 repair the disgrace of the 24th." Mansell had, how- 
 ever, before resolved on paying with his life for a 
 mistake which subjected his character to reproof and 
 ineffaceable injury. As the brigade was advancing
 
 Chap. II. SURRENDER OP LANDRECIES. 73 
 
 he ordered his son and brigade-major to different points 
 of the line ; and, commanding his orderly dragoon not 
 to follow him, he darted on the enemy and met an 
 inevitable death. His body was found after the action, 
 and the Duke of York and others attended the inter- 
 ment. As far as I could judge from the countenances 
 of these personages, they seemed to feel that a brave 
 man had been untowardly sacrificed. 
 
 The next day the Duke of York invited me to dine 
 with him, presented me to the Austrian general, &c, 
 and said many generous things. On the third day, 
 going over the field, we saw many wounded who had 
 neither eaten nor drunk nor had their wounds 
 dressed since the action. 
 
 On the 30th Landrecies surrendered, but the joy was 
 damped by news of the defeat of Clairfait at Mouscron, 
 where he had assembled some Austrians and Hano- 
 verians to attempt the relief of Menin. 
 
 As the communication between Tournay and Cour- 
 tray was menaced the allied army was obliged to 
 move to support Clairfait, and we marched on the 
 night of the 31st in one of the darkest and severest 
 storms I ever remember. It caused the greatest con- 
 fusion, since deep ditches flanked the roads when they 
 were not traversing forests ; and horsemen and guns, 
 baggage-waggons, &c, were constantly plunging in the 
 water. The lightning was so vivid that objects during 
 the flash could be perceived as in broad day ; while the 
 eye was so affected by the glare that man and beast 
 staggered as if struck with blindness. On arrival at 
 Tournay we learnt that Courtray and Menin had both 
 been taken, but that general Hammerslein had cut 
 his way through the enemy with several battalions of
 
 74 KINDNESS OF THE PEASANTRY. Chap. II. 
 
 Hanoverians, and four companies of loyal emigrants — 
 for whose sake this bold enterprise was indeed under- 
 taken, since all emigrants found in arms were imme- 
 diately shot by the Kepublicans. The loss had been 
 very severe but the action extorted the enemy's 
 admiration. 
 
 The allied army took post in front of Tournay, and 
 we were sent forward with the Hussars and remaining 
 light cavalry to the heights above Baisieux, &c. Our 
 outpost duty was severe from continued skirmishing 
 in the morning which occasionally engaged several 
 thousand men, and picket-service on which from the 
 scarcity of subalterns I was employed four nights out 
 of five. But then we had our agremens : for by pre- 
 serving good discipline in our camp the peasant girls 
 from far and near flocked daily into it, bringing in 
 baskets of butter, cream, fruit, eggs, flowers, &c. : and 
 to this time I never saw so much youth, beauty, and 
 fascination combined in any society. 
 
 An hour before daybreak we were always on horse- 
 back: but so soon as it was seen that we had dis- 
 mounted, there being no attack, the field was covered 
 with Atalantas rushing to the goal where profit first 
 invited them, but where more generous sentiments 
 soon were kindled and glowed not merely to passion 
 but to the most ardent affections. In a climate like 
 that of England where the sun's ardour is so faint, this 
 picture may appear too highly coloured: but the descrip- 
 tion is one of memory not of imagination. Behind us 
 also lay a town full of every luxury ; and every evening 
 there was horse-racing in the grand camp, at which all 
 the princes, generals, &c, regularly assisted. 
 
 While we were keeping, night after night, our watch
 
 Chap. IT. ALLIES ATTACKED BY THE ENEMY. 75 
 
 with our horses in hand, or patrolling from post to 
 post that no enemy might glide between, the officers 
 of the line were there enjoying uninterrupted repose or 
 carousing without any anxiety. But I preferred the 
 animation of our life, arduous as its continuance was 
 made, and I would not have exchanged my bivouac 
 for the Duke of York's quarters. 
 
 At that time it was the fashion to drink as drunk- 
 ards daily, and the drink was strong port wine instead 
 of the pure vintage of France. The vice, however, 
 did not prevail so much among the light troops, 
 though far too much, and I never was once inebriated 
 during the whole campaign. I had the good for- 
 tune to have an example of sobriety set by Colonel 
 Churchill and several other officers. What shocked 
 me most was to see courts-martial adjudging men to 
 be punished for an offence of which the members them- 
 selves had often been guilty at the same time, and 
 from which they had frequently not recovered when 
 passing sentence. 1 hope the day will come* — and it 
 seems to be advancing — when such a statement will 
 be deemed the assertion of an impossibility, or, in 
 plain English, an outrage against truth and the 
 honour of the army. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th (May) the enemy, 
 thirty thousand strong, attacked us and made an 
 impression on the left of our advanced line. But the 
 Kaunitz regiment, getting up to the retiring troops 
 before they were driven out of an extensive wood, 
 repelled the assailants. A considerable effort was then 
 made against our centre, and we were sent down with 
 sixteen squadrons of British and two of Austrian Hus- 
 
 * It is almost come : October 14, 1824.— K.W. 
 VOL. I. G
 
 76 A NARROW ESCAPE. Chap. II. 
 
 sars, to attack the enemy in flank as he attempted to 
 cross the plain with the design of storming our posi- 
 tion. So soon as he perceived our intention he formed 
 a corps into squares and opened upon us a severe fire 
 of shot and shells : he persisted in an advance, and as 
 there seemed to be only level ground between us, a 
 charge was ordered and the order obeyed ; but before 
 we could reach the enemy who had partly deployed, to 
 our great surprise, as we advanced, we found ourselves 
 in a range of rape-fields ; and in a few seconds two- 
 thirds of the horses were prostrate under a volley of 
 musketry and grape which if well directed must have 
 annihilated the whole. At this instant fortunately the 
 Hungarian Grenadiers, for whose simultaneous opera- 
 tion we ought to have waited, were seen ascending the 
 heights to storm the squares. This obliged the enemy 
 to withdraw and take up a new position nearer his 
 reserves and enclosed country, or a few men detached 
 from the ranks would have put to death those who had 
 escaped the fire. 
 
 I was mounted on my English mare who extricated 
 herself by extraordinary activity ; but she carried me 
 to the enemy, and I should infallibly have been taken 
 .if a soldier had not made a blow at her head with the 
 butt-end of his musket : this frightened her so much 
 that she turned like a hare and ran obliquely along the 
 line until I could find a clear piece of ground, when I 
 succeeded in giving her a new direction. I sup- 
 pose upwards of a hundred shots were fired at us, of 
 which only one struck her in the neek. 
 
 As soon as the squadrons could be reassembled 
 another charge was ordered on the retiring squares ; 
 it failed ; a third also was repulsed, although some
 
 Chap. II. BRAVERY OF FRENCH GENDARMES. 
 
 i > 
 
 of the angles were pierced. At length, the squares 
 having nearly passed the plain in retreat, all hope of 
 making any impression was abandoned. The enemy 
 observed this, and imprudently changed their forma- 
 tion into columns of march without taking any precau- 
 tion to line the extreme of the wood into which they 
 were entering. This negligence afforded the opportu- 
 nity for a sudden attack which succeeded. Fifteen 
 pieces of cannon were taken and several hundred men 
 massacred, for quarter was implored in vain. A more 
 cold-blooded butchery was never perpetrated, since the 
 execution lasted near half an hour. During this trans- 
 action five French gendarmes who had been on a 
 patrol, finding themselves cut off and seeing the fate 
 of their comrades, boldly determined to cut their way 
 through or die in the attempt, and at all events 
 make their attempt memorable. A shout from be- 
 hind announced that they had already pierced through 
 to the Blues, and I saw them keeping on a steady 
 course, pursued by hundreds but dealing death to 
 all who approached. The boldest withdrew as they 
 thundered clown towards them ; and some felt so much 
 admiration for their desperate courage as to wish that 
 they might escape, and therefore would not oppose 
 their progress; but just as they were gaining the 
 wood one fell and was shot immediately. Three 
 others almost instantly dropped quite colanderecl with 
 balls ; and the fifth, being dismounted by his horse re- 
 ceiving a leg wound, stood like Mars, bidding defiance 
 to the crowds which assailed him and refusing to yield 
 his sword. At length a trumpeter took deliberate 
 aim ; and the hero sank to the earth with a wave of 
 his sword-hand as if he were exulting in his doom. 
 
 g 2
 
 78 "VIVE LA REPUBLIQUE!" Chap. IT. 
 
 To the honour of the French of those days, I must say 
 I never witnessed more devoted courage than they 
 showed generally ; and " Yive la Eepublique !" seemed 
 to be the consolation of every misfortune. Most of 
 the soldiers who were killed as described shouted dur- 
 ing the slaughter, " Vive la Eepublique !" Even when 
 the sword was about to fall on their heads I have 
 heard them continually make that exclamation, which 
 in most instances more envenomed their enemies. 
 
 Such is man ! or rather, such is mercenary man ! 
 that a Republic founded on the principles of liberty 
 and equality excited the individual passions of the 
 rest of mankind against it, as if it had been an esta- 
 blishment incompatible with their happiness and one 
 which placed its members without the pale of humanity. 
 I know that at that time Robespierre and his associates 
 had outraged humanity by their cruelties, and that 
 afterwards a decree to give no quarter had in some mea- 
 sure justified severity; (although it is due to the French 
 soldiers to state that they expressed the greatest indig- 
 nation when it was promulgated) : but I am sure that 
 neither the crimes of the Revolutionary Tribunal nor 
 any of their sanguinary edicts were the real sins 
 which confederated the governments of Europe against 
 France, though they enabled them to create that exas- 
 peration in the minds of their people which prevailed 
 generally. Their hatred and machinations were 
 directed against that cry of liberty, which honest and 
 amiable and humane men in the first instance raised 
 to check the tyrannising abuse of power, and to pro- 
 vide security of law for person and property. It is 
 my conviction that the same atrocities which were 
 perpetrated in France under the provocation of foreign
 
 Chap. II. MOTIVES OF THE CROWNED HEADS. 79 
 
 powers and by the secret influence of the Emigrant 
 Councils at Coblentz would have passed in those days 
 unpunished and even without remonstrance, had they 
 been committed by kings in possession of arbitrary 
 authority. It is universally known that Louis XVIII. 
 and the French princes had a secret and most authori- 
 tative influence over many of the revolutionary chiefs 
 in France ; and it was stated in my presence, and not 
 denied, at a trial before one of the tribunals of 
 Paris after the Restoration, that Louis XVIII. pen- 
 sioned the sister of Robespierre. The assertion was 
 made by one of the counsel, who offered proof. 
 
 It was the object of all the then existing govern- 
 ments in Europe — even our own — to keep France in 
 the shackles of slavery and "wooden shoes," from the 
 fear of her reforms becoming the desiderata of all 
 nations, and of her resources and prosperity being de- 
 veloped by them. It was the erroneous and illiberal 
 principle of the statesmen of that day that the im- 
 proving condition and increasing wealth of one country 
 must be accompanied by the corresponding impoverish- 
 ment of its neighbours. It is useless to dilate upon 
 the motives of the crowned heads. They have always 
 held in abhorrence the advocates of popular rights, and 
 placed every impediment in their power in the way of 
 progressive freedom. At the same time it would be 
 unjust to attach to their race exclusively these antipa- 
 thies to free institutions and their champions. They 
 are but the creatures of the system in which they have 
 been educated, and their views have been formed by 
 the regulators of their instruction generally : these are 
 almost without exception men taken from a class who 
 consider the influence and property of their body to
 
 80 TREACHERY OF THE FRENCH KING. Chap. II. 
 
 be placed in jeopardy when monarchy is not revered 
 as an institution of divine right, and when encroach- 
 ments are making on its absolute and irresponsible 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 The King of France was an amiable man, but weak 
 and false ; the Queen a beautiful woman accustomed 
 to the homage of mankind from her first appearance in 
 the court, but she had been reared in the doctrine that 
 the interests of courts alone constitute the welfare of 
 nations. Abuses had driven the French people to the 
 adoption of measures which circumscribed the preten- 
 sions of the Throne, and set up the public happiness 
 as the just end of government. Every engine was 
 assiduously employed to oppose and prevent the tran- 
 quil settlement of the legislative struggle, and the 
 Court party succeeded but too well in infuriating the 
 passions of the multitude. 
 
 The detected treachery of the King (the Queen 
 never played a deceptive part) and the invasion of the 
 French territory kindled a vindictive rage that made 
 humanity shudder ; and Robespierre, who had pro- 
 posed in a speech on record to abolish the punish- 
 ment of death altogether, became the director of the 
 bloody revels which followed. 
 
 Perhaps it may be said that I am framing a charge 
 against myself for engaging in a service which aimed 
 at the re-establishment of an unlimited monarchy, for 
 though so young I was fully master of the subject in 
 all its bearings : but my sense of the injustice of reim- 
 posing such a government on France was not so strong 
 as to control my martial inclinations ; and it may also 
 be considered that until I came into contact with the 
 French themselves I did not and could not know their
 
 Chap. II. FRENCH DEFEATED BY KAUNITZ. 81 
 
 devotion to the cause they had espoused, aud the 
 genuine patriotism by which they were animated. 
 
 To return, however, from this digression. After a 
 pursuit of about a league, in which some baggage was 
 taken but in which a part of our cavalry suffered by 
 too eager an advance in a close country, the army 
 returned to its position, and we regained our encamp- 
 ment where we found our fair friends collected to wel- 
 come the survivors and weep over the fallen. I was 
 however commanded off on picket the same night 
 and for the first time marched like a conscript, or, as a 
 Frenchman had that same day described himself to 
 me, a " volontaire force." 
 
 The enemy had the same day attacked the Hanove- 
 rian corps which was posted on the right of the Duke's 
 army, and had also been repulsed ; but on the Sunday 
 following, instead of going to church, they made a 
 vigorous attack on General Clairfait who had crossed 
 the river Deule, and were at first unsuccessful ; but 
 the Austrians not being able to take possession of 
 Courtray where the enemy had rallied, Clairfait 
 was in his turn obliged to retire and was pursued to 
 Thielt, suffering very considerably. This advantage 
 was, however, counterbalanced on the 14th by their 
 defeat in an action with General Kaunitz posted near 
 Mons, who cut through several thousand men and 
 some pieces of cannon. 
 
 Mons being thus secured, the Austrian army, com- 
 manded by the Emperor and the Archduke Charles, 
 marched to unite itself with the Duke of York's army, 
 that an offensive movement might be made which with 
 a co-operation of General Clairfait should threw the 
 enemy back upon their own frontier line of defence.
 
 82 ALLIES ADVANCE TO ROUBAIX. Chap. 11. 
 
 The junction having been effected at Orchies, the 
 army marched in five columns. The 15th marched in 
 the Duke's column, composed of six squadrons British 
 (15th and 7th Light Dragoons), four of Hussars, seven 
 battalions British, five Austrian, and two of Hessians ; 
 while the two columns on our left proceeded to force the 
 passages of the Marque. This they did eventually, 
 but not in time to do any good. As they were more- 
 over too much fatigued when they had succeeded to pro- 
 ceed further, we moved on through Templeuve, then a 
 large rich and happy village, to Lannoy where the enemy 
 were posted. They evacuated it, however, after a can 
 nonade which on their part seemed to be intended as 
 a signal communication rather than as a resisting fire ; 
 though one of the shots killed a very brave officer of 
 our artillery of the name of Wright, who had shown 
 me great attention and whose loss was generally much 
 regretted. 
 
 From Lannoy, after leaving the two Hessian batta- 
 lions there, we advanced to Roubaix where the enemy 
 were strongly posted. The action was very obstinate 
 though short, as they found themselves likely to be 
 turned and therefore retired. After taking Roubaix 
 there was some doubt whether the Duke's column 
 should advance further, as no advice had then been 
 received of the columns ordered to force the Marque 
 or of the two columns on our left. One of these was 
 commanded by General Burke, who, as it appeared 
 afterwards, instead of taking Murons had found it 
 prudent from the very superior force opposed to him 
 to regain his original position at Tourcoing; the other 
 was commanded by the brave Otto who had forced 
 his way through Lens and Waterloo to Tourcoing.
 
 Chap. II. ATTACK UPON MOUVEAUX. S3 
 
 The Emperor, however, being apprehensive that Gene- 
 ral Clairfait relying upon our advance to Mouveaux 
 might be compromised by a corresponding movement 
 when we were not at the presumed station, expressed 
 so earnestly his desire that this point should be gained 
 that the column proceeded. 
 
 The flank battalion of Guards, supported by the 
 battalion of the 1st regiment of Guards, led the 
 way through a very close country. On arriving in 
 front of Mouveaux it was found strongly entrenched 
 and palisaded. About fifteen hundred men defended 
 the place with several pieces of cannon. The British 
 guns having opened a practicable entrance, the Guards 
 stormed while the cavalry were ordered to proceed at 
 a gallop round the work and get in the rear and cut off 
 the flying enemy. When we moved the Guards had 
 not got into the place. The enemy were still firing 
 their cannon charged with grape down the road lined 
 with an avenue of trees, and had set on fire a house on 
 the roadside. By the scorching flames of this we were 
 obliged to pass, as a deep ditch and fences rendered it 
 impossible for us to break off the road till we got 
 close to the walls. The rattling of the shot through 
 the trees, the falling branches, the burning house, the 
 huzzas of the infantry, and shouts of " Go it, Yowkj 
 Eyes!" (the name by which the Guards always desig- 
 nated the 15th, who in turn called them " Old Eves"), 
 and the roar and smoke of the guns, with all the con- 
 fusion of an assault, was a sublime spectacle for me 
 and excited all to the highest degree of animation. 
 The French kept their ground manfully until they 
 saw us in spite of their fire wheeling round the very 
 edge of their entrenchments, when they deserted them
 
 84 TOWN AND CHURCH SET ON FIRE. Chap. II. 
 
 and fled. We took three guns and a number of pri- 
 soners on the other side of the town, but the greater 
 part of the garrison escaped by favour of the wooded 
 environs and approaching night. 
 
 The infantry on entering the town had set it on fire, 
 and the church catching the flames a column of light 
 gave fatal intelligence to the distant enemy of our 
 success and position. Some of the French soldiers in 
 the place were bayoneted, and the usual licence of 
 war could not be restrained in the village ; but several 
 women, concealing themselves at the first rush and 
 subsequently, as night darkened, escaping out, found 
 refuge and protection in our posts. 
 
 After we had given up the pursuit and had fallen 
 back on Mouveaux, we did what we could to discover 
 the wounded among the bodies scattered around. 
 Having accomplished this duty as well as we could, 
 the officers — holding their horses' reins in their hands 
 — as well as the men, sat down on the ground until it 
 came to their turn to remount and patrol : this was 
 done very anxiously and carefully in every direction, 
 for every one had a misgiving from a variety of inci- 
 dents and observations. 
 
 While we were so sitting an artillery waggon came 
 towards us, and we directed the drivers to go off more 
 to our left that we might not have to move. In 
 taking that new direction we saw the wheels lifted as 
 they passed within six yards. I got up to examine 
 the cause of the impediment in the way of the gun, 
 and found it to be the body of a French soldier — one 
 of the little fellows who wear casques, and whom we 
 used to call " Crapauds." Of course I conceived that 
 it was a corpse, and was going back to my post when
 
 Chap. II. MOVEMENTS OF THE ALLIES. 85 
 
 I thought I would look again to observe what wound 
 had caused his death. On leaning down I heard a 
 stifled respiration. I immediately addressed the poor 
 wretch in French, and in the kindest tones that I 
 could command for I was not then much of a French 
 scholar. He was at first quite silent, but on my calling 
 for some one to aid me in helping him he spoke and 
 asked for mercy. His confidence was soon restored 
 by our attentions, when he told us that he had only 
 received a wound in the leg which prevented him 
 from getting off with his comrades ; that hearing us 
 coining back as he was creeping on he had lain down 
 in the grass, and to his terror had seen the gun 
 taking its direction over him ; but the fear of being 
 put to death if he discovered himself had induced him 
 to prefer the chance of escape from the gun, which, 
 however, had gone over his thighs and broken one in 
 two places. We ministered all the relief in our power, 
 and our surgeon, after examination of the fracture 
 and setting it as well as circumstances permitted, did 
 not despair of his life being saved without amputation 
 — a hope cruelly disappointed next day. 
 
 While we were uneasy from our ignorance of what 
 had occurred at other points, the Duke of York was 
 rendered no less uncomfortable by his knowledge of 
 what had passed ; but, as the best disposition for the 
 night he directed General Abercromby to remain 
 with the Guards and 15th at Mouveaux. Four Aus- 
 trian battalions were ordered to cover Roubaix, and 
 the " little brigade " composed of the 14th, 52nd, and 
 37th, under General Fox, was marched to secure the 
 left by taking post in the road between Lille and 
 Roubaix ; while our right was put in communication
 
 86 TOUECOING ATTACKED BY THE ALLIES Chap. II. 
 
 with the posts of General Otto, who had possessed 
 himself of Toureoing and Waterloo, as before stated. 
 
 Morning had scarcely streaked the sky when a 
 rattling of musketry was heard on our right, and we 
 thought at first that it was the blowing up of some 
 musketry ammunition-waggons ; but we soon perceived, 
 by its continuance and the firing of cannon and small 
 arms which immediately followed in all directions, 
 that we were environed and attacked by the French 
 army. Some prisoners made by our patrols confirmed 
 this very unsatisfactory suspicion, and informed us 
 that on seeing Mouveaux church in flames orders 
 had been given by General Pichegru for the immediate 
 march of thirty thousand men, who had been in move- 
 ment all night, to intercept our communications. 
 Thus this unjustifiable conflagration, acting as a tele- 
 graph, called down upon us a prompt chastisement. 
 
 Toureoing was the first point attacked. Two batta- 
 lions of Austrians were sent by the Duke of York to 
 make a diversion in its favour : but unfortunatelv 
 they pushed on to Toureoing instead of combining 
 with their attack the protection of our right. The 
 enemy poured in his tirailleurs through the opening, 
 which thev immediately discovered for they were as 
 sharpsighted as ferrets and as active as squirrels. 
 The only battalion of reserve was thrown forward to 
 check them but it was quickly driven out of its posi- 
 tion. While a corps which had forced its way through 
 General Otto's post at Waterloo attacked the rear of 
 our columns, the main body of the enemy, twenty-five 
 thousand strong, moved upon us at Mouveaux past 
 Lille. At the same time and almost before we could 
 commence our retreat, Koubaix was taken from the
 
 Chap. II. DISGUSTING SLAUGHTER OF PRISONERS. 87 
 
 four battalions of Austrians ; and the Hessians after a 
 very gallant defence had been driven out of Launoy. 
 Of the " little brigade " under General Fox, which 
 had been posted to assist in covering Eoubaix and our 
 left, we knew nothing but by a tremendous firing of 
 great guns and small arms in the direction of its 
 station, every discharge of which seemed sufficient to 
 sweep this, even then in fame immortal, band of heroes 
 from the face of the earth. 
 
 To add to our embarrassments and anxieties, it 
 was reported, as we proceeded towards Roubaix — our 
 only line of retreat — that the Duke of York was cut 
 off ; which was really the case. With great difficulty, 
 and attended only by a few dragoons, he was fortunate 
 enough to reach General Otto's column. 
 
 I had the command of the rearguard, which was 
 constantly under fire from behind and from both 
 flanks after we quitted Mouveaux and moved on the 
 Roubaix road ; but Colonel Blunt, afterwards Sir 
 Charles, very generously kept with me and gave me 
 most useful advice and aid. By steady march and 
 charging occasionally back we left our pursuers be- 
 hind and prevented a rush upon us, which would have 
 been fatal not only to the rearguard but to the column 
 obliged by flanking ditches to keep the road. Bag- 
 gage-carts, and carts with the wounded enemy taken 
 the night before, were of course soon abandoned and 
 formed useful barricades ; but I wish I could pass 
 over the disgusting and sorrowful scene which the 
 slaughter of the prisoners and even of the wounded 
 amongst them exhibited. Nothing could exceed the 
 ferocity which thus revenged itself on the helpless,
 
 88 THE VILLAGE OF ROUBAIX Chap. II. 
 
 and of all the events of the clay the most horrible was 
 the sight of this ungenerous execution. 
 
 The supplications of the victims and the fatal shots 
 which answered their prayers rang for many days in 
 my ears. It was a butchery, though not so extensive 
 as that which occurred on the 10th of May yet 
 still more piteous ; for it was if possible more cold- 
 blooded. 
 
 As we approached the entrance of Roubaix we 
 heard firing in the village, and several abandoned 
 ammunition-waggons of the Guards assured us that 
 the disorder of retreat had commenced. 
 
 Roubaix had a long street at the end of which one 
 road ran on continuing in a straight line ; another 
 road pave turned immediately to the right at the 
 termination of the main street. Hedges lined each 
 side of the straight road ; ditches very deep — one, 
 indeed, a rivulet — flanked the other. Before the head 
 of the retiring column could gain the village the 
 enemy had made a lodgment, but were driven out. 
 Part took post behind the hedges which lined the 
 straight road and commanded the town into and up 
 the pave road ; and part, on retiring along the straight 
 road, faced about at a little distance to fire into the 
 street and on the troops sallying out to gain the pave 
 road. Here also they stationed a piece of cannon 
 which was actively discharged. The infantry, how- 
 ever, and cannon — fifty-six pieces — with the greater 
 part of the tumbrils, &c, had cleared the village when 
 the cavalry entered ; but there was then a very long 
 halt in the street, and from the volleys of musketry 
 heard just out of the village on the pave road the
 
 Chap. II. ATTACKED BY THE ENEMY. 89 
 
 cause of the delay was evident. While the cavalry- 
 was so pent up, the enemy from their elevation on 
 the straight road kept firing their cannon and small 
 arms into the village. 
 
 The enemy's advance coming from Mouveaux, eager 
 to cut me off with the rearguard before I got into 
 Roubaix, had pressed me so sharply that I had been 
 obliged to close upon the main body, and on reaching 
 the houses dismount some men to act as tirailleurs 
 and check their progress, which experiment succeeded. 
 I was therefore in the street itself when the first 
 cannon-ball flew through it with a dreadful whirr. 
 There was no escape apparent from those which would 
 follow. The second struck off the heads of two of the 
 Austrian hussars.* The Austrians could endure the 
 coop no longer, but, dismounting, broke through the 
 houses on the right, and leading their horses scrambled 
 through the gardens, ditches, fences, &c. ; some of 
 them being killed by the sharpshooters already lodged 
 in them, others succeeding in getting through all 
 difficulties and dangers, and many being obliged to 
 return into the street. The fifth or sixth shot rendered 
 the stay of the cavalry no longer practicable. The cry 
 of " Charge to the right ! " ran down the column, and 
 in the same moment we were all at full speed. The 
 enemy redoubled his efforts, and struck at us with his 
 bayonets fixed at the end of his muskets as we wheeled 
 round the dreaded and dreadful corner, already almost 
 choked with the fallen horses and men which had 
 perished in the attempt to pass. My little mare 
 received here a bayonet-wound in the croup and a 
 musket-ball through the crest of her neck. Two balls 
 
 * The Bareo Hussars.— R. W.
 
 90 CRITICAL POSITION OF THE REARGUARD. Chap. II. 
 
 lodged in my cloak-case behind the saddle, and another 
 carried away part of my sash. Our surgeon and his 
 horse were killed close at my side, and above a dozen 
 of my detachment fell at that spot under the enemy. 
 We still urged on, ventre a terre, pursued by bullets. 
 I had got about two hundred horses' lengths distance 
 from the town when, before the least notice could be 
 given, the whole column of cavalry was arrested in its 
 career, and at the same moment of course recoiled 
 several yards. The confusion, the conflict for pre- 
 servation, the destruction which ensued, baffles all 
 description. Three-fourths of the horses, at one and 
 the same moment were thrown down with their riders 
 under them or entangled by the bodies of others. 
 The battling of the horses to recover themselves, the 
 exclamations of all sorts which resounded through 
 the air, accompanied by the volleys of the triumphing 
 enemy, presented a picture "d'enfer " which, as one of 
 the French then firing upon us and afterwards taken 
 told me, even made his own and his comrades' hair 
 stand on end ; and, according to him, we were indebted 
 to the magnitude of our distress for a moment or two's 
 relaxation of the fire. I was up and clown several 
 times ; but my dear little mare, as white as a sheet 
 with foam where not discoloured by her blood, and 
 snorting as if she raged in spirit, always regained her 
 feet, and kept under them whatever struggled to rise 
 and dislodge her. .At length I saw an opening to the 
 right, and at the other side of the ditch some of the 
 Guards endeavouring to form. I immediately directed 
 my mare to the part of the bank which I thought most 
 favourable, and commending myself to my fortunes 
 applied the spur that was to excite the needed energy.
 
 Chap. II. PRETTY SALLY— HER GALLANTRY. 91 
 
 My noble Snorter — for so I called her from that mo- 
 ment — bounded over like a deer and brought me to 
 my friends. The first person I saw was Major Pock- 
 lington, dismounted. I procured him a horse that 
 was running loose without saddle, on which after some 
 persuasion he mounted ; for he was so bad a horse- 
 man that whenever he took the least leap the men 
 used to cry, "Two to one!" "Three to one!" and 
 so on — "the Major is off!" and sure enough, after 
 several bounds and rebounds he always fell. It was 
 not till I got over the ditch that I saw the cause of 
 our calamity. Fifty-six pieces of cannon, with their 
 tumbrils, &c, stood immoveable in the road ; the 
 drivers having cut away the traces and escaped with 
 the horses when they found the enemy's fire surround- 
 ing them. Such was the consequence of sending out as 
 drivers the refuse of our gaols — for that was the prac- 
 tice at that clay. It was there also that I saw a soldier's 
 wife take a baby from her breast and giving it a kiss 
 fling it into the stream or ditch, when she frantically 
 rushed forward, and before she had got ten yards was 
 rent in pieces by a discharge of grape that entered 
 her back, sounding like a sack of coals being emptied. 
 
 More fortunate was pretty Sally, the pride of the 
 British fair ; for when I was assisting in rallying the 
 fugitives that we might at least show some countenance 
 and thus obtain the only chance of safety, she came 
 up to me and gallantly promised to give me one of her 
 best kisses for my exertions. She showed me how 
 three shot had already perforated her petticoats. I 
 soon afterwards procured her a seat upon the limber 
 of a gun, for which she was always most grateful. In 
 my zeal, however, to form something like a rearguard, 
 
 VOL. i. h
 
 92 ENCOUNTER WITH AN AUSTRIAN OFFICER. Chai\ II. 
 
 I very nearly had a serious quarrel ; for I addressed 
 myself in a strong German term of reproof to an 
 Austrian officer passing me at full speed, mistaking 
 him for a private galloping away from the post of duty 
 and danger. Our swords clashed, when an old Aus- 
 trian sergeant who had been several times on outpost 
 service with me passed his sword between ours and ex- 
 plained to the officer that I did not understand German 
 enough to know the force of certain expressions ; saying 
 that 1 was far from being likely to offend intentionally, 
 as I was " a very good-natured boy." The officer then 
 addressed me in French and we came to an immediate 
 good understanding ; he explaining to me that it was 
 not a proper place to form the cavalry ; that the 
 infantry should cover the retreat through the enclosed 
 grounds ; and that he was going to endeavour to re- 
 assemble the Hussars on the other side where there 
 was offered more open ground. 
 
 I felt properly humbled for having been so ignorant 
 and accompanied him to the spot where the surviving 
 cavalry reunited and formed into squadrons : the far 
 greater part of them were in a wounded state, and the 
 escapes had been remarkable. One man had received 
 twelve shots in his cloak, and the saddle-bags of 
 many were riddled with bullets numbers of which 
 were found lodged in them. 
 
 The enemy kept moving on the higher land that 
 commanded the road, and with their cannon played on 
 our retiring troops no longer moving in any order. 
 A vigorous charge of -cavalry would have annihilated 
 all the remains. 
 
 General Abercromby, who came up to us and 
 praised the steadiness with which we were now moving,
 
 Chap. II. COLUMN ARRIVES AT TEMPLEUVE. 93 
 
 desired me to try to " get but one company formed to 
 assist us ;" but it was impossible, and he was obliged to 
 move on in despair and leave us to do the best we could 
 for the protection of the flank of the line of retreat. 
 
 We had hoped to have fallen in with the " little 
 brigade," but it had been obliged to retire after a very 
 severe action and, as the enemy had driven the Hessians 
 out of Lannoy, to proceed to Lens where it had re- 
 ceived protection from General Otto's column. 
 
 The enemy's occupation of Lannoy greatly added to 
 our peril, and it would not have been possible to save 
 any part of our column if it had not been for the 
 extreme vigour with which G-eneral Otto attacked the 
 enemy to make a diversion in our favour. His guns 
 kept up the sharpest cannonade for their number I 
 have almost ever heard, and the spirit of the attack 
 revived the drooping courage of our men almost ex- 
 hausted by heat, dust, fatigue, and thirst. The enemy, 
 however, kept Lannoy and also maintained a very 
 heavy artillery fire against our column as we rounded 
 the town. At length we reached Templeuve where 
 fresh troops were stationed, and reposed in safety. 
 The Duke of York, who had found refuge with General 
 Otto, joined us soon afterwards and was very cordially 
 received. 
 
 I have dwelt much on the details of this affair, as it 
 was one of extraordinary and happily rare occurrence. 
 Never could a column be more completely surrounded, 
 and by five times its numbers — never did a body of 
 men so circumstanced escape with such comparatively 
 small loss, exclusive of that of the artillery which 
 all fell into the enemy's hands. 
 
 The Austrians said that the British were surprised 
 
 h 2
 
 94 ARRIVAL OF THE AUSTRIAN ARMY. Chap. II. 
 
 and the Emperor was obliged to give a denial to that 
 imputation in the general orders — a most just denial, 
 for the charge had not the slightest foundation in fact. 
 We owed our misfortunes, first, to the telegraphic com- 
 munication made by the flames of the church at 
 Mouveaux ; and, secondly, to our position being quite 
 en Vair from the columns on the right and left not 
 having taken their assigned posts. We owed our preser- 
 vation to the want of energy on the part of the enemy : 
 and I have my suspicions that General Pichegru 
 did not even then wish our destruction ; though being 
 under the surveillance of the Commissioners of the 
 Convention, he could not help profiting in some mea- 
 sure by the opportunities the Allies afforded for their 
 own disasters. 
 
 From Templeuve we marched to re-establish our- 
 selves in our original posts ; discomfited but not 
 dismayed. 
 
 The arrival of the Austrian army restored confi- 
 dence completely, and made us all eager to resume 
 the offensive. 
 
 It was on the morning of the 22nd of May, as day 
 dawned, that the first popping shots were heard at the 
 outposts in front of Templeuve. The discharge of a 
 piece of artillery from the Austrian works thrown up 
 round the village assured us that the attack was 
 serious. The possession of Templeuve at first seemed 
 to be the enemy's object, and in this he succeeded after 
 an obstinate defence : but between eight and nine 
 o'clock the firing commenced on the right of Tournay, 
 and it was manifest that the enemy proposed to pass 
 the Scheldt and by investing Tournay cut off our 
 communications.
 
 Chap. II. TEMPLE UVE TAKEN AND RETAKEN. 95 
 
 The allied army was about eighty thousand strong ; 
 the French one hundred and ten thousand. 
 
 The battle raged unremittingly, except during one 
 shower of rain, for twelve hours, and was undeniably 
 the greatest musketry battle of the whole war ; though 
 the artillery fire, however heavy and destructive, was 
 in no proportion to that of many others. 
 
 The Austrians had resolutely defended themselves 
 till four o'clock in the afternoon, but became then 
 much exhausted. As Templeuve, after having been 
 taken and retaken five times and cruelly sacked, re- 
 mained in the possession of the Austrian grenadiers 
 and all firing had ceased in front of our posts, the Duke 
 of York detached from his army — the left — seven 
 Austrian battalions, and the "little brigade" which 
 had been so severely handled on the 18th of May, but 
 which had acquired great distinction with the enemy 
 for the valour which it had displayed. 
 
 Granby Calcraft with myself had been sent to 
 report to the Duke what was passing on one side, and 
 the Duke at the desire of the Emperor ordered us to 
 go to the Archduke Charles and state that the rein- 
 forcements were marching down to his succour. 
 
 It was a very interesting and inspiriting sight to 
 witness the wounded Austrians, many of them Hunga- 
 rian grenadiers, while they were being removed from 
 the field of battle in carts to the hospital at Tournay 
 singing the national war song. The musketry was 
 pouring furiously and the cannonade was heavy. The 
 Austrian front lines were lying on the ground, having 
 been ordered to do so that they might be less exposed. 
 The reinforcement having arrived, the " little brigade," 
 undaunted by its loss on the 18th, proceeded imme-
 
 96 FRENCH DEFEATED BY THE ALLIES. Chap. II. 
 
 diately to the attack of the village of Pontachin 
 where the enemy was strongly posted. Nothing could 
 exceed the pride of that moment for an Englishman. 
 The Austrians it is true were but obeying orders after 
 the long, exhausting, and sanguinary combat when 
 they crouched to conceal their lines ; but it was never- 
 theless a gallant sight — and the Austrians themselves 
 hj their cheers acknowledged it — to view this handful 
 of brave men step through them into the rain of fire 
 that poured as they appeared, and with .inflexible in- 
 trepidity press to the charge. The enemy panic-struck 
 fled and column tumbling back upon column the 
 retreat became general, but it was ten at night before 
 the last cannon was discharged. 
 
 Pichegru and his Staff were dining at the moment the 
 " little brigade " made its attack. The increased firing 
 engaged attention, according to the evidence of an 
 Austrian taken prisoner and afterwards retaken and 
 who was under examination at the moment before the 
 General. An officer arriving at full speed announced 
 that an assault of the Austrians was being repulsed. 
 In a minute or two afterwards an estafette cried out, 
 " Les Anglais !" " Les habits rouges !" The scramble 
 was universal and some of the officers got out of the 
 window in order to gain their horses sooner. The 
 dinner was found by " les Anglais " and was a good 
 prize, but the plate also left was a more valuable one. 
 Seven pieces of cannon and several hundred prisoners 
 were taken, and the total loss of the enemy was ad- 
 mitted by themselves to be fourteen thousand ; the 
 Allies did not lose less than eight thousand. 
 
 The next morning I rode over the field of battle, 
 beginning at Templeuve which had been taken and
 
 Chap. II. GALLANTRY OF A BRITISH BRIGADE. 97 
 
 retaken five times during the clay as already stated, 
 and which presented a tragic spectacle, all the horrors 
 of assault haying been perpetrated. One very old 
 man with silver locks was seated at the door of a house 
 weeping bitterly. On my asking the particular nature 
 of his calamity, he pointed to the upper apartment. 
 There we saw the body of a beautiful girl of about 
 sixteen who had too evidently died under violence, 
 and an infant sister and brother bayoneted by her 
 side, as if they had been struck in the act of giving 
 her help. About three miles on the right we witnessed 
 another terrible spectacle, but of a different character. 
 A column of eighteen hundred French had endea- 
 voured to force its way through some orchards. When 
 the mass was wedged in one of them which had a very 
 small outlet, the Austrians had opened a battery of 
 twelve guns — 12-pounders — upon it, and with such 
 remarkable razing precision and effect that I myself 
 counted two hundred and eighty headless bodies. 
 The trees and branches were all indented or covered 
 with the smashed bones and brains. Such a beheading 
 carnage Avas perhaps never paralleled. 
 
 The Emperor was so pleased with the intrepid gal- 
 lantry of the British " little brigade ' : which had re- 
 turned to the charge with colours flying and music 
 playing, that he gave an order for the Austrian bat- 
 talions always to move to the attack in the same 
 manner ; but this order was not one of long duration. 
 
 I have often thought that this " little brigade " 
 afforded the most exemplary proof of national courage ; 
 for the greater part of the men were recruits from the 
 gaols, sent out in such a state of equipment as to excite 
 shame and derision. Even the recruits sent to the
 
 98 DRUNKENNESS IN THE ARMY. Chap. II 
 
 Light Dragoons came out in many instances with un- 
 dress jackets and without boots, those who sent them 
 presuming that they might be fitted out from the dead 
 men's kits, as if the effects of the slain were regularly 
 collected and stored. 
 
 At the same time that these men and the British 
 soldiers in general were maintaining with such devoted 
 fortitude the glory of England, their camps daily pre- 
 sented the most disgusting and painful scenes of 
 punishments. The halberds were regularly erected 
 along the lines every morning ; and the shrieks of the 
 sufferers made a pandemonium, from which the 
 foreigner fled with terror and with astonishment at 
 the severity of our military code. 
 
 Drunkenness was the vice of officers and men, but 
 the men paid the penalty ; and the officers who sat in 
 judgment in the morning were too often scarcely sober 
 from the past night's debauch. 
 
 The highest in rank and station were often on the 
 evening parade or on the race-ground, for races were 
 established in the camp, in a state of flagrant inebriety ; 
 and of course, " like master like man " held good in 
 all the gradations of rank, though with many most 
 creditable exceptions. 
 
 The light cavalry, being kept at the outposts to 
 watch over the safety of all, were not allowed these 
 bacchanalian orgies ; and the 15th in Colonel Churchill 
 had happily a commander who not only discounte- 
 nanced drinking by his practice, but who never per- 
 mitted the cat-o' -nine-tails for mere venial offences to 
 degrade one of his companions — for so he always 
 esteemed those whose valour guarded his reputation. 
 These facts will perhaps be disbelieved when hereafter
 
 Chap. II. SIR ROBERT WILSON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY ENDS. 99 
 
 they conie before the public eye, as they may do ; and 
 it is desirable that they should be considered as errors 
 of the historian. It will be a consummation of one of 
 my most anxious wishes, grounded upon my memory 
 of these early scenes of abuse of power and often ex- 
 pressed in publications and in Parliament, when the 
 system of punishment, such as I have described it,* 
 shall be referred to only as a traditional exaggeration. 
 
 [With this expression of his eager hope for the 
 soldiers, whom, from the first hour of his entrance into 
 the army he regarded as companions, friends, and 
 fellows in the service of his king and country, Sir 
 Eobert Wilson closes this brief commencement of a 
 regular autobiography. How faithfully and well he 
 pleaded the cause of humanity and policy for the 
 gallant men who won England's battles and supported 
 her renown will appear hereafter. 
 
 He has left no account of his reason for so soon 
 abandoning a design deliberately formed ; but the 
 fact that he did abandon it is much to be lamented. 
 If it had been carried out into full execution it would 
 no doubt have been the duty of his editor to present 
 to the public a far more valuable work than he can 
 promise now : an authentic narrative by a perfectly 
 competent witness of some of the most important 
 military and political events, and of the most ener- 
 getic action on the grandest stage and scale in the 
 drama of the world's history. In the course of such a 
 work Sir Eobert Wilson would have carefully re- 
 viewed the journals written currently, while the events 
 were passing, for the pleasure and information of his 
 
 * See " Inquiry " published iu 1804.— Ed.
 
 100 ALLIES RETREAT UPON BOIS-LE-DUC. Chap. II. 
 
 family ; they would have recalled to his singularly 
 accurate and retentive memory many circumstances 
 which diplomatic prudence and the sense of official 
 responsibility compelled him to pass by in silence 
 then, but which might now be revealed to the public 
 advantage. At the same time he would have brought to 
 bear upon the record the light of a high intelligence fully 
 matured by experience : and he would have corrected, 
 disentangled, arranged, and combined the voluminous 
 materials at his command as no other man could do. 
 
 The memoir addressed to his children brings down 
 the history of the campaign of 1794 only to the action 
 of the 22nd of May, when the 15th again occupied its 
 position in front of Tournay ; but in the summary of 
 Sir Robert Wilson's military career, published in the 
 introduction to his posthumous work " The French 
 Invasion of Russia in 1812," it is stated that he was 
 " present in all the battles, combats, and operations in 
 the campaigns of Flanders and Holland, the 15th 
 being always engaged." A very short statement of 
 these operations is extracted from the "History of 
 the Regiment," published by authority in 1847. 
 
 On the 5th of July Sir Robert Wilson was with his 
 corps when " they engaged a column of the enem3 r mov- 
 ing along the road from Malines to Duffel, and in con- 
 junction with the 8th and lGth Light Dragoons drove 
 them back with great loss. 
 
 " On the 22nd of July the army was again in re- 
 treat ; a succession of retrograde movements brought 
 it to the vicinity of Bois-le-Duc, and while at this 
 station a squadron of the 15th and some dragoons of 
 Hesse Darmstadt were directed to patrol towards 
 Boxtcl, on the Dommcl. The French army, under
 
 Chap. II. DEFENCE OF THE PASSAGE OF THE WAAL. 101 
 
 General Pichegru, was advancing in three columns ; 
 but the patrol, nevertheless, penetrated by by-routes 
 to the head-quarters, found the general's cooks pre- 
 paring dinner against his arrival, made prisoners an 
 aide-de-camp of General Vandamme's and two gen- 
 darmes, mounted them on the general's horses, and, not- 
 withstanding that a regiment of red hussars and a regi- 
 ment of dragoons pursued for six miles on separate roads 
 to cut off the detachment, it effected its retreat with 
 the three captives ; and on the same evening falling 
 in with a party of French infantry cut it to pieces,"* 
 
 " From Bois-le-Duc the enemy retired and took 
 post beyond the Waal, leaving a body of troops at 
 Nimeguen." On the 4th of November, Sir R. Wilson 
 was engaged with his corps, which formed part of the 
 garrison, in the sortie ordered against the investing 
 enemy. " The success was complete ;" Nimeguen was 
 afterwards evacuated, and the 15th, with "much diffi- 
 culty, danger, and loss," rejoined the main army. 
 
 " The British troops defended the passage of the 
 Waal until January, 1795, when a severe frost 
 enabled the French to pass on the ice. The 15th 
 were engaged at Guelder Malsen on the 5th of 
 January, supported the 82nd Regiment and the 
 7th Light Dragoons, and afterwards charged a body 
 of French hussars with great spirit, pursuing them 
 on the ice-bed of the river ; they were also very 
 instrumental in the recovery of the guns attached 
 to the light brigade." 
 
 Circumstances rendering it " impossible to preserve 
 
 * This was the " famous Peloton." See Sir E. Wilson's " Russian Cam- 
 paign : Introduction, page 17, note." 
 
 " Captain Calcraft and Lieut. Wilson were the officers engaged in this 
 service." — History of the 15th Begimertt.
 
 102 SIR ROBERT MEETS HIS FUTURE WIFE. Chap. II. 
 
 Holland the British forces marched for Germany. 
 The 15th were attached to the troops under Lord 
 Cathcart ; they furnished outposts, covered the rear, 
 had occasional encounters with the enemy, and per- 
 formed much harassing duty." 
 
 The enterprise being abandoned " the infantry 
 returned to England in the spring, but the cavalry 
 remained and during the summer were encamped 
 near. Bremen. The 15th embarked in the winter, 
 landed, and joined the depot at Croydon in February, 
 1796." Before this period Sir Robert Wilson had 
 purchased his lieutenancy, and soon after his return he 
 purchased a troop. 
 
 " In the summer of 1796 and 1797, the regiment 
 was encamped with other corps near Weymouth, at 
 that time the favourite resort of the king ; and the 
 troops were reviewed by his Majesty." 
 
 Here Sir Robert Wilson first met Jemima Belford. 
 The acquaintance soon led to an engagement, but no 
 narrative relating to this period has been found among 
 the papers in his handwriting. The feelings of the 
 husband and wife are sacred : and the history of 
 their courtship and their faithful affection through 
 their married life is only preserved by memory in the 
 enduring love and grateful reverence of their children. 
 
 Jemima Belford was the daughter of Colonel William 
 Belford, eldest son of General Belford of the artillery, 
 of Hall Place, Harbledown, near Canterbury ; by Mary 
 his wife second daughter of Thomas Jones, Esq. of 
 Efest Wickkam in the county of Kent, and his wife 
 Martha only child and heiress of Charles Pelham, Esq. 
 of the family of the Dukes of Newcastle. The other 
 children of Thomas and Martha Jones were Ann (the
 
 Chap. II. HEB FAMILY CONNECTIONS. 103 
 
 eldest), married to Colonel, afterwards Sir Adam, 
 Williamson, of Avebury, Wilts ; Mildred, married to 
 Richard Warner, Esq. ; Colonel Richard Jones — father 
 of Richard Jones, Esq., now of East Wickham, Kent, 
 and of Avebmy, Wilts — and Lieut-Colonel John 
 Jones, both of the 1st Regiment of Guards. 
 
 The issue of the marriage of Colonel William Bel- 
 ford and Mary Jones was one son who was acci- 
 dentally killed, being at the time a colonel in the 
 army and unmarried, and two daughters : Priscilla, 
 married in 1798 to Christopher Carleton* eldest son 
 of the first Lord Dorchester; and Jemima — Lady 
 Wilson. The two sisters were coheiresses of Sir Adam 
 Williamson. 
 
 Sir Robert Wilson and Jemima Belford were wards 
 
 * She was drowned on the 29th of Octoher, 1815. The event is thus 
 related in a letter to Sir Robert Wilson from a friend at Ostcnd. " The 
 vessel that was conveying Mrs. Carleton and her daughter from Eamsgate 
 to Ostend was wrecked last night in attempting to enter this harbour in 
 a violent gale of wind, and Mrs. Carleton, her daughter, and servant, were 
 all drowned." A remarkable circumstance occurred. An intimate friend 
 of Mrs. Carleton dreamt the night before she was to sail that she saw her 
 friend, and her son and daughter, drowning. The impression upon her 
 mind was so vivid and powerful that she immediately followed her to 
 Eamsgate, and with extreme urgency endeavoured to persuade her to give 
 up the voyage. Preparation, however, had gone too far, and she could 
 not prevail ; but she succeeded in inducing Mrs. Carleton to leave her son, 
 Lord Dorchester, behind in her care. It is singular that the baggage was all 
 embarked in an English cutter bound to Ostend, but in consequence of some 
 difficulty respecting the passage, it was transhipped to another vessel, the Sir 
 William Curtis, on board of which Mrs. Carleton and her daughter, a very 
 beautiful girl of seventeen, ultimately embarked, and both perished as 
 described. After the ship struck one of the passengers, confident in his 
 power of swimming, offered to save one or the other. The mother imme- 
 diately commended her child to him, but the daughter, equal in the 
 strength of her heroic love, refused and implored him to save her mother. 
 In this touching contention which should die to save the other's life, 
 the time of possible preservation for either passed away, and both were 
 lost. The passenger saved himself alone. — Ed.
 
 104 GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGE. Chap. II. 
 
 in Chancery, and under age. This created a difficulty 
 in the way of their immediate marriage which, how- 
 ever, had the full consent of their guardians and 
 friends : and all parties were anxious for it on account 
 of the probability of Sir Eobert Wilson's employment 
 on foreign service. It was therefore arranged that 
 they should be married according to the law of 
 Scotland, and the facts of the time are thus recorded 
 in a memorandum in the handwriting of Lady 
 Wilson. 
 
 " Robert Thomas W r ilson was married to Jemima 
 Belford at Gretna Green,* July 7th, 1797. We set 
 off from my uncle's, Sir Adam Williamson's, house 
 in Dover Street, with his and my mother's consent ; 
 as we could not have been married for some time 
 if we had not gone there, being both under age. We 
 were afterwards married in St. George's church."! 
 
 * The Scotch certificate is preserved with this memorandum. It is in 
 the following printed form : — 
 
 " These are to certify to all person or persons whom it may concern that 
 Robert Thomas Wilson, of the county of Middlesex, and Jemima Belford, 
 of the same count}-, came before me, and both declaring themselves single 
 persons, were married by the way of the Church of England, and agreeable 
 to the law of the Kirk of Scotland. 
 
 " Given under my hand at Gretna Green this seventh day of July, 1797. 
 
 " Joseph Pasley. 
 " Robert Thomas Wilson. 
 "Witness, Ann Saul." " Jemima Belford. 
 
 t " Parish of St. George, Hanover Square. 
 
 " Marriages in March, 1798. 
 
 " 170. Robert Wilson and Jemima Belford, 
 
 both of this Parish, were married in this Church by Banns this tenth day 
 
 of March, in the year 1798, by me, Thos. Ash, Curate. 
 
 " This marriage was solemnised between us — 
 
 " Robert Wilson. 
 " Jemima Belford. 
 " In the presence of Christopher Carleton. 
 "Mary Ciievft.ey."
 
 Chap. II. REMARRIED AT ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH. 105 
 
 " Wilson left me on the 4th of May, 1798, to go 
 with General St. John to Ireland." 
 
 " Charlotte Frederica Mary,* born August 12th, 
 1798, the Prince of Wales's birthday, at Windsor." 
 
 On the day of the marriage at St. George's crowds 
 assembled in the church and in the street as to a 
 spectacle. The fame of the young soldier, who, in 
 mere boyhood, had sounded his knightly challenge 
 in the lists of honour and had thus borne away 
 one of its noblest prizes, and the reputation of the 
 beauty of the ladyf among the first in the ranks of 
 courtly fashion, had kindled a popular enthusiasm. 
 It would be scarcely possible to avoid the appearance 
 of romantic exaggeration in any attempt to give the 
 family traditions of the marriage, or to describe the 
 impression made by the presence and bearing of the 
 bridegroom and the transcendent loveliness of the 
 bride. One record alone of that impression shall be 
 given in a letter written many years afterwards, when 
 Sir Robert Wilson in his canvass for Southwark 
 solicited the writer's vote. 
 
 * So named from her godmothers, the Queen and the Princess Mary, 
 and from her godfather, the Duke of York. 
 
 f A lady of the highest rank, herself distinguished for her heauty, told 
 Sir R. Wilson's daughters that it had heen the " height of her girlish ambi- 
 tion to be as beautiful and as fashionable as Jemima Belford." A bust 
 by Camolli, and a painting in crayons, beautifully copied in miniature on 
 ivory by the first wife of the late Lord Essex, in the possession of the 
 family, preserve in some measure the singular graces of her figure and 
 countenance. The miniature more especially exhibits the delicate tints 
 of complexion, while the bust shows a line of the face which Sir Robert 
 Wilson always said he had never seen in any other living person or in 
 any statue : it is the line of the cheek at the three-quarter view, the 
 blending of curve with curve by almost imperceptible degrees as you 
 move slightly round, which strikes the eye with an indefinable sense of a 
 hidden but perfect beauty. — Ed.
 
 106 LETTER FROM MR. PENN. Chap. II. 
 
 "W. Penn to Sir Robert Wilson. 
 
 " 22, Lambeth Road, 
 June 2, 1826. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Although I am here an actual housekeeper, the 
 tenure under which I hold will prevent my attending 
 you to the hustings, from there voting for you and my 
 old friend Calvert, and even from following you in your 
 calls in my neighbourhood. Our very early acquaint- 
 ance, however, authorises me to assure you how 
 eagerly and how warmly I wish you success in the 
 impending poll for Southwark. At your last election, 
 party politics were predominant ; and however natural 
 I might conceive to be a brave man's enthusiasm 
 towards one whom he thought an injured woman, still 
 a difference of opinion on that specific point, and a 
 strong wish on my part that our dear native land 
 might not be convidsed, induced me then to differ 
 most widely with you in politics. The politics of 
 that day have passed away as a dream, although to 
 me an earlier dream remains of the day when the 
 * bravest of the brave ' won the ' fairest of the fair.' 
 On the present occasion, I should disgrace the name 
 I bear, the blood running in my veins would turn, and 
 the engraved features of my ancestor over my humble 
 chimney-piece would frown upon me did I not loudly 
 hail the warm and able champion of religious tolera- 
 tion. During your canvass, pray bestow a friendly 
 call on one who will duly appreciate it. Eemaining 
 your very sincere friend and well-wisher, 
 
 " W. Penn ." 
 
 u 
 
 In the year 1797, it is stated, in the memoranda
 
 Chap. II. BATTLE OF EGMONT-OP-ZEE. 107 
 
 cited above in the preface to the Kussian Campaign, 
 that " Sir Robert Wilson was allowed to quit his corps 
 to go on Major-General St. John's staff to Ireland, 
 where he served as brigade-major and afterwards as 
 aide-de-camp during the rebellion." It appears by 
 Lady Wilson's memoir that he did not actually leave 
 her until the month of May, 1798. It is probable, 
 therefore, that the appointment was made and the per- 
 mission given in the close of 1797, but that all was 
 not ready for his departure until the time stated by 
 Lady Wilson, and that they passed the intermediate 
 months together in their home at Windsor. "During 
 my service in Ireland," he writes, "I opposed myself 
 to the tyranny and tortures of the high sheriff of Tip- 
 perary, and rescued several victims, among whom was 
 Fox, the miller, from his flagellation horrors. For 
 this I was reported by the high sheriff as a protector 
 of rebels."* 
 
 " In 1799, on hearing that there was about to be 
 an expedition on the Continent, he rejoined his regi- 
 ment and proceeded to the Helder with his troop." 
 He embarked in the month of September, and landed 
 on the 25th on the Dutch coast. 
 
 In the affair of Egmont-op-Zee, on the 2nd of Oc- 
 tober, the 15th were actively engaged ; and acquired so 
 much distinction against an enemy vastly superior in 
 numbers that they received the authority of the kingf 
 to " bear the word Egmont-op-Zee on their guidons and 
 appointments." 
 
 On the 4th, 5th, and 6th of October, they acquired 
 
 * Extract from Note-book of Sir E. W, 
 f History of the Regiment 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 108 RETURN OF THE FIFTEENTH TO ENGLAND. Chap. II. 
 
 additional honour, and on the 10th they "charged and 
 took the two guns that swept the beach."* 
 
 Sir Robert Wilson was " engaged in all the affairs," 
 but he has left no other memorial of his personal ser- 
 vices ; and when the Duke of York withdrew his 
 army, " on the convention being signed, he returned 
 with his corps to England."] f 
 
 * Introduction to Russian Campaign — Note. 
 
 | " Before the end of November the regiment was assembled in Canter- 
 bury Barracks." — History of the Regiment.
 
 Chap. III. ( 109 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Sir Robert embarks for the Continent — Arrives at Cuxhaven — Fortifications 
 of Hamburgh — Vienna — Lord Nelson — Introduced to the Emperor — 
 Lord Minto's diplomacy — Abbe" O'Reilly — Miss Arnstein — Kindness of 
 Baron Thugut — Stormy passage to Venice — Proceeds to Verona — English- 
 men esteemed sea-gods — Leaves Venice — Passes into the Po — Fcrraraand 
 its inhabitants — Letter from Lord William Bentinck — Arrives at Ancona 
 — Loretto and the Virgin — Reaches Rome ; St. Peter's — Leaves Rome for 
 Naples — Storm at Mola di Gaeta — Naples and its castles — Patriotism of 
 the people — Arrival at Messina — Imprisonment of Dolomieu — Visit to 
 his cell — His manliness and independence — Gut of Scylla and Charybdis 
 — Terrible storm — Returns to Syracuse — Ruins of ancient Syracuse — 
 Malta and its harbour — Embarks for Egypt — Master loses his reckoning 
 — Received kindly by Lord Keith — Wretched condition of the horses — 
 Heavy torrent of rain — Shooting jackals and wolves — Artful conduct of 
 Mahometan guide — A filthy caravanserai — Cudjas — The Aga's palace — 
 His wives and concubines — Introduced to the Aga — Arrives at the cara- 
 vanserai — Violent storm of thunder, etc. — Embarks for Alexandria. 
 
 [In the short campaign of the Helder Sir Ralph 
 Abercromby was at the head of the first division that 
 landed in Holland. Under him, at Egmont-op-Zee, 
 the 15 th acquired their honours ; the cavalry being 
 under the command of Lord Paget, afterwards Mar- 
 quis of Anglesea : and here first Sir Robert Wilson 
 learnt to estimate the military qualities of the chief 
 whose heroic services and glorious death he so soon 
 afterwards witnessed and recorded.* 
 
 Inaction was little suited to his fiery spirit: no 
 sooner was one avenue to the glory which was the 
 object of his ambition closed than he sought new 
 opportunity of service in other fields. " Being 
 
 * " History of the British Expedition to Egypt." By Robert Thomas 
 Wilson. London: 1802. 
 
 i 2
 
 110 SIR ROBERT EMBARKS FOR THE CONTINENT. Chap. III. 
 
 desirous," he writes, in the memoir already quoted, 
 " of joining the British army in the Mediterranean 
 under Sir Ralph Abercromby, he bought the majority 
 of Hompeseh's Hussars. His Majesty's Government 
 then despatched him to Lord Minto, at Vienna, by 
 whom he was sent to the Austrian army in Italy." 
 At this point commences the autobiography of his 
 journals.] 
 
 On the 21st of September, 1800, I set sail from 
 Yarmouth in the Captain Hearne with a heavy heart, 
 having left my wife expecting her confinement very 
 shortly : grateful, however, for a very happy additional 
 clay with her and my little Charlotte who happened to 
 be more amusing than I had ever seen her, as if she 
 were to leave a compensatory impression on my mind. 
 I was indebted for this day to the accident of my 
 having left my portefeuille behind — a lesson to me 
 not too rashly to pronounce any event a misfortune. 
 
 We arrived at Cuxhaven on the 23rd. I determined 
 on proceeding the same night, and did so in a Blan- 
 kenese boat in which I embarked with the same 
 persons with whom I came over — the Portuguese 
 Charge d' Affaires to Sweden, a Hamburgh bookseller, 
 a Frenchman, a Bohemian, and two or three others of 
 no note. The Charge told us he was a captain 
 of horse, and " the greatest poet and tragedian since 
 the time of Shakespeare, as he had written more 
 than eighty plays," of which he specially named 
 " Pizarro," and " far better than Mr. Sheridan." This 
 man's life had been saved by a singular event. He 
 had overheard the poor Bohemian lamenting on the pier 
 at Yarmouth that he had not sixpence to pay the boat
 
 Chap. III. ARRIVES AT CUXHAVEN. Ill 
 
 to take him off to the packet ; at the same time he 
 tendered fourpence — his all — but it was refused. The 
 Portuguese instantly advanced the money, and the 
 man entered the boat. As there was a heavy swell 
 it was difficult to ascend the side of the packet. I 
 passed up in safety : the Charge attempted to follow, 
 but the boat heaved from the vessel and he remained 
 suspended in a most dangerous position. Another 
 moment and he must have fallen into the sea ; but the 
 grateful Bohemian, who had mounted before, sprang 
 forward and with violent exertion drew him upright 
 and enabled him to ascend. 
 
 Mr. Camperz, the Hamburgh bookseller, is a young 
 man of excellent abilities — a good heart, generous, and 
 honest. He proved a great friend in aiding me to make 
 all my arrangements, and spared no trouble or fatigue. 
 I obtained his gratitude by an act of common civility 
 and confidence. He had expended all his money at 
 Yarmouth, having been obliged to travel in post-chaises 
 to overtake the mail: and having, when he left his 
 friends at Edinburgh, only brought such a sum as he 
 calculated would be just sufficient to pay all demands 
 to the coast, in order that he might not infringe the 
 law against carrying out money from England. The 
 Commissioner, however, did not like to let him go on 
 the promise of paying his passage to the captain at 
 Cuxhaven (for by a regulation the captain of the next 
 packet was to receive all money, as he had arrived at 
 Yarmouth some hours later than the time to which the 
 Captain Hearne was limited). I immediately offered 
 him my purse and lent him five guineas, which he 
 afterwards repaid me. 
 
 The Frenchman was wretchedly poor but always
 
 112 FORTIFICATIONS OF HAMBURGH. Chap. III. 
 
 gay, even when vomiting — laughing most when most 
 frightened. 
 
 We reached Hamburgh the next day about two 
 o'clock; having been detained two hours at Stadt, where 
 each vessel since the Danish quarrel is obliged to go 
 and pay tribute as an acknowledgment of the right of 
 the Elector of Hanover to search all vessels. 
 
 I went to the " King of England," a good clean hotel. 
 Prince Adolphus's son came to call on me, and chatted 
 for an hour : he is an excellent well-meaning young 
 man. He gave me Buonaparte's map of Italy. Late 
 at night I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Este * enter 
 my room as gay as ever. He introduced me every- 
 where. On the 26th I left Hamburgh in my barouche, 
 and felt as if parting with a parent when I took leave 
 of Mr. Este. His superior knowledge, his manner, 
 kindness, advice, and friendship, must ever command 
 my sincerest attachment. 
 
 The works of Hamburgh are immense, and had it a 
 sufficient garrison would be excessively strong. The 
 outworks extend so for as to protect the shipping and 
 town from the reach of shells. 
 
 I soon found that it requires a very strong carriage 
 to travel in Germany. I shall not record every occa- 
 sion of breaking down: it would tire in words — how 
 much more in fact ! Suffice it to say that this accident 
 happened to me seventeen times between Hamburgh 
 and Trieste. 
 
 On the 29th I arrived at Berlin: a handsome city; 
 line buildings ; but thinly inhabited and very gloomy. 
 Having seen Lord Carysfort I hastened on to Dresden. 
 Here I saw Mr. Elliott who informed me that the 
 
 * The Danish Ambassador.
 
 Chap. III. VIENNA— LORD NELSON. 113 
 
 armistice was agreed to by England. Two stages from 
 Dresden is the Austrian frontier, where unless you 
 are a courier or pay bribe-money they search your 
 baggage most strictly. I did not choose to be taxed 
 or rifled and therefore, as courier, claimed the right 
 of having my trunks sealed only. This being done 
 I told the officer that I wore the British uniform, conse- 
 quently that I was no contraband merchant ; that I 
 had submitted to my trunks being sealed, in order that 
 they might not be censured ; but that now I should break 
 the seals off — which I did to their great surprise. 
 
 At the beginning of the Bohemian States are the 
 worst roads in the world, for two posts left pur- 
 posely so as a fortress frontier. Prague is a very fine 
 city. Here I went to pay my respects to the Arch- 
 duke, who received me most graciously and paid high 
 compliments to the British cavalry. I afterwards went 
 and called upon Mr. Windham whom I found in com- 
 pany with Dr. Maclise. I liked my reception much : 
 though he has since told me that I was much indebted 
 to my countenance and address for it ; since before he 
 saw me he had formed an idea that I was either 
 " Major Simple " or an "adventurer." He gave me 
 much information. In his company I travelled on to 
 Vienna, having prevailed on him to journey all night. 
 We reached Vienna about 4 p.m. on the 5th of October, 
 and I passed the gates without the trouble which I 
 had anticipated from breaking the seals. At Wolfe's 
 Hotel we got excellent roast beef, introduced by Lord 
 Nelson who resided there. I slept very soundly the 
 first night ; having been eleven nights in my barouche, 
 during which, from the badness of the roads, repose 
 was impossible.
 
 114 INTRODUCED TO THE EMPEROR. Chap. III. 
 
 The next day I went to Lord Minto,* who received 
 me very kindly and warmly promised his support in 
 the business of my mission. In the evening I saw 
 Baron Thugut, who was equally kind ; he referred 
 me to his secretary to arrange with him my memorial. 
 When I saw the secretary, Mr. Pillan, he informed 
 me that Baron Thugut had desired him to say that I 
 must not think of accepting anything but the cross, 
 pension, privileges,! &c. Thus I saw my hopes realized ; 
 indeed I had now the prospect of obtaining more than 
 I had ever hoped for. Without any memorial from 
 me Baron Thugut recommended our claim to the 
 Emperor, who instantly accorded it. This transaction 
 was very flattering also, from the interest which Lord 
 Minto took in it and the reception I met with from 
 Count Cobenzal, Prince Colloredo, &c. 
 
 On my being introduced to the Emperor he behaved 
 most graciously, and I had the singular good fortune 
 to hear him talk about and defend the convention of 
 Hohenlinden, which he did most ably. The Empress 
 was very civil. I like the manner in which ladies go 
 to court here, without hoops : the effect is very ele- 
 gant. Only on very great occasions is the circle 
 formed : on common days each person is introduced 
 singly into an apartment, where the Empress, attended 
 
 * See "Historical Record of the 15th, or King's Regiment of Light 
 Dragoons " &c, &c, &c. 
 
 ■f- "By the Statutes of the Order of Maria Theresa all knights are created 
 barons of the Holy Roman Empire. In commemoration of the affair of 
 Villiers en Couche* the Emperor Francis I. granted the British knights, as 
 supporters, an Austrian Hussar of Leopold and a soldier of the 15th 
 Light Drsgoons.''— R. W. 
 
 When Sir Robert Wilson, in 1814, received the additional honour of the 
 Commander's Cross of the Order, he became entitled by virtue of it to the 
 dignity of a Count : but he never took out the patent of the higher rank of 
 nobility. By the original patent the title is hereditary in his family. — Ed.
 
 Chap. III. LORD MINTO'S DIPLOMACY. 115 
 
 by one of her ladies, receives them. The Emperor's 
 levee is conducted nearly in the same manner. 
 
 One day in the week a custom introduced by 
 Joseph II., which does him much honour, is still 
 adhered to. The poorest individual of the State has 
 a right to speak in private with the Emperor. This 
 right is constantly asserted. Every Friday the ante- 
 chamber is filled with ambassadors, princes, nobles, 
 statesmen, washerwomen, soldiers' wives, &c. &c. 
 
 I had learnt on my arrival that Sir Ralph Aber- 
 cromby had suddenly — though expected in Italy where 
 all the arrangements for his landing had been made — 
 sailed for Gibraltar. This has disturbed my plan of 
 operations, and I am advised by Lord Minto to wait 
 for further intelligence. The unfortunate precipitancy 
 of the Emperor had annihilated the accepted armistice. 
 Mr. Windham, who was anxious to get to Tuscany, 
 set off four days after his arrival at Vienna for Trieste. 
 In a day or two afterwards the account arrived of the 
 French having entered Tuscany, which rendered my 
 idea of proceeding at all events to Leghorn abortive. 
 As I was confident that I should by remaining at 
 Vienna sooner get all the intelligence which I was 
 desirous of obtaining, I determined to wait and push 
 on the business of the crosses, which though accorded 
 were not given. Lord F. Bentinck had arrived to join 
 our party and I passed my time agreeably enough. 
 Captains Loftus and Duff, Sir Francis Vincent, Captain 
 Morgan, a Mrs. Phillips, and Mr. Foresti— son of the 
 Consul at Corfu, were the English who lived with us. 
 Lord Minto's house was always open, but it was distant. 
 Lord M. is a man who thinks everything beneath 
 him but his diplomatic duties and all that advances the
 
 116 ABBE O'REILLY— MISS ARNSTEIN. Chap. III. 
 
 interest of his country ; he is absent in the extreme in 
 society his head being full of political thoughts ; but 
 his conduct in private life is excellent, and his atten- 
 tions and kindness to all around him are fascinating 
 and endearing. His public conduct is such as in the 
 important crisis through which he has acted at Vienna 
 to have considerably exalted our national character 
 even in the opinion of his greatest enemies. 
 
 By means of Mr. Este's introduction I became 
 acquainted with a most valuable friend, Abbe O'Reilly 
 the great favourite of Maria Theresa and Joseph II. 
 He lives in the monastery of the Franciscans. I used 
 almost daily to breakfast with him, and was delighted 
 with his society, and flattered by his particular esteem. 
 Among the Germans, through Mr. Este, I became 
 an inmate of Baron Arnstein's house ; one of the 
 worthiest families I ever met with ; his daughter the 
 most accomplished girl in all Germany, with a fortune 
 of at least 300,000/. Truth, and not vanity, makes 
 me mention that Miss Arnstein heard with no small 
 resret that I was a married man. Lord F. Bentinck 
 had been commissioned by me very early to make 
 this known, but he forgot it. My great pride at 
 A^ienna was to hear it circulated, as I did everywhere, 
 that I was married to one of the most beautiful 
 women in England.* 
 
 There were many other houses open in the evening. 
 Among the most pleasing persons was the Countess 
 Daghburgh, the well-known friend of every English- 
 
 * Sir Robert himself came ill for bis share of admiration. His youth, 
 and the honours he had obtained, the rank he held in the army, and his 
 uniform the magnificence of which was much suited to the taste of 
 foreigners, were the theme continually of conversation at Vienna and 
 everywhere.— Ed.
 
 Chap. III. KINDNESS OF BARON THUG UT. 117 
 
 man. Indeed, an Englishman found universal ad- 
 mittance and respect. Our character stands highest 
 in the estimation of the Germans, although the ladies 
 find more amusement in the society of other foreigners, 
 from their greater freedom of conversation and ease of 
 manners. 
 
 From day to day I had been expecting news from 
 Sir Kalph, and my crosses. At length Colonel Hope 
 received a letter from England, informing him that 
 the expedition was about to return to Malta. I in- 
 stantly determined on setting off; but tried whether 
 I could not take my honours with me. I found that I 
 must wait a " couple de jours." This is a deceitful 
 French phrase, indefinite in its intention. I there- 
 fore considered it a duty not to linger a moment, and 
 went to take leave of Baron Thugut. He felt for my 
 situation, and said that, as the Emperor had signed 
 the book, I might wear the cross a week after I left 
 Vienna. This was a hazardous instance of his regard 
 for me. I had wished to shake him by the hand as 
 an honour to reflect upon ; but when I made my 
 bow the good old man snatched me to him, embraced 
 and kissed me, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, 
 twenty times. I felt the honour, the affection, the 
 fondness, the mournful sensibility of this act. My 
 feelings gave way, and I cried — as one oppressed with 
 pleasure gratitude and sorrow at our parting. To 
 the last moment of my life I shall think this the 
 greatest honour I ever gained, the most flattering food 
 for my vanity. Delighted and grieved I left my 
 benefactor, and in the evening set off for Trieste, 
 having obtained the esteem and friendship of many
 
 118 STORMY PASSAGE TO VENICE. Chap. III. 
 
 valuable men ; Lord Minto, in particular, having 
 honoured me with these and with his confidence. 
 
 I did not arrive at Trieste until the 11th in the 
 morning, although I travelled day and night. Acci- 
 dents, four in number, detained me some hours. I 
 passed through a very fine country ; and my astonish- 
 ment ceased at Buonaparte's having made the treaty 
 of Campo Formio. He had pushed there over a 
 champaign country, but now he had mountains and 
 capes before him, naturally defended by snow and 
 other impediments. This and his precarious situation 
 from Joubert's defeat in the Tyrol, were indisputably 
 the causes and are now generally known to have 
 been so, of his checking his career and not adding 
 to his titles that of the Conqueror of Vienna. I have 
 no hesitation in saying that the last eight posts to 
 Vienna 'defended by eight thousand men, are more 
 difficult to get through than the thirty from Mantua 
 to Gratz covered by an army of eighty thousand. 
 
 The weather being quite calm no vessel could sail ; 
 particularly as in this country such weather always 
 breaks up with a storm called a Boreas ; but the next 
 night after my arrival, the Vice-Consul Mr. Anderson 
 told me that an oxen-boat was about to start. I 
 instantly accepted the offer to go in her, and em- 
 barked at eleven at night. We had not enjoyed our 
 calm long when the Boreas began to blow. Forty-two 
 oxen were below, and there were thirty passengers, 
 Jews, Turks, and Christians. The voyage was miser- 
 able ; but early in the morning our cares were ended 
 by the sight of land : at ten we made Venice, and 
 entered the first port over a very dangerous bar on
 
 Chap. III. PEOCEEDS TO VERONA. 119 
 
 which the sea beat violently. As I was a courier and an 
 officer I was not searched at the custom-house, though 
 long detained there and at the town-hall by the stupid 
 Venetian regulations. I had the pleasure of convey- 
 ing safe for a poor Turk two pounds of tobacco, which 
 he told me would be his food during the Ramazan. 
 
 The arsenal of Venice is very fine ; but the French 
 have done it much damage. It was a melancholy 
 sight to see the Doge's barge destroyed, sixteen ships- 
 of-war cut in halves, and all the cannon taken away. 
 
 Petrillo, the landlord of my inn, having a little car- 
 riage and wishing to go himself to Verona, I embarked 
 with him in a gondola for Mestre, which is about six 
 miles from Venice and we landed there about 2 a.m. on 
 the 14th. From thence we went in our carriage to 
 Verona. The road to the first post was lined with 
 WTecks of houses which the French had pillaged : 
 they had been the property of Venetian nobles who 
 had here their " maisons de campagne." About five 
 in the evening we arrived at Verona and I went and 
 found Lord William Bentinck and his brother, who 
 were very kind : I then went to General Bellegarde 
 and delivered my despatches, &c. I here learnt that 
 the armistice was broken and that it was hoped that 
 Sir Ralph would come to Italy. 
 
 The next day General Bellegarde did me the 
 honour to confide to me the whole plan of operations, 
 and his wishes with regard to the operations of Sir 
 Ralph. Lord William went with me again next day, 
 and everything was decided. In the night of the 17th 
 I left Verona, and returned to Mestre on the following 
 day. I made the very good acquaintance at Verona 
 of Major Nugent and Captain O'Ferral ; also formed,
 
 1 20 ENGLISHMEN ESTEEMED SEA-GODS. Chap. III. 
 
 if possible, stronger friendship with Lord William 
 Bentinck. The Austrian army I left with great con- 
 fidence ; since they loved their general, were well 
 clothed, in high spirits, and recovering from their sick- 
 ness. I never saw them in finer order. The officers 
 received me with much kindness. 
 
 When we arrived at Mestre we found a very heavy 
 swell on the lagunes owing to a storm at south-west. 
 However, as my despatches were important I deter- 
 mined to proceed. The postmaster of Treviso em- 
 barked with us in charge of money to the Govern- 
 ment ; but he was soon so frightened that he offered 
 it all to us to put him on shore. As his agony was 
 so great we landed him on the first island. Here, 
 perceiving some soldiers in a boat in distress Petrillo 
 and I went to their assistance and with much difficulty 
 brought them safe. We then proceeded in our gondola, 
 and at great risk reached a port of Venice, not the 
 regular entrance. Petrillo is a very brave, fine fellow. 
 Englishmen in these countries are esteemed sea-gocls : 
 and I gained and shared great applause for our perse- 
 verance and resolution from the spectators on shore. 
 
 When I got back to my inn T found the flattering 
 letter* of Lord Minto, announcing the gracious con- 
 sideration of the Emperor in ordering the cross to be 
 sent after me. I received another at the same time 
 from another quarter, which assured me that my 
 leaving Vienna without it had pleased the Emperor 
 and every one. As my getting to Ancona as soon 
 as possible was of the utmost consequence, I waited 
 with the greatest anxiety for the weather to mode- 
 rate, for no vesssel could leave the harbour in the 
 
 * See Appendix No. 3.
 
 Chap. III. LEAVES VENICE— PASSES INTO THE PO. 121 
 
 present storm. I employed my valet to find out some 
 ship that would go, but all refused. The captain of 
 an imperial vessel was waiting to sail with two German 
 couriers at the first possible moment : but he assured me 
 that he thought it might last, if it did not clear up in 
 twenty-four hours, for five or six days ; as was fre- 
 quently the case. I waited thirty hours with impatience, 
 but there was no amelioration : I therefore determined, 
 if the desired change did not happen in twelve hours 
 more, to try another plan — being sure that my getting 
 to Ancona alone was enough for the service, as I knew 
 every particular of the contents of my despatches. 
 
 Finding that the weather continued so bad, and 
 knowing the importance of my despatches, I deter- 
 mined to send the written ones to General Manfroi, 
 the commandant of Venice that they might be for- 
 warded by the first conveyance, and myself set off in 
 an open boat for Ferrara, hoping to get from thence 
 by land or to pass in a fishing-boat the French line 
 of coast. I left Venice at about twelve o'clock at 
 night on the 20th of November, and arrived in safety 
 at the canal which leads into the Po ; although we had 
 to cross two harbours where the sea rushed in with 
 prodigious violence and swell. One of these ports 
 was Ohioggia, a town apparently well worth seeing. 
 Except in crossing these harbours the water was quite 
 smooth, as the lagune continues as far as the canal. 
 It was a tedious passage through the canal thougli 
 not very long, and we soon got into the Po> a broad 
 and rapid river here. With much difficulty my boat- 
 men combated the stream, for we could not use a 
 sail the wind being contrary. Towards evening we 
 got out to refresh ourselves at a fisherman's house,
 
 122 FERRARA AND ITS INHABITANTS. Chap. III. 
 
 but were alarmed while at our meal with the report 
 made by a little girl that our boat was adrift. My 
 situation was ridiculously unpleasant. I saw all my 
 baggage floating away from me with great rapidity, 
 and I was unable to follow it. By accident we found 
 a boat, and with great exertion recovered our own. 
 One hour would have carried her into the sea, and 
 six minutes' longer ignorance of her having broken 
 from the bank would have rendered every effort to 
 overtake her vain. The next morning we arrived 
 at Pontelagoscuro. Thence I procured a carriage 
 to Ferrara, four English miles. Ferrara is capable 
 of lodging eighty thousand inhabitants, but has only 
 twenty thousand ; therefore it is comparatively de- 
 solate. I was obliged here to get quarters, and had 
 my billet on Louis Eosco : a very good man, extremely 
 kind, who would make me live with him, and who 
 had the only clean house I ever saw in Italy. His 
 family were rather encroaching, however. They com- 
 pelled him to ask me for the appointment of Consul 
 and British resident at Porto di Goro *, to apply for 
 his continuance as President of the Lottery in the 
 Ferrarese, a situation which he held under the Pope ; 
 to get him a post of honour from the courts of 
 Tuscany or Naples ; and to free him from the possi- 
 bility of having requisitions made on his house and 
 property in the country. I obtained the last for him, 
 and wrote to Count Sauran the Minister of Finance 
 about the second. I hope that the application may 
 be successful for I esteem the father much : it was 
 the sons who were to blame ; they made a rule 
 always to solicit some favour from every officer who 
 dined with them.
 
 Chap. III. LETTER FROM LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK. 123 
 
 The town is too large for defence, but the citadel 
 is very strong and has casemates for three thousand 
 men. The Austrians here, as in all their other new 
 acquisitions, have added considerable works. 
 
 I was in daily hopes of being able to pass by 
 Bologna. The necessity of haste was, however, re- 
 moved by my being assured that my despatches had 
 gone to Mr. Windham, as I had directed ; but, to 
 my great astonishment and mortification, I received 
 a letter from Lord William Bentinck which obliged 
 me instantly to set off for Sir Ralph, as he then 
 thought, at Elba. I immediately started for Pontela- 
 goscuro ; and then, by virtue of an order from the 
 Marquis Bellacqua the President, a very accomplished 
 nobleman, at once obtained a boat though it was 
 eleven p.m., and floated down the Po with great 
 celerity to Porto di Goro. Here, although T had im- 
 portant despatches from General Sommariva as well 
 as from Lord William, and a letter from the President, 
 I could not obtain a fishing-boat without paying down 
 two hundred florins. The admiral of the port (a 
 mariner) could not enforce my orders; he therefore 
 sent for a military force to Mesola. In the interim I 
 was agreeably surprised by seeing a Tyrolean officer 
 arrive who had orders, in case I could not get a 
 vessel, to send word back to Mesola : with the assur- 
 ance that one should instantly be sent from thence. 
 However, he did not arrive till twelve at night, and 
 we could not embark till the next morning, when we 
 sailed with a fair but strong wind. This continued to 
 blow so heavily that we were obliged to go within 
 three miles of Rimini and one of Pesaro, where the 
 French were. At two o'clock on the morning of 
 
 VOL. I. k
 
 124 ARRIVES AT ANCONA. Chap. III. 
 
 the 2nd we made Aneona where I instantly disem- 
 barked, to the great alarm of my sailors who every 
 moment expected a shot from the fortress. I carried 
 my despatches to the General and went to seek Mr. 
 Windham. He gave me information and advice 
 which induced me to await the arrival of a messenger 
 from Naples who was hourly expected. I, however, 
 from my information got Captain Eicketts to sail 
 directly for Rimini and Pesaro ; and hope to have 
 suggested for him a successful expedition. 
 
 My opinion about the land passage proved to be 
 correct. Had I waited twenty-four hours I could 
 have accomplished it ; but without vanity I may say 
 that I never felt a moment's hesitation to incur any 
 inconvenience and peril when I thought the service 
 could be benefited by my undergoing either ; and I, 
 who detest the sea, have often been astonished to find 
 that all my aversions and apprehensions end the mo- 
 ment duty makes it necessary for me to embark ; that 
 an irresistible impulse urges me, and drives out of my 
 thoughts those prejudices which I had perhaps the 
 moment before entertained. 
 
 At Ancona I had the satisfaction of hearing that I 
 had escaped being taken prisoner, A vessel in which 
 I should have gone from Venice, had I not taken 
 another course, was driven on shore on the French 
 coast, and two German couriers were made prisoners. 
 As I had written to say that I was coming by this 
 vessel, Mr. Windham sent word to Lord Keith and 
 Sir Ralph that I was taken. 
 
 On the sixth of November, Pozzoloni, the messenger, 
 having returned from Naples and brought word that 
 Sir Ralph was at Malta preparing to sail for Egypt,
 
 Chap. III. LORETTO AND THE VIRGIN. 125 
 
 and at the same time a letter from Lord Keith to the 
 effect that all hope of a descent on Italy was annihi- 
 lated, I determined to set off that evening ; and at ten 
 o'clock left Ancona, cautioned against the dangers of 
 the road from banditti. I purchased of the consul a 
 pair of pistols for my defence, and felt no apprehen- 
 sion. 
 
 I will relate a circumstance which redounds little to 
 my credit. I was induced to shave my poor poodle 
 which I brought from Vienna ; consequently all through 
 the Apennines he shivered in misery ; however, I en- 
 deavoured to make amends by incommoding myself 
 very much, and keeping him warm in my lap. At 
 Loretto I got out to see the holy house. It is a very 
 fine building ; a new Virgin had just been made, in- 
 stead of the one which the French took away. 
 
 On the night of the second day's journey, just as it 
 grew dark, I perceived a hill with a wood on each 
 side, which I pointed out to Samuel * as a probable 
 place for robbery. When we came there, the postil- 
 lion, who had observed me priming my pistols, gave 
 several whistles and said some words. The whistles 
 were answered, and we heard a rustling. I instantly 
 jumped out, and, to the great consternation of the 
 postillion, walked by his side. I am convinced, from 
 every circumstance, that he had prevented an attack 
 of the banditti by his signs. It was the very spot, I 
 afterwards learnt, where the consul's son had been 
 plundered. 
 
 At Terni I breakfasted, and lamented much that I 
 had not time to see the waterfall, especially as Jemima 
 had sketched it. We went on as the day before, 
 
 * Sir Robert Wilson's servant. — Ed. 
 
 K 2
 
 12G BEACHES ROME— ST. PETER'S. Chap. HI. 
 
 dining in our carriage on bread and figs. At night 
 we had another alarm about the same time as the 
 previous evening. We saw five men, armed with long 
 guns, standing at the bottom of a hill. I jumped out 
 holding my pistol in one hand and my sword drawn 
 slung on the wrist ; Samuel also made a display of 
 his pistol. When we came within two yards, one of 
 the men advanced. I made a sign for him to keep 
 off, and proceeded in great anxiety till we reached 
 the top of the hill. I have often since reflected that 
 this conduct of mine was rashness. Had there been a 
 contest, five long guns must have beat our two pistols : 
 — but then, these fellows were Italians. 
 
 About midnight we reached Rome ; and while our 
 baggage was settling at Zacharias's I went at two 
 o'clock in the morning and knocked up Mr. Jackson, 
 our minister to the King of Sardinia, and delivered 
 my despatches. 
 
 The city of Rome is a very bad one ; nothing but 
 its antiquities can claim any person's regard. The 
 houses are wretched, the streets unlighted, the people 
 miserable, and there is an universal want of cleanli- 
 ness and comfort. I was much disappointed with St. 
 Peter's. The building does not look so vast, so grand, 
 or so lofty as St. Paul's. Its front I think paltry. 
 The colonnade, however, is very fine : but it has this 
 fault, that it diminishes perspective^ in the distance, 
 so that the eye does not recognize the true dimensions 
 of the columns ; and the church, which forms the centre, 
 partakes of this apparent diminution. The building 
 looks as if sunk by this cause below the standing level 
 of the spectator. In comparing St. Peter's with St. 
 Paul's, I speak, of course, only with reference to the
 
 Chap. III. LEAVES ROME FOR NAPLES. 127 
 
 vision ; the facts of comparative dimensions are greatly 
 in favour of the Eoman cathedral. The Pope's palace 
 itself — the famous Vatican — is but a poor building. 
 I forgot to mention my opinion of the Apennines and 
 the Papal territory. The towns are bad ; the inns 
 abominable, and ridiculously dear — so much so that a 
 traveller must not ask, "What is to pay?" but offer his 
 own price, according to his own estimate of just due. 
 
 In Rome, as everywhere else, the French have made 
 great devastation. In seven hours I saw everything 
 worth seeing, — though antiquaries will tell you that 
 it requires as many months. However, I am perfectly 
 satisfied, and never wish to return for closer scrutiny. 
 In the course of the morning I visited General 
 Dumas, who commanded the Neapolitan army. In the 
 evening, my despatches having arrived from General 
 Dumas for the Viceroy of Naples, I left Rome about 
 six p.m. Notwithstanding advice to the contrary, and 
 the example of the three officers of the Mutina who had 
 been robbed a few days before on their way to Civita 
 Yecchia by thirteen armed banditti and excessively ill- 
 used, I determined on journeying night and day ; but 
 I took the precaution, on leaving Rome, to change the 
 engaged and fixed hour of my departure, for the 
 postillions are in league everywhere with the banditti. 
 Nothing remarkable happened. On the evening of 
 the 10th I entered the Neapolitan territory, and had 
 some difficulty, as my passport did not specify my 
 servant. I was conducted with a guard to Itri ; 
 where I explained that in England and in Germany 
 it was taken for granted that a gentleman took his 
 servant with him if he chose ; that as an officer I 
 insisted on passing him through, and as an English-
 
 128 STORM AT MOLA DI GAETA. Chap. III. 
 
 man, I bade them stop him at their peril. My menaces 
 had their effect. 
 
 The road here was very good; indeed I cannot 
 complain of that over the Pontine marshes. The 
 entrance into the Neapolitan territory is very strong. 
 At first there is only a road with mountains on each 
 side ; it runs so for two posts, when the mountains 
 recede and a beautiful champaign country, but a 
 very unwholesome one, opens and extends to Naples. 
 At night, in going out of the town of Itri, my 
 horse fell down ; in about half-an-hour he did the 
 same thing again ; when, it being evident that he was 
 dying, I was obliged to wait an hour in a solitary 
 wood until another could be brought. 
 
 At Mola di Gaeta a violent storm commenced ; but 
 I determined to persevere. When we suspected our- 
 selves near the port, a flash of lightning followed by a 
 tremendous peal of thunder had the extraordinary 
 effect of putting out our light ; and at the same moment 
 the horses fell through fear and in their struggles 
 dragged us into a pool of water. I instantly jumped 
 out, but falling was completely immersed. Samuel 
 kept his feet but was equally wet. With the greatest 
 difficulty I gained the road. The lightning was so 
 vivid that little or no advantage could be taken 
 from its flashes, from the effect which it had on my 
 eyes and from the contrast of the following darkness. 
 
 At last, however, in the glare of one of the flashes 
 I thought I saw a turret, and towards it I made my 
 way. My voice after a time brought out a man, and 
 at the same time directed the postillion, who had got 
 up his horses, to me. It proved to be the post-house ; 
 that is a stable for the horses and a hovel for the pos-
 
 Chap. III. NAPLES AND ITS CASTLES. 129 
 
 tillions and ferrymen. I never saw such a filthy hole : 
 so filthy that, wet as I was, I preferred sitting and 
 sleeping in the calash, until I was so cold that I was 
 obliged to enter and crouch before a miserable fire. 
 It was impossible to proceed and I remained in that 
 state till daylight. We then crossed the ferry, and I 
 found the turret which I had seen in the lightning to 
 be really the remains of an old ruined castle. 
 
 At about noon I reached Naples and at once went 
 to the Viceroy, who received me most graciously and 
 was much pleased with the news which I brought. 
 
 Naples has three strong castles — St. Elmo, which 
 commands the whole city and is not domineered by 
 even a distant height, particularly so. It struck me 
 that the French commandant did not defend it well. 
 In passing to inspect it I was filled with horror at 
 seeing a large grate, the only place of entrance for 
 light to the numerous dungeons, many feet under- 
 ground, which were then filled with victims. Secret 
 tribunals, private murders, confiscations, bribery, now 
 desolate Naples. When and where this will cease is 
 beyond the speculation and even the hope of any one. 
 The Eussians, to the amount of 3000, garrison the 
 fortresses. The Neapolitan troops do not even mount 
 guard in the palace of the Viceroy. 
 
 I went last night, December 14th, to a ball in the 
 palace of a nobleman who was weak or patriotic 
 enough, although possessing £80,000 per annum, to 
 engage in revolution. The French, after making him 
 pay two hundred thousand dollars, sent him at his own 
 expense as ambassador to France from the new re- 
 public. While he was there the king got his own 
 again and of course confiscated the property, and
 
 130 PATRIOTISM OF THE PEOPLE. Chap. III. 
 
 would, if he could catch him, take the head of the 
 Prince of Angri, who is now a fugitive in Genoa. 
 His wife, having a pension of 8000 Neapolitan ducats 
 per annum, is allowed to live in the attics of her 
 former palace. I thought it must have been a melan- 
 choly sound of music that she heard last night if she 
 has any feeling ; for, in addition to the calamities 
 stated, most of her family have perished on the scaf- 
 fold or in prison, while part are doomed to perpetual 
 hard labour and bread and water in the islands, where 
 there are above three thousand of such sufferers. 
 
 This is the only instance of a country where the 
 nobles are democrats, and the poor — wretched as 
 their condition is — aristocrats. They continue still 
 to love their king, exult in all the executions of the 
 noblesse, approve of the secret banishments, and are 
 arming against the French with the greatest enthu- 
 siasm. 
 
 In the morning I received a note from Mr. Locke, 
 to the effect that the corvette Aurora was going to 
 sail, and that the Count de Thurne, the minister of 
 marine, was on board. I was to have gone in an 
 English merchant brig if the corvette did not sail. I 
 instantly packed up, drove down to the Mole, got 
 into a felucca, and in a short time entered the corvette, 
 which I found a very fine vessel but badly manned. 
 
 It is a singular circumstance that in the cabin in 
 which I am now writing there are the prints of " War " 
 and " Peace," as copied by Jemima, represented by a 
 soldier leaving and returning to his family. They 
 call up many feelings : hope inspires me and ambition 
 keeps me towering. On quitting the continent of 
 Europe I feel as it were a strain on the chain which
 
 Chap. III. ARRIVAL AT MESSINA. 131 
 
 binds me to England, and which seems reluctantly to 
 allow of extension ; but no distance, although the drag 
 may be heavy, can break it. God grant that I may 
 be able to wind myself up again by it to the hearts 
 by which I am attached to life, fame and virtue. 
 
 Dec. 20. — I arrived at Messina about daybreak, 
 and had the mortification of learning that the 
 Astrcea frigate had sailed the evening before for 
 Malta. Anxious to get forward, I hired a spolmira, 
 an open boat, for which I am to pay fifteen pounds. 
 It was evening before she could be got ready, when 
 we left this port in a calm my mariners rowing. But 
 about seven miles off the weather began to get foul ; 
 the wind directly contrary and blowing strong, and the 
 sea momentarily rising. I was asleep, tired by the 
 labours of the day, when the master woke me and 
 explained that it was impossible to proceed. I wished 
 him to persevere until we could reach some port, but 
 found that there was none nearer than eighty miles. 
 As the difficulties even of returning now began to 
 increase rapidly, I at last consented "that the master 
 should do as he thought best. The permission 
 brightened up every countenance. The boat was 
 immediately brought about and we reached Messina 
 in about three-quarters of an hour, the sea running 
 very high and the wind blowing in strong squalls. 
 On my return every one congratulated me, for the} r 
 had foreseen the storm that was brewing and has 
 continued with tremendous violence. Ships that had 
 sailed two clays before were driven back yesterday. 
 
 My anxiety is very great : but every hope is to be 
 entertained that Sir Ralph has not yet sailed, as the 
 supplies from home cannot have reached him.
 
 132 IMPRISONMENT OF DOLOMIEU. Chap. III. 
 
 " Everything is for the best." By getting back I 
 found a government ship yesterday morning which is 
 ready to sail for Malta with the first fine wind. 
 
 Perhaps a history which I am going to relate may 
 prove that humanity was benefited by my disappoint- 
 ment in not arriving in time for the Astrcea. 
 
 I had letters from Mr. Locke to an English mer- 
 chant at Messina — Mr. Broadbent. On the morning 
 of my arrival I went and breakfasted with him, and 
 found him to be a character exactly answering to his 
 name — plain in manners, honest and steady ; in appear- 
 ance a Quaker. 
 
 In the course of conversation I asked him after the 
 unfortunate Dolomieu, saying that I had heard that 
 he was sentenced to die. He started, seemed agitated, 
 and asked particulars. I soon found that this was the 
 man who had been the friend of humanity and of 
 philosophy, who had visited the prison — nay, even 
 discovered it — of this injured Frenchman, who had re- 
 moved him from his dungeon, and performed all the 
 duties of an Englishman. 
 
 It appeared doubtful to me whether my information 
 was correct: but I expressed a strong wish to Mr. 
 Broadbent to visit Dolomieu,* as I conceived that the 
 more countenance and protection he received from 
 individuals, the greater would be the check upon the 
 tyranny of an unjust and unscrupulous government. 
 
 * Sou of the Marquis de Dolomieu. He had devoted his life to science, 
 and in 1798, with Monge, Denon, Berthollet, Fourier, Redoute, and 
 other members of the " Institut," joined the expedition to Egypt by 
 command of Napoleon. On his voyage back to Europe the vessel sprung 
 a leak ; the passengers and crew were saved with difficulty and landed 
 at Taranto, where Dolomieu was immediately seized by order of the King 
 of Naples and thrown into a dungeon at Messina. He was released at the 
 peace of 1800, after the hattle of Marengo. — Ed.
 
 Chap. III. VISIT TO HIS CELL. 133 
 
 I was in the uniform of a British officer ; with a rank 
 which alone was ostensible, but in the situation in 
 which I am so flatteringly placed as Commandant of 
 the Cavalry doubly consequential. I argued that my 
 going thus would prove that I was conscious of doing 
 a thing which would be pleasing to my government 
 and country ; that the general interest of mankind 
 was excited in behalf of one who had benefited it so 
 much, and that they were determined to enforce the 
 rights of justice and acknowledge the claims of grati- 
 tude, undeterred by the menaces and unseduced by 
 the favours of profligate or frenzied sovereigns. 
 
 We went to the governor and obtained a shabby 
 assent to our application for admission, being restricted 
 to " converse in Italian ;" the order positively stating, 
 "that the gaoler might hear what was said." This 
 was illiberal ; as, in the first place, I could not speak 
 the language, and in the second it was unhandsome to 
 suppose that an English officer would forget his honour. 
 Had I not been in regimentals the governor might 
 have been justified in acting with such caution. 
 However, I was glad on any terms to get permission, 
 and we went directly, attended by Captain Culver- 
 house. 
 
 Dolomieu's present cell, for until Mr, Broadbent 
 interfered he was in a dungeon, is on the second story. 
 When the door was opened he came forward and 
 shook hands with Mr. Broadbent. AVe were then 
 introduced to him. He immediately asked whether 
 I spoke French ; with an expression of eagerness which 
 too plainly proved how much he had suffered from 
 being so long deprived of the power of conversing in 
 his native language. I answered in Italian, Yes, and
 
 134 DIGNIFIED GRATITUDE OF DOLOMIEU. Chap. III. 
 
 then begged Mr. B. to explain the restriction imposed 
 upon me. Mr. B. then, at my request, repeated every- 
 thing I said. I began by saying, on purpose that the 
 gaoler might repeat, that as an Englishman I had 
 thought it my first duty to visit him, not only on 
 account of the services he had rendered to mankind 
 but as a testimony of our abhorrence of the unjust and 
 injurious treatment he was suffering. I assured him 
 that the strongest representations had been made to 
 the British Government by every learned society in 
 England, and an universal interest excited in his 
 favour : that I offered my feeble services to render 
 him every assistance possible ; actuated by these mo- 
 tives and combining with them respect to my father's 
 memory, who, as a member of every learned academy 
 in Europe, must have been gratified by seeing me 
 anxious to render aid to a man to whom the sciences 
 were so much indebted. He thanked me much, and 
 his manner fully proved the sincerity of his sentiments 
 for the attention I had paid him. He spoke with a 
 dignified gratitude of those Englishmen who had 
 endeavoured to alleviate his misfortunes, and added — 
 " War is a lamentable necessity but England and 
 France know how to humanize its horrors. Bravery, 
 humanity, and honour are their reciprocal character- 
 istics. They fight like heroes, they treat as philo- 
 sophers ; but in other countries, where courage if it 
 does exist is barbarism, faith is a mockery. My 
 unjust detention is the act of that sovereign who 
 knows no laws but his own caprices. Still, though 
 his prisoner, I deny his authority and defy his 
 power." 
 
 I asked him " Whether he wanted anything that 1
 
 Chap. HI. HIS MANLINESS AND INDEPENDENCE. 135 
 
 could procure him ?" — " whether books, pens, and ink 
 were allowed him ?" He said the last were not. As 
 for the other parts of the question he delicately said, 
 " Perhaps you will be good enough to interest your- 
 self with the governor that everything may be allowed 
 me which is possible." I asked him whether I could 
 do anything for him at Malta. He said, "No ! That 
 all his friends had left it •, but that there were some 
 old servants of his to whom, if they asked after him, 
 he should wish to be remembered." On his under- 
 standing that I was proceeding to Egypt to command 
 the cavalry, and on my offering, as the events of that 
 war would probably give an opportunity of interview 
 with some French officers, to deliver any message to 
 his friends in France that he might wish relative to 
 his wealth, property, or philosophical objects, he most 
 gratefully thanked me and nobly said, " Sir ! you 
 will find there at the head of the army a man who is a 
 soldier, a philosopher, and one of my best and worthiest 
 friends. He will fight on while there is a possibility 
 of success ; he will force your esteem by his courage ; 
 but when it may be necessary for him to treat you 
 will find him a man of integrity, honour, and faith. 
 Pray, if possible, go with the first flag of truce — tell 
 him you have seen me : it will give him a pleasure 
 which perhaps you may have felt when conversing 
 with one who has lately been in the society of your 
 dearest friend." Much more passed on this subject. 
 I found all he said respectful and manly — no servi- 
 lity, no fanfaron impertinence. I left him gratified at 
 having been the means of affording him much happi- 
 ness which would not, I am assured, terminate with my 
 visit. Some hours would he reflect on it with pleasure,
 
 130 TREATMENT IN PRISON. Chap. III. 
 
 since trifles must afford comfort to a man in his 
 situation. 
 
 I was not disappointed in this opinion, since I have 
 seen a letter which he subsequently wrote to Mr. 
 Broadbent, supposing that I had sailed. He appears 
 about sixty years of age ; is six feet high ; very up- 
 right ; his hair long and grey ; his countenance very 
 expressive. His face remains a proof that he has been 
 a very fine man ; but ill-health, confinement, service, 
 &c, have now drawn strong lines in it. His cell is 
 about 12 feet by 8. The light comes in through a 
 trellis grated opening of such a size as to admit 
 enough fresh air. His bed seemed clean and tolerably 
 comfortable. A few books were in his room. His 
 provisions I did not see : I understood that as far as 
 eight Carolines a clay he was allowed to receive and 
 expend, but not more for fear of his corrupting the 
 gaolers : this sum is equal to about two shillings. 
 He is allowed to walk out into a covered passage in 
 the morning. In short I must confess that his treat- 
 ment, if he were a criminal, is not now to be found 
 fault with. But to him confinement is torture. In a 
 book in the possession of Mr. Broadbent, in the 
 margin of which he has written his will and notes 
 addressed to his sister, he laments that he who has 
 often without being an astronomer sat up whole nights 
 to contemplate the heavens, should now be deprived 
 of the sight of the sun at midday . 
 
 Sir Joseph Banks, Colonel Graham, and others have 
 been very kind to him. I contributed my mite, con- 
 ceiving that Mr. Broadbent ought not to be too great 
 a sufferer from his generosity and humanity. I also 
 sent him my pencil-case privately, the second gaoler
 
 Chap. III. GUT OF SOYLLA AND CHARYBDIS. 137 
 
 being our friend. Before he got this he was obliged 
 to write with the black deposited by the smoke of his 
 lamp.* On the pencil-case are English inches marked, 
 which I thought might be of service to aid his mathe- 
 matical calculations. 
 
 Messina is a very curious city, beautifully situated. 
 The old town must have been very fine : nothing but 
 ruins remain ; an earthquake having destroyed it about 
 sixteen years ago. Two thousand people of both 
 sexes and of every rank and age fled for shelter to 
 some low ground near Scylla. They drew their boats 
 up on this marais and lived in them two days ; but 
 on the third day of the earthquake the sea burst its 
 bounds, and, almost literally boiling, swept everything 
 away ; not one soul was saved. 
 
 The gut of Scylla and Charybdis presents the same 
 dangerous and frightful navigation as when it was de- 
 scribed by Yirgil : full of whirlpools, the water seems 
 furious at being confined between the mountains of 
 Sicily and Calabria, and hisses continually its indig- 
 nation. 
 
 The arsenal is very fine, the port dangerous, the 
 citadel strong. 
 
 Dec. 22. — I embarked in the Anne transport at 
 Messina. I bought some very fine figs and mean 
 to take them to Egypt, as with bread I can at any 
 time make a dinner of them. The wind is fair, 
 but the ship's bottom so foul that she cannot sail fast. 
 Dec. 23. — The wind about two this morning became 
 foul. 
 
 * In this manner he wrote in prison on the margins of his books and 
 on scraps his " Essai snr la Mineralogiqne," published after his release. 
 His pen was a piece of bone sharpened. — " Biographie Univcrselle." — Ed.
 
 138 TERRIBLE STORM— RETURN TO SYRACUSE. Chap. III. 
 
 In the night of the 23rcl the wind became very 
 violent, and we soon found ourselves on a danger- 
 ous lee shore. The captain indeed called me and 
 Captain Pemberton, a passenger, and told us that 
 he had little hope of saving the ship. We continued 
 crowding sail as the only chance left of bearing up 
 against the wind, and at last enough was set almost to 
 blow her masts out ; but as they stood and the vessel 
 was heavy laden we kept from the shore some time : 
 when destruction seemed inevitable from the im- 
 possibility of clearing a cape, Providence interposed 
 and saved us. In a moment the wind changed from 
 south-east to west. The ship was instantly taken 
 aback : the accident which lost the Ville de Paris and 
 has wrecked many other vessels, but which destiny 
 converted into the means of our preservation. The 
 confusion on board was dreadful — scarcely a single 
 person could stand above or below deck. Trunks, 
 furniture, ladders, a horse, birds, dogs, men and 
 women lay tumbling together. At last, with inde- 
 fatigable exertions of the mate and Captain Grant — 
 the best seaman I ever saw — together with those of 
 Captain Pemberton, the sails were set right and we 
 drove off to sea. The captain and all say it was one 
 of the most terrible nights and miraculous escapes they 
 had ever witnessed. We beat about, sometimes getting 
 within eight leagues of Malta, for three days, the sea 
 always in a tremendous state and we continually 
 apprehensive of her masts going overboard from the 
 motion and strain. At last it was discovered that 
 the foremast was sprung : this, the weather still continu- 
 ing dreadful, determined us to put back to Syracuse. 
 With much difficulty we accomplished it and arrived
 
 Chap. III. RUINS OF ANCIENT SYRACUSE. 139 
 
 about evening in the harbour, very thankful to God 
 for our safety. 
 
 I do not know that I ever suffered so much in my 
 life : the continual toss almost made me mad : the 
 apprehension of losing my life was but a secondary 
 consideration. I would not however go through all 
 this again voluntarily for I dare not say what. The 
 mate tore his hands dreadfully that memorable night : 
 his brow at last was grated by the ropes. May I 
 never have again to record such scenes ! 
 
 Syracuse is one of the strongest places I ever saw. 
 It has five long lines of fortification towards the 
 land, and four wet ditches. Still I think I found a 
 point for easy attack, least guarded because considered 
 as defended by nature. About a mile from the town 
 are the ruins of the ancient city. Here still exists 
 to a great extent a famous aqueduct, and here is the 
 tower in which Archimedes used to work and from 
 which he watched the flotilla and the operations of the 
 enemy. Here too is a prison which has a wonderful 
 echo and the properties of a whispering gallery. 
 Over it is the room in which Dionysius used to live 
 for his own security, and for the purpose of listening 
 to the conversation of state criminals who little 
 suspected such treachery. Further to the right are 
 the remains of the first Christian church in a very 
 perfect state, and the chair in which the first bishop 
 was enthroned. From thence you descend into the cata- 
 combs : vast sepulchral excavations extending above 
 forty miles in length and ten in breadth. The coffin 
 of Dionysius is shown. The coffins are not detached 
 but hewn in the rock. The little children were put 
 into the sides of the walls of the grand passage. 
 
 VOL. i. l
 
 140 MALTA AND ITS HARBOUR. Chap. III. 
 
 When the Christians were persecuted by the Sara- 
 cens they were obliged to fly for refuge to these 
 mansions of the dead, and formed a town underground. 
 The vault devoted to the apothecary's shop and to 
 the care of women in childbirth is pointed out, and 
 bears proofs of having been thus really used. To what 
 a dreadful state must these poor people have been re- 
 duced, doomed to occupy alive the coffins of those 
 whose bodies had scarcely decayed ! I thought this 
 the greatest curiosity I had yet seen. 
 
 We left Syracuse on the evening of the 29th, and 
 beat about till the morning of the 31st when we 
 entered the harbour of Malta. Destiny seemed to 
 prevent my reaching that point, and my immediate 
 departure from it was equally curious. With much 
 pleasure, however, I left the Anne, believing her to be 
 the worst sailing vessel on the seas. 
 
 As we were beating oft' the harbour's entrance on 
 the 30th I had the mortification of seeing a frigate 
 just leaving it, and steering for Egypt. It is very 
 singular that at Naples I arrived a morning too late 
 for the Greyhound, at Messina for the Astrcea, and here 
 for the Tiger. 
 
 On the morning of the 3 1st we entered the harbour, 
 and at the same moment a fleet of ships with troops 
 to join Sir Ralph, passed out. My anxiety of course 
 was great. I got a boat, rowed to shore, and ran up 
 to the top of the hill of La Yaletta where the 
 governor's house, the ci-devant palace, is. I there 
 saw Governor Pigott and Captain Ball, who instantly 
 gave me an order to embark in any ship of war or 
 transport I could reach. I hastened back, nearly 
 breaking my neck in running down, for the streets
 
 Chap. III. EMBARKS FOR EGYPT. 141 
 
 are a slippery pavement, got my baggage from the 
 Anne, and rowed to join the fleet but could only reach 
 a brig. Mounting her sides I presented my order to 
 the master. Some officers of the 12th regiment 
 Light Dragoons were on board who did not seem 
 well pleased at my coining ; but to that I was indif- 
 ferent •, and in answer to their representations that 
 there were already three in a small cabin and that I 
 should be ill accommodated, I told them that the exi- 
 gency of the service did not admit of etiquette, and 
 that I was too old a soldier to regard my own com- 
 fort as essential. I afterwards found them very kind 
 indeed ; it was with difficulty that I could prevail 
 with them to retain their own bed-places and allow 
 me to lie upon the floor, but upon this I insisted. I 
 was obliged to live at their table for I had literally 
 not an article of my own : my figs I gave to the mate 
 of the Anne, being rather ashamed to carry them 
 about with me — a modesty which I and my comrades 
 here since regret. It is true that I had arranged to lay 
 in a stock at Malta ; but time was too precious, and I 
 thought of the fate of the king of France whose appe- 
 tite cost him his head. 
 
 We proceeded at once, under convoy of the Flora. 
 The fleet consisted of nine ships, having on board the 
 12th and 26th Light Dragoons from Lisbon. The 
 brig I am in is the worst in the fleet, but was the 
 best. She is now obliged to cany always a press of 
 sail when the other ships are under reefed topsails. 
 The Braahel, our stern commodore, has often saluted 
 us with a shot ; but it is not the fault of our captain. 
 The sheathing, from the rapidity of our passage and 
 that she made from Gibraltar in only six days, is 
 
 l 2
 
 142 MASTER LOSES HIS RECKONING. Chap. III. 
 
 entirely torn off her bottom, and she begins to leak ; 
 however, she is still better than the Anne. 
 
 I had scarcely finished the above when a tremendous 
 squall came on ; the sea was furiously high ; our 
 ballast shifted, and we were obliged to carry a press 
 of sail. To add to our miseries the 12 th Dragoons 
 were very careless about their fires; the sparks 
 flying everywhere, although there was loose hay lying 
 close to the fireplace. Indeed I cannot but consider 
 our escape as providential. A spark flew into the 
 cabin ; we ran out, and found thousands on every 
 part of the deck and some smoking in the hay. In a 
 few moments more the ship must have taken fire. And 
 yet these indiscreet men murmured when we ordered 
 water to quench the fire entirely ; and at night smoked 
 their pipes between decks. 
 
 On the 6th we saw land, which we supposed to be 
 Ehodes ; but towards noon were much surprised to 
 see the commodore tack and stand off. The next 
 morning we were still more astonished to find ourselves 
 between two capes. The master did not know where 
 he was, and we soon found that every captain in the 
 fleet was equally at a loss. The commodore, however, 
 kept standing in, and at night laid to. The next 
 morning I took a boat and went on board the Braafcel 
 where I found Colonel Brown of the 12th Dragoons. 
 Captain Clark told me that he was waiting for the 
 return of the commodore who had gone ahead to learn 
 where we were, and that he did not positively know on 
 which side of Rhodes he was but had sent his boat to 
 the shore, seeing some houses, for intelligence. In the 
 evening the boat returned, and brought the informa- 
 tion that Rhodes was to our left ; which proved that
 
 Chap. III. RECEIVED KINDLY BY LORD KEITH. 143 
 
 when to our surprise the commodore hauled his 
 wind, he had overshot the port fifteen leagues : 
 had night come on before the error was discovered, 
 we should all probably have been lost in the gulf of 
 Satalieh. Probably such an instance had never been 
 known before : the master of the Braakel said that in 
 thirty years' service he had never experienced it. 
 The cause was that the currents are strong and the 
 charts inaccurately laid down. At night the Flora 
 rejoined us. The next morning we saw Ehodes and 
 got within a league, expecting to enter the harbour, 
 when the Pitt sloop of war came out and directed us 
 to another harbour in the gulf of Macri. 
 
 On the 12th, as the ships were becalmed, I left the 
 Braakel and got into a Turkish boat to proceed to 
 the harbour. In the evening I entered it and went 
 immediately on board the Kent, where I saw Sir 
 Ralph. From thence I went in the Kent's cutter to 
 the Chatham, where my detachment was. I found 
 that my people were on shore. Making efforts I joined 
 them, and was received with great marks of atten- 
 tion and hearty welcome. As soon as I got my 
 letters I went to Lord Keith, who received me 
 very kindly and asked me to dinner. The captain 
 of the Flora here told me that he expected every mo- 
 ment to see the brig's masts rolled overboard ; and 
 Lord Keith said that her captain had always been 
 notorious for carrying sail, and told us many stories 
 of him which did great honour to his intrepidity. 
 
 My time was chiefly employed between the Kent, 
 Foudroyant, and my huts which we enter to-morrow. 
 
 The bay of Marmorice is very singular but excellent. 
 When you are in it there appears no outlet but one,
 
 144 WRETCHED CONDITION OP THE HORSES. Chap. III. 
 
 which is not so. Very high mountains environ it. At 
 the head is a little town and a castle, both wretched. 
 Provisions are very clear and bad ; but there is plenty 
 of game in the mountains. My men in cutting wood 
 found also immense numbers of tortoises, which they 
 eat; boiling them, I am sorry to say, as they do 
 lobsters. Chameleons are also found ; camels abound. 
 Certainly it is a curious country, and it is gratifying 
 to have been in it. 
 
 Jan. 25. — On the lGth I landed. Our huts were 
 placed about a mile from the shore and as much 
 again from the town. Wolves, which came close to 
 our encampment making most hideous noises, dis- 
 turbed us much at first, but we are now accustomed 
 to it. The howling continues generally for half an 
 hour together along the whole of the mountains in our 
 rear. 
 
 On the 19th our horses arrived ; and our disappoint- 
 ment was beyond description to find such animals as 
 they appeared to be, even by moonlight, for they did 
 not come till ten at night. The next morning con- 
 firmed our fears. Never were seen such wretched 
 creatures ; I could compare them to nothing but the 
 turf-carriers in Ireland. The whole armj^ was shocked. 
 Sir Ealph, at the inspection, acknowledged that it was 
 impossible to see worse, or to expect anything from 
 us ; but yet he was obliged to mount us with as many 
 as could possibly be ridden. After many subsequent 
 examinations my detachment will only keep seventy 
 of them, and the 11th Dragoons thirty. Most of them 
 have frightfully sore backs. The artillery are to 
 have what we cast ; but many of them will be shot. 
 Seven were shot yesterday.
 
 Chap. III. HEAVY TORRENT OP RAIN. 145 
 
 The 12 th and 26th landed on the 21st, and re- 
 ceived the same kind of animals. 
 
 The weather is terribly bad and our lints are 
 deluged ; but we have got some straw by unroofing a 
 Turk's house and I now defy the storms. 
 
 I yesterday had my men out for an hour ; and I am 
 better satisfied with my prospects, as they are very 
 expert ; but I fear we can never hazard a charge on 
 such rips. However, we have the consolation of know- 
 ing that the whole army is aware of the impossibility : 
 therefore if we do anything their approbation will 
 be in proportion. 
 
 By great good fortune I purchased, for 121. 10s., 
 a very good little horse, something like my chesnut 
 but smaller. He has good action, is well made, and 
 very handsome. Of course he is much admired, and 
 many of the generals and others have endeavoured to 
 get him from me by observing that he is too light for 
 my weight : but as long as a horse can career with 
 me as he does I am satisfied that he is fit for my 
 riding. His only fault is that he is too small to charge 
 with. 
 
 I was obliged to leave off writing at this instant by 
 a torrent of rain, which forced through my roofing. 
 The camp is deluged. There is every appearauce of 
 a repetition of the storm : I am therefore preparing 
 against it by throwing mud on the top of niy hut. 
 
 There has been a sale of a ship's cargo, taken on 
 her way to Alexandria. 
 
 Jan. 27. — The storm continued till this evening with 
 unabated fury. On the morning of the 2Gth I rode 
 down to the sale. It was very various. Among 
 other things there were some very extraordinary fans
 
 146 SHOOTING JACKALS AND WOLVES. Chap. III. 
 
 indeed ; but they had been bought before by the 
 amateurs. It is a most singular instance of French 
 character. 
 
 I happened to mention that I regretted much that 
 the dolls were not sold bv auction. There were two 
 dressed in the French reigning fashions. Sir Richard 
 JBickerton's secretary, Mr. Boyle, who had the 
 management of the sale, asked one of the officers 
 whether I was a family man. Upon his answering 
 that I was he very kindly came up and offered me 
 one of them, regretting that the other was already 
 promised. I thanked him, and accepted the present, 
 pleased in the anticipation of the pleasure that it will 
 give to my dear little Charlotte when she receives it, 
 and really grateful to Mr. Boyle — a stranger till 
 then — for his unsolicited attention. 
 
 This night, at eight o'clock, I went to shoot jackals 
 or wolves. Money of the 1 1th and Captain Duval went 
 with me. We posted ourselves in the ruins of an old 
 house in the mountains, just behind some dead horses 
 which we had shot some days before. In five minutes 
 an animal about the size of a Newfoundland dog came 
 within fifty yards of us, but then sheered off. In ten 
 minutes more we saw thirty or forty of different sizes in 
 eveiy direction, while the mountains resounded on all 
 sides with the screamings and growliugs of others. We 
 were rather disposed to be alarmed : but Mone} T ob- 
 served that their love language was as musical as that 
 of the Germans, and we laughed so loud that we 
 scared the wild beasts away. However, they soon 
 returned and I fired at one within twenty yards. 
 I think that to-morrow I shall see by traces of blood 
 that the shot took some effect. Money also fired his
 
 Chap. III. ARTFUL CONDUCT OF MAHOMETAN GUIDE. 147 
 
 gun, and thinking that after such a volley it would be 
 useless to stay longer we returned. An hour after- 
 wards these animals, setting up in the same quarter a 
 loud and long yell, determined Birch and Boucher of 
 the ] 1th to try their skill. They were already in- 
 flamed by curiosity from our account. The night is 
 bad, for there is a great deal of thunder and lightning ; 
 but this is fine weather for those wild beasts. 
 
 Feb. 9. — As it was thought advisable to send 
 to Cudjas for horses I received two thousand eight 
 hundred dollars from Sir Ralph, and with Birch, 
 Money, and Mr. Oliver of the' 10th but acting as 
 volunteer to the 11th, I set off on the 1st of February. 
 Our party was increased by a guide and three dragoons, 
 so that we were in all nine horses and eight men. We 
 travelled for many miles, with every obstruction and 
 no track, over precipices and through deserts. When 
 evening drew on the guide wished to leave us at the 
 entrance of a wood : but when he saw me draw my 
 pistol to menace him he artfully gave me his own gun 
 as a pledge, and dismounting began to say his prayers 
 towards the setting sun ; first washing his head, face, 
 arms, and hands in a rivulet. The operation was not 
 enough in earnest to remove any dirt : indeed, I have 
 generally observed that Mahomet's laws, which strictly 
 enjoin these washings as a ceremonial but were wisely 
 intended to preserve the cleanliness which the cere- 
 mony signified, are now solely obeyed with the first 
 idea. 
 
 Our guide having resumed his seat we pierced into 
 a wood, up mountains, over rocks which seemed 
 impassable. About eight in the evening the guide 
 discovered some huts, in which he explained that we
 
 148 A FILTHY CARAVANSERAI. Chap. III. 
 
 were to sleep ; and in half an hour, after a march of 
 certainly more than twenty-five miles, we dismounted 
 from our horses, all tired and two of them lame, at a 
 caravanserai. 
 
 This was a hut supported at the expense of the 
 Grand Siguor, who finds wood and a scheik or priest. 
 The inmates were at prayers when we entered ; but 
 after this was over we found our way into a corner, 
 and there deposited our money and ourselves. The 
 lire blazing up, we were able to take a survey. The 
 room was about 24 feet by 16. There were sitting on 
 the ground fourteen people — Greeks, Turks, negroes, 
 and others— travelling to sell fowls, &c. at Marmoras : 
 but such dirty, miserable people I never saw. The 
 room was filth itself: a mat full of vermin covered 
 the floor. Here were four English gentlemen obliged 
 to seek shelter. Strange destiny ! We emptied our 
 basket of provisions, and then entered into a kind of 
 monkey conversation with our wretched companions. 
 I pass over incidents which shocked us, for we were 
 not then accustomed to the depravity of these bar- 
 barians nor had any conception of its existence. 
 They saw our expressions of aversion and horror, but 
 treated them with derision. 
 
 As this month is the feast of Eamazan, in which the 
 Turks are enjoined to fast all day and pray six times 
 in the course of the twenty-four hours, our sleep was 
 constantly interrupted — mine at least, for the others 
 found their floor too hard for slumber. I had thus an 
 advantage over them, having always since I left 
 Italy slept on the cabin floor at sea and the earth on 
 land. 
 
 Each time of prayer the scheik repeated the same
 
 Chap. III. CUDJAS— THE AGA'S PALACE. 149 
 
 words, but sometimes the people prostrated themselves 
 oftener than others. I counted seventeen prostrations 
 in one prayer. They fall down very adroitly, and 
 never hurt themselves. 
 
 In the morning at daybreak we again mounted, and 
 after some mischances proceeded on our way through 
 the same kind of country and with the same dangers 
 as the day before. Now and then we met long trains 
 of camels, and here and there saw a hut, which the 
 guide cautioned us to avoid lest the women should 
 inadvertently be exposed to the sight of Christians. 
 
 About 4 p.m. we reached Cudjas, after a inarch of 
 fifty miles in which we saw only three fields culti- 
 vated. Cudjas is situated on a bay ; but on the 
 southern side of it, so that we made a grand detour to 
 reach it. The town consists of about twenty miserable 
 houses, but each was a shop in which slippers are 
 sold. At the entrance we had a glimpse of four fine- 
 looking women dressed, as is the custom of harems, in 
 an uniform pelisse. They retired when they saw that 
 we observed them. They belonged to one of the Aga's 
 chief people. 
 
 We were conducted by one of the inhabitants to the 
 Aga's palace, which is exactly like an English farm- 
 house and } r ard. The square was filled with geese, 
 chickens, &c. On one side was stabling ; on another 
 a long range of wooden buildings, in which the ser- 
 vants, &c, slept ; on the third side was the harem, which 
 looked like a granary ; and on the fourth was the wall 
 of a garden ; but at the extremity of the two long 
 ranges were two very pretty buildings in the Chinese 
 style. We alighted and ascended the stairs leading to 
 one of these : where we were shown into a room at the
 
 150 HIS WIVES AND CONCUBINES. Chap. III. 
 
 farther end of which sat a Turk, who received us and 
 explained that the Aga was out shooting ; but desired 
 us to sit down and await his return. Around the 
 room were sofa benches, and the floor was covered by 
 a beautiful Turkey carpet. There were two rows of 
 windows ; the upper one had painted glass, the 
 lower no glass but wooden shutters. After a time we 
 saw the Aga arrive on horseback, dismount, and, 
 although he saw us, run quickly up the stairs of the 
 building on the other side. The Turk in our apart- 
 ment said that he was gone to pray. The sun being 
 now set we demanded food, and a servant brought us 
 three dishes one of which only we could touch. 
 
 At about seven o'clock the Turk, who was ill of a 
 fever and was curing himself in their way by eating ice, 
 informed us that he was going to pray and that another 
 room was preparing for us. We were soon ushered 
 into it — a most wretched apartment, evidently long un- 
 inhabited except by rats. Some dirty cushions were 
 throw r n on the floor for our beds, chairs, tables, &c. 
 
 We now insisted on delivering our letter of intro- 
 duction from General Campbell* — or Mustapha — to the 
 A ga ; but it w T as not till near nine o'clock that his 
 secretary came and desired that one of us would go 
 with him. Birch went. In the meantime we amused 
 ourselves with one of the chief Turks who en- 
 deavoured to tell us the mysteries of the harem, 
 informing us that the Aga had four wives and two 
 concubines in it. 
 
 In about half an hour the secretary returned, and 
 desired that another of us would go with him. I went 
 to put on my sword but he attempted to prevent it 
 
 * A Scotchman ; but the Turkish Bashaw at Marmoras. — R. W.
 
 Chap. III. INTRODUCED TO THE AGA. 151 
 
 This and the circumstance of his taking us one by one 
 gave me some suspicion, and Oliver determined to go 
 with me — both armed. We insisted, and went. 
 
 Our surprise was very great when, upon ascending 
 the stairs of the opposite building, we entered the hall 
 of audience — a very fine room, furnished with sofas, 
 carpets, &c. On the walls were suspended swords, 
 pistols, and other arms. At the bottom were the 
 servants drawn up behind a railing ; on the sofas sat 
 the chief Turks ; at the top on the right of the fire 
 was the Aga, and Birch on the left. We were com- 
 pelled to take off our boots on entering the room. 
 We then went up to the Aga and made our obei- 
 sance, and afterwards took post by Birch. 
 
 The Aga was a man of about forty, with a remark- 
 ably fine black beard. He ordered us coffee and 
 pipes. In about twenty minutes Money came in. 
 Finding that we did not return he became very un- 
 easy, and leaving a sentry over the dollars deter- 
 mined to follow us. We continued in the room about 
 an hour, talking by signs and with the few words of 
 their language that we could command ; but we per- 
 fectly understood each other. We were not a little 
 surprised to hear one of the chiefs say that the 
 " French were good." This, in the presence of the Aga, 
 we thought strange : but Birch and Oliver, animated 
 by the scene and anxious to promote the service for 
 which we were sent, gave a pistol and a sword, 
 which were instantly suspended in the armoury. 
 
 We took leave perfectly confident of success. On 
 our return we wished to retire to rest; but events 
 occurred which compelled us to keep watch all night 
 with our swords drawn. Indeed otherwise the Turks
 
 152 BEATS A RETREAT FROM CUDJAS. Chap. III. 
 
 made such a noise with their psalm-singing, prayers, 
 and shouting, that sleep would have been impossible. 
 
 I must draw a curtain over the night and morning 
 till eight o'clock : suffice it to say that never was a 
 night of such anxiety and misery passed. We wel- 
 comed daylight — for in this country no candles are 
 used. The next morning we found a sensible differ 
 ence in our treatment. The Turks would give us no 
 wood, and only one very small cup of coffee for break- 
 fast, without bread. 
 
 We now determined to try our fortune with the 
 horses and to bring matters to an issue, as our situa- 
 tion became every moment more embarrassing and 
 perilous. 
 
 The Aga's horses were all brought out into the yard. 
 They were certainly very fine animals, the number 
 about twenty ; five or six of them true Arabians. To 
 our consternation the Aga asked one thousand dollars 
 apiece, when even for general officers we are commis- 
 sioned only to give two hundred dollars. The other 
 inferior horses were extravagantly dear also ; for the 
 most miserable which the country people brought in 
 they demanded one hundred and fifty dollars. 
 
 Finding that nothing could be clone with such a set, 
 and fearing to expose ourselves another night to these 
 barbarians, irritated as they now were at our refusing 
 to buy their horses, we resolved to sound a retreat. 
 At one o'clock everything was ready, and under some 
 apprehension of an attack we sallied forth. Birch 
 and I had previously attempted to see the Aga, but 
 his guard threw clown the trap-door at the top of the 
 stairs at our approach. After escorting the horse 
 with the dollars through the river at the entrance of
 
 Chap. III. ARRIVES AT THE CARAVANSERAI. 153 
 
 the village, Money and I returned to buy bread for 
 ourselves and men. We overtook our party about a 
 mile off afterwards, and found Birch buying a horse 
 which we took on with us. 
 
 Our poor horses had only had one feed of corn since 
 they left Marmoras. We had no straw for them now ; 
 nothing but bread, and a little piece of pork, un- 
 dressed, for ourselves ; twenty-five miles to go before 
 w T e could reach our caravanserai ; and night coining 
 on without a moon to assist us. 
 
 We pushed on as fast as possible and fortunately 
 passed the most intricate and the most dangerous part 
 of our route, fourteen torrents in the space of one 
 mile, just before night closed in. Our guide with 
 great attention brought us safe to our caravanserai 
 about nine o'clock at night. The landlord, however, 
 did not wish to receive us and opposed Money's 
 entrance ; but on his calling out I went and we made 
 our way good to the fire, and showed them that we 
 were true Englishmen by turning our backs to it and 
 keeping it from them. At length a truce w r as made 
 and we sat down quietly on the floor. The Turks 
 went to prayers, which this night were very long but 
 not very devout. After the service was over we 
 began to think of our dinner, and Oliver took the 
 direction of roasting the pork, which we ate after 
 all half done tearing it asunder with our hands. The 
 men found two fowls which they killed and ate. The 
 horses had no corn ; but by putting a pistol to one of 
 the Turks' heads we forced some straw for them. Our 
 company were rather worse and more numerous than 
 the first night: a dirty rascal was next me, more 
 wretched in clothes and appearance than I can de-
 
 154 DISTRESSED CONDITION OF THE HORSES. Chap. III. 
 
 scribe. I as usual fell asleep ; but snoring, a negro 
 gave me a push and took my cloak even from under 
 my head to awake me. This was an impertinence 
 that nearly cost him dear ; for we were irritated at the 
 treatment we had received at Cudjas and, knowing 
 that we were never to return by the same road, we 
 determined to alter our former system of submission. 
 All night we were obliged to watch the dollars, and 
 to keep the Turks in check as they often attempted 
 to encroach and take the fire from us. 
 
 The next morning we set off again at daybreak ; not 
 giving anything for our lodgings : as the landlord, 
 when we passed on our way to Cudjas, had charged 
 us two dollars — nine shillings — which rather than 
 make our return disagreeable we consented to pay. 
 We returned partly by a different route, but though 
 shorter it was much worse. I declare that I went 
 over precipices and rocks that I never could have 
 conceived practicable. Our dollar horse fell down 
 two or three times, being quite worn out ; four others 
 were dead lame. At ten o'clock in the morning, when 
 the intense cold began to yield, we determined to stop 
 and breakfast. Fortunately we saw on our way the 
 remains of a fire where some Turks had passed the 
 night. Here we alighted, and made a most delicious 
 repast on some milk which Birch had procured at the 
 caravanserai, and some figs which we bought of a 
 Turkish jackass driver. The remainder of our bread 
 we gave to the horses. We mounted again, and at 
 two o'clock reached the top of a mountain from which 
 we saw our fleet. We involuntarily gave three cheers, 
 and with hearts refreshed proceeded on our way. 
 
 The four days of this expedition were certainly the
 
 Chap. III. VIOLENT STORM OF THUNDER, ETC. 155 
 
 most miserable of my life ; in the power of barbarians ; 
 separated by impassable barriers from the humanized 
 part of the world ; exposed to insults abominable and 
 mortifying ; in cold, hunger, and the most nauseating 
 filth. 
 
 Our return excited much surprise, and disappointed 
 many of the generals, who had calculated on our 
 bringing them horses ; but they coDgratulated us on 
 our escape. Sir Sidney Smith, when he heard the 
 story, said that he wondered at our safe return ; that 
 the Aga of Cudjas was a notorious rebel who had a 
 few years before fought a battle with the Aga of 
 Moughla, in which he had lost five thousand men. It 
 is very singular that the chief Turk at Cudjas accused 
 Sir Sidney Smith to us as a traitor. 
 
 Sir Ralph approved much of the line of conduct we 
 had adopted : and said that he had been in some appre- 
 hension ever since he learnt the disposition and acts of 
 this rebel chief. 
 
 Ptolemy, my new horse, bore the journey to Cudjas 
 remarkably well ; and thus gained my esteem and gene- 
 ral admiration. 
 
 Feb. 11. — Yesterday the most violent storm of thun- 
 der, lightning, and hail came on that perhaps ever 
 was known since the Egyptian plague. The hail was 
 lumps of ice, some— on the honour of a man — thicker 
 than any walnut and much longer ; the lightning as 
 rapid as one flash could succeed another ; the thunder 
 loud and awful as the imagination can conceive. In 
 ten minutes our camp was a sea of ice : which without 
 stockings or shoes I waded through, and felt as if my 
 feet had perished in the attempt to pass from my own 
 to Money's hut. My hut had four feet of water in it ; 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 156 HURRICANE OF TREMENDOUS SEVERITY. Chap. III.- 
 
 Ms had more. In an attempt that I made to go round 
 the lines, in order to render every aid in my power, I 
 was almost struck blind by a flash. Till then I had 
 looked at it with astonishment and admiration ; for it 
 played and darted on the hills around us like the fluid 
 in electrical experiments, which are kept up for some 
 minutes together. Never was such a scene of devas- 
 tation in a camp. At last about three o'clock it 
 abated, and we ran to the horses almost beaten and 
 frozen to death, and rode them about for half an hour. 
 One had been struck by the lightning and killed. 
 Captain Clarke* of the Braakel had given me some 
 rum : this saved me a serious illness, for I was 
 obliged to go all day barefooted, and enabled me to 
 do much good. 
 
 The day continued partially bad, but at evening the 
 wind rose and blew a hurricane. During the whole 
 night it raged with tremendous severity. All the 
 tents were blown down and most of the huts unroofed. 
 Signal guns of distress firing the whole night from the 
 ships driving in the harbour, and the confusion of noises 
 from the horses men and officers exposed to the fury 
 of the storm from the tents being blown away in a 
 moment, made it a perfect night of horror. The 
 lightning was one incessant flashing of the most vivid 
 intensity. At four o'clock in the morning a gust came 
 which threatened universal destruction. The confu- 
 sion on shore revived, and the distress-guns again 
 re-echoed. Xothing could have borne up against it 
 five minutes longer ; but this proved the last effort of 
 the wind, and in a moment all was calm. Many 
 vessels are totally dismasted. During the height of 
 
 * Brother of Clarke the traveller. — R. W. — See below.
 
 Chap. III. THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PAN. 157 
 
 the storm poor Sally, who has been a soldier's wife 
 these seven years and who is now with her husband 
 in the 7th Dragoons, miscarried. The dragoon told 
 me that she was lying in bed and the water rushing 
 over her in a torrent. 1 mention this as an instance 
 of the suffering which these poor creatures endure. 
 
 Feb. 13. — This morning I went round all the polacres 
 in which we are to sail, and fixed upon No. 1 3 for my- 
 self, — a Russian brig manned with Greeks. Captain 
 Chollet, and my adjutant Lieut. Barnard, accompanied 
 me. On my way I learnt the certain intelligence of a 
 Russian war. The 11th and 12th embark to-morrow ; 
 we the next day. My family is increased by a beauti- 
 ful white horse which I mean to ride in action : I call 
 him Octavius. 
 
 Feb. 15. — Yesterday morning we marched to em- 
 bark, but only half the troops could do so as the 
 other ships were not ready. In the evening Money, 
 Hutchins, and I went into the country to buy lambs. 
 An old woman followed us from the mountains into 
 the camp : when there she went up directly to our 
 kitchen and seized a large pan: the cook struggled 
 with her : it was ridiculous enough to see the fight, 
 as the Turk always kept her hand to her face to hold 
 the clout on it. At last I interfered and, finding her 
 pretensions just, ordered restitution : this pleased all 
 the bystanding Turks excessively, and I could per- 
 ceive by their manner that it was a trait which will 
 not soon be forgotten. 
 
 Feb. 22.— The day before yesterday the remainder 
 of the troops embarked. Foul weather has detained 
 us. The captain has just returned from the commo- 
 dore, and we sail to-morrow morning. It is impossible 
 
 m 2
 
 158 EMBAEK FOE ALEXANDRIA. Chap. III. 
 
 to say where we shall land ; but I believe near Alex- 
 andria ; probably near the tower of the Arabs where 
 there is a good bay.* 
 
 * The journals from this date to the 27th of April are lost. It is no 
 part of the Editor's duty to fill up the details of the intervening history, as 
 Sir Robert Wilson's share in the operations does not appear in his own 
 narrative, from which the general outline will he taken at the beginning of 
 the next chapter. — Ed.
 
 Chap. IV. ( 159 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 English fleet anchor in Ahoukir Bay — Lord Nelson's letter — Battle of 
 Alexandria — Garrison of St. Julien surrender — Controversy about 
 ancient Troy — Letter to Sir Sidney Smith — Turks behead sis French- 
 men — Advance of the army — Arrival of the Capitan Pacha — Gallantry 
 of the Eighty-Ninth — French dragoons taken prisoners — French de- 
 spatches recovered — Disposition of the French forces — Bad conduct of 
 Turkish troops — Arrival at the town of Sais — The Turkish Grand 
 Vizier — Presented by him with two horses — Journey in the desert — ■ 
 Encounter with a French convoy — Seven hundred camels, etc., taken — 
 Eepetition of Buonaparte's stratagem — Buonaparte and the garrison of 
 Jaffa — Presented with a Mameluke sabre — Capitan Pacha and Ibrahim 
 Bey — Blood horses of Arabia Felix — Osman Bey and his Mamelukes — 
 French evacuate Cairo — Siege of Alexandria — Discontent of the French 
 garrison — Menou proposes to capitulate — Possession taken of enemy's 
 lines — Takes leave of General Coote — Arrival in Malta harbour — Mar- 
 seilles ; its roads and inns — Paris — Fontainebleau — Leaves Paris and 
 arrives at Calais — Embarks on board the Minerva — Arrives in Old 
 England. 
 
 'o 
 
 [On the 23rd of February, 1801, the British army 
 fifteen thousand three hundred and twenty strong, 
 twelve thousand effective, on board of one hundred 
 and seventy-five vessels under the command of 
 Lord Keith, sailed from Marmorice Bay for the 
 shores of Egypt. 
 
 On the 1st of March the leading frigate signalled 
 land, which proved to be the coast near the Arabs' 
 tower, and on the following morning the whole fleet 
 anchored in Aboukir Bay ; " the men-of-war riding 
 exactly where the battle of the Nile was fought." 
 
 Tbe memorable landing was effected on the 7th.
 
 160 LORD NELSON'S LETTER. Chap. IV. 
 
 Lord Nelson has left a proud memorial for the army 
 and its gallant chief in the following letter, addressed 
 to Sir Robert Wilson in acknowledgment of the 
 receipt of a copy of his " History of the Expedition " 
 published in the following year : — 
 
 Lokd Nelson to Sir Eobeet Wilson. 
 
 DEAR SlR, Morton, December 23, 1802. 
 
 I feel most exceedingly honoured and flattered by 
 your present of your valuable book of the Egyptian 
 Campaign. 
 
 I really have always said, and I do think, that the 
 landing of the British army was the very finest act 
 that even a British armv could achieve. Aboukir 
 will stand recorded in both our services ; and I can 
 assure you that I always hope that both our services 
 will, with pleasure, enjoy the deserved success of 
 either, and that our only emulation will be who can 
 render most service by their exertions to our king 
 and country. 
 
 The very handsome manner [in which] you are 
 pleased to speak of my services demands my warmest 
 thanks. Your sallant, and ever to be lamented chief 
 proved, by the manner in which he fell, what an old 
 French general said when asked what made a good 
 or a bad general. He replied, "Two words — allons — 
 allez." Your chief and myself have taken the first 
 and victory followed; and the medal which you so 
 deservedly wear proves that you have imbibed the 
 same sentiments. With every good wish, 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 Your most obliged servant, 
 
 Nelson and Bronte.
 
 Chap. IV. BATTLE OF ALEXANDRIA. 161 
 
 The approaches to Alexandria were successively 
 made good. On the 13th, the British troops attacked 
 the French posted on a ridge in advance of their main 
 position on the covering heights in front of Alexan- 
 dria ; dislodged, drove them back over the intervening 
 plain into their own intrenchments, and occupied the 
 position. The castle of Aboukir was taken. Intel- 
 ligence was received on the 20th that General Menou 
 had joined the army of General Friant with his whole 
 force. 
 
 At three o'clock on the morning of the 21st of 
 March the French general moved from his post of 
 advantage on the superior range of parallel heights, 
 and attacked the British in their lines. 
 
 Before ten o'clock the battle of Alexandria was 
 fought and won. "Honour to the brave!" On that 
 field of his glory the gallant veteran, Sir Ralph 
 Abercromby, received his mortal wound. He fell * 
 as a soldier must desire to fall, if death is to be met 
 in battle, conscious of duty nobly done and in the 
 triumph of a momentous victory. 
 
 On the 26th the Capitan Pacha landed in the bay 
 of Aboukir. „ 
 
 Sir Ralph Abercromby lingered till the 28th and 
 died; Major-General Hutchinson succeeding to the 
 command in chief. 
 
 An attempt upon Rosetta was soon determined 
 
 * The well-known engraving from the picture by Sir Robert Ker Porter 
 represents the moment when the hero, long after he had received the fatal 
 wound, sunk exhausted by his efforts in the field. Around are portraits of 
 his brothers-in-arms. Among the rest is that of Sir Robert Wilson — the only 
 officer in a hussar uniform. The painter has very skilfully represented his 
 characteristic energy in the forward pressure of the attitude, and his sym- 
 pathy of heart and spirit in the action of the hand. — Ed.
 
 162 GARRISON OF ST. JULIEN SURRENDER. Chap. IV. 
 
 upon in order to obtain the command of the Nile ; 
 and for this service General Hutchinson detached a 
 small force to act in concert with four thousand Turks 
 of the Capitan Pacha's army, the whole under the 
 command of Colonel Spencer. The detachment 
 marched on the 2nd of April. 
 
 Eosetta was taken on the 8th after a faint resistance 
 and Fort St. Julien invested. 
 
 On the 13th, the embankment of the canal of Alex- 
 andria was cut. General Hutchinson consented to this 
 destructive measure with great reluctance ; but it seems 
 to have been necessary for the attainment of the 
 objects of the expedition. In a few hours the vast 
 tract, anciently the Lake Mareotis but for centuries 
 rescued from the dominion of the waters and subject 
 to the cultivating hand of man, was covered again 
 with the wasting " inundation." 
 
 The garrison of St. Julien surrendered on the 19 th 
 after a gallant defence, and the command of the 
 Nile was secured. The easy accomplishment of this 
 enterprise determined General Hutchinson to direct in 
 person the further operations in the interior which he 
 now resolved upon ; and leaving General Coote in 
 command of the forces watching the French at Alex- 
 andria, he joined the Eosetta army, which had been 
 already strongly reinforced, on the 26th of April.] 
 
 April 27. — On the 23rd I left the camp and went 
 to Aboukir. The next morning I rode to Eosetta, 
 arrived in time for Birch's dinner, and determined to 
 take up my quarters with him and join his mess. The 
 house is miserable beyond description — mosquitoes, 
 fleas, filth. The service has affected me in some de-
 
 Chap. IV. CONTROVERSY ABOUT ANCIENT TROY. 163 
 
 gree ; but most have felt a feebleness and pain in the 
 bones since they came here. In the evening I went 
 and called upon Mr. Hammer, Sir Sidney Smith's 
 Turkish interpreter. I found him in the house of 
 Madam D'Arcy, sister-in-law of Wortley Montagu 
 who lived in Rosetta many years. This Mrs. D'Arcy 's 
 maiden name was Dormer. She came from Italy with 
 Wortley Montague when she was very young, and 
 was educated in his harem ; for he always lived in 
 every country in which he resided exactly as a 
 native. M. D'Arcy, a French merchant settled 
 here, married her : he died some time ago ; but she 
 proposes to pass the remainder of her life in this 
 wretched country, to which twenty-one years' resi- 
 dence has habituated her. She has the remains of 
 good looks, appears to be about forty, and has pre- 
 served the English dress, manners, and language. 
 
 Captain Clarke, his brother,* and a Mr. Cripps, who 
 have been travelling all over Russia, Turkey, &c, 
 arrived yesterday, and I was much amused with a 
 conversation respecting the existence of Troy. They 
 and Mr. Hammer, who have been there, convinced 
 themselves that they saw everything exactly as 
 Homer described it : contrary to the opinion of Mr. 
 Bryant, who has written a book in which he describes 
 the history of the siege although he never visited the 
 spot ; and against a Mr. Carlisle, who was there at the 
 same time with them but whom they abused most un- 
 mercifully because he could not imagine the place "ubi 
 Troja fuit." Which is right and which is wrong it 
 is not for me to determine ; but as many inscriptions 
 are brought from the plain itself by Mr. Clarke, 
 
 * Edward Daniel Clarke. — Ed.
 
 16-1 REGULATING PRICE OF PROVISIONS. Chap. IV. 
 
 which he intends to present to the University of 
 Cambridge, the learned may have an opportunity of 
 forming their own judgment. 
 
 Yesterday a transaction was discovered which ex- 
 poses the system of Turkish government, and affords 
 a melancholy prospect for the territory returning 
 under its yoke. The Caia Bey, or general of the 
 army here, sent his chief into this town : he sum- 
 moned the merchants, laid on them a contribution 
 of fifty purses, each purse to contain five hundred 
 piastres, and threatened them with the bowstring 
 if they discovered the transaction to the Oapitan 
 Pacha or the English. The poor frightened merchants 
 instantly promised obedience and in five days paid 
 the money. Accident discovered the affair, and it is 
 to be reported to General Hutchinson, who will find 
 it a very delicate one. 
 
 This day a good regulation will be made as to 
 the value of money and the price of provisions. The 
 extravagance of the English and the avarice of the 
 natives have raised everything to an exorbitant price. 
 A maximum is imperative when an army is quartered 
 among a people who have no idea of justice. An 
 Arab would rather have eaten one of his own fingers 
 than endeavoured to impose thus during the domina- 
 tiun of the French. 
 
 April 30. — On the 26th General Hutchinson ar- 
 rived, and said that I was the only person who had 
 given him a true description of this town. 
 
 This morning I finished a letter to Lord Lansdowne. 
 
 I am now going to call on Sir Sidney ; who un- 
 fortunately for the army and the country is in conse- 
 quence of some low intrigue, but on pretence of the
 
 Chap. IV. LETTER TO SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 165 
 
 French fleet being expected, ordered on board his 
 own ship. The French fleet was seen dismasted, on 
 the 24th hist., going into Tonlon. 
 
 May 4. — I learnt Arabic the whole morning. On 
 the 1st we heard the news of the deaths of the Em- 
 peror Paul and Mourad Bey. The following letter 
 was received from the latter by Sir Sidney Smith in 
 April, by the hands of a messenger : — 
 
 Translation of a Letter written by Mourad Bey to 
 
 Sir Sidney Smith.* 
 
 Dated Girge, the 2nd April, 1801. 
 
 My Honourable, Dear, and Old Friend Com- 
 modore Smith. — It was always one of my most 
 ardent wishes to keep up a continual correspondence 
 with you, and to express to you the sentiments of 
 friendship which I nourish in the secret of my heart 
 for you ; but not knowing in what part of the Medi- 
 terranean you were cruizing, I was obliged to inter- 
 rupt my correspondence with you. Now I have 
 received your letter through Abdul Gawy, by which 
 I have learnt the two victories of the British, and the 
 reduction of the castle of Aboukir, the garrison of 
 which were made prisoners. All these news have 
 affected me with as great joy as the tidings of the 
 revenge against my enemies may be supposed to give 
 me. God be praised for these victories, and with his 
 assistance you will, I have not a doubt, destroy the 
 
 * With reference to this letter, after a short quotation from it, Sir R. 
 Wilson thus writes in a note to the " History of the Egyptian Expedition :" 
 " Many reasons forbid the publication of the whole of this interesting letter, 
 but it is preserved as a very valuable document, which hereafter will re- 
 flect considerable credit on the character of our country as esteemed at that 
 time in Egypt." — Ed.
 
 166 LETTER TO SIR SIDNEY SMITH. Chap. IV. 
 
 rest of our enemies. God knows that my good wishes 
 accompany you. 
 
 A real friendship subsists between your Court and 
 the Sublime Porte ; your countrymen are celebrated 
 for courage and valour far above all other European 
 nations. Myself, I am attached to you for this long 
 time, and have therefore a great many reasons to pray 
 God to give you more victories and to destroy all 
 the French. 
 
 I wrote to you formerly by Abdallah Bachi and 
 Amaut Selim Cachof another letter you will have 
 received by the hauds of your secretary. / have 
 never begged anybody's protection, but I solicit that of 
 the British, for I have ever considered them as more 
 faithful to their word than European Courts. I have 
 considered them as my friends, " therefore I put myself 
 under your protection? You know very well that 
 I fear nobody but the Sublime Porte ; as the proverb 
 says, "The arrow stuck in the eagle's wing was an 
 arrow made of an eagle's feather." It is known that 
 the Sublime Porte does not always delight in its most 
 faithful servants — those who are the friends of its 
 friends, and the enemies of its enemies. Having 
 put myself under your protection you should act in a 
 manner becoming your honour and glory. 
 
 You have heard and j t ou know that since the 
 arrival of the French at Alexandria until this time 
 I have served the Sublime Porte with the utmost 
 sincerity; that I employed gold and blood, flattering 
 myself to be recompensed at least with an imperial 
 office ; that I was wholly occupied in opposing the 
 enemy without rest or sleep day or night ; that I 
 destroyed more than twelve thousand Frenchmen, and
 
 Chap. IV. CONCLUSION OF LETTER. 167 
 
 lost more than five thousand Mamelukes and Cachofs, 
 and after all this you have heard yourself what was 
 said on my account at the Imperial camp. 
 
 In you I have confidence. I beg your Court's pro- 
 tection and fear nobody else. God knows that I wish 
 to send you all the provisions of Upper Egypt, but you 
 know that all the Arabs and all the peasantry of this 
 country are in accord with the French, and that it is 
 impossible at this moment to send you anything by 
 land or water. You may convince yourself of the 
 truth of this by the reports of others. As soon as 
 you approach Cairo, with the assistance of God, I 
 will furnish you with anything that is in my power 
 and provide you everything you desire. 
 
 One of my men is arrived from Djeclda with the 
 news that the 1st Chaoul (13th February), twenty 
 English ships had entered that port, and that twenty 
 others were at Moka, and that forty were seen under 
 weigh off the Persian Gulf. 
 
 (Signed) Mourad Bey, Sangiak. (L.S.) 
 
 First P.S. — I send you this by Sheik Ibrahim, son 
 of Abdallah Bachi Mogrebi, by whose verbal relation 
 you will be informed of the rest. I beg you to send 
 me an answer instantly. 
 
 Second P.S. — My dear friend, I have no better 
 friend than you ; I have known you a long time ; I 
 am afraid of the fate that hangs over me ; I am appre- 
 hensive of the Sublime Porte ; I request you will give 
 me security by a friendly letter. As long as I enjoy 
 your protection I fear no danger from the Sublime 
 Porte. I pray you give me a letter which gives me 
 this guarantee from you.
 
 108 MOHAMMED, PRINCE OF FEZ. Chap. TV. 
 
 The army on the whole is very healtlry, but ophthal- 
 mia from the sirocco, aucl dysentery have prevailed to 
 some extent. This morning it blows a gale. I never 
 was in so windy a country. Above twenty sailors 
 have been drowned at the entrance of the Nile within 
 this week. The sand-bar shifts continually and the 
 sea, in bad weather, breaks on it furiously. 
 
 I leave Rosetta with pleasure, for I shall not see in 
 camp so many horrible objects as swarm in this town. 
 I am now going to ride out and meet the seven hun- 
 dred Turkish horse expected to cross the Nile from 
 the Grand Yizier's army. 
 
 May 6, 3 p.m. Camp near Deroute. 
 
 In the evening of the 4th I went to camp : in the 
 morning of the 5th the army marched, at five o'clock. 
 I went with San Luz, some Turkish cavalry forming 
 the advanced guard of the right column. Muley 
 Mohammed, Prince of Fez, joined us on the march 
 with some horsemen. He is remarkably good-looking, 
 and was picturesquely dressed in white edged with 
 red, and a gold pouch belt over his shoulders. The 
 people regard him as a saint. To please me he per- 
 formed his manoeuvres on horseback, both with mus- 
 ket and sword, with a dexterity which was admirable : 
 all his attitudes were graceful. His sword was the 
 best and finest I ever saw. He is considered the 
 bravest man in this country ; performing such feats 
 that all people regard him as invulnerable and sacred. 
 He headed the insurrection at Rahmanieh, when Buona- 
 parte was in Syria, and where all the French garrison 
 was destroyed. Although a price was set upon his head 
 he has just passed through their army, coming from
 
 Chap. IV. TURKS BEHEAD SIX FRENCHMEN. 169 
 
 Mourad Bey. The commandant of the Turkish cavalry 
 has promised me a fine sword which I shall value 
 highly. 
 
 "VVe arrived on our ground about three o'clock, 
 taking up our position within sight of the enemy. 
 This morning I got up at four o'clock as the army was 
 to march to a better position ; but we did not move 
 till six. I went out in front with General Hutchinson 
 to reconnoitre and did not return till twelve. We 
 are now about three miles from the enemy who are 
 strongly posted. "We wait for the main body of the 
 Turkish cavalry, who certainly join us to-day or to- 
 morrow, before we advance to the attack. 
 
 Savary says there is no rain in Egypt : yesterday 
 it rained heavily. 
 
 May 8. Camp near El Hafa, 
 French Position. 
 
 Yesterday I went out with Birch to patrol, and to 
 our great astonishment advanced to the French 
 position which we found already occupied by some 
 Turks. The French left it in the night. It was not 
 defencible against our superior force. The Turks cut 
 off the heads of six Frenchmen whom they found in 
 Fouah, put them into a sack, and presented them to 
 their general. General Hutchinson has remonstrated 
 against this practice. 
 
 This morning I saw a return, found in one of the 
 French huts, of the state of the army which had been 
 here. It amounted to three thousand three hundred 
 and thirty-one men, including officers, sappers and 
 marines ; but exclusive of five hundred cavalry . This 
 is another proof of the danger of keeping papers. In 
 the evening another letter was found, from the com-
 
 170 ADVANCE OF THE ARMY. Chap. IV. 
 
 mandant of Cairo ; stating that within a fortnight he had 
 lost one hundred and forty men by the plague, and that 
 within the last forty-eight hours his wife and three 
 servants had died. In the morning I went over with 
 Colonel Cole and Major Maxwell to Fouah, the ei- 
 devant capital of Egypt but now the most miserable 
 town in the world. 
 
 "We received the melancholy intelligence of Mr. 
 Keith's death. He was a great friend of mine and 
 we were to have gone together to the Mamelukes. 
 It is a sad destiny to be drowned in such a pitiful 
 river as the Kile after so many escapes. I lament 
 him much. 
 
 The Turkish cavalry so long expected is at length 
 arrived and is now crossing the Nile. The Capitan 
 Pacha has also come to Fouah, and crosses over to 
 us to-morrow. 
 
 May 11.— On the morning of the 9th the army 
 advanced. I rode on at the head of the right column 
 but soon joined the advanced guard. AYhen we came 
 near Eahmanieh we found some cavalry on the banks 
 of the canal of Alexandria, but I discovered that they 
 were not French therefore advanced myself and was 
 presently surrounded by about a hundred Bedouin 
 Arabs who crowded about me to shake hands ; a 
 proof of friendship which I could have dispensed with. 
 Colonel Murray went along the canal, and I confiding 
 in my new friends went alone with them within half a 
 mile of Rahmanieh on Colonel Murray's right. I ad- 
 vanced to within a hundred yards of the French 
 vidette and remained about a quarter of an hour re- 
 connoitring their position ; when the Arabs made me 
 go back as the French cavalry were turning out and
 
 Chap. IV. ARRIVAL OF THE CAPITAN PACHA. 171 
 
 galloping along the canal. I got back on the other 
 side safe, and found Colonel Murray also retiring. I 
 galloped off then to General Hutchinson and reported 
 the extraordinary bad position of the Trench : they 
 had their right, centre, and left upon the Nile. The 
 French cavalry to the number of six hundred advanced 
 upon the plain, which made it necessary for our army 
 to form. A great deal of skirmishing went on between 
 the Turkish cavalry and the French. At length the 
 12th and a detachment of the 26th (our whole cavalry 
 did not amount to four hundred men) were ordered to 
 advance with two pieces of cannon. At this moment 
 an Arab coining in reported that the French were 
 retiring, which induced Colonel Abercromby to ask 
 me to ascertain the fact, if possible, by going to the 
 canal. I was obliged to make a considerable detour 
 and had nearly lost my horse in a bog ; but at last 
 reached it and found that there was no truth in the 
 report of their retiring towards Alexandria. On my 
 return I was obliged to pass under a cannonade 
 directed against our dragoons, the first shot of which 
 took off the leg of Captain King of the 26th and 
 killed three horses. 
 
 General Hutchinson, not thinking it desirable to 
 attack that night, prepared to take a position. In the 
 interim the Capitan Pacha arrived and held a con- 
 ference for some time ; after which he went to the 
 Turks on the left, and I with him, to see the attack of 
 our gun-boats cannonading the French position. 
 
 Meeting Captain Brice, who was going over to 
 Colonel Stuart's column, I got into his boat. We 
 crossed out of fire, but as we landed saw the sailors 
 who had just buried Lieutenant Hobbs of the Delft : 
 
 VOL. I. N"
 
 172 GALLANTRY OF THE EIGHTY-NINTH. Chap. IV. 
 
 he was killed by a twenty-four pounder, which entered 
 at the bow of the boat striking off the heads of two 
 sailors and wounding three others severely. We had 
 a walk of a mile and a half to get to Colonel Stuart, 
 and had many shot whizzing around us. We found 
 him and Lord Bury within half musket-shot of the 
 enemy's battery on the opposite side. The soldiers 
 were lying down under cover of an embankment. 
 The Turks, as is their constant practice, had burrowed 
 in intrenchments thrown up by their own hands 
 without spades ; but their standards were placed in 
 their front, attracting all the fire. They particularly 
 complimented Colonel Stuart with a number placed 
 in front of him, which he in vain endeavoured to 
 remove. The 89th greatly distinguished themselves 
 this day, advancing to their position under a very 
 heavy fire of grape, and driving before them three 
 hundred French and some cavalry. The Turks can 
 scarcely cry out " Bono John "' enough — this is their 
 mark of esteem for us. I do not know whether they 
 allude to "John Bull." We in return say, "Bono 
 John Turk." 
 
 After a complete view of the rear of the enemy's 
 position we went back, but on our way ascended the 
 minaret of a village from which we saw the French 
 column retreating. The information was too precious 
 for delay ; we therefore proceeded as fast as possible, 
 got into our boat very tired and faint, for it was the hot- 
 test day we had yet experienced in Egypt, crossed over, 
 mounted our horses, and galloped to General Hutchin- 
 son. We found that he had advanced to the canal 
 with the army, whose flankers were warmly engaged. 
 The Turks were really under a hot fire and were ad-
 
 Chap. IV. FRENCH DRAGOONS TAKEN PRISONERS. 173 
 
 vancing most gallantly to the very intrenchments 
 of the French, when an order was given to retire as it 
 was getting dark. The Turks, who were within a 
 hundred yards of the works when this order was given, 
 went back precipitately, almost breaking our line 
 which was their support. It was not deficiency of 
 courage, but of practice and discipline, that made them 
 act in so unsoldierly a manner. As their retreat 
 made a feint of coming between us and the Nile the 
 whole army was obliged to move to the left, and as it 
 was dark this was done with some confusion. The 
 Turks kept us in alarm as they, determined not to be 
 surprised, fired volleys at shadows. 
 
 The next day, while I was riding with Birch who 
 was ordered to dispose some troops for the attack on 
 the left, Captain Brice came by and said that a French 
 officer had just come over the water from the fort 
 with a letter. I went immediately to General Hutch- 
 inson, who ordered me to go to the fort and keep back 
 the Turks from entering lest they should murder the 
 garrison. I found a vast number of them already on 
 all sides as they had seen the flag of truce ; but they 
 went back quietly at my desire. I then rode to the 
 fort, where I found Colonel Anstruther and Murray in 
 conversation with the commandant. From thence I 
 proceeded to General Hutchinson, who was waiting 
 for the Capitan Pacha's consent to give the garrison 
 a capitulation. While I was there the French officer 
 who had come with the letter arrived. He was an 
 artillerist, and a very gentlemanlike man. Colonel 
 Brown soon after came into the tent with the report 
 that a French party of forty dragoons had just been 
 taken by a party of his own. The prisoners were 
 
 n 2
 
 174 FRENCH PLEASED AT BEING CAPTURED. Chap. IV. 
 
 soon brought in. The French captain who commanded 
 informed us that he was coining from Rahmanieh to 
 Alexandria, which he had left four daj^s since having 
 been detained so long by the inundation ; that he 
 was escorting an aide-de-camp of General Biron carry- 
 ing despatches ; that they were attacked by a party 
 of Bedouui Arabs about half a mile from our right, 
 who shot a sergeant and mortally wounded the aide- 
 de-camp ; that at this moment they saw to their 
 great astonishment a party of English twice as strong 
 as themselves charging towards them. They had no 
 idea that the British troops were in the neighbour- 
 hood, for the inhabitants and Arabs had deceived 
 them and said that the French had not even retired 
 from Bosetta. They saw now no alternative but death 
 or surrender to our dragoons, as the Arabs were 
 crowding in upon them : they therefore held out the 
 white handkerchief. The head of the sergeant had 
 been cut off but the aide-de-camp was brought in. 
 There were five others also wounded. The detach- 
 ment was of the 22nd Dragoons, the best and 
 heaviest regiment here. They are known to the 15th 
 as the horse-hair cap regiment whom we charged at 
 Duffel. 
 
 The men were delighted at being taken, saying that 
 they had long desired such an occasion to return. 
 The officers were by no means dissatisfied. They were 
 allowed to sell their horses. 
 
 As it was of importance to recover the despatches 
 which the aide-de-camp declared he had lost in the 
 affair I galloped off directly, and with much trouble 
 and four dollars recovered from the Arabs about forty 
 letters, but not the principal despatch. They promised
 
 Chap. IV. FRENCH DESPATCHES RECOVERED. 175 
 
 to get it for me, and also the aide-de-camp's sabre, 
 which I hear is a magnificent one. 
 
 I hastened back with my prize and we opened all the 
 letters; but they contained little intelligence, as all 
 declared that they were " forbidden on any pretence 
 whatever to write about anything that occurred in the 
 army "—a sufficient proof that Menou is in no plea- 
 sant situation — and "that they can scarcely speak 
 without being liable to cashiering." They complain 
 much of our cutting the dyke, and say that the water 
 has penetrated far into Libya. Sir Sidney has been 
 a three days' cruise on it. They state that some 
 sailors escaped out of a vessel driven on shore by us 
 report that Mr. Pitt has accepted the portefeuille : and 
 that Mr. Fox is gone to Paris and Buonaparte's 
 brother to London to treat on the subject of peace. 
 They seem totally ignorant of our movements on this 
 side. 
 
 After reading these papers I rode to the fort and 
 French position, and I am convinced that the general 
 would have done wrong, without the most positive 
 certainty of what did actually happen, if he had 
 attacked on the first day ; although I know that many 
 differ in opinion. The French evacuated the place in 
 such confusion that they were obliged to leave much 
 valuable property behind. They threw over into the 
 water all the cannon on the works near the Nile, and 
 out of their gun-boats; but they will be recovered. 
 There are many valuable brass guns. They destroyed 
 vast quantities of ammunition, and abandoned to us 
 about sixty dgerms and eight gun-boats. In the first 
 were seven cannon and great stores of flour and 
 biscuit. No English went into the village of Rah-
 
 176 DISPOSITION OF THE FRENCH FORCES. Chap. IV. 
 
 manieh, but the Turks defied the plague and orders. 
 The French did not leave in their pest-houses any of 
 their own people, but they left many Arabs. It 
 struck me that the most melancholy circumstance of 
 this dreadful malady is the necessary exclusion from 
 all friends and attendance while the faculties remain 
 perfect. It is a tragic preparation for the grave. 
 
 The name of the French commander was Lacroix — 
 a very good man. The officers were all of the better 
 sort; but they complained bitterly of their soldiers, 
 and said that they were so mutinous that they could 
 scarcely be brought into action. 
 
 The French having gone to Cairo it was judged 
 necessary for us to follow them, as otherwise they 
 might beat the Grand Yizier and our troops at Suez 
 and prevent the Mamelukes from joining us. 
 
 Their whole force is thus distributed in Egypt. 
 Four thousand infantry and eight hundred cavalry at 
 Cairo, and on march thither three thousand infantry 
 and four hundred dragoons ; also three thousand 
 sailors at Alexandria. The British force following the 
 French is five thousand men. 
 
 It is certainly a daring enterprise to advance into a 
 country on a sudden resolve, unprepared in any way, 
 ignorant of the ground we are to pass over, and very 
 little superior in numbers to the enemy. But what 
 may not be expected from an army which has gained 
 such miraculous successes? which when unprovided 
 with artillery or cavalry has effected a landing, main- 
 tained its footing, and almost acquired possession of a 
 country where from first to last fifty thousand French- 
 men have been thrown in, and where a very superior 
 force still remains to oppose it? The expedition
 
 Chap. IV. BAD CONDUCT OF TURKISH TROOPS. 177 
 
 to Egypt was an ill-advised one, but the troops have 
 deserved all gratitude from England. Such an army I 
 never served with before. Brave the British always 
 are ; but such an order and discipline reigns here 
 throughout this army that one might suppose every 
 individual to be a noble gentleman. 
 
 This morning we marched at eight o'clock. I went 
 in front of the Turks to see the cavalry. It is not 
 composed of Turks, but of Arabs and all the vagabonds 
 of Syria. Such a crew I never saw. None of them 
 have swords, and but a few have muskets. 
 
 The villages through which we marched, and their 
 inhabitants, were wretched in the extreme ; yet the 
 Turks plundered all they could even from these 
 miserable beings. The exertions of the English 
 officers saved much cruelty ; and I hope that the 
 punishment of one Turk, whom the Caia Bey must 
 execute, may have a good efFect. This day, however, 
 his men seemed very riotous and even hooted him as 
 he passed. He said to General Hutchinson: "They 
 are a set of impertinent fellows whom I can scarcely 
 command." 
 
 Nothing can exceed the high character of the 
 British, or the love which the inhabitants and the 
 Arabs show towards us ; but the Turks do the cause 
 much harm. Their thirst for plunder is so great that 
 this morning they even entered and rifled the pest- 
 houses, or straw huts, where the infected people are 
 abandoned to death. 
 
 May 13. — Yesterday we marched about ten miles, 
 passing over the ground where Buonaparte beat the 
 Mamelukes. The sirocco parched us to extremity. 
 
 General Hutchinson has just sent for me. I am
 
 178 ARRIVAL AT THE TOWN OF SAIS. Chap. IV. 
 
 going off to the Grand Vizier with despatches, and 
 have not a moment to lose, as my guard is ready. I 
 am also sent for to the Capitan Pacha to receive 
 despatches from him. 
 
 May 19. — On the 13 th I started at seven p.m. from 
 the general's tent. At nine we crossed the Nile. My 
 guard was a Mameluke of the name of Mahomet Aga 
 a great friend of Mourad Bey's, and four Arabs. On 
 the other side we were joined by an armed detachment 
 of infantry, which, however, I refused to take ; but an 
 old Mameluke, wounded at the battle of the Pyra- 
 mids, would proceed with me. 
 
 On the 14th, after travelling all night, we entered 
 the town of Sais. Here I found that I had lost every 
 shilling I had out of my pocket. It was no agreeable 
 thing to find myself penniless in a strange country, 
 with a long journey before me. However, money was 
 not wanted, for the people everywhere fed me with 
 bread and milk. The joy at seeing a British officer 
 was universal and most sincere. I travelled on the 
 whole night, but with difficulty got my guard to pro- 
 ceed as they were not accustomed to such exertion. 
 As it was, they would frequently stop to wash, and 
 then I found it impossible to do anything with them, 
 as they used only their hands to divide their meat and 
 take up their rice. I have seen seventeen hands at 
 once, black brown and tawny, in a large dish. This 
 formed a horrid contrast with the rice. My diet was 
 milk and bread. My friend Mahomet Aga one even- 
 ing indeed took up a bone from which he tore a bit 
 of meat and thrust it into my mouth ; but I spit it out 
 again, nauseated beyond endurance. 
 
 The next morning, I crossed the Damietta branch
 
 Chap. IV. THE TURKISH GRAND VIZIER. 179 
 
 of the Nile at Zephta. It is nearly as broad as the 
 Eosetta branch. This was the fourth body of water I 
 passed through, including the canal of Menouf. 
 
 About four in the afternoon I arrived at the Grand 
 Vizier's camp at Balbeis. This Turkish camp was a 
 scene of universal confusion — horsemen galloping 
 about in all directions ; pachas and agas moving with 
 vast suites to show their parade rather than inspect 
 their troops ; others in their tents smoking, and sur- 
 rounded by their numerous slaves •, firing of pistols, 
 neighing of the stallions, dead carcases, pestilential air, 
 clouds of dust. 
 
 I was first conducted to the Caia Bey, the Grand 
 Vizier not being in his tent. He is a good and very 
 affable man : his character for courage stands high. 
 From him I went to the Reis Effendi, who was in Lon- 
 don with the first Turkish ambassador. Here I saw 
 Major Hollowell who has been attached a long time 
 to their army. 
 
 The news had just arrived that the French had left 
 Cairo the same morning and were at El Hanka. 
 There was consequently much confusion. When the 
 Grand Vizier came in I went to him, and was received 
 with great marks of attention. He is a very fine old 
 man, with a most beautiful beard soft and glossy as 
 satin ; his dress most magnificent ; his tent corre- 
 spondingly so. 
 
 When the state ceremony was over everybody re- 
 turned but the Reis Effendi, Major Hollowell, Mon- 
 tresor who was on his way to Suez, and niyself. 
 The despatches were read, but the advice contained 
 in them from circumstances could not be followed. 
 The Turkish army had mutinied the day before, be-
 
 180 PRESENTED BY HIM WITH TWO HORSES. Chap. IV. 
 
 cause they were not allowed to go and fight the French 
 under the walls of Cairo. 
 
 Reports coming from all quarters that the French 
 were still advancing, four thousand cavalry under the 
 command of the Caia Bey were ordered out, with in- 
 structions to charge the French columns during their 
 march in the night. 
 
 The Grand Yizier became very anxious that General 
 Hutchinson should be informed of his situation as soon 
 as possible. I therefore thought it my duty to offer 
 to return to him instantly. The offer was, of course, 
 accepted with great satisfaction. 
 
 I waited however till twelve at night in hopes of 
 a battle, but then set off as no firing was heard. 
 
 The Grand Yizier sent me two horses as a present, 
 but I would only accept one. The Reis Effendi assured 
 me that his Highness was in the greatest possible dis- 
 tress, because he could not make me the presents he 
 wished as all his valuables were packed up. 
 
 It was no small exertion that I was about to make, 
 as I had taken no rest for two nights and had been 
 constantly on horseback ; but a sense of duty and love 
 of praise animated me.* I stopped at the Seraskier's 
 tent on my way, and found him a man of most deter- 
 mined character and soldier-like spirit. 
 
 I found it necessary to make the greatest efforts to 
 convey my information to the general. Our route 
 lay by El Hanka. I passed within half a mile of the 
 French ; saw them all plainly ; was a little alarmed 
 once at our horses neighing, which might have dis- 
 covered us. My friend Mahomet Aga — the finest 
 character I ever knew — would return with me, though 
 
 * " Vincit amor patriae laudumque immensa cupiclo." — Virgil. — Ed.
 
 Chap. IV. JOURNEY IN THE DESERT. 181 
 
 he was much fatigued. The whole of that night and 
 until eleven on the night following I was on horse- 
 back, except while crossing the Nile and the Menouf 
 canal, and for one hour when I baited my horse. The 
 Arabs were obliged to give up the journey, for I in- 
 sisted on proceeding during the heat of the day and 
 the sun was blazing indeed. Poor Mahomet Aga was 
 nearly overcome ; never before had he made such a 
 journey. When we reached the Nile we found our- 
 selves close to the advanced posts of our army in the 
 Delta. There were no boats to take my horses across, 
 but we hailed a gun-boat which sent a boat for us, and 
 in this Mahomet and I crossed the river. The sailors 
 told us to keep along the banks, but never said a word 
 of the Desert. I soon, however, found myself sur- 
 rounded by sand. We pushed on for two miles but 
 still never reached the Nile again. Mahomet now 
 began to be in great agitation. He kept crying, 
 Allah ! Allah ! and threw himself on the ground. 
 With difficulty I made him get up. He put my hand 
 upon his forehead and arose. The sweat fell in great 
 drops from him, and he trembled violently. At last, 
 after wandering about some time, I perceived in what 
 I thought must be the direction of the Nile some- 
 thing black. We pressed forward and found it to be 
 earth not sand. I knew therefore that we were on 
 the border of the Desert. 
 
 I felt certainly much relieved; for the moment I 
 thought that I could get no water I thirsted for it, 
 and the deep sand momentarily increased the sense of 
 drought. In another hour we saw the Nile, and 
 Mahomet leapt for joy like a child. Soon we hailed 
 our gun-vessels for a boat and crossed over to the
 
 182 ENCOUNTER WITH A FRENCH CONVOY. Chap. IV. 
 
 other side, lying all the rest of the night on the 
 ground. At daybreak we went down the Nile three 
 miles and arrived opposite head-quarters, when I re- 
 erossed the river. The general was surprised at my 
 return : and of course when he heard ray intelligence 
 appreciated the expedition I had used. 
 
 After breakfasting with the general, I went into the 
 Nile — a most necessary purification. While I was 
 dressing again some Arabs reported that a French 
 convoy was passing the Desert : the cavalry and in- 
 fantry were ordered out : I felt no longer any fatigue, 
 and determined to go also. In vain I endeavoured to 
 borrow a horse ; I was obliged to take the one which 
 Lad conveyed me from the Grand Vizier's — the best 
 animal I ever rode, for he seemed as eager as his 
 master and to partake of his anxiety to get up to the 
 enemy. At an immense distance we saw a dark mass 
 on the horizon. Colonel Abercromby and I quickly 
 passed our columns and, trusting to the Arabs who 
 swarmed out in all directions, we went at full speed 
 for seven or eight miles. 
 
 I was the first who got up tolerably close. It was 
 my wish to make the Arabs fire on the front and flank 
 of the enemy's column, but they would not venture 
 within musket-skot. I was, however, compelled to 
 ascertain the strength of the column and got very 
 close, when two or three tirailleurs gave me the benefit 
 of their shots ; one of which was nearer to me than I 
 wish another to be in Egypt : the man who fired it 
 afterwards told me that he was glad he did his duty in 
 endeavouring to hit me, but equally glad that destiny 
 had averted the direction, for at the same distance he 
 would engage to hit an apple. I perceived some eon-
 
 Chap. IV. SURRENDER OF THE CONVOY. 183 
 
 fusion among the enemy, but saw a very formidable 
 force indeed. I knew that our cavalry alone could get 
 up, and that for the infantry it was impossible. I 
 thought of Sir Win. Erskine, who with a very few 
 men took two battalions by only asking them to sur- 
 render ; and I took my resolution knowing that at all 
 events delay was a considerable object. I therefore 
 galloped to Colonel Abercromby, and begged permis- 
 sion to go with a flag of truce and ask the French to 
 surrender. He approved much of the idea. For some 
 time I could get no white pocket-handkerchief. At 
 last a Major of the 12th lent me one. The cavalry, 
 240 in number, were by this time come up ; also two 
 pieces of cannon. I stuck the handkerchief on my 
 sword but when I got near the French it blew off. 
 However, I galloped on and asked for the com- 
 mandant, observing everything at the same time most 
 carefully. The commandant, Cavalier, chef de brigade 
 and of the dromedary corps, advanced. I said : " I am 
 come, sir, to propose that you should surrender to the 
 English. Our columns are advancing against you, and 
 it is humanity to offer you permission to go to France 
 after laying down your arms." Cavalier replied : 
 " You must retire from our columns. It is our duty 
 to fight." I answered : " Then, sir, the responsibility 
 rests upon your head ; and remember that it is a dread- 
 ful one. You sacrifice your people." I turned my 
 horse to go away. I heard the soldiers ask whether 
 I had not said the words "return to France." I was 
 presently called back, but pretended not to hear. An 
 aide-de-camp galloped after me, and said that the 
 commandant wished to hear my proposals again. I 
 repeated them. He said that he must consult with
 
 184 SEVEN HUNDRED CAMELS, ETC., TAKEN. Chap. IV. 
 
 his officers. There was a visible sensation in the corps. 
 I saw the termination of this affair. In a moment 
 Cavalier came up to me and said that he would con- 
 sent to give up the camels and baggage, but demanded 
 that the troops should go to Cairo unmolested. My 
 reply was : " You, sir, must have a poor opinion of our 
 judgment or yourselves if you suppose that we will 
 allow the army at Cairo to be increased by a force of 
 five or six hundred men." At length it was settled 
 that they should lay down their arms at head-quarters ; 
 that all private property should be respected; and 
 that, in conformity with the King's direction to the 
 commander-in-chief, all men taken by his army should 
 be sent free to France and not considered prisoners 
 after their arrival. 
 
 The Arabs began to press in, but I ordered a squad- 
 ron to surround the column and keep them back. 
 General Dovle and General Hutchinson — the latter 
 
 m 
 
 had by this time arrived — ratified the terms : and we 
 found ourselves masters of above seven hundred 
 camels, eighty men of the dromedary corps, one hun- 
 dred and thirty dragoons, some hair-cap men as 
 stated before, three hundred and fifty infant^ and 
 officers, artillerymen, &c. ; amounting in total to five 
 hundred and ninety-seven Frenchmen, and about three 
 hundred Arab camel-drivers: also of one piece of 
 cannon. 
 
 The convoy had left Alexandria to get provisions 
 at Rahmanieh ; but finding that place taken was 
 proceeding to Cairo for the same purpose, which 
 proves Alexandria to be in want. Some Arabs had 
 followed them the whole way from Alexandria, ha- 
 rassing them much and sending word to us of their
 
 Chap. IV. REPETITION OP BUONAPARTE'S STRATAGEM. 185 
 
 march. These useful allies have been well paid. 
 This shows the danger of making the natives hostile ; 
 but how can they be otherwise when the French allow 
 that in Upper Egypt they have killed thirty thousand 
 Egyptians — when every village that they have passed 
 in this country has been destroyed by them ? Even 
 within a hundred yards of the place where I am writ- 
 ing are the ruins of a large village burnt by them, 
 where all the women and children were put to the 
 sword. 
 
 The successful issue of this enterprise was most 
 flattering to me. I rode to head-quarters with Cavalier, 
 who, after depositing his arms, came with General 
 D'Estaing's aide-de-camp and a colonel of infantry to 
 dine with the general. 
 
 As this journal is only intended for my own family 
 I may, without being charged with vanity, state all 
 this : I do not mean to claim any extraordinary 
 merit, only I had recollection enough to try a thing 
 often tried before : by the same stratagem Buonaparte 
 once in Italy succeeded in taking four thousand men. 
 Certainly Cavalier might have got off, for our cavalry 
 could not have followed a league further having 
 neither water nor provisions; but Cavalier did not 
 know this. He knew, however, that if he was beat the 
 Arabs and Turks would kill every man ; he had a 
 desert to wander in ; water only for one day ; and he 
 must strike very deep into the Desert indeed to avoid 
 falling in with other troops of ours. It was a des- 
 perate situation. On the other hand France their 
 native country, return to friends and relations, all was 
 within their reach. The officers confessed afterwards 
 that the words I made use of, " revenir en France," 
 told like an electric shock on their minds. Pleasure
 
 186 BUONAPARTE AND THE GARRISON OF JAFFA. Chap. IV. 
 
 gleamed in the flash of the imagination, dispelling their 
 miserable anxiety and the scene before them. 
 
 The men of the dromedary corps were of the finest 
 in form and countenance, and most beautifully ap- 
 pointed. It was an unique spectacle and made 
 a powerful impression on all. The whole of the men 
 taken were such as one might suppose the elite of the 
 army of France to be. 
 
 Cavalier condemned the conduct of many general 
 officers, and said that if Buonaparte or Kleber had 
 been here we should have been opposed on our 
 landing by eight thousand men instead of two ; and 
 that we should have found an intrenched camp at 
 Rahmanieh. 
 
 I could not help, when Cavalier accused the Turks 
 of barbarity, taking that opportunity of asking 
 whether Buonaparte did really, as the Turks urge in 
 their defence, massacre the garrison at Jaffa after it 
 had surrendered three days. He answered that he 
 was not at Jaffa at the time having gone on towards 
 Acre : he confessed that he had heard it stated, but 
 expressed a hope that Buonaparte had grounds for his 
 justification before God and man. 
 
 I went to take leave of Cavalier at his embarkation 
 with his men. He gave me his dromedary : and the 
 commissary of war insisted on my accepting a costly 
 marquee. All the officers said ver}' flattering things, 
 which made me almost feel shame ; but I have the 
 pleasure of reflecting that I have certainly obtained 
 or increased their esteem for the English character.* 
 
 * Du lazaret de Rosette, le 10 Prairial, an 9, ou 30 May, 1801. 
 
 Cavalier, Chef de Brigade, X Monsieur le Major Wilson. 
 
 Jc suis, Monsieur, si convaincu de l'inte'rSt que vous prenez a nous, que 
 je viens avec confiance vous prier d'engager Monsieur le Major GeneVal
 
 Chap. IV. PRESENTED WITH A MAMELUKE SABRE. 187 
 
 Isaac Bey on my return jumped out of the Capi- 
 tan Pacha's barge, kissed me with a very hard beard, 
 and told me that the Grand Vizier had beat the 
 French. I galloped off instantly on a horse that I 
 got without saddle or girth to the Caia Bey, and 
 brought him to Isaac Bey who gave us the particulars 
 of this important victory. 
 
 Camp, Chebreisse, May 23. 
 
 I went yesterday, after an interview with the Capi- 
 tan Pacha, to the army of the Grand Vizier. The 
 camp was forty miles distant. I was five hours en 
 chemin. Delivered my despatches. The Turkish army 
 was encamped near very high hills. The only posi- 
 tion of heights in Egypt originally thrown up by the 
 Romans. 
 
 This morning at eleven o'clock I was sent for by the 
 Grand Vizier ; when, after communicating to me some 
 important information, he presented and invested me 
 in due form with a beautiful Mameluke sabre of great 
 value, and added costly gifts in embroidered silks, &c. 
 I told him that I was a married man and mentioned 
 
 Hutchinson de dormer de suite lesordres necessaires pour l'entiere execution 
 du traite que j'ai eu l'honneur de faire avec lui : depuis deux jours que je 
 suis ici je n'ai pu. faire executer une seule des conditions qui e"taient a notre 
 avantage. M. le Colonel Montresor, pour qui vous m'avez charge" d'uue 
 lettre, nous traite comme les Francais qui ont dte force de se rendre prison- 
 niers de guerre. Vous connaissez, Monsieur, les conditions qui ont ete" 
 librement contractus de part et d'autre; je n'en reclame que la stricte 
 execution. 
 
 Je n'ai jusqu'a present trouve" que peu de personnes qui vous ressemble, 
 aussi moins le nombre en est grand, et plus les sentiments d'estime et 
 d'affection que vous m'avez inspire" sont fonde"s et sinceres. Je vous prie 
 d'en agreer les temoignages. Le Commissaire de Guerre se rappelle a 
 votre souvenir. 
 
 Je suis avec affection, Monsieur, votre devoue" serviteur, 
 
 Cavalier 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 188 CAPITAN PACHA AND IBRAHIM BEY. Chap. IV. 
 
 the number of my family, saying that his silks were 
 therefore of higher value to me. He laughed much 
 at my having so many children ; and was much 
 pleased when I answered to his observation that I 
 had " married too young," that " this was impos- 
 sible as I had only known real happiness from that 
 moment." 
 
 His Highness ordered me an escort on my return, 
 although I had come in perfect safety alone ; however, 
 I contrived to take only one Mameluke. We were 
 five hours riding — or what is called steeple-hunting — 
 about thirty-six miles, including the time lost by 
 our horses knocking up for the last five miles. 
 
 When I saw the Capitan Pacha he was much 
 pleased with my diligence. He took me in his barge 
 to General Hutchinson, where I communicated my 
 despatches ; and, at his desire, wrote down all that I 
 had verbally delivered. I used much caution in this, 
 from a sense of the responsibility. 
 
 I am sorry to say that my horse, which I rode home 
 this evening, or rather the dragoon's, is dead. I be- 
 lieve that the sailor who brought him up from the 
 pontoon when I went into the Capitan Pacha's barge 
 gave him too much water. It would distress me to 
 think that I had ridden him too hard. 
 
 English Camp, May 29. 
 
 Thermometer 112° in the shade — the heat almost 
 insupportable. The Capitan Pacha and the general 
 arrived : they were received in great state by the 
 Grand Yizier. Here I saw Ibrahim Bey — a fine old 
 man, with a quick, sparkling eye : but the prince of the 
 Mamelukes is Suliman Aga. The Mamelukes under
 
 Chap. IV. BLOOD HORSES OF ARABIA FELIX. 189 
 
 Ibrahim are in number about five hundred and sixty ; 
 very superior, in manner dress and appearance, to the 
 Turks, but by no means mounted in the style that 
 I expected. Indeed we have been grossly deceived 
 as to the horses in this country. There are some 
 handsome parade horses, bitted up with their severe 
 bridles, but none can keep a high rate of speed for 
 any distance : indeed the Grand Yizier told me that 
 they do not value horses as Englishmen do for that 
 quality, but only as they were strong and active. In 
 Arabia Felix there is the species of blood horses which 
 we admire, but they are very rare and exorbitantly 
 dear. Of all those presented to General Hutchinson 
 by the Grand Yizier and others, Ibrahim Bey sent the 
 only two good ones. One, very small but elegant 
 and thorough bred : the other, the largest black horse 
 I ever saw, of the Nubian race ; very active for his 
 stupendous size, and so excellent, in my opinion, for 
 the improvement of our English breed that I mean, if 
 the general will not take him home, to ask for him 
 that I may present him to the King. We hear that 
 his Majesty is better — grace a Dien. 
 
 The Grand Yizier told me that it was his intention 
 to ask that I might be allowed to remain with him : I 
 of course thanked him, but I did not much wish it. 
 He did so when on the following day I went to take 
 leave of him ; but the Capitan Pacha, who was then 
 present, would not allow it. The next day we all set 
 off. The general's brother and Proby, with a long 
 retinue of led horses, were put under my convoy. 
 After a seventeen hours' ride without food or drink we 
 arrived here. 
 
 May 30.— Last night I went to pay my respects 
 
 o 2
 
 190 OSMAN BEY AND HIS MAMELUKES Chap. IV. 
 
 to the Capitan Pacha — afterwards to the general, 
 where I found a man who had just come from Ibra- 
 him — the Caia Bey of Osman Bey — to whom at nine 
 o'clock at night the general sent me off. He was 
 distant from our camp seven miles. He was much 
 surprised to see me, and much pleased as I was 
 the herald of security to him. He is an Upper 
 Egyptian — a man of extraordinary powers : indeed it 
 was necessary that Osman Bey, when he committed 
 himself and his Mamelukes to the conduct of an in- 
 dividual, should select the ablest. I returned about 
 twelve at night, and set off again this morning at five 
 to meet him ; but after a ride of six miles I found 
 that he had passed on, taking the direct road in order 
 to avoid the Capitan Pacha till he had seen the general. 
 When I came to the general's tent I found Ibrahim 
 already there with some Mamelukes most superbly 
 mounted indeed. 
 
 Osman Bey, with near three thousand Mamelukes, 
 has advanced within eighteen miles of us. He passed by 
 the French troops at Djezzar, opposite Cairo, but they 
 did not dare to attack him. This defection of theirs 
 from the French is of the most important advantage to 
 us. We have reason to believe that it was the enemy's 
 intention to retreat from Cairo into Upper Egypt. 
 They will find there now a very formidable body of 
 troops ready to oppose them. If Sir Home Popham's 
 expedition lands at Cossir the friendship of Osman Bey 
 will be of still more essential value. 
 
 The Capitan Pacha yesterday asked me to go in 
 his ship to Constantinople when we are about to return 
 home — an offer which I shall probably accept. 
 
 June 1. — The army marched. The Capitan Pacha
 
 Chap. IV. RICHLY DRESSED AND MOUNTED. 191 
 
 the evening before sent to ask me to go up in his 
 vessel. I dined with him tete-a-tete, Isaac Bey being 
 the attendant slave and not admitted to eat till the 
 Pacha had dined. The Capitan Pacha pulled my 
 meat to pieces with his fingers, and I was under the 
 necessity of playing the courtier's part and appearing 
 much pleased with the attention. He however very 
 nearly made me forget my courtesy by asking whether 
 I could write. Nothing could exceed his kindness and 
 solicitude to do everything that could be gratifying. 
 Hearing that we wanted wine, he yesterday ordered a 
 large Eussian transport to go to Cyprus and bring 
 back all that she can purchase as a present to the 
 British army. The munificence of this extraordinary 
 man is unbounded. He is a character formed to 
 replace the sinking Crescent in its meridian glory. If 
 life is prolonged— but many think him in a rapid con- 
 sumption — mankind will behold with astonishment 
 events planned by his penetrating intellect and exe- 
 cuted by his daring hand. Firm perseverance is a 
 principal feature of his character, and his former 
 failure has only rendered him more eager for success. 
 It is not right to commit more to paper. 
 
 June 3. — I rode to the Mameluke camp yesterday. 
 Osman Bey is a noble-looking man ; the Mamelukes 
 striking troops, richly dressed and beautifully mounted. 
 Their horses are all well bred, but small in general. In- 
 dividually they would beat any cavalry in the world ; 
 but collectively a squadron of British dragoons must, 
 from its superior weight and strength, ride down an 
 equal body of them. 
 
 There are about a hundred French among them who 
 had been taken, and who, averse to being exposed to
 
 192 MAHOMED BEY AND REGNIER. Chap. IV. 
 
 the shame of returning among their comrades after 
 their humiliation, preferred remaining in the service of 
 their Mameluke masters. Yet country is an overpower- 
 ing sentiment : one told me that he would prefer death 
 in France to the honours of a Bey of Egypt. I am 
 endeavouring to rescue them, and am intriguing at the 
 pride and interest of those who have the power to 
 release them. Last night I represented to the Capi- 
 tan Pacha the impolicy of allowing Frenchmen to be 
 Mamelukes : urging that among the number there were 
 some clever men who might aspire to and probably 
 gain the dignity of Bey, when of course they would be 
 influenced by French politics. This day I shall use 
 much the same language to General Hutchinson, whose 
 humanity and generosity will induce him to do all in 
 his power. 
 
 Mahomed Bey Elfi —the last name signifies "a thou- 
 sand," and implies that a thousand sequins was the price 
 given for him when a boy by Mourad Bey — invited 
 me to coffee in his tent. Syphax, the name I gave to 
 the Caia Bey from his exact similarity of character and 
 appearance to him as he is represented by Sallust, 
 was in the tent. Mahomed told me that Regnier came 
 to him when Cairo after the defeat of the Grand 
 Vizier was capitulating, wishing to prevail on him 
 who was the only one desirous of holding out longer 
 to accept terms. His answer was, " No ! I am an 
 Englishman." Upon which Regnier replied, "You 
 are wrong ; it is true that the English are superior to 
 us at sea, but by laud they are not even respectable ; 
 therefore why attach yourself to a power that can 
 never aid you?" Mahomed answered, "Is not the 
 sea considerably larger than the land?" Regnier
 
 Chap. IV. PRESENT OF SUL1MAN AGA. 193 
 
 acknowledged it. "Then," said Mahomed, "as the 
 dominion of the English is larger than yours so must 
 they be greater ; therefore I continue English." 
 
 Heard of a thousand men landed at Cossir. 
 
 June 5. — The army marched to Sinai, nine miles ; 
 thence, on the following day, ten miles, to Yerdam. 
 The army sickly. 
 
 June 9. — In the evening of the fifth it was ar- 
 ranged by the general and the Capitan Pacha that I 
 should go at daybreak to the Grand Vizier's camp. I set 
 off at 4 a.m. and after a ride of thirty miles found it ; 
 he had moved without our knowledge. Next morning, 
 taking twelve men with me, I went and patrolled within 
 two miles of Grand Cairo ; took a sketch of it, and 
 made on my return an official report that the citadel was 
 not defensible it being commanded by a very high hill. 
 
 Suliman Aga, the prince of Ibrahim Bey's Mamelukes 
 and the handsomest and noblest of them, presented 
 me with a very fine chesnut horse. Ibrahim himself 
 gave me another. Afterwards the Grand Yizier gave 
 me my despatches, and I set off on my return and 
 found our army at the head of the Delta. 
 
 The Capitan Pacha desired me to patrol till I 
 found the enemy. After riding about four miles I met 
 a Mameluke Bey who had just returned from Gizeh, 
 where he had been sent on an important secret mission 
 the purport of which was only known to the general and 
 myself; therefore not to be mentioned or even hinted 
 at at home. He assured me that there was not a 
 Frenchman out of the works of Gizeh. I therefore 
 returned to the Pacha. Our camp is at the head of the 
 Delta. The Pyramids, although eight miles distant, 
 appear close.
 
 194 RECONNOITRES THE DEFENCES OF GIZEH. Chap. IV. 
 
 June 11. — I received a report from Aboukir that ten 
 of my men were dead of the plague, and fifteen in 
 hospital. The army has four thousand sick. 
 
 Tanash, four miles from Cairo, June 14. 
 
 We marched yesterday morning at daybreak, but 
 only a league in advance. I rode on in front to 
 within a few hundred yards of Cairo, or rather Boulac 
 which is its suburb. We had a beautiful view. It is 
 the only picturesque scenery in this country ; but does 
 not realize the ideas we form of the Elysian fields 
 which the poets placed here. 
 
 This morning the general told me that he wished 
 me to go and patrol this night towards Gizeh and, 
 passing it, ascertain whether the French bridge on 
 the other side may be attacked. His selection of me 
 to perforin this service is very flattering. Mamelukes 
 alone go with me : my guide is a French deserter. 
 
 June 16. — The Mamelukes behaved ill; would 
 not go as far as I wished but left me alone. I saw 
 Gizeh and its bridge ; found that it might be attacked 
 with 12-pounders; returned at ten at night. The 
 general much pleased with my report. 
 
 June 18. — I went yesterday with the general to 
 show him the bridge of Gizeh. Placed him at a point 
 from which he could see everything, and then went on 
 with Captain Duncan of the artillery to reconnoitre 
 its defences. Got close to the works; found them 
 strong on that side, as there was a fortified palace of 
 Mourad Bey. Two hours after, when all was quiet, 
 I went out again and saw the other front : here the 
 attack will be made. The French cavalry tried to 
 cut us ofi" but we kept too good a look-out.
 
 Chap. IV. FLAG OF TRUCE FROM THE GARRISON. 195 
 
 A letter was brought in, found on an Arab who was 
 killed in his flight by the Saint — the Prince of Fez. 
 It was addressed by Monsieur Belliard to Menou at 
 Alexandria. He tells him falsehoods, of course, and 
 represents his shameful retreat from the Turks as a 
 victory ; affirms that he killed five hundred and took 
 two pieces of cannon, and that his cavalry sabred two 
 Beys. " Risum teneatis amici." 
 
 A shameful circumstance came to light yesterday. 
 On the general desiring the surgeon to be in readi- 
 ness to receive wounded, he confessed that he had 
 only bandages for two hundred and that he had been so 
 provided even when we left Rosetta. A commissary 
 and a ******** certainly ought to be hung. 
 
 I hope to arrive in England six weeks after the re- 
 ceipt of this, — "Fortuna favente." 
 
 Camp, 1£ mile from Gizeb, June 23. 
 
 I was sent on the morning of the 21st a long way 
 off to the right and was ordered — at seven at night — 
 to post four hundred Arnauts in the village in which 
 I was this morning, and where the batteries are to be 
 made this night. I returned at one o'clock, night, 
 having posted the Arnauts within half musket-shot 
 of Gizeh but covered by a wood. 
 
 On the 22nd a flag of truce was sent in from the 
 garrison, and a conference asked for to settle terms of 
 surrender. General Hope was sent. The Congress 
 at Rastadt was nothing compared to this. Never, in 
 the presence of four armies of the troops of so many 
 nations, on such interesting ground, on a more im- 
 portant subject, was a military council held. General 
 Menou unequivocally declared that the object of his
 
 19G THE PYRAMIDS, AND STRABO. Chap. IV. 
 
 instructions was the evacuation of Cairo, and the re- 
 turn of the French troops under the command of 
 General Belliard to France. . What further passed I 
 do not know. 
 
 June 27. — This morning I went to see the Pyra- 
 mids. The great one only strikes you with wonder 
 when you are immediately under its base : this is 
 prodigiously vast, but the altitude is by no means im- 
 posing. The stones of which it is built are enormous ; 
 but certainly I think hewn from the rock on which it 
 stands. Formerly it was cased with granite and 
 marble : vast ruins of these still remain ; and near the 
 summit of the centre pyramid some thirty yards of 
 this casing still exist, with hieroglyphics engraved. 
 There are a great many smaller ones, and ruins of 
 about forty. From this circumstance, and from obser- 
 vation of the holes or catacombs in the rocks, also 
 from comparison with the pyramids at Saccara and 
 the places of mummies there, I have no doubt of these 
 being sepulchral edifices. 
 
 The French endeavoured to open the smallest of 
 the three pyramids, but without success ; indeed they 
 were always obliged to work protected by a large 
 corps, which rendered the operation more difficult. 
 The difference is great with us. An Englishman can 
 ride alone there. I did not descend into the vault of 
 the great pyramid, having no flambeaux ; but I am 
 convinced that Strabo's statement that the door in his 
 time was in the centre of the pyramid is erroneous, 
 as the base is now visible on the solid rock on which 
 it is built. Moreover, it is not probable that the 
 sand would cease to operate when the door was brought 
 near the level •, it would soon have blocked it up.
 
 Chap. IV. CATACOMBS OF SACCARA. 197 
 
 The Sphinx has a gigantic head of a woman hewn 
 out of the solid rock : her back is like a fish's, hewn 
 out of the rock also : the tail is not visible. The 
 French have dug down to her breasts, but have not 
 discovered her legs. It is the most stupendous stone 
 I ever saw or imagined. The Egyptians or Mame- 
 lukes have defaced her eyes and nose, but every 
 feature is still visible. 
 
 Conference proceeded. Articles agreed to and 
 signed. The delay of twelve days for the evacuation, 
 and as many for the march to Eosetta is very disastrous, 
 as our operations against Alexandria will be so long 
 stayed. The Capitan Pacha seriously insisted on 
 the French giving up all the negresses in their pos- 
 session •, and Madame Menou in particular, " as he 
 ivished to present her to the Grand SignorT 
 
 The Mamelukes are not satisfied with the state of 
 things. Osman Bey threatens to go in person to the 
 King of England, if his written promises are not ful- 
 fdled. 
 
 Camp near Gizeh, July 4-. 
 
 Yesterday I went with Hutchinson and others to visit 
 the pyramids and catacombs of Saccara. We first 
 descended into the catacombs of birds. We were let 
 down by ropes into a dry well about sixty feet deep ; 
 but when I saw the entrance at the bottom I dreaded 
 suffocation so much that I climbed up again. How- 
 ever, as the party seemed determined to persevere I 
 went down a second time. The entrance would only 
 allow of a person crawling, not on his hands and 
 knees but literally, ventre a terre. In that position 
 we slid backwards above eighty yards, till the vaults 
 opened sufficiently to admit of our standing upright.
 
 198 EXCELLENT CONDITION OF OUIl ARMY. Chap. IV. 
 
 Here we saw millions of mummied birds — the 
 feathers in many remaining perfect. We were glad 
 to get up again soon and crawl out of our graves. 
 We saw afterwards a vast variety of pyramids and 
 found an immense number of idols and a sculptured 
 head as large as life : I brought away also a necklace 
 of beads, worn no doubt by some fine lady three thou- 
 sand y ears ago. I design it for my little Charlotte. 
 
 There has been no repetition of the French* feu-de- 
 
 joie for the capture of Ireland. The French say, with 
 
 reference to that announcement, " II est permis quelque- 
 
 fois mentir un peu — metis General Jlenou a menti tres- 
 
 hardiment. " 
 
 The French fired minute-guns for General Kleber 
 
 &' 
 
 i 
 
 whose body they were removing from its grave on 
 board a dgerm to convey it with them to France. 
 The procession was a very solemn and affecting sight ; 
 for never was a man more adored than Kleber. Gene- 
 ral Hutchinson's brother, who dined the day before in 
 Cairo with General Belliard, says that when his name 
 was mentioned almost every officer present was moved 
 to tears. It is singular that the Grand Yizier should 
 have been present to-day. If he was really the insti- 
 gator of the assassination every shot must have pierced 
 his heart : but I watched his countenance and he 
 seemed perfectly tranquil. 
 
 The Grand Yizier was much pleased with the ap- 
 pearance of our army : indeed notwithstanding what 
 it has undergone it is in very fine order. On his 
 return he played the djereed ; and the same folly and 
 childishness was practised by his whole suite. Men 
 affected to receive from his hand repeated blows, to 
 
 * " Expedition to Egypt," Vol. I. page 200. 4th Edition.
 
 Chap. IV. FRENCH EVACUATE CAIRO. 199 
 
 scream at each, and at last expire at his feet, with all 
 the mummery of a death scene in a French farce. 
 
 July 8. — Marched yesterday to change our ground 
 nearer the Nile. I got from Cairo eight beautiful 
 ostrich plumes, the best that could be purchased. 
 Shall I see them waving this winter on the head of my 
 dear wife? If human calculation can be depended 
 upon I may answer yes. 
 
 Yesterday, the French having evacuated Cairo 
 during the night, I passed the river very early at 
 Imbaba and rode to see it. The feebleness of its 
 works did not surprise me, but everything else did. 
 Boulac is a mass of ruins ; the entrance into Cairo 
 no better, and the city itself miserable. The streets, 
 however, are better than those of Eosetta ; the main 
 street being at least four yards wide. Never was 
 such a wretched place as the citadel : a dozen shells 
 would have brought down ruins that would have over- 
 whelmed the garrison : the heights also commanded 
 it at half musket-shot. In short there is no doubt 
 that it must have surrendered at discretion. Our 
 troops had occupied the citadel : on our descent from 
 it we met the Grand Yizier's army which had mutinied 
 to come into the town. They fired in every direction 
 particularly as they passed us. Our situation for some 
 minutes was very unpleasant. 
 
 At Cairo I found a most interesting and valuable 
 letter from Regnier to Murat, after his being sent on 
 board the Lodi in arrest. 
 
 July 14. — Despatches arrived yesterday morning 
 from England. I rode immediately to the Capitan 
 Pacha, who begged me instantly to go to the general 
 at Cairo. He presented me with a beautiful enamelled
 
 200 LEAVES CATEO AKD EEACHES ROSETTA. Chap. IV. 
 
 gold box, sent by the Grand Sign or from the seraglio. 
 It is a most elegant present and of rare value. I 
 arrived before the despatches. 
 
 Franciscan Convent, Cairo, July 16. 
 
 On the 15th the armv marched. First the Turks, 
 then the British, then the French, with an escort of our 
 dragoons in the rear. The French column consisted 
 of about five thousand men, including artillery and 
 cavalry. About one thousand were in clgerms, and one 
 thousand sick had previously gone off. 
 
 On the 18th the Grand Vizier entered Cairo in great 
 state. He has turned Ibrahim Bey, &c, out of their 
 houses ; but his consequence is going in half an hour 
 to be taken down a little. My regiment has not yet 
 marched out. 
 
 The general wrote to the Grand Vizier that un- 
 less he reinstated the Beys in their houses, &c, he 
 must do it himself by force : reminding his High- 
 ness that he has twenty thousand men to execute his 
 orders ; and adding that he would rather lose his head 
 than break his faith pledged to the Mamelukes. 
 
 On the 20th I rode to Gizeh ; called on my way on 
 Osman Bey Tambourgi, and found him much alarmed 
 at the conduct of the Grand Vizier. I reassured him 
 by telling him of what the general had done to pro- 
 tect them. 
 
 Rosetta, July 30. 
 
 I left Cairo on the 26th by w^ater and reached Rosetta 
 on the 20th. The French army is encamped between 
 the Turkish and the English at the distance of five 
 miles from hence, ready for embarkation to-morrow. 
 The number to be embarked each day is two thousand.
 
 Chap. IV. SIEGE OF ALEXANDRIA. 201 
 
 Camp at Alexandria, August 4th. 
 
 The embarkation went on admirably. The whole 
 two thousand were on board by twelve o'clock. It 
 was a pleasant sight to behold; and pleasant to re- 
 flect that our inarch to Cairo had terminated so suc- 
 cessfully. The world will scarcely believe that six 
 thousand men surrendered so easily. The army at 
 Alexandria, not knowing what number we had to 
 oppose, at first murmured at the capitulation ; but now 
 they are more satisfied. 
 
 Aug. 6. — Preparations for the siege are going on. 
 General Menou refused a flag of truce yesterday. 
 
 Aug. 8. — Saw our chief engineer's plans of the 
 enemy's works. They are very strong in their front, 
 but not so much so to the westward : however, the 
 attack will be made on both sides and both flanks of 
 their position. We shall first make an attack to gain 
 possession of a ridge of hills necessary for our opera- 
 tions advanced in front of the right of their main 
 position ; but this will be connected with the landing 
 to the westward. 
 
 Aug. 10. — A letter came this morning from the 
 general desiring me to hold my detachment in readi- 
 ness for embarkation. This was the consequence of 
 an application from me that if the detachment could 
 not be remounted, and the service did not require it, 
 they might be sent home. Twenty men had died of 
 the plague, and eighteen were in hospital at this 
 moment ; so that their number was reduced almost to 
 insignificance. But every principle of honour and 
 duty makes it requisite for me not to leave this 
 country until the expedition has issued in the siege of 
 Alexandria. By removal of my people first I have
 
 202 SALLY OF A FRENCH COLUMN. Chap. IV. 
 
 performed to them my most sacred duty ; yet I trust 
 that it will be the last to be exacted of me as major 
 of Hompesch. The detachment has been an unfortunate 
 one indeed : but individually, apart from the loss of 
 my command and my feelings on this account, the 
 service has been most favourable to me in every other 
 point of view. Nothing could be more flattering than 
 the attention and consideration shown me by the 
 highest in rank everywhere, and more particularly by 
 the recommendation which the commander-in-chief has 
 sent home. 
 
 Aug 17. — Yesterday evening the troops embarked 
 and sailed for the westward : I changed my intention of 
 going with them, as I heard that the ferry on this side 
 would be the best. We received an account of Sau- 
 marez's great victory by a ship from Gibraltar. This 
 morning at three o'clock the line was under arms ; at 
 daybreak the columns moved to the attack on the 
 right and left. Both perfectly succeeded; indeed 
 scarcely any resistance was made. But although we got 
 easy possession of the hill in front of the left of their 
 works General Moore did not think it prudent to 
 retain it : he therefore withdrew to the proper dis- 
 tance for making the first parallel, which the men 
 soon covered notwithstanding that the fire was very 
 great from the main position and from the pharos 
 upon our troops. We lost but very few men. On the 
 left, after taking possession of the green hill, our troops 
 were not molested except by cannonade ; when suddenly 
 the French sallied out in a column of about one thou- 
 sand men, and ran towards it. The 30th, a very 
 weak regiment, was the only force we had to oppose 
 them ; but when the enemy came near they rushed
 
 Chap. IV. THE TOWER OP MARABOUT TAKEN. 203 
 
 upon them with the bayonet, met and drove them 
 instantly. The French behaved miserably ill. Our 
 loss on that side is about thirty or forty wounded and 
 a few killed. The French had many wounded and 
 above a hundred certainly killed. Twenty prisoners 
 were taken. Nothing could exceed the eagerness of 
 our troops to be engaged : had it been prudent to 
 permit them I am sure they would have stormed the 
 main position with delight. Never was a finer sight 
 for its extent, or a more gallant charge than that of the 
 30th regiment. 
 
 Thus I have " lived to fight another day." 
 
 Aug. 23. — In the morning of the 20th, after detain- 
 ing Byng to his great anger for my despatches two 
 hours, I embarked, and after three hours' sailing 
 without a shot from the French batteries, landed five 
 miles westward of Alexandria where our army was 
 encamped. The moment we got upon the sand-hills 
 to view Marabout the tower fell. The French never 
 returned a shot, but we kept up a heavy fire the whole 
 day : in the evening the commandant capitulated. The 
 garrison was one hundred and ninety-five men. 
 
 In the morning at daybreak the army moved in 
 three columns over the ground and isthmus by which 
 Buonaparte advanced to Alexandria. The columns 
 were scarcely in motion when the French sharpshooters 
 fired upon our advance. General Byng and myself 
 volunteered to act as General Coote's aides-de-camp, 
 and were so employed. The French were posted with 
 a force of about twelve hundred men on the narrowest 
 part of the isthmus. Two gun dgerms and two 12- 
 pounders defended their right ; seven 24-pounders their 
 left ; field-pieces their centre. The men-of-war flanked 
 
 VOL. i. p
 
 204 GOOD CONDUCT OF GENERAL COOTE. Chap. IV. 
 
 our left, and the gun-boats our right. The French 
 offered a sharp resistance to us at this point ; but 
 nothing could check the onset of the advanced guard, 
 supported by our columns closely. The grape fire was 
 very heavy, but our guns played on theirs with great 
 success. Everything was carried literally au pas de 
 charge, and notwithstanding their very heavy fire we 
 drove the enemy over a space of four miles, and took 
 post within a mile of the walls of Alexandria and a 
 thousand yards from Fort des Bains. 
 
 The immediate result of this success was the cap- 
 ture of six pieces of cannon, and about two hundred 
 of the enemy killed, wounded, and taken. Our loss 
 was trifling ; about fifty ; two officers wounded. The 
 French have three severely wounded, and taken. For 
 the extent of the action I have no hesitation in saying 
 that it was the most beautiful sight, in picturesque 
 circumstances, that I have yet seen. Our men-of-war 
 brigs, and the Diana frigate, with their armed launches, 
 behaved remarkably well ; as did the gun-boats on our 
 right. The troops showed the courage which has ever 
 distinguished them. 
 
 For two hours and a half every man was under 
 severe fire of artillery, but the swelling sand-hills pre- 
 vented the enemy's directing it well. General Coote 
 showed a coolness and conduct which astonished me. 
 His courage I had never doubted. He was always 
 with the advanced guard, and exposed his person as 
 much as the most intrepid soldier of the army. I 
 thought, indeed, that he should not have done it so 
 much, and that was the opinion of everyone. 
 
 We were all highly delighted to find ourselves so 
 near the walls of the town, as we thought it was pro-
 
 Chap. IV. DESPATCHES TO GENERAL HUTCHINSON. 205 
 
 tected by such a line of defences as that which kept 
 us so long in check to the westward. We now find 
 that there is only one fort to be attacked before we 
 are actually at the walls. This fort is not strong, 
 being commanded by the heights which we have 
 taken. 
 
 Batteries will open against it to-morrow. Our fleet 
 of frigates, &c, is anchored within a cannon-shot and 
 a quarter of the town, and French ships are lying 
 close hauled up to it. These we might destroy by our 
 batteries from shore, but we look forward to a share 
 of them as prizes. 
 
 There are altogether about one hundred sail in the 
 harbour. It is a noble sight to see them, and the har- 
 bour of Alexandria, so completely in our possession 
 that there is no possibility of the smallest boat going 
 in or out without our licence. The worst of the posi- 
 tion is that fresh water is only to be had at a distance 
 of two miles in the rear, but we hope to find wells. 
 
 General Coote gave me the despatches after the 
 action was over to carry to General Hutchinson. 
 I went in a man-of-war's cutter ; we ran the distance 
 — sixteen miles — in about an hour and a quarter ; but 
 when we landed I was obliged to walk far before I 
 could get a horse. The general was delighted to hear 
 of our success, as he had been very anxious for the 
 event. On my observing that I thought General 
 Coote's position so near the enemy required a rein- 
 forcement, he instantly ordered eighteen hundred men 
 — Colonel Spencer's brigade — to embark. 
 
 I went to the Capitan Pacha to report my intelli- 
 gence, and of course was welcomed. 
 
 In the evening, as I thought it probable that the 
 
 p 2
 
 206 DISCONTENT OF THE FRENCH GARRISON. Chap. IV. 
 
 French might attack General Coote in the night, 
 Byng and I set off again, and arrived here about 
 eleven at night. 
 
 This morning all was quiet on our side, but a firing 
 of artillery and musketry was heard to the eastward. 
 I breakfasted with General Coote and was asked to 
 dine with him, but declined as I wished to get back 
 early. He made me many compliments for my atten- 
 tion, &c, to him yesterday. 
 
 The wounded French officers all agree in describing 
 the garrison as discontented, and living only on rice 
 and oil. They allow that by this movement we have 
 discovered their feeble point, and say that the place is 
 ours either by siege or by assault. The colonel, who 
 has lost a leg, complains bitterly that he should have 
 been deprived of it merely for the caprice of General 
 Menou, as every other person wished to surrender long 
 since. Eleven gun-boats are sent round from Lake 
 Mareotis this day to enter the harbour. Messieurs 
 will have a warm berth ere long. A corps of Mame- 
 lukes, from Damanhour by the Desert, arrived yes- 
 terday at the ground from which we marched. We 
 do not want them now. 
 
 Read newspapers to the 16th June. Saw the 
 Gazette; but, although my friends here style me ac- 
 cordingly, I believe nothing till I see my letters from 
 England. 
 
 Camp before Alexandria, August 26, 1801. 
 
 On the 23 rd General Hutchinson came. General 
 Coote kindly recommended me to his approbation for 
 my conduct in the action. The firing of musketry and 
 artillery to the eastward was a feint on our part to 
 ascertain the enemy's whole power of fire. It answered
 
 Chap. IV. BATTERIES OPEN ON FORT DES BAINS. 207 
 
 completely, as the batteries played for an hour and a 
 half incessantly, aiming at nothing. 
 
 In the evening of the 24th a flag of truce was sent 
 in by General Menou. As this was the first he had 
 honoured us with expectation ran high, but it proved 
 to be only a complimentary letter to the general for 
 the humanity shown to the wounded French officers 
 and men, and a recommendation of the garrison of 
 Marabout to " a brave and loyal army." However, 
 this must be considered as a preliminary letter. 
 
 Yesterday morning the batteries to the westward 
 opened on Fort des Bains. The French returned some 
 shells into the camp itself. The general sent me with 
 despatches to General Coote. I went in the Capitan 
 Pacha's barge. The general detained me, as he said a 
 movement would be made in the evening. At eight 
 p.m. a battalion of the 20th with unloaded muskets, and 
 about fifty cavalry, advanced, attacked, and got in the 
 rear of the French posts in front of Fort des Bains, sur- 
 prised a battalion, and took sixty prisoners — eight offi- 
 cers — and killed and wounded about thirty men. I my- 
 self saw fourteen dead in a very small compass. Every- 
 thing appearing quiet the troops were ordered back, 
 only posting pickets on the important eight hundred 
 yards we had just gained. I was in the boat going to 
 the general with the intelligence when suddenly mus- 
 ketry began on the left with violence : I immediately 
 landed, and mounting a horse found General Coote at 
 the scene of action. The French, thinking that the 
 support was withdrawn, had endeavoured to recover 
 the lost ground. The pickets alone, although opposed 
 to eight hundred men, kept their ground until the 
 20th, &c, again arrived, when the firing of every bat-
 
 208 MENOU PROPOSES TO CAPITULATE. Chap. IV. 
 
 tery, theirs and ours, also that of the gun-boats, illu- 
 mined the whole horizon. The roar of cannon, the 
 rattling of the small arms, the shells in the air, the whist- 
 ling of the cannon balls, with the flashing fire, made 
 this night-scene one of extreme interest and beauty ; 
 though the shots came too thick for any but a distant 
 spectator to regard it with unmixed admiration. The 
 shells burst in every part of our camp, but I do not 
 know with what execution ; as when the action ceased, 
 which it did in about an hour, I set off instantly to 
 come here where I arrived at day-break. Our loss was 
 trifling: I should reckon that of the French at two 
 hundred men, but the returns are not yet sent in. I did 
 not go to rest but, communicating my good news to 
 the general and the Capitan Pacha, went to take a view 
 of our batteries, which opened on this side at the green 
 hill. 
 
 The batteries ceased playing at mid-day as the 
 French withdrew their guns. About 7 p.m., while I 
 was in the general's tent, a French flag of truce, 
 brought by the first aide-de-camp of General Menou, 
 arrived to propose terms of capitulation and an 
 armistice for three days. The propositions of General 
 Menou seeming sincere the cessation of hostilities was 
 immediately agreed to. The aide-de-camp supped with 
 us, and ate like a man who had not had a dinner for 
 some time. 
 
 He told us that the whole garrison had been up and 
 in arms for the last five nights, and that the night 
 before (General Coote's attack) they had most seriously 
 expected an assault. General Menou, he said, wept 
 bitterly when he wrote the letter to propose terms, 
 feeling as a man of honour and a lover of his country ;
 
 Chap. IV. HIS JUDGMENT AND HUMANITY. 209 
 
 and added that the general would go without a shil- 
 ling from the country, his probity being remarkable, 
 although a man burdened with debt. We told him 
 that this eulogium was the universal statement even 
 of his enemies in the army which marched from Cairo. 
 
 Thus terminated an expedition which reflects new 
 and lasting glory on the British arms ; an expedition 
 which, originally planned by ignorance, has been con- 
 ducted with surpassing skill and success incalculable. 
 
 General Menou in the defence of Alexandria has 
 done his duty. The inferiority of his numbers, which 
 rendered it impossible to oppose resistance on such a 
 vast line, the prostrating fatigue and almost famine of 
 his troops, justified him in surrendering at that precise 
 moment. A longer delay would neither have done 
 credit to his judgment nor to his humanity; unless his 
 garrison had volunteered to die in their works, 
 devoting themselves to fix some lustre on the memory 
 of the army of the East. 
 
 General Coote has been kind enough to mention me 
 to the general, but none of these things must come to 
 public knowledge from myself. They are related 
 only for those who are so very dear to me as to be 
 interested in and entitled to the relation ; and therefore 
 I request that these communications may be kept 
 strictly within my own family. Nothing is so ridi- 
 culous as an eager anxiety to publish by the means of 
 friends one's own reputation. 
 
 - I did not mention that our army to the westward is 
 encamped in the ancient necropolis, or city of the 
 dead. Immense catacombs are open in every part. 
 The temple of Diana and the baths of Cleopatra are 
 also in our possession.
 
 210 POSSESSION TAKEN OF ENEMY'S LINES. Chap. IV. 
 
 Aug. 31. — Yesterday evening the final terras of 
 capitulation were agreed to. They are highly honour- 
 able to the army ; as they obtain all the just points of 
 demand without too much depressing a fallen enemy. 
 
 Sept. 1. — We are to take possession of the lines 
 to-morrow. 
 
 Sept. 3. — Yesterday, at 11 a.m., the grenadiers, with 
 drums beating, colours flying, and firing of cannon, 
 marched to take possession of the enemy's lines ; 
 the bands playing the Grenadiers' March. It was a 
 noble sight. The French did a shabby thing : they 
 cut the halyards to prevent our flags being hoisted on 
 the flag-staff in the centre battery and on Pompey's 
 Pillar. 
 
 The enemy's line is very strong in itself, and de- 
 fended by a second line of redoubts well built, which 
 would have poured a most destructive fire on our 
 troops after they had gained the first position. Three 
 of the batteries were mired in the first line. The 
 Arab town — the old Alexandria — is nothing but a 
 heap of ruins enclosed by walls, with very large 
 flanking towers at the distance of a hundred yards 
 from each other. The wall itself is of immense extent. 
 In the centre of it throughout pillars are placed hori- 
 zontally at distances of ten yards. These are of the 
 finest granite ; but whether they are placed there for 
 strength or for ornament I cannot pretend to deter- 
 mine. The beautiful ruins of the towers and some fine 
 architectural remains, particularly the gate of Rosetta, 
 afford a spectacle pleasing even in the midst of deso- 
 lation. On the right, close upon the sea, stands Cleo- 
 patra's Needle. As I have been at Rome, it does not 
 strike me with surprise. Certainly it is a fine monu-
 
 Chap. IV. INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL MENOU. 211 
 
 ment ; though in a bad situation, by which its altitude 
 is lost. From its being placed in front of the old 
 harbour, i. e. opposite to its entrance, I conceive that 
 it originally served as a land-mark for ships. It is 
 covered with hieroglyphics. After observing this 
 well I went to Pompey's Pillar, passing over immense 
 fragments of broken columns, of marble, granite, &c. 
 The distance from one to the other by the wall of the 
 town is three miles. This famous column is the only 
 celebrated thing which I ever found to answer my 
 expectations. Its magnitude, height, and beauty of 
 proportion are beyond conception by means of de- 
 scription. On a flag-staff placed on its summit is the 
 cap of liberty ; it will baffle every effort to remove 
 this until another rope can be fixed to enable a man 
 to ascend. The batteries and forts from this pillar to 
 Cleopatra's redoubt (where the needle is), and from 
 thence to "Fort Triangular," are immensely nume- 
 rous ; some of them very regular and full of cannon. 
 
 I expect to be out of this country in a fortnight. 
 My detachment has not yet sailed. The whole army 
 will leave within a month, with the exception of some 
 cavalry. 
 
 Sept. 6. — Yesterday I rode into Alexandria, and 
 saw General Menou, who gave me permission for free 
 range. He is a little fat man, very eloquent. He 
 abused General Belliard, and declared again that he 
 would make him lose his head. He wished the gene- 
 ral to give him a frigate, justifying the request by 
 alleging the handsome terms given by Buonaparte to 
 General Wiirmser ! 
 
 Alexandria is a miserable town, very small. The 
 French have destroyed all the suburbs since our arrival.
 
 212 STATUES AND SARCOPHAGI. Chap. IV. 
 
 There is a good Grande Place, in which Menou is en- 
 camped ; a very handsome wall, just finished by the 
 French, forms its rampart and protects the isthmus on 
 which the town is built. The Pharos is connected 
 with the mainland by a causeway a quarter of a mile 
 in length with walls on each side. The fort Pharos is 
 very strong : thirty-five pieces of cannon are on its 
 walls — some beautiful. The other forts are not so 
 strong against regular approaches : the guns very 
 bad. About five hundred pieces of cannon are in the 
 works of Alexandria, and there are about sixty field- 
 pieces in park. 
 
 The greatest prizes are, however, antiquarian. Two 
 remarkably fine statues, now in General Friant's house 
 — one is that of Maximus Severus — the fist of the 
 Colossus of Memphis ; two sculptured marble sarco- 
 phagi of great size, brought from Thebes by General 
 Desaix ; a marble mummy case covered with hiero- 
 glyphics ; the famous stone with hieroglyphics, Coptic 
 and Greek inscriptions ; and many images, &c. &c. 
 
 The French army effective in Egypt at our landing 
 was twenty-two thousand men : exclusive of one thou- 
 sand nine hundred marines, near four thousand sick 
 embarked in the Cairo army and at this time at 
 Alexandria, and several thousand auxiliaries. 
 
 The British army landed was twelve thousand eight 
 hundred men ; and it never received a reinforcement 
 until Cairo was taken, with the exception of five 
 hundred convalescents from Rhodes. 
 
 Buonaparte's campaign in Italy was nothing to this. 
 He descended the Alps, it is true, without a commis-
 
 Chap. IV. TAKE LEAVE OF GENERAL COOTE. 213 
 
 sariat; but we invaded a country with such inferior force, 
 without the means of dragging cannon, or more than ten 
 pieces, with only two hundred cavalry, and literally 
 without a camel or baggage-horse. Now we are masters 
 of more than fifteen hundred pieces of cannon, three 
 thousand of the enemy's horses, and three thousand 
 camels ; besides magazines, stores, and ships. 
 
 Sept. 7. — I dined with the general. He said many 
 flattering things about my leaving him ; and told me for 
 the first time that he had once mentioned my name in 
 the Gazette, twice recommended me privately to the 
 Duke : and added that he should do it again, not only 
 in his own name but in that of General Coote. If 
 everything else had been unfortunate I should still have 
 considered this expedition fortunate as relating to 
 myself, because it has given me the valuable friend- 
 ship of this excellent man. 
 
 This morning I am going to announce my departure 
 to the Capitan Pacha ; it will be distressing to me 
 after his great kindness. 
 
 Aboukir Bay, Pique, Sept. 11. 
 
 Yesterday I took leave of the general, who was most 
 kind, then went to the Capitan Pacha, who showed 
 the same feeling, and made me promise to visit him at 
 Constantinople. 
 
 This morning I parted with my officers and took 
 leave of my detachment ; obtained a Greek boat, and 
 embarked, after a two hours' row, on board the Pique. 
 With ecstasy I leave Egypt, and pray that I may never 
 set foot on its shores again. The Pique is a beautiful 
 vessel ; Captain Young commands her. The fleet now 
 sailing with us consists only of men-of-war — no trans- 
 ports—seven sail of the line, one frigate.
 
 214 ENORMOUS WATERSPOUTS. Chap. IV. 
 
 Off Candia, September 24. 
 
 Beating about. Captain Young is one of the most 
 hospitable, generous, amiable men I ever met with. 
 
 Off Candia, September 25. 
 
 This morning, at eight, while we were on deck, 
 looking at the Termagant sloop of war coming down 
 with a press of sail to speak the admiral — she 
 had left Aboukir after us — the sky became suddenly 
 overcast to the east, and we saw a tremendous squall 
 coming down upon us. We had only time to haul the 
 top-gallant sails when it reached us. It began to blow 
 very hard and to lighten vividly. On a sudden, to the 
 north-west, we saw an immense foam on the sea, and 
 in a few moments a waterspout of enormous dimensions 
 advanced rapidly against the wind towards us: we 
 waited for it with much anxiety, and loaded all the 
 guns to fire at it ; but to my great joy and admiration 
 it broke ahead of us, ploughing the sea into mountains 
 and abysses. A similar one then formed, and marched 
 onward against us like Ossian's Genius of the Storm : 
 but the whole atmosphere being now charged with 
 moisture, it broke in every part, falling in torrents, 
 melting away our menacing danger, and driving every 
 one who could not be useful off the decks. For about 
 ten minutes darkness brooded on the face of the waters, 
 and the flashes of the lightning alone gave light to 
 the daytime. The wind blew a hurricane, but it was 
 of short duration. When day broke again through 
 the black horizon, the Termagant brig was lying a 
 wreck on the sea, with all her top-masts hanging over 
 her sides. We sent a boat in aid. 
 
 General Moore was in the Termagant; Captain
 
 Chap. IV. ARRIVAL IN MALTA HARBOUR. 215 
 
 Young went on board the admiral, and brought back 
 intelligence that " Lord Nelson, with fifteen frigates, 
 has succeeded in burning and destroying the French 
 armament at Boulogne." 
 
 October 7, at Sea, 50 leagues from Malta. 
 
 Nothing has occurred, except that I beat the second 
 lieutenant, who boasted that he would go up to the 
 top-mast-head and come down again before I could get 
 into the main-tops. I reached the main-tops before 
 he had even got to the top-mast-head. I had never 
 gone aloft till then. 
 
 Malta Harbour, October 8. 
 
 Arrived this morning, to my great joy, in Malta 
 harbour. The thought of being so much nearer to our 
 country and our home ; the animation of the scene, so 
 beautiful in contrast to that which we had left ; the 
 firing of cannon ; the triumphant music of the bands ; 
 the acclamations of the people hailing the con- 
 querors of Egypt; all lift the spirits and stir the 
 heart. 
 
 Oct. 11. — I find that the Gazette* has not done me 
 justice as to the capture of the convoy ; but Hutchin- 
 son gave me reasons which in part satisfy me. He 
 knows well that I was never ordered in with the flag 
 of truce, but volunteered on my own judgment and 
 
 * " On tbe 17tb, when encamped at Alkam, we were informed by the 
 Arabs that a considerable body of French, &c, &c, were advancing towards 
 the Nile. The cavalry were immediately ordered out with two pieces of 
 cannon under the command of Brigadier-General Doyle, &c. &c. Col. Cavalier 
 commanded the French convoy. The cavalry came up with him after a 
 march of about three hours. A flag of truce was sent in to them by Major 
 Wilson of the Hompesch, requiring them to surrender, &c. &c. With these 
 terms they complied," &c. &c. — Extract from u Bulletins of the Campaign 
 of 1801."
 
 216 GENERAL FOX AND FRENCH CAPTAIN. Chap. IV. 
 
 hazard to go in with one when General Doyle was 
 scarcely in sight. Abercromby, however, has acted, 
 and will act, most honourably in the affair. Delicacy 
 to General Doyle has been the cause why facts are 
 not stated to the public exactly as they occurred. 
 This is a lesson to all aspiring young men who seek 
 "glory in the cannon's mouth," ' as the handbills 
 say. 
 
 Oct. 19. — A report circulated on parade this morn- 
 ing that peace was concluded. 
 
 Oct. 21. — Yesterday a French corvette brought 
 intelligence that the articles were signed on the 1st. 
 Terms not officially made known. 
 
 Pique, Malta Harbour, October 23. 
 
 The Pique being ordered to Marseilles Captain 
 Young offered me a passage. I embarked this morn- 
 ing. Sir Alexander Ball is on board : a most agree- 
 able, sensible man, and my friend. 
 
 Oct. 24. — We sailed this evening. I must tell a 
 curious anecdote. At General Fox's table the other day 
 the captain of a twenty-four-razee, which arrived at 
 Malta from Toulon with English prisoners on board 
 taken in the Siviftsure, clapped the general on the 
 shoulder saying, "Why, general, you ought to go to 
 China ; the people there would adore you as a saint. 
 
 They always choose the fattest and most purse 
 
 fellows for their worship." The effect of this speech 
 may be conceived. This captain is a disgrace to the 
 French navy ; he sells wine and confectionary. 
 When he dined with Lord Keith he set before him 
 two bottles of his claret as a sample for the company, 
 and actually made his bargains at that time !
 
 Chap. IV. PERFORM QUARANTINE AT TOULON. 217 
 
 Toulon, November 3. 
 
 We made the harbour of Toulon this morning, and 
 are working in under Fort La Marque. I defer my 
 opinion of the strength, &c, till my more near inspec- 
 tion. The town is so commanded that I am surprised 
 that any officer could think of defending it. You 
 might throw stones from the mountains upon it. Sir 
 Alexander Ball landed with me at the quarantine 
 house, where the military intendant and the adjutant- 
 general of the fleet Matard — whom Sir A. Ball saved 
 at the action at Aboukir — came to us. They were 
 very civil, and Matard expressed much gratitude ; but 
 they could not save us from twenty days' quarantine. 
 This was a thunder-stroke little expected. We deter- 
 mined to go and see the lazaretto. It lies at the 
 opposite side of the harbour, three miles from the 
 town ; situation pretty, but no words can describe 
 the bestiality and misery of the house. Two rooms 
 were shown to us as our quarters ; they were sicken- 
 ing, and we unanimously resolved that it was better 
 to sail to Minorca. 
 
 Lazaretto, off Toulon, November 8. 
 
 Notwithstanding my resolution I was persuaded by 
 Captain Walker to remain and perform quarantine. 
 Colonel Cole and Sir Alexander refused. The Pique 
 sailed with them on the 5th inst. On the same day 
 I went on shore to give directions for preparations at 
 the lazaretto. Fortunately we found a washed and 
 comfortable room with a fireplace in it ; so good that 
 I am sure Sir Alexander would have stayed if he had 
 seen it. I regret that it was overlooked as he is a 
 most worthy, good, and agreeable man. We re-
 
 218 ROBESPIERRE'S FRIEND AND AGENT. Chap. IV. 
 
 turned on board a little brig, the Calypso — with 
 French prisoners doomed to the same quarantine — to 
 give time for the chamber to get dry and in readi- 
 ness. Our cabin was wretched and full of vermin. 
 At night a most dreadful levanter blew : we drove, 
 but another anchor brought us up. The night was 
 as terrific as any I ever passed, not excepting 
 that off Sicily in my way to Malta. The master 
 expected every moment that we should go on shore. 
 This morning the gale abated, and we landed and 
 came to our lazaretto. Chairs, a table, litter, and a 
 fire, make it habitable. 
 
 There are six ships of the line here, one frigate and 
 two sloops : in various conditions. These are the 
 remains of the proud navy which once rode here. It 
 is very interesting to recall the scenes which have 
 been acted in presence of the silent witnesses around 
 us. The battles fought ; the dreadful conflagration of 
 the fleet, and the subsequent fusillading of fourteen 
 thousand souls ; the present gloom ; the aspect of woe 
 and ruin offering itself in all that I can see, cannot be 
 passed over without serious reflections. Jean Bon St. 
 Andre is in the lazaretto. What may his reflections 
 be ? — the friend, the agent of Robespierre ! 
 
 Nov. 15. — On the 13th Captain Bourne came on 
 shore, and told me that the captains of the navy, and 
 officers commanding regiments and corps were made 
 Knights of the Crescent. How true it may be I 
 know not, but it gives me small pleasure. The Order 
 of Maria Theresa wants not this additional ornament. 
 Yesterday Matard came to see us. The Dido, with 
 General Menou on board, anchored this morning. 
 About an hour ago I was sent for to the barrier, and
 
 Chap. IV. FOURIER'S INTERESTING DISCOVERY. 219 
 
 found there Captain Macmurclo of the 8th regiment, 
 who has determined on staying and performing quaran- 
 tine ; taking our apartment when we leave. Fourier, 
 Monnet, Kedoute, all members of the National In- 
 stitute, are his party. 
 
 Nov. 19. — The last two days have been made agree- 
 able by the society of Fourier and Monnet ; though a 
 little under restraint for fear of touching. The former 
 is a very amiable clever man. I have had the oppor- 
 tunity of being attentive to him by supplying a few 
 things that they wanted. This has been of service to 
 me in its consequence : as Fourier promises me a 
 letter to Berthollet, which will insure my introduction 
 to Buonaparte, the Abbe Sieves, and others. He told 
 me that in Upper Egypt he discovered a temple,* with 
 the signs of the zodiac so represented as to prove its 
 construction eight thousand years. His delicacy, 
 however, is so great with regard to any injury that he 
 might do by shaking the religious faith of the people 
 in the Mosaic chronology as received, that he is 
 doubtful whether he ought to publish this curious 
 fact. 
 
 General Menou came on shore here the other day. 
 Admiral Gantheaume and all the administration came 
 to visit him. I could not help observing with a smile 
 the gilded oars and royal decorations of the admiral's 
 boats. 
 
 Nov. 21. — At last our imprisonment is ended. We 
 leave to-morrow morning. Our last five days have 
 been passed most agreeably in the society of Mac- 
 murdo, Fourier, and the savans. This morning we 
 
 * At Denderah. The planisphere of this zodiac was removed to Paris 
 in 1822.— Ed. 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 220 VISIT TO THE THEATRE. Chap. IV. 
 
 saw the drawings of Redoute ; they excel everything 
 of the kind I ever saw — particularly the fishes of the 
 Nile. From Fourier I heard much of Buonaparte : 
 especially his reasons for the massacre of Jaffa and for 
 poisoning his own sick at Acre. He talks well on all 
 subjects, and is one of the best-informed men I ever 
 met with. 
 
 Fourier has reasoned himself into the publication of 
 the facts respecting the chronology of the world : but 
 means to write upon them scientifically, leaving it to 
 others to render the information more simple and gene- 
 rally comprehensible. I think that he is actiug in com- 
 pliance with duty to society in giving currency to 
 matter so interesting and instructive. 
 
 Nov. 23. — Yesterday we set sail in a boat from the 
 lazaretto, and in about half an hour landed at Toulon. 
 I called upon Admiral G-antheaume, and paid the cus- 
 tomary visits to the different commandants, &c. Dined 
 with Gallois, and was introduced to a most charming 
 and amiable family. They are of Brittany. Madame 
 is beautiful, and much like Jemima. They were 
 greatly pleased to find that I thought their physiog- 
 nomy like the English. England is still the envy of 
 France. In the evening I went to the theatre ; the 
 play was Hippolite and Phaedra ; the house small ; the 
 company numerous, and well dressed. The gentlemen 
 all wore powder, and the servants were more magnifi- 
 cently clothed than the king's body coachmen on a birth- 
 day. They sat in front of their respective masters' 
 boxes. The play was well acted ; Madame Racour, 
 the first actress of France, playing the part of Phaedra. 
 I did not like the subject of the tragedy or its jingling 
 rhymes. The former is certainly not fit to be re-
 
 Chap. IV. "FRANCE TOO GREAT FOR A REPUBLIC." 221 
 
 presented before modest maidens ; but the French are 
 not particular in this respect. The too celebrated 
 Grande Place, where so many thousands were executed, 
 is the only picturesque part of this town. The quay 
 is miserable. 
 
 Fourier gave me a most elegant letter for Berthollet 
 which will be of much service to us at Paris. 
 
 Nov. 26. — Matard visited us yesterday. Dined with 
 G-allois. Since my stay here I have learnt much of 
 French ideas and manners — not to the credit of the 
 nation. I have some thanks to receive for my repre- 
 sentations of English manners, women, and husbands. 
 Madame Gallois is a most charming person, and re- 
 sembles Jemima so much that I could sit and think 
 myself in her company : but I fear that such grace 
 and loveliness cannot long bloom in the pride of 
 virtue and honour, in such an infected atmosphere. 
 
 Royalty has friends everywhere in this country — 
 that is to say, a monarchy chosen by the people them- 
 selves. The common language everywhere, even 
 among the employes of government, is, " France is 
 too great a country for a republic." The booksellers' 
 shops teem with Eoyalist publications, and abuse of 
 the revolution and its principles ; and these seem to 
 receive the sanction of Government. The novels are 
 full of the distresses of the royal family : and the 
 " Orpheline " is the favourite work of the ladies, who 
 weep over its affecting pages and exclaim against 
 their savage persecutors. Buonaparte is universally 
 liked — but a little suspected. It may be thought 
 strange that I should see so much in so short a time, 
 but those who know me will not conceive my relation 
 to be less the truth. 
 
 Q 2
 
 222 MARSEILLES ; ITS ROADS AND INNS. Chap. IV. 
 
 Marseilles, November 27. 
 
 I went on the 26th to Admiral Gantheaume ; dined 
 with him, and met General Leopold Berthier. Left 
 Toulon and our charming friends, who parted from us 
 with tears. Gallois walked with us out of the town. 
 While we waited for the coach he showed us all the 
 English positions, &c. ; and told us that to save his 
 father's life he had acted in the Bepublican army. 
 We arrived here on the 27th. This is a fine city, but 
 much decayed. Few ships of any size in the port ; no 
 defence of consequence. The fort is only remarkable 
 because the Duke of Orleans was confined in it so 
 long. In the theatre this evening, strange to say, I 
 was saluted by three of the officers of the dromedary 
 corps which I took in the Desert : nothing could ex- 
 ceed their expressions of gratitude. 
 
 Lyons, December 4. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th we left Marseilles, and 
 have been travelling ever since. Infamous roads. At 
 the inns generally sumptuous fare and exorbitant 
 charges ; but everywhere welcome to the English, and 
 abuse of the revolution. All regard Buonaparte as the 
 benefactor of his country by giving it peace, but are 
 not insensible to his usurpation or blind to the extent 
 of his power. 
 
 Five miles from Marseilles we were shown a natural 
 curiosity ; a mountain exactly resembling the head of 
 a man. At Orange is a triumphal arch, built in the 
 time of Julius Csesar ; a beautiful monument of anti- 
 quity in good preservation. Near Pillau we overtook 
 an old clergyman who had been banished from his 
 flock nine years, and had only returned a week before :
 
 Chap. IV. FONT AINEBLE AU ; PARIS. 223 
 
 the people who passed all saluted him with great 
 respect, and in his own village they ran out of their 
 houses to show hiin honour. Further on we passed 
 the ruins of a beautiful chateau : the master and 
 three of his daughters had been guillotined, his wife 
 went mad, and the chateau had been sacked by bri- 
 gands. Buonaparte, we learn, is coining to Toulon ; 
 so I fear we shall miss him. I much wish to see him 
 on account of his celebrity ; not from esteem. 
 
 The people of the Hotel de la Table Ronde at Yienne 
 are of the better sort. They told us some affecting 
 anecdotes of the siege of Lyons. They sheltered nu- 
 merous unfortunate Lyonnais after that event ; and a 
 little girl was shown us who saved many people by 
 pretending that she could not read. This gave her 
 liberty to look over the lists of denounced names. 
 
 Lyons is one mournful mass of ruins : everything 
 that was once grand or ornamental levelled to the 
 earth : all the houses rifled with bullets : no activity, 
 and all-pervading gloom. 
 
 Dec. 8. — I left Lyons for Paris. Nothing remark- 
 able but the universal meanness and griping extortion 
 of inn and shop keepers. We have passed through a 
 charming country, but until we arrived at Fontaine- 
 bleau saw not one tolerably decent village. Fon- 
 tainebleau is beautiful, but melancholy from contrast 
 of present desolation with past grandeur. In the 
 palace riots a school of a hundred boys, educated at 
 the expense of government. 
 
 Hotel de Toscane, Paris, December 9. 
 
 Arrived this day. The reflection that we are in 
 this city, so famous and so infamous, causes a singular
 
 224 MAGNIFICENCE AND MEANNESS OF PARIS. Chap. IV. 
 
 feeling. I shall write my impressions of it — as it is 
 interesting — setting down everything without preju- 
 dice. It does not strike me at first sight as I expecte # d. 
 I first called upon Mr. Jackson and the Austrian 
 minister, not — as I supposed — Count Cobenzal : but he 
 received me in a very friendly manner. I called also 
 upon the Prince and Princess Beauveau. Berthollet 
 is absent from Paris. I fear that my judgment of this 
 city will not be deemed honest by many, yet I know 
 it to be impartial. The spectacles, the gaieties, and the 
 vices of Paris intoxicate the senses perhaps, and ob- 
 scure the discriminating powers of most English 
 travellers. I have driven over the whole town, and 
 seen certainly all its exterior beauty : I have now only 
 to examine the rich interior of its palaces and mu- 
 seums. Any person who has been in Dublin can form 
 the best idea of Paris : magnificence and meanness are 
 only more frequently contrasted. The hotels are 
 superb edifices ; the Tuileries the noblest palace I have 
 yet seen ; the Louvre grand ; all public buildings 
 calculated to inspire admiration. But Paris has not a 
 street so good as our Cheapside ; all are narrow, dirty, 
 unpaved; the houses old and mean in general, the 
 shops without brilliance, and the tout ensemble bear- 
 ing a strong resemblance to the worst parts of the 
 City of London. Here are no open squares, no streets 
 denoting wealth or comfort. Few equipages in the 
 streets ; but abundance of fiacres and cabriolets. The 
 population seems scanty, and both sexes are badly 
 dressed. The women wear a costume which contrasts 
 unfavourably with English neatness and decency in 
 the clothing of the lower limbs. However, I must 
 allow that they are beautifully made, and walk well.
 
 Chap. TV. ITS PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND SOCIETY. 225 
 
 The ruined state of the great hotels, which are 
 almost all either converted into solitary offices of 
 government or advertised to be sold, gives the town a 
 very melancholy and sombre aspect. Paris is built 
 aristocratically, and seems to pine for royalty. The 
 traces of this bloody revolution are still too visible. 
 When I passed the ruins of the Tuileries I felt a glow 
 of admiration, softened by sorrow, for the fate of the 
 brave Swiss. When I passed the place of Louis XT., 
 and halted for a moment close to the spot, round 
 which a rail is fixed to mark it off as consecrated, 
 where the fatal guillotine took the life of the unhappy 
 king, it was an effort to refrain from tears. Death on 
 that spot, within sight of his royal abode, must have 
 been peculiarly horrible : and memory must have em- 
 bittered his last moments. Coming out of the opera 
 in the evening I met General Pigot and Lord Cahir, 
 and went home to sup with the latter. His wife 
 is looking beautiful and is the admiration of the 
 Parisians. 
 
 The word sujet introduced in the Russian treaty 
 has given rise to much speculation ; but all agree 
 that Buonaparte's " Je le veux" is decisive. 
 
 I learnt Dolomieu's death to-day. He is a loss to 
 science, and I shall miss a grateful friend. 
 
 Dec. 13. — Yesterday I saw many public buildings, 
 and in the evening went to a subscription ball. The 
 society as to men is very bad — sad, ill-looking fellows 
 indeed. The women are by no means handsome ; 
 dressed vilely ; a profusion of diamonds, but worn in bad 
 taste, and much vulgarity. Madame Tallien was present. 
 [ was much disappointed in her. She is very large, 
 and has a full face — " ox-eyed " — but eyes very expres-
 
 22G PROFLIGACY AND DISSIPATION IN PARIS. Chap. IV. 
 
 sive indeed. This is the only ball at which she has 
 been present for a long time, as she is not received in 
 general : even Madame Buonaparte is not allowed by 
 the First Consul to admit her visits. Lady Cahir was 
 by far the most beautiful woman in the room. 
 
 Dec. 15. — I visited the Temple and the Bastilewith 
 Mrs. Bosville and Edward,* whom I met unexpectedly 
 in Paris. The porter was offended by my asking for 
 the chamber where the unfortunate king and the great 
 Sir Sidney were confined, and would not let us see 
 anything. The site of the Bastille alone remains ; 
 there is not a vestige of the prison. I dined with Lord 
 Cahir ; and yesterday visited various places of note and 
 interest ; the assemblage of monuments among the rest. 
 The tomb of Abelard and Heloise alone is worthy of 
 admiration, and commanded reflection. As works of art 
 the mass are without interest. Dined with Duponville ; 
 Edward was there. Afterwards went to the Marquis 
 Bellairs: thence to Lady Cahir's. This morning 
 breakfasted with the Prince de Beauveau. Rode with 
 Lord and Lady Cahir to the Bois de Boulogne — a 
 charming resort, but too distant for public convenience : 
 it has suffered much from the revolution. Among the 
 company I have met here were Mr. Wombwell a great 
 friend of Bosville's, Lewis, Madame Collard a very 
 handsome woman, and Madame de Noailles. Lord 
 Henry Petty and Mr. Seymour are the only English 
 w r hom I have seen; except Doyle nephew of the 
 general. 
 
 I have now seen Paris completely ; and pronounce 
 that even its profligacy has neither gaiety nor elegance 
 of dissipation to attract the youngest men. Society is in 
 
 * Sir Robert Wil.son's sister and brother. — Ed.
 
 Chap. IV. LEAVES PARIS AND ARRIVES AT CALAIS. 227 
 
 the most abandoned state. There is no smile on the 
 countenances of men. In short France is enduring all 
 the miseries of the most despotic government, and is 
 verging fast to a fall. Organized as the country now 
 is it is impossible that it can hold together as an 
 empire. Peace, however contradictory it may appear, 
 has been the ruin of France ; and within a few months 
 the government will be no more. The English govern- 
 ment ought certainly to grant all the passports that 
 may be asked for. The state of Paris — so different to 
 expectation — the expense, the gloom, and the conse- 
 quent ennui will soon sicken our eager travellers. 
 
 Calais, December 19. 
 
 On the morning of the 1 6th, we left Paris : but in 
 the evening before I went to the Theatre Francais, 
 and saw Talma. He has a more expressive counte- 
 nance than Kemble : but rants rather too much. Sup- 
 ped at Lord Cahir's, and met the Duchess of Nevers 
 and Madame and Mademoiselle Coligny. The latter 
 gave me a cup of Angouleme china to take to the 
 Marchioness of Hertford. At seven o'clock the next 
 morning we were on our journey. I left Paris without 
 regret. Twelve at night we reached Amiens. Here 
 I got out and called on Lord Cornwallis : but he had 
 retired, and I could only see Colonel Nightingale who 
 expressed much gratification at my attention. We con- 
 tinued our journey the whole night, breakfasted at 
 Berney, then passed on to Boulogne where we stopped 
 only to buy food to eat in our carriage, and at six 
 o'clock in the morning arrived at Calais : drove to 
 Quillac's, ci-devant Dessin's ; the best hotel I ever saw, 
 and where the only sign of royalty in the whole coun-
 
 228 EMBARKS ON BOARD THE "MINERVA," Chap. IV. 
 
 try we passed through was visible — a fireplace, on 
 the back of which is a crown with fleurs-de-lis. All 
 the churches, chateaux, &c., from Paris are in ruins. 
 The noble palace of the Duke of FitzJames is utterly 
 destroyed. At every step of our course we have 
 heard curses against the revolution, and its barbarous 
 traces are everywhere visible. At last we came in 
 sight of our happy land : where all that remains of 
 nobility in man or virtue in woman has found a refuge 
 from all parts of the world. 
 
 Home, December 22nd, 1802. 
 
 On the 20th, Citizen Margaux Prefect of Calais 
 having given us leave to embark, we went on board an 
 English vessel, the Minerva packet, and sailed at mid- 
 day ; it was blowing hard, but we made Dover Castle 
 at four p.m. The wind increased to a gale, and we re- 
 mained on board all night: anchored in the Dowus. 
 The vessel drove in the night, though we had two anchors 
 down, but happily brought up after a time. Most of the 
 ships also drove, and two went on the Goodwin Sands ; 
 but as the wind moderated in the morning I hope the 
 crews may be saved. At daylight a boat came off to 
 our signal : and after paying each two guineas and a 
 half to the boatmen to take us on shore, besides the 
 ten for our passage, we touched in safety the beach 
 of Old England : though not without danger, as the 
 surf on shore was tremendous. 
 
 I kissed the pebbles with ecstasy. I hailed with 
 delight that country which is not only the perfection 
 of the universe, but also the home which contains all 
 that is dear to me in life. 
 
 I hurried on ; slept at Dartford ; breakfasted in
 
 Chap. IV. AND AEEIVES IN OLD ENGLAND. 229 
 
 London with Bosville, who received me most affection- 
 ately ; thence posted to Winkfield. On arrival I found 
 that Jemima was at Windsor. I immediately sent Hold- 
 ridge off for her, and now am awaiting her coming 
 with all intensity of love and gratitude after an 
 absence of fifteen months : proud in the consciousness 
 of virtue, which I feel to be not unworthy even of her 
 affection.
 
 ( 230 ) Chap. V. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 " History of British Expedition to Egypt" — Mr. Clarke's letter ; his visit to 
 Asia Minor, &c. — Buonaparte's attempt upon India — Turks massacred 
 and poisoned — War declared with France — Corporal punishment in the 
 anny — Autobiography resumed — Embarks at Southampton for Cape of 
 Good Hope — Anchor in Cove of Cork — Encounter a storm — Steer for 
 the Brazils — Crossing the Line — Neptune and Amphitrite — Vessels 
 wrecked — General Yorke drowned — Great loss of treasure — Bay of St. 
 Salvador — Advantage of free-masonry — -Taparica — Portuguese jockeys — 
 Embarks with the horses — Christmas on board the Verona — Table Bay — 
 Sufferings of the troops on the march to Stellenbosch — Plundering of 
 wine-vaults — Head-quarters at Cape Town — French expedition to the 
 Cape — "Wright's suicide and Pitt's death — Return to Europe — Off the 
 Start. 
 
 [Sir Robert Wilson returned to England, as related 
 in the last chapter, at the close of the year 1801. 
 The preliminaries of peace were ratified while he was 
 on his passage home, and the treaty was signed at 
 Amiens on the 27th of March, 1802. 
 
 Soon after his arrival he arranged for publication 
 the materials which he had collected during this ser- 
 vice : and in a few months published his first work, 
 " The History of the British Expedition to Egypt." 
 It commanded immediate attention. Edition after 
 edition was called for ; it was translated into 
 French for foreign circulation 5 the press of the 
 day acknowledged its permanent interest and its 
 merit as a military work ; and distinguished persons 
 and private friends testified their appreciation : —
 
 Chap. V. MR. CLARKE'S LETTER TO SIR R. WILSON. 231 
 
 Edward Daniel Clarke to Sir Eobert Wilson. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I believe you are not acquainted with the hand- 
 writing of a man to whom you showed much civility 
 in Egypt ; but that you have not entirely forgotten 
 the brother of Captain Clarke of the Braakel is 
 evident from the handsome manner in which you 
 have handed his name to posterity. 
 
 I have received the greatest pleasure in reading your 
 work. Everything conspires to make it interesting. 
 The subject would have given it that salt even had 
 the narrative been dull ; but it is written in the best 
 manner, and having some little acquaintance with 
 books I think I can venture to assure you that your 
 work, like the "Memorabilia" of a second Xenophon, 
 will be read when the army of Egypt and perhaps 
 the nation that supplied it is no more. 
 
 I suppose another and another edition will soon 
 appear, and therefore I lose no time in making known 
 to you that the name of the gentleman who accom- 
 panied me in my travels is not Harvey* but Cripps. 
 You saw him often at Eosetta, and he feels himself 
 indebted to you for the civilities he received there. 
 In the note to page 175 of your work Harvey has by 
 mistake been printed instead of his name. 
 
 As you have done us the honour to notice our 
 journey in so flattering a manner, it may perhaps be 
 pleasing to you to know the real extent of our travels- 
 I shall immediately state it, and you are at full liberty 
 to mention them. 
 
 The discovery of the ruins of the city of Sais, in 
 
 * Corrected accordingly in subsequent editions. — Ed.
 
 232 MR. CLARKE'S VISIT TO Chap. V. 
 
 the Delta, was made by us after the departure of the 
 French ; and it is some pride to Englishmen that 
 after the researches of the French savans so consider- 
 able a city as that of Sais whose ruins cover a great 
 tract of land, should be reserved for the travellers of 
 our own country. I brought from the ruins of the 
 Temple of Isis, in Sais, many curious monuments of 
 antiquity, and more beautiful sculpture than is usually 
 found among the works of Egyptian artists. 
 
 The ruins are situated about a mile from the eastern 
 bank of the Rosetta branch of the Nile, very nearly 
 in the situation laid down by D'Anville, and a little 
 beyond the canal of Belkin to the north, joining the 
 Rosetta with the Damietta branch. The village is 
 called Silhadger, and is opposite to the point where 
 the battle of Chebreissa was fought. It was D' Anville's 
 position of the city, joined to the account which some 
 Arabs gave us in Cairo, that led us to the ruins. They 
 exactly correspond with the description given by 
 historians ; the water of the Nile being admitted 
 during its inundation into an area surrounding the 
 Temple of Isis. 
 
 The extent of our travels was over 39° of north 
 latitude, viz., from 29^° to 68 J°; and 45° of east 
 longitude. Our limit to the north was the frontier 
 of Finmark ; to the south, the pyramids of Saccara 
 in Upper Egypt ; to the east our travels extended as 
 far as the most eastern course of the Don, the ancient 
 Tanais. We passed through Denmark, Sweden, 
 Norway, Lapland, Finland, Russia, the deserts of the 
 Don Cossacks, Kuban Tartary, Circassia, and the 
 Crimea. Afterwards in Turkey we visited the plain 
 of Troy ; and as you have mentioned this, it will be
 
 Chap. V. ASIA MINOR, EGYPT, ATHENS, ETC. 233 
 
 as well to make known to you that the tombs of the 
 heroes slain in the Trojan War had already been 
 noticed by M. Chevalier. What I have undertaken, 
 in opposition to Mr. Carlysle, is to prove the identity 
 of the plain ; and the trnth of Chevalier's observa- 
 tions. Some new discoveries I made there : which, as 
 they have never been published, might, if you think 
 proper, give additional novelty to your remarks upon 
 that subject. 
 
 I discovered the mound of the plain, and the tomb of 
 llus, and the city of New Ilium. I ascertained the 
 temperature of the sources of the Scamander, which has 
 been noticed in France by M. Chevalier ; and was the 
 first traveller who ever surmounted the glaciers on the 
 summit of Ida, and ascended to Gargarus the highest 
 point of that range of mountains; at whose base I 
 found the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter Liberator. 
 
 Afterwards we visited Asia Minor, Syria, and 
 Egypt. Thence returning we went to all the Grecian 
 isles : to Athens, to the Morea, and to the plains of 
 Marathon. Then we ascended the summits of the 
 mountains, Hymettus, Helicon, and Parnassus ; and 
 passed through Bceotia, Thessaly, Macedonia, and 
 Thrace, to Constantinople. From thence through 
 Bulgaria, Wallachia, Transylvania, Hungary, Ger- 
 many, and France, to England. 
 
 If there is anything in the University that you want, 
 either to enlarge your work or to elucidate any sub- 
 ject which you choose to write upon, I hope you will 
 apply to me. In the mean time I have the honour to be 
 Your obliged, obedient servant, 
 
 Edward Daniel Clarke. 
 
 Cambridge, Jesus College, Feb. 2, 1803.
 
 234 BUONAPARTE'S ATTEMPT UPON INDIA. Chap. V. 
 
 Count Woronzow to Sir Kobert Wilson. 
 
 T . (25 Novembre, ) „„„„ 
 
 Londres, ce { _ _ , . ' } 1803. 
 [ t Deccmbre, | 
 
 Monsieur le Chevalier, 
 
 S. M. FEmpereur ayant recu votre ouvrage, m'a 
 charge de vous communiquer, Monsieur le Chevalier, 
 sa satisfaction et sa reconnaissance, et combien il 
 etait charme de l'avoir In. 
 
 C'est avec le plus grand plaisir que je reraplis les 
 ordres de FEmpereur pour exprimer ses sentiments a 
 votre egard, et pour y ajouter les miens. Je vous 
 prie de croire a l'estime et a la consideration les plus 
 particulieres avec lesquelles j'ai l'honneur d'etre, 
 
 Monsieur le Chevalier, 
 Votre tres-humble et tres-obeissant serviteur, 
 
 S. C. Woronzow. 
 
 When Napoleon in 1798 determined upon attempt- 
 ing the conquest of Egypt as a means of assailing the 
 British power in India, and fitted out an expedition 
 for that purpose, he associated with it an illustrious 
 band of sixty men of science, instructed to explore 
 the hidden wonders of that land of fabulous antiquity. 
 Too much credit cannot be given to him for this 
 design, either on account of its far-seeing policy for 
 the advancement of general knowledge and civilisation, 
 or on the ground of its patriotism. The fruit of the 
 labours of the French Institut is one of the most 
 valuable publications in the whole range of literature : 
 a noble and imperishable monument to the genius 
 of Napoleon, the learning and research of those famous
 
 Chap. V. TURKS MASSACRED AXD POISONED. 235 
 
 men, and the intellectual eminence of the French 
 nation. 
 
 But while the conqueror swept through the marvel- 
 lous land with his armies, and while the members of the 
 Institut unburied its mighty relics for the admiration 
 and instruction of mankind, two acts of a savage bar- 
 barism in Syria cast a shadow upon Napoleon's name. 
 Sir Eobert Wilson heard the cry and sympathised with 
 the suffering of outraged humanity, inquired with 
 characteristic justice whether the alleged facts were 
 true, found them to be so upon unquestionable evi- 
 dence, and then boldly proclaimed the truth to the 
 world. In his history he openly charged Napoleon 
 with the massacre of 5,000 Turks at Jaffa, and with 
 the poisoning of 580 sick in his own army at Acre. 
 For the support of the charges he appealed to the Regi- 
 ment of Bon, whose muskets shot clown the Turks, 
 and to the members of the Institut, who held a debate 
 upon the poisoning in their assembly at Cairo ; to 
 Assalini, in his work upon the plague ; and to a cer- 
 tain physician who had refused to be the instrument 
 of murder at Napoleon's bidding. He challenged the 
 accused to demand his prosecution in the English 
 courts, proudly conscious that even Napoleon would 
 find equal justice there : but he firmly and constantly 
 refused to give the individual names of other witnesses ; 
 because he knew that men whom Europe and the 
 world had reason to hold in honour, would be im- 
 perilled in their lives and liberties by the power of a 
 vindictive tyranny. Desgenettes was that noble- 
 hearted physician : and Fourier's immortal name may 
 now be added as an unimpeachable witness. The 
 following letter exhibits the terms of familiar regard in 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 23G FOURIER'S LETTER Chap. V. 
 
 which Fourier and Sir Robert Wilson communicated 
 with each other : and the indorsement fixes Fourier as 
 one of Sir Robert's authorities for the accusation : — 
 
 Fourier to Sir Robert Wilson. 
 
 Monsieur le Chevalier, Paris > le 13 Mars > 1802 - 
 
 J'ai des remerciments a vous faire pour les ex- 
 pressions obligeantes dont vous vous servez dans la 
 lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de m'adresser. 
 Lord Henry Petty, votre ami, vient de me remettre 
 cette lettre, et je regrette beaucoup que l'obligation ou 
 je suis de quitter Paris, ne me permette point de 
 cultiver sa connaissance autant que je le desirerais. 
 
 Pendant le peu de temps que je resterai dans cette 
 ville si je puis lui etre agreable en quelque chose, il 
 me trouvera tout dispose a le servir. 
 
 Je vous avais entretenu a Toulon du service que 
 Sir Sidney Smith m'a rendu en Egypte, en offrant 
 d'etre depositaire de mes papiers ; et M. Perregaux a 
 eu la bonte de m'apprendre, apres votre lettre, que 
 Sir Sidney Smith etait dans 1'intention de m'adresser 
 ces papiers aussitot qu'il aurait rec,u les informations 
 necessaires. Je vous prie de continuer vos bons 
 offices a cet egarcl, et de transmettre a Sir Sidney 
 Smith la lettre et la note ci-jointes. 
 
 J'etais deja persuade de la douleur qu'a du vous 
 causer la mort de l'illustre M. Dolomieu, pour qui 
 vous aviez beaucoup d'attachement. C'est une satis- 
 faction pour ses amis d'apprendre que sa memoire est 
 honoree du souvenir de personnes aussi distinguees 
 que vous pour leurs lumieres et 1' elevation de leur 
 caractere. 
 
 Je vais quitter Paris; le Grouvernement m'ayant
 
 Chap. V. TO SIR ROBERT WILSON. 237 
 
 confie l'administration d'un departement meridionale ; 
 et a tous les motifs qui me rendraient agreable le 
 sejour de la capitale, il faut que j'ajoute le regret de 
 ne point vous voir dans le voyage que vous vous pro- 
 posez de faire a la belle saison. Je vais prevenir 
 M. Berthollet et lui donner l'esperance que vous lui ferez 
 visite a cette epoque. Quant a moi, j'espere que vous 
 me dedommagerez par votre correspondance, a moins 
 que vous ne poussiez votre voyage jusqu'a Grenoble 
 ce qui serait plus agreable pour moi. 
 
 Je conserverai toujours un vif desir d'entretenir avec 
 vous des relations que vos qualites personnelles 
 rendent infiniment precieuses. 
 
 Je suis, Monsieur le Chevalier, avec tous les senti- 
 ments de la consideration, 
 
 Yotre tres-humble et tres-obeissant serviteur. 
 
 J. B. Fourier. 
 
 Thus indorsed by Sir R. Wilson : — 
 " Fourier's letter from Paris." 
 
 " This man was secretary to the National Institut : 
 and cut out, as he told me himself, the pages, by order of 
 Buonaparte, which contained the dispute in the Institut 
 when Desgenettes made his charges against B ." 
 
 In the vear 1821 Sir Robert Wilson visited France, 
 and while at the house of the Duke of Vicenza, at 
 Caulaincourt, General Gourgaud being present, the 
 conversation turned upon these charges. 
 
 In a note-book Sir Robert Wilson writes : — " The 
 duke and Gourgaud both admitted the massacre 
 of the garrison at Jaffa ;* but they denied the actual 
 
 * Sir Robert Wilson was said, some years afterwards, to have retracted 
 these charges. He never did so. And his own answer to the assertion 
 shall be given hereafter in its place. — Ed. 
 
 R 2
 
 238 LETTER TO THE Chap. V. 
 
 empoisonmcnt of the sick at Acre, though they were 
 prepared to defend the proposition as one made in the 
 interests of humanity ; considering the misery to which 
 the sick were exposed from capture by a Turkish 
 enemy. The answer of Desgenettes, as he related it 
 to me, from reference to a journal, was : — ' I am a 
 physician, not a philosopher. My duty is to pre- 
 serve life ; not to take it away upon abstract theories.' 
 I have since lived to see a Russian prince cut a French 
 officer's throat to terminate his miseries."* 
 
 In Dec. 1802, Sir Robert Wilson sent his history to 
 the Emperor of Austria, with the accompanying 
 letter :— 
 
 Sire, 
 
 En ma qualite de Chevalier de l'ordre de Marie 
 
 Therese, je sens qu'il est de mon devoir de sou- 
 
 mettre a votre Majeste un ouvrage militaire redige 
 
 par moi-meme ; mais, Sire, j'ai encore d'autres puis- 
 
 sants motifs qui m'engagent a vous offrir ma relation 
 
 historique des evenements qui ont eu lieu en Egypte. 
 
 J'ose esperer que comme militaire, votre Majeste 
 eprouvera quelque plaisir en parcourant les details 
 d'une expedition dans laquelle les troupes d'une nation 
 intimement allie a la maison d'Autriche par les doubles 
 liens de l'amitie et de l'admiration, ont demontre 
 qu'elles n'avaient pas oublie les lecons et le noble ex- 
 emple qu'elles avaient re9us des armees Autrichiennes. 
 
 Comme Anglais, j'ai desire ardemment d'eclaircir la 
 conduite de mes braves compatriotes, et de refuter, 
 par la seule verite, les imputations envieuses de ses 
 ennemis ; comme ami de l'humanite, j'ai voulu faire 
 connaitrc au monde civilise la barbarie atroce qui a 
 
 * See "Russian Campaign," published by Murray, 1860.
 
 Chap. V. EMPEROR OP AUSTRIA. 239 
 
 souille et couvert d'infamie le General-en-chef d'une 
 armee Frangaise ; corarae ennemi de toute tyrannie et 
 de tonte usurpation, j'ai desire clenoncer des actions 
 qui devraient unir du meme sentiment tous les 
 souverains et tous les peuples de l'Europe. 
 
 Toutes ces considerations, Sire, ont contribue a 
 me decider a offrir a votre Majeste mon histoire de 
 cette campagne ; mais independemment de ces motifs, 
 la gratitude que je resens pour l'honneur qui me fut 
 confere par votre Majeste, lors de mon sejour a 
 Yienne, en me rendant a l'armee d'Egypte, joint a la 
 maniere flatteuse dont ces honneurs me furent 
 accordes, a moi personnellement, m'eussent toujours 
 decide a vous rendre tous les hommages de respect et 
 de reconnaissance dont je me sens capable. 
 
 Que le regne de votre Majeste puisse etre de longue 
 duree et couvert de gloire ; que l'Autriche et l'Angle- 
 terre puissent continuer a etre etroitement lies par des 
 sentiments reciproques d'attachement et d'interet ; que 
 tous les ennemis de votre empire puissent etre bientot 
 confondus et aneantis ; et que je puisse trouver de 
 frequentes occasions de prouver mon zele et mon 
 devouement pour le service de votre Majeste, sont et 
 seront a jamais les vceux bien sinceres 
 
 Du tres-fidele et tres-reconnaissant 
 serviteur de votre Majeste, 
 
 Robert Wilson. 
 
 Chevalier de l'ordre de Marie 
 Therese, et lieutenant-colonel 
 de cavalerie au service de Sa 
 Majeste Britannique. 
 
 A Londros, cc 10 Decembre, 1802.
 
 210 WAR PROCLAIMED WITH FRANCE. Chap. V. 
 
 In the summer of 1802, as appears by comparison 
 of dates,* he was quartered with the regiment at Dor- 
 chester. In a memorandum headed " Anecdotal Re- 
 marks," he writes : f " Having determined to pay my 
 respects to the king at "Weymouth, I arrived in the even- 
 ing of the 2nd of Sept., and posted myself with my wife 
 at the pier-head when his Majesty was promenading 
 in that direction. "We attracted his notice, and after 
 some few remarks, he desired me to go on board his 
 yacht next day that he might question me more about 
 Egypt, and turning to Lord Hawkesbury, he observed : 
 ' These are atrocious crimes with which he has charged 
 Buonaparte : I believe them all ; do not you, my 
 lord ?' Lord H. declined an answer. We went on 
 board (next day), but not a word was said about 
 Egypt." 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1803, war was proclaimed 
 with France. Immediately upon this Sir Robert 
 Wilson was appointed inspecting field-officer, under 
 General Simcoe, in the counties of Devon and 
 Somerset. In the summer of the same year the 
 Prince of "Wales, dissatisfied with remaining a 
 mere spectator of the continental strife, addressed to 
 the king through Mr. Addington J his minister an 
 appeal for permission to serve in the army in defence 
 of his Majesty and the realm. The correspondence 
 was published in a pamphlet and is preserved in the 
 Annual Register of that year. Upon a copy of the 
 pamphlet among Sir R. W.'s papers is this note in his 
 handwriting : — 
 
 * Sir Robert Wilson singularly omitted dates of years, in frequent 
 instances giving only those of days and months. — Ed. 
 t See Appendix No. 1. 
 % Afterwards Lord Sidmouth.
 
 Chap. V. SIR ROBERT WILSON ORDERED TO INDIA. 241 
 
 ''This first letter* was written by R. W., the re- 
 mainder with the assistance of Lord H a ." (Hutchinson.) 
 
 " The idea of this correspondence was suggested after 
 dinner at C n . H., and the order for execution given on 
 way from thence to the opera in the r 1 carriage, Sir W m . 
 Keir being also present." " Tempora mutantur."f 
 
 For two years Sir Robert Wilson continued in the 
 comparative retirement of this local home service, but 
 far from inactivity. In 1 804 he prepared and published 
 his " Inquiry into the State of the British Army, with 
 a Yiew to its Reorganization.";}; The title expresses 
 the general scope of the publication ; but it involved 
 the expression of his opinions with regard to the 
 volunteer force, the favourite scheme of Mr. Pitt. He 
 did not, of course, object to the force itself; but con- 
 tended that in order to its efficiency it ought to have 
 a military organization, and that it should be regarded 
 only as subsidiary to the regular army, for the large 
 increase of which he also strenuously contended. 
 The principle is generally acknowledged in 1862. Mr. 
 Pitt, however, complained to the Duke of York of 
 this as an attack upon his system, and Sir Robert 
 Wilson was ordered to India. This he regarded as a 
 sentence of banishment : and he appears to have made 
 a personal appeal to the king, always his friend. He 
 writes : " I was ordered by the Duke of York to 
 India, and only by the king's positive command 
 obtained a revocation of the edict." 
 
 In this work he made his first public effort to obtain 
 for his humble companions in arms redress of the 
 grievance which in his first service so powerfully 
 
 * Dated July 18, 1803. 
 
 t The proximate date of this note is indicated by these words. It most 
 probably was soon after 1821. — Ed. \ London, 18( 4.
 
 242 CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN THE ARMY. Chap. V. 
 
 moved his sympathy and indignation. "Educated," 
 he says, "in the 15th Light Dragoons, I was early 
 instructed to respect the soldier. That was a corps 
 before which the triangles were never planted ; where 
 each man felt an individual spirit of independence and 
 walked erect as if conscious of his dignity as a man 
 and a soldier ; where affection for his officer and pride 
 in his corps were so blended that duty became a satis- 
 factory employment, [and the acquisition of new dis- 
 tinction the chief object of each man's wishes]. With 
 such men every enterprise was to be attempted which 
 could be executed by courage and devotion ; and there 
 was a satisfaction in commanding them which could 
 never have beeu derived from a system of severity." 
 
 "Corporal punishments never yet reformed a corps, 
 but they have totally ruined many a man who would 
 have proved under milder treatment a meritorious 
 soldier. They break the spirit without amending the 
 disposition. While the lash strips the back despair 
 writhes round the heart, and the miserable culprit, 
 regarding himself as fallen below the ranks of his 
 fellows,* can no longer attempt the recovery of his 
 station in society." 
 
 This is a noble protest. And one letter of approval 
 from a friend, written at the time, will convey the 
 sentiments of just and well-judging men : — 
 
 SlE F. BUEDETT TO SlE EOBEET WlLSON. 
 MY DEAR WILSON, Piccadilly, Aug. 13, 1804. 
 
 I cannot refrain from sending you a hasty line to 
 convey to you my sincere thanks, not only for your 
 
 * t< 
 
 Fertur . . . ut capitis minor 
 
 bumi posuisse vultutu." — Horace. — Ed.
 
 Chap. V. LETTERS FROM BURDETT AND M'MAHON. 243 
 
 expression of attachment, which I so highly prize, but 
 principally for your excellent publication, which I 
 regard as one of the most material services ever per- 
 formed for this country in particular and for humanity 
 in general. 
 
 You have clone it bravely, wisely, and ably ; and 
 whatever else you may do it will ever command and 
 insure my esteem. 
 
 In haste, yours sincerely, 
 
 F. BURDETT. 
 
 From the subjoined letter it appears that at this 
 early day Sir Robert Wilson was disposed to make 
 his father's advice, that Parliament should be the 
 object of his ambition, a rule of guidance. His em- 
 ployment in the western counties, and the political 
 influences which ruled there, probably suggested to 
 him to become a candidate for the representation of 
 Liskeard : — 
 
 Colonel M'Mahon to Sir Kobert Wilson. 
 
 My dear Wilson, Carlton House ' March 5 ' 1804 - 
 
 I do assure you most heartily that my past silence 
 has not proceeded from any want of friendship or 
 regard ; but the fact is, I have scarce had a moment 
 to myself for these three weeks past, during which 
 time the occurrences of one day have so entirely 
 changed the face of affairs of the former that any com- 
 munication I could have made would not have 
 tended to enlighten the subject : besides which I have 
 observed throughout the greatest care in not being- 
 quoted for anything — a matter extremely difficult in 
 these days.
 
 244 APPLICATION TO LOED MULGRAVE. Chap. V. 
 
 The king for the first time saw the chancellor yester- 
 day for a quarter of an hour ; and the bulletin to-day 
 is — " His Majesty continues in a favourable progress 
 of amendment." I therefore have no doubt his con- 
 valescence will be proclaimed in a clay or two, and no 
 change will take place in the royal functions. 
 
 I showed both your letters in confidence to the 
 prince, because they best spoke the fairness of your 
 sentiments. He commanded me to say he should 
 have been happy to have thrown a mantle over you 
 for Liskeard had his interest there, whatever it may 
 be, not been long bestowed on Tom Sheridan who is 
 again a candidate on the present occasion ; and that, 
 in case you do not stand yourself, he wishes you, as 
 he cannot assist you there, to throw whatever influence 
 you have into that scale. Write to me what you 
 know at Liskeard for the p.'s information. 
 
 Adieu, my dear Wilson, and believe me always 
 most sincerely yours, 
 
 0. M'Mahon. 
 
 At the same time he sought for military, and per- 
 haps diplomatic, service in different directions. He 
 applied to Lord Mulgrave under the idea that he had 
 the appointment of the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. 
 And failing this, and possibly other applications for 
 active employment in the British service, the European 
 armaments then going on seem to have suggested to 
 him to offer himself as a volunteer in the Eussian 
 army. The answers of Lord Mulgrave and of Count 
 Woronzow are added : —
 
 Chap. V. LETTER FROM HIS LORDSHIP. 245 
 
 LOED MlJLGEAVE TO SlE ROBEET WlLSON. 
 
 Harley Street, May 14, 1804. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Accept my best thanks for the flattering manner in 
 which you express your offer to serve with me, of 
 which I should readily have availed myself had there 
 been any foundation for the report of my appointment 
 to the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. 
 
 I am, dear sir, 
 
 Your most obedient and faithful servant, 
 
 » 
 
 MuLGRAVE. 
 
 Count Woronzow to Sie Eobeet Wilson. 
 
 Mon Cher Chevalier, Londres ' ce 28 Novembre > 1804 - 
 
 En arrivant de Bath hier j'ai trouve la lcttre que 
 vous avez bien voulu in'ecrire. L'estime que j'ai pour 
 votre caractere et votre merite, et la franchise avec 
 laquelle vous me parlez, m'obligent de m'expliquer 
 envers vous avec la meme candeur au sujet qui vous 
 interesse si vivement. 
 
 Quelque desir que j'eusse de voir a notre service un 
 homme de votre merite, mon cher Chevalier, connais- 
 sant la reputation que vous vous etes si justement 
 acquise, ma sincerite eloigne tout espoir de voir ac- 
 compli ce desir, et je ne puis que differer complete- 
 ment de l'idee que vous avez formee de notre service 
 militaire, par les considerations suivantes : l'Empereur 
 ne prend qu'avec beaucoup de difficulte des etrangers 
 a son service, quelquefois avec le meme grade, quel- 
 quefois un grade moins de celui qu'ils avaient porte 
 avant d'entrer dans Farmee Russe : les appointements 
 du militaire Russe en general sont si modiques, qu'un
 
 24(3 LETTER FROM COUNT WOBONZOW. Chap. V. 
 
 officier de l'armee Britannique a demie-paye re9oit 
 plus qu'un officier Russe en service actif; on est 
 moms pave chez nous que dans aucun autre pays de 
 l'Europe, parce que la noblesse chez nous, riche ou 
 pauvre, aime a servir et a toujours quelque chose a soi 
 quelle depense ; et en general les officiers non-riches 
 qui sortent du service, trouvent leurs biens assez 
 deranges. Ainsi bien loin de gagner quelque chose 
 quant a la partie economique, vous y perdriez encore 
 beaucoup plus par la cherte excessive de vivre chez 
 nous. Ajoutez a tous ces inconvenients le desavantage 
 qu'un etranger doit toujours avoir dans le defaut de 
 la langue : le service en Russie exige une connaissance 
 au moins suffisante de Ja langue clu pays ; toutes les 
 ordonnances et toute la discipline de l'armee sont dans 
 la langue Russe ; et vous auriez ete bien embarrasse de 
 vous trouver dans la position de ne pouvoir non-seule- 
 nient avoir un commandement convenable, mais de ne 
 pas meme comprendre notre service : sans cette con- 
 naissance de la langue vous ne pourrez avoir aucun 
 commandement non-seulement d'un bataillon, mais 
 pas merne d'une compagnie. Les considerations que 
 je vous presente ici, mon cher Chevalier, sont trop 
 puissantes pour que je puisse tant soit peu encourager 
 votre projet d'entrer dans notre service ; je vous les 
 donne avec cette franchise et sincerite qui sont la suite 
 de l'estime et de la consideration toutes particulieres 
 avec lesquelles je serai toujours 
 
 Totre tres-humble et tres-obeissant serviteur, 
 
 I. C. AVoronzow. 
 
 A Monsieur le Chevalier Robert Wilson. 
 
 His perseverance and zeal were at last rewarded :
 
 Chap. V. AUTOBIOGRAPHY RESUMED. 247 
 
 and after two years' labour as inspecting field-officer 
 he was " allowed to purchase a lieutenant-colonelcy in 
 the 19th Light Dragoons, and to exchange into the 
 20th Light Dragoons. 
 
 " The effective part of the regiment was in Sicily, but 
 he organized the remaining troops so rapidly that they 
 were in a short time reported fit for service ; and he 
 was sent with them, and in command of the cavalry 
 detachments, to join the expedition of Sir David 
 Baird then rendezvousing at Cork."* At this point 
 the autobiographical memoirs are resumed.] 
 
 Memoranda. 
 
 I embarked at Southampton on the 4th of August, 
 1805, with two hundred and thirty dragoons, divided 
 in the ship Whitby and the Union brig. The vessels 
 proceeded to Spithead. On the 18th, Lord Nelson, 
 in the Victory, anchored at the Motherbank, and I 
 went in a boat to see the Hero — the ship that led 
 the van in Sir R. Calder's action. She was much 
 injured. 
 
 August 19, Wluttnj Transport, Spithead. 
 
 The commodore — Captain Downmanf — hoisted a 
 signal for all masters of transports to go on board : 
 when he gave notice of his intention to sail this 
 
 evening. 
 
 On the 21st we were off the Start; with a fine 
 breeze and fair. The Britannia yesterday evening 
 bore down upon us in a most unwarrantable manner; 
 so close that had our captain not changed his course 
 we must have been struck by her. 
 
 * Introduction to " Russian Campaign." 
 f Of the Diadem.
 
 248 ANCHOR IN THE COVE OF CORK. Chap. V. 
 
 Latitude 49°, Longitude 20°. 
 
 A miserable calm — loss of ground. I employed 
 myself in finishing a memoir long since begun on outpost 
 service. It is a collection of instructions acquired by 
 my own experience, without reference to any other 
 writer ; every idea is probabty, however, already 
 in print, for unless the truth of the positions were 
 obvious to every military man they would have no 
 value : but I doubt whether any other person has 
 digested with so much care the results of his observa- 
 tions in that service for the improvement of others. I 
 have taken much pains to elucidate the subject, in 
 order that the young officers of the 20 th may not be 
 unprepared for this essential duty. The ignorance or 
 misconduct of a single individual now hazards my own 
 reputation. 
 
 August 26, Twelve, Night. 
 
 Wretched night — heavy gale — no sleep till six a.m. 
 The kettle-drums and trumpets which I have ordered 
 to sound in the cabin in order to rouse the lethargic 
 were this morning to myself unwelcome. 
 
 Cove of Cork, August 27, Nine p.m. 
 
 We anchored at one p.m. in the Cove. I went on 
 shore and saw Sir David Baird. He was very civil, 
 but made no communication. I saw General Fer- 
 guson : wrote to Lord Hutchinson : met Godfrey 
 Macdonald, and dined with him in a hovel dignified 
 by the name of an hotel. In the evening I went on 
 board ; expecting to sail as the order to that effect 
 was most urgent, occasioned by the report that 
 the French fleet was at sea. Sir David Baird 
 feared to be detained by orders from England. The
 
 Chap. V. KOBBERY BY THE SHIP'S COOK. 249 
 
 Britannia, last night, nearly foundered the Union. 
 She, as Arbuthnot informs me, was so near, that many 
 dragoons were prepared to jump into her for safety. 
 In consequence, I went to the Diadem in order to 
 report to Sir Home Popham this repeated misconduct 
 of the Britannia. Sir Home was not on board, but 
 the ship was in very high order indeed. Sir David 
 Baird sails in her. 
 
 At anchor, Cove of Cork, August 29. 
 
 The signal was made to sail. All the convoy were 
 soon under weigh. Signal to anchor outside the 
 harbour. I went in the evening, with Captain Eustace 
 and Cromwell, on board the Diana Indiaman, and 
 obtained some good intelligence as to our destination. 
 Colonel Adams's brother is private secretary to Mr. 
 Pitt, who has written to him that the Indian troops 
 are to be under Sir D. Baird's orders. Went next 
 day on board the Northampton Indiaman — a small 
 extra ship: found there, in the 24th dragoons, a 
 sergeant whom I had dismissed from my regiment for 
 theft, without punishment; he has acquired again a 
 very good character. Thence I went on board the 
 Unio?i, and returned shortly to my own ship : There 
 I discovered that our Madeira and porter had been 
 pillaged by the ship's cook, a sergeant, and a regi- 
 mental cook. Court-martial ordered. The ship's 
 cook I shall at all events send on board a man-of-war ; 
 
 a 
 
 the sergeant will be broke ; and the regimental cook, 
 as he is an old man, I shall punish by a very strong 
 emetic and the inscription of " rogue " on the left 
 sleeve. 
 
 August 30, 1805. 
 
 Captain Butterfield, agent of transports, came on 
 board to receive the sailor who had stolen our wine :
 
 250 ENCOUNTER A STORM. Chap. V. 
 
 be congratulated us on our destination, and offered 
 each of the captains 200/. for his share of the prize 
 money. The sailor was taken on board a man-of-war ; 
 our soldier sconced of grog ; and the old sinner, who 
 is very like Silenus, had a strong emetic given him by 
 way of reprisal for our Madeira. When he was very 
 sick the band played the " Rogue's march " to him. 
 The opportunity for addressing the men was not lost, 
 and I had reason to feel satisfied with the effect of my 
 oratory. 
 
 September 2, 40 leagues from Cork. 
 
 In the evening of August 31 a breeze sprang up from 
 the northward ; when the commodore fired his signal 
 to weigh. When passing his ship I directed our men 
 to man the yards : and they gave the general and him 
 three cheers, which the men-of-war returned in the 
 same manner. I wished by this attention to show 
 a proper respect to our commander-in-chief and pre- 
 possess the soldiers in his favour, as well as to attract 
 a beneficial notice to them. The effect was very good : 
 our men being well dressed and well placed. 
 
 In the Atlantic, Sept. 5, Five p.m. 
 
 All the wild fury of a storm is raging : to increase 
 the misery our course is scarcely true. " Ye Gentle- 
 men of England," and " Blow high, blow low," are 
 appropriate tunes, if I had voice, or heart, or stomach, 
 to sing them. In the middle of the night a sea broke 
 into our cabin : all hands were employed on deck, so 
 there was no relief. All darkness, except from the 
 phosphoric gleam of the spray. Many vessels dis- 
 masted. The soldiers worked in danger which made 
 others, more alive to its nature, anxious. 
 
 About ten ships are missing in the fleet.
 
 Chap. V. COMMANDING OFFICER REPRIMANDS HIMSELF. 251 
 
 Sept. 1 0. — Yesterday I went on board the brig, and 
 was obliged to sleep there in consequence of our ship 
 shooting too much ahead. I was very angry : since 
 had the breeze sprung up I never could have got on 
 board again. Newland and the captain of the 
 Whitby were with me : the latter became furious. 
 Arbuthnot was as gay as a young sparrow, and is the 
 life of the brig's company. 
 
 Sept. 11. — Yesterday Sir Home Popham sent a 
 midshipman in his boat for me, with a very kind invi- 
 tation to dine. Sir David Baird received me in a very 
 nattering manner, and assured me of his marked pro- 
 tection ; but I could not gather much from his manner 
 as to our eventual destination. I discovered, however, 
 that Sir H. was not to have gone with the fleet, but 
 to have proceeded in accordance with his own desire. 
 I learnt that the Diana Indiaman was disabled and 
 could not proceed from Cork; but the 59th, on board 
 of her, were ordered to embark in the Diadem and 
 Diomede. Returned to the Whitby at eight p.m., 
 and found as great a difference as if I was removing 
 from Portland Place to Hockley-in-the-Hole. 
 
 Sept. 12. — In consequence of a fear that we might 
 not have water enough, I directed that no linen should 
 be washed at sea. 
 
 I saw some hanging up yesterday: at this I was 
 angry and issued an order on the subject, but found 
 afterwards that some of my own formed part ; I there- 
 fore reprimanded myself in the following order: — 
 
 " September 12, Wliitby. 
 
 " The commanding officer having learnt that some 
 of his own linen was washed, contrary to the order on 
 vol. i. s
 
 252 ACCIDENT TO THE BRIG. Chap. V. 
 
 that subject, is sensible that the reproof directed 
 against others recoils with more than double force upon 
 himself; since he is responsible for the act of his 
 servant. 
 
 " The preservation of the water is essential for 
 the general welfare, and therefore no infringement of 
 the order relative to the washing must henceforth 
 occur." 
 
 Sept. 16. — Beautiful mild weather, which has 
 enabled me to complete the detachment with every 
 appointment; and we are in very high order. I 
 should not now fear the inspection even of the Duke 
 of Kent. I keep my boys regularly to school, 
 and in no voyage was ever so industrious myself. I 
 have written volumes, and read until the materials for 
 reading are exhausted. 
 
 The men have just caught a large fish with a harpoon ; 
 but he is full of sea vermin. I have prevented his 
 skin being stripped off while alive — the proposal of an 
 epicure. 
 
 Sept. 18. — Arbuthnot's brig was run foul of by an 
 Indiaman some days back. One of her sailors with 
 an axe prepared to cut away the mainstay of the 
 brig's foremast. Arbuthnot seized an unloaded car- 
 bine and presented. The sailor was so frightened, 
 that he threw himself under the yard-arm, and 
 our men followed up the success by cutting such of 
 the Indiaman's ropes as were lashed with the brig's. 
 This was an admirable display of presence of mind. 
 Three hundred miles from Madeira — probably our 
 first point of rendezvous. The fleet dispersed : but 
 collecting. 
 
 Sept. 21. — I composed yesterday, finished and copied
 
 Chap. V. VISITS GENERAL YORKE. 253 
 
 fair this morning, a discourse, which I propose to read 
 to-morrow — being Sunday — if the weather permits, to 
 my dragoons. 
 
 Sept. 22. — Preached my sermon after reading 
 prayers. 
 
 Sept. 24. — Yesterday, Arbuthnot came on board 
 with the major and Hartwell. The major is oppressed 
 with that dreadful malady the " blue devils." Indeed, 
 our passage has been bad enough to beat down all our 
 energies. The sea rises, the wind howls, and the ship 
 rolls : triste ! triste ! triste ! 
 
 Sept. 26. — In the last twenty-four hours we made 
 twenty-two miles — for us an extraordinary progress. 
 To-day, instead of twenty-two miles we have only made 
 six. Can human fortitude endure this without a 
 murmur ? 
 
 Sept. 27. — Calm all clay and night — not one yard of 
 progress. I went this morning on board the King 
 George to General Yorke of the artillery, for ammuni- 
 tion. He expects that we shall only touch at Madeira 
 and proceed to the Cape de Yerd Islands for water — 
 distant now about twelve hundred miles. In this case 
 we must either be destined for the Cape of Good Hope 
 or for South America. He is employed in altering 
 the shafts of the artillery tumbrils and cannon, so that 
 they may be converted into poles for oxen to be 
 yoked. 
 
 Three, p.m., September 28. 
 
 Land ! land ! land ! — huzza ! huzza ! huzza ! Such 
 was the cry a minute since, and it is justified by the 
 sight of £orto Santo, a few miles distant from Madeira. 
 All well, all gay ; notwithstanding that none of us may 
 disembark, and that we have still so many leagues of 
 
 s 2
 
 254 DINNER WITH THE CONSUL. Chap. V. 
 
 ocean to traverse. The mere sight of terra jirma 
 will always cheer us landsmen. 
 
 Oct. 4. — On the 29th we anchored in the road of 
 Madeira. Here we found the Leda frigate and the 
 West India fleet. I landed with difficulty and peril. 
 I reserve an account of Madeira., and a narrative of 
 our proceedings during our stay, for a separate paper.* 
 Op. my return on board I found great irregularities 
 in consequence of intoxication : but a young cornet 
 being involved in the same offence, I pardoned all on 
 account of the officer's bad example; hoping that 
 shame would be his correction. 
 
 The next morning I was early with Arbuthnot and 
 Godfrey Macdonald on board the commodore : he 
 and the general were most kind. The latter informed 
 me that I was to have the cavalry on board the 
 East India ships attached to me, and that my com- 
 mand would be still further increased. At dinner 
 with the consul, Sir David Baird, the adjutant-general, 
 a son of Lord Minto, several captains of the navy 
 and of Indiamen, were present. General Beresford 
 afterwards came. I was introduced to him by Sir 
 David, next to whom I sat at dinner and with whom 
 I had a very interesting conversation. 
 
 In the morning I procured a boat and went on 
 board my ship. I there learnt that a man, a farrier, 
 at twelve o'clock of the last night, being drunk, had 
 fallen overboard. In the six or seven minutes during 
 which he was in the water, the boat was lowered and 
 he was picked up ; his eyes, however, were so sealed 
 with sleep and gin that he did not awake until he 
 had been on deck some time. He now remembers 
 
 * See Appendix No. 7.
 
 Chap. V. STEER FOR THE BRAZILS. 255 
 
 nothing. How delightful this turtle-sailing must be ! 
 He was, however, in my opinion an unluck}^ fellow, 
 as he did not sleep through the voyage. This fact 
 is still more extraordinary than what occurred to a 
 sailor on board Sir Home's ship in the heavy gale : 
 he was washed from one of the yards into the sea, 
 and brought back again by the next wave. 
 
 We learnt here, after some days, that the fleets 
 were to separate ; and the signal was made for thera 
 to divide. Sir David Baird will now probably style 
 himself commander-in-chief, instead of major-general 
 in command. All the men-of-war saluted his flag and 
 cheered as he passed. The transports followed ; we 
 leading the van and cheering. We then had in- 
 structions to steer S.W. — a course for Teneriffe, the 
 Cape de Verd, or the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Oct. 5. — I purpose to go out to the different ships 
 whenever I can, for a change of scene is necessary to 
 divert the thoughts in so long and uninteresting a 
 voyage. 
 
 Oct. 7. — Steering for the Brazils. 
 
 Oct. 8. — Latitude 27°. Many of the men are ill. I 
 have ordered flannel for them : to be made up in 
 bandages for the waist. I procured it at Madeira for 
 them. The Narcissus, sent to reconnoitre, returned 
 at six a.m. this day. The commodore, who was steer- 
 ing W.S.W., immediately changed his course to S.W. : 
 so conjecture is at fault as to our first destination. 
 The ultimate object is doubtless the Cape. Many of 
 our men, ill of dysentery, have cured themselves by 
 drinking the rust of the anchor-stock in brandy ! — a 
 new form of steel medicine to me. The Brazils two 
 thousand miles distant,
 
 25G BALL-CARTRIDGE FIRING. Chap. V. 
 
 Latitude 10° 26', October 17. 
 
 I went on board the commodore, transacted some 
 important business for our future projects, and 
 ascertained the whole progress of our voyage and 
 enterprize. The kindness of Sir David Baird is very 
 great, and he seizes every opportunity of gratifying 
 me. Sir Home is not less well-disposed. General 
 Ferguson came on board when I was in the Diadem, 
 and was very civil. 
 
 Oct. 19. — The men practised ball-cartridge firing. 
 We are ordered to pursue this exercise unremittingly. 
 Arbuthnot and I went on board the commodore, as I 
 had a communication to make to Sir David Baird 
 respecting horses at S. Salvador. On my return I 
 found cause for displeasure. The position of a com- 
 manding officer is not a bed of roses. 
 
 Oct. 22. — A circumstance occurred which would 
 have assured me of the proposed objects of the expe- 
 dition, if I had not been previously informed. When 
 I entered Sir Home's cabin suddenly, I found him 
 and the adjutant-general employed in reading " Bar- 
 row's Travels in Africa," vol. 2, which treats altoge- 
 ther of the Cape of Good Hope, and before them was 
 a treatise on the winds upon that coast. An observing 
 eye may thus often discover mysteries. I am ordered 
 on board the Northampton, to inspect the dragoons 
 attached to us, and to see the quartermaster-general in 
 his ship and General Yorke, relative to our supply of 
 ammunition. We have been firing again this morn- 
 ing, and made excellent practice. 
 
 Oct. 20 th I went on board the brig, where I am 
 now writing and propose to sleep. Several artilleiy 
 officers are expected to dine here, on which account
 
 Chap. V. MILITIAMAN AND HEAVY DKAGOON. 257 
 
 Arbuthnot is stuffing a turkey and making dainty 
 puddings. My chief reason for leaving my ship to- 
 day in the worst weather, was that I had cause to be 
 displeased with the conduct of some officers in her. I 
 paraded the 25th, 12th, and 19th detachments; found 
 them but a motley crew, and shamefully neglected 
 in their equipments. Instructions received to make 
 the port of S. Salvador, where the fleet is to procure 
 the necessary supplies. 
 
 The climate in these latitudes is really terrible : 
 they seem condemned to an alternation of calms and 
 storms, thunder, lightning, and deluges of rain. We 
 suffer much, and make little way : indeed, we only 
 make any progress during the tornados, and are forced 
 to desire the frequent return of that which we cannot 
 enjoy when it arrives. I shall endeavour to get back 
 to the Whitby. The two young gentlemen whom I 
 wished to reprove are probably come to their senses. 
 They offended, and I gave them a severe reprimand. 
 There has long been a jealousy, and they have been 
 irritable on account of leaving England. Their ob- 
 servations on this subject have exposed them to my 
 animadversion. There is no offence that I can forgive 
 so little as a public declaration of disgust at service, 
 and desponding language respecting the result of an 
 enterprize. One was a militiaman, and is, I fear, 
 now so in spirit; the other was a heavy dragoon 
 and never proposed to be a soldier : but when at the 
 theatre for exertion I hope both will " deform fair 
 nature with hard-favoured rage," and show a desire 
 to earn distinction : this conduct alone can make me 
 feel an interest in promoting their views when the 
 service has ceased.
 
 258 AX EVERLASTING GALE. Chap. V. 
 
 Oct. 26. — On the 23rd I went with Arbuthnot on 
 board the Belllqueuse ; and learnt that the Diadem was 
 to go to S. Salvador with the Leda and probably 
 twelve of the best-sailing ships. A heavy squall 
 separated the brig from us, and we are obliged to 
 remain. Arbuthnot is in full rejouissance, and has just 
 devoured half a pig for his luncheon. On the 25th the 
 Leda bore down upon us, and I was ordered to go 
 in her on board the Diadem. I left Arbuthnot with 
 Captain Byng of the Delliqueuse, the brother of Ed- 
 mund : one of the most hospitable and excellent men 
 I ever met with. This morning we made the com- 
 modore, and I went on board and received instructions 
 relative to the purchase of horses. Returned through 
 a mountainous roll of waters ; and was nearly swamped 
 in getting on board through mismanagement of the 
 Ledas sails : I was very glad to find myself again on 
 her quarter-deck. The wind has been so violent 
 during the last thirty-six hours that both gun-brigs 
 are almost disabled, and several vessels have lost 
 their topmasts. I expected calm weather in these 
 latitudes, whereas we have an everlasting gale. I 
 have much to do now, and my responsibility begins 
 at S. Salvador, where active exertion will be needed. 
 The Leda has an excellent captain (Honeyman), plea- 
 sant society, good accommodation, and a bath ; so that 
 my position now is to me a resurrection from the 
 infernal regions, compared with the Whitby's cabin. 
 
 October 28, Latitude 1° 59'. 
 
 The east trade has reached us and we proceed 
 rapidly. This morning, the Whitby being found too 
 heavy a sailer we bore down upon her, and T went
 
 . Chap. V. CROSSING THE LINE. 259 
 
 on board for my portmanteau. I heard that a man 
 whom we had sent to the brig from her was dead, and 
 the sergeant-major's child, an infant, was no longer a 
 passenger on the surface of the waters. I have ordered 
 the commanding officer to apply instantly for a sur- 
 geon's assistant, and hope that, although several men 
 are poorly, no serious illness will break out. It has 
 been, however, too bold an experiment to send troops 
 so far in so small a transport. 
 
 The little uneasiness which I spoke of is now re- 
 moved, and we parted very good friends. I returned 
 to the Leda to proceed to S. Salvador. To-morrow 
 we expect to reach the equator and arrive at Nep- 
 tune's capital. 
 
 October 30, Latitude 0°. 
 
 This morning, at four o'clock, we passed the line 
 without breaking the ship's back in the leap. At eleven 
 a.m., a voice was heard at the bows inquiring what 
 ship . this was ; who commanded her ; and whither 
 bound ? To all which questions the officer of the 
 watch returned suitable answers. A car then ad- 
 vanced, drawn by painted men, who looked very much 
 like chimney-sweeps on May-day. In the car were 
 seated Neptune, Amphitrite, and their child ; at- 
 tendants and Nereids followed. They advanced to 
 the quarter-deck, and there Neptune with a trident in 
 his hand and a crown of feathers on his head, and 
 Amphitrite with a bottle of cordial approached the 
 captain, whom they saluted, and afterwards paid us 
 all the same compliment. This ceremony being over, 
 the car proceeded with the party round the deck. 
 Unfortunately the rapidity of the motion overset the 
 god and goddess, without, however, any injury ; except
 
 260 NEPTUNE AND AMPHITRITE. Chap. V. 
 
 to Neptune's pigtail which was supported by a ser- 
 vant whose body was smeared all over with tar. The 
 order of procession being restored, they descended to 
 the mid-deck where a tub of water was placed with 
 a small board across it, on which the stranger was to 
 be made welcome to Neptune's residence. The un- 
 fortunate guest, seated on the board, was first covered 
 with a wet cloth and swab to keep him warm. He 
 was then hoodwinked with another cloth. Neptune 
 next asked what brought him to his domain ? Some 
 appropriate answer being given Amphitrite was de- 
 sired to salute him, which she did with a very harsh 
 scrub of her beard. The barber was then ordered to 
 do his duty. A large brush dipped in tar was first 
 applied over his nose, mouth, &c, which lather was 
 afterwards well rubbed in with the hand, when a 
 wooden or iron hoop razor was applied according 
 to the direction of Neptune. This operation being 
 over the guest was asked some question, or desired 
 to hail the ship through a speaking-trumpet ; down 
 which as he opened his mouth a bucket of water 
 was dashed, the board under him was removed and 
 he soused into the tub of water; while numerous 
 buckets from all hands inundated him until he could 
 escape. Such is the extraordinary custom, which is 
 rendered venerable by antiquity. The officers this 
 day escaped, but in general they must submit to 
 the ceremony. Above two hundred men are to be 
 initiated this morning; buckets of water are flying 
 in every direction, and the mid-decks are inun- 
 dated. 
 
 We are proceeding rapidly with a fair trade 
 wind.
 
 Chap. V. BREAKERS CLOSE AHEAD. 261 
 
 Latitude 3° 46', November 1, 
 Off the Eoccas, or Pimental Slioal. 
 
 I little thought when I finished my last journal 
 that the next would commence with the melancholy 
 narrative that I am now about to write; and yet 
 when I left the Whitby, after directing her return to 
 the fleet, a thought crossed my mind that what the 
 officers considered a misfortune might, perhaps, be 
 destined for their good. Probably she has been pre- 
 served by her absence from us. 
 
 The weather continued fine, and nothing material 
 occurred yesterday. The chronometer in the evening 
 being found at variance with the dead reckoning, the 
 master of the frigate directed a proper course, as he 
 supposed, to avoid all danger by too great dependence 
 either on the one or the other. He hoped to pass 
 the island of Noronha to the eastward. On going to 
 bed I said — half serious, half jesting — to Captain Honey- 
 man, " I presume that we shall have notice in the night 
 of land being ahead." On which he observed, that he 
 should be " glad to hear that notice, as then we should 
 know our longitude to a certainty," adding that he 
 had " ordered a good look-out." 
 
 About half-past three, the officer of the watch came 
 into the cabin and said that breakers were close 
 ahead. The captain ordered the ship to tack and fired 
 a gun for signal of danger to the convoy. He went 
 also himself on deck. In a few minutes after the first 
 gun was fired another gun followed, and we tacked a 
 second time : the sure evidence of imminent peril. 
 The man on the look-out had never seen land or heard 
 breakers until the ship was close upon them ; he first 
 cried out " land !" and immediately afterwards
 
 262 WRECK OF THE BRITANNIA, Chap. V. 
 
 " breakers !" An attempt was made to tack the skip 
 before the officer of the watch had come into the cabin, 
 but she missed stays; and when the captain got on 
 deck the master advised, as the ship had entered the 
 breakers S.W., that she should be brought out by a 
 N.E. course. This was natural enough ; but no sooner 
 was the tack effected, than the forecastle look-out 
 cried, "Land round the bows, high and dry!" At 
 the same moment, the quartermaster heaving the lead 
 sang out, with admirable presence of mind in order 
 not to alarm the crew, " seven fathoms !" but came 
 and whispered to the master — "only five." The ship 
 was instantly put about and happily wore ; had she 
 again missed stays we must have perished. The stern 
 turned within ten yards of abrupt and craggy rocks. 
 From so perilous a situation few vessels ever escaped. 
 She darted almost immediately into thirteen fathoms, 
 and care for ourselves no longer occupied our thoughts. 
 That misfortune had befallen some of the fleet was now 
 but too certain. Sigual-guns of distress were heard 
 from several quarters ; and when a reluctant day 
 dawned we saw three ships on shore — the Britannia, 
 the Europe Indiaman, and the King George artillery 
 ship with General Yorke on board. 
 
 Breakers and rocks seemed to forbid help in order 
 to secure the victims to the greedy waves. Two 
 islands of white sand, on the summit of which was dis- 
 covered some verdure, and flanked by a ridge of low 
 rocks on each side stretching to the westward several 
 miles, were the theatre of this distress. The Britannia 
 was the most distant from us. Several Indiamen were 
 lying off in order to discover any means of promoting 
 the safety of the vessel or her crew. When we went
 
 Chap. V. EUROPE, KING GEORGE, ETC. 263 
 
 down to breakfast her mizen-mast had been cut away 
 to lighten her aft ; on our return she had totally dis- 
 appeared. We fear that she had succeeded in forcing 
 over the surge, and sunk when she came into deep 
 water from the injury she received. Thus, probably, 
 has been overwhelmed one of the richest Indiamen 
 that ever went out. She had on board a very large 
 amount of specie, besides a most valuable cargo and 
 numerous passengers. She was, however, a very old 
 vessel, this being her thirtieth voyage and intended to 
 be her last. On arriving in India, she was to have 
 reposed as a guard ship in the Granges. The Europe 
 to our great joy was soon relieved, with the loss of her 
 fore-topmast, by her own efforts. The unhappy King 
 George stranded on the extreme point of the reef, pre- 
 sented and still presents a most wretched spectacle. 
 About seven o'clock she fell on her beam ends, the 
 spray of the sea bounding over her topmast head. 
 The bowsprit was covered with her unfortunate crew 
 and the artillerymen embarked in her. By degrees, 
 we saw their number reduced : a flag on the sand 
 island directed our view to about two hundred of them, 
 who had escaped and who made signals to us for relief 
 by holding out white handkerchiefs, &c. We are 
 now lying- to about three miles from them and have 
 sent, through a heavy sea and notwithstanding a brisk 
 gale, every boat in the ship to bring them off. When 
 the people on shore discovered the boats, we could 
 perceive them throwing up their caps into the air in 
 an ecstasy of joy at their expected deliverance. 
 
 This has been a most affecting scene. When I 
 reflect upon the wonderful preservation of the frigate, 
 the total disappearance of the Britannia, the wreck of
 
 264 GENERAL YORKE DROWNED. Chap. V. 
 
 the King George, and the yet uncertain fate of the 
 sailors and troops, I am oppressed with the various 
 considerations which crowd upon my mind. 
 
 I cannot avoid mentioning an instance of great cool- 
 ness in one of the sailors, who was employed in pump- 
 ing in order to clarify the water in use for the ship. 
 He continued his employment without a moment's 
 pause, when the rocks rose around us on every side 
 and each man was preparing for the shock that was to 
 rend the vessel into fragments ; for we had a great deal 
 of canvas set. 
 
 Captain Honeyman has behaved with much steadi- 
 ness and fortitude ; his distress of mind is very great. 
 No blame whatever can attach to him ; but he has 
 high feeling and a good heart. 
 
 Nov. 2.- — The first boat returned with some of the 
 shipwrecked artillerymen about one o'clock. From 
 them we learnt that General Yorke was the only 
 person known to be drowned. The ship had struck 
 about half-past two in the morning. She filled about 
 daylight. The men then lowered themselves from the 
 spritsail-yard upon a rock which seemed to commu- 
 nicate with the island of sand. About forty men had 
 descended when the general went forward. Previously 
 to this moment he had been most collected, but when 
 he attempted to fall from the rope his resolution for- 
 sook him ; yet, notwithstanding, he refused assistance 
 offered him. He remained suspended until he was 
 heard to say that his strength had forsaken him, when 
 he fell into the surge. A rope was then flung, which 
 he in vain attempted to seize. Several of his men 
 ventured into the surf to reach him, but every effort 
 was fruitless. Exhausted by swimming against
 
 Chap. V. WOMEN AND CHILDREN SAVED. 265 
 
 receding waves, he sunk and rose three times, always 
 getting his head above water. 
 
 Thus perished an officer who had been considered the 
 most eligible for the conduct of his department in the 
 expedition : who had come out with leave, signed by 
 the duke and Lord Chatham, to allow of his immediate 
 return after the service was completed : and who pro- 
 posed to pass the remainder of his years in the enjoy- 
 ment of every blessing which an amiable wife and a 
 sufficient fortune could authorize him to anticipate. 
 But such is destiny that this man was forced to yield 
 his life ; while a man with a broken leg, and a woman 
 with a child born only two hours before the calamity, 
 were saved ! 
 
 The boats having brought off in the first instance 
 all the helpless the women and children, of whom there 
 were a great number, returned ; but were four hours 
 the second time in reaching the shore, and did not get 
 back to the ship until near nine o'clock. This caused us 
 some anxiety as we dared not move nearer, and in 
 these climes there is no twilight. 
 
 One hundred and sixty-three persons were thus 
 saved from a miserable destruction, for the island 
 afforded no water and is the abode of sea birds ; its en- 
 compassing waters are the resort of sharks. Fortunately 
 for the wrecked men a little cove was discovered 
 into which boats could pass, or they could never have 
 got into them ; and by a happy fortune they had saved 
 one of the boats, which enabled them to pass from the 
 rock on which the wreck was left to the high land, 
 over two pieces of water which flowed between. Not 
 an article was saved by any person, except by an 
 officer who secured his wife's picture. General Yorke
 
 266 GOOD CONDUCT OF THE SEAMEN. Chap. V. 
 
 had his plans in his pocket; but his body was not 
 thrown on shore, so they are lost. This island of roek 
 has evidently been the scene of similar catastrophes, as 
 three old anchors and some planks were found upon it. 
 The men behaved uncommonly well, and at no 
 moment forgot the respect due to their officers and 
 obedience to their orders. The master of the ship — a 
 fine old man — was the last to embark. He was 
 pulled into the boat by his own son, who had not been 
 known to him for ten years : having been idle he 
 went into the navy, and is now a sailor in the Leda. 
 The men were somewhat bruised but are doing well. 
 Several have their legs much inflamed from the salt 
 water, the sun, and the sand, but are not seriously 
 hurt. The officers have suffered most in this respect, 
 and especially the naval officers who went in the boats 
 to bring off the people. One man only is missing : 
 it is to be hoped that he is drowned ; there is some 
 fear, however, that after very great exertions he drank 
 some wine out of a cask thrown on shore and was 
 asleep in some sheltered place. 
 
 The vessel went to pieces about twelve o'clock. 
 She was the finest of her class in the transport service. 
 We could hear no tidings of the Britannia. The 
 master of the King George saw her drift by him with 
 the loss of her mizen-mast, and with the ensign 
 reversed — the sad sigual of distress. The universal 
 belief is that she has foundered in deep water. The 
 argument is too much against her chance of preserva- 
 tion ; nevertheless I will not abandon my hopes until 
 we have communicated with some of the ships which 
 sent boats to her, for that we know was done by two 
 Indiamen. If she be saved the loss then is not so
 
 Chai\ V. THE CHARMS OF NAVIGATION. 207 
 
 serious as we feared, as the King George had discharged 
 her ordnance stores previously. The safety of the 
 Streatham, after the loss of her fore-topmast, is a cause 
 for great satisfaction ; and our own preservation is 
 allowed to lie one of the most remarkable circum- 
 stances that ever happened. We owed it probably to 
 the darkness, as a drunken man often owes his life to 
 the effect of the liquor that first exposed him to hazard. 
 But how we got out by the means and in the way we 
 did is miraculous. The King George's crew considered 
 our destruction inevitable, for they saw us in the 
 moment of most imminent danger. The captain of 
 the William Pitt India man came on board in the 
 middle of the clay to offer any assistance in his power, 
 and took a boat-load of the men on board as they 
 passed on their way to the Leda. We made sail last 
 night, and stood to the N.E. thirty-nine miles in order 
 to get to the windward of the fatal Roccas; when about 
 four this morning we fell in with the main convoy 
 standing on a course that must inevitably bring them 
 near to the danger and, if the wind fails upon the 
 rocks, since the current is so very strong. We are now 
 beating up to the Raisonnable to warn her of them, 
 the Diadem not being with the fleet. The first ship I 
 saw when coining on deck this morning, was the 
 Whitby. What must be her surprise ! No doubt con- 
 jecture is*everywhere bus}-. Every one is on the look- 
 out for breakers. We must pass very near our well- 
 known terror within an hour ! 
 
 Such are the charms of navigation, particularly on a 
 coast but little frequented and inaccurately charted. I 
 feel much for Captain Honeyman ; but no human 
 prudence could have averted the catastrophe. He 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 268 THE BRITANNIA AND STREATHAM. Chap. V. 
 
 has done much in preserving so many lives by his 
 example of coolness ; and yet I would not like to tell 
 the tale as it must be told to Sir Home. Who will 
 draw Priam's curtains and disclose his Troy on fire ? 
 
 November 4, 5° 58' South. 
 
 We found that the Diadem had not left the fleet as 
 we expected. Captain Honeyman went on board 
 and related the misfortune. The general and com- 
 modore were much affected ; but the latter, who is un- 
 questionably one of the first navigators in Europe, had 
 made the Eoccas to a mile and was aware of the 
 danger. He was, however, probably the only officer 
 in the fleet so informed, and I believe that even he 
 did not know the whole extent of these perilous shoals. 
 
 We were sent to find the Verona. The next day 
 we saw her to leeward, and her captain coming on 
 board confirmed the melancholy intelligence of the Bri- 
 tannia having foundered. All her people were saved, 
 except one man who obstinately refused to quit the ship, 
 being drunk. As she went down he sprung from her, 
 having cut away the life-buoy to save himself; bat 
 in vain. Captain Birch, her commander, at four 
 o'clock in the morning went on deck and ordered his 
 mate to shorten sail. He had scarcely given the 
 direction when he perceived a large ship bearing down 
 upon him on the other tack. The Streatham rushed 
 upon his bowsprit and, falling round almost unripped 
 the side of the Britannia. The Streatham, losing her 
 fore-topmast and top-gallantmast, stood on ; but the 
 Britannia instantly drove upon the rocks, which she 
 had at the moment discovered. She hung by her 
 stern upon them a quarter of an hour ; then cut away
 
 Chap. V. GREAT LOSS OF TREASURE. 269 
 
 her raizen-mast and soon floated, with the loss of her 
 rudder. The water was then found to pour in ; but the 
 pumps reducing the leak, Captain Birch ordered his 
 boats to the aid of the King Georges people. The}'' 
 had scarcely left the ship when the leak gained so fast 
 that the safety of the vessel was deemed impossible, 
 the boats were recalled, and the signal of distress 
 hoisted as before stated. The Verona, the Europe, 
 and the Comet, being near sent their boats directly ; 
 and four hundred people were brought away, with 
 twelve chests of treasure out of one hundred and fifty 
 each containing 1000/., before nine o'clock in the 
 morning; when the ship settled to the water's edge 
 for a quarter of an hour; and then giving a heavy 
 lurch went down head foremost into the unfathomable 
 deep, only seven miles from the Roccas. Her decks 
 at the same time blew up, and the spars rose fifty feet 
 into the air. This caused the spray which we had 
 remarked when the vessel disappeared from our sight. 
 Captain Birch remained to the last moment in the 
 execution of his duty, and springing from the quarter- 
 gallery into the sea, was, as we are told, picked up by 
 the Europe's boats. jSTot an article of property or of 
 clothing was saved except what each individual wore. 
 Mrs. Russell, a very handsome woman, just married, 
 could not even save her diamonds : they were in a box, 
 but it was refused admittance into the boat. Her 
 distress of mind siuce the accident has been very 
 severe ; but happily, on board the Verona are two 
 female passengers from whom she may obtain gar- 
 ments as well as the offices of friendship. 
 
 Great as has been the public loss on this occasion, 
 the vessel altogether being of about five hundred 
 
 t 2
 
 270 GENERAL GLOOM PREVAILS. Chap. V. 
 
 thousand pounds value, still I cannot but deplore most 
 the ruin of those who for such a distant voyage had 
 embarked all their property ; and have thus lost, per- 
 haps, their station in life and been reduced to poverty 
 never to rise again. 
 
 We sent provisions on board the Verona, and such 
 linen as could be spared ; but the officers of the 
 artillery had previously reduced the stock much, and 
 my small portmanteau contained but a soldier's kit. 
 
 About four o'clock yesterday we made the land off 
 Rio Grande, and found the current still very strong. 
 The land, which a little to the eastward is guarded 
 by an iron frontier of rock seventj- miles in extent, is 
 a degree nearer than it is represented to be in the 
 charts. Here, by such unknown dangers, was Captain 
 Elphinstone in the Egyptienne once nearly lost ; and 
 here probably will many more vessels terminate their 
 course. A general gloom prevails, which will only be 
 dissipated by brilliant success. 
 
 Off S. Augustine, Nov. 5. 
 
 Yesterday, a signal ordered us to bring on board 
 the commodore the crew of a boat on our lee bow. 
 After searching in vain for some time, we discovered 
 two men on what we supposed to be a wreck, but 
 which proved to be a catamaran boat in use on this 
 coast. The singular construction of these boats ex- 
 cited our admiration, both on account of their simplicity 
 and the hardihood of the mariners who first ventured 
 on them. 
 
 Five spars, each about eighteen feet long, are 
 fastened together by bolts of iron-wood : these are cut 
 at their extremity, so as to be thin and pointed. In
 
 Chap. V. CATAMARAN BOAT. 271 
 
 the centre of the spars a board descends about four 
 feet, upon the principle of a lee-board, to prevent the 
 raft from upsetting or making too much lee way. 
 The mast is about eighteen feet high, and the sail 
 triangular ; a small bench, in which a hole is cut to 
 receive the mast, crosses the raft about four feet from 
 the fore end of the spars ; about six feet further 
 astern two sticks of iron-wood are fixed, three feet 
 high ; another stick is laid across them, and another 
 stick, upright with a forked end, is attached to the 
 centre of this cross-bar. This whole apparatus is used 
 to suspend the fish-basket, the lines, and other tackle. 
 Four feet from this is a small stool without any sup- 
 port to the sides or back, but which crosses the raft. 
 On this the steersman sits with a rudder much like a 
 paddle, that acts against two little sticks placed on 
 each side of the raft at the very extremity. He also 
 manages the sail. The other man seems generally to 
 stand upright, but he can sit down with the steers- 
 man. A stone is their anchor ; the rope or cable is 
 made of grass, and their fishing-line of cotton admir- 
 ably woven. The sea here is high, and the wind 
 blows strong from the S.E., so that white horses cover 
 the ocean ; the waves, however, can make no fatal 
 impression on this vessel, if so we may call such a 
 contrivance, than which there probably is none more 
 primitive in form in the history of navigation in the 
 world. The waters roll over the spars and wash the 
 knees of the mariners, but without any hold they 
 remain firm ; or if by accident they should be washed 
 off, they instantly swim again on board their never- 
 injured bark. 
 
 We hoisted the catamaran on deck, and bought the
 
 272 PROPOSAL TO SIR HOME POPHAM. Chap. V. 
 
 fish, which proved very good. The two men who 
 came on board had copper complexions ; the hair of 
 one was curly but long ; that of the other was very 
 silky, but his features had a negro character — yet 
 the countenance was engaging, and he might be called 
 very handsome. Their teeth were white, their eyes 
 expressive, and their limbs well-proportioned. At 
 first they had shown some apprehension, but were 
 soon reconciled. They came that morning from Flor, 
 in the Bay of Fermozo. 
 
 We now carried a press of sail to reach the com- 
 modore : when at dinner the officers reported the fore- 
 mast to be sprung 5 it had given way with a consi- 
 derable explosion. The commodore being informed 
 by telegraph of our misfortune, lay-to, and about 
 nine at night we ran alongside and sent the Brazilians 
 to him. At the same time I sent a note to Sir Home ; 
 in which I offered, if the good of the immediate ser- 
 vice could be promoted or more distant objects be 
 beneficially effected by an officer traversing the 
 Brazils overland, to embark on the catamaran with 
 the men sent to him, and from their place of abode 
 proceed to S. Salvador through the country — a dis 
 tance of about five hundred miles. I was excited to 
 this offer by various considerations : and had I been 
 permitted to undertake the enterprise I might have 
 rendered much service to the country, and certainly 
 secured some advantage to myself. I was satisfied 
 that, although the catamaran was to me a novel it 
 was not a dangerous navigation, since the use is 
 general on a large tract of coast. Sir David at first 
 consented, but afterwards said that sickness having 
 broken out in the Union among the 20th my super-
 
 Chap. V. BAY OF S. SALVADOK. 273 
 
 intendence would be necessary. I have, therefore, on 
 every account, to regret this unfortunate and hitherto 
 unknown evil, which has sent above twenty men to 
 the hospital. I am very anxious to get on board, and 
 examine the extent and cause of the mischief. 
 
 The Brazilians returned this morning. We hoisted 
 out their catamaran, and they quitted us loaded with 
 presents, highly delighted at their treatment, and 
 full of pleasure in anticipation of returning to their 
 homes and giving their wives the treasures which 
 they carry away. They dwelt much on this and 
 seemed to suffer great regret at the distress they must 
 have felt at their absence ; soon, however, to be con- 
 verted into a cause for joy — 
 
 " O'er the vast globe still woman holds her sway : 
 The prince and beggar equal homage pay." 
 
 S. Salvador, November 10. 
 
 After a rapid run in very bad weather we anchored 
 in this bay at half-past nine last night. The fleet are 
 expected to-morrow. I shall reserve a description 
 of S. Salvador for a separate paper,* and only say 
 that a more abominable place does not exist. Filth, 
 horrible figures, and ruins meet you in all the streets, 
 which are in fact mere lanes. It is a medley of the 
 worst Italian and Turkish styles of city. The blacks 
 are all of enormous size — the black women hideous. 
 The proportion of blacks to whites is as thirty to one ; 
 the whites are but semi-men in appearance, and a 
 disgrace to the dignity of Europeans. 
 
 Nov. 11. — I have just returned from an expedition, 
 most entertaining if no mischief follows. Having 
 
 * See Appendix No. 6.
 
 274 LUDICROUS ACCIDENT. Chap. A'. 
 
 gone on board the Diadem we proceeded to the shore 
 in grand parade, with the general, commodore, and 
 staff, under a salute, to call on the governor whose 
 palace commands the town from an eminence of very 
 great height. Seven two-wheel carriages were on 
 the shore to receive us. The general and commodore 
 entered the first, drawn by six mules ; General Fer- 
 guson was in the second, drawn by four ; I was in 
 the fourth, with Captain King. When we had nearly 
 reached the summit General Ferguson's carriage 
 ran back, and one of his mules fell. The third car- 
 riage unable to resist receded, and another mule fell. 
 Our charioteer attempted to take advantage of a little 
 open spot on the right, but the pavement being as 
 slippery as glass our off mule also fell. King 
 roared to me to jump out. I was so pleased at his 
 fright that my limbs were immovable from convul- 
 sions of laughter. He got very angry and attempted 
 to pass me ; but my sword getting between his legs 
 held him back, and my mirth increased with his 
 distress. At last the servant made us dismount, 
 when we saw the fifth carriage completely overset ; 
 Captain Honeyman and Captain Gordon (nephew to 
 Sir David Baird) were in it. The latter received a 
 very violent contusion on his temple. Our order of 
 procession was completely overthrown. We attempted 
 to proceed on foot ; but the severe heat and great 
 height still before us overcame our resolution, and we 
 seated ourselves again in our crazy vehicles. Never 
 was a cavalcade dispersed more ludicrously, save the 
 last accident. Astley's never presented so good a 
 scene, nor could the tailor riding to Brentford cause 
 so much amusement.
 
 Chap. Y. SUPERB PALACE. 275 
 
 Having reached the palace we passed through 
 rooms lined with officers to the grand saloon, where 
 the governor was waiting. He received us with 
 great affability and good manners. He was dressed 
 in a red coat, had a sallow complexion but good and 
 mild physiognomy, with all the characteristics of a 
 gentleman in appearance and address. 
 
 The officers were admirably uniform, and the levee 
 would not have disgraced an Austrian headquarters. 
 The soldiers looked extremely well, and all was 
 conducted in a very military style to my great sur- 
 prise ; for I had no idea that any Portuguese troops 
 were in such high order. 
 
 The palace has a superb suite of rooms sufficiently 
 furnished for a tropical latitude, and the view from 
 them is beautiful. 
 
 Having exchanged assurances of esteem, cordiality, 
 &c, we remounted our cabriolets ; and passing through 
 the town over frightful ways, proceeded to the quarters 
 prepared for the general and commodore, about two 
 miles. The eye could not regard a nobler prospect. 
 Lofty mountains, deep ravines, covered and connected 
 with the mango, the jack, the banana, the cocoa, the 
 plantain, the coffee-tree, stretched along the whole 
 route. No scenery of imagination could rival its 
 grandeur and beauty. 
 
 The Whitby arrived the day before yesterday. 
 The report of numerous sick on board was quite 
 erroneous. 
 
 I visited several monasteries; some magnificent 
 and on a large scale, but the fathers ignorant and 
 inhospitable. We slept at night in the apartment 
 prepared for us : in the course of it we were awakened
 
 276 A " MAN OF FORTUNE'S " MARRIAGE. Chap. V. 
 
 by a dreadful yell, proceeding from some unknown 
 quarter but certainly given with a negro's voice. It 
 lasted twenty minutes. So devilish a sound I never 
 heard. 
 
 Yesterday I went on board the Diadem by signal. 
 The conversation with the commodore was highly 
 satisfactory as evidence of his sincere friendship ; but 
 I cannot at this time communicate its object. 
 
 In the evening I received a note instructing me to 
 lose no time in the purchase of horses. I went to 
 see a person with whom I had business ; he was 
 absent, but I found his wife — the largest, cranest, and 
 most vulgar Irishwoman I ever beheld. The Lord 
 have mercy upon her husband, in the tropics I 
 
 S. Salvador, November 16. 
 
 Colonel P is the owner of the houses occupied 
 
 by the generals, and the possessor of large property 
 here. He acquired this by marrying a Brazilian lady 
 whose parents he outwitted. They insisted upon a 
 
 man of fortune as their son-in-law. P borrowed 
 
 of his friends ten thousand pounds. He went to the 
 mother, informed her of his intention to visit Portugal, 
 and said that he wished to lodge this sum in the 
 hands of her banker for safety, requesting her husband 
 to be trustee that he might not spend his fortune in 
 his intended tour. The money was deposited ; the 
 day fixed for his departure ; when the old lady offered 
 her consent to his marriage, provided that he settled 
 the ten thousand pounds upon her daughter. The 
 bargain was completed and he came into immediate 
 possession of a very considerable estate, with the 
 income of which he has paid all his debts, now lives
 
 Chap. V. ADVANTAGE OF FEEE-MASONRY. 277 
 
 like a prince, and at his father's death proposes to 
 quit S. Salvador for ever, as he pines in the midst of 
 grandeur for associates of equal consequence. His 
 wife is very, very far from handsome ; but she appears 
 passive, and therefore his domestic cares are light. 
 A more generous candid foreigner I never met with. 
 
 This morning I went to Sir David Baird. We 
 walked together some distance, and reached a beauti- 
 ful spot from which we looked upon the richest forest 
 scenery and the water of an extensive lake ; but the 
 total absence of grain cultivation is remarked with 
 pain by Europeans, who connect with the sight of 
 immeasurable woods ideas of an uncivilized population 
 and barbaric government. 
 
 All the ships as they get ready assemble at the 
 harbour's mouth. This is a good arrangement for 
 fresh air ; since this place is unwholesomely sultry, and 
 oppressive to the highest degree from the filth thrown 
 and left in the streets, as well as from the exhalation 
 from the labouring blacks, which taints •the otherwise 
 refreshing gale. 
 
 Here I have found the greatest advantage from 
 masonry. No sooner had I declared myself than 
 houses, horses, servants, all things, were put at my 
 disposal; for the institution is held in the highest 
 estimation, because the laws and bigotry persecute 
 the professors with fire and sword. I dare not now 
 mention the names of those who devoted themselves 
 to my service : but some of the chief members of 
 government have in private made me their acknow- 
 ledgments. 
 
 My passage is not yet fixed. I am anxious to go 
 in a man-of-war rather than in a transport, because
 
 278 PROCEEDS TO TAPARICA Chap. V. 
 
 the latter is not sure of arriving at the first moment 
 and I may be served again as I was in Egypt : whereas 
 if the man-of-war arrives I am at my post, and ready 
 to act with the first detachment that lands. 
 
 Nov. 19. — At two this morning I am going with 
 Captains Harding and Newland to an island some 
 leagues distant, where horses, as I am told, are to be 
 procured. Hitherto I have met with some success, 
 and have bought several tolerably' good. 
 
 This morning I went to Sir David Baird's and 
 rode up and down a flight of twenty-six steps ; not to 
 show off, for Captain Gordon only was present, but 
 to ascertain the activity of my horse. I have toiled 
 most severely, being always on my legs or on horse- 
 back for the purchase of horses ; besides the trouble 
 of getting money from the commissariat, and that of 
 writing drafts for payment, arranging for forage, &c. 
 I have lost no opportunity of promoting the public 
 service by want of activity or diligence, and indeed 
 my own honour is much implicated in the success of 
 my present efforts. 
 
 I cannot help remarking here that my cross renders 
 me the greatest service, for the people consider me as 
 of their own faith. Arbuthnot's bald head entitles 
 him to the distinction of a padre. He improves the 
 claim and secures great advantages ; for imposition 
 upon a heretic is here regarded as a commendable 
 action. 
 
 Verona Indianian, Nov. 29, Lat. 14° 53'. 
 
 On the morning of the 17th I proceeded with 
 Captains Harding, Cromwell, and Newland, with a 
 party of five dragoons and two sailors, in the Whitby s 
 skiff to Taparica. My object was to procure horses ;
 
 Chap. V. TO PROCURE HORSES. 279 
 
 and although I had been forbidden by the governor 
 to make purchases out of S. Salvador, I undertook 
 the responsibility of violating this order : Sir D. 
 Baird had informed me that he would be obliged to 
 disown the proceeding as sanctioned by him if any 
 remonstrance were made by the Portuguese govern- 
 ment. The importance of success determined me to 
 incur every hazard, for if I failed in mounting some 
 men on the first disembarkation how could I hope to 
 participate in the active service of the enterprise ? I 
 could not tolerate the idea of being a mere spectator 
 when fortune presented me with an occasion of being 
 a distinguished actor. I could not bear the thought 
 of having left my family and passed so many thou- 
 sand miles with various anxieties, to reach the goal 
 without being noticed as one of the emulous compe- 
 titors for the prize of honour. 
 
 The governor had consented to the purchase of a 
 few horses : but his permission had been granted with 
 reluctance, and his manner operated as a restriction 
 upon the sale: for, notwithstanding that Arbuthnot 
 made every zealous effort and had an unlimited order 
 for money, he could only buy eight horses in the town 
 in addition to the six which I had purchased ; and 
 eventually we could only bring from thence nineteen 
 horses altogether. 
 
 We reached the island of Taparica in about three 
 hours, landed with difficulty, and pitched our tent. 
 The blacks brought us abundance of fruits, and gave 
 notice to the Portuguese that our object was to buy 
 horses. Several were soon brought, some of which we 
 purchased, and I appointed two of the inhabitants to 
 act as my agents, promising a commission on every
 
 280 SAIL IN A HOLLOW TREE. Chap. V. 
 
 horse which they sent and which became mine. I 
 soon discovered that I should not be disappointed in 
 my object ; for on the island resided a class of Portu- 
 guese farmers who all kept good horses, and who 
 being good horsemen had them very well broken. 
 In no country out of England have I ever met with 
 such a class of independent yeomanry. They had all 
 decent houses; many very superior to our English 
 farmers' houses. They dressed very well, and with 
 their jockey-boots resembled our young sporting 
 farmers. Nor was the English horse-dealer with- 
 out his rival here in habits, manners, and craft. 
 
 The first day I bought fourteen horses : but money 
 failing I determined to go in a canoe to S. Salvador. 
 I left Taparica about five p.m. This was the first time 
 in my life that I ever sailed in a hollow tree ; and no 
 one would choose such a vessel for comfort. The 
 wind blowing fresh, and the sail being extremely high, 
 the two mariners and n^self were obliged to sit all 
 the way on the sharp edge of her side. In about two 
 hours I reached the opposite coast, mounted my horse 
 as soon as I could get him saddled, and rode to Sir 
 David Baird. He was much pleased with my suc- 
 cess. Afterwards I went to the commissary for 
 money, but none was to be procured till the next 
 morning. I therefore arranged with him that the 
 adjutant should bring me 200/. the next day, and at 
 twelve at night re-embarked in my canoe. We were 
 three hours getting back. The night was dark ; and 
 when we passed the breakers there was much awful 
 grandeur in the scene, from the whiteness of the foam 
 in contrast with the black shade of the surrounding 
 waters ; while the lightning, which is here continual,
 
 Chap. V. POETUGUESE JOCKEYS. 281 
 
 occasionally exposed the forests of Taparica. I found 
 my party asleep, and joined them. At daybreak we 
 rose and recommenced our bargains. Although the 
 adjutant did not come till late with the money I 
 found no difficulty in inspiring confidence for the 
 fufilment of my engagements. When he did arrive 
 and the gold was laid out upon a table the fame 
 reached all quarters, and horses flocked in. Those 
 who before demanded higher prices than I would give 
 could no longer resist the charm of possessing such 
 coin, and now pressed to accept my terms. Darkness 
 interrupted our proceedings that night, or Taparica 
 would have been unhorsed. The next day, having 
 sent back the adjutant for more money, I with New- 
 land rode to the town of Taparica distant three 
 leagues along the shore, over rocks and occasionally 
 through deep waters. We reached it in an hour; 
 but the town afforded us no satisfaction, with the 
 exception of relief from thirst by a glass of sangaree 
 and a water-melon. We were coming back at the 
 same pace, when one of our jockey friends met us, and 
 requested us to go and look at a horse belonging to 
 a Portuguese near the road. He was admirably 
 mounted, and led us across country in a style I never 
 saw equalled : it would have daunted us if shame had 
 not fortified our hearts and rendered us superior if 
 not insensible to danger. 
 
 Fox-hunters have no longer cause to boast their 
 daring exploits. I will answer for it that Leicester- 
 shire never saw such an intrepid leader as the Portu- 
 guese horse-dealer. But he found that we were capable 
 of the same exertions ; and selfish vanity insinuates 
 that our performance had more merit, since to us the
 
 282 IN A WHALE-BOAT— HEAVY GALE. Chap. V. 
 
 character of the country was unknown and the powers 
 of the horses untried. We both lost our stirrups, and 
 the saddles were only kept on the horses' backs by the 
 pressure of our knees and the just equilibrium of our 
 bodies ; for in this strange country they never draw 
 the girths for fear of breaking the leather. Such is 
 the condition of the equipment that in the trial of 
 three horses I broke fourteen stirrup-leathers, and my 
 companions nearly as many. The jockey succeeded in 
 selling his own and his friend's horses well to us. 
 
 We returned to our tent in good time. It had 
 been removed during our absence by my directions to 
 the grounds of a whale-man, in whose boats we were 
 to embark our horses. This was necessarv too for 
 security, since we had only five men to guard thirty 
 animals, whose violent passions raged with incon- 
 ceivable fury at sight of each other : for although 
 they were all fathers of families they indulged in the 
 most vicious propensities ; making night hideous with 
 their wild transports. 
 
 The next morning we embarked ten of the horses. 
 Having received an order from the general not to 
 purchase more than fifty in all, I determined to go 
 off directly in a whale-boat to be rowed by eight 
 men. We had scarcely passed the breakers when she 
 was found to leak so much that one of the men was 
 obliged to leave his oar, and for the seven miserable 
 hours that we passed in her during a heavy gale he 
 was obliged to bale out whole pailfuls of water 
 momentarily with a bucket. The wind was so high 
 and the tide so strong out of the harbour that every 
 effort to reach S. Salvador was vain ; and at last, 
 when all wore nearly exhausted, we laid hold of the
 
 Chap. V. PURSER OF THE LEDA ROBBED. 283 
 
 rocks at the extreme point of the bay, and were saved 
 from drifting God knows where. We slowly moved 
 towards the town along the shore, and reached it half 
 an hour after midnight. Sir David Baird the next 
 morning was highly satisfied with what I had done, 
 and directed me to purchase a hundred horses, if pos- 
 sible : but many were lost to the service by the con- 
 tradictory orders issued previously. 
 
 On my way back to Taparica with 300/. I visited 
 Sir Home on board the Diadem to make arrangements 
 for the conveyance of the horses in the transports, and 
 then returned to my island. 
 
 In the middle of the night I was roused from sleep 
 by a voice familiar to me, and found the purser of the 
 Leda with a drawn sword in his hand : he told me that 
 he had been robbed in the house of a black man two 
 miles distant, that he had fled, leaving all his pro- 
 perty, and he requested me now to assist him in 
 recovering it. He had come on shore in the morning 
 with Mr. Parker the second lieutenant, a Portuguese 
 merchant, and two servants, to buy stock. 
 
 I was very tired, and yet unwilling to commit the 
 execution of this business to another, for I was afraid 
 that some indiscretion might interrupt the harmony 
 that subsisted between me and the people of the 
 island. I therefore sallied forth with the purser, well 
 armed ; but as I passed the house of one of the prin- 
 cipal residents I thought it would be prudent to 
 request him to send some of his people with us. I 
 knocked him up and explained my business ; for from 
 my knowledge of Italian and Latin, and indefatigable 
 perseverance in speaking with the Portuguese, I had 
 acquired the power of holding a conversation. The 
 
 vol. i. u
 
 284 ROBBERY AND MURDER BY BLACKS. Chap. V. 
 
 roaster of the house determined upon proceeding with 
 us himself; and, brandishing an old rusty Toledo, he 
 claimed the post of honour to march in front. When 
 we arrived at the house we found onfy a woman in it : 
 she protested her innocence and delivered up the 
 clothes of the merchant ; who had run out of the room 
 and left them when the purser discovered the rob- 
 bery of his pistol and the attempt to take his watch 
 out of his fob. 
 
 The pistol alone was now missing, so we returned 
 with the recovered baggage. 
 
 The next morning we proceeded to embark more 
 horses, and in the course of the day our Portuguese 
 commander brought the missing pistol. 
 
 A letter from the adjutant informed me that eight 
 Englishmen had been attacked in a boat by blacks, 
 and two officers, with a servant, murdered. Seven 
 dragoons were sent me at the same time as a rein- 
 forcement, and as they brought pistols the master of 
 the vessel expressed great alarm. Some of the inha- 
 bitants spoke to me on the snbject ; but I told them 
 that there was a regulation in our service that all 
 soldiers when on duty should carry fire-arms or 
 sabres. I added that in Taparica the measure was 
 useless, as I gave proof by never wearing any 
 weapon. This observation satisfied them immedi- 
 ately; and indeed I had reason to repose every con- 
 fidence in their attachment. Few British officers ever 
 gained the good-will and opinion of foreigners more 
 thoroughly than 1 did here, as future circumstances 
 may one day testify. Whites and blacks all sought 
 opportunity to evince their esteem, and I certainly 
 did all in my power to acquire theirs.
 
 Chap. V. LEAVE TAPARICA. 285 
 
 Z 's mad imprudence alone endangered the mu- 
 tual good understanding : for a Portuguese privately 
 told me, " That captain is not a good man ; he is not 
 like the colonel ; yesterday evening he took a crucifix 
 and gave it to the dog in scorn." The fact was that 
 Z , seeing a crucifix in the hands of one of the in- 
 habitants, took it, under pretence of a respectful con- 
 sideration, and then thrust it into Pacha's mouth. I 
 took pains to investigate the matter quietly, and 
 learnt the particulars from an officer present who felt 
 deeply for the act at the moment. I could not speak 
 
 to Z on the subject ; the matter was too serious 
 
 for mere censure : but on account of this and his in- 
 tolerant disposition to the inhabitants I determined to 
 send him off the island, and never to give him any 
 trust of responsibility while he is under my command. 
 At the same time I had it intimated to him that I 
 was not altogether ignorant of his conduct. I fear 
 that this young man is destined to be the victim of his 
 own imprudence : but I will not urge his ruin. 
 
 At twelve o'clock on the following day, having 
 embarked fifty-six horses many of which were of an 
 excellent species and had admirable properties, I pre- 
 pared finally to evacuate Taparica ; and sailed for the 
 fleet now under weigh, with Newland, in a boat which 
 had been sent to carry horses but was not well 
 adapted for that purpose. After various difficulties 
 and dangers we laid our bark alongside the commo- 
 dore's ship, in which I deposited as a present two very 
 fine turkeys, fifty pineapples and melons, and a sack 
 of mangoes. I had also purchased for Sir Home two 
 noble horses, so that I have had some opportunity of 
 expressing my sense of his kindness. I gave consider- 
 
 u 2
 
 286 VISITS SIR DAVID BAIRD. Chap. V. 
 
 able quantities of pines and melons, and some Muscovy 
 ducks, to officers in several of the ships : but I was 
 only liberal by the liberality of others, for the greatest 
 part of them were given to me. 
 
 The commodore sent me to the Verona to report 
 her state. I executed the commission ; then went 
 back to the island, and bought live more horses and 
 one mule. At two p.m., I went to Sir David, who 
 regretted that I had not bought more mules as he 
 wanted to put two guns under my command. I said 
 nothing at the time, as I did not like to promise 
 success when I knew that several officers had for 
 many days been in search of these animals — far more 
 valuable here than horses and of greater strength. 
 Later in the day the commodore weighed anchor and 
 proceeded towards the harbour's mouth : this alarmed 
 me lest I should not be able to complete my inten- 
 tion ; but he dropped anchor again, when I went on 
 shore and instantly prepared my plan for the pur- 
 chase of four mules. After a walk of three miles I 
 procured them and another horse, which gave me 
 great satisfaction. 
 
 I must mention that, notwithstanding the murder of 
 the English in a boat, I walked without any weapon 
 of defence : which may be considered as some proof 
 that there was no general hostility against us in the 
 minds of the Brazilians. On the contrary I that night 
 experienced more than ordinary testimonies of good- 
 will. 
 
 The officers were massacred chiefly on account of 
 their own misconduct. They forced off a boat, with 
 two black men in her, who refused to go but at last 
 agreed to take them if they would pay them first :
 
 Chap. V. DEATH OF ARBUTHNOT'S BROTHER. 287 
 
 instead of money they gave them blows, when both 
 jumped into the water. In a few minutes, a canoe 
 with eight men paddled alongside ; the men sprang 
 upon the English, killed three, and wounded all. Mr. 
 Parkinson was dreadfully beaten about the head, and 
 a cadet's body when found was also in a frightfully 
 mangled state. On searching his pockets, all his teeth 
 were discovered tied up in a handkerchief. He had 
 evidently secured them, when beaten out, in this 
 manner, and afterwards received his mortal wound. 
 When I came away several of the assassins were 
 arrested. 
 
 Having completed my object, I had now to em- 
 bark by daybreak the mules and horse. Before it 
 could be effected the signal was made for all ships to 
 sail. Yessel after vessel weighed anchor, and I had 
 much reason to fear that I could not reach any ship in 
 time ; but my good fortune prevailed and I came up 
 with the agent of transports, who instantly ordered my 
 cargo on board two vessels which were standing out 
 and which received them. I then went on board the 
 Verona, all my wishes happily executed. From thence 
 on board the Diadem when I reported and proposed 
 my arrangements to Sir David. He approved of them 
 and pointed out the bay for my disembarkation, and 
 the first object to which I was to direct my operations — 
 viz., the seizure of all the horses and draught cattle in 
 three farms under the Blueberg hills. 
 
 I have a painful duty of friendship before me. I 
 heard of the death of Arbuthnot's brother on the 
 morning of my leaving Taparica, from the paper of the 
 25th September brought to S. Salvador ; where we had 
 also intelligence of the continental war from French
 
 288 EMBARKS ON BOARD THE MARIA. Chap. V. 
 
 papers. Arbuthnot is the last man to whom I should 
 wish the herald of misfortune to approach. He is 
 indeed a most amiable and worthy man ; and as a 
 proof of my high but generous regard I shall seize the 
 first occasion to restore him to his friends. 
 
 Dec. 7. — Nothing remarkable occurred on the 4th. 
 On the 5 th the fleet laid-to in order to collect all the 
 horses scattered in the transports on board the Maria. 
 I superintended this service. 
 
 Yesterday I received my orders for the landing. A 
 gun was made over to me, and I was directed to take 
 in charge a young cadet— a native of the Cape — who 
 had volunteered his services. Sir David gave notice 
 to the officers assembled for orders on board the 
 Diadem that he should summon us all again for final 
 directions. I was made very happy by finding that 
 my detachment is to be disembarked with the van 
 division. 
 
 A gale has blown heavily, and, unfortunately, we 
 have lost by sickness three dragoons and five horses. 
 
 The transfer of men and horses to the Maria was 
 completed. This is a great relief to my mind ; as by it 
 I have now secured the services of the best men in the 
 regiment in those first enterprises which are to be 
 executed by the cavalry, and which require the 
 greatest efforts of gallantry and intelligence for suc- 
 cess. Not only our own credit, but the serious 
 interests of the expedition are much concerned in our 
 conduct. 
 
 We have, as I am informed, to act against the 
 counter efforts of three hundred excellent cavalry, 
 commanded by able officers. I am very far from 
 despising my enemy, but I hope that events will justify
 
 Chap. V. SICKNESS OF THE HORSES. 289 
 
 ray confidence in ourselves. Under no control but 
 that of the commander-in-chief, intrusted with an in- 
 dependent power of action, my responsibility is con- 
 siderable : but if I can procure horses my means will 
 not be insignificant, since I can then bring into the 
 field three hundred good dragoons and two pieces of 
 cannon, with light infantry occasionally attached. My 
 hope is that I may eventually obtain the command of 
 all the outpost duty. The enemy, if not strong 
 enough to fight and unwilling to stand a siege in Cape 
 Town, may retire into the interior of the colony and 
 for a long time protract the war ; but this I do not 
 expect from the description of force. 
 
 Verona, December 14. 
 
 On the 9 th I ay as ordered on board the Verona, 
 as the horses were not well. I went on board just 
 in time to see one die. This day we hailed the 
 commodore to demand better water : men and horses 
 refused that which we had on board ; it was foul from 
 having been put in wine and beer casks not properly 
 cleansed. 
 
 Dec. 15. — The Belliqueuse, Leda, and .Diadem sent us 
 water. Two horses were raised from the agonies of 
 death by oatmeal, gin, and hot water. All the horses 
 on the windward side, without exception, have been 
 well, and the lee side has never wanted air but for the 
 first three days ; still the animals suffer there from 
 great pain in the bowels, and as I suspected inflam- 
 mation of the kidneys — from whatever cause — I deter- 
 mined upon trying diuretics. The remedy has so far 
 proved infallible. 
 
 Dec. 22. — Foul wind for several days, and heavy
 
 290 A COURT-MARTIAL. Chap. V. 
 
 sea ; it has been impossible to keep the port-holes open 
 for air. Several horses dead. 
 
 Diomede, December 30. 
 
 On the 23rd Captain Cunningham of the 25th 
 came on board the Verona to show me the minutes of 
 a court-martial, directing the punishment of a thou- 
 sand lashes to be inflicted on four men ; for disobedience 
 to orders and refusing to stand at the wheel until the 
 grog had been reissued, which had been generally 
 stopped in consequence of the bread-room having been 
 broken into by some person unknown. As I was 
 aware that the greatest order had not prevailed on the 
 Northampton among the cavalry officers, I determined 
 to go on board myself and investigate all matters with 
 a view to their satisfactory arrangement. Upon full 
 inquiry I found that although the men were culpable 
 they had been aggrieved by the detention of the 
 spirits ; since the captain of the ship had no right to 
 stop their allowance on his own authority. I therefore 
 addressed the whole corps ; and giving the merit of 
 interference in mitigation of the sentence to Captain 
 Barker, whose authority I felt obliged to maintain 
 notwithstanding his error, I directed the most cul- 
 pable to receive a booting from their comrades who 
 had been disgraced by the transaction : and then I 
 added further remarks on the necessity of maintaining 
 discipline and subordination under any circumstances. 
 
 Having effected this to the satisfaction of all parties, 
 I proceeded to hear the unpleasant complaints of some 
 of the officers urged against each other. These after 
 long conversation and many interviews I completely 
 settled, and had the pleasure of witnessing an honour- 
 able and cordial reconciliation.
 
 Chap. V. CHRISTMAS-DAY ON BOARD, 291 
 
 I could not avoid giving it as my opinion that, 
 instead of stopping the grog, with respect to which no 
 offence had been committed, there would have been 
 more justice and appropriateness in withholding the 
 biscuit until the quantity stolen had been made up by 
 this means. I do not extenuate robbery when I 
 lament that the men should be tempted to such acts : 
 but I pledge myself, if ever I obtain a seat in Parlia- 
 ment, to use all my efforts to procure for the soldiers 
 the same quantity if not quality of food as the sailors 
 receive. They both keep the watches alternately, and 
 work for the service of the ship : and both have the 
 same stowage for reception and arrangement of food. 
 
 On Christmas-day, after dinner, all the dragoons on 
 board began to dance, and passed a very merry day. 
 This gave me much pleasure, for I delight in the 
 decent amusements of those who are under my com- 
 mand. At night they had an extra allowance of grog 
 given them by Captain Barker, and they sang many 
 excellent songs. The Miss Brownrigges danced on the 
 quarter-deck for half an hour, and I was the partner of 
 one. In the evening we had a sumptuous entertain- 
 ment, and a fine round of English beef was highly 
 relished. Captain Barker's liberality is unbounded. 
 In no situation in life did I ever meet a man better 
 informed on every subject, and as a navigator his 
 merits are allowed to be pre-eminent. 
 
 Yesterday (Sunday) we had prayers ; and afterwards 
 I addressed the dragoons in terms of approbation of 
 the regularity of their conduct while I had been on 
 board, and of encouragement for the future to continue 
 in such habits. I never was more lucid or fluent and 
 felt disposed to speak at length : but I thought con-
 
 292 TABLE BAY. Chap. V. 
 
 cise pithy sentences would be more appropriate and 
 useful. 
 
 Last night I left the Northampton to go on board the 
 Diomede. As I went clown the ship's side the dra- 
 goons gave me three cheers, which could not but 
 please me with reference to the past and inspire me 
 with hope for the future. 
 
 Verona, January 3, 1806. 
 
 Land descried this morning. Standing in : an 
 animating sight. We are all in high spirits : more 
 impatient than anxious. 
 
 Jan. 5. — Yesterday evening we made Table land ; this 
 morning stood into the bay. The fleet anchored to the 
 westward of Robben Island, about four miles from the 
 mainland. I, with my detachment and the 38th and 
 39th, entered the boats. We rowed seven miles and 
 approached the shore within three hundred yards ; but 
 the surf was declared too heavy for landiDg and we 
 returned to the ships. Sir David Baird and Sir Home 
 then determined to carry the army to Saldanha Bay, 
 and General Beresford, with the 38th and the dragoons, 
 was sent forward to form an advanced guard and 
 secure the first port where water was to be obtained. 
 On the 7th we anchored in Saldanha Bay, when 
 General Beresford sent for me and told me that he 
 proposed that I should land with three companies of 
 infantry and such dragoons as I could embark, to 
 march immediately and occupy Tea Fonteyn, said 
 to be distant about fifteen but in reality twenty-five 
 miles from the spot at which we were obliged to land. 
 I was to maintain myself there, and endeavour to pro- 
 cure all possible supplies for the army ; seize the 
 landlord, draught oxen, horses, &c.
 
 Chap. V. LAND THROUGH THE SURF. 293 
 
 The wind blew a very heavy gale, so that no boats 
 could reach the usual place of debarkation four miles 
 distant, and I was ordered to land in the open bay. 
 At three o'clock the signal was elevated for casting off 
 from the ships ; and I in a man-of-war's boat with 
 Newland in her, and towing our long-boat with ten 
 horses, bore up for the shore. Expert management 
 was required as the gusts were hurricanes, and I could 
 not help feeling again that the elements were not in 
 unison with my fortune : so much persecution as I 
 have experienced from winds and waves is very re- 
 markable. 
 
 The infantry landed without opposition, but up to 
 their middles in surf. The boats with horses could 
 not approach the shore, but cast grapnels some way 
 off. The horses were forced over the sides, and sailors 
 carried our men and accoutrements ; but three horses 
 were lost after they reached the shore. About five 
 o'clock the whole were landed, and we marched under 
 the conduct of a sergeant of my own ! who, having 
 been quartered in this neighbourhood before, under- 
 took to be our guide. We continued our progress 
 along shore for a mile and then turned over a heath 
 and marched on it about four miles. The ground 
 being covered with thick and high brushwood, the 
 infantry suffered much. 
 
 My sergeant having fallen upon a path informed 
 me that we had now got upon the direct road. About 
 twelve at night the infantry began to flag, and I 
 halted all such as wished for rest that they might 
 repose and come home in the morning. About eighty 
 remained ; but I thus prevented straggling. At two 
 the advanced guard informed me that houses were
 
 294 SUFFERINGS ON THE MARCH Chap. V. 
 
 near. I took seventy men of the light infantry and 
 dragoons and surrounded the houses. A Hottentot 
 came out, who upon my asking him where cattle and 
 horses were undertook to guide me to his master. I 
 went on with twenty dragoons a league when we 
 came to a large farm ; here I found a team of noble 
 bullocks, fourteen, but only one horse. The farmer 
 hid himself as I learnt afterwards in the wheat- 
 stack, but his wife, a very delicate pleasing woman, 
 remained : I did my best to calm her fears, giving 
 a receipt for the waggon, oxen, and Hottentots. 
 
 On my return I found to my dismay that we had 
 come all the way wrong. I was reasonably angry 
 with the sergeant for having undertaken to guide us, 
 and we retraced our course ; the men muttering their 
 indignation, and I in great distress of mind. After 
 marching until six o'clock I was compelled to halt, as 
 the infantry neither could nor would proceed. 
 
 The halting-place was about five miles from a high 
 rocky hill, where the sergeant assured me water was 
 to be found and the right road to Tea Fontevn. As 
 the stragglers had come on about nine I assembled 
 the infantry and pointed out the place where I pro- 
 posed to refresh them till night. They willingly 
 consented to proceed, as water was to be hoped for 
 there and the day began to be intensely hot. We 
 crossed the intervening heath at leisure, but I went 
 forward to examine the house from which a desert of 
 white sand, two miles in extent, separated us. My 
 horse being least fatigued I got on before the adjutant 
 (Harrison), and when near the house saw two men 
 on horseback. I galloped on to intercept their retreat. 
 They saw me and attempted to fly. I drew my sword
 
 Chap. V. FROM HEAT AND THIRST. 295 
 
 to intimidate them, and they drew up, but seeing that 
 my horse was blown they dashed by me. I then drew 
 my pistol. One of them cried out for merc}^ but con- 
 tinued his flight. I could have shot the poor fellows, 
 and should have been justified in doing it, for they 
 were armed against us and the country would by 
 their escape gain information of our approach ; also 
 their horses were objects of importance : but other 
 considerations weighed more with me, and I replaced 
 my pistols in their lodging without regret. The 
 adjutant missed me, and concluded that I had retired 
 instead of advancing. Had he not done so we should 
 have secured our prize without risk : but this is a 
 lesson to me never to proceed in such cases alone ; 
 as a single man may meet with disasters that must 
 shame his enterprise, and he can seldom effect any 
 great object. 
 
 The infantry came up soon afterwards, fainting with 
 fatigue, heat, and thirst. I shut them up in a barn, 
 and would only allow each at first a small proportion 
 of water, for it was very bad in colour, and putrid in 
 taste and smell. This afterwards we little regarded. 
 The throat wanted moisture, and the nostrils and palate 
 could not be consulted. 
 
 The owner of the cottage spoke English, and I sent 
 him to General Beresford, distant, after our sixteen 
 hours march in heavy sand, only jive miles I Job never 
 showed more patience than I did in these vexatious 
 and cruel circumstances. 
 
 Having refreshed three hours I resolved to proceed 
 with the dragoons, and if possible twenty-five in- 
 fantry, to occupy the destined but yet unattainable 
 post. Twenty-five men turned out. We carried
 
 296 CAPTURE OF OXEN. Chap. V. 
 
 their coats and even their muskets. After marching 
 two miles in sand and heat more oppressive than I 
 had ever experienced, the light infantry spirit began 
 to droop. One man became sick. I put him on my 
 own horse, and taking his musket marched six miles 
 in great pain, for my boots galled me severely. About 
 five p.m. we reached a hill from whence our guide 
 showed us Fontevn. In order to conceal our move- 
 ment I halted the troops till dusk, and we all slept in 
 luxurious forgetfulness of care. At eight we marched 
 again four miles over still heavier sand, without 
 water ; but by management, such as making the men 
 fix bayonets and using other precautions as if I 
 expected to find an enemy posted here, I kept them 
 together. When we neared the houses I hastened on 
 as fast as our gallant horses could move, for gallant- 
 hearted indeed they were and since have proved them- 
 selves, and surrounded the kraals. Some Hottentots 
 ran out. I saluted them in friendship ; but one man 
 continued his flidit in anxious haste. I rode after 
 
 o 
 
 him, laid hold of his head, and throwing him back 
 went to the spot towards which he was so eagerly 
 moving, and discovered a pen full of oxen. The 
 sight rewarded me for some of our vexations, and 
 was a compensation for the injury that our non-occu- 
 pation of Tea Fontevn earlier might have done 
 the army. Our joy, however, was somewhat 
 damped by finding that the place was called Elands 
 Fonteyn, and that Tea Fouteyn was still ten miles 
 distant. 
 
 It was impossible to proceed. The men and horses 
 could not stir, and the cattle required a guard and 
 convoy to Saldanha in the morning. We therefore
 
 Chap. V. TEA FONTEYN. 297 
 
 lay clown and slept in the sand : it was very cold. 
 Two oxen were killed for the men, and after a brief 
 repose one hundred and twenty oxen, under an escort 
 of three dragoons, were sent to Saldanha, and eighteen 
 were left in the pen for the troops that were expected 
 to follow. The greater part were draught oxen of a 
 beautiful breed ; there were a few cows among them 
 of the same breed and even more beautiful. The 
 remaining dragoons, having received a share of raw 
 meat to cook at their journey's end, marched imme- 
 diately with me towards Tea Fonteyn. Arbuthnot 
 was left to bring on my twenty-five light infantry 
 when refreshed, and the rest of the infantry who 
 arrived at daybreak were to march on the following 
 night. 
 
 On our route a vast number of ostriches passed us, 
 but not within our range. 
 
 When we approached Tea Fonteyn our horses 
 were nearly exhausted ; but although they lay clown 
 at the shortest halt, they rose and moved again when 
 the march was ordered with a courage that entitles 
 this race to noble consideration. 
 
 Arrived at Tea Fonteyn, we found a house with 
 very large premises. A steward who proved most 
 friendly to us was left in charge. There was abundance 
 of corn, some wine, horses chiefly wild or unbroken, 
 but no cattle, as the greater part had been removed 
 the day before. When we appeared in sight armed 
 boors were engaged in taking away what little stock 
 remained •, but they fled upon our advancing. 
 
 A post of thirty dragoons and ten regular infantry 
 were within an hour of Tea Fonteyn, but no other 
 troops were in the neighbourhood. My position
 
 298 SUFFERINGS OF THE TROOPS. Chap. V. 
 
 therefore required vigilance, but I resolved to march 
 at midnight and carry that post ; particularly as the 
 cattle from Tea Fonteyn and other farms were 
 assembled there. 
 
 At night we all turned out. No infantry had 
 arrived : this made me uneasy for Arbuthnot, and 
 an alarm had excited all our attention ; so that each 
 of us lay down with our horses in hand, depending 
 upon the vigilance of our patrol to guard against 
 surprise. I drew up my people as well as I could for 
 defence, barricading some of the avenues with carts. 
 About midnight Arbuthnot arrived and found me on 
 my dunghill, and announced the approach of General 
 Beresford with the whole 38th regiment who, in con- 
 sequence of notice that the English army had landed 
 in Table Bay, were moving there with all speed. 
 The general indeed arrived with about thirty men, 
 but the 38th regiment never could muster as one 
 until three o'clock the next dav, and then above two 
 hundred men were missing. They came in by ones 
 and twos, exhausted and careless of everything in the 
 world but water. 
 
 Among the unfortunate sufferers fifty of my dis- 
 mounted dragoons endured the most : in heavy over- 
 alls and boots they had struggled over this terrible 
 desert, and kept up their resolution until their phy- 
 sical powers denied co-operation. Such a woful 
 march as this I never witnessed. The flight of the 
 18th of May in Flanders — the retreat through Hol- 
 land — the movements in Egypt — offered no parallel. 
 Fifty good cavalry would have annihilated the whole 
 force. Why such a detachment did not occupy Tea 
 Fonteyn is a question which one day I hope to ask
 
 Chap. V. GENERAL BERESFORD. 299 
 
 the Dutch general. Their absence on all accounts 
 appears a most faulty disposition. 
 
 General Beresford had received intelligence of the 
 army's landing, which chagrined him much. It 
 vexed me equally but did not surprise me ; for the 
 vicissitudes of fortune must be expected in war, 
 and I always anticipate the most decided departure 
 from that which appears most probable. The chief 
 engineer, the chief commissary, the cavalry on which 
 so much depended in calculation and for which so 
 much expense had been incurred, all were absent at 
 the moment when their service was most needed. 
 We yet rue the mischance of their being sent to 
 Saldanha, because had they been present the guns 
 of the enemy must, for the most part, have fallen into 
 our hands. 
 
 Had General Beresford been sent away alone the 
 appearance would not have been favourable to the 
 commander-in-chief's integrity. Beresford was an 
 Irishman, and Colonel Baird succeeded to the brigade 
 in his absence. Thus prejudice argues even now ; but, 
 I believe, without any truth. Sir Home positively 
 declared that a lull which he did not expect deter- 
 mined the attempt at midnight ; and that he had 
 resolved, when we were sent away, to sail the next 
 morning with the army to Saldanha. Nor will I 
 believe that my presence was an indifferent object on 
 military grounds : Captain Smith's was still less so on 
 the score of private friendship. 
 
 The next day, the 9 th, General Beresford, Ar- 
 buthnot, Hartwell, the adjutant, and I, proceeded with 
 thirty-three dragoons to make the best of our way 
 to the army. We marched until two o'clock in the 
 
 vol. t. x
 
 300 ACTION AT MET VALLEY. Chap. V. 
 
 morning, when we came to Groene-Kloof a large de- 
 serted house. Two wretched Hottentot slaves only 
 guarded this mansion of misery, and we took possession 
 and slept there. At daybreak, while the general and 
 I were deliberating upon our course on a high hill 
 which we had ascended for survey, a boor appeared 
 coming towards the house. We lay down until he 
 had entered the plantation — the first trees we had 
 seen in Africa — and then I ran down the height, 
 arrived in time to conceal the men, and secured him 
 and his horse as we entered. He was much frightened, 
 but told us that the English had advanced to Riet 
 Valley after a severe action. 
 
 We directly mounted and marched to Brach Fon- 
 teyn distant twelve miles, where we found horses, 
 oxen, &c. ; but as a proof of our forbearance I must 
 mention that we would not take two fine stallions for 
 fear of injuring the breed of horses at the Cape, al- 
 though we were not then certain of being masters of 
 the colony. At Elands Fonteyn, too, we gave back 
 four cows of a particular species with the same 
 motive. 
 
 Having obtained fresh horses here, General Beres- 
 ford, Captain Smith his brigade-major, Arbuthnot, and 
 I, with ten dragoons, hastened forward at speed. 
 When four miles from Riet Valley, two boors whom 
 we met informed us that Cape Town had been taken 
 two days before. 
 
 I will not dwell upon our feelings — they were self- 
 ish — nor will I murmur at fate; for who can read 
 beyond the present page ? 
 
 We now increased our pace although fourteen miles 
 were still before us, reached the outworks of Cape
 
 Chap. V. MARCH TO STELLENBOSCH. 301 
 
 Town just as the army was entering to take possession, 
 and joined the line of march. The sight was brilliant, 
 and the view of the town as we passed the castle 
 delightful ; particularly to us who had crossed so much 
 desert. 
 
 The next morning I was sent for to Sir David Baird ; 
 and finding that he wished to despatch an officer on 
 particular service, I offered to go, notwithstanding our 
 late harassment. I went directly off to General Fer- 
 guson, posted at Wynberg, with directions to him to 
 march a force instantly to secure one hundred French- 
 men who had stationed themselves in Hout Bay. 
 They proved to be sixty only, and they all surren- 
 dered immediately. On my return I dined with an 
 English merchant, and met Mr. Patterson the brother 
 of Madame Jerome Buonaparte — a fine, indiscreet, 
 honest young man, tired of life because he has no care, 
 as he says himself. I had a long argument with him 
 about the military character of General Jans sen. As 
 a man, I never heard of a chief and public character 
 who stood in such high estimation. 
 
 On the 12th I had a long round to make in a 
 dreadful south-easter, which blows more severely here 
 than in Egypt. On the 13 th all horses were put in 
 requisition for the cavalry : and in a very hot day I 
 was kept five hours examining three hundred horses, 
 of which we took one hundred and forty and the artil- 
 lery sixty. In the evening I had a parade to examine 
 them again. At ten at night I had orders to march 
 and join General Beresford at Stellenbosch with all 
 the men I could mount, and to move at two o'clock in 
 the morning. Various orders had been given before 
 so that we were distracted with the confusion. About 
 
 x 2
 
 302 HOTTENTOT WAGGONER. Chap. V. 
 
 three miles from the town we passed the place of 
 execution : here one man was hanging by the neck ; 
 another, with his Lead off, was suspended by one heel ; 
 a third was lying upon a wheel on which he had been 
 broken ; and two heads were elevated on poles. 
 About twelve o'clock in the day we reached Stellen- 
 bosch, distant twenty-eight miles. The ground we 
 passed over was deep-white sand and desert. I 
 found General Beresford in the house of the land 
 roost — a very good man, his wife somewhat pretty 
 and amiable, his eldest daughter good-looking, but his 
 youngest a third horse. TVe watched until midnight 
 for Sir David Baird. He arrived soon after. About 
 three o'clock General Janssen's secretary came, and 
 General Beresford was requested to meet the governor 
 next morning at Holland's Kloof. 
 
 At five I was suddenly ordered to inarch, and lead 
 eight mules and twenty-seven cast horses to the next 
 station. This annoyed me very much. Who can bear 
 such confusion and contradiction of orders as cavalry 
 suffer from under infantry officers ? From such dreadful 
 control the good Lord deliver me ! 
 
 Marched to Klapmut, distant ten miles ; the latter 
 part of the way with an Englishman — Mr. "Watuey — 
 resident at the Cape, in a waggon with eight horses 
 driven by one man at a rapid rate. English cha- 
 rioteers ! hide your diminished heads, for your skill does 
 not equal that of a Hottentot. 
 
 Jan. 17. — This morning a farmer came to acquaint 
 me that some soldiers had broken open his wine vaults 
 and were plundering. I galloped two miles with him, 
 and found three of the 72nd and one of the 59th in the 
 act of drinking from the hogshead. I attempted to
 
 Chap. V. PLUNDERING OF WINE VAULTS. 303 
 
 secure them : but the soldier of the 59th, mad with 
 liquor and mutinous in heart, resisted ; and I was 
 obliged to point my sword at his breast as he menaced 
 me with his musket. When I had forcibly wrested his 
 musket from him his language was so daring that I 
 was obliged to knock him down with my cane, which 
 I did most effectually ; and also with my fist one of 
 the Scotchmen who came to his assistance. At this 
 moment my orderly man came up or I might have 
 received some mischief, as three out of the four were 
 capable of action and had loaded arms. 1 now took 
 the arms from them all, with the muzzle of a pistol at 
 the head of the man of the 59th who was the most 
 outrageous, and putting them all in a waggon brought 
 them to Klapmut. As I respected the regiments I 
 would not bring these men to a general court-martial, 
 but sent them to their own corps under escort. The 
 man of the 59 th was, however, again so insolent to me 
 as I was ordering them into the cars, that I was under 
 the necessity of dashing him to the ground, giving him 
 a severe blow with my sabre, and tying his hands 
 behind him. I had previously asked pardon for him 
 and the others from their commanding officers ; but he 
 must now be contrite indeed before I can be justified 
 in extenuating his offence. I have just received an 
 order to send a sergeant and twelve men to Stellen- 
 bosch, and march myself to Groene-berg, distant twenty 
 miles, this evening. General Janssen has sent in to 
 offer terms. An ultimatum is returned. 
 
 Jan. 21. — I waited all night in expectation of another 
 courier : one came in the morning to order my march 
 back to Stellenbosch, as the business was settled. On 
 arrival at Stellenbosch I was directed to proceed to
 
 304 GENERAL JANSSEN'S QUESTION. Chap. V. 
 
 Hottentot Holland's Kloof. Here I posted myself 
 within a mile of the Dutch videttes. General Janssen 
 was at Hottentots' Holland, signing the capitulation. 
 At night I escorted him through our lines to his own. 
 Next morning I met Mr. Kliipp who commanded the 
 Dutch post which fired upon King at Saldanha and 
 the troops which I was preparing to attack in Tea 
 Fonteyn. He very civilly offered to conduct me up 
 into the mountain ; and I was the first Englishman in 
 this army who ascended the lofty summit and entered 
 this extraordinary pass. It is not in my opinion un- 
 assailable and impregnable. Almost eternal vapour 
 rests upon the whole ridge. The troops looked mise- 
 rable. Shakspeare's description, in the mouth of a 
 Frenchman, of the appearance of the English army 
 before the battle of Agincourt would well apply to 
 their state ; with the additional circumstance of an iron 
 rocky scenery. 
 
 After I had descended I was moved about two miles 
 further back, and directed to escort the Dutch troops 
 to Simon's Bay. At ten o'clock General Janssen came 
 up with the advanced guard of his army and, when I 
 approached to salute him, asked whether he had " not 
 the honour to address the officer who had gained so 
 much reputation in Egypt ?" My reply was becomingly 
 modest ; and I only relate the circumstance to prove 
 that General Janssen is no great friend of Buonaparte : 
 indeed, the whole tenor of his conversation afterwards 
 assured me of the fact. 
 
 The condition of the army was wretched ; but the 
 Waldeck yagers still looked military. There is some- 
 thing so naturally martial in a German that the cha- 
 racter cannot be destroyed. The Hottentots seemed
 
 Chap. V. SCARCITY OF WATER. 305 
 
 mean : nevertheless they are excellent soldiers for ser- 
 vice, and very faithful. But their women are horrible 
 to the sight : hideous in countenance, and clothed 
 only with a sheepskin undressed, the raw side exposed, 
 they excite inexpressible disgust and dishonour the 
 human race. The want of water renders this land the 
 most terrible in which war can be carried on ; and so 
 heart-sick and heart-weary have the unfortunate exiles 
 here found themselves, that General Janssen himself 
 assured me that above twenty of the Waldeck regiment 
 had destroyed themselves under this insuperable de- 
 pression. His own son was one among seven officers 
 who perished by their own hands. Yesterday we 
 marched ten miles to Hottentots' Holland ; this 
 morning marched again at five o'clock to Zoute river, 
 about nine miles. After breakfast the general's pass- 
 ports were brought to me for his passage with suite 
 and baggage into Cape Town. We parted in great 
 friendship. I had done all in my power to show 
 respect to his misfortune, and he was very sensible of 
 attentions which contributed to relieve its weight. 
 
 The destination of the Dutch troops was changed 
 with consent of General Janssen, and now they were to 
 embark in Table Bay instead of Simon's Bay, which 
 from the continued south-east blast was rendered unsafe 
 for shipping. Our marches had been painful to Eonde- 
 bosch, three leagues from Cape Town. The heat was 
 excessive, the sand over the ankles and even then no 
 firm bottom, progress slow : the bullocks dragging the 
 cannon all knocked up. 
 
 Jan. 22. — Yesterday received at five a.m. the arms, 
 colours, guns, artillery and cavalry horses. I was 
 obliged severely to reprimand the captain commanding
 
 306 PEIZE MONEY ; PRETTY WOMEN. Chap. V. 
 
 the artillery— the only Dutch officer who has acted 
 with any degree of opposition, or shown unworthy 
 enmity to British interests. My rebuke was much 
 approved by his brother officers. I rode into the 
 town ; dined with the general ; then rode back to my 
 station. The night was very dark so that I lost my 
 way; but at last, notwithstanding a most perilous road, 
 arrived without accident. This day I have employed 
 every moment that I could spare from my excessive 
 duty in writing. Went into the town ; returned at 
 night, and lost myself again exactly at the same point. 
 After I had put up my horse two shots were fired and 
 we all turned out, but our patrols could gain no 
 intelligence. 
 
 Sir Home tells me that he is daily discovering more 
 prize money. 200,000?. is already secured ; the army 
 shares. This is the only circumstance that relieves 
 our melancholy, for the prospect is very sombre. Joy 
 has no influence here. I cannot describe the pleasure 
 of travelling in the country better than by stating that 
 waggons without springs are the chaises de postes, and 
 that the lightest vehicle never moves without eight 
 bullocks or more, and that even these can sometimes 
 scarcely pull through the sand. 
 
 The women seem pretty, but every one admits that 
 they are totally unfit for social companions. In truth, 
 this is a real colony of shopkeepers. Plutus is their 
 only god ; they do not pretend to raise temples to any 
 other. In the whole country there are but two 
 churches — so unfavourable have priests found this 
 
 soil. 
 
 Feb. 11. — Since the date of my last journal, variety 
 and multiplicity of business have so crowded my time
 
 Chap. V. NEWS OF LORD NELSON'S VICTORY. 307 
 
 that I have not been able to employ a moment in pri- 
 vate matters ; and now I can only concisely state that 
 I was ordered to leave my command of the Dutch 
 camp, and fix head-quarters at Cape Town. But I 
 have been employed six clays on an important court- 
 martial for the trial of an officer accused of cowardice ; 
 and have been on several committees to fix the price 
 of requisition horses, which is at last settled by an 
 average of 26£. The Cape horse is not in my opinion 
 of high qualities, but we have a roan troop of un- 
 common beauty. 
 
 The principal public events that have occurred are 
 the punishment, and the most severe one I ever saw, 
 of an East India Company's soldier for robbery ; the 
 departure of the India fleet, which relieves the colony 
 from the supply of four thousand people — a very 
 important object ; and the issue of an order this 
 morning for every officer in the garrison to wear black 
 leather stocks ! ■ 
 
 Before dinner on the day on which General Janssen 
 gave his public entertainment, the news arrived of 
 Lord Nelsons victory. As the company entered the 
 saloon the guns of rejoicing were firing, but a sense 
 of impropriety prevented any expression of triumph. 
 After dinner the band of the 38 th began to play " God 
 save the King." There could not be a more unfortu- 
 nate concurrence of seemingly disrespectful circum- 
 stances. 
 
 When I first reached this town I thought it a para- 
 dise : but the sense was deceived by the" sudden tran- 
 sition from a desert country in which w r e had been 
 enduring extreme misery from fatigue, heat, thirst, and 
 sand, The houses are good : but the offensive smells,
 
 308 THE CAPE OF DESPAIR. Chap. V. 
 
 the furnace heat of the atmosphere, the blast of the 
 south-east wind which rages here with inconceivable 
 fury and violently drives with it clouds of sand and 
 gravel, the mercenary character and the stupidity of 
 the inhabitants, the excessive dearness of every neces- 
 sary of life, all render this place one of the worst 
 stations on the globe and particularly for military 
 men. The measures of our commander will establish 
 it for us as the Cape of Despair. Officers and men are 
 discontended beyond expression. The balance or 
 goose step introduced for their practice excites a 
 fever of disgust, and disease makes formidable havoc 
 in our ranks. I have fifty men sick, and the propor- 
 tion is moderate when compared with other regiments. 
 The principal cause of this destructive sickness is, I 
 believe, bad wine, and the want of every comfort for 
 those affected. As yet, I have not been able to get a 
 room for my regimental hospital, and the same confu- 
 sion and want of arrangement pervade every branch 
 and department of the service. The requests for leave 
 of absence have already enraged the general, and the 
 resignations meditated will bear evidence that the 
 feeling is such as I have described. 
 
 Every officer in the regiment but myself has been 
 ill. I have not had a moment's uneasiness on account 
 of health ; but I turn my eyes to the sea with a longing 
 look and envy even the Dutch prisoners, who resolve 
 to continue such and go to Europe. With a view to 
 forcing them to enlist into our service their stav is 
 prolonged and they are kept in the strictest confine- 
 ment. This mode of crimping does not accord with 
 the dignity of the English nation nor with military 
 honour.
 
 Chap. V. DUTCH LADIES. 309 
 
 Feb. 13. — Yesterday a most violent south-east 
 wind blew the whole clay. It seemed as if the air 
 were striving to dislodge the lofty mountains that 
 overhang the city, and the clouds of sand produced 
 the darkness of night. 
 
 I have had many painful embarrassments ren- 
 dering it difficult to preserve my system, from the 
 mad fury of different officers: but I persevere un- 
 daunted. 
 
 Feb. 15. — I applied yesterday to be exempted from 
 the Avear of the black leather stock, and stated the 
 king's order* on the subject, but was refused my 
 petition ; so that I have nothing to do but bear the 
 yoke with as good a grace as possible. I shall 
 transmit my protest to General Calvert, for we have a 
 right to protection from such troublesome caprices and 
 local commands. 
 
 I was field officer, and to keep my eyes open till 
 midnight, went to a party at the paymaster-general's, 
 where I found an assemblage of Dutch ladies who soon 
 began to trip on the cumbrous toe. All the beauties 
 of the Cape were present. At midnight I went my 
 rounds — no pleasant duty : the distance about five 
 miles, and the road most dangerous from uneven 
 surface and very difficult to find. Every time I lost 
 my way, and every time have had to report the dread- 
 ful state of the burying ground through which we pass. 
 
 * Sir Robert Wilson remonstrated personally with Sir David Baird on 
 this subject. When he spoke of the " king's order," Sir David answered, 
 " I, sir, am his Majesty here." Wilson, with his significant smile, and 
 with a profound bow, replied, " Very well, King David ; your Majesty's 
 orders shall be obeyed." This anecdote, related to Sir Provo Wallis by an 
 officer who was there, is preserved as an instance of Sir Eobert Wilson's 
 tact and readiness. The good-humoured sarcasm was not resented. — En.
 
 310 SEVERE MILITARY PUNISHMENT. Chap. V. 
 
 The bodies lie almost uncovered, for wood is too dear 
 to allow of coffin?. 
 
 I was obliged to rise at five o'clock to superintend 
 the punishment of four men of the staff corps, sentenced 
 by garrison court-martial. The first man received 
 three hundred severe lashes, the others one hundred 
 each : but to show how much officers should consider 
 before they bring men to this disgrace for slight 
 offences, I shall state that I was obliged to punish the 
 first man without any officer of the corps to which he 
 belonged being present, and none came until the second 
 man was tied up. 
 
 After the punishment, the general asked me if no 
 application had been made by the commanding officer 
 of the corps to remit the sentence of two of the men. 
 On my answering in the negative, lie informed me that 
 the commanding officer had been with him only the 
 day before to obtain their pardon ; and that he had 
 granted it but desired him to attend at the punish- 
 ment and mention his own wish to me publicly — the 
 general's sanction privately — so that it was to appear 
 as if the whole was impromptu. The commanding 
 officer, however, slept soundly, and forgot his victims. 
 I have been very angry and shall insist on the most 
 serious notice being taken ; for the same inhuman indo- 
 lence might occur in more capital cases. The duty was 
 most unpleasant, and spoilt my breakfast appetite. 
 
 March 4. — At twelve this daj T a signal was made 
 from the Lion's Eump for an enemy's vessel in sight. 
 I rode to the Monille battery, and arrived in time 
 to see a French frigate strike to the commodore who 
 had just returned from his unsuccessful cruise for 
 Linois. Ho fired but one shot. I went with Sir
 
 Chap. V. FRENCH EXPEDITION TO THE CAPE. 311 
 
 David back to the Chavan, where the Diadem's boat 
 landed an English officer who proved to be Captain 
 Wilson of the Queen's, taken with three companies of 
 his regiment and two of the 54th on passage from 
 Gibraltar under convoy of the Tunis frigate, by a 
 squadron of eleven sail of French line from Brest 
 commanded by Admiral Villaumez. They were first 
 sent on board the admiral's ship and plundered of 
 everything, then sent on in the Volontaire of forty- 
 four guns. When they were brought to by the com- 
 modore the French captain said to the English 
 officers, " Chacun a son tour," and surrendered imme- 
 diately. Fortunately for his comfort as a prisoner 
 he had treated the English with great kindness. 
 
 The strictest secrecy was enjoined by Sir David 
 after reading Sir Home's letter, but enough transpired 
 in the first rush of curiosity to convince me that the 
 French expedition is coming here ; so that I, who 
 lamented my absence from the Blueberg entertainment, 
 may yet be gorged with the martial banquet now 
 cooking for us. I only hope for a fortnight's delay, 
 as there has been too much attention to the goose-step 
 for warlike arrangements. 
 
 March 6. — Instead of eleven sail of the line only 
 six are coming. Jerome Buonaparte commands a 
 seventy-four in the expedition. I must relate an 
 anecdote truly characteristic of the French national 
 feeling. When the Volontaire was lowering her 
 colours, the second captain of the Atalanta French 
 frigate stranded here was asked by Patterson 
 whether he knew her name. He attempted to look, 
 but rubbing a few tears from his eyes said, "Ces 
 betes larmes me defendent de voir." The French
 
 312 FALSE ALARM. Chap. V. 
 
 captain and his officers are permitted to return to 
 Europe in consequence of their good conduct to the 
 English officers and soldiers on board the Volontaire 
 as prisoners. 
 
 March 10. — Last night I was roused from my bed 
 with an alarm that the French had landed in Saldanha 
 Bay. On going to Sir David he confirmed the news, 
 and showed as his authority a man who had just come 
 from thence. This man spoke French well, and de- 
 clared that he had conversed with the French officers 
 on shore, and added every probable particular. Never- 
 theless, I depended so much on Arbuthnot's conduct 
 in such a case — and from him I had received not a 
 line — that I persevered in disbelieving the informer 
 and requested Sir David not to act upon the report. 
 Mr. Eheinveldt, the chief magistrate, divided with me ; 
 the generals and chief engineer against me : and 
 Newland was marched, with two guns and thirty men, 
 instantly to Saldanha. This morning, the reporter 
 confessed the whole story to be a drunken fabrication. 
 He may rue his humour, for his life is in danger ; and 
 I suspect that there was an object in the tale. The 
 French here naturally wish to give their countrymen 
 every chance, and a division of our force may be of 
 serious detriment in case of a vigorous attack on Cape 
 Town. 
 
 March 12. — I dined yesterday with Sir Home; he 
 made me most happy by the invitation and by under- 
 taking to give me a passage in the Diadem to Europe, 
 where he expects to be in August at the latest. 
 
 I received a report from Arbuthnot which I sent to 
 head-quarters, and Sir David has sent him a very 
 flattering letter of approval.
 
 Chap. V. DRAUGHT OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. 313 
 
 The man who told the falsehood about the French 
 at Saldanha had a severe whipping yesterday, at six 
 different places. He was scourged with rods ; one of 
 which was held in each hand of the executioner, and 
 the blows were given as fast as possible. A severe 
 punishment — but he merited death. 
 
 April 14. — On the 12th it was announced that an 
 expedition was determined upon against Rio de la 
 Plata. Sir David consented that the 71st regiment 
 and General Beresforcl with a few artillery should 
 undertake that expedition, which appeared to me 
 indiscreet. 
 
 Yesterday Sir David Baird, at drill, asked me to 
 dine with him. The 71st embarked. After breakfast 
 I went on board Sir Home's ship with Arbuthnot who 
 wished to go on the service. When on board I conversed 
 with the carpenter, who gave me information relative 
 to the Rio de la Plata in which settlement he had 
 lived some years. I obtained from him a draught of 
 the place by which I had more reason to be satisfied 
 that my original idea of this enterprise was correct, 
 and that in all human probability it would be a 
 failure. After dining with Sir David I walked away 
 with General Beresford, and could not help saying to 
 him that I hoped he would look well before he leapt. 
 I promised to send him a copy of the sketch given me 
 by the carpenter, and the Spanish army-list given 
 to me by John Kemble in England, by which the 
 force in the country appeared far more considerable 
 than was allowed by Sir Home. Sent both this morn- 
 ing. Drummond told me that Sir Home, who had 
 yesterday mentioned my anxiety to go to England, 
 was gone to ask that I might go with him and carry
 
 314 JOHN KEMBLE'S GIFT. Chap. V. 
 
 despatches to Europe. Presently Arbuthnot came 
 running tome, and said that I was instantly wanted by 
 the general. The report circulated that I was going 
 with the expedition. On entering the government 
 house I found Sir Home at the door very gloomy. He 
 followed me into the passage and said, " So, sir, you 
 have entered a protest against the expedition — drawn 
 your plan — as much as to say, after this go now if you 
 dare." I denied it. He said that " what I had actually 
 done amounted to this." Sir David came out and re- 
 ceived me most graciously — droll enough — and desired 
 me to walk up stairs. General Beresford showed equal 
 courtesy. Sir David then asked me where I had 
 obtained, or from what information I had drawn my 
 chart. I told him. He then inquired about the book 
 which Kemble had given me, and concluded by 
 expressing his acknowledgment for my information. 
 I answered that I thought it my duty to produce what- 
 ever might tend to elucidate the question, either for 
 or against an enterprise in which the national honour, 
 the reputation of the army, and the safety of friends 
 were concerned. Both Generals Baird and Beresford 
 repeated their thanks continually ; while Sir Home 
 remained silent. They then all went on board the 
 ship again to see the men, with my sketch and the 
 army list in their hands. All is still suspense, for the 
 council is not yet returned on shore. 
 
 The events of this day prove how uncertain all 
 human operations are, and on what trifles great 
 events often depend. John Kemble's accidental gift 
 and my curiosity have suspended in balance and 
 may perhaps have prevented, a plan that interests 
 nations and involves the lives, fortunes, and happiness
 
 Chap. V. A VICIOUS HOESE. 315 
 
 of many individuals. I think that I ought to send 
 the book to the British Museum. I am seriously 
 pained that Sir Home should be displeased : still I 
 think that I have done my duty honestly to my 
 country ; and I have such little opinion of naval- 
 military schemes of enterprise, that I am in my own 
 mind certain of his being injured only in fancy if the 
 expedition does not proceed. 
 
 April 14. — The expedition was decided upon, but 
 with very restrictive orders. Yesterday morning it 
 sailed. Sir David sent for me to tell me that he had 
 been over-persuaded. Sir Home wrote me several 
 very friendly notes, and left with Sir David the 
 expression of his wish that I should go to England 
 when the fate of the detachment is known. This wish 
 will be complied with. 
 
 April 24. — A vessel arrived in Simon's Bay brings 
 news of peace between France and Austria. I dread 
 to hear the terms. 
 
 The general came into our barracks and was highly 
 satisfied with their cleanly state. In one troop, 
 however, he observed a horse that was not very clean, 
 and asked the quartermaster why there was neglect 
 in this case. The quartermaster answered that he 
 was " too vicious to be cleaned." The general re- 
 plied with unbecoming severity. A man was called 
 out to clean him : he rubbed one side with some 
 difficulty, when the general ordered the quartermaster 
 into arrest and retired ; but no sooner was the horse 
 touched on the side where he had no eve than he 
 became furious, and in an instant cleared away men 
 and horses in all directions. When I was made ac- 
 quainted with the affair I represented that the horse 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 316 A CONTRACT OF MARRIAGE. Chap. V. 
 
 had been reported to me as too dangerous to be 
 cleaned some time since by Captain Cromwell : that 
 Captain Arbuthnot and Mr. Odell, who had been in 
 command with him, had also made the same report : 
 that he had kicked and bitten several men : and that 
 General Beresford had cast him for such vice three 
 weeks since, but ordered him to be kept in our stables 
 until a bruise on his back was well. At the same time 
 I wrote to Colonel Vassal, now commandant of the 
 town, that I recommended the quartermaster's libera- 
 tion as I foresaw that his trial would be attended 
 with unpleasant results, the evidence being so strong 
 in his favour •, a hint which colonel Vassal could well 
 comprehend. He will, I believe, in consequence be 
 restored to liberty : but I shall order a court of 
 inquiry to be held for the sake of the man and the 
 credit of the regiment ; so that the transaction being 
 upon official record may not be liable to erroneous 
 relation. 
 
 April 29. — I went on the 27th with Brownrigge to 
 a party in the country, where the contract of marriage 
 — an event which must take place eight days before 
 the actual marriage — between a Miss Hunter and 
 General Munich was to be celebrated. We were the 
 only two English officers, but there might be eighty 
 persons altogether. The dancing literally lasted all 
 night. The destined bride was about sixteen ; a 
 very fine country girl, unaffected, and very interesting 
 from her simplicity. She was surrounded by relations 
 and friends who all seemed happy and fond of each 
 other. The old joined with the young in the festivity, 
 and the scene resembled the description of the former 
 manners of England. I was highly gratified as the
 
 Chap. V. SUPPER AND DANCING. 317 
 
 welcome was most hospitable, and no circumstance 
 occurred that could be recorded to the disadvantage 
 of our hosts. Personally, I had every reason to be 
 satisfied with the attentions paid me ; but I was 
 equally pleased to observe an honest freedom of 
 manners without any affected refinement. The fetters 
 of social distinctions were not permitted to interfere 
 with this entire freedom : and I mention as some 
 proof of it, that in a company where an officer of high 
 rank and more particularly with my additional dis- 
 tinctions might be presumed to command some pre- 
 ference of courtesy, and where his attentions might be 
 supposed to gratify the pride of the parties to whom 
 he offered them, I could only dance the fifth dance 
 with the bride ; her kinsmen and acquaintance claim- 
 ing her hand till then. At supper the health of the 
 bride and bridegroom was drunk in large glasses and 
 gaiety of heart prevailed, but the strictest decency 
 and propriety were never infringed upon. A bishop 
 might have been present and never had reason to 
 avert his eye or ear. I confess that this correct 
 behaviour astonished me, as I had been induced to 
 form a different opinion by reading the books of 
 travellers. 
 
 About daybreak some of the nearest neighbours 
 went home to dress and return to dine, which is the 
 custom. We passed a very pleasant morning. Four 
 old people danced a very regular and perfect minuet, 
 notwithstanding that one lady was of immense size. 
 I joyed much in this sight, which completed the scene 
 of domestic felicity, and reminded me of Old England, 
 where in the middle classes of country society pri- 
 mitive modes of family happiness still find a place. 
 
 y 2
 
 318 DEPORTMENT OF THE COMPANY. Chap. V. 
 
 Nor were the emotions which this amiable display of 
 antiquated vanity excited in the youthful portion of 
 the company less creditable. Every eye glistened 
 with satisfaction and every voice cheered with affec- 
 tionate ardour. A very pretty girl standing next to 
 me observed, " I am so glad to see the old people 
 so happy !" and I believe she felt the remark as deeply 
 as she spoke it energetically. When such goodness of 
 heart is general the writer is too severe who lashes, 
 with fierce rudeness, a deficiency in those accomplish- 
 ments which are common in Europe ; unless he con- 
 fines his censure to those who have neglected foolishly 
 to observe the advancing graces of society and to 
 cultivate them in their children. At dinner, two 
 o'clock, almost the whole party reassembled. The 
 merry wine-cup was introduced again to the " health 
 of the host and hostess," and once replenished to the 
 " welfare of the place." The company then retired to 
 the hall, and the rest of the day was passed in various 
 rustic amusements, tea, and supper. 
 
 Women all over the world I find are equally able 
 to support the fatigue of dancing. Although there 
 were some girls who from seven p.m. to seven a.m. 
 danced incessantly — each dance without a moment's 
 interval succeeding the foregoing one — except during 
 the one hour devoted to supper, and although the 
 floor was paved with bricks, j T et they seemed fresh 
 and quite ready to prolong the exercise ; shaming, I 
 will confess, all the men. There was no waltzing, 
 only country dances and French dances. 
 
 I have been thus particular because the manners of 
 a country are always interesting, and I have felt it 
 a duty to render justice to the people of the colony.
 
 Chap. V. WEIGHT'S SUICIDE AND PITT'S DEATH. 319 
 
 I flatter myself that I shall be the bearer of my 
 next despatches. My absence from Europe at such 
 an interesting period is an unparalleled misfortune in 
 my history. 
 
 May 12. — Nothing extraordinary happened until 
 the 10th, when some vessels were signalled. They 
 proved to be the Porpoise sloop of war and two store 
 ships from England, which they left on the 28 th of 
 January. The news transpired yesterday, and such a 
 catalogue of woful disasters I never heard. Pitt's 
 death has been felt here as the worst of the calamities. 
 We are all sad and desponding. 
 
 May 15. — Fortune and I can never meet kindly 
 again. To be absent from Europe when such great 
 changes were in progress, and when the elevation of 
 my friends to power offered opportunity for advan- 
 tageous employment, is a hard destiny. The public 
 news which I have been devouring all this morning, 
 and an English November day, have quite oppressed 
 me ; and I do not wonder at Wright's suicide or the 
 breaking of Pitt's heart. 
 
 As soon as news is received from government of 
 the disposition of the forces here I shall strenuously 
 urge my return home. Lord Hutchinson, the papers 
 say, has an appointment. I am satisfied that he will 
 have some good employment ; and I calculate upon his 
 friendly offices, at all events to remove me from 
 hence. 
 
 There is scarcely any expedition from this place 
 that would employ me satisfactorily, unless Spanish 
 America is to be vigorously attacked ; for from the 
 intelligence that Sir Home's convoy has been separated, 
 and that a French fifty with two frigates has gone to
 
 320 WISH TO RETURN TO EUROPE. Chap. V. 
 
 Rio de la Plata so that their crews will secure a 
 garrison to Monte Video, I consider that Sir Home's 
 enterprise has failed. A war with North America 
 would probably be chiefly maritime, and I have no 
 inclination to fight with Yankees whose resistance 
 scarcely offers military honour. 
 
 May 27. — On the 24th, I wrote to Sir David that I 
 wished to return to Europe. On the 25th, he sent 
 for me and said he knew that I had family reasons, 
 and that my friends were come into office, so 
 that he would not detain me if I made a strong appli- 
 cation. I did this yesterday and it is granted ; but 
 the red flag is this moment hoisted and the signal 
 repeated that an enemy's fleet is off Simon's Bay. 
 Fortune may yet be disposed to make me amends 
 even in Africa. The drum beats to arms — thank God ! 
 — Huzza ! 
 
 May 29. — Disappointment often mortifies hope. 
 The repeatedly signalled enemy turned out to be 
 neutral vessels. 
 
 June 10, Adamant, 3 degrees from the Cape of Torments. 
 
 On the 4th of June the troops were reviewed and 
 looked admirably well. Next day I paraded my detach- 
 ment, and took leave of them in a short address. The 
 major and adjutant could not speak to address the men. 
 I was much moved at this instance of their affection : 
 indeed I felt the pleasure of my departure from this 
 detestable colony greatly impaired by the thought of 
 leaving men who I had reason to know were much 
 attached to me ; but I had the satisfaction of reflecting 
 that I had taken every precaution for their comfort 
 and future interests. The next day I took leave of
 
 Chap. V. ARRIVES AT ST. HELENA. 321 
 
 my good friends, and particularly of Colonel Vassal 
 whose kindness I shall never forget ; and after settling 
 all affairs I mounted my horse and rode to Simon's 
 Bay. There I found that Captain Styles of the 
 Adamant, who had offered me a passage, had deter- 
 mined upon sailing the next morning at daybreak. 
 I then discovered that my writing-case with keys was 
 left behind. I was very uneasy on this account and 
 resolved to go back myself. I set off about six 
 o'clock. The night was very dark and a great plain 
 of water divided me from Cape Town : but after losing 
 my way and recovering it I got safe, mounted another 
 horse, and returned ; riding thus above fifty miles at 
 night over a solitary tract, with wolves howling, 
 quicksands menacing, and a heavy writing-case under 
 my arm as I came back. 
 
 I got on board just in time ; but it is a singular 
 circumstance that the boat which conveyed me to the 
 ship sprung a leak, and I had nearly lost my passage. 
 Captain Styles received me with a hearty welcome 
 and we sailed immediately. 
 
 June 27, St. Helena. 
 
 On the 22nd, after a tedious passage of fourteen 
 days, we reached St. Helena. On shore I slept at 
 Captain Cox's, who married a sister of Lord Essex. 
 A most extraordinary event which happened twenty 
 years before brought me to his recognition the moment 
 he saw me. I dined with the governor at his country 
 house and rode with Captain Styles and Colonel 
 Halket, a fellow-passenger on board the Adamant, to 
 see the island. We were all much astonished and 
 pleased at the interior country ; but we hope not to
 
 322 ARRIVAL OF THE CHINA FLEET. Chap. V. 
 
 stay here long as we are all heartily tired of the 
 place.* 
 
 June 29. — We have dined repeatedly with the 
 governor and slept one night at the plantation house ; 
 a great relief to us, as our rooms in the town are an 
 abomination from their condition and closeness. We 
 heard on the 27th of the loss of the Burgess Indiaman 
 by the Walthamstow and Lord Nelson just arrived 
 from England. The gallantry of the crew of the 
 Burgess in saving the ladies is admirable. There are 
 two cadets here who were preserved by clinging to a 
 Newfoundland dog and a pig. 
 
 July 10, at Sea. 
 
 We sailed yesterday. The China fleet arrived on 
 the 2nd under convoy of the Lancaster, 64, after a 
 passage of four months. By considerable exertions 
 they watered in eight days. One of the captains was 
 the celebrated Wilson who was cast away on the 
 Pelew Islands. He is a fine old man with a most 
 pleasing countenance and a reverend head, seventy 
 years of age. Another was a Captain Gribble com- 
 manding the King George, the ship which fought 
 Linois in the action in which he was repelled by the 
 China fleet. He recognised me as having inspected 
 him at Barnstaple when he was acting as a yeoman. 
 In another ship was the lover of Miss Jessy Patton the 
 governor's daughter : he is a brother of Colonel Oswald 
 of the 35th regiment, and chief mate of the Exeter. A 
 finer young man is not to be seen in any service. In 
 the Lancaster came Captains Heathcote, Christian, 
 Williams, and Dare. In Christian I found an old 
 acquaintance and the brother of Hompesch's wife. 
 
 * " Sketch of St. Helena." See Appendix No. 8.
 
 Chap. V. CREW OF THE LANCASTER. 323 
 
 His company has been a great amusement and pleasure 
 to me, and he and Williams are now fellow-passengers 
 in the Adamant. At ten yesterday morning, after 
 breakfasting with the governor, Christian and I went 
 down to embark in a boat of the Lancaster. The 
 Adamant having stood off about five miles lay to, so 
 that we were in hopes of reaching her : but when we 
 approached she made sail again, to our great vexation 
 as the weather was very hot, and the poor fellows who 
 rowed us were exhausted by a ten years' service in 
 India, and broken in spirit by the disappointment of 
 not returning to England as they had been led to 
 expect. The case of the Lancaster is indeed the most 
 cruel instance of neglect that I ever heard of: no 
 man could ascend her deck unmoved by the sight of a 
 crew so broken-hearted and yet, in figure and coun- 
 tenance, the most admirable specimens of a veteran 
 marine. 
 
 Resolved not to pursue the Adamant on account of 
 the men who had so far to row back, we went away 
 to the Hope and got on board of her ; from whence we 
 were quickly sent for by the Adamant, which now 
 lay to in order to receive us. I should have preferred 
 remaining in the Hope for a few days as Captain 
 Miniski, a Russian officer who has been learning 
 naval tactics for some years in British ships, was a 
 passenger in her, and is one of the most excellent 
 foreigners I have ever known. I have been highly 
 pleased that I have had opportunity to show him 
 some attentions. 
 
 July 22. — I went on board the Warley, Captain 
 Wilson. He was bringing home an animal of exquisite 
 beauty and unknown species from Malacca. It has
 
 324 MAGNIFICENT ARAB HORSE. Chap. V. 
 
 the expressive eye and delicate limbs of the antelope, 
 the tusks of a young boar, the throat and body of a 
 stag, two sinews upon the nose, and two holes under 
 the eyes through which he breathes when oppressed 
 in the chase. 
 
 A stone was shown us which, when dipped in water, 
 becomes elastic and tractable as putty, but cannot be 
 cut through ; and a map used in China which country 
 occupies the whole surface, while round the edges Eng- 
 land, America, France, Germany, &c, &c, are in- 
 troduced as very minute islands. A variety of rare 
 and costly articles of Japanese, Chinese, and Malacca 
 manufacture were also in Captain Wilson's collection. 
 
 August 9. — Yesterday I went with Christian on 
 board the Windham, Captain Steuart, and dined there 
 en fete. Afterwards we amused ourselves with rowing 
 to the Exeter, the Ocean, the Howe, the Wavley, and 
 the Cootes. In the Howe I rode round the deck on a 
 magnificent Arab horse, an event probably not of 
 frequent occurrence on the Atlantic. On board the 
 Ocean was a bull three feet high, not altogether so 
 large as York. In lat. 32° 14', long. 37° 30', I sent to 
 the deep, in charge of the current ]?ost, a bottle con- 
 taining a paper with the following words : " Adamant, 
 August 9, 1806. If the bottle containing this paper 
 is picked up six months after this date, let the finder 
 acquaint Captain Christian, E.N., or Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Sir Robert Wilson, stating when and where 
 it was found." 
 
 I have done this in order to ascertain the direction 
 of the currents, as we see around us vast quantities of 
 seaweed supposed to come from the Gulf of Florida 
 and to return there.
 
 Chap. V. A FUEIOUS GALE. 325 
 
 August 20. — On the 17th I took advantage of a 
 calm to visit several ships. The Adamant shot ahead 
 and did not shorten sail for us, but as I was deter- 
 mined to get on board if possible, Christian and I got 
 into the boat at eight o'clock p.m., when it was quite 
 dark and the ship was going five miles an hour. We 
 hoped that, by means of lanterns and firing muskets, 
 we should make the Adamant see us. However, after 
 rowing hard for twenty minutes, we were obliged to 
 give up the chase. Fortunately, the Warley bore 
 down and picked us up.* This was a most un- 
 pleasant adventure, might have terminated fatally, 
 and has given me cause for great displeasure. The 
 next morning we came on board. The same day a 
 man from the maintop lost a knife overboard. Four 
 hours afterwards a dolphin was caught, with two flying 
 fish and the knife in his stomach. 
 
 August 29. — A furious gale. I am indeed but an 
 unlucky mariner. In the height of the gale York 
 and Pacha rushed for shelter to me and could not 
 be driven from the cabin, although never permitted 
 to sleep there. In York, this is more remarkable, 
 as he never comes near me at any time, having 
 enough amusement with the crew, but instinct told 
 him that in trouble his master would prove his best 
 protector. 
 
 August 31. — Yesterday, at three o'clock, we saw 
 the Lizard, an American. She hinted that there was 
 great news of peace. The ship's crew cheered not- 
 withstanding the menaces of the officers. . 
 
 * This was the occasion to which Sir R. W. refers as one of the im- 
 minent perils of his life, in the memoir quoted in the preface to the " Rus- 
 sian Campaign," p. 2. — Ed.
 
 326 OFF THE START. Chap. V. 
 
 " A word to the wise " — reflection to the thought- 
 ful. 
 
 This day off the Start. The boats are employed in 
 the melancholy service of pressing the crews of India- 
 men who have now been absent two years. What a 
 farce to these poor fellows is the freedom of Britons ! 
 How sorrowful to them is public utility !
 
 ( 327 ) 
 
 APPENDIX TO VOL. I. 
 
 No. 1. 
 Anecdotal Remarks. 
 
 Having determined when at Dorchester to pay my respects 
 to the king at Weymouth, I arrived in the evening of 
 the 2nd September,* and posted myself with my wife at 
 the pier-head when his majesty was promenading in that 
 direction. We attracted his notice. After some few remarks 
 he desired me to go on board his yacht next day that he 
 might question me more about Egypt : and turning to Lord 
 Hawkesbury he observed, "These are atrocious crimes of 
 which he has accused Buonaparte — I believe them all — do 
 you not, my lord ?" Lord H. declined an answer. 
 
 We went on board but not a word was said about Egypt. 
 The king was apparently agitated, and was more rapid in his 
 delivery than formerly. Towards evening he desired the 
 band to play some music from Handel, set to words among 
 which the line occurs — " We never will bow down :" — I pre- 
 sumed "to images," — for the king immediately cried out, 
 " Now let the Roman Catholics come on ! I wish they were 
 all here !" He then lapsed into a devotional reverie ; as 
 might be inferred from the motion of his head and his hands 
 but his eyes were closed. The next day he was much 
 calmer, and still more so the third. He nevertheless once 
 showed much irritation and harshness towards Princess 
 Augusta ; who was taking care of Princess Sophia, seized with 
 her usual spasmodic complaint. From his countenance at 
 the instant his appearance when in a frenzied state might 
 
 well be imagined. 
 
 Probably 1802.— Ed.
 
 «828 ANECDOTAL REMARKS. App. 1. 
 
 Again, before many people he abused General Dundas in 
 coarse terms ; and declared that he " Gave him Chelsea to get 
 rid of such a troublesome burden." In his political observa- 
 tions he was also very indiscreet; saying before the sailors 
 that he " hated all reforms," that he " loved the constitution 
 with existing abuses better than if they were removed :" and 
 he was very severe against the Parliament for the Aylesbury 
 Election Bill. When he was at the theatre one of the 
 actors said to another on the stage, "You think yourself a 
 great man because you represent all the silly fellows of the 
 shire." The king clapped his hands and seemed delighted : 
 but generally he slept there a great deal, or talked so loudly 
 as to disturb the performance. One ludicrous incident 
 occurred which occasioned much laughter. The queen and 
 Princess Elizabeth retired from the box while the king was 
 asleep. The audience feared that one of the princesses had 
 been taken ill, as all were not present. When the king 
 awoke he asked " Where the queen was gone." Princess 
 Augusta whispered the answer. The king roared out, " Then 
 why did she not take all the playbills with her?" The 
 house immediately apprehended the whisper : and it was 
 convulsed. 
 
 At the wedding fete it was presumed that the king would 
 be allowed to sleep in the queen's apartment, which hitherto 
 for several years had not been the case : but the usual pre- 
 cautions were taken to prevent his occupation of the room. 
 These precautions are, first, the entrance of two German 
 ladies at an early hour : next, on the retirement of the 
 queen, two of the princesses attend her and stay until the 
 king withdraws. He sleeps in the next house ; for he declares 
 that he never will have a separate apartment in the same 
 residence with her. 
 
 The advice of the physicians, the entreaties of the 
 ministers, have all been in vain. The queen is inexorable. 
 
 The morning after the fete the king was very unwell. 
 One of the princesses told my informant, "We have had 
 quite a scene this morning with the king." I afterwards 
 learnt through the same channel that the king had been 
 very outrageous ; and had abused Mr. Pitt and all his party
 
 App. 1. ANECDOTAL REMARKS. 329 
 
 violently. That the king was much attached to the Adding- 
 tonians 1 had before an opportunity of ascertaining : for when 
 Nat Bond came to the rooms the king watched till Lord 
 Hawkesbury was turned away ; and then went up to him and 
 paid him and his former colleagues the most flattering com- 
 pliments, and on various occasions repeated them. 
 
 On board the yacht the king lent Sir W. Parsons the 
 "Life of Handel," with notes by himself. I asked Sir 
 William whether these notes were written with any ability 
 and knowledge ? He answered, " Not in the least degree. 
 There is one however very much against Lord Cardigan, the 
 Duke of Queensberry, and Lord Galloway ; in which they are 
 called fools for liking Italian music." When Sir W. Parsons 
 returned the book with courtly expressions, the king said, " I 
 am glad you like these, for I wrote them during the time they 
 chose to say I was ill last winter." 
 
 At the parade of the evening on the 16th the king was so 
 remarkably lively as to attract general notice, and particularly 
 among the German officers present : one of whom observed, 
 " Ich habe menials den Konig so lustig gesehen " — "I have 
 never seen the king so gay." I replied, " The arrival of the 
 Duke of Sussex has animated him." For the next two days 
 his physician, Sir P. Milman, entertained very serious appre- 
 hensions ; as there were increased symptoms of returning 
 malady, which more and more engaged public attention. It 
 was a melancholy sight and most painful to all about him, as 
 they were thrown into continual embarrassments. 
 
 The character of the king under this affliction seems totally 
 changed. Occasionally he is more liberally disposed : but in 
 most cases malignantly ; hating those whom he best liked, 
 wishing the death of supposed enemies, and taking into great 
 aversion his old and faithful servants. He affects to be 
 totally foreign, which formerly he could not bear any one to 
 be : and he now stalks about with gauntlet gloves on his 
 hands, in the biggest Hanoverian boots. . 
 
 " O ! vanitas rerum humanarum !" 
 
 Sept. 22. — The king after dinner was more petulant and 
 excited than ever. It was the anniversary of his coronation. 
 He appeared in a Hanoverian general's uniform, and as
 
 330 ANECDOTAL REMARKS. App. 1. 
 
 Count Woronzow remarked to me, was more " bavard " than 
 usual : but in politics and in his memory I thought liim more 
 acute than ever. Towards night he became quite childish, 
 and faltered much in his speech. 
 
 Sept. 23. — The king went on board the yacht to attend 
 Divine service. He came to the rooms in the evening and 
 appeared more staid than the preceding day. While the 
 Duke of York was at Weyinouth the king left off his 
 gauntlets and big boots; but the duke was alarmed at 
 other appearances. On Tuesday, the 25th, on board the 
 yacht he was very wild and irregular. On the 27th he went 
 on board again, and sea and wind were very high. Notwith- 
 standing the fitting up of Windsor Castle at so great an 
 expense, he now talks of living in Cumberland Lodge : but 
 he takes much credit to himself for the following stratagem 
 of economy. 
 
 Immediately after his illness he was informed that new 
 furniture would be required in Buckingham House. It was 
 always a custom that the old should be taken by the Lord 
 Chamberlain ; but the king precipitated Lord Salisbury's 
 dismissal and protracted Lord Hertford's appointment that, 
 as he said, " The furniture might in the interim be removed 
 to Kew and Hampton, and thus escape the gripe of the 
 Chamberlain." 
 
 On the 29th a fete was given on board the yacht. Some 
 verses were recited by Elliston which affected the king and 
 queen to tears. They contained a strong allusion to the 
 king's former illness, and to death. A friend of mine wrote 
 them ; and before they were given to Elliston they were sub- 
 mitted to Princess Elizabeth and approved. 
 
 Sept. 30. — Sir F. Oilman has warned the queen of his 
 apprehension that the king may have an attack of apoplexy. 
 For the last week it appears he has been suffering much from 
 severe headaches, very dissimilar from his old nervous 
 affections. With them he was very cold : whereas now he 
 feels during the attacks burning heat in his face and hands. 
 The king on the 26th had a fall with his horse : but his head- 
 aches had come on previously. 
 
 The Hanoverian boots and gloves have not been resumed ;
 
 App. 1. ANECDOTAL REMARKS. 331 
 
 but the other day the king went into the market, bought 
 himself six red mullets, and astonished the poissardes with 
 his free conversation. 
 
 On board the yacht, on the 1st of October, the king came 
 forward to the mainmast against which runs the division of 
 the quarter-deck. Princesses Augusta, Sophia, Amelia, and 
 Sophia of Gloucester, Lady Isabella Thynne, Lady C. Strang- 
 ways, Lady Georgina Bulkeley, and Mrs. Drax, were sitting 
 upon the sofas. The king commenced the conversation while 
 taking some papers out of a green box, by observing — " Mrs. 
 Drax ! you look very well — very well indeed. Dear, lovely 
 Mrs. Drax ! what a pretty ass you have got ! — bring it 
 here ; how I should like to pat such a pretty ass I" This was 
 said twice in the same quaint manner, and with a voice which 
 reached every part of the ship. The confusion of princesses, 
 ladies and gentlemen, officers, raids, and sailors was inde- 
 scribable. Some of the mids and sailors tumbled over one 
 another into the hatchways, unable to retain their fits of 
 laughter ; as if they had been swept oft* by chain-shot. This 
 expressive outbreak did not proceed from any sudden fancy ; 
 but the king had overheard Mrs. Drax in the morning say- 
 ing to a pretty little donkey much admired at Weymouth, 
 " Oh I dear, pretty little ass ! come here that I may pat you ! 
 How I should like to pat you, dear, pretty ass !" 
 
 On this day the king did not come on board till 11 o'clock, 
 an hour later than usual. On inquiring at the Lodge 
 the cause of delay, as he was always most punctual to 
 the minute, I learnt that the king had been disputing 
 violently with the queen ; and that every princess had been 
 in tears. 
 
 On Tuesday the 2nd of October I quitted Weymouth, full 
 of melancholy thoughts at such a picture of suffering 
 humanity ; and at the terrible future that awaits a good man, 
 and in heart a truly British king. 
 
 " There is no comfort to this great decay." 
 
 B, W. 
 
 The above was shown to Lord Moira, who asked me to le 
 him show it to the Prince of Wales, The prince sent me a 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 332 LETTER FROM COUNT STAEEMBERG. A pp. 2. 
 
 very civil message through Lord M. and added a wish that " I 
 would make the memorandum as public as I could." 
 
 " Thus would lie needs invest him with his honours 
 Before his hour was ripe." 
 
 R, W. 
 
 No. 2. 
 General Count Staeemberg to Sir Robert Wilson. 
 
 London, 13th October, 1799. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I received both your letters of the 23rd and 29th Sep- 
 tember and feel as 1 ought to do for your kind friendship and 
 remembrance. The details you give me, and your judgments 
 upon the whole of your military operations, are extremely 
 interesting ; and brought me a new instance of your talents 
 and disposition for the career of heroes you began already 
 to tread with such distinction under the emperor in Flanders : 
 where you deserved by your skill and bravery the honour- 
 able and seldom conferred tokens of military valour and 
 renown. 
 
 We were apprised yesterday, by the newspapers only, of a 
 reverse sustained by the allied troops on the Gth. I expect 
 anxiously the account you certainly will be so good as to 
 send to me of that day : which I am afraid, if it proves as it 
 is reported, would force to give up the expedition in that 
 quarter. 
 
 From Hamburgh mails are due : we long for their arrival 
 to know the certainty of a still greater misfortune related in 
 the Paris papers, which mention the total defeat of the 
 Russians in Switzerland, as well as the death of our gallant 
 General Xotze. Though deeply concerned by that truly very 
 distressing account I cannot forbear to observe with regret, 
 that whenever the Russians in the course of this war tried to 
 attack the enemy by themselves they were always obliged at 
 Last to apply to the Austrians; in order to rescue (from) the 
 dilemma their rashness had plunged them into. I hope our 
 brave archduke will suceed as well on this present occasion 
 as Kray and Melas did in Italy ; and then everything may
 
 App. 3, 4. LETTER FROM LORD MINTO. 333 
 
 be well again. Pray accept anew of my most sincere 
 thanks, and the assurances of my sincere and everlasting 
 attachment. 
 
 Staeembebg. 
 
 No. 3. 
 Lord Minto to Sir Robert Wilson. 
 
 ■pv o Vienna, November 9, 1800. 
 
 I have the satisfaction to tell you that I have this 
 moment received the eight crosses of the Order of Maria 
 Theresa, for the officers of your former regiment who have 
 already received medals from the Emperor. I have the 
 pleasure to forward yours by this occasion, and as soon as 
 I receive whatever writing or act belongs to this transaction 
 I shall not fail to transmit it. In the mean time the cross 
 which I now send you has been delivered officially to me, for 
 the purpose of being transmitted to you, from the Emperor, 
 and being immediately worn by yourself. I must once more 
 repeat the gratification I feel in being the channel of this 
 gracious act, which does equal honour to the hand that gives 
 and those that receive. 
 
 I have reason to suppose that a considerable part of Sir 
 Ralph Abercrombie's troops are gone to Lisbon, and the 
 destination of the remainder does not seem determined. 
 Pray communicate this to Lord William and believe me, 
 dear sir, 
 
 Your obedient and faithful humble servant, 
 
 Minto. 
 
 No. 4. 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Orders of Sir Robert Wilson in command of the Cavalry 
 Detachment previous to Landing. 
 
 12th December, 1805. 
 The commanding officer having procured at St. Salvador 
 some horses for the service of the dragoons, has selected such 
 
 z 2
 
 334 ORDERS— CArE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 4. 
 
 non-commissioned officers and men to disembark with them 
 in the first instance as from their experience will be best 
 enabled to execute the duty intrusted to them ; on which 
 depends the efficiency of the whole detachment as cavalry. 
 The commanding officer trusts that the detachment so 
 selected will reflect that much is required of them, and that 
 intelligence with the strictest regard to discipline must aid 
 their gallantry ; for they must expect to act against an 
 enemy's cavalry, well commanded and having the advantage of 
 local knowledge. But there is no superiority which may not 
 be reduced if conduct does but direct zeal : while the very 
 smallness of original numbers will add considerably to the 
 distinction that every soldier values more than life. The 
 British infantry from regard to their interests as well as from 
 attachment to the cavalry will direct much notice to the 
 character and execution of their enterprises : and on such 
 occasions individual talent or exploit cannot pass unknown or 
 unrewarded. The moment is arriving when the detachment 
 of the 20th Dragoons may honour the reputation of their 
 regiment, their service, and the British military character : 
 when their actions may entitle them to the approbation of 
 the commander of the expedition, the esteem of the army, 
 and the gratitude of their comrades. For the sake of obtain- 
 ing such brilliant results, the commanding officer trusts that 
 each man will pay all possible attention to the preservation 
 of the health of his horse now embarked, and think no sacri- 
 fice of personal convenience too great that tends to promote 
 this object. Frequent attention to the management of the 
 food most palatable to him, rubbing of his legs, and regard 
 to his cleaning will secure an effective condition. 
 
 In the field the strictest silence must be maintained : any 
 disobedience to authority in the moment of action, any 
 expressions of doubt or dismay under any circumstances, 
 would consign those who acted so criminally to the penalty 
 of death and infamy. No dragoon, except when stationed as 
 a vidette, must ever use fire-arms at night unless ordered. 
 
 No detachment of dragoons must ever retreat at a greater 
 pace than ordered by the commanding officer. 
 
 Any dragoons continuing a retreat after a halt is
 
 App. 4. ORDERS— CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 335 
 
 ordered are to be sent back as prisoners to be tried for 
 cowardice. 
 
 All dragoons must consider the safety of their comrades to 
 right and left as well as their own : if stationed to give an 
 alarm on the appearance of an enemy they cannot fire too 
 rapidly or retire too gradually ; but false alarms are dis- 
 graceful. 
 
 No dragoon must drink any liquor when in a village, or 
 dismount, without leave ; for no excuse for intoxication from 
 a small quantity having taken a strong effect will be ad- 
 mitted. The interests of the expedition, the safety of all 
 detached parties, as well as the Articles of War, direct the 
 kindest treatment of the peaceful inhabitants. Violence 
 against their persons or plunder of their property is im- 
 mediate death without trial. The booty taken by the valour 
 of the troops from the enemy will be divided according 
 to the orders already issued on that subject ; which orders 
 are to be read again to the men when within 100 leagues of 
 the Cape : the Articles of War are also to be read. 
 
 As a gun is attached to the dragoons, the artillerymen that 
 serve it must experience the cordial friendship as well as the 
 protection of the dragoons. The commanding officer is con- 
 fident that the cavalry will never abandon the gun without 
 orders from him. Till that moment they should regard it 
 as committed to the charge of their courage ; and therefore 
 consider its loss incompatible with their honour. 
 
 After a charge, if such an opportunity offers, all must rally 
 again as soon as possible ; and form without any reference to 
 exact plan in the division or squadron : with the exception of 
 such division as may be ordered to pursue. 
 
 No success or retreat of the enemy must precipitate men 
 into a pursuit, which from ambuscades or their scattered 
 state may terminate in disaster. 
 
 Officers will be the best judges whether pursuit is necessary ; 
 or whether such hazards are to be encountered as are excep- 
 tions to prescribed rules of warfare. 
 
 Having thus given an outline of the most important duties 
 to be observed by those who may first land, the commanding 
 officer assures the officers and men who cannot be mounted
 
 336 ORDERS— CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 4. 
 
 that he will make every possible effort to obtain horses for 
 them : but in the interim he hopes and expects that they 
 will zealously execute every service required of them, how- 
 ever unusual to their habits or however laborious. A soldier 
 should feel a pride in contributing to the general success in 
 any way that his commander may think essential ; and the 
 men may be assured that their officers will emulously share 
 their fatigues as well as their dangers. — li. W. 
 
 The nature of the service on which we are to be employed 
 will probably oblige me to divide frequently the small force 
 we can at present calculate upon landing. In the first 
 instance we are to make an effort, that may increase our 
 force by the acquirement of horses and afford much aid to 
 the army by the obtaining of draught bullocks. Independently 
 of an able cavalry that we have perhaps to encounter, we 
 labour under the disadvantage of presenting ourselves to the 
 inhabitants for the first time with the intention of taking 
 from them so valuable a portion of their effects. The esta- 
 blished repute of British integrity will, however, allay their 
 apprehensions of total loss, if by soothing treatment they 
 feel assured that we come not upon them as freebooters : 
 it is therefore an object of the highest importance to satisfy 
 their minds, and if we cannot gain their active goodwill 
 leave at all events a favourable impression of our conduct. 
 Such officers as are detached will have with them blank 
 receipts called bonds signed and scaled by myself; which they 
 will fill up according to the number of cattle taken away, and 
 leavo with the proprietor : or if he should have fled, they will 
 affix the other paper which will be given to them in some con- 
 spicuous part of his house. Cattle when brought away must 
 be delivered up to the first post of infantry : a receipt from 
 the officer should be required, and the officer commanding 
 the cavalry, if there should be time, ought to have the beasts 
 marked so as to know to what farm they belonged. Horses 
 when obtained may be mounted by the party that obtained 
 them if better than their own ; provided there is no danger 
 or pernicious delay in making the exchange : but the super-
 
 A pp. 4. ORDERS— CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 337 
 
 numerary horses must be sent with all expedition to the 
 dragoon depot, or, if the detachment should be pressed for 
 men, given up to the first infantry post, with orders that they 
 be forwarded to the depot. If the detachment should be 
 divided so as to occupy several farms at the same time, 
 officers commanding each must regulate their movements for 
 the general safety of the whole : taking care to keep up all 
 possible communication and prevent any sudden irruption of 
 the enemy, who are always to be expected. 
 
 But it must be impressed on the minds of all that on this 
 service horses and cattle are our chief object ; and that from 
 this they are not to be diverted by false notions of engaging 
 with an enemy unnecessarily, when we may weaken instead 
 of augmenting our force : but this is not to prevent any 
 enterprise that is justified by the hope of eminent advan- 
 tage, or of impressing on the enemy a respect for the cavalry 
 force acting against them. 
 
 At night combination of movement is difficult ; but if any 
 division is necessary the greatest caution, vigilance and 
 silence are requisite : if attacked the greatest resolution and 
 impetuosity, without regard to disparity of numbers. 
 
 Above all things a false alarm should be avoided, and any 
 hint of insecurity. A handful of men must be prepared to 
 front any way, and can only hope for safety in extraordinary 
 energy directed by able conduct. You have with you many 
 accustomed to service and fire, therefore you have no cause 
 to apprehend any panic striking upon them ; and be assured 
 that if officers will only Jead, such men will always follow: 
 I can entertain no doubt on this head. 
 
 If orders cannot be issued to all detachments, officers com- 
 manding must act according to their own judgment. Every 
 detachment must move with an advanced and rear-guard 
 and with flankers when possible ; and have an established 
 rendezvous in case of dispersion. 
 
 Examples must be made of all men who dismount to go 
 into houses for drink, or who plunder any article ; also those 
 who manifest any licentiousness or neglect of discipline are 
 to be dismounted and sent to the depot. The safety and 
 credit of all is blended with the conduct of each individual.
 
 338 ORDERS— CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 4. 
 
 When moving in front of the line to protect the infantry 
 from the enemy's skirmishers, officers must not only keep 
 their eyes towards the enemy but observe the directing 
 divisions. As there may not be time to send orders, the com- 
 manding officer of the line of skirmishers and divisions must 
 seize the idea of the operation intended whether from choice 
 or necessity, and conform accordingly. If the commanding 
 officer of the 20th should suddenly advance with any division 
 to cut off any of the enemy's advanced parties, the other 
 divisions must act to support him or secure his retreat accord- 
 ing to their ideas of what is requisite : unless the signal for 
 the whole to advance is sounded. 
 
 If the enemy should endeavour to cut off any of our 
 parties the same judgment must be exercised. But above 
 all things the safety of the gun attached to us must interest 
 all, and no effort be withheld that can avert the disgrace of 
 its loss. If an opportunity offers to seize an enemy's gun 
 the moment must not be lost : a gun can but fire twice before 
 cavalry should reach it, and its execution is seldom of any 
 consequence. 
 
 If a man is wounded so badly as to be obliged to leave the 
 field, a comrade in cases of absolute necessity may accompany 
 him ; but that man must return so soon as he has procured 
 for him any surgical aid. I shall from time to time add such 
 further remarks for your direction as our situation may re- 
 quire : and I feel confident that I shall have to thank officers 
 as well as men for the support which they afforded me in 
 every branch of the proposed duty both as to preparation 
 and actual service : and that their conduct in the field will 
 be distinguished for intelligence as well as courage. 
 
 The commanding officer hopes that the officers of the 20th 
 Light Dragoons, feeling those sentiments which should 
 influence all military men when the reputation of their 
 service and the interests of their country are at the hazard, 
 will seek every opportunity to promote the success of the 
 present expedition. They may give efficacious assistance by 
 their example, by animating their men with zeal, and dis-
 
 App. 4. ORDERS— CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 339 
 
 playing an activity which may shame the most indolent and 
 indifferent into exertion. 
 
 Those officers who cannot be mounted in the first instance 
 may be called upon with the dismounted men to assist on 
 other duties ; which, although not immediately within the 
 limits of their own service, are nevertheless essential when a 
 more useful application of the force cannot be proposed. 
 Zeal on such an occasion must insure a proper estimation, 
 and will afford the best proof of the British cavalry's dis- 
 position to give the most effectual aid to the general service 
 of the army. The commanding officer will make every 
 possible effort to procure the means of mounting the whole, 
 and he has not anticipated the possibility of a failure. He 
 trusts that the dismounted captains will be actuated by a 
 regard for the general interests of their regiment ; and pay as 
 much attention to the welfare, efficacy, and comfort of the 
 attached men as to those of their own troops ; and that they 
 will co-operate with the major in disembarking the detach- 
 ment in as great strength as possible. Every man must be 
 landed that is not disabled by positive sickness; no dra- 
 goons must be retained in the service of officers as servants, 
 nor at the mess interfere in the smallest degree with the effi- 
 ciency of the mounted or dismounted detachment ; nor must 
 any servant appear here or hereafter, when out of England, 
 in private clothes. No officer must land with more baggage 
 than he can carry on his own horse : for dragoons are 
 positively forbidden to take any of their officers' baggage on 
 their horses. 
 
 Officers must disembark and land their men without 
 confusion or injury to their appointments. Without 
 regularity there can be no hope of a creditable appearance 
 or satisfactory progress. 
 
 The commanding officer hopes that between this and the 
 day of landing the most assiduous attention will be paid 
 to fulfil all orders on that subject ; that the major will 
 supply all such as may have been omitted; and that 
 captains will particularly regard the settlement of their 
 books up to the 24th of this month, with the issue of the 
 money as already ordered.
 
 340 LETTEK TO LOKD HUTCHINSON. App. 5- 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Sir Kobert Wilson to Lord Hutchinson. 
 
 Cape Town, January 11th, 1806. 
 
 My dear Lord, 
 
 I do not know whether I ought to accuse destiny : but no 
 man has experienced more the caprices of fortune than myself. 
 We made the land on the 3rd, and anchored on the 4th. 
 I was in the boats with my detachment — the 38th and 39th — 
 to land in the morning of the 5th ; had rowed seven miles, 
 and approached the shore within three hundred yards, when 
 the surf was declared to be too great for the attempt. In 
 the afternoon Sir David Baird and Sir Home determined 
 upon carrying the army to Saldanha Bay ; and General 
 Beresford with the 38th and the dragoons was sent to form 
 an advanced guard, and secure the first post where water was 
 to be obtained. The same night the surf lulled, and the 
 commodore proposed another attempt in the Lospard's Bay, 
 distant five miles from the former proposed place : it was a 
 much more eligible shore, since the first was surmounted by 
 a steep hill so that the gun-boats could command nothing 
 but the beach. General Ferguson was sent to reconnoitre 
 the surf as there was then much doubt as to the possibility of 
 debarkation : he daringly hoisted the signal " affirmative." 
 The boats pushed off and a footing was gained with the loss 
 of about fifty men swamped in one launch. The gun-brigs 
 dispersed the Hottentots and gazers who were stationed to 
 protect the landing-place, and only a few men were killed or 
 wounded on either side. On the 7th the army was landing. 
 On the 8th they marched in battle array, a single line without 
 reserve. AYhen they ascended Blueberg Hill the Dutch 
 line — composed of about fifteen hundred regular infantry, 
 five hundred French sailors employed as infantry, two hun- 
 dred regular dragoons, and seven hundred burgher and boor 
 cavalry, with twenty-four pieces of cannon — were seen at the 
 base of the hill : a position taken up by General Janssen for 
 the better effect of his artillery. No sooner did the British 
 line crown the height than the guns opened and killed or 
 wounded about sixty men of the 31st. Our guns drawn by
 
 App. 5. LETTER TO LORD HUTCHINSON. 341 
 
 sailors also fired ; but Sir David Baird ordered the Scotch 
 brigade to charge. They gave three huzzas ; the Dutch 
 answered with nine. Colonel Grant was wounded. As the 
 Highlanders moved on he got off his horse but mounted 
 again, and a general burst of applause broke from the Scotch 
 line at his determined gallantry. When they had advanced 
 within a hundred yards they fired a volley and rushed on ; 
 but as the smoke dispersed the Dutch army was seen in full 
 retreat, leaving behind three pieces of cannon. It was at this 
 moment that a few dragoons might on either side have decided 
 the fate of the day in a brilliant success. The English were 
 exhausted by their efforts and from want of water, and by 
 the sun burning with torrid heat on a white sand. The 
 Dutch were exposed to equal disaster and must have lost all 
 their artillery. The Dutch cavalry behaved like dastards. 
 The British were not there. The only consolation I have 
 is that if present we might not have answered expectation ; 
 and now our absence excites the deepest regret for presumed 
 loss of gallant service : yet I should be unjust to doubt the 
 merit of the small but meritorious detachment that were 
 mounted. On the right the 59th secured the sand-hills, 
 and a company of the 24th in advance suffered severely from 
 some sharpshooters ; but were chiefly opposed to the AValdeck 
 Regiment who would not fire against our battalions. The 
 Scotch brigade has certainly acquired great honour not more 
 for their courage than for their steady discipline : so good 
 was their spirit that no wounded man that could serve left 
 the ranks: and after the action when a wounded French 
 officer offered his watch as a recompence for conveying him 
 to the hospital they actually refused the donation. The same 
 day General Janssen retired towards Hottentot Holland's kloof, 
 taking with him eleven hundred infantry, all his cavalry and 
 light artillery, with an immense quantity of cattle, &c. The 
 day after, the town offered to capitulate ; and we took posses- 
 sion yesterday in Asiatic pomp of victory. In the action the 
 English lost about two hundred men: the Dutch certainly 
 above three, for the musketry was admirably directed. The 
 French battalion suffered most and fled soonest, for all their 
 officers except one were killed or wounded. The Wal-
 
 342 MEMORANDUM OF S. SALVADOR, OR BAHIA. App. 6. 
 
 deckers unfortunately lost also many men. Their conduct 
 so exasperated the Dutch general that he struck the major, 
 and shot one man with his pistol through the head. On 
 their return into the town he broke the regiment and the 
 night before last gave as the watchword to his troops, " The 
 Waldeckers are dishonoured." But he forgets that the French 
 had sold many of them, and that the Dutch governor had 
 violated their capitulation as to pay in the luost shameful 
 manner; or he would not be surprised at their desire to change 
 masters. 
 
 &c, &c, &c. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Lord, 
 
 Most sincerely and gratefully yours, 
 
 B. Wilson. 
 
 No. 6. 
 Memorandum of S. Salvador, or Bahta, 1805. 
 
 The view of this bay after shooting from the eastward 
 round the rocky promontory on which the fortress S. Antonio 
 is situated is perhaps the most magnificent in the world. 
 
 On the right the land covered with wood rises to a great 
 height. Among the woods appear the towers of various 
 monasteries and the white stone walls of extensive edifices : 
 while the shore, indented with numerous small bays, is 
 studded round with the most picturesquely irregular villages. 
 At some distance in the bay, and still on the right hand, 
 the city crowns a lofty mountain and covers the base and 
 sides with its streets. 
 
 Some low land richly wooded, apparently luxuriantly fer- 
 tile, and which receives the most beautiful tints from a sky 
 of far more than Italian splendour and hue, projects in an 
 oblique direction : while the lofty and broken mountains of 
 the island des Fradrcs stretch across the bay, and form the 
 head in connexion with the island of Taparica, which consti- 
 tutes the left boundary of this common basin. 
 
 Sandbanks confine the roadstead : but the channel is safe 
 and the anchoring ground good. Men-of-war may ride within
 
 App. 6. MEMORANDUM OF S. SALVADOR, OR BAHIA. 343 
 
 a few hundred yards of the town, and boats proceeding to the 
 shore land anywhere in safety. 
 
 The fortifications which should defend the bay are insigni- 
 ficant, but the Portuguese are working at several batteries to 
 command the roadstead near the town. These, if well 
 executed, may effect that object. 
 
 Opposite the arsenal a fort is advanced about a hundred 
 and fifty yards into the water ; but the guns are too much 
 exposed, and ships of war might approach within pistol-shot. 
 On the right of the town, and on the table land of the moun- 
 tain, stands the citadel : a feeble work : ill situated, as it but 
 very partially commands the city or any important line of 
 communication. The garrison, however, consisting of three 
 regular regiments is in excellent order. The uniformity of the 
 troops, their equipment, cleanly appearance, steadiness under 
 arms, and regularity in the execution of their duty would do 
 credit to any service : and the inspection of their barracks has 
 astonished the British officers who have been in Portugal and 
 Madeira, and who did not expect to see such a contrast be- 
 tween the colonial troops and those of the mother country. 
 
 These regiments are never removed into Europe. The 
 officers exchange when they wish to retire from America : but 
 the privates, satisfied with better pay, attached by marriage 
 or connection to the soil, and inured to the climate, seldom 
 seek to revisit Portugal where they can neither possess the 
 same comforts nor the same consideration. 
 
 The militia force, consisting of about three thousand men, 
 is well organized, but the officers and privates are not in 
 favour with the military or the populace. There is no 
 cavalry ; although all the inhabitants coming from the interior 
 are good horsemen and ride good horses. 
 
 At the base of the S. Salvador mountain extends a line of 
 streets about one mile and a half in length. The houses are 
 lofty, the streets narrow and wretchedly paved. Several 
 market-places branch out of this line towards the bay, and 
 Billingsgate may on every account be jealous of a S. Sal- 
 vador rival. 
 
 In the streets above noticed shops are to be seen, (if the 
 sneezing passenger can open his eyes, for the atmosphere is full
 
 344 MEMORANDUM OF S. SALVADOR, OR BAHTA. App. 6. 
 
 of pounding snuff), crowded with the multifarious articles 
 supplied from England as well as with those of native pro- 
 duce. There is no tavern, and but one or two regular coffee- 
 houses. The apothecaries' shops, whicli are numerous, con- 
 stitute the places of rendezvous for those who wish to drink 
 sangaree and play at draughts or backgammon. There are 
 two buildings like London Exeter Change where trinkets 
 and wares of all kinds are exposed for sale ; and where British 
 cutlery, &c, may be purchased cheaper than in England. 
 
 Topazes, sapphires, &c, are prohibited articles of sale ; but 
 they are to be purchased. Counterfeits however are most 
 common. 
 
 Innumerable monkeys, parrots and parroquets amuse the 
 stranger : and the exposed right breasts of the black women 
 also engage his attention from the novelty of the spectacle. 
 But if he has common civilized sensibilities he must feel dis- 
 gust at the groups of black slaves of both sexes and all ages 
 exposed for sale: while the mournful song of the blacks 
 charged with their oppressive burdens pierces to the heart 
 with its doleful tones. 
 
 Most of the black men are of uncommonly large stature, 
 particularly those employed in carrying the sugar hogsheads. 
 Their labour is excessive ; and it is scarcely possible to 
 imagine a more distressing toil than the carriage of one of 
 these huge sugar casks up the mountain in a heat of ninety- 
 eight degrees. 
 
 A stream of perspiration flows down the backs of the 
 negroes : while the entwinement of arms round each other's 
 necks, to form a rest for the bar on which the cask is slung, 
 occasions a steam of heat around them that seems to threaten 
 suffocation. 
 
 The government have enacted laws for the protection of 
 these unfortunate people from the tyranny of brutal masters : 
 but the thumb-screw, and the whip made of five thongs of a 
 dried bull's hide, are notwithstanding cruelly exercised. 
 Interest alone checks the full satiety of savage feeling. In 
 some cases even sex can excite no pity. 
 
 Between seven and eight thousand of these blacks are 
 annually imported into S. Salvador : for the mortality among
 
 App. 6. MEMORANDUM OF S. SALVADOR, OR BAHIA. 345 
 
 the slaves is very great from bad treatment and careless 
 arrangement. 
 
 The upper town is a more regular series and mass of build- 
 ing, and more order is preserved in the streets. There are 
 several large open squares in one of which stands the 
 governor's house — a great edifice without distinctive archi- 
 tecture or interior ornament. The rooms are spacious, and 
 appear from some gold and silk remnants to have been once 
 suitably furnished. There is an opera house open on all 
 religious and civil festivals. The singing was very inferior, 
 and there was no ballet from want of dancers. Most of the 
 ladies present wore masks, or wound a white handkerchief 
 round their mouths and throats, which produced an effect 
 very disagreeable to the European eye. 
 
 Those ladies who had not boxes sat in what would be 
 termed in England one shilling slips, from which all males 
 are excluded. In general the ladies of high fashion do not 
 frequent the opera. 
 
 The monasteries are very large and superbly decorated, 
 but except in the Italian monastery there is scarcely a monk 
 who knows any language but his own : and few even there 
 know more of Latin than is contained in their pater-noster. 
 
 The Brazilian Portuguese experience no encouragement 
 from their government. No native is allowed to hold any 
 public office : then habits are thus confirmed in that indo- 
 lence which the climate invites. They lounge in their 
 cabriolets drawn by two mules, or are carried in their palan- 
 quins ; but they never adventure on any pedestrian exercise. 
 An umbrella guards their complexion from the sun's rays in 
 their passage to and from the doors of the houses they enter : 
 and thus they languish through life in a state of quiescence 
 almost amounting to torpor. 
 
 The European Portuguese functionary is a different being. 
 He hopes to revisit Europe, and he protects his health with- 
 out extinguishing his powers of energy. 
 
 The white population is very scanty.* The Portuguese 
 
 * Not above 200,000 ; while there are half a million of blacks. The length of 
 the Brazils is about 2,500 miles and in some parts its extreme breadth is 
 nearly as much. In this immense range climate varies much ; but in general
 
 346 MEMORANDUM OF S. SALVADOR, OR BAHIA. Am 6. 
 
 government is afraid of encouraging a colony which in a few 
 years might disengage itself from all dependent connexion ; 
 of which design some symptoms have excited suspicion. 
 
 The principal produce of the colony is sugar. In a district 
 of ten leagues circumference round the city it is said that 
 there are five hundred mills : but the principal mills are 
 situated in the districts of Cachoeira, Cobalto, S. Araar, and 
 S. Maura. In some of these mills three hundred horses are 
 employed. 
 
 Coffee is very scarce, rice abundant. No corn of any kind 
 is grown, so that the horses are obliged to eat the sugar cane, 
 plantain and grass, and occasionally cassada with molasses. 
 
 A good red wine is made in S. Salvador, and fruit of all 
 kinds abounds. Poultry and oxen are plentiful, but mutton 
 is scarce and not good : the fish market is supplied with 
 an extraordinary variety of fish. 
 
 The country round the town is scarcely to be described. 
 Nature here displays a scenery too gorgeous for adequate 
 delineation. The splendour of the firmament by night and 
 day, the beauty and vastness of the foliage, the gigantic fea- 
 tures of the landscape, at all events require far more than 
 common powers of language to bring them before the mind of 
 the reader with pictorial fidelity. Few towns have such a 
 commanding site or a grander outline. " Man — man alone 
 dwindles here," from the want of proper political institutions. 
 
 At the base of the San Salvador mountain to the north- 
 ward, a large body of water completes a view scarcely to be 
 paralleled in the world. 
 
 The island of Taparica admits only of the anchorage of 
 small vessels near its shores. A bar, very perceptible at low 
 water, stretches from the entrance of the bay and forms the 
 first barrier at about two miles distance from the beach ; a 
 reef of rocks within half a mile forms the second barrier ; but 
 neither of them reaches so far as the town of Taparica which 
 lies at the westernmost point of the island. Poles with 
 cocoa-nuts on them mark the channels of entrance winch are 
 
 it may be said that the country is healthy ; and it will he rendered still 
 more so as the colonization extends. — R.W.
 
 App. 6. MEMORANDUM OP S. SALVADOR, OR BAHIA. 347 
 
 very narrow ; and in front of each channel stands a large 
 building erected by the whale boilers, who chiefly reside on 
 this island. 
 
 The shore is covered with bones of whales which frequent 
 this bay four months in the year. 
 
 Numerous detached cottages skirt the shore : and imme- 
 diately behind them appears a continued forest of cocoa, 
 mango, orange, banana, and other trees. 
 
 The white inhabitants are a peculiar class of people. They 
 seem to possess with the comforts all the original indepen- 
 dence of the English yeoman. Their dress, manners, and 
 institutions are indicative of wealth and of a sense of its true 
 value. The life of a Taparican farmer seems to glide on in 
 ease and affluence. He appears also to merit Iris happiness : 
 for the condition of the slave is here improved to the fullest 
 degree that the institution permits. 
 
 The island of Taparica is sixty miles in circumference ; and 
 the most intelligent Brazilians affirm that it might produce 
 cargoes for five hundred sail of shipping. But from the 
 paucity of the population only a small proportion of the 
 ground is cleared ; and the export is very trifling. A small 
 traffic is earned on by canoes that pass to the island des 
 Fradres, and Cachoeira on the mainland. These canoes carry 
 cocoa-nuts, pine-apples,* and other fruits to exchange against 
 farina and rice : and S. Salvador is chiefly supplied from 
 hence with fish carried across the bay in canoes formed of 
 hollow trees. These frequently upset ; but every inhabitant of 
 the island of both sexes is an expert swimmer and therefore 
 life is seldom lost. 
 
 Numerous torrents descend from the hills to fertilize the 
 soil ; which produces almost spontaneously. 
 
 The cattle are large. The horses, which are of a remark- 
 ably good race and very active, might with some attention 
 be improved so as to remunerate export to India. Few 
 riders are more daring than the Taparicans. With loose 
 girths, stirrups they dare not rest upon for fear of breaking 
 the leather, and free rein, they dart over the ridges of the 
 
 * The pines grow in fields like turnips in Europe, and are remarkably 
 fine.— R. W. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 A
 
 248 MEMORANDUM OF MADEIRA. App. 7. 
 
 rice fields, through the sugar-cane plantations, and over the 
 most dangerously broken surface. Sometimes at full speed 
 they twist among the cocoa-trees ; where a false turn might 
 insure the most disastrous consequences. 
 
 The town of Taparica is very small hut neat ; and there are 
 several good shops. It is the only town of any importance 
 in the island. 
 
 The morals of the inhabitants are in conformity with those 
 of all others in climes where the sun glows and where slavery 
 prevails. Passion and interest combine to excite and sanction 
 unlimited indulgence : and in Taparica the human frame is 
 so early matured by the climate that girls of twelve years of 
 age frequently become mothers. 
 
 When a Taparican girl accepts a lover for the first time 
 she presents a cocoa-nut to him, which her parents have 
 suspended for some years previously for this occasion. It 
 eats as if it were candied. 
 
 It was impossible on quitting the Brazils not to envy the 
 possession : and the day that the fleet went to sea was perhaps 
 the happiest in the governor's whole life ; for he could not 
 possibly divest himself of the apprehension that temptation to 
 protract departure from a colony the most valuable in the 
 world on account of its capabilities and position, might be 
 irresistible : especially as protectorates are in fashion. 
 
 The East India Company has reason to wish that into what- 
 ever hands the Brazils may fall in these variable times they 
 may continue inert: for the terrce situs would offer many 
 anxious subjects for then consideration if an impulse were 
 given to their powers of action and expansion. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 Memorandum of Madeira, 1805. 
 
 On a course of south-west from Cork the small island of 
 Porto Santo, flanked by lofty rocks called the Desertas, is 
 first discovered in long. 17° 6' W. lat. 32° 37' N. 
 
 Porto Santo is habitable and has several harbours afFordiner 
 security to shipping except against strong southerly winds.
 
 App. 7. MEMORANDUM OF MADEIRA. 349 
 
 The soil produces corn, wine, oil, fruits, &c. 
 
 At the distance of about twenty miles, in the direction of 
 east and west, rises the island of Madeira with a very lofty 
 and abrupt elevation. The mountain appears to be about 
 seven miles in ascent : but the capping clouds obscure its 
 summit from distant observation. 
 
 At the base of the mountain and in a recess not sufficiently 
 indented to form a port is situated the town of Funchal, built 
 of white stone. It is the capital of the island, and the only 
 town of any consequence. 
 
 From the roads the appearance of the island is picturesque, 
 but the mountain, though covered with cottages, monasteries, 
 and country houses, has a naked aspect from the want of 
 verdure. A monastery half-way up the mountain and situated 
 in the midst of a thick dark-green wood presents a pleasing 
 exception to the generally barren features. 
 
 On the right of the town, and separated from the main- 
 land about fifty yards, a rock about forty yards in height rises 
 boldly from the sea. On the summit of this rock a fort has 
 been erected of very insignificant strength. 
 
 The abutment of the mainland is of equal height and is 
 crowned by another fort. This abutment perhaps should be 
 described as another rock ; since a ridge of low rocks connects 
 it with the mountain: the Portuguese have constructed a 
 causeway of about sixty yards in length to secure the com- 
 munication. This fort is called the Loo : and here is to be 
 found the only secure cove for boats ; in which also very 
 small vessels may anchor without risk. 
 
 The roadstead being in every part of the shore forty 
 fathoms deep, and generally sixty, the surf falls so heavily on 
 the beach that the island boats alone insure convenient 
 or even safe debarkation. Ships' boats are constantly 
 swamped and almost always half-filled with water : and in 
 every state of the weather and of the surf the boats must be 
 directed stern foremost to the shore. By going round to the 
 Loo cove these hazards would be avoided : but the circuit is 
 generally thought too tedious. 
 
 As it was found that even the island boats could not at all 
 times approach the beach to take their cargoes on board and 
 
 2 A 2
 
 350 MEMORANDUM OF MADEIRA. App. 7. 
 
 carry them off to the ships, the merchants subscribed for the 
 erection of a very lofty brick column on which a crane was 
 fixed to project beyond the surf. But the experiment did not 
 succeed : and the column remains, a monument of the un- 
 accomplished design. 
 
 A rock about sixty yards high, in the centre of the town, 
 has afforded the Portuguese a good position for a citadel. 
 This commands the roadstead also ; but a battery on the left 
 of the town, a little elevated above the water's edge, is still 
 better calculated to protect the anchoring ground. 
 
 From the base of the fort called the Loo stairs convenient 
 for ascent are hewn in the rock : and a narrow path about a 
 mile long leads to the town. This path is paved with very 
 slippery stones, and is altogether dangerous and painful to 
 the passenger. The devastations of the torrent, which in 
 1804 washed into the sea eight hundred persons, and over- 
 whelmed whole streets, increase the inconvenience of the 
 communications : and the open doors of an admonitory hospital, 
 whose wretched tenants have not lost the appetite of curiosity 
 or acquired a sense of shame, render the view extremely dis- 
 gusting and loathsome. 
 
 The French hotel is the first house to which passengers 
 arriving in the town from the Loo are conducted. The rooms 
 are airy and spacious, with windows which command a view 
 of the roadstead. The apartments may also be called clean : 
 but the most extravagant prices are demanded for their use 
 and for general accommodation. An Englishman keeps an 
 inn in the centre of the town w T here the charges are more 
 moderate ; but the locale is not so good. The town of 
 Funchal consists of narrow streets, replete with filth notwith- 
 standing that a stream of water runs through the centre of 
 each street. 
 
 There is an abundance of shops filled with every species of 
 commodity, and an extensive vegetable and fruit market 
 crowded with pumpkins, tomatoes, bananas, cucumbers, chilis, 
 grapes, &c. : but none of the fruits are remarkably good or 
 highly flavoured. Pigs,* casks, cooperage works, and sledges 
 
 * The wine is brought from the mountains in pigs' skins. — R. W.
 
 App. 7. MEMORANDUM OF MADEIRA. 351 
 
 drawn by oxen, fill all the streets : and Funchal is truly a 
 vintner's town. There is but one open space ; where there is 
 a pump, and an avenue planted with orange-trees leading to 
 the great church. This is a large pile of building only 
 remarkable for some silver railing round the sanctuary. 
 
 There are several convents. That of Santa Clara is the 
 most visited, as there, is a novice fifteen years of age in it 
 whose beauty is generally admired. This perhaps appears 
 more favourably when she is placed by the side of the Lady 
 Abbess, seventy-six years of age : on whose upper lip a pair 
 of moustachios has been cherished which would make an 
 Hungarian warrior jealous. 
 
 The sisterhood affectionately imitate the Lady Abbess's 
 example : and even pretty Anna Emilia's upper lip is in- 
 flamed ; as if an attempt had been made by some means or 
 other to animate the down. 
 
 The Portuguese women in general at Madeira are not what 
 the world calls handsome, particularly those of the working 
 class ; their complexions being of a putrid olive colour. And 
 the perspiration stands upon the face in bubbles, like water 
 upon a greasy surface. 
 
 On their heads rises a high toupee of coarse grey hair : 
 similar in appearance and quality to the horse-hair used to 
 stuff common chair-bottoms. 
 
 There was once seen however, in the superior class, a young 
 lady coming from mass whose form and expression made 
 observers think "she was not of the earth on which she 
 stepped :" but on inquiry it was found that she was a native 
 of the island — like another Miranda, " the top of admiration." 
 
 The male inhabitants of the country justly merit the 
 description of a fine race of people. Employed from sunrise 
 to sunset in descending and ascending the mountain with a 
 heavy burden of wine on their shoulders, and walking at the 
 rate of five miles an hour, their muscles have acquired an 
 Herculean texture. The burning rays of the mid-day sun 
 cause them no lassitude : the new wine or the fresh pressed 
 juice of the grape afflicts them with no malady. 
 
 For each load the carrier receives sixpence : and although 
 these loads are brought from great distances each individual
 
 352 MEMOEANDUM OF ST. HELENA. App. 8 
 
 earns on an average three shillings and sixpence a clay and 
 sometimes four shillings. 
 
 The English merchants who reside here have country- 
 houses distant two or three miles up the mountain : for a 
 continual residence in the town is from heat, stench, and 
 noise insufferable. The walks to these houses have along the 
 whole way a canopy of vines, and the treillage is lined with 
 the most fragrant productions of the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 The house of Mr. Murdock is the most distinguished. The 
 gardens are tastefully laid out, and with taste great comfort 
 is combined. In this garden are also some of the highest 
 flavoured grapes, pines, &c. But in general fruit is not much 
 cultivated nor is the high condition and quality of the grape 
 such an object of attention as might be expected : for every 
 species is pressed in the same vat ; with the single exception 
 of the black Madeira grape lately introduced. 
 
 About forty thousand pipes of wine are made annually and 
 the revenue collected by the government is considerable : 
 while the merchants in many cases make large fortunes, and 
 one — a Portuguese — is said to have amassed property to the 
 amount of 10,000?. per annum. 
 
 If the Dutch would only undertake to be the scavengers of 
 Madeira for ten years there would not be a more delightful 
 spot for residence in the temperate zone. The soil, which it 
 is said is formed or enriched by the ashes of a forest that 
 covered the island and which accidentally taking fire burnt 
 for several years consecutively, is capable of yielding every 
 requisite produce : and the climate on an average is no more 
 and no less than from seventy to seventy-five degrees. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 Memorandum of St. Helena, 1806. 
 
 An exhausted volcano with a partial verdure which tempts 
 settlers to encounter one of the most unhealthy and dank 
 climates in the world. Passengers, however, notwithstanding 
 that they pay at the lowest charge one guinea per clay for frugal
 
 App. 8. MEMORANDUM OF ST. HELENA. 353 
 
 board and a bedroom, and half a guinea per day for a servant, 
 eagerly seek refreshment here : and the governor's residence 
 called Plantation House is from culture and surrounding 
 foliage, but perhaps more from the agreeable character of 
 the governor's family, a very fascinating abode. When it 
 is remembered that this island is 1,200 miles distant from the 
 nearest land, melancholy thoughts intrude : " and the waves 
 which roll a girdle round :" " pelagi — urgentibus undis :" 
 seem to be walls of exclusion from the habitable world. 
 
 The island is about 11 miles long and 7 broad : so small 
 a feature indeed in the immense surrounding ocean, that 
 East India ships have heretofore cruized as it is said in vain 
 to find it notwithstanding that the pilot pigeons were seen ;* 
 and after many days' search, have recorded in their log- 
 books, " St. Helena sunk." Once missed, six weeks may be 
 required to regain the position ; as the trade wind blows with 
 great strength. 
 
 The arrival of a fleet causes great sensation. It is the 
 harvest season of all the inhabitants, and there is a satirical 
 song which, denoting the effect of the welcome intelligence, 
 commences by the words : — 
 
 " Hark ! I hear the signal gun : 
 Molly, put your stockings on." 
 
 There are those who say that in good truth hose is never worn 
 by the females except on those occasions. 
 
 The island is well defended. There are guns the car- 
 riages of which are remarkable for depressing construction 
 which enables shot to be fired with great precision: but 
 stones or balls dropped down would be equally fatal ; as the 
 precipices under which landing is practicable are almost 
 perpendicular. 
 
 St. Helena is in long. 15° 55' S. ; lat. 5° 49' W. 
 
 * Pigeons in pairs are always on the look-out about sixty miles from 
 the island, and before it can be seen, — E. TV.
 
 354 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Am 9. 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 There is little doubt that at some remote period, the moun- 
 tains which now constitute the headlands of the promontory 
 of Africa called since the discovery of the passage to India 
 " The Cape of Good Hope " and previously " The Cape of 
 All Plagues," were divided from the continent by a strait of 
 the ocean ; which rolled at the base of a lofty coast, distant 
 about forty miles and now connected with the Cape moun- 
 tains by a plain of sandy soil. 
 
 The receded waters do not appear disposed to encroach 
 again upon the abandoned tract which Batavian industry was 
 nut, as in Europe, excited to recover from their dominion. 
 And yet they do not suffer their right of occupancy to lapse 
 from unsupported claims : for in the winter season they cover 
 a part of the plain near Muyssenberg ; though not to such a 
 depth as to prevent the passage of cattle, or to render the 
 ordinary communication of the inhabitants precarious. 
 
 The " Table Mountain " is the most remarkable of those 
 which compose the headland. It rises above Cape Town to 
 the height of about 3,6'00 feet :* but notwithstanding that 
 the elevation is so considerable and the declivity very 
 abrupt, no feeling of awe is inspired by the contemplation of 
 its altitude. From the peculiar conformation of the ground, 
 and perhaps from the conditions of the atmosphere, there is 
 an absence of that " fearful majesty " which is generally asso- 
 ciated with mountain sublimity. 
 
 The " Sugar Loaf," or " Devil's Peak," is contiguous, and 
 rises to the height of about 3,000 feet. This mountain was 
 probably once united with the Table Mountain nearer to 
 their respective summits : but the torrents have separated 
 their connection, and threaten to prostrate the lofty honours 
 of the former ; as they are sweeping through numerous 
 channels and fretting their l^iinous passages by vast and 
 increasing fissures. 
 
 * Some of the mountains of the eolouy are 10,000 feet above the level 
 of the sea. -P. W.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 355 
 
 The " Lion's Eunip " continues and completes the chain in 
 the north-west direction : and an active imagination will trace 
 in the shape of this mountain the idea of its name. 
 
 The shore round the headlands from the Lion's Rump to 
 " Simon's Town " is steep ; and admits hut of such difficult 
 communication, that until lately the passage was deemed 
 impracticable for a horse and dangerous for a foot-passenger. 
 
 " Table Bay " is formed by the point of land projecting 
 from the Lion's Eump, by " Kobben Island " distant about 
 nine miles, and by a curving coast. From the month of 
 November to May ships may ride here in perfect safety : 
 indeed for the last three years the season has been so mild 
 that the vessels have remained much longer without expe- 
 riencing any hazard. And at the beginning of this war a 
 large ship detained by the Dutch stood at her anchorage 
 with a very bad cable through the whole winter. 
 
 When the south wind blows very strong * communication 
 between the vessels and the shore may for a few hours be 
 difficult. But even this interruption may be avoided by 
 anchoring near to the town : since frequently a heavy gale of 
 wind is blowing at the distance of a mile from the shore, when 
 within this line there is mild weather and smooth water. 
 
 When Table Bay ceases to be considered a safe station, the 
 ships proceed round to "Simon's Bay" in the Bay of 
 "False." A navigation extremely uncertain : as the passage 
 is sometimes effected in a few hours ; and as frequently 
 vessels are beating for three weeks, having not only to com- 
 bat an adverse wind, but in that case a head-sea of almost 
 unparalleled ferocity. 
 
 In Simon's Bay there is secure shelter : but the entrance 
 is somewhat hazardous on account of the rocks ; on which 
 the Trident man-of-war and Colville East-Indiaman were lost 
 some years since. 
 
 Simon's Bay is, however, far from a convenient station 
 for the conduct of the necessary communication between the 
 shipping, and Cape Town distant four-and-twenty miles. 
 Two-thirds of the way, and particularly the first nine miles, 
 
 * It generally blows six months in the year : and for six months not 
 only rain, but sheets of water fall from the clouds. — 11. W.
 
 356 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 are almost too bad to admit of traverse : carriage is therefore 
 tedious, and extravagantly expensive. 
 
 Decent accommodation may indeed be had at Simon's 
 Town : which is more properly a row of houses erected at the 
 foot of high and rocky mountains. There is sufficient 
 ground to form a quay : but as there is not in the neighbour- 
 hood any land that can be cultivated, even for garden 
 produce, the provisions brought from the interior bear a high 
 price. 
 
 False Bay and Table Bay are the only roadsteads that are 
 frequented by shipping : for, although there are several other 
 small bays on the coast of the Cape, vessels never use them 
 except from necessity. However, as they are practicable 
 points of debarkation, they are interesting features in military 
 surveys. 
 
 Between Simon's Town and Cape Town are two villages, 
 or military posts, which afford refreshment to travellers. The 
 first is Muyssenberg, distant nine miles over a track formed 
 upon the rocky ridge of very high mountains ; except where 
 it traverses these sandy bays from the uppermost part of 
 which the sea has retired. This track is so narrow that only 
 one waggon can pass at any time : and the unequalled skill 
 of a Hottentot driver is necessary, to conduct it in safety 
 through the intricate paths and over the massive fragments 
 fallen from the overhanging cliffs ; which fragments have 
 been driven by their weight and impetus many feet into the 
 ground. 
 
 Muyssenberg is a pass formed by the near approach of a 
 high mountain to the sea, which rolls at the base with a 
 heavy surge. 
 
 From Muyssenberg to Weinberg, seven miles, the road 
 passes through a deep sand, partly covered with heath. A 
 very good inn distinguishes this station : and at some little 
 distance huts are erected as barracks for seven hundred 
 soldiers. 
 
 From "Weinberg the road branches through Constantia, 
 where the wine of that name is made, to Hout Bay ; and 
 this narrow slip of country is well wooded and picturesque. 
 Another road leads to Cape Town, distant eight miles; of
 
 Arp. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 357 
 
 which road the first five miles present a view particularly 
 pleasing, in a country whose general features are nakedness 
 and desolation. On each side are the decorations of luxuriant 
 plantations and rich verdure : while handsome public build- 
 ings designed with taste, and houses less stately but not less 
 graceful, recall to the European the most pleasing scenery of 
 his own hemisphere. The last three miles are divested of every 
 charm, but the interest of approaching Cape Town as a relief 
 from a wearisome journey. 
 
 A barrier-line of works, advanced half a mile but not suffi- 
 ciently forward for military defence, and extending from the 
 sea to the mountains, covers the site, and no more, of the 
 town. From this point the traveller can see only a crescent 
 of black hills, the ocean, a mass of flat-roofed white houses 
 like those which children build with cards, and an old fort 
 called the Castle. As he proceeds his eye falls upon no 
 enlivening object ; and finally the angle of the fort intercepts 
 even the traces of habitation which he had discovered ; with 
 the exception of a great building full of windows and sur- 
 rounded by a wall, which he may imagine either a barrack or 
 a hospital. As soon, however, as he has passed this projec- 
 tion, in proportion as the spirits were depressed and the fancy 
 disappointed, the breaking prospect will raise and cheer 
 them : smiling as it is, and robed in magnificence. In- 
 stantly the traveller will be moved to admire a noble parade 
 of considerable extent, planted with oaks, handsomely orna- 
 mented with masonry, and flanked by elegant houses with 
 various-coloured frontages. His eye will range over the 
 castle and the barracks: in advance of which is a large 
 square, and further on numerous streets branching from the 
 parades and regularly communicating at right angles with 
 other streets. Nothing offends the eye : and if the whole 
 design be not yet completed, it is so marked in outline that 
 the effect is almost equally pleasing. 
 
 Nor does a more particular examination of the town 
 diminish the force of his first impression : on the contrary, 
 the observer will find increasing cause for admiration as he 
 passes through the different streets, and sees that there is not 
 one tenement which he can designate as the dwelling of
 
 358 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 want. The meanest houses are superior to those of decently 
 conditioned persons in Europe, and are erected upon a 
 uniform plan. The houses of the more wealthy are built 
 upon a scale that few cities of Europe can vie with ; and 
 Holland alone can pretend to rival the neatness of the 
 interior, and the cleanliness of the household arrangements. 
 
 The public buildings of Cape Town are not indeed remark- 
 able. Had the Dutch government continued there would 
 have been built a hall of justice, a granary, and a prison, 
 after the best architectural models : but the execution is now 
 problematical, as the English establishments already consume 
 more than the whole revenue of the colony without the 
 appropriation of any part to public improvements. 
 
 The government house is large and commodious. It is dis- 
 tinguished also for a handsome and safe staircase : an object 
 totally neglected by the African builders, who first finish the 
 apartments and then drop a perpendicular flight of stairs 
 through the darkest corners of the chambers. But the chief 
 ornament of the government residence is the garden : a space 
 of ground a quarter of a mile in breadth and nearly half a 
 mile in length, at the further extremity of which are two 
 considerable menageries, wherein the wild tenants have 
 sufficient room for exercise. Through the centre of the 
 garden is a fine gravel walk, planted on each side with lofty 
 trees ; and other lateral walks (covered by the skilful direction 
 of the branches, and with a foliage impenetrable to the sun) 
 which offer an agreeable shade. These, however, are held 
 consecrated as Cyprian groves, and therefore are not publicly 
 frequented : so that the promenade of the inhabitants is con- 
 fined to the principal walk, where every evening bands of 
 military music take their station. 
 
 The admiralty house is small and not suitable to the 
 rank of the inhabitant : but the locale is convenient as beinir 
 immediately contiguous to the dockyard. The castle is a 
 handsome model of ancient fortification against rude assailants : 
 it contains large barracks and a house wherein the com- 
 mandant and other officers reside. The timber of the castle 
 was, as it is said, cut from the woods that formerly covered 
 Table Hill, where now a growing stick is not to be found.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 359 
 
 The theatre is neat, but theatrical representations have been 
 rare. An attempt was lately made to substitute concerts : 
 but neither the Dutch nor the English gave much encourage- 
 ment to scientific musical professors. A common fiddle, 
 accompanied with a pipe and tabor, fascinated them more 
 than the exquisite skill of several celebrated amateurs who 
 kindly endeavoured to improve their tastes. 
 
 The company indeed assembled to hear their performances : 
 but it was on the assurance that their gloomy attention 
 would be recompensed by a gay afterpiece. For if a dance had 
 not always been promised as an allurement, the musicians, 
 notwithstanding their merits, would have been left to ex- 
 press their own raptures and applaud their own skill and 
 execution. 
 
 The town house is ancient but not ornamental. The 
 library has excellent dimensions : but alas ! the shelves contain 
 only Dutch treatises on disputed points of law and polemical 
 divinity. 
 
 The prison house is small and the external appearance 
 reproaches the humanity of the government. At present it 
 is woefully crowded: and such is stated to be the difficulty of 
 administering justice in this extensive colony, that several 
 prisoners are in confinement who have been detained for 
 three years without any trial whatsoever. All criminal 
 matter must be adjudged at Cape Town : and every one will 
 approve the rule that the sword of justice shall never be 
 placed in hands that are not capable of poising the balance. 
 But as this procrastination is so great an outrage, some im- 
 mediate measures should be adopted to correct an injurious 
 system of delay, tantamount to denial of justice. 
 
 There is another evil in the arrangement of this prison 
 which can exist only from culpable inattention to the unfor- 
 tunate ; and which might be in a moment abolished. The 
 debtors are now confined in the same yard with the most 
 atrocious felons. Nay, the criminal condemned to die for 
 murder is lodged in the same, or in an adjoining, room with 
 those who have only been the victims of misfortune or indiscre- 
 tion : whilst the families of these latter are obliged when they 
 visit 'their relatives to pass through the wretched hovel ; to
 
 360 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 expose themselves to rude gaze and vulgar mirth ; and to feel 
 the additional misery of knowing that the objects of their 
 affectionate anxiety are doomed to pass their whole time in 
 the pestilence of such an association. 
 
 The slave house is a large building where 250 slaves 
 belonging to government are lodged. I only notice this 
 edifice in order to express detestation of the system, and to 
 urge immediate improvement ; since none of the present 
 arrangements are calculated to promote the health and com- 
 fort of the slaves. This is the more reprehensible in a colony 
 where the general treatment of the slave is most praise- 
 worthy. 
 
 There are two churches of very considerable size, which are 
 well attended. Although these belong to different per- 
 suasions religion is not disgraced by any animosity ; and the 
 clergymen who officiate are men of exemplary good cha- 
 racter. 
 
 Amongst the chief private houses is an hotel on the Grand 
 Parade kept by an Englishman. Here the principal officers 
 of the garrison have established a club, to which every captain 
 of the navy on the station belongs as an honorary member : 
 and the Cape Expedition will be ever remembered by the 
 military composing that force, as one where mischievous pre- 
 judices which might have injured the public service were 
 rejected at the outset : also as one where the most friendly 
 intercourse was unceasingly maintained between the services. 
 
 In the Heer Grasse is a subscription society consisting 
 promiscuously of the garrison and inhabitants. Here the 
 assemblies are given. They are much frequented ; for dancing 
 is an accomplishment of which the Cape young people are 
 passionately fond, and in which they eminently excel. 
 
 Previously to the late arrival of the English almost every 
 house appeared to be that of a private gentleman. The 
 stranger would be much perplexed to discover from what 
 quarter the wants of families were supplied, and how the 
 establishment of such good houses could be maintained without 
 any apparent source of income ; since every one must be aware 
 that Europeans who had independent fortunes would never 
 traverse the ocean to reside in an African colonv. But the
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 361 
 
 excellence of the houses is the cause, not the consequence, of 
 wealth. With very few exceptions every householder takes 
 in lodgers and provides board either by the year, month, 
 week, or day. Nor does this occupation affect in any degree 
 their pretensions to association with those few who, by the 
 bounty of Providence or the industry of their forefathers, are 
 enabled to live upon the interest of their property. 
 
 Decency of manners and decorum of conduct alone dis- 
 tinguish classes in this community. All white people 
 are esteemed equal. They consider that aristocratical constitu- 
 tions are but official distinctions ; calculated to maintain order, 
 but not intended to divide mankind; that virtues or vices 
 exalt or degrade men ; that social qualities or unfriendly 
 dispositions, similarity or dissimilarity of manners and habits, 
 invite or forbid intercourse. The man, not the title, is the 
 object of their consideration. The stranger who pays is 
 treated as a guest and, although entertained with respect, 
 finds himself surrounded by companions who are not dis- 
 composed by the presence of a superior nor inattentive to the 
 courtesies of good breeding due to a reputed inferior. Their 
 principle of action is mutual accommodation : and the proudest 
 foreigner must be satisfied to contract with them upon the 
 terms of mutual civility. His self-importance will never be 
 exposed to an offensive shock if he adheres to these conditions ; 
 but his vanity will never be gratified by servile obsequiousness. 
 England has already introduced the financial establishments 
 of a kingdom into this colony ; but she would do quite wrong 
 were she to revolutionize the society : and those English of 
 both sexes who proceed there should bear in mind that any 
 contemptuous treatment of these honest people, now fellow- 
 subjects, on account of their simplicity of habits and prin- 
 ciples of equality, would be far from honourable to their 
 own feelings or advantageous to the interests of their 
 country. 
 
 Public auctions supplied the articles that in Em-ope are at 
 any moment to be obtained in the shops : and as a tax upon 
 them formed a material branch of the revenue, the government 
 encouraged this practice ; which was injurious to the general 
 interest of the people, since a few wealthy persons monopolized
 
 3G2 CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 the articles most wanted, and bought them in until a price set 
 by extortion was offered. It is to be hoped that the present 
 government may sacrifice the advantage of this mode of traffic ; 
 and make such regulations respecting auctions as will enable 
 the inhabitants to buy on fairer terms. By tin's means the 
 consumption will be extended, and the value of increased 
 exports to England may be checked against the diminution of 
 colonial revenue. 
 
 The number of slaves in the service of each family is a 
 cause of some surprise: and particularly as there are so 
 many women and children. This is indeed a burthen im- 
 posed upon the masters by an honourable aversion to sell those 
 who have been born under their roof. 
 
 The history of slavery is in general a mournful recital of 
 oppression and sufferance. But detestable as is the usage 
 still the condition of the slave is not at the Cape Town a 
 subject of reproach to the master. Here, and here alone 
 perhaps in the world, are the slaves treated with a mildness 
 that would merit the admiration of a Howard. No rigorous 
 toil excites compassion or indignation ; no melancholy plaints 
 pierce the heart of the passenger. The little children are 
 even caressed by their proprietors with as much kindness as 
 if they were the offspring of relatives ; and if they be not born 
 in freedom they are for years unconscious of their shackles. 
 They are associated in every amusement ; they share every 
 act of tenderness with the white children. And although the 
 European mother prefers her own race, she would think 
 herself unworthy to be a parent if she could neglect an 
 infant, or not treat it with kindness because it was the off- 
 spring of a slave. This indulgent conduct towards infants 
 born in a state of reprobation, does, surely, more honour to 
 these people than any imitation of those refinements in other 
 colonies that too frequently render the heart insensible to 
 offices of humanity. But in the discharge of these duties 
 it is not pretended that there is no exception : that the 
 lash never scores at the caprice of ill temper, and the sweat 
 never pours in the service of a tyrant. Such cases must 
 exist. The power that bad men have to be cruel is an insu- 
 perable argument against all slavery : but it is gratifying to
 
 I 
 
 . App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 363 
 
 reflect that here the record of cruelty contains but few 
 memoranda of such crimes. 
 
 Whether slavery can be immediately abolished is a rea- 
 sonable subject of question ; because a great interest is 
 vested in this property, and the whole of the agriculture is 
 conducted by that system. But although the total eman- 
 cipation may be procrastinated until an act of benevolence 
 may not be at variance with the rights of property, still few 
 countries possess within themselves more available means of 
 accelerating this great work of humanity. 
 
 Until the first possession of the Cape by the English, the 
 Hottentot had ever been repudiated as a being that dis- 
 honoured the human species ; a heathen, incapable of civiliza- 
 tion and of the practice of moral duties. The name was a 
 term of reproach : and the naturalist, ashamed of his affinity 
 to man, endeavoured to class him amongst the vilest of brutes. 
 Sir James Craig first tried the experiment of his human 
 qualities. He invited some hundreds of these people into 
 the British service. He incorporated them into a battalion 
 under the command of Major Campbell, whose judicious and 
 amiable conduct justified the selection. After some months' 
 experience, these reprobated Hottentots were found and pro- 
 nounced to be a race of gentle and inoffensive manners, capable 
 from physical energies of any bodily service, and possessing 
 the ordinary mental gifts of mankind. Thus rescued from 
 opprobrium and misery they have maintained the character 
 so early relied upon ; and their conduct has never ceased to 
 do credit to the discrimination of then* protectors and 
 benefactors. 
 
 When the English restored the Cape to Holland, General 
 Janssen continued the Hottentots on the military establish- 
 ment. Then* docility gained his esteem, and their military 
 attainments his confidence. In the day of combat they did 
 not forfeit, as soldiers, his good opinion : and when the fortune 
 of war obliged that general to retire into the mountains, 
 where he was suffering, with the remains of his feeble force, 
 severe privations and extreme inclemency of weather ; when 
 it was believed by the corps that the general had resolved to 
 continue the most desperate warfare ; when Europeans were 
 
 VOL. I. 2 b
 
 364 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 hourly deserting from their standard ; not one single Hot- 
 tentot was seduced from the fear of disastrous service or 
 tempted by the rewards of the victor to violate the fidelity he 
 had pledged. Patriotism could have no operation ; with oaths 
 they were unacquainted ; enmity against the English was 
 not in their hearts. Innate honesty and honourable principle 
 were the guardians of then - duty : and these virtues were their 
 inheritance from those forefathers Avhom the colonists had so 
 long disdained, and whom Europeans still held in scorn if not 
 in abhorrence. 
 
 These Hottentots then might be employed as a principal 
 instrument to facilitate the abolition of slavery and augment 
 the defences of the colony. By being enrolled for military 
 service they would be assured, under the superintendence of 
 their officers, of protection from ill usage; and by being 
 cantoned amongst the farmers they would gradually acquire 
 agricultural inclinations. 
 
 The wild and independent Hottentots called Bushmen, 
 who now, scared at the toils of compulsive servitude and 
 jealous of their freedom, prefer a precarious subsistence to 
 the bread of bondage, and a life beset with peril to one pro- 
 tracted by the selfish care of a master, would discriminate 
 between voluntary industry and the task of slavery. They 
 would observe the comforts that compensate for the sacrifice 
 of a vagrant liberty; and would very soon be disposed to 
 accept an establishment where their persons might be free, 
 their families protected, and the profits of their labour 
 applied to then* own remuneration. 
 
 The African is not so incorrigible a savage as he is generally 
 represented. The man who loves his wife and children, eats 
 grain, and knows the value of money, can always be taught 
 the advantage of a tranquil state of society. The Bushmen 
 are not ruder than our ancient Britons : and a savage state is 
 not more essentially adapted to then* mental faculties or 
 physical temperament. 
 
 When Ali Boy ruled in Egypt the Arabs swept, with deso- 
 lating hand and without apprehension, the crops and the cattle 
 of the fertilized lands. The toil was for the peasant : theirs was 
 the tributary harvest They not only seized enough for their
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 365 
 
 necessity, but they wantoned with redundance. The victorious 
 Ali resolved upon the protection of the helpless. He de- 
 fended the flocks and the tillage with his arms. He invited 
 the assailants to merit the productions of the earth by con- 
 tributing to their growth. No longer could the Arab seize 
 his prey with impunity. Scanty subsistence was only to be 
 bought with the blood of the tribe : and frequently this blood 
 flowed in vain. Baffled by the vigilance, the courage, and 
 the wise dispositions of Ali, the Arabs greeted him as their 
 conqueror and accepted the conditions of peace. Part he 
 received into his service as an auxiliary force against the 
 hordes that might, from remote quarters, penetrate to Egypt. 
 To others he gave villages where their aged and infirrn might 
 repose in safety, and where the grain of then own lands might 
 be deposited. D uring his reign afterwards there was tranquillity 
 and safety : but he fell in Syria too soon for the consolidation 
 of his system and the happiness of Egypt. If then the daring 
 bands of Arabia, shepherds and robbers from the time of the 
 Patriarchs and probably long before, were thus moulded into 
 habits more consistent with the safety and repose of regular 
 society, can any reasonable argument be urged why the 
 Bushmen should more successfully resist equal measures of 
 vigour, wisdom, and humanity ? why they should prefer the 
 hazardous plunder of 20,000 head of cattle ; Avhere every 
 hand is against them, and their indiscriminate destruction is 
 lawlessly sanctioned by the laws ? A wiser government will 
 endeavour to mollify the hatred of the exasperated colonist 
 and the vengeance of the Bushmen; will undertake the 
 protection of property without imitating the crimes of the 
 robber ; and will seek to establish an intercourse with their 
 chiefs and so familiarize them to the comforts of civilized 
 society. Such a government will finally triumph by an union 
 of policy, kindness, and power. 
 
 To render the Hottentot woman less hideous is beyond the 
 power of legislation : but a change of attire may render her 
 less nauseating. At present she is clothed with a raw sheep- 
 skin thrown over her shoulders ; the bowels of a sheep are 
 twisted round her waist, dependent so as to hide that extra- 
 ordinary conformation about winch the curious reader may 
 
 2 b 2
 
 366 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 consult Yaillant or Mr. Barrow ; and her cap is the stomach 
 of some animal. Her locks are matted with grease, and her 
 infants (they are generally numerous) are carried upon her 
 back, in the sheep-skin so folded as to make a hood. Her 
 features are all contrary to European ideas of beauty. Her 
 limbs are well formed ; but she appears bent in the spine from 
 the immense rotundity of a certain quarter, which after 
 childbearing becomes stupendous. Nature has indeed varied 
 from the rule in the human species when moulding the 
 Hottentot female : but such is the caprice of fancy, or such 
 is the design of Providence to improve the race of these 
 beings in exterior appearance — for they really are destitute of 
 none of the amiable natural qualities of women — that the 
 finest young men who ever left Europe do not revolt from 
 their embraces, or reflect on these aberrations with disgust. 
 
 It cannot be urged that the Hottentot is unable to sustain 
 fatigue. He is low in stature, but strong and active as the 
 antelope. His diet is moderate, and he can bear either heat 
 or cold. He is animated by an emulous spirit ; or he never 
 could have attained that degree of military excellence, which 
 astonishes every beholder who remembers in what state he 
 v as born, and that the language winch conveys instruction to 
 nim is but little understood. He is perhaps too fond of 
 intoxicating liquors, but that unhappily is a vice of imitation. 
 His diligence is equal to his powers : and now the post 
 from Simon's Town to Cape Town is conveyed by relays of 
 Hottentots. 
 
 When an extra post is employed a single Hottentot per- 
 forms this distance (twenty-four miles) with ease in four 
 hours and a half; and in ten minutes is ready to return with 
 the same expedition. It is the intention of government to 
 establish this system through the whole colony : a mea- 
 sure that is calculated to produce very beneficial consequences, 
 as formerly letters were carried by the cavalry, which ruined 
 many horses and was injurious to the general discipline. But 
 it is not necessary that the colony should altogether depend 
 upon the Hottentots for service : twenty-five thousand white 
 inhabitants in possession of the whole property of the colony, 
 could never want hired servants, when in the same territory
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 367 
 
 there were fifty thousand domesticated people of colour who 
 would have no other means of maintenance. Bad masters 
 would probably be abandoned by their former slaves : but the 
 greater part would continue from gratitude, and from a con- 
 sciousness that they could not improve their condition. 
 
 In Cape Town there are about two thousand houses ; in 
 each house there are upon an average six slaves, and of these 
 many are unnecessary ; but they are retained because they 
 are for the most part born in service and have their nearest 
 kindred in the same houses. Now, if slavery were abolished 
 this burden would be no longer imposed ; for there could be 
 no reproach on the free employment of them under other 
 masters. 
 
 The purchase of useful slaves demands a large capital. An 
 ordinary cook costs 2001. Life is precarious even with the 
 best treatment ; and in a few months the death of valuable 
 slaves has reduced a respectable family to poverty. An affect- 
 ing incident occurred lately in Cape Town which does 
 honour to all parties. Several slaves had died, and bank- 
 ruptcy ensued. The last survivor, and one for whom a con- 
 siderable sum had been paid, is on his deathbed : he requests 
 to see his mistress ; he begs her benediction ; he acknow- 
 ledges her maternal care of him and his companions ; 
 he weeps, and faintly articulates with his last breath: 
 "Edwards sheds no tears for himself; he feels only for 
 his poor dear mistress, to whom his death will bring such 
 
 ruin." 
 
 The proprietors are aware of the hazard of this property ; 
 and would be easily persuaded to any arrangement that 
 might restore a part of the purchase-money already expended, 
 and establish the institution of hired servants. Even if no 
 part should be restored in money, if the only repayment were 
 by gratuitous service for some time, still the gain would be 
 great to the family of the proprietor : and it would be felt to 
 be so when sickness or death incapacitated former slaves, 
 and it was found that no demand was made upon capital to 
 replace them. 
 
 Morally, the abolition would be of great importance to the 
 community. At present every female slave who attains the
 
 368 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 ago of fifteen or sixteen years receives the visits of some 
 lover, by whom she becomes a parent : her second child, and 
 so on, has another father ; and probably one of different 
 colour. These unhallowed births are far from being discou- 
 raged or kept concealed from the family. Such promiscuous 
 intercourse must surely not only be viewed as indelicate, but 
 must be attended with pernicious consequences to young 
 people, by familiarizing to their minds images which a 
 virtuous education is most careful to exclude. 
 
 The female slaves of the Cape are very handsome, par- 
 ticularly the Mustees : whose black eyebrows, hazel eyes, 
 ruddy complexion, and well-moulded limbs merit the pencil 
 of the ablest painter, or the chisel of the most accom- 
 plished sculptor. The Cape ladies are indeed unwilling to 
 acknowledge such pretensions to admiration : and conse- 
 quently a man of gallantry, if he seeks to be favourably 
 received by them, would not hazard an opinion that might 
 indicate lus sensibility to the charms of the slave. The Cape 
 people in their theories, not in their actions, consider that 
 nature has drawn a determinate line between whites and 
 blacks, and intended in her partiality that the latter should 
 be always dependents : under this impression they can 
 scarcely reconcile themselves to the sight of white servants ; 
 but they do not extend their notions of supremacy to the 
 justification of tyranny. They hold that it is a sufficient 
 misfortune not to be born fair ; and that it is their duty to 
 alleviate the calamity as much as possible. Their compassion 
 does them honour. Their vanity is as natural to them as to 
 the hunchbacks who, seeing a shipwrecked European sailor, 
 were about to murder him as a monster with a straight back, 
 when the philosophical chief of the hunches interposed and 
 ^aid: "My children, if nature has ornamented you with a 
 beautiful elevation of the shoulders, be thankful to the 
 Almighty Creator for his preference of love ; and preserve 
 this deformed man with a straight back as an object to excite 
 your gratitude : do all you can to comfort him for his mis- 
 fortune in not being formed like yourselves." 
 
 If there was no further importation of slaves, in all proba- 
 bility the faintest trace by colour of an Angola or Mozam-
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 369 
 
 bique extraction would in a few years disappear. The amal- 
 gamation is already rapidly proceeding. 
 
 Mr. Barrow recommends an importation of Chinese 
 artizans and workmen. If the colony should remain in 
 the hands of the English, permission might be granted, 
 when peace is made, to such English soldiers as should be 
 willing, to settle, with certain limitations as to military 
 service, in the colony. The temptation of gain, the in- 
 fluence of the women, the detestation of a sea voyage — on 
 which a soldier for some unaccountable reason is only half fed, 
 and therefore half famished — would induce many to accept 
 the proposal cheerfully. 
 
 The inhabitants of Cape Town live better than any people 
 in Europe. There is scarcely a family which does not, twice 
 a day, sit clown to a meal consisting of soup, fish, curry, meat, 
 vegetables ; and a dessert with Cape wine and claret. Their 
 diet is somewhat too richly dressed, but the English mode 
 of cooking is being rapidly adopted. All the markets are 
 well supplied ; and the gardens are loaded with vegetables 
 and the fruits of all climates. Bread has indeed recently 
 been scarce. No individual has been allowed more than a pound 
 per day ; and such grain of the farmers as was more than 
 sufficient for a year's consumption in their families at this 
 allowance, has been seized for the supply of Cape Town. But 
 active measures have been taken to import such a quantity as 
 may relieve this serious scarcity. If, however, provisions 
 bear no extravagant price, the cost of raiment and articles 
 of European manufacture is excessively exorbitant : as, upon 
 an average, 300 per cent, premium is levied upon the neces- 
 sities of the colony. There is no probability of any great 
 reduction, as the ships from Europe have an ulterior market 
 in India should the Cape be so stocked as to offer a lower 
 premium for their commodities. Fortunately the climate is 
 so mild that generally fires are unnecessary except for 
 cookery : otherwise, from the price of fuel and clothing, the 
 inhabitants would suffer the greatest misery. 
 
 The manners of the people have been much misrepresented. 
 A picture has been darkly coloured that was susceptible of 
 relief from the introduction of brighter, softer, more pleasing,
 
 370 CAPE OF GOOD HOrK. Apr. 9. 
 
 and truer tints. A heavy denunciation has been registered 
 against the inhabitants of the Cape ; as if virtue were here 
 more rare or vice more licentious than in any other European 
 colony. Another Gehenna has been declared, with more 
 complete exclusion of hope. But the extravagance of calumny 
 or satire is an antidote against its venom. Censors of 
 national morals should be well acquainted with the state and 
 manners of society in the several polite nations of the world, 
 before they publish their remarks upon any particular 
 country: so that the scale by which they measure public 
 worth or depravity may be regulated upon an equal and 
 intelligible principle. Some writers artfully advance the 
 interest of their works, by insinuations which move the 
 passions while they pretend to rebuke levity and immorality. 
 But the honest and intelligent visitors of the Cape will find 
 that its inhabitants afford no more matter for reproach and 
 reproof than all civilized societies : and that, with the ex- 
 ception before stated, of the hiring out the persons of the 
 female slaves, the same manners, opinions, teaching, and re- 
 gulations as in other communities oppose an indecorous indul- 
 gence of the passions. It is an indisputable fact that, except 
 in moments of extraordinary political disorder, civilized 
 society is everywhere constituted and regulated by the same 
 laws. Decency and decorum are always cherished, even by 
 the professed votaries of pleasure, as the eternal and active 
 principles which alone can command just admiration. 
 
 An exposure of partial frailties is ungenerous : and from 
 such a representation to insert a sweeping clause against the 
 whole community is uncandid and unjust. The dissemina- 
 tion of such aspersion is also extremely pernicious. On the 
 one hand, that contemptuous deportment which is the con- 
 sequence closes the avenues to an intercourse winch might 
 remove prejudice : on the other, an offended amour propre is 
 excited to activity, and strengthens these feelipgs of dislike 
 and enmity which misrepresentation had in the first instance 
 engendered. 
 
 The men in Cape Town generally employ their mornings 
 by attendance at their sales, or upon shipping concerns, and 
 in the. superintendence of their neighbouring farms. They
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 371 
 
 dine about two ; then repose ; and in the evening resort to the 
 society house, where they smoke, play backgammon, cards, 
 billiards, and talk over their affairs. The younger men who 
 have leisure are more gallant in their occupation ; and they 
 are not destitute of resources to pass their time pleasantly. 
 Their manners are unexceptionable. They are cheerful com- 
 panions, and adhere in their dress strictly to the English 
 costume ; which is indeed so much the attire of both sexes 
 that an Englishman can perceive no variation from his own 
 countrymen in this respect. 
 
 If the men of the Cape have not applied themselves more 
 sedulously to literary pursuits, the neglect cannot justly be 
 ascribed to any deficiency of talent, or to an indolent in- 
 difference to improvement. It is in reality owing to the 
 absence of encouragement either by allurements of interest or 
 distinction ; since employment in the public offices was never 
 the reward of their ability. But yet, secluded as they have 
 been from Europe and restricted to a trading communication, 
 there are many who speak French, German, and English 
 fluently : and should measures be taken to stimulate applica- 
 tion, should schools of instruction be opened for the youth of 
 Africa, the masters will not have an idle situation from want 
 of students ; nor will the natives of the colony be long desti- 
 tute of those attainments which embellish the social state of 
 nations. Nature has with a profuse bounty bestowed upon 
 these men her gifts of stature, proportion, strength, and all 
 the properties that characterize an excelling growth of the 
 human frame : nor has their Maker withheld those powers 
 of intelligence which education unfolds and matures. 
 
 The Cape young women are particularly well formed, walk 
 with grace, pay French and Spanish attention to their chaus- 
 sure, and dress with great taste ; notwithstanding that they 
 have had no sight of European fashions for several years. 
 But, whilst they display with advantage the elegance of their 
 forms, they avoid that extreme which leaves nothing for a 
 generous fancy to suppose. There is no regular beauty to be 
 seen as in Europe ; but their faces are pretty and pleasing. 
 Their eyes are expressive ; their complexions very fair, and 
 blooming as the damask rose, without artificial colouring :
 
 372 CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 and if they would generally pay more attention to a most 
 ornamental but too delicate part of the human struc- 
 ture they would rank high amongst the fairest works of 
 the creation. They sing, play well, dance English and 
 French dances gracefully, are lively in conversation, good 
 tempered, quick to learn, and desirous to please from benig- 
 nity of character as well as from natural female self-estimation. 
 Indeed they only need instruction to be proficient in every 
 female accomplishment. Before marriage they are generally 
 light hi figure : after they are mothers they become more 
 embonpoint : and age advances with a rapid step after twenty- 
 five ; which is probably owing to the little exercise that 
 they take, and the closeness of chambers which have no 
 ventilation. 
 
 No doubt those discords and dissensions which violate the 
 quiet of all communities have not been successfully repelled 
 from Cape Town ; but yet no place exhibits more natural 
 scenes of domestic enjoyment and family union. During the 
 late peace marriage had become a civil contract : but little 
 abuse seems to have been the consequence of the facility of 
 divorce. Since the last recapture the usual ceremonies are 
 again instituted ; and the land-roosts, or magistrates of 
 districts, are empowered to officiate as ministers. 
 
 Heretofore those farmers who had lived in the remote 
 provinces were unable to attend at Cape Town for the 
 solemnization of marriage. Necessity, therefore, substituted 
 the obligation of a mutual engagement : and the ratifying act 
 was delayed frequently until the parties could find it con- 
 venient to visit Cape Town. Then, accompanied by three 
 or four children they presented themselves at the altar of the 
 church for the matrimonial and baptismal rites, which legiti- 
 mated all past transactions : almost the only species of ex post 
 facto law that was ever benevolently applied in any country. 
 
 The day of marriage, or more generally the day when the 
 license is obtained, is celebrated as a festal holiday for all the 
 kindred of the bride and bridegroom. They meet at the 
 house of the nearest relations ; dance the whole night, most 
 generally upon brick floors ; assemble again to dine. And 
 they frequently continue the fete for three clays.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 373 
 
 At these gaieties from one to two hundred persons are 
 present. The licentious will be much disappointed if they 
 expect to be there entertained with indecent revelry. All is 
 mirth, without an indelicacy that could stain with a blush the 
 most virtuous maiden's cheek. Ingenuous in the expression 
 of their feelings, the company honour with their cheerfulness 
 the happy pair whose union they were invited to celebrate ; 
 without exposing themselves to the reproach of trespassing 
 on social propriety. 
 
 The inhabitants of Cape Town are fond of society ; and 
 their doors are always open to receive their friends, without 
 formal invitations. The ladies pass their evenings in con- 
 versation or amusements, but cards are very seldom intro- 
 duced at their houses. The division of their day does not, 
 however, agree with the habits of the English ; and there- 
 fore there is little intercourse notwithstanding the best 
 disposition.* 
 
 Few equipages are to be seen in Cape Town, and the car- 
 riages in use are those which were left by the English. But 
 notwithstanding their antiquity the worst of them was not to 
 be bought under two hundred pounds : and a prudent man 
 would not insure a life for half an hour that was hazarded to 
 then- conveyance. A covered waggon without springs is the 
 usual vehicle for the most respectable families. These 
 waggons are drawn by six, eight, and ten horses. A Hottentot 
 seated upon the fore part of the waggon, on a level with and 
 sometimes lower than the horses, guides them with peculiar 
 skill tlnough the streets or in the worst roads ; and can use 
 the whip with such dexterity as to strike infallibly the 
 smallest given spot. It is true that these animals have not 
 the courage and force of the English breed, but nevertheless 
 many of them are highly pampered and unruly. 
 
 Whether a Hottentot coachman in England could match 
 an English coachman's achievements, may perhaps be dis- 
 puted by his brothers of the whip in that country. But it is 
 
 * A variety of other circumstances rendered a more intimate association 
 at that time impossible. And this the inhabitants regretted the more, as 
 the remarkable improvement in English habits with regard to the use of 
 wine had removed the only objection to such intimacy. — K. W., 1824.
 
 374 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 almost certain that they could not rival his peculiar talent : 
 nor would a French postilion be able to compete with him in 
 the crack of the lash. 
 
 The variety of inhabitants, their shades of colour, their 
 costumes, and their physiognomies, always afford a most 
 entertaining and interesting scene in the streets of Cape 
 Town. 
 
 People from all quarters of the globe are assembled at 
 the Cape : and the different features of all the tribes of 
 Africa may be here contemplated and compared. 
 
 Those who arrogantly and impiously defend the slave 
 trade, with the blasphemy that the Almighty Creator stamped 
 his indignation upon the unoffending posterity of Cain by a 
 black tincture of the skin, rendering his generations also 
 worthless and abject in mind, will not be pleased to see this 
 theory exposed to confutation and ridicule by the evidence 
 that fair complexions are in these latitudes changed to the 
 darkest hue, and hair to wool ; and that noses are flattened 
 by slow and gentle gradations. If they had reason, but 
 bigots never have, they would in future attribute to physical 
 and not to spiritual causes the variation of shade in human 
 complexion. 
 
 An Englishman, who is perhaps rendered too nice by the 
 comforts of his own country, may be revolted by several of 
 the customs of Cape Town. But neither Rome nor London 
 were built in one day : nor were their subterraneous cities 
 excavated in a single year. 
 
 There is one exception to the general cleanliness and 
 decency of the city. Not only is the burial-ground over- 
 loaded with tenants, but the corpses are interred so near the 
 surface as to emit the most pestilential effluvia. The bodies 
 are generally, on account of the scarcity of wood, buried 
 without coffins; and therefore greater precaution is necessary: 
 particularly as a high road much frequented runs directly 
 through the burial-place. There are however canals in some 
 of the streets- 
 General Janssen proposed a military place of sepulture in 
 another quarter, upon a plan intended powerfully to excite 
 those useful sentiments which the view of such a receptacle
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 375 
 
 is calculated to inspire. The troops had already formed the 
 area, when the work was interrupted by the arrival of the 
 English. If the design be not carried out, the military must 
 be consoled by the reflection " that sweet are the tears which 
 nis country sheds over the unburied head of the soldier :" as 
 they are daily obliged to pass their festering comrades ; whose 
 carcases are exposed to be mangled by the vultures and the 
 clogs, which assemble on the ground of inhumation as at a 
 common hall of banquet. 
 
 The vultures in such a country would in ancient times 
 have been worshipped for their utility : and they are now pro- 
 tected from destruction by the service they render to the 
 town. They consume the carrion with an astonishing 
 rapidity and neatness ; stripping the bones in a few hours of 
 every fibre. But the dogs are a dreadful nuisance : they fly at 
 every horseman ; howl hideously ; and are flayed by a most 
 malignant cutaneous disorder. 
 
 Unfortunately, the necessity of water supply obliged the 
 first settlers to select a locality for Cape Town, that for the 
 five summer months of the year is visited by a demon of the 
 atmosphere. 
 
 When the cloud embryo of the south-east wind is seen 
 forming upon the Table Mountain, then every door and win- 
 dow must be closed. The heated air within is more tolerable 
 than the malignant and wild blast that is about to rage. The 
 fleecy speck soon shapes itself to maturity : vapours roll on 
 vapours ; and gathering from all quarters shoot their supplies 
 to feed the engendering war of elements. The masses piled 
 to the heavens and bellying over the eminence of the table 
 land seem bursting, indignant at restraint. At length the 
 signal volley is fired ; and the dense cloud precipitates itself 
 half-way,, down the mountain, when it disperses to fill the 
 opening space, and affords relief to the earth that seems 
 about to be cruhsed by the weight. In a few minutes, how- 
 ever, the storm resumes its action, and at the first onset every 
 fabric is shaken to the foundation. Gust succeeds gust until 
 the successive shocks become too frequent for computation ; 
 whilst'the light fragments of the loose soil are impelled with 
 such fury that the atmosphere becomes solid : and yet so
 
 376 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 subtle are the fine parts of the sand that no joiner's art can 
 resist its penetration ; and so sharp are the coarser particles, 
 that no living surface, if exposed, can be insensible to acute 
 pain. Such is the violence, with such virulence does this 
 wind urge its course, that the most philosophical temper can 
 scarcely refrain from a frenzied clamour against its imaginary 
 animosity ; or from offering, like Lear in despair of sufferance, 
 " mad defiance to the tempest." 
 
 The strength of this wind is expended generally in twelve 
 hours : and about the same time is required for the organiza- 
 tion of a new hurricane. But sometimes the magazines are so 
 well stored as to lord it in the field without a pause for 
 several days. 
 
 Four miles from Cape Town, when the point of the amphi- 
 theatre is passed, the south-east wind is much less violent 
 and unaccompanied by any deleterious effects. Although the 
 principal inhabitants have their country residences in this 
 neighbourhood, still they cannot avail themselves of such 
 asylum ; because at this season of the year, as the ships he in 
 Table Bay, commercial transactions require their presence in 
 the forenoon : and the blast is so formidable in the evening, 
 that even the assurance of some hours' relief is not a com- 
 pensation for the difficulty and, indeed, the danger of com- 
 bating the adverse element in a carriage. Nor does the 
 country at this season of the year possess the same inviting 
 allurements as in the winter months. The extreme heat and 
 drought destroy vegetation ; the trees are destitute of their 
 foliage, and the land of verdure. The living principle seems 
 extinct. 
 
 When the European calendar denotes the winter, then the 
 harvest smiles and the soil is decked with herbage. It is 
 then that the air is temperate and the weather inviting to 
 exercise. The rains that occasionally fall are indeed heavy ; 
 but they seldom continue above eight-and-forty hours 
 together, and most frequently descend in the night : and ten 
 or twelve days of European summer commonly intervene 
 between these deluges of the sky. 
 
 Snow sometimes falls and rests on the hills ; but in the low 
 lands never. If the climate of the colony be salubrious as it
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 377 
 
 is represented by many, still the atmosphere of Cape Town 
 must be excepted. In the summer the confined and parched 
 air, in the winter the excessive variations from heat to cold 
 are pernicious to men and to cattle. The great sickness of a 
 new garrison may in some degree be attributed to sleeping 
 upon damp brick floors without bedding, severity of duty, 
 exercise in a heat by thermometer of 120°, and bad wine : 
 but not altogether ; as many become victims to the climate 
 who are enabled to avoid these inconveniences, and who are 
 never guilty of any excess. Few officers indeed escape some 
 serious illness. A consumptive subject perishes immediately : 
 and numbers of the inhabitants die annually of this disease, to 
 which there seems a disposition in the youthful system. If 
 the young recover from it there is afterwards a proneness to 
 fat. Phenomena of men weighing from 20 to 30 stone are 
 frequent in every part of the colony : whilst the fatal flush 
 glowing on the cheek of youth and beauty is a sorry spectacle 
 that is too often to be seen. It is also remarked in the 
 hospitals that, although wounds heal as in Europe, the backs 
 of punished men require all the care and skill of the surgeon, 
 and always excite considerable solicitude. Nor can men 
 without imminent risk of life receive more than 300 lashes : 
 even then the cases are long doubtful ; so that in violation 
 of the law the punishments were inflicted, in regiments where 
 punishments took place, at separate intervals.* 
 
 The excessive drought of the air also affects the horses at 
 Cape Town : and the English found when, last in possession of 
 the colony that they were never equal, in heart or condition, 
 to those of the country, notwithstanding equal food, care, 
 and exercise. The south-east wind has an effect upon them 
 similar to that of the same wind after it has passed the 
 Desert in Egypt. The blast strikes them suddenly with 
 paralysis, and death almost always ensues. Can a stronger 
 proof be required that the air then must be detrimental to 
 the human constitution ? . 
 
 * It is to be hoped the day is not distant when this unmanly and cruel 
 mode of punishment will he abolished : even Prussia has rejected corporal 
 punishment, and followed the example of France, Holland, aud Bavaria. — 
 R. W.
 
 378 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 The whole colony cannot however be designated as con- 
 genial to life, if longevity be a criterion. The age of man so 
 seldom attains the verge of threescore years and ten, that an 
 instance of this nature is long recorded as extraordinary : and 
 there never has been seen by the colonist a human being in 
 this part of Africa who had been in life 100 years. 
 
 The average of what is here denominated longevity is from 
 50 to 60, and few only are enrolled in either list. The 
 general inactive habits of the people may partially influence 
 the duration of their days ; but no regimen or diet would pro- 
 bably avail much. Either the soil must be changed, the 
 mountains sink, or an ecliptic movement give a new climate, 
 before the " grandsire of threescore," as already described,* will 
 be often seen in any condition ; much less at the gambol of 
 the dance. But there are some exceptions and extraordinary 
 local variations in this colony as to salubrity : since without 
 any yet ascertained cause in some spots health seems to have 
 established her sanctuary ; in others, and contiguous ones, 
 mortal malady infects the atmosphere. 
 
 From Cape Town to Hottentot Holland is a dreary sand 
 tufted with black verdure, over which the oxen toil with 
 difficulty for near thirty-five miles. But the district of 
 Hottentot Holland, embracing a circumference of about eight 
 miles, is well watered, handsomely wooded, planted with 
 vineyards, and displays a scene of comfort and beauty that 
 would ornament any country. The Cape Madeira, the Stein, 
 and more ordinary wines are made here. In all there is a 
 nauseating sweetness like that of antimonial wine. The 
 vintners are not satisfied with the use of sulphur to fumigate 
 their barrels ; they moreover throw into each a considerable 
 quantity. This operates injuriously, by thinning the blood 
 and producing those disorders which originate in the poverty 
 of the vascular system. 
 
 The common Cape wine is of the most pernicious cha- 
 racter ; suddenly intoxicating, and occasioning most violent 
 sickness and pains of the head ; frequently inducing the worst 
 species of dysentery, and at last causing death. 
 
 * Sec page 317.— Ed.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 379 
 
 Above Hottentot Holland rises the ridge of mountains 
 which is fairly presumed to have been at one time the 
 boundary coast of this part of Africa. 
 
 On the right is Gordon's Bay, an eligible point of debarka- 
 tion, as the ships can approach with safety. The troops 
 would here find ample provision, horses, and draught oxen : 
 and they might seize the kloof, or pass, to which General 
 Janssen after the action at Blueberg retired ; and by which 
 the important communication between the interior and Cape 
 Town is much impeded, if not altogether intercepted. This 
 pass is extremely lofty : the summit is almost eternally capped 
 with clouds : but many entertain a doubt whether the posi- 
 tion is unassailable. 
 
 On the left above Gordon's Bay is a still higher hill, 
 divided near the apex. The security of this position was 
 observed by the discontented slaves. They ascended, 
 explored, and resolved to erect on this retreat their banner of 
 liberty. They retired with their wives and families, and the 
 flocks of their masters, to settle in this region. They built 
 huts, arranged their arsenal of defence — ponderous stones 
 — and not only bid defiance from their ramparts to the 
 vengeance of their masters, but long made predatory 
 descents upon the lands of the farmers in Hottentot Holland. 
 
 In tracing the country at the base of the mountains, Stellen- 
 bosch distant about ten miles is the next village, and is 
 extremely well worth a visit. The site which it occupies is 
 of great extent, the houses are sumptuous, and the finest 
 oak-trees are planted throughout. 
 
 Unfortunately a fire three years since consumed a con- 
 siderable number of these trees as well as of the houses. 
 But by the beneficial aid of the government, and under the 
 superintendence of an estimable magistrate, the ravages that 
 it was in the power of industry to repair have been more than 
 obliterated ; and time is alone wanting to restore the foliage. 
 From Stellenbosch to Paarl is about sixteen miles : accuracy 
 in regard to distance is in this country difficult to be attained ; 
 as the roads are not measured, and each passenger calculates 
 according to the tedium or agreeable celerity with which the 
 time has been passed on the journey. An hour on horseback 
 VOL. I. 2 c
 
 380 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 is, however, on an average understood to mark the distance of 
 five miles, and a pedestrian's hour to comprehend three : but 
 the African's computation frequently disappoints the traveller. 
 
 The Paarl is esteemed to be the prettiest village in 
 the colony, and is doubtless deserving of admiration. 
 Here is a school upon a small plan for boys. The master is 
 intelligent and well qualified for his situation ; but the 
 encouragement of government is necessary to give the esta- 
 blishment protection and success. 
 
 From the Paarl to the Eoode Sand kloof is about thirty- 
 five miles. This pass is important, as by its occupation and 
 that of the kloof of Hottentot Holland all supplies might be 
 cut off from Cape Town. And this is a most serious considera- 
 tion, as the district of the Cape does not contain sufficient 
 resources of corn and cattle for its own maintenance exclusive 
 of any garrison : but as General Janssen had not sufficient 
 force to occupy both passes, had he remained at Hottentot 
 Holland's kloof he would have been turned by a force moving 
 to Swellendam, distant 200 miles ; where an interior ridge 
 of mountains, branching: at rig-lit angles and running- be- 
 tween the two kloofs terminates, and uncovers the whole of 
 the flat country in rear of the general's position. 
 
 Had the English force which landed at Saldanha been 
 ordered to turn off to Eoode Sand, instead of proceeding to 
 Cape Town when no longer required to act as the advance 
 guard of the main army, General Janssen would never have 
 meditated a stand ; but must have capitulated or retired im- 
 mediately. In military operations, however, it is often seen 
 that fortune is a better friend than judicious disposition : and 
 he cannot fight ill who fights chained to her car. 
 
 Beyond the Paarl there is no village worthy of notice. 
 Scattered farms speck the country between Eoode Sand and 
 the sea, and along the Berg river which rises in Stellenbosch 
 and falls into St. Helena Bay. 
 
 This river is not navigable. Some pretend that with little 
 difficulty and expense it might be so made. The hippo- 
 potamus is found upon its banks : but the slaughter of this 
 animal has been so great that a heavy penalty is exacted 
 upon the destruction of one without permission of the
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 381 
 
 government. The flesh is food of high flavour, and it is 
 much esteemed. 
 
 St. Helena Bay is distant from Cape Town about 130 
 miles ; of which the last fifty run through a wild and barren 
 tract of country. This bay is only visited in cases of neces- 
 sity by ships, as nothing is to be procured there. 
 
 Saldanha Bay, forty miles nearer to Cape Town, is more 
 frequented, but is destitute of water, with the exception of 
 what is extremely bad and barely sufficient for daily supply 
 to a few men and cattle. 
 
 Consideration for the safety of the harbour, and the mili- 
 tary objections so truly urged against the possible defence of 
 Cape Town if assailed by a superior army, have induced a 
 suggestion that the capital of the Cape should be transferred 
 to this point : and the idea has been entertained that water 
 might be conducted by an aqueduct or even by a canal to 
 this point from the Berg river which runs within a few miles. 
 The removal of a capital is a measure of most serious 
 moment, and one that should command the most deliberate 
 counsel : for the speculative welfare of the mother country 
 should not too rudely clash with the settled interests of 
 colonial subjects. To the farmers over the mountains the 
 change might not prove detrimental : but the inhabitants of 
 Cape Town must be ruined by it, as their property is vested 
 in houses and in the shipping interest. The expense would 
 also be enormous : and the garrison must be increased by at 
 least 2,000 soldiers ; unless Cape Town is to be abandoned 
 altogether whenever an enemy appears in Table or False 
 Bays. 
 
 If the colony should become an integral part of the British 
 emph-e, and eventually prove a valuable possession, perhaps 
 the erection of some forts at the entrance of Saldanha Bay 
 and upon several commanding points might be judicious. But 
 these would be useless if they depended upon any exterior 
 supply of water. Tanks must be constructed within : and an 
 enemy that attacked would then suffer that inconvenience of 
 drought which would be a powerful impediment to his 
 operations in the summer months. 
 
 If the prosperity of the colony should be such as to permit 
 
 2 C 2
 
 382 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 a more extensive establishment, then indeed Saldanha Bay 
 might with propriety be selected for a settlement. But it must 
 always be remembered that, although Saldanha Bay is only 
 sixty miles by water from Table Bay, when a south-east wind 
 blows merchantmen may be a month, and men-of-war have 
 been a week and more, beating that distance. 
 
 A small arm of the sea runs into the country in an eastern 
 direction about eight miles. A league of this arm is navi- 
 gable for small vessels keeping close to each shore. On the 
 south side is the post-house : on the north a farmer's tene- 
 ment, opposite to which the vessels lie and procure a daily 
 supply of water, some cattle, and a few vegetables. 
 
 Five miles from hence under a hill somewhat remarkable 
 is another farmer's tenement, where bad puddle water is to 
 be procured. Ten miles further are several Hottentot huts 
 upon a commanding spot of ground, close to which are several 
 wells full of excellent water ; and eight miles further is 
 Tea Fonteyn, which is a large and well- watered farm. The 
 road so far is over, or rather in, a deep white sand : no water 
 is to be r obtained but at the stations above mentioned, except 
 in the winter season when various pools are formed by the 
 rains. The column of the English proposed to be the ad- 
 vanced guard of the army was marched to Saldanha Bay, with 
 the object of securing Tea Fonteyn ; a post essential for the 
 supplies of water, grain, and cattle. Never was a force more 
 favoured than by the unexpected inattention of the enemy 
 to this point. It was thus enabled to secure possession of 
 a large and fertile district, lying on the direct road to 
 Cape Town and menacing Roode Sand pass distant only fifty 
 miles. 
 
 A variety of unfortunate circumstances seemed to conspire 
 against the success of tins detachment, and a couple of guns 
 with a hundred cavalry might certainly have annihilated the 
 invaders. 
 
 The morning after the force was detached from Table Bay, 
 and the ships conveying it had anchored in Saldanha Bay, 
 Captain King of the Navy and Captain Smith of the En- 
 gineers had proceeded towards the shore with the hope of 
 communicating with the portmaster: but a volley of shot as
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 383 
 
 soon as the boat approached pierced several of her planks, 
 and obliged her to sheer away. 
 
 In the afternoon General Beresford, being aware of the im- 
 portance of the post of Tea Fonteyn, ordered the officer in 
 command of the cavalry, with fifty dragoons mounted on 
 horses brought from St. Salvador, and three hundred infantry 
 of the 38th Regiment, to land and proceed to that point. 
 
 A heavy gale that ploughed the bay, and ignorance of the 
 shore rendered the debarkation of the horses difficult: and 
 the dusk of evening had set in before the party began to 
 march. 
 
 The mate of an American ship lying in the bay was soon 
 met ; and he gave the information that the portmaster and the 
 farmers residing on the coast of the bay, had already retired 
 with all their cattle. After a march of eighteen miles over a 
 sandy soil some Hottentot huts were descried. The infantry 
 was halted ; and the cavalry proceeded about tlnee miles 
 before they reached the kraal and a farmer's house : but 
 already the Hottentots had given the alarm ; and a waggon 
 with fourteen oxen was seized at the instant it was starting 
 to remove into the interior, in accordance with the orders of 
 the Dutch governor who had commanded obedience on pain 
 of death. 
 
 AVhile the seizure of the oxen, and presumed arrival at the 
 appointed rendezvous were exhilarating the captors, their 
 joy was converted into despondency by the information 
 obtained from the drivers that the guide had mistaken the 
 road, and that thirteen miles were to be retraced before the 
 right track could be recovered. 
 
 The infantry already wearied by a long march after several 
 months' confinement on board ship, proceeded about eight 
 miles to the rear ; when fatigue and a favourable spot for the 
 indulgence of some repose determined a halt. But in two 
 hours the sun darted his fiery blaze with such power, and the 
 want of water became so urgent, that the troops requested 
 permission to advance towards a house that was perceived in 
 the horizon, in order that they might obtain water to slake 
 their thirst. 
 
 After six miles' march they reached the station ; but there
 
 384 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. • App. 9. 
 
 suffered painful restraint, while an insufficient quantity of 
 black and putrid water was being served out to them. 
 
 This station proved to be five miles from the original 
 landing place at Saldanha, but in the direct road for Tea 
 Fonteyn on which the detachment had been ordered to 
 move. 
 
 Before the detachment had reached the house the com- 
 manding officer* and another officer had gone forward to 
 reconnoitre, and upon their approach two armed men had 
 galloped away from the premises. They were not fired at 
 as they might have been ; for it was an object not to ex- 
 asperate the inhabitants of the colony and di.spo.se to a jealousy 
 which would co-operate with the governor in its defence. 
 
 The men who thus escaped proved to be officers of the 
 government, carrying orders to evacuate the district. 
 
 Xo further time could be lost without great prejudice to the 
 service. 
 
 The light infantry on being made acquainted with the 
 necessity of an immediate advance volunteered at once to go 
 forward, and the whole body of infantry became equally 
 eager ; but it was judged more expedient to oppose this wish, 
 and prescribe rest till evening for all but the cavalry and 
 light infantry. 
 
 After a most distressing march of eight miles in loose sand 
 and excessive heat some cultivated land was discovered: 
 and arrangements having been made to conceal as much as 
 possible the advance of the party, a little after dark possession 
 was taken of a large kraal where several hundred head of 
 cattle were penned, amidst the cries of the terrified Hotten- 
 tots who rushed out from the neighbouring huts. 
 
 This was a valuable acquisition ; and a proportion of the cattle 
 were immediately sent back to Saldanha. But still Tea Fonteyn 
 was distant eight miles, and the possession of that station was of 
 the most vital consequence to the expedition. The infantry 
 were too much exhausted to move; they were therefore left at 
 Eland Fonteyn, which this post proved to be, with orders to 
 advance when their comrades left behind at the first wells 
 
 * Sir R. Wilson. See page 294.— Eh.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 385 
 
 had come up to relieve them. The cavalry moved on to 
 Tea Fonteyn, where they arrived soon after midnight, and had 
 the good fortune to surprise the whole establishment : here 
 they found provisions in abundance, some horses, and an 
 ample supply of cattle. 
 
 In the middle of the next night General Beresford, with 
 Colonel Vassal, a part of the 38th Eegiment, and the light 
 infantry detachment left at Eland Fonteyn and which had 
 again lost its way, arrived and found refreshment ready 
 provided. 
 
 The next day the remainder of the infantry arrived ; and 
 also the dismounted dragoons of the 20th Eegiment, who had 
 suffered most severely from such a march in boots and cloth 
 overalls, with saddles and kits on then backs. 
 
 General Beresford had on the morning after his advanced 
 guard had landed, received advice of the army having effected 
 a disembarkation at Blueberg : he therefore resolved to effect 
 a junction without any delay ; but although forced marches 
 were made, the general could only arrive with the mounted 
 detachment just at the moment the troops were drawing out 
 to take possession of Cape Town by capitulation, after the 
 action at Blueberg.* 
 
 On the evening of the 5th the English fleet, after a voyage 
 of four months, in which the Britannia Indiaman and the 
 King George transport had been lost on the Boccas, off the 
 
 * From Tea Fonteyn to Groene kloof, twenty-four miles, hard road, little 
 water en route ; between the road and the sea were sand downs covered with 
 strong, high, nutritious pasturage for cattle. Groene kloof is a pass over a 
 ridge of lofty mountains extending from the sea to Roode sandhills and 
 at right angles to them : ascent gradual for three miles. At the base on 
 the Cape Town side is a large government house ; and a fann where 
 Spanish merino sheep are kept, and from Avhence the first ram of that 
 breed was imported into New South Wales. The proprietor is a great 
 agriculturist on English principles and a benefactor to the colony. 
 
 Groene kloof to Brach Fonteyn, nine miles, through a heavy sand without 
 water. In the neighbourhood of Brach Fonteyn are several good farms and 
 pleasant country. Brach Fonteyn to Blueberg, eight miles; Blueberg to 
 Riet Valley, sis miles; Riet Valley to Craig's Tower, the extreme out- 
 work of Cape Town erected to command the ford over Salt Stream, ten 
 miles. Total, fifty-seven miles. — R. W.
 
 386 CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 coast of America, arrived in Table Bay and anchored off 
 llobben Island. 
 
 The Narcissus frigate which had been detached to St. 
 Helena, and which was expected to be met with off the Cape, 
 was not in sight : but information was obtained of the force of 
 the enemy ; and it was known that an attack was expected, by 
 the arrival of the Espoir gun-brig which had been sent 
 forward from St. Salvador, where the fleet had remained some 
 days on its passage. 
 
 The chief engineer who was on board the Espoir had 
 reconnoitred the coast ; and had procured his intelligence from 
 a neutral which had just sailed out of Table Bay. 
 
 Orders were issued for the 38th, 83rd, 59th and mounted 
 dragoons to effect a landing the ensuing morning, at day- 
 break, in a small bay formed by some rocks, and sufficiently 
 wide at the entrance for the advance of two boats in a 
 line. 
 
 The Espoir was anchored a quarter of a mile off, and the 
 boats were directed to rendezvous around her : but as many 
 of them had to row ten miles, five hundred men were not 
 assembled before eight o'clock a.m. 
 
 This unexpected delay deranged the proposed operation : 
 for it was found that the sea-breeze had occasioned too high a 
 surf to allow of debarkation that morning. 
 
 It was also clearly perceived from the deck of the Espoir 
 that a body of the enemy, with artillery, was posted on the 
 lofty hill of deep sand that rose gradually from the shore ; 
 the summit of which was not musket-shot from the beach. 
 
 The enterprise was therefore necessarily abandoned lor the 
 day ; and the disappointed troops were ordered to return to 
 their si dps. 
 
 The same evening it was determined that General Beresford 
 should proceed with the advanced guard to Saldanha, and it 
 was arranged that the whole expedition should follow the 
 next day: but after the departure of General Beresford's 
 detachment the wind lulled ; and the sea became so calm that 
 another attempt was resolved upon in the morning in a small 
 boat bay on the eastern side of Blueberg, where the 
 ground was far more favourable than the point of debarkation
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 387 
 
 originally proposed, for the troops, after landing, to acquire 
 and preserve a position. 
 
 General Ferguson's brigade was ordered to land. That 
 officer proceeded to examine the state of the surf, as doubts of 
 the practicability of the landing were still entertained : but 
 when he gave the appointed signal the boats started forward, 
 and forcing through the surge which upset only one boat, 
 their prows were fixed on the beach. 
 
 The enemy had not expected debarkation at this point ; or 
 indeed anywhere on this part of the coast, after the preceding- 
 attempt had been baffled, and after the departure of the 
 detachment of the fleet towards Saldanha ; for this had 
 been distinctly seen, and had confirmed their error. The only 
 resistance experienced by the landing troops was therefore 
 made by a feeble picket. 
 
 The whole of the day was employed in landing the re- 
 mainder of the army, their guns, provisions, water, and stores. 
 This an increasing surf rendered a very difficult service ; and 
 in the execution of it Sir Home Popham and Captain King 
 narrowly escaped perishing. 
 
 The moment selected for debarkation had been extra- 
 ordinarily favourable : for the weather at the same season had 
 heretofore been considered a security for the colony against 
 such an enterprise at this point ; and for several days after- 
 wards the landing on the line of shore from Saldanha to 
 Cape Town would have been impracticable. 
 
 Early on the subsequent morning the army,* about four 
 thousand strong exclusive of the marine battalion and 
 sailors, moved forwards. 
 
 The heights of Blueberg defended the main approach to 
 Cape Town : but these heights, terminating upon sandhills 
 near the coast, left a pass open on the left flank. 
 
 The 59th Kegiment was directed to move through the 
 sandhills, while the main body ascended Blueberg ; where it 
 was presumed the enemy would be posted if they intended to 
 hazard an action. The English however mounted the 
 
 * The regiments disembarked in Lospard's Bay were the 24th, 59th, 71st, 
 72nd, 83rd, and 93rd.— London Gazette, February 28th, 1806.— Ed.
 
 388 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 heights without opposition ; and to their surprise saw the 
 enemy drawing up in the plains below them in order of 
 battle. As the English crowned the heights they were 
 saluted with three huzzas and a continued discharge from 
 thirty pieces of cannon. 
 
 The British line without any hesitation descended. When 
 sufficiently near to attack, General Ferguson Avas ordered to 
 charge with his brigade. The compliment of three huzzas 
 was returned to the enemy ; who gave way as the battalions 
 rushed forward, leaving several guns in the possession of the 
 assailants, and about five hundred men killed and woimded. 
 
 Had the mounted cavalry not been detached with General 
 Beresforcl, in all probability the whole of the artillery would 
 at that moment have been captured. 
 
 The 57th and the 24th experienced some resistance, but 
 drove all before them with almost uninterrupted progressive 
 movement. 
 
 The enemy were no sooner routed than great anxiety was 
 occasioned by want of water. The heat of the sun and its 
 reflection from a white sand, the depth of the sand, the ex- 
 ertion of the onset, and the veiy apprehension of the inability 
 to slake thirst, occasioned great distress. The soldiers dropped 
 fast ; and several sailors died at the guns they had been drag- 
 ging through a soil, over which it was supposed by the enemy 
 to be impossible that cannon could be brought by the mere 
 exertion of men. 
 
 After some search a small pool was found, and the com- 
 mander-in-chief himself superintended the distribution of its 
 precious treasure. 
 
 The fainting troops being revived, the army moved on to 
 Riet Valley where a partial disembarkation had been effected 
 to alarm the rear of the enemy ; and there an ample supply 
 of water was obtained. 
 
 General Janssen retired with his broken force to gain 
 the kloof of Hottentot Holland, after detaching the remains 
 of the French marine battalion, whose conduct had been 
 conspicuously gallant and loss great, to Hout's Bay, with 
 orders U > assist in the defence of the town ; and after dis- 
 banding in the field the Waldeck battalion, with the exception
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 389 
 
 of the light infantry company whose conduct had gained and 
 merited his approbation. 
 
 That the Waldeckers did not act with great zeal may be 
 true. And it was natural, considering that the greater part of 
 the battalion was composed of Austrian and Hungarian 
 prisoners sold to the Dutch. But there was no truth in the 
 charge made against them, that there was a previous arrange- 
 ment between them and the invaders which pledged their 
 defection in the field. 
 
 They esteemed the Governor-general Janssen, but they 
 felt no interest in the defence of the colony. On the contrary 
 the Cape had appeared to them an intolerable place of 
 banishment ; and in one month thirty-nine individuals, 
 including several officers, had put a period to their own lives. 
 One of them, a young man of the greatest promise, had thus 
 perished only three days before the arrival of the English. 
 
 Many of the Waldeckers indeed, it is true, enlisted after- 
 wards in the British corps. But their frequent desertions 
 proved that they were actuated by no other motive than a 
 desire to relieve themselves from the inconveniences attending 
 a confinement in the Amsterdam battery. And the com- 
 mander-in-chief found himself obliged eventually to order the 
 execution of three men, that a check might be opposed to a 
 systematic desertion threatening the loss of every man who 
 had enlisted : an execution that under all the circumstances 
 was one of the most painful ever witnessed. 
 
 General Janssen has been condemned for hazarding a battle 
 in an open country with a motley force of three thousand men, 
 however well provided with artillery : but he thought that 
 the honour of his country demanded the experiment, and he 
 flattered himself that fortune might favour the counsel. He 
 also entertained a hope that the British armament was com- 
 posed of recruits for India and boy regiments, instead of 
 battalions of mature, and in some instances veteran, com- 
 position. 
 
 Nor was the anticipation of a fortunate opportunity for the 
 achievement of victory during the conflict, altogether chimeri- 
 cal. For if the three hundred burgher cavalry, and the one 
 hundred and fifty regular Dutch cavalry moving with the
 
 390 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 guns, bad seized the moment when the British lino was 
 charging, to wheel in upon its exposed flank, the issue of 
 the day would probably at all events not have been so 
 decisive ; and any check to infantry in their state might have 
 been very fatal. 
 
 Even after the infantry had retired the cavalry might have 
 disputed some of the laurels of the victors. 
 
 General Janssen was also unfortunate in not having reached 
 the heights of Blueberg in time to crown them as he intended. 
 Surprised on his march by the sudden appearance of the 
 English on the crest of the heights, he had not time to make 
 a suitable disposition of his force. 
 
 There were indeed more favourable fields of battle than 
 Blueberg ; if the character of the ground alone was to be con- 
 sidered in the selection of position. But in Africa the tac- 
 tician must regulate his art by the facilities which the locality 
 affords for the supply of water: and tins supply was to be 
 obtained in the neighbourhood of Blueberg, or the British 
 army would have perished.* 
 
 When General Janssen had retired to Hottentot Holland's 
 kloof, the inhabitants of Cape Town, aware of the fruitless- 
 ness of resistance and apprehensive of an assanlt, determined 
 to surrender ; and General Ferguson arranged the terms of 
 capitulation. The town was quietly occupied and the 
 inhabitants crowded forward to see the entering army. Con- 
 siderable public property was found in the stores, and a large 
 sum of money in the treasury; notwithstanding that the 
 government of the mother country had never been called 
 upon to defray any of the expenses of the colony. But the 
 captors felt considerable dissatisfaction on discovering that 
 several merchant vessels, richly laden, had been sunk ; after 
 the retreat of General Janssen, and when the inhabitants 
 had agreed to oppose no further resistance, but to trust to the 
 clemency and liberality of the invaders. 
 
 The burning of the batteiy of seventy-four guns by order 
 of General Janssen on his retreat, Mas an act of a different 
 character, and therefore excited only regret. 
 
 * A melon field is supposed to have saved a great portion of the French 
 army in Egypt, moving from Alexandria to Kosetta.— K. W.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 301 
 
 The next morning the French detachment which had 
 passed from Hout Bay round Table Land and entered the 
 Cape Town during the night unperceived, (executing a march 
 that had been presumed to be impracticable,) surrendered 
 voluntarily at the British head-quarters. 
 
 General Ferguson, who had been detached with his brigade 
 to Weinberg, took some prisoners at a neighbouring post : and 
 General Beresford, with the 59th Regiment and another corps, 
 marched on to Stellenbosch. A force was also despatched by 
 sea to Algoa Bay to cut off the retreat of General Janssen 
 from Caffre-land, on which he threatened to retire. 
 
 The cavalry was mounted by requisition on the best* horses 
 of the country and sent to Stellenbosch. 
 
 Various marches and countermarches towards Roode Sand 
 pass were afterwards made ; but the final surrender of Gene- 
 ral Janssen prevented a campaign that j>romised to be most 
 harassing and protracted. 
 
 General Janssen stated that the desertion of his troops 
 and motives of humanity influenced him to relinquish his 
 intention of withdrawing further into the interior, and carry- 
 ing on a desultory and savage warfare with the aid of the 
 Caffres. 
 
 Had the general persisted he might have gained some 
 advantage by fatiguing his enemy and disturbing their 
 arrangement. But he would have ruined a colony where he 
 ' was universally esteemed : nor could his country have required 
 desperate perseverance, entailing such calamity on the inof- 
 fensive population. 
 
 The remaining force of General Janssen under his own 
 orders, and consisting of about twelve hundred men, descended 
 the kloof ; and under the escort of the British cavalry marched 
 to a camp near Rondebosch, where then cannon, arms, and 
 horses were delivered up to the English. 
 
 General Janssen returned to the government house where 
 his family had resided during his absence, and remained some 
 
 * The inhabitants are particularly partial to long tails. The cavalry 
 commanding officer having docked all the horses, the owners allowed the 
 cavalry to retain them at a valuation : a proposal which otherwise would 
 not have been complied with except on most exorbitant terms. — R. W.
 
 392 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 time. The Dutch officers were quartered in the town till 
 their embarkation, which took place in about a month : and 
 no incident occurred to interrupt the cordiality, on the faith 
 of which these arrangements were made. 
 
 The capture of the Volontaire frigate which, ignorant 
 of the place being in possession of the British, had run into 
 Table Bay, put the commander-in-chief and the commodore 
 in possession of information, which inclined them to believe 
 that an attack would be made by the squadron of Admiral 
 Villaumez then at sea. 
 
 Preparations were made for defence : and the Dutch and 
 French troops wdnch had surrendered, were then embarked 
 and sent to Europe. 
 
 In consideration of the handsome treatment of the Eng- 
 lish found on board two transports taken by the Volontaire 
 on their passage from Gibraltar, by the officers of that 
 frigate, they were not detained as prisoners : and a ship navi- 
 gated by their own sailors was granted them for the voyage 
 to France. 
 
 Admiral Yillaumez, in whose squadron was a ship of the 
 line commanded by Jerome Buonaparte, having obtained 
 intelligence that the Cape was already in the hands of the 
 British, and being in need of water, abandoned the projected 
 enterprise : and in consequence, the supernumerary troops at 
 the Cape which had been detained, were sent forward to India. 
 
 I have made no attempt to describe the country over the 
 mountains ; as Barrow has very accurately delineated the most 
 interesting features and scenery. 
 
 In general it presents as far as Swellendam a sandy naked 
 surface, on which a few farm-houses are seen at great inter- 
 vening distances. At Plattenburg Bay there is a rich forest 
 sceneiy ; and at Algoa Bay a military post to command the 
 coast and watch the Caffres, whose territoiy borders upon the 
 Great Fish River. 
 
 The colony of the Cape occupies a space of 157,656 square 
 miles. This tract is inhabited by thirty thousand whites : but 
 as five thousand of these reside in Cape Town, each white 
 individual may be said to have seven square miles allotted for 
 his maintenance.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 393 
 
 This immense dispersion of the white inhabitants is ex- 
 tremely prejudicial to the prosperity of the colony and the 
 supply of Cape Town ; for the remote farmers can only reach 
 the capital with their produce once or twice a year. They 
 then come in waggons drawn by eight, ten, or more oxen, to 
 sell butter, wood, tallow, cheese, &c. : the whole of which, 
 however, does not exceed in value 61. sterling. This they 
 spend in the purchase of European commodities. 
 
 The rains which fall in the winter render these journeys 
 very perilous, as the streams swell into formidable rivers ; 
 and the impatience of the travellers to pass through them in 
 spite of the remonstrance of the drivers, is often the occasion 
 of many lives being lost. 
 
 The African farmer has been harshly described by some 
 writers. But although his habits may be indolent, and although 
 his mind may be uncultivated, he is always a hospitable, disin- 
 terested and cheerful landlord. And certainly lie is a patron of 
 the eighth virtue, domestic cleanliness ; for the same neatness 
 prevails in his house, whether the floor be brick, or only plas- 
 tered with the dry manure of cattle, as distinguishes the 
 houses of the Dutch families in Europe. 
 
 Few garrisons offer in time of peace a more agreeable 
 residence for those who do not concern themselves about the 
 European world. A handsome town, pleasing women, 
 hospitable society, good and cheap living, are indisputable 
 attractions : and here they are to be found. The sportsman 
 may also amuse himself all the year round by the chase of 
 every species of game ; from the partridge, to the pelican and 
 the ostrich ; from the hare, to the wolf, the tiger, the lion, the 
 hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, and the elephant. 
 
 The traveller may visit the Caffres, and see the finest- 
 grown people perhaps on the whole globe, and then contrast 
 the Bushmen.* If he has enterprise he may immortalize 
 his name in a new field, by an endeavour to penetrate from 
 Caffre-land to Morocco or Nubia ; bearing in mind that the 
 giraffe, presumed to be a native of the district near the Cape, 
 
 * The Bushmen are in stature four feet six inches ; the women, four 
 feet four inches : they live chiefly on bats, locusts, and roots. — R. W.
 
 394 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 lias preceded him in these tracts, to attend the triumphal 
 march of a Roman conqueror through the streets of 
 Rome. 
 
 The soldier, it is to .be hoped, will have no opportunity to 
 display his geuius or practise the art of his profession in 
 internal war. For the duty of a governor of this colony ought 
 to be confined to the less ostentatious but more solid glory of 
 promoting the welfare and happiness of the population of all 
 colours, castes, and nations, under his authority or within the 
 sphere of Ids influence. 
 
 Whether it is advantageous to England to maintain the 
 polony is a question that has long divided public opinion. At 
 the conclusion of the late war one party contended that the 
 colony was too expensive to be kept ; but on the other hand 
 an ex-minister affirmed in the most emphatic terms, that the 
 cession would be most injurious to the interests of the British 
 empire in the East. The East India Company, which at one 
 moment expressed indifference on the subject, seemed latterly 
 to be persuaded of the importance of the Cape ; and therefore 
 aided with considerable means the late expedition, which has 
 once more placed the Cape under the rule of the British 
 government. 
 
 There can be no doubt that colonies are really valuable 
 to the mother country when they augment the public 
 revenue and assist the common security of her possessions. If 
 maintained only as fiefs for dominion or patronage they are 
 most prejudicial appendages : and the sooner they are relin- 
 quished the better for all parties. 
 
 The commerce of the Cape is at present confined to 
 imports ; and such is the interior condition of the colony that 
 it can furnish for some years nothing, with the exception of a 
 little wine, but a few hides for export. It would however but 
 be just to extend the view over a quarter of a century, and 
 consider whether any nucleus at present exists giving reason- 
 able hope of a more profitable traffic at that period. 
 
 Com, wine, brandy, tobacco, hides, wool, whalebone, and 
 oil, are the articles on which a Cape patriot speculates as the 
 source of future prosperity. These he insists will repay 
 eventually the immediate fostering care of the mother
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 395 
 
 country. The Spanish sheep are said to have found a con- 
 genial climate and pasturage at the Cape. The specimens 
 sent to Europe are pronounced to be only in a third degree of 
 bastardy : and an annual improvement encourages the hope 
 and presumption that in a few years they will attain the per- 
 fection of the parent stock. 
 
 This branch of commerce is indisputably important ; but it 
 is of less consequence since it has been found that the Spanish 
 sheep have been acclimatised, even with more success, in New 
 Holland. Moreover the experiment has yet to be tried 
 whether a cargo can pass the line and reach Europe, without 
 such injury to the article that the portion preserved will 
 become necessarily too costly for the British markets. 
 
 The article of corn is the next item for consideration. It 
 has already been stated that the colony comprehends 157,656 
 square miles, large portions of which are too mountainous for 
 cultivation. But the greater part consists of a level sandy soil ; 
 covered with a strong pasture, and capable, after a couple of 
 years fallowing, of producing corn yielding from fifteen to 
 twenty fold, where water can be procured for the supply of 
 men and cattle. 
 
 At present the extreme produce of the colony is twenty 
 thousand mauds of grain : a quantity so insufficient that, not- 
 withstanding a restriction on consumption and the annual 
 importation of nearly a million pounds of rice, still since the 
 year 1801 there has been a continual alarming scarcity : and 
 since the last crop supplies have been required from every 
 quarter of the world. 
 
 It is possible that more corn may be grown : but it must 
 also be remembered that population is on the increase ; for in 
 the year 171)8 there were only 21,300 whites, 25,754 slaves, 
 and 14,883 Hottentots, whereas in the year 1804 there were 
 25,757 whites, 29,543 slaves, and 20,006 Hottentots ; making 
 a difference between the years 1798 and 1804 of 13,361 souls. 
 Since that period the demand for corn has been increased by 
 European military and naval establishments ; and there has 
 been a considerable augmentation of the number of horses for 
 the use of the cavalry and of private individuals. 
 
 Lands are not brought very rapidly into cultivation where 
 
 VOL. I. 2d
 
 396 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. App. 9. 
 
 labour is very dear, where water is very scarce, where wood * 
 must be procured from great distances, where all the materials 
 for building- are very expensive, where the implements of 
 husbandly are not readily obtained, where agricultural im- 
 provements are resisted by prejudice, where the purchase of 
 slaves requires considerable capital, and where slaves are 
 necessary so long as the odious slave system is tolerated by 
 the government. 
 
 Tobacco is grown in great quantities in some parts of the 
 colony near the Berg Eiver ; but the American tobacco has 
 the preference in the European markets. 
 
 The whale fishery has been commenced in Table Bay with 
 some promise of success to the adventurers ; but not to an 
 extent that offers a probability of any veiy large advantage to 
 the colony. 
 
 Export of brandy has been trivial hitherto ; and the quality 
 is not such as to ensure its being in much request. 
 
 The Cape wine (Constantia) in use in Europe, is a species 
 of liqueur of winch the growth is very limited. The dry wines 
 are not likely to find a large sale there for reasons already 
 given ; namely, that all of them have a sulphureous taste ; 
 and that the common wines are veiy pernicious, as the sol- 
 diery here found even without accompanying inebriety. 
 
 The inhabitants are not rich enough to improve the 
 revenue of the mother country considerably by demand for 
 European produce. Coarse linens t are required for the slaves ; 
 some broadcloth, cutlery and furniture may also be in request: 
 but exclusively of the wants of the garrison, the whole supply 
 needed would probably not exceed the consumption of one of 
 the smallest towns in England. In fact, unless the greatest 
 economy is exercised in the administration of the colony, the 
 Cape will probably become a serious drain upon the resources 
 of England ; and the people of England must from their taxes, 
 and consequently from the produce of their own industry, 
 support their African establishment. 
 
 The financial calculations or speculations are certainly not 
 
 * One thousand slaves arc employed daily at the Cape to obtain it. — 
 P. W. 
 
 t The slaves and children are chiefly clothed in leather. — B. \V.
 
 App. 9. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 397 
 
 in favour of the Cape as a colony ; and its value as a military 
 and naval station has been much exaggerated. 
 
 Since navigation has improved so much, ships proceed at 
 once to India without being under the necessity of touching 
 at the Cape or any other port for refreshment ; even though 
 conveying troops : and there is reason to believe that a 
 debarkation of troops there in order to prepare them for the 
 climate of India is an unprofitable speculation, on account 
 of the mortality occasioned by the quality and cheapness of 
 the wine, from which they cannot refrain. 
 
 Again, Simon's Bay and Table Bay cannot be made defensible 
 against a superior fleet : so that England might at any time, at 
 least so long as she commands the dominion of the sea, which 
 ascendancy will probably be maintained by her for many 
 years, destroy all armaments fitted out at the Cape (supposing 
 it to be occupied by a hostile power) without the intermediate 
 expense of establishments in this colony. On the other hand, 
 if she maintained the Cape and not the superiority at sea, she 
 would derive no advantage from the settlement in the conduct 
 of her intercourse with India. 
 
 To keep a great garrison at the Cape would be a superfluous 
 expense. Cape Town cannot be defended against an invading 
 superior force. The present line of fortifications requires 
 four thousand men ; and is still insecure, for it may be stormed 
 or turned. 
 
 Instead of lines requiring such a garrison, it would be more 
 advisable to destroy them and to erect several martello towers : 
 with the left of the new line resting upon a work to be 
 constructed near the Salt River, and with the right 
 thrown forward to the point of the mountain which would 
 terminate the semicircle ; in the centre of which mountain 
 line a fort is already built. 
 
 A second line might be formed from the castle, with the 
 right flank thrown upon the mountain where York's Tower 
 now stands. 
 
 Fourteen martello towers would sufficiently cover the whole 
 space ; and the garrison need not exceed eight hundred men, 
 part of which might be formed of the burgher guard. 
 
 If moreover there were a corps in the field of one thousand 
 Hottentots, five hundred British horse, and some artillery, an
 
 398 CAPE OF GOOD FIOPB. Arp. 9. 
 
 invading enemy would, when lie had taken Cape Town, have to 
 depend entirely on his shipping for subsistence ; since such a 
 living corps would, if properly commanded and aided by the 
 inhabitants of the colony, intercept all supplies, and be able 
 for a loug time, as it were to seal Cape Town hermetically on 
 the laud side.* 
 
 There is a question however whether the British can ever 
 induce the Dutch descendants in the colony to adopt the 
 English cause to the prejudice of Holland. Hitherto there is 
 no symptom of abated affection for the mother country. 
 
 Some projects have been brought under discussion for 
 the formation of new establishments on the shores of one 
 of the eight rivers which flow into the sea on the southern 
 coast : but they all have bars of sand at the entrance, which 
 render navigation from the ocean impracticable. At the 
 mouth of the Knysna alone it is said that at low tide two 
 or three feet of water may always be relied on, and five or 
 six at high tide : the opening too is about two hundred feet 
 wade. But when it is considered at what great expense 
 settlers must be brought from Europe, the financial advan- 
 tage of an establishment there must be very problematical. 
 
 It was somewhere on this coast, about twenty years ago, 
 that an Indiaman was wrecked. The surviving men were 
 murdered by the natives, and the ladies who were passengers 
 saved by them. Two of them were found to be living not 
 long since. Communication was opened with them, and 
 an offer made for their return to England ; but they declined 
 to accept it, stating that they had married, and that their 
 return to Europe must be accompanied with sacrifices of 
 affection and the painful idea of being subject to constant 
 observation and remark. They only requested some Euro- 
 pean articles with which they might present their husbands 
 as tokens of then- attachment. 
 
 * A work might be erected with advantage iu Gordon's Bay, as com- 
 munication could be kept with it. — J!. \V. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : PRINTED HY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STA.MFOltD STREET AND (DARING CROSS.
 
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