Hag
& ' : '
Library
of the
University of Toronto
ft.
>fc
MEMOIRS
OF
ADMIRAL SIR SIDNEY SMITH,
K. C. B., &c.
BY
THE AUTHOR OF " RATTLIN THE REEFER," &c.
IN T\VO VOLUMES,
VOL, I.
LONDON :
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
in rtmtarg to p?er
1839.
LONDON:
1BOTKON AM> PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY RTREKT, STRAND.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory Remarks The chivalric character of Sir Sid-
ney Smith briefly noticed A succinct account of his
family An anecdote indicative of his future charac-
ter . . . . . Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Sir Sidney's first entrance into the Navy Some reflections
on the early appointments of that period- His various
juvenile services until he was made Post Captain . 16
CHAPTER III.
Sir Sidney enters the Swedish service The Battle of the
Galleys The Battle ofthe 9th and 10th of June Anec-
dote of Captain Dennison Some reflections on British
officers serving foreign powers . . .24
IV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Enters the Turkish service Fits out a man-of-war at bis
own risk Gets a reinforcement of seamen at Smyrna
Joins Lord Hood at Toulon Some account of the transac-
tions at that place . . . .41
CHAPTER V.
Some account of* the situation of the British and allied forces
holding Toulon The attacks of the French Misconduct
of the Allies General O'Hara made prisoner Bonaparte's
account of the transaction It is resolved to evacuate
Toulon . . . . . .52
CHAPTER VI.
Sir Sidney Smith proceeds on his perilous service Fires the
arsenals The misconduct, or the treachery, of the
Spaniards Explosion of the powder-ships He re-em-
barks safely His despatch . . . .61
CHAPTER VII.
Appointed to the Diamond His services on the Channel
station Attacks two French ships under La Hogue De-
stroys a French corvette Attacks a French squadron
which had taken shelter in the Port of Herqui . 82
CHAPTER VIII.
Sir Sidney Smith's personal appearance at this time Cuts
out a French lugger near Havre Is drifted with his
prize up the Seine With his party is captured Specu-
lations of the French upon his conduct . .100
CONTENTS. V
CHAPTER IX.
Sir Sidney Smith badly treated as a prisoner of war Re-
moved to Paris, to the prison called the Abbaye Placed
under unwarrantable restrictions Opens a communication
with some ladies to aid his escape . 108
CHAPTER X.
Another attempt to escape made by boring The general
disaffection to the Directorial Government of France
The failure of the attempt to escape The urbanity of the
jailer of the Temple Anecdotes concerning him . 118
CHAPTER XL
The renewed rigour of Sir Sidney's confinement M. T.'s
exchange effected The successful plan of escape devised
Is put in execution Sir Sidney proceeds to Rouen
Arrives safely in London His reception by his sovereign
and his countrymen .... 125
CHAPTER XII.
Sir Sidney appointed to the command of the Tigre Made
joint Plenipotentiary to the Turkish Court Arrives at
Constantinople His appointment gives umbrage to Earl
St. Vincent . ... 139
CHAPTER XIII.
Preparations for the defence of Acre Mention of Captain
Wright Anecdote of the King of Sweden's diamond
ring The French move towards Acre Lose their bat-
tering-train . . . .153
VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
The French make great progress in their approaches The
Turks are defeated in a sortie Anecdote of Junot and
Kleber The French gain the outer tower of Acre Sir
Sidney Smith's despatch to Lord Nelson . ,.169
CHAPTER XV.
Sir Sidney's second despatch Describes the progress and
the termination of the siege The French retreat in dis-
order The conduct of Bonaparte Testimonials at home
to the distinguished services of Sir Sidney Smith . 187
CHAPTER XVI.
Bonaparte's assumption of Mahometanism His victory over
the Turks His flight from Egypt Successes of the
English and their Allies Kleber's proposition to evacuate
Egypt The Convention of El- Arisch . .211
CHAPTER XVII.
The conduct of Sir Sidney Smith considered respecting his
concurrence with the convention of El- Arisch Parliamen-
tary proceedings upon it Short speech of his late Ma-
jesty William IV. . . . .261
CHAPTER XVIII.
Sir Sidney Smith's personal appearance at this time His
humanity to his crews The English government sends
reinforcements to Egypt The state of the country
English land at Aboukir Bay Battle of Alexandria-
Death of Sir Ralph Abercromby . . .277
CONTENTS. VH
CHAPTER XIX.
Cursory sketch of the termination of the Egyptian cam-
paign Sir Sidney feted by the Capitan Pasha Anecdote
of another similar honour Bonaparte's impiety Sir Sid-
ney returns to England with despatches Civic ho-
nours ...... 298
CHAPTER XX.
Sir Sidney Smith returned member of parliament for Ro-
chester His speech in the House of Commons, and at
the anniversary of the Naval Institution His appointment
in the Antelope to the command of a squadron His ser-
vices in that command . . . 308
CHAPTER XXI.
The Court of Naples violates its treaty of neutrality with the
French Naples overrun by them Sir Sidney Smith pro-
ceeds to annoy them Relieves Gaeta Takes Capri His
despatch ...... 827
CHAPTER XXII.
Further operations for the recovery of Naples Their inu-
tility Sir Sidney Smith receives the acknowledgments
of their Sicilian Majesties Remarks on naval appoint-
ments ...... 342
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Princess of Wales's vindication against the charges af-
fecting her and Sir Sidney Smith . . . 366
MEMOIRS,
CHAPTER I.
Introductory Remarks The chivalric character of Sir Sid-
ney Smith briefly noticed A succinct account of his
family An anecdote indicative of his future character.
IT has always been the heaviest calamity attendant
upon mankind, that war has supplied the world
with its great men and its heroes. History has
afforded us a record of ten conquerors, and men
strong in battle, for one just and good man.
Such is our natural depravity, that the same
remark may be applied, up to the recorded ad-
vent of our Saviour, to the Holy Scriptures them-
selves. It is true that Christianity has pointed
out to us other and better glories than those
VOL. I. B
2 MEMOIRS OF
obtained by the waste of human blood, and the
woe and wail of war. But this God-born revela-
tion has been too often heard only to be scoffed
at and disregarded. Still worse, it has many
times been made the plea for slaughter and the
defence of atrocities, in unlimited murder, the
most revolting. Men have ever looked upon
carnage as the royal road and the short cut to
glory.
This being the case, it necessarily follows that
the pursuits of war will hold out the most tempta-
tion to the ambitious and those conscious of much
talent. The competition for military pre-emi-
nence will always be great, and those who may
be so fortunate as to obtain that pre-eminence
must consequently be found to possess some great
superiority over the rest of those who are striving
in the same race, though this superiority seldom
amounts to real greatness, even in the false
worldly sense, in the true, philosophical, and
Christian, scarcely ever.
Let it not be thought that we undervalue the
great natural talents and the high and extensive
acquirements that are necessary to form the suc-
cessful and accomplished commander. They
certainly are of the broad, the open, and the pal-
pable order. Though they are not veiled in the
highest heaven of philosophic contemplation, or
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. O
require to be brought from the deepest mines of
thought and mental abstraction, yet must they be
of that sound, sterling, and well- working nature
that a strong mind alone can master a clear one
employ them. We detest war yet, with the
general feeling, we admire the warrior.
We have commenced with this somewhat de-
precatory introduction, lest hereafter, being car-
ried away by our admiration of the military
character of the subject of these Memoirs, we
should be thought, in our enthusiasm, to wish to
place him in a rank too elevated among those
who have achieved for themselves the title of
" Great." All our panegyric must be listened to
with a reference to classes of greatness far beyond
the reach of the mere warrior.
And, beyond the laurels of the mere warrior,
Sir Sidney Smith has won for himself a meed of
which no vast desolator or wholesale conqueror
can boast. With the prominent heroes, of what-
ever time, ancient or modern, a well-regulated
mind hardly can be brought to sympathise. We
admire and shudder. We look upon them as
sublime calamities. These fiery scourges in the
hands of Providence seem to be so far above or
beyond our human affinities, that we can barely
entertain with them one feeling in unison. Were
they, or any one of them, living, and within
B 2
4 MEMOIRS OF
the reach of our every-day communion, were it
not for the impulse of vanity, we should never
think of offering them our friendship, exposing
to them our amiable weaknesses, or of seeking
from them an interchange of familiar thoughts.
Of their countenance we might be proud, and
their approbation we might covet, but of their
affection we should never dream.
With this class, neither in the multitude of his
victories, nor in vastness of any one conquest,
can Sir Sidney Smith be associated. But a
higher degree of praise, a more lofty because a
better honour, is due to him. In his person,
though he has not revived the age of chivalry,
he has shown what is the real splendour of the
chivalric character. All his public actions seem
to have been less the offspring of mere military
calculation and naval science, than of the intui-
tion of the most romantic courage and the high-
est moral feeling, always controlled by a pru-
dence and intrepidity that no danger, however
sudden, could surprise, and no difficulty, however
menacing, vanquish. That such is the principal
feature of his character the following pages will
fully exemplify.
The prepossession in favour of good blood
should not be regarded as a prejudice. We
should not deny to the human what is conceded
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 5
to the other animal races. This is less a moral
than a mere physical question, though the results
are most conspicuously and hest shown in moral
action. Revelation teaches us, and we devoutly
conform to the lesson, that, in the eye of the
Omnipotent, all men are equal. This is in a
religious sense. But we know that, in a worldly
view, not only are all men the one differing from
the other, but the races of men show a distinction
still more marked. William Sidney Smith pos-
sesses the advantage of good blood in a very high
degree.
Sir Sidney Smith is a collateral and no very
remote relative to the late Lord Chief Baron Sir
Sidney Stafford Smithe, and of the SMYTHE Lord
Viscount Strangford. These are descendants from
Customer Smith, who flourished in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. Consequently, the ancient and
genuine orthography of the name is Smythe ;
but as the subject of this biography has always
in his official documents spelt his name SMITH,
and as in that spelling the augmentation to his
family arms has been granted, to it we shall con-
sequently adhere. Unfortunately, we have no
means of ascertaining for what reason or at what
time this orthography was changed. It is of but
small moment in itself, though, to the antiqua-
rian and the genealogist, it may appear of para-
mount importance.
6 MEMOIRS OF
That the change is of some antiquity, is evident
by the following inscription upon a large grave-
stone among the pavement in the nave of the
church of New Shoreham. It is an epitaph to
the memory of Sir Sidney's grandfather, and
runs thus :
Here lieth
The Body of CORNELIUS SMITH,
Who served his King, Country, and Friend.
Faithful and honourable, he was an indulgent Husband,
A kind Father, and friendly to his Acquaintance :
Who died, much lamented, the 28th of October, 1727,
Aged 66 Years."
This Cornelius Smith was the father of Cap-
tain Edward Smith, of the Burford, who was
mortally wounded at the attack of La Guira, Feb.
19th, 1743, and grandfather of General Edward
Smith, colonel of the 43rd Regiment, and
governor of Fort Charles, Jamaica. This gen-
tleman served with the hero Wolfe at the reduc-
tion of Quebec, and died at Bath on the 19th of
January 1809. .
Sir Sidney Smith is a nephew of this General
Smith, and a son of this general's younger bro-
ther. Sir Sidney's father served in the early
part of the war of 1756, as aide-de-camp to the
Right Honourable Lord George Sackville, and
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
afterwards held an office in the royal household.
Sir Sidney's mother was a Miss Mary Wilkinson,
daughter of Pinkney Wilkinson, Esq., a very
opulent merchant.
From the riches of his maternal grandfather
Sir Sidney Smith derived but little benefit, as
his father having married in opposition to the
wishes of Mr. Wilkinson, and for other reasons
that will be afterwards alluded to, the vast pro-
perty left by that gentleman was devised to his
other daughter, Lady Camelford.
There seem to have been great causes of
mutual dissatisfaction between Sir Sidney's father
and maternal grandfather, as, the former having
withdrawn his sons from the protection of the
latter, the old gentleman, some little time previ-
ous to his death, cancelled a codicil to his will, by
which, notwithstanding the little harmony that
subsisted between him and his son-in-law, he had
made some provision for his grandchildren.
By this daughter of Mr. Wilkinson the father
of Sir William Sidney Smith had three sons and
no daughter whatever. The eldest of these sons,
now Colonel Charles Douglas Smith, is still
living, enjoying his well-earned honours and
great affluence, acquired by long and meritorious
services in the East Indies. Colonel Smith first
entered the army in a regiment raised by Lord
8 MEMOIRS OF
Suffield. This gentleman has a son in the Ex-
chequer Office.
The second son, William Sidney Smith, who
was born in Park Lane, Westminster, we be-
lieve towards the close of the year 1764, is the
subject of these Memoirs.
John Spencer Smith, the third and youngest
son, procured the appointment of page to Queen
Charlotte, and so well recommended himself in
that capacity, and so highly were his general
talents appreciated, that he was sent on a mission
of great importance to the court of Wurtemberg.
He afterwards travelled to Constantinople, and
it is confidently believed that he there con-
verted to Christianit}^ and subsequently married,
a Turkish lady of high rank and of great wealth.
As will be seen in the course of these pages, he
was ultimately of the greatest service to Sir
Sidney Smith in all his operations in Egypt,
and as our minister at the Ottoman court pre-
served and increased the good understanding
that then subsisted between a government so fas-
tidious and inconstant and ourselves. He is now
in the enjoyment of a well-earned pension.
We have already briefly adverted to the loss
to William Sidney and his brothers of their fair
proportion of the grandfather's vast fortune.
That this loss has been to them a blessing rather
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 9
than an injury, the success in life of them all,
and the splendid career of one of them, most
fully prove. It appears to us that Sir Sidney's
father was treated rather harshly throughout the
course of these unhappy disagreements. It is a
most invidious task to attach anything approach-
ing to censure on any of the progenitors of this
distinguished family. We will hastily pass over
these occurrences, as they do not appear to have
greatly influenced the fortunes of Sir Sidney
Smith. Let it be sufficient to mention, that the
angry grandfather, owing to some representations
made to him by his daughter, removed his three
sons from under the care and fostering protection
of the father, when they were receiving the first
rudiments of their education under the celebrated
Mr. Knox of Tunbridge, and caused them to
be placed at a boarding-school in Bath, kept
by a Mr. Morgan. That Mr. Wilkinson pos-
sessed the power thus cruelly to divide the
sons from their father, arose out of the circum-
stances of his being able to withhold from his
son-in-law a very great proportion of his not too
abundant income. That he could do this neither
justly nor legally, a verdict of an English jury
subsequently determined : that he did it with
impunity, for some years, is certain.
When William Sidriev Smith was between the
10 MEMOIRS OF
age of eleven and twelve, Captain Smith, no
longer able to bear this unnatural separation, and
his yearning to have them under his own care
and protection, took away, clandestinely we
believe, his three sons from the school at which
they had been placed, to his house at Midgham.
This commendable and parental act was visited
upon him by an attempt to straiten him in his
pecuniary resources. The indignant father ap-
pealed to the laws of his country, and his con-
duct was vindicated by obtaining the costs, and
heavy damages against his persecutors.
We do not lay much stress upon the opinion
that the future man may be indicated by the
predilections of the infant ; indeed, experience,
would rather teach us another doctrine ; but
as many very sensible persons like to reduce
everything to a system, we will, for their satis-
faction, and for the amusement of others, relate
a puerile anecdote that strongly displayed young
Smith's predilection for aquatic exploits ; indeed,
that at that unjudging age he loved them better
than praying a very singular depravity, but
which, we trust, will be forgiven to him in con-
sideration of his extreme youth.
When William Sidney's father had abducted
(for it was in reality an abduction) his children
from their boarding-school at Bath, he removed
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 11
with them to his seat at Midgham in Berkshire.
The mansion had been built by Captain Smith's
father, and the extensive grounds surrounding it
were laid out with great taste. Among the other
accessories to the beauty of the place was a large
piece of deep water, which immediately attracted
the almost undivided attention of the embryo
admiral almost, we say, for even then he showed
symptoms of that refined and graceful gallantry
to the softer sex that has always marked his
character. In fact, he divided his attention with
a tolerable impartiality between a young lady of
his own age, (eleven years,) this piece of water,
and a large washing-tub.
It was the custom of Captain Smith to sum-
mon all his household to prayer every evening,
and they were called together, in a kind of patri-
archal fashion, by the sounding of a horn. One
summer's evening the horn was blown the usual
number of times ; but to the customary blast no
William Sidney appeared. The father grew
alarmed, and, as his fears arose, so did the echoes
of the horn upon the evening breeze. The
young absentee heard the holy summons plainly
enough, but he did not obey it, solely because he
could not.
His non-appearance had caused great alarm,
and the evening devotions were postponed in
12 MEMOIRS OF
order that the household might search for the
lost and beloved son. He was at length found
in a situation extremely nautical, but agreeable
only to himself. He had embarked in the large
washing-tub his youthful protegee, and taking a
long pole, he had contrived, bydts means, to place
his circular ship, with himself and passenger, in
the very centre of the large and deep water.
We know very well, upon the best authority,
which is that of the nursery, that, when seven
wise men went to sea in a bowl, they made
a very foolish expedition of it ; we must not,
therefore, greatly blame young Smith when we
relate that by some inadvertence, probably a
slight attention to the young lady, the companion
of his dangers, he lost his pole.
Unfortunately, just as his alarmed father ar-
rived, it fell calm, and the only motion the tub
had was that unpleasant one of the pillory, going
slowly round and round. There stood the future
hero of many fights, with his arms folded in a
manner that reminds one now of the prints of
Napoleon on the Island of St. Helena.
Those on shore were totally at a loss how
safely to bring the frail vessel with its precious
charge on shore, for a very little shifting or tot-
tering would have overturned it. None of the
spectators could swim, and night was drawing on
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 13
apace, when, to add to the dismal nature of the
scene, William Sidney's companion began to
wail most bitterly. Indeed, the situation of the
children became critical, if not dangerous. It
fell, however, to the lot of him who had created,
to unravel the difficulty. Having sufficiently
'enjoyed the glory of his situation, (he was
always a little fond of display,) he hailed those
on shore, and told them to fasten the string of
his kite to a favourite dog that belonged to him.
This being done, he called him to the tub, and
thus conveyed a towing line on board the first
craft that he had the honour of commanding.
When the tub was brought to the bank of the
lake, so nicely fitted was the cargo to the tonnage
of the tub, that the children were nearly drowned,
because the one was attempted to be taken out a
little before the other. The father and one of
the servants at length snatched them both out
simultaneously, and flung them on the grass.
Captain Smith was so much affected that he
could not, at fir.-.t, speak.
" Now, father, we will go to prayers," said the
young desperado.
" We had better," he replied, with feelings
that a father only can appreciate.
Though this anecdote may be, by some, deemed
puerile, we think that it strongly marks the
14 MEMOIRS OF
two principal traits of character that Sir Sidney
displayed through the whole course of his life a
recklessness in running into danger, and great
resources of mind in getting out of it with
credit.
It was at Midgham that William Sidney formed
some of his most useful and distinguished friend-
ships ; among others, the Duke of St. Albans, the
Lords Rivers and Delaware, and Lord Rodney,
who was a constant visiter, and with whom he
first went to sea.
William Sidney Smith did not long remain un-
der the paternal roof, and, during the small time
that he enjoyed that advantage and happiness, he
was deprived of the soothing attention of one who,
on account of those differences so much to be
deplored, with her family, was unfortunately living
separate from her husband. She did not survive to
witness the renown of her sprightly and favourite
son, as she passed into a happier state of exist-
ence before he returned from his second trip to
sea. She died and was interred at Bath.
Those who knew well Sir Sidney Smith in his
boyhood, describe him as then being a most
vivacious specimen of juvenility quick, daring,
and mercurial, and not far removed from a little
Pickle. In his person, though of small size, he
was eminently handsome, with clustering and
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 15
curling black hair, dark clear complexion, and
with a high colour. At the earliest age he
evinced an utter contempt of danger, and a deci-
sion of character, that, under proper training,
warranted the most sanguine hopes of future
excellence. Among his other qualities, an apti-
tude for invention, and a power of adaptation of
his then limited capabilities, both in the prosecu-
tion of his studies and amusements, early dis-
played themselves. He was a boy for whom you
might fear a little, whom you could not help
loving much, arid whom you must admire en-
tirely.
16 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER II.
Sir Sidney's first entrance into the Navy Some reflections
on the early appointments of that period His various
juvenile services until he was made Post Captain.
WE have now to introduce our young subject
upon that arena that was afterwards to prove the
scene of exploits that elevated the already-exalted
naval fame of his country to a still loftier glory,
and where he entwined the military with the
naval laurel in the triumphal crown that he threw
at the feet of England's Genius of Victory.
Long before his little feet had mimicked the
officer-stride on the deck of a man-of-war, he
had, in his infant imagination, commanded,
fought, and conquered. His thoughts, his dreams,
his short moments of seriousness, and his long
hours of playfulness, were all devoted to fighting
the French. He seemed to have been born with,
and nurtured in, an antipathy to that nation,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 17
with which fate had ordained that he should pass
the greatest portion of his life, either as their
battling enemy, their impatient prisoner, or their
welcome guest. He appears, in his earliest
youth, to have been a merry and graceful parody
of one of the young Hannibals. The French
the French he would annihilate them ! His
puerile antipathies ripened into a very disastrous
though gallant and no longer prejudiced opposi-
tion to that nation, which he commenced by hat-
ing, and finished by beating and respecting.
His father being gentleman usher to Queen
Charlotte, and enjoying much of her personal
favour, the reader must not be surprised, consi-
dering how naval matters were managed at that
period, to learn that little Smith strutted a mid-
shipman on board of the Sandwich, under Lord
Rodney, before he was twelve years of age.
It would be a difficult matter successfully to
defend appointments of this description by argu-
ment or rather, that which we might produce
as arguments, would no longer be considered as
such in these march-of-mind-boasted days. All
that we can do, is to imitate that shrewd person,
who, when a very learned philosopher was stre-
nuously arguing that there could not, by possi-
bility, be any such thing as motion, merely got up
and walked across the room. To those who con-
VOL. i. c
18 MEMOIRS OF
demn these boyish appointments as contrary to
justice and subversive of the service, we shall
perhaps admit their reasonings to be unanswer-
able without being in the least convincing, and
content ourselves with mentioning the glory of,
in this respect, the unreformed navy, and point-
ing to such names as those of Duncan, Jervis,
Nelson, and, last though not least among them,
Sir Sidney Smith, who all entered the service
about the same age.
Improper, perhaps, as at heart we acknowledge
these appointments to be, we must now introduce
him, stiff in his uniforms, with his shrill treble
pipe imitating the hoarse tones of command, and
shaking off the schoolboy a little before he could
gracefully creep into the seemliness and import-
ance of the officer and the man. However, he
showed an astonishing precocity in his metamor-
phosis ; and, long before other lads had divested
themselves of the fear and the tyranny of the
ferula and the rod, he had already become
respectable as a friend, and something to be
dreaded as an enemy among men.
From reports to which we can safely give
credit, we find that he was universally beloved on
board the Sandwich, and almost immediately
drew upon himself the favourable notice of his
superior officers.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 19
In the very subordinate capacity of a midship-
man and he was a very young midshipman in
his first ship it cannot be expected that he could
perform any feat worthy of record. In this
situation he had to learn the first and the most
distasteful duty to obey. Comparatively speak-
ing, his post was a private, and certainly an ob-
scure one, and hardly any naval combination of
circumstances, however stirring they might have
been, could then have put him prominently for-
ward.
From the Sandwich he passed into the Grey-
hound in the same rank, gaining thus experience
in two very different classes of vessels. During
the period of his service in this latter ship, no-
thing occurred to him that demands a place in
this biography.
Immediately that he had served the time
allotted by the rules of the navy, he obtained his
commission as lieutenant on the 22nd of May,
1781, and was, what is technically called, " made"
into the Alcide 74, at that time commanded by
Captain C. Thompson.
In this last-mentioned line-of- battle ship he
shared in the action of Admiral Graves off the
Chesapeake ; and though no opportunity was
offered to him in that affair eminently to distin-
guish himself in the limited sphere in which he
c 2
20 MEMOIRS OF
was compelled to act, he did that which English
seamen have ever done his duty.
Those conversant with the naval history of the
country, must well remember the many inde-
cisive skirmishes that took place between Lord
Howe and the Count de Grasse, in the seas near
the island of St. Christopher's, in the West
Indies. At this period, the weather-gage was con-
sidered almost as a gage of victory, and hostile
fleets would consume days in endeavouring to
gain it. The French count took advantage of this
prejudice ; and when the English admiral bore
down upon the French fleet, the line of the latter
would discharge its raking broadside, bear up, and
run to leeward, and again forming the line, have
recourse to the same tactics. By means of
this slippery manoeuvre, this particular action
consisted of nothing but numerous and indecisive
skirmishes. It gave Sir Sidney a lesson that he
remembered in his after life, and it was one by
which English commanders profited in succeeding
encounters.
It does not fall within the scope of our under-
taking to record the victories of the naval chiefs
under whom our officer had the good fortune to
act in a subordinate capacity. We have merely
to mention them to show that the extent of his
services justified his very rapid promotion, not-
withstanding his very early youth.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 21
He participated in the gallant Sir George B.
Rodney's glorious victory of the 1st of April,
1782, and, immediately subsequent to this splen-
did event, he obtained his commission, bearing
date 2nd of May, 1782, as commander, and was
appointed to the Fury sloop of war, having served
as a lieutenant less than one year.
In the next year, 1783, he was made post
captain, an exceedingly rapid, and a not strictly
regular, promotion a rapidity of advancement
that can only be accounted for by his father's
interest at court, and justified by Sir Sidney's
great merit. He was a post captain at the juve-
nile age of nineteen, having served as a com-
mander only one year and five days.
With this promotion he obtained the command
of the Alcmene, a small class frigate of twenty-
eight guns ; and as a short and deceitful though
a profound peace had appeared to have hushed
up the angry feelings of the European powers,
he returned to England, and on his arrival his
ship was immediately paid off.
Now, with the certainty of life, was the cer-
tainty of the highest honours of his noble pro-
fession assured to him. Without meaning the
imbecility of a pun, before he had reached his
majority as a civilian, as a naval officer he ranked
with a full colonel in the army. The minor man
22 MEMOIRS OF
was a full post. He had passed, when in the eye
of the law he was only considered as an infant,
as a warrior entitled to the command of hundreds
of men, those difficult, and too often impassable
portals which open to that path, which requires
only time to guide the fortunate traveller to the
high station of admiral of the red. Truly may
it be said of Sir Sidney, that he possessed, in an
eminent degree, that (by the Romans) much
venerated attribute in a commander, good luck ;
and it was happy for his country, and glorious to
our hero, that he possessed merits equal only to
his brilliancy of accident.
On his return to England he found his worthy
parent residing at Carrington-street, May Fair;
and though, as yet, he had not graven his name
deeply on the tablets of fame, he had signalised
himself sufficiently to make all connected with him
proud to own him as an acquaintance, friend, or
relation. His father, at this period, seemed to
exist but for his favourite son ; every indulgence
was his that he could bestow, and much more
excellent advice was at his son's service than he
chose to receive. It must be confessed that at
this time he fell in with the gaieties of Lis station,
and the opportunities that were offered him in
the best metropolitan society, but in a manner
neither vicious nor outrageous. With the excep-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 23
tion of some few passages of love, with which
our biography has nothing to do, he might be
pronounced at this period of his life a rather staid
young man.
24 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER III.
Sir Sidney enters the Swedish service The Battle of the
Galleys The Battle of the 9th and 10th of June Anec-
dote of Captain Dennison Some reflections on British
officers serving foreign powers.
WITH increasing ardour for a profession in
which he had already given so great a promise
of future excellence, and impatient of a life of in-
activity, our officer, in 1788, upon a prospect of
a rupture between Sweden and Russia, with a
generous sympathy for the party which appeared
to be the weaker, entered into the naval service
of the former.
His distinguished bravery and very superior
naval science drew upon him the general atten-
tion, and purchased for him the gratitude of the
Swedish nation. It was a severe service in
stormy regions, and an inclement climate. Cap-
tain Smith had first to discipline before he fought
his crews. In the several severe encounters
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 25
which proved the more bloody and disastrous in
wreck, on account of the ignorance of the belli-
gerents, the fleets of the Empress Catherine had
bitterly to deplore the assistance that was brought
to their opponents in the person of our officer.
The digression can hardly be thought to be
unwarrantable, when it gives an abstract of some
of the encounters between the naval armament of
these rival northern powers. It was in those that
Captain Sidney Smith saw some most severe
service, and gained great knowledge and ex-
perience in the desperate school of actual fight.
We will select from among these transactions a
short account of the battle of the Galleys, which
may not be unacceptable to the admirers of our
hero's character.
Just as the stormy April of 1790 was terminat-
ing, the grand fleet of Sweden for Sweden
then had a grand fleet, and was a considerable
naval power under the command of the Duke of
Sudermania, consisting of twenty -three ships of
the line and eighteen frigates, sailed from Carl-
scrona, in the province of Smaland.
This expedition was well planned. Its pre-
tended object was that of preventing the junction
of two divisions of the Russian fleet, one of which
was then riding at anchor in the port of Revel,
the other in the port of Cronstadt. The real
26 MEMOIRS OF
views, however, were much more extensive, being
to attack in detail, by first capturing the port of
Revel, and destroying the fleet there, when the
other division, it was confidently believed, would
fall an easy sacrifice.
This design was bravely attempted, but it was
not attended with that success that might have
been hoped from the strength of the armament,
the bravery of the seamen, and the skill and
intrepidity of the native and foreign officers em-
ployed. The result of the attack brought no
tarnish to the glory of those who conducted it.
In most maritime expeditions, and more
especially those which are destined to act against
fortresses and batteries on shore, the elements
may prove the most potential allies, or the most
formidable enemies. The truth of this was
fully exemplified in this attack upon Revel and
the Russian fleet. This fleet, then lying at
anchor, consisted of eleven sail of the line, three
of which were three-decked ships, and four large
frigates. Independently of their own guns, this
powerful fleet was defended in a very advan-
tageous manner by numerous batteries in the
harbour, and by the fortifications about the town,
all of which were mounted with heavy cannon.
The Swedes approached boldly, receiving and
returning a tremendous fire. Under all these
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 27
disadvantages, which became the more ap-
parent as they were the more closely encountered,
the Duke continued this desperate attack with
unabating intrepidity, and when he was, to all
appearance, on the very threshold of success, the
wind suddenly changed, and so violent a storm
ensued, that his vessels were obliged to close
their lower-deck ports, thus rendering the tiers
of his heaviest metal useless, and reducing his
attacking power by one half.
The adverse hurricane also prevented many of
his ships from taking any share in the action
whatever, so that, after proving courage, conduct,
and good seamanship, he was obliged to return
with his fleet, at the moment when the enemy
appeared all but defeated.
This was not the extent of his disasters. The
wind setting dead in upon the shore, the fury of
the elements drove the Prince Charles, of sixty
guns, after being dismasted, into the hands of the
Russians. The Ricket Stander, of the same force,
was wrecked, abandoned, and set fire to by orders
of the Duke ; and the Valeur, another line-of-
battle ship, was drifted on shore, but was after-
wards enabled to escape, and get to sea again, by
throwing overboard a part of her guns.
Amidst all these misfortunes, it was soon dis-
covered that English officers were on board, and
28 MEMOIRS OF
Captain Sidney Smith in personal command in
this discomfited fleet, by the rapidity with which
its damages were repaired. On the very next
day, such were the zeal and diligence of the Duke
of Sudermania, and the commanders under his
direction, that the fleet was again under sail a
league and a half from Norglon, and so com-
pletely repaired from its recent damages, that
it waited with impatience to make a second attack.
On the 3rd and 4th of June, 1790, two more
desperate battles were fought in the Gulf of Wil-
bourg, in which the party that our hero espoused
was again defeated; the Swedes losing seven ships,
three frigates, six galleys, and about sixty armed
small craft. The Russians also suffered severely.
The slaughter, as might reasonably be expected,
was particularly fatal to the English officers in
the Russian service. In these affairs the point of
the utmost danger was the point of honour. Cap-
tains Dawson and Trevenor were slain, and Cap-
tain Marshall also lost his life on the same occa-
sion. Being mortally wounded, he had the
agony, in the bitterness of the hour of death, to
see the ship that he had commanded, and the
crew that he had disciplined, sink with him, his
colours still flying in melancholy defiance. Cap-
tains Aikin and Miller were also grievously
wounded.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 29
We must premise, that an unsuccessful at-
tempt had been made by the King of Sweden, who
commanded in person, to destroy the Russian
squadron in Viborg. The approach of the Prince
of Nassau, with the Cronstadt division, had
already made the position of the Swedes at the
entrance of Viborg Bay extremely critical, the
more especially as their scarcity of ammunition,
and their want of provisions, made their return
to their own ports a measure of first necessity.
In this situation of affairs, the king resolved
to avail himself of a strong easterly wind, which
set in on the 3rd of June, to gain Swerksund and
Sweaborg. It was necessary for the fleet to pe-
netrate through a narrow pass, and, in so doing,
to sustain the fire of four Russian ships of the
line, two of which were placed on each side of
the strait ; and, after this, to engage the whole
of Admiral TschitcshakorT's line, which, at a
small distance, was drawn up along the coast,
while his frigates were ranged and judiciously
placed among the islands which lie nearer the
shore.
Unappalled by this display of superior force,
the Swedish van, led on by Admiral Modee,
passed the Narrows without suffering any ma-
terial loss, firing with great spirit both broad-
sides at the same time against the enemy on
30 MEMOIRS OF
either side, The cannonade from the four Rus-
sian line-of-battle ships was, however, so power-
ful, and so well supported, that it was resolved
by the Duke of Sudermania to attempt their
destruction by fireships ; but this operation
proved so unsuccessful, that they were driven back
upon two of his own fleet, a ship of the line and
a frigate, both of which were blown up.
The Swedish admiral, instead of having re-
course to so uncertain an experiment as fire-
ships, should have placed a vessel of equal force
alongside each of these Russian vessels, and hav-
ing thus masked their fire, the smaller vessels
could have passed up the centre of the strait in
absolute safety, and then the protecting ships
could have followed, forming an excellent pro-
tective rear-guard. The unfair means of war
by fire-vessels was then much in vogue, but now
we are happy to say that among civilised na-
tions their employment is generally condemned,
and their utility disallowed.
The Swedes being confused in a considerable
degree, by this peculiarly distressful accident, the
ships that were to follow were unable to proceed
with the requisite order and circumspection ; four
of them struck upon the rocks, and were thus left
at the mercy of the enemy.
During the further course, along the coast, of this
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 31
bewildered navy, already so diminished in force,
three more vessels of the line surrendered to the
Russian flag. This engagement, so ill fought as
to nautical manoeuvring, yet so well contested as
to personal bravery, continued all night and a
part of the next day, and it was not until the
evening that the duke, with the shattered re-
mains of his fleet, found safety in the port of
Sweaborg, leaving three line-of-battle ships and
one frigate in the hands of the Russians, the
same number of line-of-battle ships and one fri-
gate stranded on the Russian shores, and wit-
nessing the destruction of another ship of the
line and another frigate by fire, besides losing
a schooner and a cutter, supposed to have been
sunk.
The small craft taken or sunk were supposed
to amount to sixty, and with the galleys eight
hundred men of the Swedes were captured. The
whole loss of the Swedes in this affair was
above seven thousand men. To add to these
disasters, all the baggage of the fleet, amounting
in value to several millions of dollars, fell into
the hands of the Russians.
In this protracted encounter, our young officer,
whilst he shared in the danger, must have gained
an admirable lesson in naval warfare. Every
possible variety of circumstance must have been
32 MEMOIRS OF
presented to him, and from the alternate success
and discomfiture of the belligerents he must have
acquired a deep insight into all the strategy of
maritime war. The lesson was deeply traced
and largely written in blood, and after-exploits
proved that it had not been studied in vain.
Captain Sidney Smith had at that period
but little respite : he was soon to witness a repe-
tition of the same scene, but with happier results
to the cause in which he had engaged.
Though the events of the actions of the 3rd and
4th of June were thus unfortunate to the Swedes,
his Majesty was in a short time able to re-
appear at sea in so effective a condition as not
only again to contend for victory, but also
to obtain ample compensation for his former
losses.
Having supplied his armament with provisions
and ammunition, and being joined by the divi-
sion under Lieutenant-Colonel Cronstadt, which
had not been able to reach the Bay of Viborg, so
as to participate in the late engagement, the king
sailed immediately, with a view to prevent the
Prince of Russia, who was advancing with the
Russian Cronstadt and Viborg squadrons, from
getting into the port of Frederickham. This he
was so fortunate as to accomplish.
In consequence of this proceeding, an action
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 33
took place on the 9th of July, in which the king
commanded in person nominally Sidney Smith
actually, who was at the royal elbow during the
whole of the engagement. It began at half-past
nine in the morning, and lasted twenty-four hours.
On the preceding day, several vessels of the
Russian in-shore squadron were discovered at
Aspo; on which the king, attended by M. de
Armstadt, went to reconnoitre. On the 9th, the
Prince of Nassau advanced towards the Swedish
shore, and the signal was made for the Swedish
fleet to arrange itself in order of battle. By nine
in the morning, the enemy had formed his line,
and made sail towards Cape Musalo. The right
wing of the Swedes advanced to meet them, and
the firing commenced briskly on both sides.
Immediately after, the king, on board the
Seraphim galley, made the signal for a general
attack. The enemy still approached with a spirited
fire, which was so warmly returned by both the
Swedish wings, that at noon the left of the enemy
began to give way. Both the right and left of the
Swedes being reinforced by several divisions which
had been previously placed in the Sound, they
were enabled to continue the action with increased
vigour. At the same time, the Russian line having
received some reinforcements, the eastward wing
again advanced and returned to the conflict.
VOL. i. D
34 MEMOIRS OF
But their renewed endeavours were in vain.
About four o'clock in the afternoon some of their
larger galleys were beaten from the land, and
struck their colours. Of those, several after-
wards foundered, and several were taken posses-
sion of by the Swedes.
Gustavus was not absolutely without loss him-
self. One of his best galleys, the Udema, caught
fire about six o'clock and sank ; but happily the
whole of her crew was saved. The same fate be-
fel one of the Russian xebecs, and after this the
smaller vessels began to sheer off.
Many of the enemy's heavy galleys continued
firing till the evening, and then made sail with
a view of effecting their escape. Some ran on the
shoals and struck their flags. At eleven, dark-
ness compelled a cessation of hostilities. The
conquered vessels were taken possession of, and
the prisoners removed.
As early as three next morning the cannonade
was renewed, and shortly after, one of the Rus-
sian frigates surrendered, and several of the
smaller craft were taken. The enemy then com-
menced retreating in every direction, and to set
fire to their stranded ships. They were pursued
till ten at night, arid forty- five captured. Out of
the Russian vessels that were sunk, one officer
and one surgeon only were saved. Six of the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 35
stranded vessels were burned by the Swedes.
The victors computed the number of their prison-
ers at four thousand five hundred, including two
hundred and ten officers.
Thus, in this action, after having for so long a
period trembled upon an equality, whilst thou-
sands on both sides were passing to judgment,
the scales of victory inclined towards Gustavus.
The Russians, in their turn, suffered a defeat,
with the loss of five frigates, fifteen galleys, two
floating batteries, with twenty other vessels, and,
a great quantity of naval and military stores ; and,
as before mentioned, four thousand five hundred
prisoners were also captured.
On this memorable occasion, an English offi-
cer of the name of Dennison commanded the
Russian frigate Venus, and, by his presence of
mind and gallantry, very nearly effected the
capture of the King of Sweden's sacred person,
as he gained possession of the galley in which
that monarch had embarked.
Captain Smith, who was with the sovereign,
observing the gallant and seaman-like style in
which the Venus was bearing down upon the
galley, became assured that she must be under
the command of an Englishman, and suggested
to the king that it was high time for them to
look out for their mutual safety ; an advice not at
D 2
36 MEMOIRS OF
all to be disregarded under the pressing nature of
the contingency. The king, being fully consci-
ous of his imminent danger, shuffling off his royal
dignity for the nonce, like a very prudent j and
private individual, conveyed himself and his
adviser into a small boat that was lying along-
side, and pulled off to another and a safer
vessel.
The non-nautical reader may suppose, that, in
this instance, the future hero of Acre showed
abundantly that better part of valour named
"discretion." So he did; and without at all
impugning his valour in the abstract, it must be
understood that the galley was nothing more
than a sort of great row-boat, as little able to
contend, vessel to vessel, with a frigate, as a
minnow with a pike. The gallantry and seaman-
like conduct of Dennison were not displayed in
the taking of this galley, but in his making his
way to her, by breaking through the greatly su-
perior obstructing force.
This noble fellow was killed on the same day.
Let us pause, for a moment, in the course of our
narrative, and attempt an apology for Sir Sidney
Smith, and those of his brave countrymen who de-
graded themselves to mercenaries in a quarrel, on
opposite sides, in which they could have had no
patriotic, and hardly a public interest. Humanity
Silt SIDNEY SMITH. 37
requires one, and the enlightenment of the pre-
sent day will let nothing pass as a justification
that will not bear the test of a sound morality.
If biography be something only to extol that
which is commendable, and to gloze over faults,
and palliate that which is discreditable, it is a
species of writing that cannot too soon become
extinct. That, lately, memoirs have partaken of
this nature, is lamentably true. When written
in this manner, they become to the rising gene-
ration false guides and lying finger-posts. They
are painted all white, on which dark letters of
instruction are nowhere to be seen.
We have just described Englishman opposed
to Englishman, fellow-subject to fellow- subj ect ;
and in this almost suicidal contest we see the
country deprived of some of its most gallant de-
fenders, the king of some of the best supporters of
his crown, families of their fathers, and the orna-
ments and the nourishers of social circles ruth-
lessly destroyed. The picture is true, and, the
more nearly examined, as it is true so is it re-
volting.
For acts like these, the fervour of youth can-
not be pleaded ; youth, far more prone to act
than to reflect, yet, in numerous cases, as well as
age, must deliberate. The drawing the sword for
38 MEMOIRS OF
a foreign potentate, even in the youngest, must
be an act of deliberate calculation. The respon-
sibility, therefore, must remain upon the mer-
cenary's conscience.
In the case before us, neither party of the
English belligerents could have been influenced
to shed the blood of each other on the score of
philanthropy, or in advocacy of the cause of the
human race. Liberty was not then fully appre-
ciated anywhere, and nowhere so little as among
the people of the two nations that were opposed
to each other.
We will not suppose, for a moment, that these
gentlemen embarked in this quarrel, on different
sides, for their private emolument. Hired gladi-
atorship, however highly it may have been esti-
mated on the continent, has never yet been the
naturalised occupation of the English. It would
therefore appear that, the more we examine this
question, the greater, we find, are the difficulties
that surround it, and the more specious are the
fallacies by which a justification must be at-
tempted. In fact there is no justification, in the
broad and general point of view, for either party
of the English officers that were thus unnaturally
opposed to each other. On this point we insist,
for the sake of religion, for the sake of humanity,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 39
for the sake of patriotism. We speak thus de-
cidedly, in order that our feeble voice may im-
press upon the youth of the present and of the fu-
ture day, that it is a crime against God and against
man to draw the sword of the slayer in any other
save their country's cause.
As to the apology of our hero at finding him
in the predicament that we have thus strongly
condemned, the one that we are going to pro-
duce will be thought weak upon the general
merits, but powerful as applicable to Sir Sidney's
individual case. Let the reader always remem-
ber that we offer an apology, not a defence. This
apology consists in his thirst for distinction, in his
passionate love of glory, merging in and display-
ing themselves in an unquenchable zeal for the
honour of his country. It was this that led him
into the error, not an error of the heart but of
calculation an error to which people of chi-
valrous characters are peculiarly liable.
Sir Sidney Smith continued to serve the King
of Sweden with great advantage to that prince,
and reputation to himself, until the peace of
Riechenback, and, for his eminent services, was
rewarded with the grand cross of the order of the
Sword.
That his splendid, yet we think misplaced ser-
40 MEMOIRS OF
vices, were not regarded with the stern view of
the moralist by our own government of that
period, is evident, by his own sovereign conferring
upon him the additional honour of an English
knighthood, at St. James's.
SHI SIDNEY SMITH. 41
CHAPTER IV.
Enters the Turkish service Fits out a man-of-war at his
own risk Gets a reinforcement of seamen at Smyrna
Joins Lord Hood at Toulon Some account of the transac-
tions at that place.
IMPATIENT of the inactivity of peace, and despis-
ing the blandishments and dissipation of fashion-
able society, his mind could find sustenance and
satisfaction only in the bustle and excitement of
actual service. We find him, therefore, in 1793,
serving as a volunteer in the Turkish marine,
and, when thus employed, he happened to be at
Smyrna when the war broke out with France.
This intelligence was to him like the sound of the
trumpet to the war-horse. Whether he had re-
ceived the usual notice from the Admiralty, issued
on similar occasions, we know not to Sir Sidney
it would have been of little moment. Nothing now
occupied his thoughts but the best and most
advantageous method of repairing to his post
42 MEMOIRS OF
among the defenders of his country. His thirst
now for the " pomp and circumstance of war"
was a virtue.
In this emergency, his mind always teeming
with resources, he determined to repair to
England with some advantage to his country.
He came not single-handed. At this time there
were several valuable seamen out of employ at
Smyrna. He was resolved that they should
not be lost to his sovereign. Accordingly, at his
own risk, he purchased one of the latteen-rigged,
fast-sailing craft of the Archipelago, and with
equal humanity and patriotism manned it with
these men, who would otherwise have been, at
this critical juncture, lost to the service.
Without the protection of a letter of marque,
he shipped himself, with about forty truculent
fellows, in this diminutive man-of-war, and hoist-
ing the English flag and pennant, he named it
the Swallow Tender, and sailed down the Medi-
terranean in search of the English fleet, which
he found at Toulon, a short time before the
evacuation of that sea-port, and the destruction of
its magazines, dockyard, and arsenals.
It was at this memorable epoch, and on this
fatal spot, that Bonaparte first signalised him-
self. Many and sufficiently accurate are the ac-
counts extant of the siege of this strongly fortified
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 43
place by the French, when it was temporally
held by the combined British and Spanish forces,
for the partisans of the Bourbons. It is not our
office to enter fully into the operations, or to give
a minute detail of the events that led to the cala-
mitous results ; but we must give some ac-
count of them, the better to understand the
position in which Lord Howe found himself, and
the English and allied forces co-operating with
him. Oppressed, irritated, and almost driven to
despair by the multiplied and still multiplying
atrocities of the democrats who were then devastat-
ing France under the direction of the ferocious
Robespierre, the southern sections of that dis-
tracted kingdom openly displayed a monarchical
feeling. They ardently longed for the peaceful
and mild tyranny of the Bourbons.
On the 23rd of August, 1793, commissioners
representing the sections of the department of the
Rhone went on board the Victory, the flag-ship
of Lord Howe, then lying off Marseilles, expect-
ing to meet commissioners from Toulon, deputed
by the sections of the department of Var, for the
same purpose that of recalling Louis XVIII.,
and re-establishing a monarchical government.
With this view, on the 26th of August, the de-
puties of all the sections agreed to proposals
made by Lord Howe, and signed a declaration
44 MEMOIRS OF
which consisted of eighteen articles, investing him,
at the same time, personally with the command of
the harbour, the forts, and the fleet at Toulon. Lord
Howe, having received assurances of the good
disposition of the principal part of the officers
and seamen of the French ships, resolved to
land fifteen hundred men, and take possession of
the forts which commanded the ships in the road.
Acting up to this intention, notwithstanding a
display of opposition by their Admiral St. Julian,
a stanch republican and withal a most turbulent
spirit, the honourable Captain Elphinstone, after-
wards Lord Keith, at midday on the 28th of
August, took possession of the fort of La Malgue.
In pursuance of Lord Hood's directions, he
took the command as governor, and sent a flag of
truce, with a preparatory notice to St. Julian,
that such French ships as did not proceed with-
out delay into the inner harbour, and put their
powder on shore, would be treated as enemies.
St. Julian, however, was found to have escaped
during the night, with the greater part of the
crews of seven line-of-battle ships, which were
principally attached to him ; all but these seven
ships removed into the inner harbour in the
course of the evening.
The Spanish fleet, under the command of Don
Juan de Langaras, appeared in sight as the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 45
British troops were in the act of landing to take
possession of Fort la Malgue.
Having thus made himself master of Toulon
and the adjacent forts, Lord Hood issued, on the
same evening, another proclamation which greatly
soothed the minds of the inhabitants. The Eng-
lish troops received, on the 29th of August, a
reinforcement of one thousand men, who were dis-
embarked from the Spanish fleet on the same day
the British fleet worked into the outer roads of
Toulon, followed by the Spanish, and anchored
at noon without the smallest obstruction.
The junction of two such powerful fleets, that
had often met in fierce contention, but which
now rode peacefully in one of the finest harbours
in the world, formed a singular and cheerful
sight, inspiriting to the loyal inhabitants, and
proving to the republicans that they owed their
late supremacy more to terror than to affection.
On the 30th of August, Lord Hood judged it
expedient, for the more effectual preservation of
good order and discipline in the town, to appoint
Rear- Admiral Goodall governor of Toulon and its
dependencies. This was the more necessary, as a
detachment of the republican army, commanded
by Casteaux, consisting of seven hundred and fifty
men, with some cavalry and ten pieces of cannon,
approached the village of Ollioulle, near Toulon.
46 MEMOIRS OF
On this being ascertained, Captain Elphinstone
immediately marched out of Fort Malgue at the
head of six hundred troops, English and Spanish,
and attacking the enemy with great spirit, soon
made them abandon their posts, took four of
their pieces of cannon with their equipments,
many horses, and much ammunition.
Our loss was immaterial. In this attack
Captain Elphinstone displayed a knowledge of
military tactics which was hardly expected from
an officer in the British navy.
On the 6th of September Lord Mulgrave
arrived at Toulon, and, at the request of Lord
Hood, accepted the command of the British
troops, with the rank of brigadier-general, until
his Majesty's pleasure should be known. In
consequence of the report made by his lordship
of the forces that would be requisite to defend
the several ports in the vicinity of Toulon, Lord
Hood despatched a pressing letter to Sir Robert
Boyd, the governor of Gibraltar, requesting
fifteen hundred soldiers, with a number of ar-
tillery-men, and an able engineer.
By the middle of September our post began to
be kept in a constant state of alarm by the con-
tinually increasing numbers of Casteaux's army
on the west, and that of Italy on the east ; each of
them consisting of nearly six thousand men. At
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 47
the same time, Lord Hood had apprehensions that
some desperate attempt would be made from with-
in the town by upwards of five thousand disaffected
seamen. The committee-general of the sections,
and the French royalist Rear-Admiral Trogroffe,
represented that to get rid of them was absolutely
necessary to the safety of the loyalists. This
was the more especially evident, as, previously to
Lord Hood taking possession of Toulon, they had
agreed that those men should be sent home, pro-
vided that they did not take any active part in
obstructing the operations of the British fleets.
These conditions not yet having been fulfilled,
they, in consequence, began to be very clamor-
ous and unruly. All these causes pressing upon
the mind of Lord Hood, he judged it expedient
to embark them in four of the most unservice-
able of the French ships, Le Patriote, L'Apollon,
L'Orion, and L'Entreprenant, to each of which a
passport was given.
These ships were dismantled of their guns, ex-
cepting two on the forecastles of each, to be used
as signals in case of distress. They had no small
arms, and only twenty ordnance cartridges on
board of each ship. They sailed under flags of
truce ; two for Brest, one for Rochefort, and one
for L' Orient.
In addition to the motives just related, which
48 MEMOIRS OF
induced Lord Hood thus to act, and strictly
adhere to the convention previously formed with
the civil and military government of Toulon,
there were also others that had a powerful influ-
ence on his conduct. Amidst this mass of five
thousand seamen, who were reported turbulent
and disaffected, many were devoted to the cause of
the inhabitants of Toulon, and were ready to make
every exertion in favour of monarchy ; therefore,
as it was confidently rumoured that Brest,
Rochefort, and the other seaports of France,
would take an active part in the same cause,
there was good reason to hope that the arrival
of these seamen would accelerate, at the several
ports, similar exertions in behalf of Louis XVIII.
His Majesty's ships Leviathan and Bedford
arrived at Toulon, on the 28th of September, with
eight hundred Sardinian troops, and also Mar-
shal Forteguerri, commodore of the Sicilian
squadron , with two thousand troops from Naples.
This served considerably to cheer the spirits of
the garrison, as well as of the Toulonnese, as, for
the last fortnight, scarcely a day had passed
without an attack upon the town from one quarter
or another. Casteaux's army now amounted to
eight thousand men on the west, and that on
the east, under I,e Poype, to seven thousand,
with reinforcements continually pouring into both.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 49
The enemy had also opened a battery of
twenty twenty-four-pounders upon our gun-
boats, and the ships that covered them ; and
though they were soon dismouted by the vessels
under Rear-Admiral Gell, and the works to-
tally destroyed with very great slaughter, yet
the enemy renewed them three successive
times, and, to the last moment, persevered in
their attacks upon our gunboats and advanced
ships.
During the night of the 21st of September,
the French, availing themselves of a fog, very
unexpectedly surprised a post occupied by the
Spaniards, and thus got possession of the height
of Pharon, immediately over Toulon ; but at
noon, on the 1st of October, when in the very
act of establishing themselves with about two
thousand men, they were attacked by the troops
under Lord Mulgrave, and, after a short but
spirited action, driven from the height with
great slaughter. Many of the flying parties were
forced headlong, at the point of the bayonet,
over the rocks.
The loss of the allied forces amounted to only
seven killed and seventy-two wounded, whilst
the French had one thousand four hundred and
fifty put hors de combat, and forty-one taken
prisoners.
VOL, i. E
50 MEMOIRS OF
The batteries of the French on the Hautier de
Ranier were also destroyed in the night of the
8th of October, with a considerable quantity of
artillery and ammunition. The ensuing night,
Captain Smith, assisted by Lieutenant Scrofield,
of the royal navy, and the seamen under their
command, made a successful sortie on some
batteries recently erected by the enemy, which
they completely destroyed. The French, not-
withstanding these defeats, obtained possession
of Cape le Brun on the 1 1th, but were again
overcome and driven from thence with consider-
able loss.
Major- General O'Hara and Major-General
Dundas arrived on the 22d of October, the for-
mer with a commission to be governor of Tou-
lon, with its dependencies. Lord Hood had the
mortification to find, at this critical juncture,
that Sir Robert Boyd was so sparing of succours
for the defence of Toulon, that he had sent from
Gibraltar only half the force which had been
earnestly requested early in September.
Lord Hood, perceiving his fleet much weakened
by the number of the seamen who were sent on
shore to defend the forts, found it expedient to
despatch a ship to the Grand Master of Malta,
requesting that one thousand five hundred Mal^
tese seamen might be' sent to serve in the British
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 51
fleet during its continuance in the Mediterranean,
who should have the same rations, treatment, and
the same monthly wages, as the British. The
Grand Master, in the most handsome manner,
furnished the desired reinforcement.
E 2
MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER V.
Some account of the situation of the British and Allied forces
holding Toulon The attacks of the French Misconduct
of the Allies General O'Hara made prisoner Bonaparte's
account of the transaction It is resolved to evacuate
Toulon.
ON the evening of the llth of November, the
French, with a large force, vigorously attacked
our post upon the heights de Grasse, called
Fort Mulgrave, and one of the most essential
positions that covered the shipping in the har-
bour of Toulon. The attack was principally
directed on that part of the place which was
occupied by the Spaniards on the right. Ge-
neral O'Hara, who was dining on board the
Victory, hastened on shore. When he reached
the height, he found that the French were close
to the works, and the Spaniards in full retreat,
firing their muskets in the air. The general
instantly directed a company of Royals to ad-
vance, who immediately leaped upon the works
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 53
and put the enemy to flight, after leaving six
hundred men dead and wounded upon the field.
The loss of the English amounted to sixty-one
only.
The British admiral, in addition to what he
had already experienced since his taking posses-
sion of Toulon, had to undergo a fresh vexa-
tion at the end of November, and one, too, of
the most serious and alarming nature, consider-
ing the augmented force of the surrounding
enemy, and the critical situation of the posts to
be defended. After having been flattered with
the most positive hopes of receiving, towards the
middle of this month, five thousand Austrian
troops, and when he had actually despatched
Vice- Admiral Cosby with a squadron of ships and
transports to Vado Bay to convey them, as
previously concerted between Mr. Trevor, his
Majesty's minister at Tunis, and himself, by
letters received from Mr. Trevor on the 18th of
November, his lordship's hopes were at once
destroyed, and with them all expectation of the
arrival of a single Austrian soldier at Toulon.
The enemy, at the close of November, having
opened a battery against the fort of Malbosquet
near the arsenal, and from which battery shot
and shells could reach the town, it was resolved
to destroy it, and to bring off the enemy's guns.
54 MEMOIRS OF
For this purpose, General O'Hara digested a
distinct and masterly plan of attack, which he
communicated, on the evening of the 29th of
November, to the commanding officers of the
troops of each nation. Accordingly, on the
morning of the 30th, this plan was so far exe-
cuted as to surprise the enemy's redoubt
most effectually. The British troops having ob-
tained full possession of the height and battery,
their ardour and impetuosity were not to be re-
strained in this moment of success ; but con-
tinuing to pursue the flying enemy, in a scattered
manner, a full mile beyond the works, the con-
sequence was, that the latter, collecting in great
force, in their turn obliged our troops to retreat,
and to relinquish the advantages they had at first
obtained.
General O'Hara arrived at the battery at the
moment it was retaken, and, perceiving the dis-
order of the troops thus driven back, was has-
tening to rally them, when, most unfortunately,
he received a wound in the arm, which bled so
much as to render him incapable of avoiding the
enemy, by whom he was made prisoner as he
sat down under the shelter of a wall.
Let us see the account that, in his own words,
Bonaparte gave of this transaction. " I made
General O'Hara prisoner, I may say, with my
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 55
own imnd. I had constructed a masked battery
of eight twenty-four-pounders and four mortars,
in order to open upon the Fort Malbosquet, which
was in possession of the English. It was finished
in the evening, and it was my intention to have
opened upon the English in the morning. While
I was giving directions to another part of the
army, some of the deputies from the Convention
came down. In those days they sometimes took
upon themselves to direct the operations of the
armies, arid those imbeciles ordered the batteries
to commence, which order was obeyed.
" As soon as I saw this premature fire, I im-
mediately conceived that the English general
would attack this battery, and most probably
carry it, as another had not yet been arranged to
support it. In fact, O'Hara, seeing the shot
from that battery would dislodge his troops from
Malbosquet, from which last I would have taken
the fort that commanded the harbour, deter-
mined upon attacking it. Accordingly, early in
the morning, he put himself at the head of his
troops, and actually carried the battery and the
lines which I had formed (Napoleon here drew
upon a piece of paper a plan of the situation of
the batteries) to the left, and those to the right
were taken by the Neapolitans. While O'Hara
was busy in spiking the guns, I advanced with
MEMOIRS OF
three or four hundred grenadiers, unperceived,
through a bog, and covered with olive trees, which
communicated with the batteries, and com-
menced a terrible fire upon his troops. The
English, astonished, at first supposed that the
Neapolitans, who had the lines upon the right,
had mistaken them for French, and said it is
those canaglie of Neapolitans who are firing upon
us; for even, at that time, your troops despised
the Neapolitans. O'Hara ran out of the battery
and advanced towards us. In advancing, he was
wounded in the arm by the fire of a sergeant ;
and I, who stood at the mouth of the boyau,
seized him by the coat, and drew him back
among my own men, thinking he was a colonel,
as he had two epaulets on.
" While they were taking him to the rear, he
cried out that he was commander -in-chief of the
English. He thought that they were going to
massacre him, as there existed a horrible order
at that time from the Convention, that no quar-
ter was to be given to the English. I ran
up, and prevented the soldiers from ill-treat-
ing him. He spoke very bad French, and as
I saw he imagined that they intended to
butcher him, I did everything in my power
to console him, and gave directions that his
wound should be immediately dressed, and that
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 57
every attention should be paid to him. He
afterwards begged that I would give him a state-
ment of how he had been taken, in order that
he might forward it to his government in his
justification."
Though we are not among those who give
more implicit credence to all the conversational
statements of Bonaparte than we do to his state do-
cuments, we believe his version of the transaction
to be the right one. The previous description of this
misfortune is compiled from the documents fur-
nished to our government. We do not think
them rigidly, though they may be essentially,
correct. For the glory of the English army, we
would rather place Bonaparte's account upon
the records of our history. We will not sup-
pose that the English troops were so undis-
ciplined as to pursue a flying enemy in a dis-
orderly manner for more than a mile, not only
without orders, but against the will of their
officers. It is very ad captandum to the mis-
judging public to represent the French flying
before the English, even though it ended in the
discomfiture of the latter. Still less can we
credit that the commander-in-chief would join
in so wild a sally, and upon so trifling an occa-
sion. The real facts were, that the English had
58 MEMOIRS OF
surprised their enemies, and were, in their turn,
themselves surprised.
We dwell thus long upon these affairs, firstly,
because Sir Sidney certainly bore in them the
most conspicuous, and performed the most useful
part. Without his exertions, it will be immedi-
ately seen, that from this fierce contest we should
not have plucked a single laurel wherewith to
console us for our defeat ; and secondly, we wish
to place the odium of this cruel, momentous, and
disastrous defeat, upon those who were, undoubt-
edly, its cause.
At this time the French army before Toulon
amounted to forty thousand men, and after the
surrender of Lyons, considerable as it already
was, it became augmented daily. The army of
the coalesced powers never exceeded twelve thou-
sand, and even these were composed of five
different nations, speaking five different languages;
consequently not well formed to co-operate the
one with the other. Of the actual British, there
were never more than two thousand three hun-
dred and sixty. The circumference necessary
to be occupied for the complete defence of the
town extended fifteen miles, with eight prin-
cipal posts, and several immediate depend-
encies. It will naturally excite astonishment
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
that the place could be held for so long a time as
seven weeks,
Early on the 17th of December, Fort Mulgrave,
on the height La Grasse, was stormed by an
immense body of the enemy, after having kept
up an incessant fire upon it, with shot and shells,
for four-and-twenty hours. As usual, the right,
occupied by the Spaniards, soon gave way, by
which means the French entered the works, and
got entire possession of the height. At the same
time they attacked and carried the heights of
Pharon, immediately over Toulon.
Things were now growing to a crisis. A coun-
cil of war, that sure herald of discomfiture, was
summoned, and it was determined to evacuate a
place that could be no longer held.
The Spanish admiral, Langara, undertook to
destroy the ships in the inner harbour or basin,
and to scuttle and sink the two powder-vessels,
which contained all the powder belonging to the
French ships, as well as that belonging to the
distant magazines within the enemy's reach.
The disarray had already begun. The Nea-
politans deserted their posts, and stole on board
their ships in confusion and disorder ; and the
next morning, December 18th, the Neapolitan
commanding officer at the post of Sepel sent word
that there he would no longer remain. The
60 MEMOIRS OF
retreat of the British troops and the evacua-
tion, could not therefore be deferred. Ac-
cordingly, in the night, the whole of the troops
embarked without the loss of a single man, and
fourteen thousand eight hundred and seventy-
seven men, women, and children, of the
royalists of Toulon, were sheltered in the British
ships.
It was now Sir Sidney's turn to come into ac-
tion. By this time, the Republican forces pressed
so energetically upon the place, that its final occu-
pation by them seemed to rest entirely with them-
selves. It therefore became necessary to decide
upon the disposition of the French ships in the
harbour and on the stocks, and the arsenal then full
of military and naval muniments of war ; and this
too at the very critical moment, when the extri-
cation of the allied army from their dangerous
position was the paramount object of solicitude,
and just then occupied nearly all the attention,
and absorbed all the naval capabilities, of the
combined squadrons.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH
CHAPTER VI.
Sir Sidney Smith proceeds on his perilous service Fires the
arsenals The misconduct, or the treachery, of the
Spaniards Explosion of the powder-ships He re-em-
barks safely His despatch.
AT the crisis mentioned in the last chapter,
Sir William Sidney Smith, having delivered up
his troublesome charge to the commander-in-
chief Lord Hood, was, as his guest on board of
the Victory, then waiting for a passage to
England. At this anxious moment he volun-
teered his services to burn the French fleet, ma-
gazines, and everything that could at all be of
service to the naval or military equipments of the
enemy. This was deemed almost visionary, cer-
tainly impracticable with the slender means that
could then be afforded to our hero. It was, how-
ever, one of those possible impracticabilities in
which his genius rejoiced. Against the almost
universal opinion, he accomplished the under-
taking in a manner that justified his appointment
62 MEMOIRS OF
to so forlorn an enterprise, ten ships of the
line, and several frigates, in the arsenal and
inner harbour, with the mast-house, great store-
house, and other buildings, being completely
destroyed.
It is well understood and confessed by all im-
partial men, that the fortifications surrounding
Toulon were, owing to the treachery and imbecility
of our allies; ill defended, and the evacuation of
the place too long deferred. Had neither of
these contingencies happened, the immense naval
force, with all its appointments, would have passed
over quietly into the possession of the English,
and thousands of the royalist Frenchmen saved,
who were slain on the republicans taking the
place, or who afterwards fell victims to the
ruthless guillotine, or the still more ruthless noy-
ades. This was at the acme of the reign of
terror.
The proximate cause of this disaster, which
spread confusion and almost terror throughout the
English fleet, was, as before related, the permitting
the enemy to gain possession of an elevated battery,
on a point of land that laid open the British naval
force to a destructive cannonade. This post, so
commanding, so all-important, was strangely neg-
lected by the military ; hence all the confusion,
disarray, and misery that ensued.
It was the high destiny of Sir Sidney Smith
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 63
gallantly to remedy some of the consequences of
this mistake. Already was a large portion of the
enemy in the town ; plunder and murder had
commenced their savage orgies, and, to increase
this infliction upon the distracted inhabitants, the
galley-slaves had obtained their liberty, when,
with his officers and the few men under his com-
mand, and surrounded by a tremendous conflagra-
tion, he found that he had nearly completed his
dangerous service.
But little more remained to be done, when the
loud shouts and the republican songs of the
enemy announced their approach to the spot
where Sir Sidney and his small band were spread-
ing around them destruction. The scene became
terrible ; for the screams of the wounded, and the
roaring and the hissing of the voluminous flames,
were drowned, at rapid intervals, by the rattling
volleys of musketry, the terrific explosion of
shells, and the thunder-emulating booming of the
artillery. War revelled in rapine, and whilst
his feet were saturated with human blood, his
many -toned and hideous voice seemed to shake
the smoke-obscured firmament.
Whilst all these horrors were enacting, and
which seemed even so terrible to the vindictive
and exasperated enemy that their progress was,
for a space, arrested, a most overwhelming ex-
64 MEMOIRS OF
plosion of many thousand barrels of gunpowder,
on board of the Iris frigate, lying in the inner
road, stunned at once the pursuing and the
flying, and inflicted a transient stupor upon
everything then and there living. The solid
ground reeled under the unstable foot, and the
waves of the sea undulated menacingly as if they
would overwhelm the trembling land. The
scene could have been likened only to the hor-
rors of an earthquake, combined with a volcanic
eruption.
Below were the tottering and falling houses,
the crash of glass, and the cries of the maimed
and crushed ; above was one vast canopy of lurid
fire, from which were descending bursting bombs,
fragments of burning timber, arid every descrip-
tion of fiery-pointed missiles, the whole inter-
spersed with flashes of intense and variously
coloured light. Every one near the spot seemed
to be threatened with instant destruction.
Fortunately, however, only three of Sir Sid-
ney's party lost their lives on this terrible
occasion.
It is a lamentable thing, and history will con-
firm the assertion, that in all combined move-
ments, where men of different nations have to
carry them into effect, the most egregious
blunders will ensue. The Spaniards have always
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 65
been reckoned to be a gallant and brave people
but with more than their share of that parent
of all mistakes and misfortunes, obstinacy. A
party of these self-willed Spaniards, who were too
proud fully to consider the purport of their posi-
tive and distinct orders, or too treacherous to
obey them, were the cause of all this terror and
calamity. They were commanded to go and
scuttle and sink the powder-laden frigate they
went and set fire to her.
Now the reader must understand that, up to this
period, Sir Sidney went first into the inner harbour,
where he destroyed all the shipping he found there,
and afterwards repaired on a similar service on
shore to the arsenal. When he had completed the
destruction of everything in his reach, to his asto-
nishment he first discovered that our fear-paralysed
or perfidious allies had not set fire to any one of
the ships then lying in the basin before the town ;
he therefore hastened thither with his boat, to
counteract the treachery or the cowardice of the
Spaniards. But he was too late. Already had the
republicans gained possession of these vessels ;
already had the boom been laid across the en-
trance to the basin ; already he found that those
but just now defenceless hulks were converted
into formidable batteries. He was forced to de-
sist from his endeavours to cut the boom, from
VOL. I. F
66 MEMOIRS OF
the incessant volleys of musketry directed upon
his boats from the French flagship and the wall
of the royal battery.
Much of the proceedings that followed, and the
causes that produced them, must for ever remain
enveloped in mystery. Recriminations and charges,
many and bitter, have taken place between the
English and Spanish, concerning these atrocities.
Perfidy and treachery have been openly alleged
against our allies. For ourselves, we are rather
inclined to suppose that the Spaniards and
Italians were so confounded at the novel situation
in which they found themselves, that, in doing
they knew not what, they left undone that which
it was their imperative duty to do, and thus,
through their fear-impelled commissions and
omissions, they seemed to be treacherous when
they were only cowardly.
The grounds of affixing the black stigma of
treachery upon the Spaniards are principally these.
Early in the occupation of the place, the Spanish
admiral communicated to Lord Hood the very
bold intelligence that his Catholic Majesty had
appointed him, Langara, to be sole commander-
in-chief. This, of course, Lord Hood resisted;
but whether the treason (if any) sprang from this
quarrel, or this quarrel was but the arranged com-
mencement of the treason, we will not pretend to
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 67
determine. However, the Don took up a very
menacing attitude, for he placed his twenty -one
ships of the line so that he completely enclosed
the British fleet, consisting only of ten, placing
his own ship alongside the Victory, and one three-
decker on her bow, and another on her quarter.
The next indication of treachery was an in-
sidious proposal to Lord Hood that the combined
fleets should depart from Toulon, and make a
diversion in favour of Paoli in Corsica, thus leav-
ing the place at the mercy of the Republicans.
He then wished to tempt the English admiral
away on an expedition against Tunis ; and finally
endeavoured to raise a quarrel, because some Cor-
sican men-of-war were riding in the roads with
their national flag at their mastheads.
Now, when we look at the supineness of the
Spaniards, and consider it in reference to the
whole course of their proceedings, though we may
not fully condemn, yet we certainly must hesitate
to acquit them. Unfortunately the spirit of the
two antagonist principles of monarchy and de-
mocracy ran so high at this time, that the evi-
dence of the writers of that day, even as to the
simplest facts, cannot be relied on. A work was
published in France, and translated into English,
which distinctly stated that Robespierre said,
in one of his official despatches, " Arguments of
F 2
68 MEMOIRS OF
weight, and especially golden arguments, seldom
fail of having some effect. The Spanish admi-
rals and generals in the Mediterranean had in-
structions rather to watch than to act with the
English." And also, " It was at one time deter-
mined to withdraw the army from before Tou-
lon, and retire on the other side of the Durance;
when, fortunately, the Spanish courier arrived,
and everything was settled between my brother
on our part, and Major S. on the other, with
respect to Toulon." This brother was one of the
commissioners attached to the army of Toulon.
It is still further stated that Robespierre asserted,
" The Spaniards, in consequence of this agree-
ment, fled on all sides, (being attacked at an
appointed time,) and left the English everywhere
to bite the dust ; but particularly at a strong-
hold called by them Fort Mulgrave. The ships
which the Spaniards had to burn, they did
not set fire to. The British ships had more
than one escape at this period. Conformably
to the agreement, the Spaniards were to at-
tempt the destruction of some others, by cutting
the cables, and by blowing up some old French
men-of-war, laden with powder, in the harbour.
This, indeed, they did, but too late to cause any
damage to the English; and in this instance
alone have we any reason to complain of the
Spaniards."
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 69
Speaking of the conflagration of the ships,
Bonaparte himself says, " Sir Sidney Smith set
them on fire, and they would have been all
burned, if the Spaniards had behaved well. It
was the prettiest feu d' artifice possible."
This dictum certainly goes no farther than a
corroboration as to the incapacity of these allies,
to assist whom has caused, and is still causing,
the loss of so much money, anxiety, and blood.
To return to Sir Sidney Smith's proceedings.
Our officer, finding affairs in this critical situ-
ation, immediately proceeded to burn, after having
liberated the prisoners, the two prison-ships, Le
Heros and Themistocle, which he completely
effected. Hardly was this service performed, when
he and his gallant little party were astonished
by the explosion of the Montreal, another
powder-ship, by means equally unexpected
and base, and with a shock even greater than
that of the former disaster ; but the lives of Sir
Sidney Smith and the gallant men who were
then serving under him were again providentially
saved from the imminent danger in which they
were so suddenly placed.
Threading a thousand perils, and literally pull-
ing through showers of grape and musketry, the
brave band which had thus so much damaged the
enemy and served their country, at length
reached the Victory in safety. This exploit was
70 MEMOIRS OF
the most striking and the most glorious feature
of these ill-conducted proceedings. The fame of
our officer was commensurately increased. Men
began to look up to him a sone destined, hereafter,
to extend the conquests and uphold the honour of
the British empire. From the kindness of his
natural disposition, and the amenity of his man-
ners, his successes, great and dazzling as they
were, created for him less envy than usually attends
transcendent merit. Men of all classes and of all
ranks spoke well of him. By the seamen he was
all but idolised.
We present our readers with Sir Sidney's de-
spatch on this momentous occasion :
" Toulon, Dec. 18. 1793.
" MY LORD, Agreeably to your lordship's
order, I proceeded with the Swallow tender, three
English and three Spanish gunboats, to the
arsenal, and immediately began making the ne-
cessary preparations for burning the French ships
and stores therein. We found the dock-gates
well secured by the judicious arrangements of
the governor, although the dockyard people had
already substituted the three-coloured cockade
for the white one. I did not think it safe to at-
tempt the securing any of them, considering the
small force I had with me, and considering that
a contest of any kind would occupy our whole
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 71
attention, and prevent us from accomplishing our
purpose.
" The galley-slaves, to the number of at least
six hundred, showed themselves jealous spectators
of our operations : their disposition to oppose us
was evident; and being unchained, which was
unusual, rendered it necessary to keep a watchful
eye on them on board the galleys, by pointing
the guns of the Swallow tender and one of the
gunboats on them in such a manner as to en-
filade the quay on which they must have landed
to come to us, and assuring them, at the same
time, that no harm should happen to them if they
remained quiet. The enemy kept up a cross fire
of shot and shells on the spot, from Malbosquet
and the neighbouring hills, which contributed
to keep the galley-slaves in subjection, and ope-
rated in every respect favourably for us, by keeping
the republican party in the town within their
houses, while it occasioned little interruption to
our work of preparing and placing combustible
matter in the different storehouses, and on board
the ships; such was the steadiness of the few
brave seamen I had under my command. A
great multitude of the enemy continued to draw
down the hill towards the dockyard wall ; and
as the night closed in, they came near enough to
pour in an irregular though quick fire of mus-
72 MEMOIRS OF
ketry on us from the Boulangerie, and of cannon
from the height which overlooks it. We kept
them at bay by discharges of grapeshot from
time to time, which prevented their coming so
near as to discover the insufficiency of our force
to repel a closer attack. A gunboat was sta-
tioned to flank the wall on the outside, and two
field-pieces were placed within against the wicket
usually frequented by the workmen, of whom we
were particularly apprehensive. About eight
o'clock I had the satisfaction of seeing Lieutenant
Gore towing in the Vulcan fireship. Captain
Hare, her commander, placed her, agreeably to
my directions, in a most masterly manner across
the tier of men-of-war, and the additional force
of her guns and men diminished my appreheiv
sions of the galley-slaves rising on us, as their
manner and occasional tumultuous debates ceased
entirely on her appearance. The only noise
heard among them was the hammer knocking off
their fetters, which humanity forbade my oppos-
ing, as they might thereby be more at liberty to
save themselves on the conflagration taking place
around them. In this situation we continued to
wait most anxiously for the hour concerted with
the governor for the inflammation of the trains.
The moment the signal was made, we had the
satisfaction to see the flames . rise in every quar-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 73
ter. Lieutenant Tupper was charged with the
burning of the general magazine, the pitch, tar,
tallow, and oil storehouses, and succeeded most
perfectly ; the hemp magazine was included in
this blaze : its being nearly calm was unfortunate
to the spreading of the flames, but two hundred
and fifty barrels of tar, divided among the deals
and other timber, insured the rapid ignition of
that whole quarter which Lieutenant Tupper had
undertaken.
" The masthouse was equally set on fire by
Lieutenant Middleton of the Britannia. Lieu-
tenant Porter, of the Britannia, continued in a
most daring manner to brave the flames, in
order to complete the work where the fire seemed
to have caught imperfectly. I was obliged to
call him off, lest his retreat should become im-
practicable : his situation was the more perilous,
as the enemy's fire redoubled as soon as the
amazing blaze of light rendered us distinct ob-
jects of their aim. Lieutenant Ironmonger, of
the Royals, remained with the guard at the gate
till the last, long after the Spanish guard was
withdrawn, and was brought safely off by captain
Edge of the Alert, to whom I had confided the
important service of closing our retreat, and
bringing off our detached parties, which were
saved to a man. I was sorry to find myself de-
74 MEMOIRS OF
prived of the further services of Captain Hare : he
had performed that of placing his fireship to
admiration, but was blown into the water, and
much scorched, by the explosion of her priming,
when in the act of putting the match to it.
Lieutenant Gore was also much burnt, and I was
consequently deprived of him also, which I re-
gretted the more, from the recollection of his
bravery and activity in the warm service of Fort
Mulgrave. Mr. Bales, midshipman, who was
also with him on this occasion, deserves my
praise for his conduct throughout this service.
The guns of the fireship going off on both sides
as they heated, in the direction that was given
them, towards those quarters from whence we
were most apprehensive of the enemy forcing
their way in upon us, checked their career. Their
shouts and republican songs, which we could
hear distinctly, continued till they, as well as
ourselves, were in a manner thunderstruck by
the explosion of some thousand barrels of powder
on board the Iris frigate, lying in the inner road,
without us, and which had been injudiciously set
on fire by the Spanish boats in going off, instead
of being sunk as ordered. The concussion of air,
and the shower of falling timber on fire, was
such as nearly to destroy the whole of us. Lieu-
tenant Patey, of the Terrible, with his whole
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 75
boat's crew, nearly perished : the boat was blown
to pieces, but the men were picked up alive.
The Union gunboat, which was nearest to the
Iris, suffered considerably, Mr. Young being
killed, with three men, and the vessel shaken to
pieces. I had given it in charge to the Spanish
officers to fire the ship in the basin before the
town, but they returned, and reported that various
obstacles had prevented their entering it. We
attempted it together as soon as we had com-
pleted the business in the arsenal, but were re-
pulsed, in our attempt to cut the boom, by re-
peated volleys of musketry from the flagship
and the wall of the Battery Royal. The cannon
of this battery had been spiked by the judicious
preacutions taken by the governor previously to
the evacuation of the town.
" The failure of our attempt on the ships in
the basin before the town, owing to the insuffi-
ciency of our force, made me regret that the
Spanish gunboats had been withdrawn from me
to perform other service. The adjutant Don
Pedro Cotiella, Don Francisco Riguielme, and
Don Francisco Truxillo, remained with me to
the last ; and I feel bound to bear testimony to
the zeal and activity with which they performed
the most essential services during the whole of
this business, as far as the insufficiency of their
76
MEMOIRS OF
force allowed it, being reduced, by the retreat of
the gunboats, to a single felucca, and a mortar-
boat which had expended its ammunition, but
contained thirty men with cutlasses.
" We now proceeded to burn the Hero and
Themistocles, two seventy-four gun ships, lying
in the inner road. Our approach to them had
hitherto been impracticable in boats, as the
French prisoners, who had been left in the latter
ship, were still in possession of her, and had
shown a determination to resist our attempt to
come on board. The scene of conflagration
around them, heightened by the late tremendous
explosion, had, however, awakened their fears
for their lives. Thinking* this to be the case, I
O '
addressed them, expressing my readiness to land
them in a place of safety, if they would submit ;
and they thankfully accepted the offer, showing
themselves to be completely intimidated, and
very grateful for our humane intentions towards
them, in not attempting to burn them with the
ship. It was necessary to proceed with precau-
tion, as they were more numerous than ourselves.
We at length completed their disembarkation,
and then set her on fire. On this occasion I had
nearly lost my valuable friend and assistant,
Lieutenant Miller of the Windsor Castle, who
had staid so long on board, to insure the fire
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 77
taking, that it gained on him suddenly, and it
was not without being very much scorched, and
at the risk of being suffocated, that we could ap-
proach the ship to take him in. The loss to the
service would have been very great, had we not
succeeded in our endeavours to save him. Mr.
Knight, midshipman of the Windsor Castle, who
was in the boat with me, showed much activity
and address on the occasion, as well as firmness
throughout the day.
" The explosion of a second powder-vessel
equally unexpected, and with a shock even
greater than the first, again put us in the most
imminent danger of perishing ; and when it is
considered that we were within the sphere of the
falling timber, it is next to miraculous that no
one piece, of the many which made the water
foam around us, happened to touch either the
Swallow or the three boats with me.
" Having now set fire to everything within
our reach, exhausted our combustible prepara-
tions and our strength to such a degree that the
men absolutely dropped on the oars, we directed
our course to join the fleet, running the gauntlet
under a few ill-directed shot from the forts of
Balaguier and Aiguillette, now occupied by the
enemy ; but, fortunately, without loss of any
kind, we proceeded to the place appointed for the
78
MEMOIRS OF
embarkation of the troops, and took off as many
as we could carry. It would be injustice to those
officers whom I have omitted to name, from their
not having been so immediately under my eye,
if I did not acknowledge myself indebted to them
all for their extraordinary exertions in the execu-
tion of this great national object. The quickness
with which the inflammation took effect on my
signal, its extent and duration, are the best evi-
dences that every officer and man was ready at
his post, and firm under most perilous circum-
stances.
" We can ascertain that the fire extended to at
least ten sail of the line ; how much farther we
cannot say. The loss of the general magazine,
and of the quantity of pitch, tar, rosin, hemp,
timber, cordage, and gunpowder, must consider-
ably impede the equipment of the few ships that
remain. I am sorry to have been obliged to
leave any, but I hope your lordship will be satis-
fied that we did as much as our circumscribed
means enabled us to do in limited time, pressed
as we were by a force so much superior to us. I
have the honour to be, &c.
" W. SIDNEY SMITH.
" Right hon. Lord Hood, &c. &c. &c." *
* Here follows a list of the officers employed, and of the
killed and wounded :
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
79
Lord Hood showed at once his judgment and
his sense of the value of Sir Sidney's services, by
appointing him to be the bearer of the despatches
to England, containing an account of these stir-
List of ships of the line, frigates, and sloops, of the de-
partment of Toulon.
In the road where the English fleet entered Toulon :
Burnt at Leghorn.
Guns.
Le Scipion 74
Remaining at Toulon.
Le Genereux 74
FRIGATES.
Now with the English fleet.
Le Perle - 40
L'Arethuse - 40
Fitted out by the English.
L'Aurora - 32
Put into commission by order
of Lord Hood.
La Topaze 32
Remaining in the power of
the Sardinians.
L'Alceste - 32
SLOOPS.
Now with the English fleet.
La Poulette - - 26
SHIPS OF THE LINE.
Now with the English fleet.
Guns.
Le Commerce de Marseilles
120
Le Pompee - 74
Burnt at Toulon.
Le Tonnant - 80
L'Heureux - - 74
Le Centaur - 74
Le Commerce de Bor-
deaux - - 74
Le Destin 74
LeLys - - 74
Le Heros 74
Le Themistocle - 74
Le Dugay Trouin - 74
Sent into the French ports
on the Atlantic, with French
seamen, fyc.
Le Patriote - 74
L'Apollon 74
L'Orion - 74
L'Entreprenant 74
Le Tarleston - 14
Burnt at Toulon.
La Caroline - 20
L'Auguste 20
80
MEMOIRS OP
ring events. He was favourably indeed, with-
out incurring the blame of exaggeration, we may
Guns.
Fitted out by the English.
La Belette - 26
La Proselyte - 24
La Sincere - 20
Le Mulct 20
La Moselle - 20
Fitted out by the Neapolitans.
L'Employe - 20
Fitted out by the Spaniards.
La Petite Aurore - 18
Sent to Bordeaux.
Le Pluvier - 20
Fitting out when the English
fleet entered Toulon :
SHIPS- OF THE LINE.
Burnt at Toulon.
Le Triomphant 80
Le Suffisant - 74
Now with the English fleet.
Le Puissant - 74
Remaining at Toulon.
Le Dauphin Royal - IzO
FRIGATE.
Burnt at Toulon.
Le Serieuse - -32
Guns.
In the harbour, in want of
repair :
SHIPS.
Burnt at Toulon.
Le Mercure - 74
La Couronne - - 80
Le Conquerant - - 74
Le Dictateur - - 74
Remaining at Toulon.
Le Languedoc - 80
Le Censeur - 74
Le Guerrier 74
Le Souverain 74
Unfit for Service.
L'Alcide - - 74
FRIGATES.
Burnt at Toulon.
Le Courageux 32
L'Iphigenie - 32
L'Alerte - 16
Having on board the powder
magazines, burnt at Toulon.
L'Iris - 32
Le Montreal - 32
Fitted out^ by the English as a
bomb-ketch.
La Lutine - - - 32
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
81
say, was enthusiastically received in London.
He was caressed at the Admiralty, and distin-
guished at the court of his sovereign.
As it is our office to record the events of Sir
Sidney's life more as a public than as a private
character, we shall not inflate these volumes
with anecdotes, which, however pleasing in
themselves, have nothing to do with the official
career of his usefulness and of his glory. It will
be sufficient to say, that, during his short cessa-
tion from actual service, he was sought for and
cherished in the best and most distinguished
circles.
Remaining at Toulon.
La Bretonne
In commission before the Eng
lish fleet entered Toulon:
SHIP
In the Levant.
La Duquesne
FRIGATES AND SLOOPS
In the Levant.
La Sibylle
La Sensible
La Melpomene -
La Minerve
La Fortunee
La Fleche -
La Fauvette]
VOL. I.
Guns.
Guns.
Ion.
Taken by the English.
- 18
L'Imperieuse
40
le Ensr-
La Modeste
32
"- -"-""s
ulon:
L'Eclair
20
At Vilk Franche.
La Vestale
36
La Badine
24
- 74
Le Hazard
30
>PS
At Corsica.
La Mignon
32
- 40
At Cette.
- 32
La Brune
24
- 40
In ordinary at Toulon.
- 40
La Junon
40
- 32
Building.
- 24
One ship of
74
- 24
Two frigates
40
G
82 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER VII.
Appointed to the Diamond His services on the Channel
station Attacks two French ships under La Hogue De-
stroys a French corvette Attacks a French squadron
which had taken shelter in the Port of Herqui.
HAVING, by the late splendid though 'incom-
plete operations, given earnest to his superior
officers, and to the country at large, that he was
possessed of abilities of the highest order, Sir Wm.
Sidney Smith was appointed by the Lords of the
Admiralty, in the commencement of the year
1794, to the command of the Diamond frigate,
on the station of the British Channel.
The officers and the crew of the Diamond soon
experienced the beneficial effects of his en-
lightened and energetic command. At this
period very many and very hurtful prejudices
existed in the service. A mixture of firmness
and conciliation in the carrying out of improve-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 83
ments soon removed most of the anomalies that
interfered with the due efficiency of the force under
Captain Sir Sidney Smith's command. The Dia-
mond became one of the most perfect specimens
of a vessel of war in the British navy. Next to the
conquest or destruction of the enemy, the greatest
glory that can be achieved by the commander is
the ennobling of the force under his government
by judicious expedients, and the employing an en-
lightened discipline to enable him to do so.
It would be tedious to enumerate all the mi-
nutiae of a blockading cruise in the Channel the
chase by day, and the dangerous approximation
to the enemy's harbour by night the interchange
of shot with the batteries, and the verifying of the
charts, under the very guns of the enemy, by
soundings in the boats. Though each of these
operations may seem to be but a little matter of
itself, the whole makes a service no less arduous
than it is necessary. Insignificant as this may
appear to be, it affords an ample field in which
the abilities of the officer in command can be
fairly and almost fully tested.
No sooner had the year 1795 been ushered in by
the din of a war soon to become almost universal,
than the government at home received what was
considered to be authentic information that the
French fleet, under Admiral Villare de Joyeuse,
G 2
84 MEMOIRS OF
had ventured from the protection of the harbour
of Brest, and was actually upon the open seas, on
a cruise. On the 2nd of January, Sir John
Borlase Warren, an officer who had already dis-
tinguished himself, sailed from Falmouth, with a
squadron of frigates, to reconnoitre Brest and the
contiguous line of French coast. To penetrate
into the mouth of this harbour was the hazardous
commission that devolved on Captain Smith.
The Diamond, in an incredibly short space of
time, was so completely Frenchified in appear-
ance but in appearance only that her gallant
captain was enabled completely to deceive the
enemy. With the utmost coolness he sailed into
the harbour in the evening, remained there the
whole of the night, and departed early on the
following morning, without, for a moment, hav-
ing his disguise suspected. In returning from
this bold undertaking, he actually passed within
hail of a French line-of-battle ship.
Having, by this manoeuvre, satisfactorily ascer-
tained that the French fleet had really ventured
to put to sea, he returned in safety with the im-
portant intelligence to his anxious commodore.
Nothing particularly worth narrating occurred
to our officer until the month of May following,
when he assisted at the capture of a convoy of
transports. His untiring vigilance was next
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 85
exhibited on the 4th of July following, when he
made a brave but ineffectual attempt to capture
two French ships of war, having under their pro-
tection a large convoy of merchant vessels. In
this gallant affair the batteries of La Hogue
proved too strong for the attacking force. Even
this failure had more than its compensating ad-
vantages, in the terror that it occasioned to the
enemy, and the paralysing opinion that it gave
them of British daring. In this attempt the
Diamond had the misfortune to have one man
killed and two wounded.
Sir Sidney's official despatch was as follows :
" Diamond) at anchor off the Island of St. Marcou,
July 5, 1795.
"Sin, In pursuance of the orders of the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, I sailed from St.
Helen's on the evening of the 1st instant, and
stretched across the Channel towards Cherbourg,
his Majesty's ships Syren and Sybille, also four
gunboats, in company. On looking into that
port, we found that one of the three frigates which
had been seen there the last time we were off, was
missing : the master of a neutral vessel, just come
out, informed me that she had sailed to the east-
ward, and I accordingly proceeded in questfif her.
Going round Cape Barfleur, we saw two ships,
86 MEMOIRS OF
one of them having the appearance of the frigate
in question, at anchor under the sand, and im-
mediately made sail towards them ; we soon after
saw a convoy coming alongshore within the
islands of Marcou. The wind dying away,
and the ebb-tide making against me, I was
obliged to anchor, and had the mortification of
seeing the enemy's vessels drift with the tide under
the batteries of La Hogue, without being able to
approach them. At four o'clock in the morning
of yesterday, the breeze springing up with the
first of the flood, I made the signal to the squadron,
and weighed and worked up towards the enemy's
ships, which we observed warping closer inshore
under the battery on La Hogue Point.
"As we approached, I made the signal for
each ship to engage as she came up with the
enemy, and at nine o'clock began the action in
the Diamond. The other frigates, having been
sent in chase in different quarters the day before,
had not been able to anchor so near as we did,
and were consequently to leeward, as were two of
the gunboats. The Fearless arid the Attack were
with me, and their commanders conducted them
in a manner to merit my approbation, by draw-
ing off the attention of the enemy's gunboats, of
which they had also two. The small vessels of
the convoy ran into the pier before the town ;
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 87
the largest, a corvette, continued warping into
shoal water; we followed, engaging her arid the
batteries for three quarters of an hour, when,
finding that the enemy's ship had attained a
situation where it was impossible to get fairly
alongside of her without grounding likewise, and
the pilots being positive as to the necessity of
hauling off from the shore, where the water had
already begun to ebb, I acquiesced under their
representations, and wore ship. The Syren and
Sibylle were come up by this time, and the zeal
and ability of their commanders would, I am per-
suaded, have carried them into action with some
effect, if I had not annulled the signal to engage,
which I did, to prevent them getting disabled, as
we were, when we had no longer a prospect of
making ourselves masters of the enemy's ship.
She had suffered in proportion, and we now see
her lying on her broadside with her yards and
topmasts struck, but, I am sorry to say, so much
sheltered by the reef which runs off from La
Hogue Point, that I cannot indulge a hope of her
being destroyed.
" In justice to my officers and ship's company,
I must add, that their conduct was such as gave me
satisfaction. I received the most able assistance
from the first lieutenant, Mr. Pine, and Mr.
Wilkie, the master, in working the ship, on the
88 MEMOIRS OF
precision of which everything depended, circum-
stanced as we were with respect to the shoals
and the enemy. The guns of the main-deck
were well served under the direction of Lieu-
tenants Pearson and Sandsbury, and the men
were cool and collected.
" No officer was hurt ; but I am sorry to say
that I have lost one of the best quartermasters
in the ship, Thomas Gullen, killed, and two sea-
men wounded ; the enemy fired high, or we
should have suffered more materially from their
red-hot shot, the marks of which were visible in
the rigging. We have shifted our fore and main
topmasts, which, with two topsail-yards, were
shot through ; and having repaired our other
more trifling damages, I shall proceed in the
attainment of the objects of the cruise. Fishing-
boats, with which we have had an intercourse,
confirm all other accounts of distress for want of
provisions, and the consequent discontent in this
distracted country.
" 1 have the honour, &c.
" W. SIDNEY SMITH."
" Evan Nepean, Esq."
There is but little in this despatch worthy of
notice, but as a sample of this sort of composition.
The skirmish was itself trifling, and the service it
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 89
rendered to the country but small. It evinces,
however, an indomitable purpose of effecting
everything within the reach of human power,
and is, to our eyes, very valuable on account of
the mention of his quartermaster. It is usual, in
these chronicles of slaughter, to record the deaths
of the petty officers and seamen, in the mass only.
The exemption to this rule is very honourable
to Sir Sidney Smith even on so slight an oc-
casion as was afforded to him by this letter of
service. Honours, rewards, and distinctions
should be scattered more liberally among the
foremast men.
Very shortly after, as the accuracy of the Eng-
lish charts of parts of the coasts of Normandy
was much doubted, Captain Sir Sidney Smith
made very numerous soundings, and minute ob-
servations on the nature of the ground over which
the tides of this part of the Channel so impetu-
ously rush. By these laudable exertions, the
Admiralty charts were brought very nearly into
a state of perfection. He also, about this time,
by the means of his boats, took possession of the
small islands of St. Marcou, situate about four
miles distance from the same coast. Though
there was nothing apparently very splendid in
this conquest, and the surface of territory added
to the British dominions not very extensive, yet
90 MEMOIRS OF
it proved a very useful acquisition, as it afforded
a point from whence, a little time afterwards, a
regular communication was established with the
French royalists.
In this year nothing of moment occurred
until the latter end of August, when Captain
Sidney Smith fell in with and gave chase to the
French corvette La Nationale, of two-and-twenty
guns, which, in endeavouring to elude the pur-
suit of the Diamond amid the labyrinth of rocks
before Treguier, found the fate that she en-
deavoured to avoid. In hugging the reefs too
closely, she struck on the Roanna. The breeze
was fresh, and the eddying and foaming waters
toiled among the crags, and flung its waves
completely over the rock-fettered vessel. She
was a beautiful craft, and for some time seemed
to brave, with impunity, the endless assaults of the
angry seas. But her doom had gone forth, and,
straining and groaning terribly, gave unequivo-
cal signs of approaching dissolution. It was then
that repentance came too late upon the unhappy
crew, for having preferred the insidious and
treacherous asylum of rocks and crags to the
generosity of a brave enemy.
In this situation, and whilst she was getting
out her boats, the devoted corvette filled and fell
over. Had national law and the usages of war
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 91
been strictly adhered to, Sidney Smith would
have been justified in leaving the enemy to their
fate, who had thus, to avoid capture, all but
wantonly destroyed their ship : at least, upon the
mildest construction, he had sufficient cause not
to risk the lives of his own seamen in a hazard-
ous attempt to save those of his enemies. But
these considerations weighed but lightly with his
chivalrous feeling of humanity. The boats of the
Diamond were soon amidst the boiling surf, and
alongside of the separating vessel. Her own
boats had already taken on board a considerable
part of her crew ; and those of Captain Smith's
frigate were only able to save nine.
The French captain was washed from the
wreck, and perished but a few seconds before the
British boats were alongside his vessel. More
than twenty of the French experienced a similar
fate. The swell was tremendous, and in a very
short time not a vestige of the wreck was to be
seen. The sea was so much agitated that the
Diamond, in waiting for her boats, was forced to
come to single anchor in the offing.
On the 17th of March, 1796, (the following
year,) this enterprising commander having re-
ceived intelligence that a small squadron of
armed vessels, consisting of one corvette, four
brigs, two sloops, and three luggers, had taken
92 MEMOIRS OF
shelter in the small fort of Herqui, near Cape
Trehel, he immediately, with his own frigate, the
Diamond, the Liberty man-of-war brig, and the
Aristocrat cutter, repaired to this place. The
channel leading to this small port is narrow and
intricate, and strongly defended by all the art of
fortification. However, this formidable array of
defence was seen only to be despised. The ships
under the command of Sir Sidney Smith stood
boldly in, and commenced cannonading the bat-
teries, whilst Lieutenant Pine of the Diamond,
with a party of seamen, and Lieutenant Carter of
the same ship, with a party of marines, under
the cover of the fire, stormed and most gallantly
carried these defences. In this desperate service
Lieutenant Pine was seriously, and Lieutenant
Carter mortally, wounded. The French vessels
were all burned, with the exception of one of the
luggers, which kept up its fire to the last. The
corvette was a vessel of some force, mounting
sixteen guns, and was named L'Etourdie. The
loss of the English in this attack was two sea
men killed and five wounded, exclusive of the
officers of whom we have before spoken a loss
wonderfully small, considering the arduous nature
of the service performed, and the strength of the
obstacles to be overcome. We subjoin Sir Sid-
ney's despatch on the occasion.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 93
"Diamond, off Cape Trehel, March 18, 1796.
" Sir, Having received information that the
armed vessels detached by the Prince of Bouillon
had chased a convoy, consisting of a corvette,
three luggers, four brigs, and two sloops, into
Herqui, I proceeded off that port to reconnoitre
their 'position and sound the channel, which I
found very narrow and intricate. I succeeded,
however, in gaining a knowledge of these points
sufficient to determine me to attack them in the
Diamond without loss of time, and without wait-
ing for the junction of any part of the squadron,
lest the enemy should fortify themselves still
farther on our appearance. Lieutenant M' Kin-
ley of the Liberty brig, and Lieutenant Gosset of
the Aristocrat lugger, joined me off the Cape,
and, though not under my orders, very hand-
somely offered their services, which I accepted,
as small vessels were essentially necessary in such
an operation. The permanent fortifications for
the defence of the bay are two batteries on a high
rocky promontory. We observed the enemy to
be very busily employed in mounting a detached
gun on a very commanding point of the entrance.
At one o'clock yesterday afternoon this gun
opened upon us as we passed; the Diamond's
fire, however, silenced it in eleven minutes. The
others opened on us as we came round the point,
94 MEMOIRS OF
and their commanding situation giving them a
decided advantage over a ship in our position, I
judged it necessary to adopt another mode of
attack, and accordingly detached the marines and
boarders to land behind the point, and take the
batteries in the rear. As the boats approached
the beach, they met with a warm reception, and
a temporary check, from a body of troops drawn
up to oppose their landing ; the situation was
critical. The ship being exposed to a most galling
fire, and in intricate pilotage, with a considerable
portion of her men thus detached, I pointed out
to Lieutenant Pine the apparent practicability of
climbing the precipice in front of the batteries,
which he readily perceived, and with an alacrity
and bravery of which I have had many proofs
in the course of our service together, he under-
took and executed this hazardous service, landed
immediately under the guns, and rendered him-
self master of them before the column of troops
could regain the heights. The fire from the ship
was directed to cover our men in this operation ;
it checked the enemy in their advancement, and
the re- embarkation was effected, as soon as the
guns were spiked, without the loss of a man,
though we have to regret Lieutenant Carter, of
the marines, being dangerously wounded on this
occasion. The enemy's guns, three twenty-four
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 95
pounders, being silenced and rendered useless
for the time, we proceeded to attack the corvette
and the other armed vessels, which had, by this
time, opened their fire on us to cover the opera-
tion of hauling themselves on shore. The Dia-
mond had anchored as close to the corvette as
her draught of water would allow. The Liberty
brig was able to approach near, and on this oc-
casion I cannot omit to mention the very gallant
and judicious manner in which Lieutenant
M'Kinley, her commander, brought this vessel
into action, profiting by her light draught of
water to follow the corvette close. The enemy's
fire soon slackened, and the crew being observed
to be making for the shore on the English
colours being hoisted on the hill, I made the
signal for the boats, manned and armed, to board,
directing Lieutenant Gosset in the lugger to cover
them. This service was executed by the party
from the shore, under the direction of Lieutenant
Pine, in a manner that does them infinite credit,
and him every honour as a brave man and an
able officer. The enemy's troops occupied the
high projecting rocks all round the vessels,
whence they kept up an incessant fire of musketry,
and the utmost that could be effected at the mo-
ment was to set fire to the corvette (named
L'Etourdie, of sixteen guns, twelve-pounders, on
96 MEMOIRS OF
the main-deck), and one of the merchant brigs,
since, as the tide fell, the enemy pressed down
on the sands close to the vessels ; Lieutenant
Pine therefore returned on board, having received
a severe contusion on the breast from a musket-
ball. As the tide rose again, it became prac-
ticable to make a second attempt to burn the
remaining vessels ; Lieutenant Pearson was ac-
cordingly detached for that purpose with the
boats, and I am happy to add, his gallant exer-
tions succeeded to the utmost of my hopes, not-
withstanding the renewed and heavy fire of
musketry from the shore. This fire was returned
with great spirit and evident good effect ; and I
was much pleased with the conduct of Lieutenant
Gosset in the hired lugger, and Mr. Knight in
the Diamond's launch, who covered the approach
and retreat of the boats. The vessels were all
burnt, except an armed lugger which kept up
her fire to the last. The wind and tide suiting
at ten at night to come out of the harbour again,
we weighed and repassed the Point of Herqui,
from which we received a few shot, the enemy
having found means to restore one of the guns
to activity. Our loss, as appears by the enclosed
return, is trifling, considering the nature of the
enterprise, and the length of time we were ex-
posed to the enemy's fire. Theirs, I am per-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 97
suaded, must have been very great, from the
numbers within the range of the shot and shells.
The conduct of every officer and man under my
command meets with my warmest approbation.
It would be superfluous to particularise any others
than those I have named : suffice it to say, the
characteristic bravery and activity of British
seamen never were more conspicuous. Lieute-
nant Pine will have the honour to present their
Lordships with the colours which he struck on
the battery, and I beg leave to recommend him
particularly to their Lordships, as a most merito-
rious officer.
" I have the honour to be, &c.
"W. SIDNEY SMITH.
" Evan Nepean, Esq. Secretary to the Admiralty."
A return of the killed and wounded belonging to
his Majesty's Ship Diamond, in the three At-
tacks of the Enemy's Batteries and Shipping in
Herqui, the 1th of March, 1796.
" Killed two seamen. Wounded First Lieu-
tenant Horace Pine, Lieutenant Carter of the
Marines, and five seamen.
"W. S. SMITH."
This feat is one of those acts of daring, almost
peculiar to the British navy, that success only
VOL. i. H
98 MEMOIRS OF
seems to justify. The actual gain to the English
cause, and the positive detriment to the enemy,
seem almost trifling when compared with the
risk. As glory is generally great as to the mag-
nitude of the act, and a defeat in this case would
have been inglorious in the extreme, we must ex-
amine more deeply into the question before we can
properly appreciate small but heroical acts like
the above. It is in their moral effect on the
enemy on the one hand, and on our national
character on the other, that we must look for their
excellence. If a nation supposes that its foe will
dare everything, that foe will prove little short of
what it has the credit for. As far as regards the
nation in whose favour is the presentiment, that
nation will be in general victorious, although
the force opposed to it be reckoned superior ; and
should this over-confidence produce a rashness of
action that entails defeat, the victory will be so
dearly sold, that victors will be cautious not again
to reap such another victory.
This line of argument more forcibly applies
to the naval than to the military service. The
latter depends more upon combination, strategy,
and previous arrangement, and the calculation
of chances enters much less into the plan of
operations. But, in a naval engagement, how
much depends upon accident ! A flaw of wind,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 99
a stray shot, one person deficient in his duty,
and all is lost, save honour. Be it remembered
always, that seamen fight over, and almost in
contact with, their magazines. Truly it is a
mighty game of chance, but a game that is sure
to be lost for want of skill, and yet, with the
greatest skill, may be gloriously lost for the want
of fortune. It seems, then, most wise to dare
all, but dare wisely ; and few, nay none, have
been more wise in their daring than Sir Sidney
Smith.
H
100 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER VIII.
Sir Sidney Smith's personal appearance at this time Cuts
out a French lugger near Havre Is drifted with his
prize up the Seine With his party is captured Specu-
lations of the French upon his conduct.
AT this period, when the Diamond came into
harbour to refit for service after her various
cruises, Sir Sidney Smith used frequently to come
up to London, and mingle with the abounding
festivities of the metropolis. Though he had his
peculiarities, yet, with many and strong temp-
tations, he might justly be denominated " a
steady man." At this time he was decidedly
handsome, and, though not tall, of a compact,
well-built, symmetrical frame, with a dark and
somewhat Hebraical countenance, and a profu-
sion of jet-black curling hair. Notwithstanding
the fierce bravery of his character, his features
were always remarkable for a degree of refine-
ment, not often found either in the pale student
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 101
or the silken courtier. In his character, mind
predominated.
He had his singularities, and where is the
thorough-bred seaman who has not? He had
himself trained a beautiful and docile horse into
an amusing playmate, as well as a valuable ser-
vant. When told to give a prance for " King
George," he would rear on his hind legs, and dance
like a well-educated dog. When requested to pay
the like compliment to Bonaparte, he would take
the request as an insult; stiffen out his limbs
into an attitude of defiance, and snort indig-
nantly. When mounting his favourite Buce-
phalus at the door of his hotel, Captain Smith
would do it in the most approved style of the
fashionable equestrians of the day, and preserve
all the proprieties of equitation, until he was
fairly clear of the suburbs. Then would he fling
the stirrups across the back of his horse, settle
himself sailor-fashion in his saddle, and ride as
if he were chasing the wind, and the wind-chas-
ing promises of amendment.
We are now approaching one of the principal
events of our hero's life ; but our friends must
not suppose that we use the term hero in the
novel, but in the historical, acceptation of the
word. This act, which terminated so unfortu-
nately for him, seems to have been of a nature
102 MEMOIRS OF
much less hazardous than that which we have
just narrated, which took place off Herqui, and
to have been planned with scientific foresight;
yet the results were not only disastrous to our
gallant commander, but also highly detrimen-
tal to the interests of his country, in depriving
it, for a length of time, of his invaluable ser-
vices. On the 8th of March, being near the
shore off Havre, with his boats, on a reconnois-
sance, he fell in with and took possession of a
French lugger privateer, which, by the strong
influx of the tide, was, with its captors and their
boats, carried a considerable way up the Seine,
and far beyond the numerous forts. Thus un-
pleasantly situated, it may be fairly said, in the
interior of the country, he found himself in a
situation not very dissimilar from that of the re-
nowned nephew of Gil Perez.
Thus entrapped, Sir Sidney Smith remained dur-
ing the whole night. The first breaking of the
morning presented to the French a very curious and
unaccustomed picture. There lay in the middle of
their own river the long black hull of the lugger,
lately theirs, in tow by a string of English boats,
the crews of which were pulling with a strength
and energy that British seamen only can display.
Great was the Gallic commotion. Amid the in-
cessant crowing of their national cocks, which
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. L03
were doing their matutinal duty this fine spring
morning, in announcing the commencement of
another day, was heard the clamour of the na-
tional guard, the shouting of the peasantry on
the river, and the shriller cries of the females,
mingled with the baying of innumerable dogs,
and the calling of the canonniers to each other,
as they rushed into their various forts and un-
limbered the guns.
In this crisis, the enemy seems to have wanted
neither courage nor conduct ; for in addition to
the fire from the batteries, which played upon
the boats and the prize, several gunboats and
other armed vessels attacked this little party,
and, in less than an hour, another lugger, of
force superior to the one captured, was warped
out and made to engage her late consort. This
unequal fight lasted a considerable time, although
Sir Sidney Smith was exposed to the fire of much
heavier metal, and had, at the same time, to
guard the captive Frenchmen. Never was a
combat more unequal, or an unequal combat
more obstinately sustained. At this period our
officer seems to have been gifted with a charmed
life, for the grape-shot was poured into his vessel
literally in showers. After having, of his little
force, seen eleven men put hors de combat, that
is to say, four killed and seven badly wounded,
104 MEMOIRS OF
he had to undergo that severest of mortifications,
to haul down the English colours that had been
floating over the French, and to render up him-
self, his boats, his prize, and his companions
prisoners of war, to the number of somewhere
about twenty.
As all this passed fully in the view of the
remaining officers and seamen of the Diamond,
they were extremely mortified at not being able
to render their captain and their companions the
least assistance. They did, however, all that
they could. They sent in a flag of truce to
Havre, requesting to know if their highly-valued
captain was unwounded, and entreating for him
every indulgence compatible with his present
unfortunate situation. The reply was courteous,
and full of promise ; but the courtesy was hollow,
and the promise shamefully broken, as a detail
of the indignities to which Sir Sidney was sub-
sequently exposed will fully exemplify.
So daring was this act, and so little were the
apparent advantages to be gained by the risk,
that the French could not well understand it,
and assigned a thousand contradictory motives for
this conduct, not one of them, probably, the true
one. We have stated the facts as given to the
world officially by Sir Sidney. There may have
been some deep political design in thus ventur-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 105
ing into " the bowels of the land " some oc-
cult manosuvre that it would be treachery to
reveal.
Among other vague surmises of the French,
was one, that he himself, or in the person of
Monsieur T., was on an extensive, and to the
French dangerous espionage, and under this im-
pression the French at first confined him in the
Temple as a spy. How they could have come to
this conclusion is somewhat difficult to deter-
mine, seeing that he came into Havre, though
on a small scale, attended with all " the pomp
and circumstance of war."
So serious, however, did Sir Sidney find this
conviction on the minds of those who then ruled
the destinies of the French, that our hero thought
it necessary to appeal to the good sense and ge-
nerosity of Bonaparte, on his return from Italy ;
but even he, who, when not crossed in his am-
bitious views, had no deficiency of generosity and
compassion, found the circumstances, as they
were generally represented, so strong against
him, and the manner of his capture so ambigu-
ous, that he would not interfere in the prisoner's
favour.
Others, who knew that he was actually taken
in open war, with the command of men with
arms in their hands, and in actual possession of
106 MEMOIRS OF
a capture, became ingenious in other explana-
tions, which appear to us equally ridiculous and
remote from the truth. Some said that it was to
win a foolish bet, others that it was a female
attraction ; and not a few, for an overwhelming
desire to go to the theatre at Havre. That he
was taken in a very singular position is certain,
but we believe ours to be the true account of the
matter.
His justly deserved fame : his unceasing vigi-
lance, and his courage bordering on rashness, had
rendered him peculiarly obnoxious to the revolu-
tionised nation, and the French Directors showed
the respect they felt for his heroism by depart-
ing from the established system, consecrated
by the law of nations, which humanely prescribes
an exchange of prisoners during the continu-
ance of war. Captain Sir Sidney Smith was
not to be exchanged. He was conveyed to Paris,
and confined in the Temple for the space of two
years a time truly dreadful when spent in rigid
incarceration.
It would not be foreign to the subject, were
we to pour out the vials of our indignation upon
such unworthy and dastardly conduct as was then
exhibited by these soi-disant renovators of human
institutions, the republican French authorities.
But abhorrent as were their proceedings towards
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 107
Sir Sidney Smith and several other distinguished
captives, it was mercy and beneficence compared
with that which they displayed to the best and
bravest of their own countrymen. Truly the
regeneration of the human race was attempted in
the brazen furnace of cruelty, and fed with the
flames of democratic and dastardly revenge.
The above-mentioned little skirmish, so awkward
in its results to Sir Sidney Smith, furnishes us with
an example of that which we have just advanced,
that in naval operations the best conduct is
often controlled and baffled by chance. When
the privateer lugger was at first taken possession
of, there was a steady breeze blowing from off
the land, but before things could be well arranged
on board of her by the captors, there fell a dead
calm, and she began to drift rapidly up the
Seine. It may be urged that she ought to have
been abandoned after having been scuttled. But
Sir Sidney had a right also to 'depend upon the
chapter of chances. The night before him was
long, and the tide would certainly turn, and the
wind probably change. We do not think that
there is a British officer in the service who would
not have acted in a similar manner.
108 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER IX.
Sir Sidney Smith badly treated as a prisoner of war Re-
moved to Paris, to the prison called the Abbaye Placed
under unwarrantable restrictions Opens a communication
wiih some ladies to aid his escape.
WE are now to consider our subject as a captive,
and view him in the struggle against the oppres-
sion and tyranny of the French authorities. We
see him no longer controlling and directing the
energies of hundreds of seam en- warriors, with
the boundless oce'an for the scene of action the
freest of the free, and with none other restraint,
either upon deed or will, than the prudential
dictates of his own magnanimous mind. No, for
a space, we must view him no more in this glo-
rious light, but consider him as concentrating all
his mental energies within the walls of a strongly
guarded prison, waging with unlimited power
the war only of the mind, yet still glorious, still
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 109
unshaken and unconquered. How many gal-
lant men who are heroes on the field and on
the wave, are less than women in the cell ! If
these spirits be not fed with the atmosphere of
liberty, they pine and dwindle away until the
light of their lives expires, and they go mad or
die. After all, the dungeon is the true test
place for greatness of soul. Infinitely more
easy is it to be heroic on the scaffold or in the
breach, for these are but the efforts of the mo-
ment, than to remain for years in a prison unsub-
dued. How Sir Sidney Smith bore this terrible
ordeal will be shortly seen. Were we writing a
romance instead of a biography, the two years
of Sir Sidney Smith's confinement would amply
supply us with exciting materials sufficient for
two volumes. Fears, hopes, despondency, even
love, were all in their turn brought into play.
When Sir Sidney was captured, he was accom-
panied by his secretary and a gentleman of the
name of T , who had emigrated, and was
in constant attendance on Sir Sidney in the
hope of serving the royalist cause. Thus sud-
denly and unexpectedly finding himself a cap-
tive in a country where he would be looked upon
as a traitor and executed as a spy, the commo-
dore arranged with him that he should assume
the character of his servant ; and so well did he
110 MEMOIRS OF
act up to the disguise, that he was never sus-
pected for a moment. He was called John, by
his supposititious master, and Mr. T.'s assimila-
tion of the menial proved to be perfect.
At Havre, Sir Sidney was treated with the
most unjustifiable rigour, subjected to insult,
taunted with being a spy, and threatened with a
trial by a military commission. So obnoxious
had he become by his activity, and the detriment
he had been to his enemies, that they would have
gladly hung him, had not the fear of retaliation
prevented this mean vengeance. He was, how-
ever, a prisoner much too valuable to be per-
mitted to remain so near the sea- coast, and the
French government accordingly ordered his re-
moval to Paris. In that metropolis, he was at
first confined to the prison called the Abbaye, and,
with his two companions in adversity, kept under
the most rigorous surveillance as well as the closest
confinement.
But no external circumstances could paralyse
the activity of a mind such as Sir Sidney's.
Escape formed the constant object of his thoughts.
He did not confine himself to idle wishes, but set
about deeds. His consultations with his fellow
sufferers were incessant, but such was the rigour
of his custodiers that, for a length of time, no-
thing feasible could be suggested. The window
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. Ill
of their common sitting-room looked into the
street, and thus brought liberty, though not
within their reach, in a most tantalising proxi-
mity. Looking out thus continually upon the
general thoroughfare of their fellow men held
out to them, without cessation, illusive hopes.
Indeed, they felt certain that, sooner or later,
this circumstance would aid them in their
escape.
Whenever there is anything remarkably dan-
gerous and remarkably chivalrous to perform,
(the usual deeds of war excepted,) we are sure to
find woman the principal agent. Three ladies,
who could see the prisoners from the windows of
their apartment, by the blessed feminine intui-
tion immediately took a lively interest in their
fate. Their ingenuity kept pace with their ge-
nerous sympathy. They rapidly learned to ex-
change intelligence with the objects of their soli-
citude by the means of signals, arid a regular cor-
respondence immediately ensued.
So unceasing and lynx-eyed was the vigilance
to which every action of Sir Sidney Smith
was subjected, that he was forced to adopt a
very novel sort of telegraph, wherewith to com-
municate with his fair correspondents. It was
the catching and destroying flies upon the dif-
ferent squares of glass that admitted light to his
] 12 MEMOIRS OF
apartment. Thus several minute lives were sa-
crificed, before the imprisoned hero could well
rid himself of a single idea. We have read of
the great waste of fly-life for the amusement of
a Roman emperor, but the necessity of this
wholesale slaughter on the part of the gallant
Sir Sidney must form his apology.
These ladies made the proposition themselves,
to do all that lay in their power to aid them in
their escape ; an offer, we may be sure, that Sir
Sidney accepted with an eager gratitude, and
they instantly began operations in his behalf.
Before the stern moralist condemns these wo-
manly exertions in favour of the unfortunate on
the score of the want of patriotism, it must be
remembered that the dominant party in France
was not then the most numerous, and that there
was virtue in a cherished, though secret, loyalty
to the vanquished royal cause. They had not,
however, the reward of success for their ceaseless
exertions, and the enormous expenses to which
they freely subjected themselves. They conti-
nually contrived to elude the vigilance of Sir
Sidney's keepers. On both sides borrowed names
were used, taken from the Grecian Mythology,
so that the three prisoners were in direct corre-
spondence with three of the Muses, Thalia, Mel-
pomene, and Clio.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 113
But all their exertions were unavailing, all
their little plans frustrated. The only good that
they were able to effect, was feeding and sup-
porting the minds of their proteges with that
most delicious of nutriments, hope. Scheme
after scheme failed, and in the midst of a very
plausible one, Sir Sidney and his companions
were suddenly removed into the Temple.
But the walls of the Temple were not more
impervious to them than had been those of the
Abbaye. They soon contrived to renew their
correspondence, and not a day passed that did
not find them provided with some new plan
for escape. The captive commodore, at first,
accepted them all with eagerness, but mature
reflection soon convinced him that they were as
visionary as they were generous. In the first
place, he was resolved not to leave his secretary
behind him, and his resolution was still stronger
in favour of the soi-disant John. The discovery
of the real character of the latter would have
been to him an instant and ignominious death,
and his safety was much dearer to his master
than his own emancipation.
Now this John was a very likely, pleasant, and
clever fellow, and for his facetious qualities, and
his general pleasing deportment, was allowed a
considerable degree of liberty in the Temple.
VOL. I. I
114 MEMOIRS OF
He was highly, almost extravagantly, dressed as
an English jockey, and well knew how to assume
the manners befitting the character. But we can-
not forbear remarking, in this place, on the stolidity
of the French Directory, who took a personal in-
terest in the retention of Sir Sidney Smith, and
on the stupidity of the officials whom they had
selected to enforce their views. Indeed, we can
only account for it on the supposition of their
profound ignorance of English manners. That
a buck-skinned, booted, and spurred jockey
should accompany Sir Sidney Smith, and be
made prisoner with him in a cutting-out expedi-
tion under the batteries of Havre, must exhibit
a very singular specimen of the genus, sailor ;
and might well make Messeurs les Concernes, in
viewing such an article, exclaim with the miserly
father, in Moliere's excellent comedy,
" Que le diable fait-il dans cette galere ?"
But, however, not only was John so inexpli-
cably in cette galbre, but he was taken out of it,
and, as we have seen, put in prison, and in prison
he was soon completely at home. Every one was
fond of him. He fraternised with the turnkeys,
and made love to the governor's daughter. As
the little English jockey was not supposed to
have received an education the most profound, he
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 115
was compelled to study how sufficiently to muti-
late and Anglicise his own mother tongue. He
soon accomplished this like a clever farce-player.
Indeed, he acted so well, that he almost overdid
his part ; for, in fraternising with the turnkeys he
would sometimes get drunk with them, and in
making love to the governor's daughter he pro-
mised her marriage, in which promise her faith
was strong, which was very naughty in John, as
he had long been a married man.
It may be said that, at this time, all the pri-
soners seemed as if they were acting a comedy ;
for John appeared very eager and attentive to his
fictitious master, and always spoke to him in the
most respectful manner. In return for this, Sir
Sidney repeatedly scolded this jockeyfied emigrant
with great unction and gravity ; and so well did
they both play their parts, that Sir Sidney con-
fesses that he sometimes ceased to simulate, and
found himself forgetting the friend in the master,
and most seriously rating his valet soundly.
At length John's wife, Madame de T. arrived
at Paris, and immediately commenced making
the most uncommon exertions for the liberation
of the three prisoners. She is represented to
have been a most interesting lady, with a consi-
derable share of personal beauty. She dared
not, however, fearing discovery, come herself to
i 2
116 MEMOIRS OF
the Temple, but from a neighbouring house she
had the satisfaction of daily beholding her hus-
band, as he paced to and fro in the courts of the
Temple a feeling in which her captive partner
fully participated.
In the attempts for Sir Sidney's liberation, it
appears that the ladies always took the initiative.
Madame de T. devised and communicated a plan to
a sensible and courageous young person of her ac-
quaintance, who acceded immediately to it without
hesitation. This convert to the cause of our hero
was also influenced, like the three Muse-named
ladies, by sentiments of what he conceived to be the
true patriotism, for, in giving his adhesion to the
cause of the prisoners, he said to Madame de T.
" I will serve Sir Sidney Smith with pleasure,
because I believe that the English government
intend to restore Louis XVIII. to the throne.
But if the commodore is to fight against France,
and not for the King of France, Heaven forbid
that I should assist."
At this time, there were several agents of the
emigrant king who were confined in the Temple,
and to effect whose liberation a M. 1'Oiseau was
assiduously labouring. It was therefore proposed
that all should go off together, that is to say, Sir
Sidney's party and the royalist agents. One of
these, a M. la Vilheurnois, being condemned to
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 117
only one year's confinement, was resolved not to
entail upon himself any more evils, but quietly to
remain until he should be relieved by the due
course of his sentence ; but the two others, Bro-
thien and Duverne de Presle, had agreed to join
in the attempt.
For some unexplained reasons, this plan com-
pletely failed, not improbably owing to the trea-
chery or the misconduct of M. Le Presle ; but of
this we speak doubtingly. However, it is in these
words that Sir Sidney Smith himself inculpates
him : " Had our scheme succeeded, this Duverne
would not, perhaps, have ceased to be an honest
man ; for, till then, he had conducted himself as
such. His condition must now be truly deplora-
ble, for 1 do not think him formed by nature for
the commission of crimes."
118 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER X.
Another attempt to escape made by boring The general
disaffection to the Directorial Government of France
The failure of the attempt to escape The urbanity of the
jailer of the Temple Anecdotes concerning him.
As M. C. 1'Oiseau was indefatigable in making
his preparations, they were soon in such a state of
forwardness, that it was immediately resolved the
attempt should be made. As all the arrangements
seemed the best that could be adopted under
existing circumstances, our gallant officer and his
companions determined to follow them up to the
best of their abilities.
In the cellar that adjoined the prison, it was
purposed to make an excavation sufficiently wide
to admit freely the passage of one person, but
which it would be necessary to make twelve feet
long. A Mademoiselle D , who generously
abetted these attempts, in order to mask their
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 119
operations, nobly rejecting every prudential con-
sideration, carne and resided in the apartments
over this cellar, of which premises the prisoners'
confederates had contrived to possess themselves,
and they were consequently completely at their
disposal.
As Mademoiselle D was young and at-
tractive, the other lodgers in the mansion attri-
buted to her alone the frequent visits of Charles
1'Oiseau. The lovers of romantic adventure will
perceive that here is plot involved within plot,
and sufficient elements of confusion to form a
Spanish comedy.
Everything for some time seemed to proceed
favourably, and the hopes of the incarcerated
rose correspondingly. No one unconnected with
the scheme, residing in the house, had any sus-
picions of the undermining that was thus actively
going forward. Miss D also brought with
her an amiable little child, only seven years of
age, who was so well tutored that, instead of be-
traying the secret, she was in the habit of con-
tinually beating a little drum, with which she
drowned the noise made by the work of excava-
tion.
Hitherto M. FOiseau had alone worked upon
this hole, and, as he had now laboured a consider-
able time, he began to fear, very naturally, that
120 MEMOIRS OF
he had commenced and driven forward his opera-
tions much too deeply in the earth ; it was there-
fore necessary that the wall should be sounded,
and, for this purpose, an experienced mason was
requisite. Madame de T. who seems, after all,
to have acted as the tutelary genius of this esca-
pade, undertook to procure one an office as de-
licate as it was dangerous, in times when suspicion
was so active, and death so closely attendant on
suspicion. She succeeded, and not only brought
him, but engaged to detain him in the cellar
until all the prisoners had effected their liberation,
which was to take place on that very day. ]Vo
sooner was this worthy artificer conveyed into the
cellar, and instructed as to the nature of his ser-
vices, than he immediately perceived that he
was to be made the instrument to assist some of
the victims of the government. However, he
proceeded without hesitation, and he only stipu-
lated with the parties employing him in this
hazardous business, that, if he were arrested, care
should be taken of his poor children.
All this must strike every one, that the dis-
affection to the then government must have been
though secret from terror, as general, we may
add, as just. Multitudes were willing to thwart
its projects, or deal out to it some blow, pro-
viding there was the probability only of impunity.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
It was the concealed labours of the many against
the despotism of the few. In this view we can-
not look upon the exertions of those thus aiding
persons who had so recently been in arms against
their country to escape, in the light either of
traitors or unpatriotic conspirators.
The mason laboured, and found that the exca-
vation had reached from the cellar to the wall of
the garden of the Temple ; but instead of finding-
it to be too low, it proved to be too high. The
perforation of this wall commenced, and every
stone was removed with the greatest precaution
but in vain ! The hopes of months were frus-
trated in a moment ! The last stones rolled out-
wards into the garden of the Temple, and fell at
the feet of the sentinel. The alarm was sounded,
the guard arrived, and, in a moment, all was
discovered. Very fortunately, the friends of the
prisoners had just time to escape, and not one of
them was taken.
They had provided for all conjunctures, and had
so well arranged their measures, that, when the
commissaries of the Bureau Central came to ex-
amine the cellar and the rooms above them, they
found only a few pieces of furniture, trunks filled
with logs of wood and hay, and some hats deco-
rated with the tri- coloured cockade, for the use of
those who had intended their escape, as they had
in their possession only black ones.
122 MEMOIRS OF
After this tantalising failure, when everything
seemed so auspicious, and everything had been
so admirably conducted, Sir Sidney Smith
wrote to Madame de T. to console both her
and her young friend. Indeed, the latter needed
every sympathy, for his misery was nearly insup-
portable at this bitter frustration of his well-
devised scheme.
Sir Sidney and his companions were in no
manner depressed in spirits by this defeat, but
were continually contriving some new scheme for
their freedom. Defeat will only discourage weak
minds ; and the reader must have already disco-
vered that there was very little of weakness in
the mind of our hero. These manifold machi-
nations did not escape the notice of the keeper ;
but his principal prisoner cared so little about
his suspicions, that he was frequently so frank as
to acknowledge that there was good cause for
them.
This prince of jailers seems to have met this
frankness with a corresponding openness, for he
often said, " Commodore, your friends are de-
sirous of liberating you, and they only do their
duty; I also am doing mine in watching you
more narrowly."
Though this keeper was a man of the sternest
severity in act, yet, in manner, he never departed
from the rules of civility and politeness. He
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 123
was the preux chevalier of jailers. He treated
all his captives with as much kindness as his
sense of duty permitted him to show them, and
even piqued himself upon his generosity. Va-
rious and very tempting proposals were made to
him, but he indignantly rejected them all, and
merely responded to them by watching his charge
the more closely. He had very nice notions of
honour, and though he thought himself too
humble himself to boast of them, he expected and
respected them in others.
One day, as Sir Sidney was dining with him,
this keeper perceived that his guest regarded an
open window in the room with all the wistful
attention of one long imprisoned. Now this win-
dow opened on the street, and the gaze gave the
keeper so much uneasiness, that it highly amused
the commodore. However, not wishing to give
the good man who behaved so well to him too
long a probation, he said to him, laughing, " I
know what you are thinking of; but fear not.
It is now three o'clock. I will make a truce
with you till midnight ; and I give you my word
of honour, until that time, even were the doors
open, I would not escape. When that hour is
passed, my promise is at an end, and we are ene-
mies again."
" Sir," said he, " your word is a safer bond
124 MEMOIRS OF
than my bars or bolts : till midnight, therefore, I
am perfectly easy."
This tells highly for both parties nor is this
all. When they arose from table, the keeper
took Sir Sidney aside, and said to him, " Com-
modore, the Boulevard is not far off. If you are
inclined to take the air, I will conduct you thi-
ther." This proposition struck the prisoner with
the utmost astonishment, as he could not con-
ceive how this man, who, but lately, appeared so
severe and so uneasy, should thus suddenly come
to the resolution of making such a proposal.
Me accepted it, however, and, in the evening,
they went out. From that time forward, this
mutual confidence always continued. Whenever
the distinguished prisoner was desirous to enjoy
perfect liberty, a suspension of hostilities was
offered until a certain time, and this was never
refused by his generous enemy ; but, immediately
the armistice terminated, his vigilance was unre-
mitting. Every post was scrupulously examined,
and every fitful order of the Directory that, at
times, he should be kept more closely, was en-
forced with a rigid scrupulosity.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 125
CHAPTER XL
The renewed rigour of Sir Sidney's confinement M. T.'s
exchange effected The successful plan of escape devised
Is put in execution Sir Sidney proceeds to Rouen
Arrives safely in London His reception by his sovereign
and his countrymen.
UNDER these circumstances of restraint, Sir
Sidney again found himself free only to contrive
and prepare for freedom, and the jailer again to
treat him with the utmost rigour. Sir Sidney
did not lack amusement. We are sadly afraid
that this exquisite race of jailers is extinct. Sir
Sidney Smith has himself placed upon record
this man's creed of honour ; we rather think
that he gave his superiors too much credit. He
would not have found all prisoners of rank like
Sir Sidney. It was thus that he frequently ad-
dressed his captive : " If you were under sen-
tence of death, I would permit you to go out on
126 MEMOIRS OF
your parole, because I should be certain of your
return. Many very honest prisoners, and I my-
self among the rest, would not return in the like
case ; but an officer, and especially an officer of
distinction, holds his honour dearer than his life.
I know this to be a fact, commodore, therefore 1
should be less uneasy if you desired the gates
always to be open."
This was just, so far as regarded his chi-
valrous prisoner, but how prudent as a general
maxim, let the list of parole-breakers testify.
This amiable trustiness has called forth the fol-
lowing remark from our officer, in the accuracy
of which we implicitly trust. " My keeper was
right. Whilst I enjoyed mv liberty, I endea-
voured to lose sight of the idea of my escape ;
and I should have been averse to employ, for that
object, means that occurred to my imagination
during my hours of liberty. One day I received
a letter containing matters of great importance,
which I had the strongest desire immediately
to read; but as the contents related to my in-
tended deliverance, I asked leave to return to
my room, and break off the truce. The
keeper, however, refused, saying, with a laugh,
that he wanted to take some sleep, and I accor-
dingly postponed the perusal of my letter till the
evening."
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 127
In the midst of these exchanges of courtesy and
confidence, the Directory again thought proper
to have Sir Sidney treated with the utmost rigour.
No opportunity of flight now occurred, and the
keeper punctually obeyed his orders; and he who,
on the previous evening had granted him the
greatest liberty, now doubled the guards in
order to exercise the greatest vigilance. Cessa-
tions of hostilities were at end, promenades on
the Boulevards to be enjoyed only in the ima-
gination .
Among the prisoners was a man condemned
for certain political offences to ten years' confine-
ment, and who was suspected by the other pri-
soners of acting in the detestable character of
a spy on his companions. These suspicions Sir
Sidney thought well founded, and therefore ex-
perienced the greatest anxiety on account of his
disguised friend, John the jockey. From these
fears he was relieved, for he was so fortunate as,
soon after, to obtain John's liberty. An exchange
of prisoners being about to take place, our officer
was able to obtain for him that which was perti-
naciously and unjustly refused to himself, getting
his supposed servant included in the cartel : had
the shadow of a suspicion existed of his real
character, he would have been most assuredly de-
128 MEMOIRS OF
tained ; yet, luckily, no difficulty arose, and he
was liberated. When the day of his departure
arrived, this kind and affectionate friend could
scarcely be prevailed upon to leave his bene-
factor and protector, and it was long before he
yielded to the most urgent entreaties. They
parted with tears, which were those of unfeigned
pleasure on the part of Sir Sidney, seeing that
his friend was leaving a situation of the greatest
danger.
In the whole of this part of the transaction
there is much that is truly comic. The amiable
jockey was regretted by every one. The turn-
keys' hearts softened, and their lips opened, for
they heartily and piously drank a good journey
to him. The girl he had been courting wept
bitterly for his departure, whilst her good mother,
who thought John a very hopeful youth, felt
fully assured that, one day, she should call him
her son-in-law. In the midst of all these ludi-
crous ambiguities, we must say that there was a
little dash of needless cruelty in the deception
practised on the confiding girl ; but we must
wait for the march of improvement extending
still farther, before the softer sex are fully in-
cluded in man's laws of honour.
Sir Sidney had soon the extreme satisfaction
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 129
to learn that his friend had safely arrived in Lon-
don, and the knowledge of his safety made his
own captivity the more endurable.
The commodore would also willingly have
effected the exchange of his secretary, but that
estimable gentleman was opposed to all mention
of it, as he would have looked upon it as an in-
fraction of that friendship of which he had given
so many proofs. His principal did not very
forcibly press the matter, as he, unlike Mr.
De T., had no other dangers to apprehend
than those that were common to all prisoners of
war.
On the 18th Fructidor of republican France,
the 4th of September of Christianity, for some
reasons never fully understood, the rigour of Sir
Sidney's confinement was still further increased.
That paragon of jailers, with whom we have be-
come so well acquainted, and whose name, which
ought to be immortalised, was Lasne, was sud-
denly displaced, and his successor immediately
made the commodore actually a close prisoner.
Thus were Sir Sidney's hopes of a peace, which
had just then been much talked of, and of his
own release, crushed together. He now saw in
this wanton severity a demonstration in the Di-
rectory of the most hostile character to the
English nation, and a new barrier to future ac-
VOL. I. K
130 MEMOIRS OF
commodation thrown up by this cruel treatment
of distinguished English subjects.
But, amidst all these present adversities and
gloomy apprehensions for the future, another
proposal was made to the gallant captive, which,
as a last resource, he was resolved to accept. The
plan was simple, and could not but be effective, if
wisely conducted. It was merely, by properly
forged official documents, to order the removal
of the prisoner to another place of confinement,
and, in the supposititious transit, to convey him
first to a place of safety, from whence he might
ultimately make his escape. A French gentle-
man, enthusiastically attached to the royal cause,
a M. de Phelypeaux, whom the reader will again
meet in these Memoirs, was the author of this
scheme. As he was a gentleman not only dis-
tinguished by generosity, but by acumen in
judgment and activity in conduct, the execu-
tion of the project was cheerfully confided to
him. The order for removal having been accu-
rately imitated, and, by means of a bribe, the
real stamp of the minister's signature having
been procured, nothing remained but to find men
bold and trustworthy enough to simulate the
necessary characters that should be employed to
effect the removal. Mr. Phelypeaux and Charles
TOiseau would have eagerly undertaken this part
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 131
of the stratagem also, but both being well known,
and even notorious at the Temple, it was abso-
lutely necessary to employ others. Messrs B
and L therefore, both persons of tried cou-
rage, accepted the office with pleasure and
alacrity.
With this forged order they boldly came to
the Temple, M. B in the disguise of an ad-
jutant, and M. L as an officer. They pre-
sented their order, which the keeper having
pei-used, and of which he carefully examined the
seal and the minister's signature, he went into
another room, leaving the two gentlemen in the
most cruel suspense. After a considerable time,
which anxiety increased into hours, he returned,
accompanied by the greffier or register of the
prison, and ordered Sir Sidney to be sent for.
When the greffier informed the prisoner of the
order of the Directory, Sir Sidney pretended to be
much concerned at it, as it appeared to him to
argue further persecutions on their part. Hearing
this, the adjutant assured him in the most serious
manner, that "the government were very far
from intending to aggravate his misfortunes, and
that he would be very comfortable in the place
to which he was ordered to conduct him." After
this farcical exhibition, the commodore expressed
K 2
132 MEMOIRS OF
his gratitude to all the servants employed about
the prison, and then, with a very commen-
dable despatch, he commenced packing up his
clothes.
On his return, all ready for the approaching
liberty, the greffier remarked that, at least six
men from the guard must accompany the
prisoner ; with which precaution the soi-disant
adjutant coincided, and, without the least ap-
pearance of confusion, ordered them imme-
diately to be called out. No sooner, however,
had he given these orders, than he seemed, on a
sudden, to have called to his mind the law of
chivalry and of honour ; so turning abruptly to Sir
Sidney, he thus addressed him : " Commodore,
you are an officer I am an officer also. Your
parole will be sufficient. Give me but that, and
I have no need of an escort."
" Sir," replied the prisoner, " if that is suffi-
cient, I swear on the faith of an officer to accom-
pany you wherever you choose to conduct
me."
Every one applauded these noble sentiments ;
and the only hardship that Sir Sidney felt in
doing them sufficient justice, was in the difficulty
that he found in suppressing his laughter. The
keeper now asked for a discharge, and the greffier,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 133
handing the book to M. B , he boldly signed
it, with an imposing flourish, " L'Oger, adjutant-
general.*'
During these proceedings, Sir Sidney occupied
the attention of the turnkeys with praises for
their politeness and urbanity, and loaded them
with favours, in order that they might have no
leisure for reflection. The precaution seemed to
be wholly needless, as they appeared to be think-
ing of nothing but their own advantage.
At last these tedious ceremonies were ended,
and the greffier and the governor accompanied
the party as far as the second court ; arid their
suspense was nearly at an end when they found
the external gate opened to them, through which,
after a tantalising exchange of punctilio and po-
liteness, they finally and joyfully passed, and had
the extreme consolation of hearing it bolted be-
hind them.
They instantly entered a hackney coach, and
the adjutant ordered the coachman to drive to
the suburb of St. Germain. But this fellow,
either from his natural stupidity, or from some
little plot of extortion, drove his vehicle, before
he had proceeded one hundred yards, against
a post, broke his wheel, and injured an unfor-
tunate passenger. This centre- terns immediately
collected a demonstration of the sovereign people
134 MEMOIRS OF
in the shape of an angry crowd, who were
exasperated at the injury the poor fellow had
sustained from the misconduct of the coach-
man. The mob, at this time, was not to be de-
spised ; so Sir Sidney and his friends, taking their
portmanteaus in their hands, went off in an
instant.
Though they were much noticed by the people,
the mob, for once, acted justly, confining them-
selves to the office of abusing the coachman. Not-
withstanding this fracas, before the party could
make off, the driver became clamorous for his fare,
when W , through an inadvertency that might
have compromised the safety of them all, gave
the fellow a double louis d'or. Luckily this had
no ill effects.
Directly that they quitted the carriage, they
separated, and Sir Sidney Smith arrived at the
rendezvous, accompanied only by his secretary
and M. Phelypeaux, the last-mentioned gentle-
man having joined them near the prison. Though
our officer was most anxious to wait for his two
friends, in order to thank and to take his leave of
them, M. de Phelypeaux maintained that there
was not a moment to be lost. He was, there-
fore, obliged to defer the expression of his
gratitude until fortune should offer him a bet-
ter opportunity, and they immediately de-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 135
parted for Rouen, at which place a gentle-
man had made every preparation for their re-
ception.
At Rouen, they were obliged to remain several
days; but as their passports were perfectly regular,
they did not take much care to conceal them-
selves, for in the evenings they walked about the
town, or took the air on the banks of the Seine.
Finally, everything having been prepared for
their crossing the Channel, they quitted Rouen
and reached Havre, from whence they embarked
in an open boat, and were picked up by the
Argo, 44, Captain Bower, and landed at Ports-
mouth ; and, without encountering any further
danger, Sir Sidney arrived in London with his
secretary, as well as with M. de Phelypeaux, who
could not prevail on himself to leave them.
During our hero's captivity in the Temple,
Mrs. Cosway, a well-known artist of the day, and
who afterwards published a poem in four cantos,
entitled "the Siege of Acre," contrived to obtain
a sight of Sir Sidney from a window or by some
other means, and made a sketch of him as he sat
by the bars of his prison. The head was in
profile, and bore some resemblance to the origi-
nal, but the features are of too haggard a contour
to be acknowledged as an accurate likeness.
The extraordinary thinness of the figure may be
1.36 MEMOIRS OF
accounted for, by the effect of two years' confine-
ment, during which he was overwhelmed with
every indignity that oppression could lay upon
the subject of its displeasure.
The above is the substance of a quotation
from a very valuable publication, but it says
too much. It appears, by the foregoing nar-
rative, that Sir Sidney had, during the greater
part of his imprisonment, free intercourse with
his friends, an unrestricted correspondence, and,
at intervals, much personal liberty. That he suf-
fered, at times, most of the miseries of capti-
vity, is certain, but never to the extent of bringing
upon him the extreme incarceration for which the
author of this paragraph would solicit our pity.
Mrs. Cosway, her picture and her poem, are al-
most totally forgotten, though her subject is so
worthy of immortality ; and we have only men-
tioned this fact, in order to show the intense in-
terest which everything connected with Sir Sidney
Smith excited at the time.
It was in May, 1798, that Sir Sidney so unex-
pectedly arrived in London, where he was wel-
comed by the universal congratulations of the
people. So rigid had been the care with which
he had been confined, and knowing the value that
the French Directory placed upon the boast of
having the most active commodore in the English
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 137
service in their prison, his arrival was looked
upon, in some measure, as a miracle, which, at
first, but few could prevail upon themselves to
believe. We need not state, that he immediately
became the first lion of the day.
His sovereign took the lead in these demonstra-
tions of interest, and received him with the
warmest affection, and showed in what estimation
he held him, not only by his behaviour on his
public presentation, but by honouring him with
an immediate and private interview at Bucking-
ham-house.
That these demonstrations were more than the
offspring of policy, may be proved by the interest
that his Majesty took for his officer's liberation,
before he effected it so cleverly for himself. He
had permitted M. Bergeret, the captain of the
Virginia French frigate, which had been captured
by Sir Edward Pellew, to go to France and en-
deavour to negotiate an exchange between Sir
Sidney and himself; but, as we have before seen,
being unable to succeed, he very honourably re-
turned to England. The King, to give the French
Directory a lesson in generosity, commanded his
Secretary of State to write to M. Bergeret, to
inform him, that, as the object of his mission to
his own country was now obtained, his Majesty
was graciously pleased, seeing the trouble to
138 MEMOIRS OF
which he had been put, and as a mark of satis-
faction which his conduct had afforded him, to
restore him to liberty, and permitted him to
return to his country without any restriction
whatever.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 139
CHAPTER XII.
Sir Sidney appointed to the command of the Tigre Made
joint Plenipotentiary to the Turkish Court Arrives at
Constantinople His appointment gives umbrage to Earl
St. Vincent.
WE are now approaching the most brilliant epoch
of Sir Sidney's martial career. It was necessary
on the part of the English government to do all
that lay in their power to oppose the aggran-
dising principles and the propaganding spirit of
the French republic. That republic would fain
have had but one nation in Europe, and that
nation the French, but with many thrones and
many kings at Paris. Had these visionary
schemes succeeded, the civilised world might
have been excellently ruled by the departmental
demagogues assembled in the French metropolis ;
but every man out of France, who prized his
nationality, and felt an honest glow at the simple
140 MEMOIRS OF
words, " My country !" was ready to arm and
to die in opposing this generalising and regene-
rating system.
After much diplomacy and infinite trouble,
the obtuse Turk was made to see that if the
republican power were not efficiently opposed,
shortly everything within its scope would be
French in name, and the subject and the slave to
democrat France in reality. With all his faults,
the Turk is obstinately national. He prepared
to fight for what the new philosophy deemed a
foolish prejudice.
In the September of 1798, the Sublime Porte
began to show unequivocal symptoms of having
awakened to a proper sense of his own position,
and to the interests of the nation entrusted to his
government. His new political feelings were
energetically developed by a vigorous measure of
reprisal against all the persons and property of
the French that could be discovered in his domi-
nions, and by fulminating a manifesto of ex-
traordinary bitterness against the self-constituted
government established in Paris.
This welcome display on the part of the Otto-
man Porte caused the most active preparations in
London for the speedy conclusion of a treaty of
alliance, offensive and defensive, between Great
Britain and Turkey. The more effectually to
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 141
bring this measure to a happy maturity, the
British government resolved to bestow a minis-
terial character upon the English officer destined
to the difficult task of associating and co-ope-
rating with the Turkish fleets and armies. The
choice of the person to fulfil this character, at
once so delicate and so arduous, naturally and
very justly fell upon Sir William Sidney Smith;
and he was accordingly included in the especial
full powers as joint plenipotentiary with, and
despatched to, the British minister then residing
at Constantinople. Sir Sidney had been ap-
pointed, on the 2nd of July, 1798, to the com-
mand of the Tigre of eighty guns ; and in that
ship he sailed on his honourable mission from
Portsmouth, on the 29th of October of the same
year. This service was peculiarly grateful to our
officer, as his brother was, at that time, the
English envoy to the Ottoman Porte.
On the 5th of January, 1799, he had a con-
ference with the Reis Effendi, at which was pre-
sent Mr. Spencer Smith, the English ambassador.
Among the presents destined for the Grand
Seignior, and which Sir Sidney Smith was
charged to present, were a perfect model of the
Royal George, and twelve brass field-pieces,
three -pounders with their caissons so constructed
as to be portable on camels.
142 MEMOIRS OF
On the llth he took up his residence at the
beautiful palace of Bailes, in which the ambas-
sadors of the Venetian republic formerly lived.
He was accompanied by several military and
naval officers, some French emigrants, and a
guard of marines. He was received by the Ottoman
court with all the distinction due to a foreigner
in a public character.
The expediency of appointing naval and mili-
tary officers to diplomatic functions has been
often called into question. We not only think it
often expedient, but also highly beneficial. In
all negociations, the principal staple should be a
singleness of purpose and an unswerving honesty.
In all matters of treaty, the parties must have
some definite object. To carry out this object,
determination, good sense, and honesty are alone
necessary. These are always acquired in the
naval and military services ; they are too seldom
found, and if once possessed, too often lost, amidst
the suppleness and chicanery of a court, and the
amusing tortuosities of diplomacy. Special
pleading is not natural to the English character ;
but an Englishman knows both what is due to
him, and what he wants ; and he has invariably
found that the worst method for him to obtain
these, is by the negociation of those educated to
negociate, who have generally finessed away all
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 143
their notions of integrity, and protocolled them-
selves out of their powers of perception of right
and wrong. Need we cite instances, now going
on before our eyes, of this melancholy truth?
Whatever may have been the faults of the Tory
administration, they evinced both good sense and
vigour in the frequent employment of naval and
military characters in diplomatic offices, and
never more so than in the nomination of Sir Wil-
liam Sidney Smith to be joint plenipotentiary to
the Ottoman Porte.
This appointment of Sir Sidney's gave, how-
ever, great umbrage in several eminent and influ-
ential quarters. There is but little doubt but
that the already justly-acquired celebrity and
the increasing renown of Sir Sidney had that
influence upon human feeling which signal suc-
cess will always have upon even the best of us.
We have it upon an authority that it would be
treason in literature to doubt, that Sir Sidney's
appointment to a separate command in the Medi-
terranean was more than distasteful, even an an-
noyance, to Earl St. Vincent, and more especially
so to Lord Nelson.
" The Quarterly Review," for October 1838,
states distinctly that, owing to a little ambiguity
in the orders of the Admiralty in appointing Sir
Sidney Smith to serve under Lord Nelson en-
144 MEMOIRS OF
tirely, Lord St. Vincent was overlooked ; but lie
too well knew the rules of the service to let Sir
Sidney slip through his hands. All his anxiety
was respecting the feelings of Nelson. On
this subject he thus wrote to Lord Spencer from
Gibraltar.
" An arrogant letter, written by Sir Sidney
Smith to Sir William Hamilton, when he joined
the squadron forming the blockade off Malta,
has wounded Rear- Admiral Nelson to the quick,
(as per enclosed,) which compels me to put this
strange man immediately under his lordship's
orders, as the King may be deprived of his (Lord
Nelson's) valuable services, as superior to Sir
Sidney Smith at all times as he is to ordinary
men. I experienced a trait of the presumptuous
character of this young man during his short stay
at Gibraltar, which I passed over, that it might
not appear that I was governed by prejudice in
my conduct towards him."
This is a severe sentence passed upon our hero ;
but we really cannot help thinking that the dis-
claimer of prejudice, so energetically put forward,
was rather premature. The bitterness with which
he styled the hero of Acre this young man does
not speak highly of the gallant old Earl's utter
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 145
freedom from prejudice. We wish, for the sake
of his own reputation, that he had not made use
of this waspish expression ; but it must not be
too much dwelt upon, considering the vast merits
and the eminent services of the veteran com-
mander.
There was always something peculiar in the
manner of Sir Sidney Smith a peculiarity that,
with the malevolent, would admit of a very wide
construction : that it often found a very unge-
nerous one, is lamentably but too true. Without
meaning anything that approaches to disparage-
ment in reference to the manners of Sir Sidney's
cotemporary brother officers, we are bound to
state that, from his infancy, he had much of the
deportment of the courtier in his carriage, and a
little of the petit-maitre in his appearance. He
had had already, at a very early age, great suc-
cesshe was ardent in his imagination, and
fluent in his speech. These are sometimes dan-
gerous gifts. They are too often great betrayers
leading to a promptitude of action, and a reck-
lessness of expression, that the very sober-minded
may often deem an approximation to incipient
insanity. We thus find Earl St. Vincent, in his
well-disciplined mind, suspicious of Sir Sidney
Smith's conduct, and designating him as " a
strange man." That he appeared, at times,
VOL. I. L
146 MEMOIRS OF
strange, is as undoubtedly true as that he some-
times did strange things but this strangeness
led to very glorious consequences.
The good old admiral goes on to remark:
" I even, in fact, had good reason to be dissa-
tisfied with Sir Sidney Smith, who is stated ( to
have commenced his command before Alexandria
by counteracting the system laid down by his
lordship,' and which always," says Earl St. Vin-
cent, " appeared to me fraught with the most
consummate wisdom ;" and he adds, " my only
apprehension is, that Sidney Smith, enveloped in
the importance of his ambassadorial character,
will not attend to the practical part of his military
profession."
May we be permitted to remark, that this
borders nearly upon the ungenerous ? Why
found an imputation so injurious upon a mere
ex parte and unproved statement? But the sequel
is the best refutation to this attack. Sir Sidney
did not, " enveloped in the importance of his
ambassadorial character/' omit " to attend to
the practical part of his military profession/'
Lord Nelson's system must, undoubtedly, have
been good, because it was Lord Nelson's ; but that
Sir Sidney Smith's could not have been bad, we
have the best and most popular of all testimonies
to prove success.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 147
Again, Earl St. Vincent, in the following ab-
stract of a letter to Nelson, complains, for the first
time, of his health, and cause of dissatisfaction
from home.
" I am not well, and have great cause for dis-
satisfaction from higher quarters. He (Sir Sid-
ney Smith) has no authority whatever to wear
a distinguishing pennant, unless you authorise
him, for / certainly shall not. Your lordship
will therefore exercise your discretion on this
subject, and every other within the limits of
your command. I have sent a copy of the orders
you have judged expedient to give Sir Sidney
Smith (which I highly approve of) to Lord
Spencer, with my remarks ; for I foresee that both
you and I shall be drawn into a tracasserie about
this gentleman, who, having the ear of ministers,
and telling his story better than we can, will be
more attended to."
We do not like this. It is petulant and
womanly. Down with the miserable stripe of
bunting in an open and seaman-like manner;
if it be an assumption on the part of Sir Sidney,
down with it but let us have no pining at or
whining about it.
But this, we are sorry to say, appears to us to
L 2
148 MEMOIRS OF
be of a piece with the sneer upon his being the
gentleman. Do those, who really are gentlemen,
ever attempt to convey a taunt by imputing to
another the fact that he is a gentleman ? If this
be used by the Earl as a term of reproach, what
then must he himself have been? If it was
meant as a sarcasm, it is a sarcasm of a most
villanous taste, and decidedly as wanting in point
as it is in good-nature.
But then Sir Sidney had " the ear of the
minister," and could tell his own story better
than either Earl St. Vincent or Lord Nelson. It
is distressing to see two renowned leaders dri-
velling about this. He could not tell his story
better than either the hero of the Nile or of the
Cape. When he had a good tale, it told itself
well ; but, in his despatches, we do not find any
very alarming bursts of eloquence. They are
decidedly less forcible and elegant than we should
expect from such a man.
And shortly after, in another letter, he says
" I fancy ministers at home disapprove of Sir
Sidney Smith's conduct at Constantinople;
for, in a confidential letter to me, a remark is
made, that our new allies have not much reason
to be satisfied with it. The man's head is com-
pletely turned with vanity and self-importance."
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 149
The " Quarterly Review " thus makes the
"amende" for what we think something too
severe in its remarks upon the bearing of our
officer.
" With all Sir Sidney's faults, however, the
memorable defence of Acre, with small means,
against the overwhelming force of Bonaparte,
entitles him to the gratitude of the British nation,
and will, if our annals speak true, immortalise
his name.
" Of this we are assured, whether the annals of
our country be true or false, (for not on their vera-
city but on their duration the matter depends,)
his fame will be equally lasting with that of
the proudest of our heroes. So intimately is Sir
Sidney Smith's name associated with the glory
of the country, that, among naval men, when-
ever the names of Howe, Duncan, or Nelson,
have been mentioned with enthusiasm, the per-
oration has always been the praise of our officer.
We may safely say that in the cockpit he is ido-
lised, an especial favourite in the gunroom, and
in the cabin deeply respected. The very chivalry
of his character, which makes him, in the eyes
of the young and ardent, the object of their
deep admiration, will always be a matter of sus-
picion to the old, the wily, and the shrewd poli-
tician.
150 MEMOIRS OF
" For ourselves, highly as he stands in our esti-
mation, we do not think that it ever was advis-
able to have entrusted him with the sole command
of armaments so extensive, that a failure would
turn the tide of success of a whole war against
us, or place the nation in peril. His character
was formed for the detached and the brilliant.
It appears that success or failure was always, to
him, an object secondary to that of exciting
astonishment, or gaining glory."
Sir Sidney was already most favourably known
to the Turks ; for, when he was with them before,
he had brought out with him a clever architect,
a Mr. Spurnham, and fifteen able shipwrights.
These superintended and assisted at the building
of several fine Turkish vessels ; and in one year,
that of 1798, they were thus enabled, with many
smaller vessels, to construct a three-decker and
another line-of-battle ship of eighty -four guns,
which, in Sir Sidney Smith's official mission, by
the assistance of the crew of the Tigre, they were
enabled to launch and fully equip for service.
These vessels afterwards formed a part of Sir
Sidney's squadron.
During the whole time that the Turkish ships
were serving with the English, there were placed
on board the former, petty officers and some ex-
perienced seamen to instruct the Osmanlie crew
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 151
how to work them ; and thus assisted, they did no
discredit to their generous allies in their various
maritime rnanreuvres.
Now, during the interval of Nelson's glo-
rious victory of the Nile, and the arrival of Sir
Sidney Smith on the Syrian coast, Bonaparte had
almost entirely subjugated Egypt, and had already
commenced a well-conceived plan of colonisation
and organisation of his own important conquest.
His promptitude and talent for the administration
of the internal affairs of a kingdom, so extra-
ordinary as that of Egypt, cannot be too highly
eulogised. Already had he established so much
order and regularity among these new subjects
to the French, arid established in these dominions
so many military resources, that he conceived him-
self enabled to lead on his army, and to endeavour
to subdue the contiguous provinces to the East.
His troops were fully prepared for the expedition.
By this demonstration he threatened the subju-
gation of the remaining Turkish provinces in
that quarter, and was even enabled to give us
some alarm, though completely unfounded, for
our invaluable British establishments in India.
Though much of the apprehensions excited by
the brilliant success and rapid movements of the
French leader were totally baseless, yet the policy
would have been a very weak one, had the con-
152 MEMOIRS OF
federated powers not sought means to check his
progress, and to destroy the moral effect pro-
duced upon the inhabitants of the East by his
victorious career. Very great exertions were
accordingly made on the part of the Sublime
Porte, and their new allies, the English, to arrest
the course and counteract the designs of the future
Emperor of the French.
Deeply impressed with this community of in-
terests, preparations were made throughout Syria
for military resistance to the march of the French
by the Ghezzar Pasha, who was to be still fur-
ther supported by an army which was to form a
junction with him, by traversing Asia Minor.
It was supposed that this force would be suffi-
ciently strong to warrant the experiment of an
attack on the frontier of Egypt, without waiting
for the advance of the French. This demonstra-
tion was to have been supported by a powerful
diversion towards the mouths of the Nile, and
made still more effective by the operations of a
strong corps under Murad Bey.
Silt SIDNEY SMITH. 153
CHAPTER XIII.
Preparations for the defence of Acre Mention of Captain
Wright Anecdote of the King of Sweden's diamond
ring The French move towards Acre Lose their bat-
tering-train.
THIS plan of operations was well arranged, but
the Turks had not sufficiently advanced in military
science to act upon extensive combinations. All
these preparations, for a time, proved futile when
opposed to the well-considered tactics of Bona-
parte. That consummate general, having ob-
tained intelligence that the arrival at the Otto-
man court of Commodore Sir William Sidney
Smith would be the signal for the commencement
of these too widely diffused operations, deter-
mined not to wait for the combined movement,
but to act, at once, against a part of the force to
be employed against him. He therefore deter-
mined to commence offensive operations against
154 MEMOIRS OF
the Pasha. The French forces destined for this
expedition amounted to about thirteen thousand
men. The face of the country being entirely
impracticable for artillery, the republican general
had no other means of conveying it to the des-
tined scene of operations but by sea. He there-
fore shipped his train at Alexandria. Rear Ad-
miral Perree was sent with three frigates to con-
voy the flotilla, having orders afterwards to cruise
off Jaffa. It may not be here out of place to
state that this town, Jaffa, had been stormed and
taken by the French on the preceding 7th March,
on which occasion the whole of the Turkish gar-
rison was put to the sword. The conquest was
not worth the cost. In the assault the French
lost above twelve hundred of the elite of their
army. To show also the desperate policy and
the extraordinary lengths to which Bonaparte
would sometimes proceed, he announced that in
this expedition to Palestine he purposed to take
possession of Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple,
restore the Jews, and thus disprove the prophecies
of the divine Founder of the Christian religion.
But it must be remembered, in order to vindicate
such boasting from the imputation of insanity,
that, at that time, infidelity was the road to Gallic
power, and the revilement of Christianity not
unpleasing to his newly-acquired subjects.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 155
After this digression, we must hasten to return
to our commodore, and narrate the progress of
the operations in which he was so materially con-
cerned. Being apprised of the enemy's inten-
tions, he left the Turkish capital, in the Tigre, on
19th February, 1799, and after making several
needful arrangements with Hassan Bey, the Otto-
man governor of Rhodes, who happened to be an
old sea-captain, he sailed from that island, and
arrived off Alexandria on the 3d of March. He here
found in command Captain Trowbridge, whom
he immediately relieved, and then despatched his
friend and second lieutenant, Lieutenant Wright,
to St. Jean d'Acre, to decide, with its commander,
upon the necessary measures for the obstinate
defence of that fortress.
We will take this opportunity of mentioning,
that this brave officer, Wright, who honoured
and was honoured with the friendship of Sir
Sidney, was as unfortunate as he was brave. In
the subsequent gallant and glorious defence of
Acre, to which we shall shortly refer, he received
a severe and dangerous wound, and was after-
wards promoted to the rank of commander. Just
as the great prizes of his profession seemed to be
soliciting his grasp, he had the mortification
of being made prisoner by the French, and died
in that situation after a protracted, rigorous, and
156 MEMOIRS OF
cruel confinement. For these harsh measures
the French authorities have some palliation in the
very suspicious service on which he was employed
when captured. At one time, it was generally sup-
posed that he was assassinated, whilst in prison, by
the orders of Bonaparte. This, however, turns out
to be a malicious calumny. It proves, however,
the value that public opinion placed upon Wright ;
for to be thought the object of personal fear to
a man like Bonaparte is no mean commendation.
His old friend and commander has given proof of
his esteem, for he has, since the peace, caused a
handsome monument to be erected to his memory
at that Paris which was so long the scene of their
mutual sufferings.
This gives us occasion to relate an anecdote of
a very humble individual, connected with the fate
of poor Wright, and alike elucidatory of the cha-
racter of Sir Sidney. This anecdote, trivial as it
may appear to the superciliously grave, ought not
to be undervalued, since it affords us the enviable
opportunity of placing upon record a single effort
of our enterprising commodore to conciliate the
Muses an effort that possesses one most excellent
quality, not usually met with in the poetical effu-
sions of the day, yet no less to be desired it is
brevity.
When Wright received his severe wound, it
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 157
was reported to Sir Sidney that he was actually
killed. The commodore's grief was excessive,
and when, immediately after, Colonel Douglas, of
the royal marines, reported the successful spring-
ing of a mine that had destroyed a vast number
of the enemy, Sir Sidney's principal thought was
about his old companion and tried friend, Wright.
" Let the French," &c. &c., was Sir Sidney's
reply ; " but if you love me, and it be possible,
bring in the body of poor Wright."
The colonel immediately called to one of his
men, a gigantic, red-haired, Irish marine, who,
by some singular means, had contrived to get
himself named James Close. Pointing to the
mass of carnage that lay sweltering in the ditch
below, where the slightly wounded and the actu-
ally dying were fast hastening into mutual cor-
ruption under the burning sun, " the colonel
said, " Close, dare you go there, and bring us the
body of poor Wright ?"
" What darn't I do, yer honour?" was the im-
mediate reply, and exposed to the musketry of
the enemy, wading through blood, and stumbling
over dead bodies and scattered limbs, he, unhurt, at
length found Wright, not killed, but only wound-
ed, and he brought him away safely from these
shambles of death and the plague. The French
spared him for the sake of the heroism of the act.
158 MEMOIRS OF
The rescue was complete, for Close conveyed
him to the hospital, where he soon completely
recovered, to find, not long after, a less honoured
death.
This intrepid conduct brought the marine into
especial favour with Sir Sidney, and had his edu-
cation but have warranted promotion, his advance-
ment would have been rapid. The commodore did
for him all that he could ; he exempted him from
the wearying routine of a private's duty, and made
him his orderly, thus limiting his services to a
mere personal attendance on Sir Sidney.
It would seem that James Close was not so
great a hero in resisting the temptation of a
naval life, grog, and the illegal means of obtain-
ing it, as he was fearless of the enemy, and great
in the field. Indeed, it requires a most amiable
believer in the intuitive integrity of our species,
not to pronounce that, for a little peccadillo or so,
he deserved to be hung ; but of this we cannot
judge, as the truth of the matter will ever remain
in the deepest mystery.
Our gallant hero not James Close, but his
commander-in-chief had received from the King
of Sweden a beautiful and very valuable diamond
ring, and which, amongst other jewellery, and
with his orders, he always wore on state
occasions. At a grand dinner given at the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 159
monastery at Acre, and at which all the superior
officers of both the English and Turkish service
were present, with every other civilian of note, that
part of the ornaments that consisted of Sir Sid-
ney Smith's rings was lost. He was in the habit,
just before he washed his hands after dining, to
take from off his hands his bijouterie, and place
the trinkets under the tablecloth a very provi-
dent plan, when the guests happen to be nume-
rous and miscellaneous. This custom he put in
practice on this day, but unfortunately, when he
rose from the table, he totally forgot the treasure
that he had left beneath the tablecloth, and
retired as happy as if his fingers had displayed
their wonted effulgence.
It was usual, on these high occasions, for Sir
Sidney Smith's bodyguard, consisting of a party
of the royal marines, to place themselves at the
vacated table, when the guests had withdrawn,
and finish the fare provided for their superiors
a munificent regulation, highly creditable to Sir
Sidney.
On this day, the custom was honoured, not by
the breach, but the observance ; for not only did
the fragments of the feast disappear, but the
rings also, as, shortly after the viands were con-
sumed, Sir Sidney missed his ornaments, and a
strict but ineffectual search ensued.
160 MEMOIRS OF
The Greeks have a bad character, and on this
occasion they received the full benefit of it, as it
was supposed that the attending descendants of
Homer's heroes had made to themselves the lucky
appropriation ; and being Greeks, the English
very wisely deemed that search would be fruitless,
and recovery hopeless.
For two years the stigma lay with the Athe-
nians, when, in 1801, the marines disembarked
from the Tigre to assist Abercromby in his opera-
tions. After the action of the 13th of March, it
fell to the duty of these marines narrowly to in-
vest the Castle of Aboukir. One day, four of
these marines, (we do not know why posterity
should not be acquainted with their names,)
Clark, Stan ton, West, and James Close, were
taking their ease in their hut, which an envious
shot from the castle disturbed, by killing Clark
and Stanton, and thus naturally causing the two
survivors narrowly to search, as is the laudable
custom on such occasions, the dead bodies of their
comrades. Among other good things that they
possessed, there were found in Stanton's pockets
(at least Close said so) two rings, of which the
said Close took particular care.
Some little time after, Close was again ordered
on shore on military duty, and he then entrusted
these rings to the care of another of his com-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. K>1
rades, named Connor Close, thinking this Con-
nor to be a particularly steady man, and conse-
quently that they would be more safe in his keep-
ing, on board, than in his own, on shore.
In order to do full justice to this opinion, Con-
nor goes on board on the same day, and very
carefully gets gloriously drunk, and " appetite
increasing by what it fed on," that is to say, the
act of drinking making him much athirst for
more, he sells the heaviest of the rings, the veri-
table King of Sweden, for a mere thimbleful of
the poison, to his messmate, who, having the
spirit of barter strongly upon him, sells it again
to Sir Sidney Smith's steward for the enormous
value of half a gallon of bad wine. The steward
immediately recognised it as the great diamond,
" the right royal Gustavus," as Sir Sidney was
wont to call it, and of whose majesty no tidings
had been heard for two years.
Investigation immediately followed discovery,
and it was speedily traced up to James Close, who
was sent on board and interrogated strictly. Of
course, he laid the primal theft at the door of the
departed, well knowing and acting upon the pro-
verb, that " dead men tell no tales," at least on
this side of the grave. It was never known ex-
actly what degree of credence Sir Sidney gave to
this account ; but as it was certain that even dead
VOL. I. M
162 MEMOIRS OF
men ought not to be robbed, James Close stood
within the terrors of the law, and, consequently,
Close found himself immediately in close custody.
The officers of the Tigre endeavoured to pre-
vail upon their commander to bring the prisoner
to a trial by court-martial, but his heroic conduct
towards Captain Wright operated strongly in his
favour; so after a few days' confinement Sir Sid-
ney sent for him on deck, and ordering him to be
released, thus addressed him :
" You're Close by name, and Close in every thing,
And Close you've kept, O Close, my diamond ring."
It was very fortunate for the culprit that his
captain was more in the rhyming than the flog-
ging vein , for we think it not unlikely that the
fecundity of Sir Sidney's head saved the marine's
back. However, the lines were looked upon as a
monument of poetical genius, and the distich
stuck as closely to poor Close as any punster of a
reasonable good-nature could have wished.
As faithful chroniclers of the events connected
with these Memoirs, we feel bound to state the
general impression among the officers and seamen
of the English squadron respecting the real cha-
racter of Wright. Before Sir Sidney commenced
his renowned defence of Acre, Wright was the
second lieutenant of the Tigre. It is well known
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 1G'J
that he was landed by Sir Sidney Smith, in his
own barge, at a short distance from Alexandria,
in the night-time, not openly as a British naval
officer, but bearded, moustachioed, and shawled
a la Turque, and for the express purpose of obtain-
ing valuable information. Conscious of the du-
biety of his mission, on stepping on shore he
thus addressed the boat's crew : " Men, beware
of your words ! I am going to serve my king
and country, if, by the help of God, I can."
Then turning to his commander, he exclaimed,
" Sir Sidney, do not forget the boat's crew."
The vulgar belief may have been erroneous,
but it was asserted that he was constantly em-
ployed by Sir Sidney as a spy, and the fact was
neither concealed nor denied on board the Tigre.
But to resume. Sir Sidney, after bombarding
Alexandria in the vain hope of arresting the
march of Bonaparte towards Acre, which was not
then sufficiently strengthened to stand a siege,
sailed for that devoted place, off which he anchored
on the 15th of March. He immediately landed,
and proceeded to inspect the fortifications. These
he found in a dilapidated and most ruinous state ,
and almost destitute of artillery. Making the
best arrangements that the shortness of the time
until the attack would be expected, and the pau-
city of the materials for a defence permitted, on
M 2
164 MEMOIRS OF
the 17th of March the commodore again put to
sea in the Tigre's boats, and proceeded to the
anchorage of Khaiffa, in order to intercept that
portion of the French expedition which would
take its route along the sea-coast, and which Sir
Sidney was convinced must necessarily soon
make its appearance. His anticipations were
correct, for, at ten o'clock on the same night, he
discovered the approach of the enemy's advanced
guard, moving leisurely forward by the sea-side.
They were mounted upon asses and dromedaries,
and offered a novel and somewhat grotesque spec-
tacle. Having thus satisfied himself as to their
actual approach, the commodore, with all haste,
returned on board the Tigre, from which ship he
immediately despatched Lieutenant Bushby, in a
gunboat, to the mouth of a small river (the brook
Kishon of the Scriptures) that flows into the bay
of Acre. He had strict orders to defend the ford
across this little stream to the utmost, and by no
means to suffer the French to advance by this
way on the town.
At the break of day, this intelligent officer
admirably worked out his commander's inten-
tions. This curiously mounted advanced guard
had, unexpectedly, so vigorous and so destruc-
tive a fire opened upon them, that they were
driven, in great confusion, both from the shore
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
and the ford, and great was the overthrow of
men, as well as of dromedaries and asses. In-
deed, a tumultuous dispersion of the whole force
ensued, and was scattered on the skirts of Mount
Carmel.
Taught by this repulse, the main body of the
French army avoided carefully this pernicious
and gunboat-guarded ford, and, to escape a
similar attack, were obliged to make a large
circuit, and advance upon Acre by the road of
Nazareth. This they did without much diffi-
culty, for they soon drove in the Turkish out-
posts, and encamped upon an insulated emi-
nence skirting the sea, upon a parallel direction
with the town, and about one thousand toises
distant from it. As this elevation extended
to the northward as far as Cape Blanc, it com-
manded a plain to the westward of seven miles
in length, and which plain is terminated by the
mountains that lie between St. Jean d'Acre and
the river Jordan. This position of the repub-
lican forces was as commanding and as good as
could be well desired. Favoured by the shelter
afforded them by the outlying gardens, the un-
filled ditches of the old town, and an aqueduct
that adjoined to the glacis, they opened their
trenches against the crumbling works of the
town on the 20th, and at no greater distance than
one hundred arid fifty toises.
166 MEMOIRS OF
We have here again to make a cursory men-
tion of a very brave and clever loyalist, M.
Phelypeaux, who had been in the service of
Louis XVI. as an engineer. He was skilful in
his profession, and in his private capacity a very
worthy man. Though, at this time, still young,
he had been involved in many extraordinary ad-
ventures, having served in all the campaigns of
the army of Conde. He commanded at Berri,
and was taken, and only escaped an ignominious
death by breaking out from a state-prison. As
we have before narrated, he accompanied Sir
Sidney to England, at the time the latter made
his escape from the custody of the French Direc-
tory. The strictest friendship, founded upon
mutual esteem, subsisted between M. Phelypeaux
and our hero, and he accompanied him as a
volunteer in this Syrian expedition, and proved
of infinite service by materially strengthening
the works of this miserable place, which was so
shortly afterwards to prove his tomb, as he died
there on the 2nd of May following.
This experienced engineer officer was mate-
rially assisted by Captain Miller * of the Theseus,
* Captain Ralph Willet Miller was made post-captain in
1796, and commanded the Captain seventy-four, bearing the
broad pennant of Commodore Nelson, in the action off Cape
St. Vincent, 14th February, 1797. He was afterwards ap-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 167
who furnished guns and ammunition to the ut-
most of his power.
But it seems that all this display of skill and
activity would have proved inefficient against the
skill and bravery that supported the attacks of
the French, had not their vessels, having on
board the greater part of their battering-train and
ammunition, fallen into our hands. We have
before mentioned that this artillery had been
ordered round by sea by Bonaparte, from Alex-
andria, under the command of Rear-Admiral
Peree. This flotilla was just rounding Cape
Carmel, when it was discovered by the Tigre,
pursued, and overtaken.
The capture was not so complete as could have
been wished. The protecting force consisted of
a corvette and nine gunboats. Two of these
and the corvette, containing Bonaparte's per-
sonal property, escaped. Seven gun-vessels,
mounting altogether thirty -four guns, and con-
pointed to the Theseus seventy-four, which ship he com-
manded at the battle of the Nile. After having been three
days off Jaffa, whither he was despatched by Sir William
Sidney Smith, the Turkish blue flag was confided to him,
an honour never before conferred upon a Christian. It
imparts the power of a pasha over the subjects of the
grand seignior. The premature death of this meritorious
officer was occasioned by the blowing up of the afterpart
of the Theseus, while lying off Jaffa.
168 MEMOIRS OF
taining two hundred and thirty-eight men, were
captured, together with the train of artillery.
The cannon, platforms, and ammunition, were
immediately landed at Acre, and used for its de-
fence, and the gunboats manned and employed
in molesting the enemy's posts established on the
sea-coast, harassing their communications, and
intercepting their convoys. The sea has always
been fatal to the French, and, notwithstanding
the difficulty of the country, we are inclined to
think every obstacle should have been encoun-
tered by them in this transport of their artillery,
rather than have trusted it to that element,
which, as an arena of contention with the English,
has always been to them so disastrous.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 1G9
CHAPTER XIV.
The French make great progress in their approaches The
Turks are defeated in a sortie Anecdote of Junotand
Kleber The Frencli gain the outer tower of Acre Sir
Sidney Smith's despatch to Lord Nelson.
THIS year the equinoctial gales had been unusually
severe, and the commodore, with the Tigre and
the naval force under his command, had been
compelled to take shelter under the lee of Mount
Carmel. On his return to the roadstead off
Acre, he found that the French had taken ad-
vantage of his unwilling and enforced absence
to push their attacks vigorously. Their ap-
proaches had reached the counterscarp, and had
penetrated even into the ditch of the north-east
angle of the town wall. This angle was defended
by a tower which they were rapidly undermining,
in order to increase a breach they had already
made in it, but which breach they had found to
170 MEMOIRS OF
be impracticable when they endeavoured to storm
it on the 1st of April.
In this mining operation they were greatly im-
peded by the fire of the guns that had been lately
captured from the French, and which had been
quickly mounted and judiciously placed by Cap-
tain Wilmot * of the Alliance, who was unfortu-
nately shot by a French rifleman a few days
afterwards, the 8th of April, as he was mounting
a howitzer on the breach. These guns played so
actively and destructively under the direction of
Colonel Phelypeaux, that the enemy's fire slack-
ened considerably, and the widening of the
breach was but slow in progress.
Yet this successful opposition had no effect
upon the mine, and the most serious apprehen-
sions were entertained that its firing would be
fatal to the defence of the town. To counteract
this, a sortie was resolved upon. It was finally
arranged that a body of British seamen and
marines was to endeavour to possess the mine,
whilst the Turkish troops were to attack the
French in their trenches on both sides. As this
decisive operation was intended to be a surprise,
the sally was made before daylight on the 7th of
April. Owing to the impetuosity and noise of
the Turks, this plan entirely failed, and the
dreaded mine remained in all its terrors.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 171
In no military effort upon record did the
French display greater perseverance or more des-
perate bravery. In every one of their attacks they
seemed to understand beforehand that destruction
\vas to be the rule, and escape the exception.
With this predestination strong upon them, they
went up to the breach coolly and regularly,
and with as much nonchalance as if death were
an unimportant part of their military evolu-
tions. Indeed, repeated attempts were made to
mount the breach under such circumstances of
desperation as to excite the pity of their British
foes to see such vain and bloody sacrifices of
energy and courage.
Though hostilities were carried on with such
vigour and apparent rancour in the trenches
and on the breach, yet there were frequent sus-
pensions of operations, and the distinguished
French generals, on such occasions, derived much
pleasure from visiting Sir Sidney on board the
Tigre. On one of these occasions, and after the
besieging party had made some progress, Gene-
rals Kleber and Junot were, with Sir Sidney
Smith, walking the quarter-deck of the Tigre in
a very amiable mood of amicability, one on each
side the English commander-in-chief.
After a few turns in silence, Junot, regarding
11 '2 MEMOIRS OF
the battered fortifications that lay before him,
and they being dwindled by distance into much
insignificancy, thus broke out in the spirit of
false prophecy
" Commodore, mark my words ! three days
hence, by this very hour, the French tricolor
shall be flying on the remains of that miserable
town."
Sir Sidney very quickly replied, " My good
general, before you shall have that town, 1 will
blow it and you to Jericho."
" Bwn oblige! very much obliged," Kleber ob-
served ; " much obliged indeed it will be all in
our way to India."
" With all my heart," rejoined Sir Sidney,
" I shall be most happy to assist you, Bonaparte,
and your whole army, forward in that style ;
and we will commence as soon as you please."
The offer, though very kindly made, was nei-
ther accepted nor replied to.
Nine times had the enemy attempted to storm
the trench, and on each occasion had been
beaten back with profuse slaughter, such was the
determined bravery opposed to their desperate
assaults, when, on the fifty-first day of the siege,
the long-expected and anxiously looked for re-
inforcements, under Hassan Bey, appeared in the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. l~->
distance. Before its junction could be effected, and
relief thrown into the town, Bonaparte was re-
solved to do the utmost that his genius and the
bravery of his army could achieve. His efforts
were, therefore, renewed with the most impetuous
vigour, whilst, on the part of the besieged, they
were met with a corresponding spirit. All
that skill and bravery could perform was mu-
tually displayed. Under all disadvantages, the
enemy, however, continued to advance, and at
length got possession of the long-disputed north-
east tower. This they accomplished, not by the
explosion of the mine, but, having battered down
the upper part of the structure, they ascended
over the ruins, and, at daylight on the fifty-second
morning of the siege, the tricolored flag was
seen floating on the outer angle of the tower.
This display damped, considerably, the enter-
prise of the Turkish soldiers, and the fire of the
besieged on the French lines was sensibly slack-
ened. The enemy had also, during the night,
obtained another important advantage, having
been enabled to construct two traverses that com-
pletely screened them from the flanking fire of
the Tigre and the Theseus, which, till then, had
taken deadly effect upon every advance towards
the breach. These two traverses were thrown
up directly across the ditch, and were constructed
with dead bodies intermingled with sandbags.
174 MEMOIRS OF
Such, as we have above described, was the
critical position of the Turkish garrison and their
brave allies when Hassan Bey's reinforcement
arrived. The reader will of course understand
that they came along the sea-coast in transports.
These troops, before the vessels anchored, were
hurried into the boats, but they were still dis-
tant from the shore, whilst the French were ral-
lying the last and their best energies to carry the
town. Such being the critical position of affairs,
a strenuous and sudden effort on the part of the
British was indispensable to preserve the place
for a short time, until the landing and receiving
the reinforcements into the fortress.
This effort, at once gallant, wise, and suc-
cessful, with its subsequent operations, we shall
give in Sir William Sidney Smith's own words,
in his animated and graphic official report to
Lord Nelscn.
" Tigre, Acre, May 9.
" My Lord, I had the honour to inform your
lordship, by my letter of the 2d instant, that we
were busily employed completing two ravelins
for the reception of cannon to flank the enemy's
nearest approaches, distant only ten yards from
them. They were attacked that very night, and
almost every night since, but the enemy have
each time been repulsed with very considerable
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 175
loss. The enemy continued to batter in breach
with progressive success, and have nine several
times attempted to storm, but have as often been
beaten back with immense slaughter. Our best
mode of defence has been frequent sorties to keep
them on the defensive, and impede the progress
of their covering works. We have thus been in
one continued battle ever since the beginning of
the siege, interrupted only at short intervals by
the excessive fatigue of every individual on both
sides. We have been long anxiously looking
for a reinforcement, without which we could not
expect to be able to keep the place so long as we
have. The delay in its arrival being occasioned
by Hassan Bey's having originally had orders to
join me in Egypt, I was obliged to be very per-
emptory in the repetition of my orders for him to
join me here : it was not, however, till the even-
ing of the day before yesterday, the fifty-first day
of the siege, that his fleet of corvettes and trans-
ports made its appearance. The approach of
this additional strength was the signal to Bona-
parte for a most vigorous and persevering assault,
in hopes to get possession of the town before the
reinforcement to the garrison could disembark.
" The constant fire of the besiegers was sud-
denly increased tenfold ; our flanking fire afloat
was, as usual, plied to the utmost, but with less
176 MEMOIRS OF
effect than heretofore, as the enemy had thrown
up epaulments and traverses of sufficient thick-
ness to protect him from it. The guns that could
be worked to the greatest advantage were a French
brass eighteen-pounder in the light-house castle,
manned from the Theseus, under the direction of
Mr. Scroder, master's mate, and the last mounted
twenty-four-pounder in the north ravelin, manned
from the Tigre, under the direction of Mr. Jones,
midshipman. These guns being within grape
distance of the head of the attacking column,
added to the Turkish musketry, did great execu-
tion ; and I take this opportunity of recommend-
ing these two petty officers, whose indefatigable
vigilance and zeal merit my warmest praisfe.
The Tigre's two sixty-eight pound carronades,
mounted in two dgermes, lying in the Mole, and
worked under the direction of Mr. Bray, carpen-
ter of the Tigre, (one of the bravest and most in-
telligent men I ever served with,) threw shells
into the centre of this column with evident effect,
and checked it considerably. Still, however, the
enemy gained ground, and made a lodgment in
the second story of the north-east tower ; the
upper part being entirely battered down, and the
ruins in the ditch forming the ascent by which
they mounted. Daylight showed us the French
standard on the outer angle of the tower. The
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 177
fire of the besieged was much slackened, in com-
parison to that of the besiegers, and our flanking
fire was become of less effect, the enemy having
covered themselves in this lodgment and the ap-
proach to it by two traverses across the ditch,
which they had constructed under the fire that
had been opposed to them during the whole night,
and which were now seen, composed of sand-
bags, and the bodies of their dead built in with
them, their bayonets only being visible above
them. Hassan Bey's troops were in the boats,
though as yet but half way on shore. This was
a most critical point of the contest, and an effort
was necessary to preserve the place for a short
time till their arrival.
" I accordingly landed the boats at the Mole,
and took the crews up to the breach, armed with
pikes. The enthusiastic gratitude of the Turks,
men, women, and children, at the sight of such
a reinforcement, at such a time, is not to be
described.
" Many fugitives returned with us to the
breach, which we found defended by a few brave
Turks, whose most destructive missile weapons
were heavy stones, which, striking the assailants
on the head, overthrew the foremost down the
slope, and impeded the progress of the rest. A
succession, however, ascended to the assault, the
VOL. I. N
178 MEMOIRS OF
heap of ruins between the two parties serving as
a breastwork to both ; the muzzles of their mus-
kets touching, and the spear-heads of their
standards locked. Dgezzar Pasha, hearing the
English were on the breach, quitted his station,
where, according to the ancient Turkish custom,
he was sitting to reward such as should bring
him the heads of the enemy, and distributing
musket cartridges with his own hands. The
energetic old man, coming behind us, pulled us
down with violence ; saying, if any harm hap-
pened to his English friends, all was lost. This
amicable contest, as to who should defend the
breach, occasioned a rush of Turks to the spot ;
and thus time was gained for the arrival of the
first body of Hassan Bey's troops. I had now
to combat the Pasha's repugnance to admitting
any troops but his Albanians into the garden of
his seraglio, which had become a very important
post, as occupying the terreplein of the rampart.
There were about two hundred of the original one
thousand Albanians left alive. This was no time
for debate, and I overruled his objections by
introducing the Chifflick regiment, of one thou-
sand men, armed with bayonets, disciplined after
the European method under Sultan Selim's own
eye, and placed, by his Imperial Majesty's express
command, at my disposal. The garrison, ani-
SIIJ SIUN'KV SMITH. 179
mated by the appearance of such a reinforce-
ment, was now all on foot ; and there being
consequently enough to defend the breach, I
proposed to the Pasha to get rid of the object of
his jealousy, by opening his gates to let them
make a sally, and take the assailants in flank :
he readily complied, and I gave directions to the
colonel to get possession of the enemy's third
parallel or nearest trench, and there fortify him-
self by shifting the parapet outwards. This
order being clearly understood, the gates were
opened, and the Turks rushed out ; but they
were not equal to such a movement, and were
driven back to the town with loss. Mr. Bray,*
however, as usual, protected the town-gate effi-
caciously with grape from the sixty-eight poun-
ders. The sortie had this good effect, that it
obliged the enemy to expose themselves above
their parapets, so that our flanking fires brought
down numbers of them, and drew their force
from the breach, so that the small number re-
maining on the lodgment were killed or dispersed
by our few remaining hand grenades thrown by
Mr. Savage, midshipman of the Theseus. The
enemy began a new breach by an incessant fire
* Mr. Bray was carpenter of the Tigre, and appears to
have been a very superior man in every respect to the ge-
nerality of warrant officers.
N 2
180
MEMOIRS OF
directed to the southward of the lodgment, every
shot knocking down whole sheets of a wall, much
less solid than that of the tower, on which they
had expended so much time and ammunition.
The group of generals and aides-de-camp, which
the shells from the sixty-eight pounders had fre-
quently dispersed, was now re-assembled on
Richard Cceur de Lion's Mount. Bonaparte was
distinguishable in the centre of a semi-circle :
his gesticulations indicated a renewal of attack,
and his despatching an aide-de-camp showed that
he waited only for a reinforcement. I gave di-
rections for Hassan Bey's ships to take their sta-
tion in the shoal water to the southward, and
made the Tigre's signal to weigh, and join the
Theseus to the northward. A little before sun-
set, a massive column appeared advancing to the
breach with a solemn step. The Pasha's idea
was not to defend the breach this time, but rather
to let a certain number of the enemy in, and then
close with them according to the Turkish mode
of war. The column thus mounted the breach
unmolested, and descended from the rampart
into the Pasha's garden, where, in a very few
minutes, the bravest and most advanced among
them lay headless corpses ; the sabre, with the
addition of a dagger in the other hand, proving
more than a match for the bayonet. The rest
Slit SIDNEY SMITH. 181
retreated precipitately ; and the commanding
officer, who was seen manfully encouraging his
men to mount the breach, and who we had since
learnt to be General Lannes, was carried off,
wounded by a musket-shot. General Rombaud
was killed. Much confusion arose in the town
from the actual entry of the enemy, it having
been impossible, nay impolitic, to give* previous
information to every body of the mode of defence
adopted, lest the enemy should come to a know-
ledge of it by means of their numerous emis-
saries.
" The English uniform, which had served as
a rallying point for the old garrison, wherever it
appeared, was now in the dusk mistaken for
French, the newly-arrived Turks not distinguish-
ing between one hat and another in the crowd,
and thus many a severe blow of a sabre was par-
ried by our officers, among which Colonel Dou-
glas,* Mr. Ives, and Mr. Jones, had nearly lost
their lives, as they were forcing their way through
a torrent of fugitives. Calm was restored by the
Pasha's exertions, aided by Mr. Trotte, just ar-
rived with Hassan Bey ; and thus the contest of
twenty-five hours ended, both parties being so
fatigued as to be unable to move.
" Bonaparte will, no doubt, renew the attack,
* The late Sir John Douglas, of the Royal Marines.
18 "2 MEM GUIS OF
the breach being, as above described, perfectly
practicable for fifty men abreast; indeed the town
is not, nor ever has been defensible, according to
the rules of art, but according to every other
rule it must and shall be defended : not that it
is in itself worth defending, but we feel that it
is by this breach Bonaparte means to march to
farther conquests. It is on the issue of this con-
flict that depends the opinion of the multitude
of spectators on the surrounding hills, who wait
only to see how it ends, to join the victors ; and
with such a reinforcement for the execution of
his known projects, Constantinople, and even
Vienna, must feel the shock.
" Be assured, my lord, the magnitude of our
obligations does but increase the energy of our
efforts in the attempt to discharge our duty ; and
though we may, and probably shall be over-
powered, I can venture to say that the French
army will be so much farther weakened before it
prevails, as to be little able to profit by its dear-
bought victory.
" I have the honour to be, &c.
" W. SIDNEY SMITH.
" Hear- Admiral Lord Nelson."
This despatch is exceedingly well written, and
is made singularly graceful by the air of mo-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 183
desty which pervades it. Sir Sidney well under-
stood the nature of the contest, and that to the
moral effect of victory or defeat, the loss or the
salvation of the miserable heap of ruins called
Acre was but as dust in the balance.
Already had the Syrians been so prepossessed
with the irresistibility of the French forces an
idea by no means preposterous when the invari-
able success of these invaders was considered
that all efforts of resistance had been paralysed.
Had it not been for the stimulating influence of
British courage, Bonaparte would have met with
no opposition, and he and his generals, there is
every reason to suppose, would have been wholly
unimpeded in whatever plans of conquest, per-
sonal aggrandisement, or political vengeance,
they might have concerted.
This British opposition in defence of Acre fell
with peculiar and exasperating force upon the
commander-in-chief of the republican army.
This was displayed by the increased irrita-
bility of his temper ; and, in the fervour of this
very natural vexation, he called for the most
cruel sacrifices on the part of his brave followers,
and evinced a determination to extend them to
the utmost limits of human endurance. We are
no depredators of the extraordinary genius of
Bonaparte, nor do we think that, placed in the
184 MEMOIRS OF
situation he was, he could, or that he ought to
have acted differently. The obstacle before him
must, he well knew, be surmounted, or, sooner or
later, defeat and universal discomfiture awaited
him. It might, perhaps, have been well for the
destiny of nations and the tranquillity of Eu-
rope, had he met with a less sturdy opponent
than Sir Sidney. Had he succeeded before St.
Jean d'Acre, another and a less disastrous
course might have been opened to his ambition.
But we must return to this singular siege and
still more singular defence. The gallant anta-
gonist of the future first consul was fully aware
of the advantage he had gained, and well knew
how to improve it to the utmost. Rightly judg-
ing that the prejudice in favour of Gallic invin-
cibility must be considerably shaken by the late
events, and by the fatal check that was given to
the advancement of their arms, Sir Sidney wrote a
circular letter to the princes and chiefs of Mount
Lebanon, and to the shieks of the Druses, by
which he exhorted them to do their duty to their
sovereign by intercepting the supplies of the
enemy on their way to the French camp. This
sagacious proceeding had all the good conse-
quences that might have been expected from it.
Two ambassadors were sent to the commodore,
informing him that, in consequence of his man-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 185
dates, measures had been taken to cut off the
supplies hitherto furnished to the invaders ; and,
as a proof of the accuracy of this assertion,
eighty French prisoners, who had been captured
in the defence of their convoys, were placed at
the disposal of the British.
Thus baffled in front, and straitened on all
sides, the paramount object of the French was to
mount the breach. To this every other consi-
deration must give way. Accordingly, General
Kleber's division was ordered from the fords of
the river Jordan, where it had been successfully
opposed to the army of Damascus, to take its
turn in an attempt that had already occasioned the
loss of the flower of the French troops of the be-
sieging division, with more than two-thirds of its
officers. But on the arrival of General Kleber
and his army, there was other employment found
for them.
In the sally before mentioned, made by the
Turkish Chifflick regiment, it had shown a
want of steadiness in the presence of the enemy,
and was in consequence censured. The com-
mandant of that corps, Solirnari Aga, having
received orders from Sir Sidney Smith to obtain
possession of the enemy's third parallel, availed
himself of this opportunity to retrieve the lost
honour of his regiment ; and, the next night,
186 MEMOIRS OF
carried his orders into execution with that ardour
and resolution, which not only completely effected
the service upon which he was sent, but also
highly benefited the public cause by the gallant
display of his men. The third parallel was
gained; but the gallant Turk, wishing to do
more, and thus to elevate his regiment to a posi-
tion still more honourable than that which they
had forfeited, attacked the second trench, but
without the same success that attended his first
attempt, as he lost some standards. However,
he retained possession of the works long enough
to spike four of the enemy's guns, and do them
other material damage.
On the arrival, therefore, of Kleber's division,
its original destination of mounting the breach
was changed into that of recovering these works,
which, after a furious contest of three hours, arid
much loss of life, was accomplshed. Notwith-
standing this very limited success, the advantage
evidently remained on the side of the besieged.
Indeed the resistance displayed, though unsuc-
cessfully, was decisive, as it so far damped the
zeal of the French troops that they could not be
again brought to the breach.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 1 S7
CHAPTER XV.
Sir Sidney's second despatch Describes the progress and
the termination of the siege The French retreat in dis-
order The conduct of Bonaparte Testimonials at home
to the distinguished services of Sir Sidney Smith.
FROM this moment all the efforts of the French
were feeble and disjointed. Discontent prevailed
universally through the ranks, and the officers
openly expressed their discontent and disappro-
bation at the frantic proceedings of their general.
The siege was virtually at an end. Fortunately
for posterity, we are enabled to give Sir Sidney
Smith's impression of Bonaparte's conduct dur-
ing the siege, and after his retreat from Acre.
It is officially stated, and is a most important do-
cument.
" After this failure, the French grenadiers ab-
solutely refused to mount the breach any more
over the putrid bodies of their unburied compa-
188 MEMOIRS OF
riions, sacrificed, in former attacks, by Bonaparte's
impatience and precipitation, which led him to
commit such palpable errors as even seamen
could take advantage of. He seemed to have
no principle of action but that of pressing for-
ward ; and appeared to stick at nothing to obtain
the object of his ambition, although it must be
evident to every body else, that even if he had
succeeded in taking the town, the fire of the ship-
ping must drive him out of it again in a short
time : however, the knowledge the garrison had
of the inhuman massacre at Jaffa, rendered them
desperate in their personal defence. Two at-
tempts to assassinate me in the town having
failed, recourse was had to a most flagrant breach
of every law of honour and of war. A flag of
truce was sent into the town by the hand of an
Arab dervise, with a letter to the Pasha, proposing
a cessation of arms for the purpose of burying
the dead bodies, the stench from which became
intolerable, and threatened the existence of every
one of us on both sides, many having died deli-
rious within a few hours after being seized with
the first symptoms of infection. It was natural
that we should gladly listen to this proposition,
and that we should consequently be off our guard
during the conference. While the answer was
under consideration, a volley of shot and shells
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 189
on a sudden announced an assault, which, how-
ever, the garrison was ready to receive, and the
assailants only contributed to increase the number
of the dead bodies in question, to the eternal
disgrace of the general, who thus disloyally sacri-
ficed them. I saved the life of the Arab from
the effect of the indignation of the Turks, and
took him off to the Tigre with me, from whence
I sent him back to the general with a message,
which made the French army ashamed of having
been exposed to such a merited reproof. Subor-
dination was now at an end ; and all hopes of
success having vanished, the enemy had no al-
ternative left but a precipitate retreat, which was
put in execution in the night between the 20th
and 21st instant. I had above said that the
battering-train of artillery (except the carriages,
which were burnt) is now in our hands, amount-
ing to twenty-three pieces. The howitzers and
medium twelve-pounders, originally conveyed by
land with much difficulty, and successfully em-
ployed to make the first breach, were embarked
in the country vessels at Jaffa, to be conveyed
coastwise, together with the worst among the two
thousand wounded, which embarrassed the march
of the army. The operation was to be expected ;
I took care, therefore, to be between Jaffa and
Damietta before the French army could get as
190 MEMOIRS OF
far as the former place. The vessels being hur-
ried to sea, without seamen to navigate them,
and the wounded being in want of every neces-
sary, even water and provisions, they steered
straight to his Majesty's ships, in full confidence
of receiving the succours of humanity, in which
they were not disappointed. I have sent them
on to Damietta, where they will receive further
aid as their situation requires, and which it was
out of my power to give to so many. Their ex-
pressions of gratitude to us were mingled with
execrations on the name of their general, who
had, as they said, thus exposed them to peril,
rather than fairly and honourably renew the
intercourse with the English, which he had
broken off by a false and malicious assertion
that I had intentionally exposed the former
prisoners to the infection of the plague. To
the honour of the French army be it said,
this assertion was not believed by them, and it
thus recoiled on its author. The intention of it
was evidently to do away the effect which the
proclamation of the Porte began to make on the
soldiers, whose eager hands were held above the
parapet of their works to receive them when
thrown from the breach. He cannot plead mis-
information as his excuse, his aide-de-camp, M.
LaHemand, having had free intercourse with
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 191
these prisoners on board the Tigre, when he came
to treat about them ; and they having been
ordered, though too late, not to repeat their ex-
pressions of contentment at the prospect of going
home. It was evident to both sides, that when a
general had recourse to such a shallow, and at
the same time to such a mean artifice as a mali-
cious falsehood, all better resources were at an
end, and the defection in his army was con-
sequently increased to the highest pitch. The
utmost disorder has been manifested in the re-
treat ; and the whole track between Acre and Gaza
is strewed with the dead bodies of those who have
sunk under fatigue, or the effect of slight
wounds ; such as could walk, unfortunately for
them, not having been embarked. The rowing
gunboats annoyed the van column of the retreat-
ing army in its march along the beach, and the
Arabs harassed its rear when it turned inland to
avoid their fire. We observed the smoke of
musketry behind the sand-hills from the attack
of a party of them which came down to our
boats, and touched our flag with every token of
union and respect. Ismael Pasha, governor of
Jerusalem, to whom notice was sent of Bona-
parte's preparations for retreat, having entered
this town by land at the same time that we
brought our guns to bear on it by sea, a stop was
MEMOIRS OF
put to the massacre and pillage already begun
by the Naplausians. The English flag rehoisted
on the consul's house (under which the Pasha
met me) serves as an asylum for all religions, and
every description of the surviving inhabitants.
The heaps of unburied Frenchmen lying on the
bodies of those whom they massacred two months
ago, afford another proof of divine justice, which
has caused these murderers to perish by the infec-
tion arising from their own atrocious act. Seven
poor wretches are left alive in the hospital, where
they are protected, and shall be taken care of.
We have had a most dangerous and painful duty,
in disembarking here, to protect the inhabitants ;
but it has been effectually done ; and Ismael
Pasha deserves every credit for his humane
exertions and cordial co-operation to that effect.
Two thousand cavalry are just despatched to
harass the French rear, and I am in hopes to
overtake their van in time to profit by their dis-
order ; but this will depend on the assembling of
sufficient force, and on exertions of which I am
not absolutely master, though I do my utmost
to give the necessary impulse, and a right di-
rection.
" I have every confidence that the officers and
men of the three ships under my orders, who, in
the face of a most formidable enemy, have forti-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 193
fied a town that had not a single heavy gun
mounted on the land-side, and who have carried
on all intercourse by boats, under a constant fire
of musketry and grape, will be able efficaciously
to assist the army in its future operations. This
letter will be delivered to your lordship by Lieu-
tenant Canes, first of the Tigre, whom I have
judged worthy to command the Theseus, as cap-
tain, ever since the death of my much-lamented
friend and coadjutor, Captain Miller. I have
taken Lieutenant England, first of that ship, to
my assistance in the Tigre, by whose exertions,
and those of Lieutenant Summers and Mr. Atkin-
son, together with the bravery of the rest of the
officers and men, that ship was saved, though on
fire in five places at once, from a deposit of
French shells bursting on board her.
*' I have the honour to be, &c.
" W. SIDNEY SMITH.
" Right Hon. Lord Nelson" frc.
All who ever knew, either officially or person-
ally, Sir William Sidney Smith, will avouch
that he is incapable of wilful misrepresentation.
With all our respect for Bonaparte's splendid
genius, and fully entering into the astounding
difficulties with which he was surrounded, we
must pronounce that the above-quoted document
VOL. i. o
194 MEMOIRS OF
is damnatory to his fame. We have attentively
perused, arid deeply considered, the numerous
defences by his adherents and admirers, as well
as what the Emperor himself has said upon those
charges so abhorrent to humanity, and we have
found in those attempted justifications nothing
but the palliations of expediency. His conduct
at Acre is a great blot upon his fame.
When Barry O'Meara, the English surgeon
attached to Bonaparte at St. Helena, conversed
with Bonaparte on this subject, he honestly re-
plied, that " Sir Sidney displayed great talent
and bravery ;" and confessed that he was the
chief cause of his failure there, on account of his
having taken all his battering-train in the manner
we have narrated. He declared that, had it not
been for that, he would have taken Acre in spite
of him. He acknowledged that he behaved very
bravely, and that he was most ably supported by
Phelypeaux, whom Bonaparte called a man of
talent, saying that he had studied engineering
under him. He also does justice to Major
Douglas, remarking that he behaved very gal-
lantly ; and proceeds in his remarks, accounting
for his defeat, thus : " The acquisition of five
or six hundred seamen as canonniers was a great
advantage to the Turks, whose spirits they re-
vived, and whom they showed how to defend
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
the fortress. But he committed a great fault
in making sorties," (one of which, by its success,
turned the fate of the struggle,) " which cost the
lives of two or three hundred brave fellows, with-
out the possibility of success ; for it was impos-
sible that he could succeed against the number of
French before Acre.
" I would lay a wager that he lost half of his
crew in them." (The ex-emperor was wrong
there.) " He dispersed proclamations among
my troops, which certainly shook some of them ;
and I, in consequence, published an order, stating
that he was mad, and forbidding all communica-
tion with him. Some days after, he sent, by
a lieutenant or midshipman, a flag of truce,
with a challenge to meet me at some place
which he pointed out, in order to fight a duel.
I laughed at this, and sent back intimation that
when he sent Marlborough to fight me, I would
meet him. Notwithstanding this, I like the cha-
racter of the man."
We may be indulged in some observations
upon this fanfarade, which is altogether highly
honourable to Sir Sidney ; still more so, seeing
it came from the mouth of a renowned and beaten
enemy.
In the abstract, we do not think that the dis-
persing incitements to revolt amongst the soldiery
o 2
196 MEMOIRS OF
of an enemy is a legitimate we know it not to
be a fair method of warfare ; but, in this case,
it was only a very gentle retaliation of a system
carried on outrageously by Bonaparte himself.
We hold it to be as ungenerous and as trea-
cherous to endeavonr to raise to revolt and to
poison the minds of the enemy, as it would be
morally to drug the wells and springs at which
they must drink. But Bonaparte set the ex-
ample of this moral poisoning, and fought in
Egypt almost as much by proclamation as by the
ball and bayonet. The taunt, therefore, comes
with but an ill grace from the mouth of Nap >-
leon.
He could not help dashing a little cold water
into his freewill offering of praise; he was
beaten, and therefore he not very wisely under-
values and depreciates the powers which chas-
tised him, which is a foolish sacrifice of pique at
the shrine of personal vanity.
As to the account of the duel affair, which we
are inclined to believe, we confess that it is rather
out of the usual routine of military matters, and,
being a bad imitation of two or three examples
of antiquity, is in execrable taste. But it is a
mistake only of a high and chivalrous mind ;
and viewing the gasconading answer of the
challenged, we think Napoleon gains nothing at
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 197
all by the story. Sir Sidney, in common with
every Englishman of that period, had strong
prejudices against Bonaparte, as the very head
and heart of the demoralising and irreligious
principles that it seemed to be the aim of France
to establish throughout the world. To annihilate,
at a single blow, this moral pest, seemed to be
well worth the risk of one life to say no-
thing at all of the purely personal insult that
Bonaparte publicly put upon him, in proclaiming
him mad.
And a very pleasant thing it is to reflect upon
the making an opponent mad by a general order.
If Sir Sidney Smith was affected with madness,
there was dreadful method in it a method that
out-mano2iivred and out-generalled the man that
discovered the insanity. We gladly take the
wheat from this testimony of Bonaparte, and
leave to him, and to those who blindly admire
him, the chaff.
We think that it may be fairly stated that the
retreat of Bonaparte from before Acre was con-
ducted in a spirit of exasperation and cruelty,
generated by disappointed pride and baffled am-
bition. He was great only in success, and a
stranger to the greatest of greatness greatness in.
adversity. In after life he attempted this
grandeur, but could not support the character.
I 98 MEMOIRS OF
As he wended his miserable and discomfited way
from the scene of his defeat, he seems to have
been wholly the slave of passion and resentment,
and to regret that his powers of showing his
anger, mighty as they were, were too little for
the magnitude of his will.
It has been urged against him that, in his
inarch the magazines and granaries with which
he met were all fired, that desolation and rapine
marked his progress, that the cattle were
wantonly destroyed, and " that the affrighted in-
habitants, with rage in their hearts, beheld, with-
out being able to prevent, the disasters which
marked their invader's way." This may be true,
but it is the common picture of all retreating
armies; and let it be remembered that Bona-
parte, as he marched, was continually in hostili-
ties, and that it would not have been the most
approved military strategy to have left to his
pursuers magazines and well-stored granaries,
with herds of fat cattle. Let us confine ourselves,
in our condemnation of this great man, to the
facts, and to the charges brought against him, in
truth and in honesty, by Sir Sidney Smith. As
we have before stated, some of his acts have been
explained, and some palliated; yet still, the
amount of guilt is heavy against him.
In a siege of so long a duration as that which
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 199
we have just narrated a siege in which the
actual fighting was not only daily and hourly,
but almost un intermitting, acts of individual
heroism were numberless, and must remain for
ever unrecorded. However, very many of these
little Homeric episodes became extremely popular,
and obtained their immortality of a day, and
some even found their way into print. We be-
lieve that we are acquainted with most of them,
having repeatedly had the tedium of a middle
watch changed into four hours of pleasurable ex-
citement, by a full description of this siege, with
all its attendant anecdotes, from a brother officer,
an eye-witness. These anecdotes it would be
amusing to preserve, and we would willingly give
them a place in this biography, were they not
foreign to our subject. One, however, we cannot
refrain from shortly narrating, as many versions
of it have appeared, and we believe that ours
only is the true one. It is succinctly this.
The seamen of the squadron took each their
turn for the military service on the walls of Acre.
One of them, belonging to the Tigre, had ob-
served, in his spell ashore, the body of a French
general, splendid in his uniform, that lay exposed
in the very centre of the ditch. This dwelt on
the mind of the honest, though the truth must be
told somewhat obtuse-minded tar. Indeed, he
200 MEMOIRS OF
had never shown himself remarkable either for
intellect or activity, and held no higher office in
the ship than a waister. Yet, by some unexplained
mental process, the fate and the un buried corpse
of the French general had fixed themselves so
strongly on his imagination, that he was de-
termined, at all risks, to give his glittering dead
opponent the rights of sepulture. The next day,
though out of his turn, he asked and obtained
permission to take his spell on the walls. No-
thing divided the hostile entrenchments but this
same ditch, and so closely placed were the foes
to each other, that a moderate whisper could be
easily heard from one embankment to the other.
Nothing appeared above these embankments but
a serried line of bayonets, for if a hat or a head,
or anything tangible, appeared on either side, it
was saluted with a volley of perforating balls.
It was about noon, and the respective hostile
lines were preserving a dead silence, anxiously
watching for the opportunity of a shot at each
other. Our seaman without informing any one
of his intention, had provided himself with a
spade and pickaxe suddenly broke the ominous
silence by shouting out, in a stentorian voice,
" Mounseers, a-hoy ! Vast heaving there a bit,
will ye? and belay over all with your poppers for
a spell." And then he shoved his broad uninean-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 201
ing face over the lines. Two hundred muskets
were immediately pointed at him, but seeing him
with only the implements of digging, and not
exactly understanding his demand for a parley,
the French forbore to fire. Jack very leisurely
then scrambled over the entrenchment into the
ditch, the muzzle of the enemy's muskets still fol-
lowing his every motion. All this did not in the
least disturb his sang froid; but going up to the
French general, he took his measure in quite a
business-like manner, and dug a very decent
grave close alongside the defunct in glory. When
this was finished, shaking what was so lately a
French general very cordially and affectionately
by the hand, he reverently placed him in his im-
promptu grave, then shovelled the earth upon
and made all smooth above him. When all was
properly completed, he made his best sailor's bow
and foot-scrape to the French, shouldered his im-
plements of burial, and climbed over into his own
quarters with the same imperturbability that had
marked his previous appearance. This he did
amidst the cheers of both parties.
Now, our friend the waister seemed to think
that he had done nothing extraordinary, and
only remarked that he should sleep well. A few
days after, another gaudily decorated French
general carne on board the Tigre, on some mat-
MEMOIRS OF
ters of negociation, which when completed, he
anxiously expressed a desire to see the interrer
of his late comrade. The meeting took place,
and Jack was highly praised for his heroism in a
long speech, not one word of which, though in-
terpreted to him, could he comprehend. Money
was then offered him, which at first he did not
like to take ; but he at length satisfied his scruples
by telling the French officer he should be happy
to do the same thing for him as he had done for
his brother general for nothing. The French
general begged to be excused, and thus ended the
interview.
Apologising for this somewhat simple digres-
sion, we return to our biography ; and it is with
unfeigned pleasure that we relate that the world
was not, at that time, wholly deficient of grati-
tude, and that splendid services were splendidly
rewarded, without distinction of clique, creed, or
party. When the Grand Seignior received the
news of the horrible carnage in and before Acre,
he shed tears. This grief, however, for the
slaughter of his subjects did not prevent his
rejoicing at the signal defeat Bonaparte sustained,
and sustained wretchedly. His Imperial Majesty,
to testify his satisfaction, presented the messenger
with seven purses, containing altogether three
thousand florins, and immediately sent a Tartar
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 203
to Sir William Sidney Smith, with an aigrette
and sable fur (similar to those bestowed upon
Lord Nelson) worth twenty-five thousand piastres.
He afterwards conferred upon him the insignia of
the Ottoman order of the Crescent.
The loss on the part of the British, in this
glorious achievement, was comparatively small.
The British squadron consisted of the Tigre, the
Theseus, and the Alliance ; and these ships toge-
ther had fifty-three killed, thirteen drowned, and
eighty-two taken prisoners. We have already
mentioned the death of some of the officers.
The English estimation of Sir William Sidney
Smith's eminent services nobly kept pace with
Turkish gratitude. The enthusiasm of his coun-
try in his favour was general, and a reference to
the parliamentary reports of the time bear a last-
ing and unequivocal testimony to the feelings of
approbation with which his spirited as well as
wise conduct was viewed. George III. himself,
on the opening of the parliamentary session, on
the 24th of September, 1799, noticed the heroism
of Sir Sidney Smith, and the advantage that the
nation were deriving from his success before Acre.
Not only did the king's ministers and friends,
but even their opponents, forgetting the rancours
of party feeling in their enthusiasm for a military
victory so splendid, when military victories
204 MEMOIRS OF
had not yet become the rule of the British
arms, joined most heartily in the national ap-
plause.
On the 2d of October, when the imperial par-
liament had met to pay a nation's just tribute of
praise to its naval defenders, Lord Spencer thus
did himself honour in addressing his brother
peers.
He said, that " he had next to take notice of an
exploit which had never been surpassed, and
scarcely ever equalled, in the annals of history
he meant the defence of St. Jean d'Acre by Sir
Sidney Smith. He had no occasion to impress
upon their Lordships a higher sense than they
already entertained of the brilliancy, utility, and
distinction of an achievement, in which a general
of great celebrity, and a veteran victorious army,
were, after a desperate and obstinate engage-
ment, which lasted almost without intermission
for sixty days, not only repulsed, but totally
defeated, by the gallantry and heroism of this
British officer, and the small number of troops
under his command.
" He owned it was not customary, nor did he
think it had any precedent in the proceedings of
parliament, that so high an honour should be
conferred on long services, which might be per-
formed by a force so inconsiderable in point of
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 205
numbers ; but the splendour of such an exploit,
as defeating a veteran and well-appointed army,
commanded by experienced generals, and which
had already overrun a great part of Europe, a
fine portion of Africa, and attempted also the
conquest of Asia, eclipsed all former examples,
and could not be subjected to the rules of ordi-
nary usage. He, therefore, in full confidence of
universal approbation, moved " the thanks of
the House to Captain Sir William Sidney Smith,
arid the British seamen under his command, for
their gallant and successful defence of St. Jean
d'Acre against the desperate attack of the
French army, under the command of General
Bonaparte."
This speech was received with great and uni-
versal cheering ; upon which Lord Hood rose and
said " He could not give a vote on the present
occasion without bearing his testimony to the
skill and valour of Sir Sidney, which had been
so conspicuously and brilliantly exerted when he
had the honour and benefit of having him under
his command. Had that officer been at the head
of a more considerable force, there was every
probability that not a Frenchman would have
escaped. The nation must be sensible of the
importance and benefit of the service that had
been achieved ; and judging from his character
MEMOIRS OF
and conduct, he made no doubt but even this
was only an earnest of his future glory, when-
ever an opportunity presented itself."
Lord Grenville said " There never was a mo-
tion, since he had had a seat in that House, to which
he gave a more hearty concurrence and assent.
The circumstance of so eminent a service having
been performed with so inconsiderable a force
was, with him, an additional reason for affording
this testimony of public gratitude, and the high-
est honour this House had it in its power to con-
fer. By this gallant and unprecedented resist-
ance, we behold the conqueror of Italy, the
future Alexander, not only defeated and driven
from the situation at which he had arrived, but
also obliged to retreat in disorder and confusion
to parts where it was not likely that he would
find shelter from the pursuit of British skill and
intrepidity. How glorious must the whole ap-
pear, when they looked to the contrast between
the victors and the vanquished ! Bonaparte's
progress throughout the whole of his military
career was marked with every trait of cruelty
and treachery. Sir Sidney Smith, in defiance
of every principle of humanity, and of all the
acknowledged rules of war, had been long, with
the most cool and cruel inflexibility, confined
in a dungeon of the Temple, from which he
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. '207
only escaped by his own address and intrepidity.
But the French, by making him an exception
from the general usages of war, had only mani-
fested their sense of his value, and how much
they were afraid of him. This hero, in the pro-
gress of events, was afterwards destined to op-
pose the enemy in a distant quarter ; and, instead
of indulging in any sentiments of revenge or re-
sentment against his former persecutors, indulged
the natural feelings of his heart, by interfering
and saving the lives of a number of French pri-
soners. Soon after this, when victorious in an
obstinate contest, where he was but indifferently
supported by the discipline of the native troops,
or means of defence in the fortifications of the
fortress, he generously and humanely lent his
protecting aid to a body of miserable and
wounded Frenchmen, who implored his assist-
ance, when the cruelty and obstinacy of their
own general had devoted them to almost inevi-
able destruction."
The motion was then agreed to nem. diss., with
a vote of thanks to the British officers, seamen,
and troops under Sir Sidney Smith.
In the House of Commons, on the previous
16th of September, Mr. Dundas, in moving the
thanks of the House on a similar occasion to that
208 MEMOIRS OF
which we have just related, thus alluded to the
services of our gallant officer.
" A twelvemonth had not elapsed since this
country felt some apprehension on account of the
probable destination of the French army in
Egypt an apprehension which was much allayed
by the memorable and glorious victory of Lord
Nelson. The power of that army had been still
much further reduced by the efforts of Sir Sidney
Smith, who, with a handful of men, surprised
a whole nation, who were his spectators, with the
brilliancy of his triumph, contesting for sixt}'
days with an enterprising and intrepid general
at the head of his whole army. This conduct of
Sir Sidney Smith was so surprising to him, that
he hardly knew how to speak of it ; he had not
recovered from the astonishment which the ac-
count of the action had thrown him into. He
had looked at it over and over again, and no
view that he had been able to take of it had quite
recovered him from the surprise and amazement
which the account of the matter gave him. How-
ever, so it was ; and the merit of Sir Sidney
Smith was now the object of consideration, to
praise or to esteem which too highly was impos-
sible. He had heard that Sir Sidney Smith, who
had his difficulties, had been spoken of lightly by
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 209
some persons; whoever they were, they were in-
considerate, and they might be left now to their
inward sharne, if they did not recant. Be that as
it might, the House, he was confident, agreed
with him that the conduct of Sir Sidney Smith,
for heroism, and intrepidity, and active exertion,
was never surpassed on any occasion. He was
glad of the opportunity that he had to say
this."
He then moved, that " the thanks of this
House be given to Captain Sir Sidney Smith,
for the conspicuous skill and heroism by which,
with a few seamen under his command, he ani-
mated the Turkish troops against the formidable
and desperate attack of the French army under
the command of- General Bonaparte." Passed,
nem. con.
In this gratifying and distinguished manner
were unanimously voted the thanks of both
Houses of Parliament to Sir William Sidney
Smith, and the officers and seamen under his
command. To the commodore these demon-
strations were accompanied by a testimonial
more substantial, if not more honourable, in the
shape of a well-earned pension of one thousand
pounds per annum.
Nor did municipal gratitude lag in this ge-
nerous race of recompensing the brave. The
VOL. i. p
210 MEMOIRS OF
city of London presented our hero with its free-
dom, accompanied by a sword valued at one
hundred guineas. From the Turkey Company
he also received a sword valued at thrice the
price of the gift of the metropolitan corporation.
Silt SIDNEY SMITH. 211
CHAPTER XVI.
Bonaparte's assumption of Mahometanism His victory over
the Turks His flight from Egypt Successes of the
English and their Allies Kleber's proposition to evacuate
Egypt The Convention of El Arish.
WE are sincerely grieved that it falls to our lot
so often to be compelled to mention the delinquen-
cies of our once inveterate and at last conquered
foe, the late Emperor of the French. We do this
in no spirit of detraction, as we trust that there
is sufficient of credit accruing to Sir Sidney Smith,
without being compelled to place his conduct in
striking contrast with his then infuriated enemy.
But some of the unjustifiable acts of Bona-
parte we must relate, in order that the measures
undertaken by Sir Sidney to counteract their
effects may be fully understood.
About a month after the defeated and disor-
ganised republican army reached Cairo, a Turkish
Squadron came to an anchor off Aboukir. In
announcing this event to the Egyptian Mussul-
p 2
212 MEMOIRS OF
mans Bonaparte had recourse to the following
unwarrantable and absurd expressions in his
proclamation : " On board that fleet are Rus-
sians, who hold in horror all who believe in the
unity of God, because, in their lies, they believe
in three Gods ; but they will soon see that it
is riot in the number of gods that strength consists.
The true believer who embarks in a ship where
the cross is flying, he who hears, every day, the
one only God blasphemed, is worse than an
infidel/'
This assumption of credence in the Maho-
medan faith was despicably mean, and wholly
unworthy of the talents of a great general. He
needed not this paltry deceit, for he conquered
this force honourably and fairly in the field.
On the llth of July, the Turkish army disem-
barked, at Aboukir, and soon made themselves
masters of the fort, the garrison of which they
put to the sword, in retaliation of the massacre
which disgraced the French at Jaffa. It is
earnestly to be wished that English influence had
prevented this last useless atrocity useless to the
momentary conquerors, but replete with evil con-
sequences to them in the sequel.
Confident of victory over a rash and undis-
ciplined army, which had thus commenced its
inauspicious career by a gratuitous cruelty, Bona-
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 213
parte immediately commenced his preparations
by augmenting his cavalry with a number of fleet
Arabian horses, and immediately set forward to
meet his enemy.
In the meanwhile, Sir Sidney Smith, after the
dispersal of the French army from before Acre,
leaving every assistance in his power to the
Turkish forces to enable them, with spirit, to
follow up their advantages, had repaired to
the different islands in the Archipelago, in
order to refit the vessels and to recruit the health
of the crews of his little squadron, and to Constan-
tinople also, to concert such measures with the
Ottoman government that might lead to the final
expulsion of the common enemy from Egypt.
He returned to Aboukir bay just in time to
witness the encounter between the Turks and the
French, which proved so disastrous to the former,
and which defeat was the more mortifying to him,
as he was unable to render any assistance to his
rash allies.
At six o'clock on the morning of the 25th, the
French made their appearance before the lines of
entrenchment that the Turks had thrown up be-
fore Aboukir. At the first onset the French,
who immediately attempted to storm the works,
were repulsed with great loss to themselves.
But the Mussulmans, though individually brave,
214 MEMOIRS OF
had not yet learned to act in combined masses
with success, even against a beaten enemy.
Elevated by the partial advantage that their
bravery and physical strength had procured, they
rushed out tumultuously from their entrench-
ments, and, according to their custom, began
lopping off the heads of the slain and wounded.
In the dispersion necessary to this barbarous
operation, they exposed themselves to an im-
petuous attack of the republican generals, Lannes
and the afterwards celebrated Murat. A dread-
ful carnage ensued, which terminated in a total
defeat of the Turbans, and the recapture of
Aboukir.
In this sanguinary conflict the greatest part
of the Turkish army perished, for those who
escaped the sword were mostly drowned in their
fruitless attempt to get off to the vessels in the
bay. As they had so lately refused quarter to
the enemy, they expected and they received
none.
Disastrous as was this defeat to the common
cause, it was productive of one advantage, the
freeing of the Egyptian soil from the presence of
Bonaparte. This last victory of his forces afforded
him the means of making his flight appear the
less dishonourable. He immediately sent home
a splendid despatch of his victory, and, four days
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 215
after its receipt by the Directory, he astonished
them by his presence, having left Egypt on the
*24th August, and landed at Frejus on the follow-
ing 7th of October, to commence a career of
military glory, for long unchecked until the fatal
opposition of the English in Spain.
Towards the conclusion of this October, a con-
siderable reinforcement of troops and ships having
arrived from Constantinople, Sir William Sidney
Smith, accompanied by the Turkish vice-admiral,
Seid Ali Bey, resolved to proceed to the Da-
mietta branch of the Nile, and to make an
attack on that quarter, which, by thus occupying
the attention of the enemy, would leave the
Grand Vizier more at liberty to advance on the
French, with the grand Egyptian army, on the
side of the Desert. This plan of operations had
been previously arranged between the com-
manders of the two forces. The result of this we
will give in the commodore's own words, in his
despatch to Lord Nelson, dated November 8th,
1799. It is a melancholy recital, and goes com-
pletely to prove how inadequate were the Turkish
troops to act in masses.
" I lament to have to inform your Lordship of
the melancholy death of Patrona Bey, the Turkish
vice-admiral, who was assassinated at Cyprus in
a mutiny of the Janissaries on the 18th October.
216 MEMOIRS OF
The command devolved on Seid All Bey, who had
just joined me with the troops from Constanti-
nople, composing the second maritime expedition
for the recovery of Egypt. As soon as our joint
exertions had restored order, we proceeded to the
mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile to
make an attack thereon, as combined with the
Supreme Vizier, in order to draw the attention of
the enemy that way, and leave his highness more
at liberty to advance with the grand army on the
side of the Desert. The attack began by the
Tigre's boats taking possession of a ruined castle,
situated on the eastern side of the Bogaz, or
entrance of the channel, which the inundation of
the Nile had insulated from the mainland, leav-
ing a fordable passage. The Turkish flag dis-
played on the tower of this castle was at once the
signal for the Turkish gunboats to advance, and
for the enemy to open their fire in order to dis-
lodge us : their nearest post being a redoubt on
the mainland, with two thirty-two pounders, and
an eight-pounder field-piece mounted thereon, at
point-blank shot distance.
" The fire was returned from the launch's car-
ronade, mounted in a breach in the castle, and
from field-pieces in the small boats, which soon
obliged the enemy to discontinue working at an
intrenchment they were making to oppose a
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 217
landing. Lieutenant Stokes was detached with
the boats to check a body of cavalry advancing
along the neck of land, in which he succeeded ;
but, I am sorry to say, with the loss of one man
killed and one wounded. This interchange of
shot continued with little intermission during the
29th, 30th, and 31st, while the Turkish transports
were drawing nearer to the landing-place, our
shells from the carronade annoying the enemy in
his works and communications ; at length the
magazine blowing up, and one of their thirty-
two pounders being silenced, a favourable mo-
ment offered for disembarkation. Orders were
given accordingly ; but it was not till the morn-
ing of the 1st of November that they could effec-
tuate this operation.
"This delay gave time for the enemy to collect
a force more than double that of the first division
landed, and to be ready to attack it before the
return of the boats with the remainder. The
French advanced to the charge with bayonets.
The Turks completely exculpated themselves from
the suspicion of cowardice having been the cause
of their delay ; for when the enemy were within
ten yards of them, they rushed on, sabre in hand,
arid in an instant completely routed the first line
of the French infantry. The day was ours for
the moment ; but the impetuosity of Osmaii Aga
218 MEMOIRS OF
and his troops occasioned them to quit the sta-
tion assigned them as a corps of reserve, and to
run forward in pursuit of the fugitives. European
tactics were of course advantageously employed
by the French at this critical juncture. Their
body of reserve came on in perfect order, while
a charge of cavalry on the left of the Turks put
them completely to the rout in their turn. Our
flanking fire from the castle and boats, which had
been hitherto plied with evident effect, was now
necessarily suspended by the impossibility of
pointing clear of the Turks in the confusion.
The latter turned a random fire on the boats, to
make them take them off, and the sea was in an
instant covered with turbans, while the air was
filled with piteous moans, calling to us for as-
sistance. It was (as at Aboukir) a duty of some
difficulty to afford it them, without being victims
to their impatience, or overwhelmed with num-
bers: we however persevered, and saved all,
except those whom the French took prisoners,
by wading into the water after them ; neither
did the enemy interrupt us much in so doing."
Nothing discouraged by this repulse, or at
least putting a bold face on these disasters, on
the 29th of December ensuing, a detachment of
marines, under Colonel Douglas, Lieutenant-
Colonel Bromley, Captains Winter and Trotte,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 219
and Mr. Thomas Smith, midshipman of the
Tigre, accompanied an advanced body of the
army of the Grand Vizier from Gaza to El
Arish.
The fort El Arish was summoned, and the
French refusing to capitulate, the place was re-
connoitred by the English, and batteries imme-
diately erected ; the whole of which when opened
had the most complete success. On the morn-
ing of the 29th, the enemy ceased to return the
fire of the besiegers, and the fort, without any
terms of capitulation being stipulated, was taken
possession of. This success was disgraced by the
revengeful ferocity of the Turks, whose thirst for
blood could not be restrained. Three hundred
of the French garrison were put to the sword by
the Osmanlis.
The admixture of the British forces with the
Turks had taught Jthese barbarians admiration,
but not mercy. They were unceasing in their
applauses of the cheerful manner in which the
detachment from the English squadron performed
their unusual duties, exposed as they were on the
Desert without tents, ill-fed, and with nothing
but brackish water to drink. They beheld
with astonishment these triumphs of civilised
discipline.
The year 1799 was hardly completed, when
220 MEMOIRS OF
General Kleber, who had been left in command
in Egypt on its abandonment by Bonaparte, had
entered into a convention with the Grand Vizier
for the total evacuation of Egypt by the French
forces. This document was finally signed on the
24th January, 1800, and to which Sir William
Sidney Smith, as auxiliary commander on the
part of Great Britain, willingly acceded.
" Convention for the Evacuation of Egypt, agreed
upon by Citizens Desaix, General of Division,
and Poussielgue, Administrator- general of
Finances, Plenipotentiaries of the Commander-
in- Chief Kleber, and their Excellencies Mou-
stafa Rascliid Effendi Testerdar, and Moustafa
Rassiche Effendi Riessul Knitab, Ministers
Plenipotentiaries of his Highness the Supreme
Vizier.
" The French army in Egypt, wishing to give a
proof of its desire to stop the effusion of blood,
and to put an end to the unfortunate disagree-
ments which have taken place between the French
republic and the sublime Porte, consent to eva-
cuate Egypt on the stipulations of the present
convention, hoping that this concession will pave
the way for the general pacification of Europe.
" I. The French army will retire with its arms,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 221
baggage, and effects, to Alexandria, Rosetta, and
Aboukir, there to be embarked and transported
to France, both in its own vessels and in those
which it will be necessary for the Sublime Porte
to furnish it with : and in order that the aforesaid
vessels may be the more speedily prepared, it is
agreed, that a month after the ratification of the
present convention, there shall be sent to the fort
of Alexandria a commissary, with fifty purses,
on the part of the Sublime Porte.
" II. There shall be an armistice of three months
in Egypt, reckoning from the time of the signa-
ture of the present convention ; and in case the
truce shall expire before the aforesaid vessels to
be furnished by the Sublime Porte shall be ready,
the said truce shall be prolonged till the embark-
ation can be completely effected, it being under-
stood on both sides that all possible means will
be employed to secure the tranquillity of the
armies and of the inhabitants, which is the object
of the truce.
" III. The transport of the French army shall
take place according to the regulations of com-
missaries appointed for this purpose by the Sub-
lime Porte and General Kleber ; and if any dif-
ference of opinion shall take place between the
aforesaid commissaries respecting the embark-
ation, one shall be appointed by Commodore Sir
222 MEMOIRS OF
Sidney Smith, who shall decide the difference
according to the maritime regulations of Eng-
land.
" IV. The forts of Cathie and Salachich shall
be evacuated by the French troops on the 8th
day, or at the latest on the 10th day after the ra-
tification of this convention. The town of Man-
soura shall be evacuated on the 15th day,
Damietta and Balbey on the 20th day. Suez
shall be evacuated six days before Cairo. The
other places on the east bank of the Nile shall be
evacuated on the 10th day. The Delta shall be
evacuated fifteen days after the evacuation of
Cairo. The west banks of the Nile and its de-
pendencies shall remain in the hands of the
French till the evacuation of Cairo ; and mean-
while, as they must be occupied by the French
army till all its troops shall have descended from
Upper Egypt, the said western bank and its de-
pendencies will not be evacuated till the expira-
tion of the truce, if it is impossible to evacuate
them sooner. The places evacuated shall be
given up to the Sublime Porte in the same situa-
tion in which they are at present.
" V. The city of Cairo shall be evacuated after
forty days, if that is possible, or at the latest after
forty-five days, reckoning from the ratification of
the treaty.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 223
" VI. It is expressly agreed, that the Sublime
Porte shall use every effort that the French troops
may fall back through the different places on the
left bank of the Nile, with their arms and baggage,
towards the head-quarters, without being dis-
turbed or molested on their march in their
persons, property, or honour, either by the inha-
bitants of Egypt or the troops of the imperial
Ottoman army.
"VII. In consequence of the former article,
and in order to prevent all difference and hos-
tilities, measures shall be taken to keep the
Turkish always at a sufficient distance from the
French army.
" VIII. Immediately after the ratification of
the present convention, all the Turks and other
nations, without distinction, subjects of the Sub-
lime Porte, imprisoned or retained in France, or
in the power of the French in Egypt, shall be set
at liberty ; and, on the other hand, all the French
detained in the cities and seaport towns of the
Ottoman empire, as well as every person of what-
ever nation they may be, attached to French
legations and consulates, shall be also set at
liberty.
" IX. The restitution of the goods and property
of the inhabitants and subjects of both sides, or
the payment of their value to the proprietors,
224 MEMOIRS OF
shall commence immediately after the evacuation
of Egypt, and shall be regulated at Constantinople
by commissaries appointed respectively for the
purpose.
"X. No inhabitant of Egypt, of whatever reli-
gion he may be, shall be disturbed either in his
person or his property, on account of any con-
nexions he may have had with the French during
their possession of Egypt.
" XI. There shall be delivered to the French
army, as well on the part of the Sublime Porte
as of the courts of its allies, that is to say, of
Russia and of Great Britain, passports, safe con-
ducts, and convoys, necessary to secure its safe
return to France.
"XII. When the French army of Egypt shall
be embarked, the Sublime Porte, as well as its
allies, promise that till its return to the continent
of France it shall not be disturbed in any manner;
and on this side, General-in-chief Kleber, and
the French army in Egypt, promise not to commit
any act of hostility during the aforesaid time,
either against the fleets or against the territories
of the Sublime Porte, and that the vessels which
shall transport the said army shall not stop on
any other coast than that of France, except from
absolute necessity.
" XIII. In consequence of the truce of three
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 225
months stipulated above with the French army
for the evacuation of Egypt, the contracting
parties agree, that if in the interval of the said
truce some vessels from France, unknown to the
commanders of the allied fleets, should enter the
port of Alexandria, they shall depart from it,
after having taken in water and the necessary pro-
visions, and shall return to France with passports
from the allied courts ; and in case any of the
said vessels should require reparation, these alone
may remain till the said reparations are finished,
and shall depart immediately after, like the pre-
ceding, with the first favourable wind.
" XIV. The general- in-chief Kleber may send
advices immediately to France, and the vessel
that conveys them shall have the safe conduct
necessary for securing the communication, by the
said advices, to the French government, of the
news of the evacuation of Egypt.
" XV. There being no doubt that the French
army will stand in need of daily supplies of pro-
visions during the three months in which it is to
evacuate Egypt, and during other three months,
reckoning from the day on which it is embarked,
it is agreed, that it shall be supplied with the
necessary quantities of corn, meat, rice, barley,
and straw, according to a statement which shall
be immediately given in by the French plenipo-
VOL. I. Q
226 MEMOIRS OF
tentiaries, as well for the stay in the country as
for the voyage. Whatever supplies the army
shall draw from its magazines, after the ratifica-
tion of the present convention, shall be deducted
from those furnished by the Sublime Porte.
" XVI. Counting from the day of the ratifica-
tion of the present treaty, the French army shall
not raise any contribution in Egypt ; on the con-
trary, it shall abandon to the Sublime Porte the
ordinary leviable contributions which remain to
it, to be levied after its departure, as well as the
camels, dromedaries, ammunition, cannon, and
other things which it shall not think necessary to
carry away. The same shall be the case with the
magazines of grain, arising from the contribu-
tions already levied, and the magazines of pro-
visions. These objects shall be examined and
valued by commissaries sent to Egypt by the
Sublime Porte, and by the commander of the
British forces, conjointly with those of the Gene-
ral-in-chief Kleber, and paid by the former, at
the rate of the valuation so made, to the amount
of three thousand purses, which will be necessary
to the French army, for accelerating its move-
ments and its embarkation ; and if the objects
above mentioned do not amount to this sum, the
deficit shall be advanced by the Sublime Porte,
in the form of a loan, which will be paid by the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 227
French government upon the bills of the com-
missaries appointed by General-in-chief Kleber
to receive the said sum.
" XVII. The French having expenses to incur
in the evacuation of Egypt, it shall receive, after
the ratification of the present convention, the
sums stipulated, in the following order, viz. the
fifteenth day and the twentieth day, five hundred
purses ; the fortieth day, the fiftieth, sixtieth, the
seventieth, and eightieth day, three hundred
purses; and finally, the ninetieth day, five hun-
dred purses. All the said purses, of five hun-
dred Turkish piastres each, shall be received in
loan from the persons commissioned to this effect
by the Sublime Porte ; and in order to facilitate
the execution of the said disposition, the Sublime
Porte, immediately after the ratification of the
convention, shall send commissaries to the city of
Cairo, and to the other cities occupied by the
armies.
" XVIII. The contributions which the French
shall receive after the date of the ratification and
before the notification of the present conven-
tion in the different parts of Egypt, shall be
deducted from the amount of the three thousand
purses above stipulated.
" XIX. In order to facilitate and accelerate
the evacuation of the places, the navigation of
Q 2
MEMOIRS OF
the French transport-vessels which shall be in the
ports of Egypt shall be free during the three
months' truce, from Damietta and Rosetta to
Alexandria, and from Alexandria to Damietta
and Rosetta.
" XX. The safety of Europe requiring the
greatest precautions to prevent the contagion of
the plague from being carried thither, no person,
either sick, or suspected of being infected by this
malady, shall be embarked ; but all persons af-
flicted with the plague, or any other malady,
which shall not allow their removal in the time
agreed upon for the evacuation, shall remain in
the hospitals, where they shall be under the safe-
guard of his highness the Vizier, and shall be
attended by the French officers of health, who
shall remain with them until their health shall
allow them to set off, which shall be as soon as
possible. The eleventh and twelfth Articles of
this convention shall be applicable to them as
well as to the rest of the army ; and the com-
mander-in-chief of the French army engages to
give the most strict orders to the different officers
commanding the troops embarked, not to allow
the troops to disembark in any other ports than
those which shall be pointed out by the officers
of health as affording the greatest facility for
performing the necessary, accustomed, and proper
quarantine.
.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 229
" XXI. All the difficulties which may arise,
and which shall not be provided for by the pre-
sent convention, shall be amicably settled between
commissioners, appointed for that purpose by his
highness the Grand Vizier and the General-in-
chief Kleber, in such a manner as to facilitate
the evacuation.
" XXII. These presents shall not be effectual
until after the respective ratifications, which are
to be exchanged in eight days ; after which, they
shall be religiously observed on both sides.
" Done, signed, and sealed with our respective
seals, &c., January 24, 1800.
" DESAIX, General of Division,
" POUSSIELGUE,
" Plenipotentiaries of General Kleber.
" MOUSTAFA RASCHID EFFENDI TESTERDAR,
" MOUSTAFA RASSTCHE EFFENDI RIESSUL KNITAB,
" Plenipotentiaries of his Highness the Supreme
Vizier."
" A true copy, according to the French part
transmitted to the Turkish Minister in ex-
change for their Turkish copy.
(Signed) " POUSSIELGUE,
" DESAIX.
(Countersigned) " KLEBER."
230 MEMOIRS OF
By these documents it will be seen that it was
stipulated that the French army, with all its
stores, artillery, baggage, &c., with the French
ships of war and transports at Alexandria,
should be permitted to return to France unmo-
lested by the allied powers.
It is in the following manner that General
Kleber justifies his conduct to the French nation.
It will be seen, in a moment, how much he
overstates the difficulties to which he was op-
posed.
" Kleber, General-in-Chief of the Army of
Egypt, to the Executive Directory of the
French Republic.
" Camp of Salachich, January 30.
" I have signed, citizens Directors, the treaty
relative to the evacuation of Egypt, and I send
you a copy of it. That which bears the signa-
ture of the Grand Vizier cannot reach this place
for a few days, the exchange of signatures being
to take place at El- Arisen.
" I have given you an account, in my former
despatches, of the situation in which this army
was placed. I have informed you also of the
negociations which General Bonaparte had com-
menced with the Grand Vizier, and which I have
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 231
continued. Though at that time T had little de-
pendence on the success of these negociations, T
hoped that they would so far retard the march,
and relax the preparations of the Grand Vizier, as
to give you time to send me assistance in men or in
arms, or, at least, orders respecting the disagreeable
circumstances in which I was placed. I founded
this hope of assistance upon my knowledge that the
French and Spanish fleets were united at Toulon,
and only wanted a favourable wind for sailing: they
did indeed sail, but it was only to repass the
Straits, and to return to Brest. This news was
most distressing to the army, which learned, at
the same time, our reverses in Italy, in Ger-
many, in Holland, and even in La Vendee, with-
out its appearing that any proper measure had
been taken to arrest the course of the misfor-
tunes which threatened even the existence of the
republic.
" Meanwhile the Vizier advanced from Da-
mascus. On another quarter, about the middle
of October, a fleet appeared before Damietta. It
disembarked about four thousand Janizaries, who
were to be followed by an equal number, but
time was not left for their arrival. The first were
attacked, and completely defeated in less than
half an hour: the carnage was terrible; more
than eight hundred of them were made prisoners.
'232 MEMOIRS OF
This event did not render the negotiations more
easy. The Vizier manifested the same intentions,
and did not suspend his march any longer than
was necessary for forming his establishments, and
procuring the means of transporting his troops.
His army was then estimated at sixty thousand
men ; but other pashas were following him, and
were recruiting his army with new troops from
all parts of Asia, as far as Mount Caucasus. The
van of this army soon arrived at Jaffa.
" Commodore Sir Sidney Smith wrote me
about this time, that is to say, some days before
the debarkation of Darnietta ; and as I knew all
the influence which he had over the Vizier, I
thought it my duty not only to answer him, but
even to propose to him, as a place for holding
conferences, the ship which he commanded : I
was equally repugnant to receiving in Egypt
English or Turkish plenipotentiaries, or to send-
ing mine to the camp of the latter. My proposi-
tion was accepted, and then the negociations as-
sumed a more settled aspect. All this, however,
did not stop the Ottoman army, which the Grand
Vizier conducted towards Gaza.
" During all this time the war continued in
Upper Egypt, and the Beys, hitherto dispersed,
thought of joining themselves to Mourad, who,
constantly defeated, alluring to his cause the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 233
Arabs and the inhabitants of the province of
Bennissoeuf, continued to keep some troops to-
gether, and to give disturbance. The plague
also threatened us with its ravages, and already
was weekly depriving us of several men at Alex-
andria and other places.
" On the 21st of December, General Desaix
and citizen Pouisselgue, whom I had appointed
plenipotentiaries, opened the conferences with
Sir Sidney Smith, on board the Tigre, to whom
the Grand Vizier had given power to treat. They
were to have kept on the coast between Damietta
and Alexandria, but a very violent gale of wind
having obliged them to get into the open sea,
they remained out at sea for eighteen days : at
the end of this time they landed at the camp of
the Vizier. He had advanced against El-Arisch,
and had possessed himself, on the 30th of De-
cember, of that fort. This success was entirely
owing to the remarkable cowardice of the garri-
son, which surrendered, without righting, seven
days after the attack. This event was so much
the more unfortunate, as General Regnier was
on his march to raise the blockade before the
great body of the Turkish army had arrived.
" From that moment it was impossible to hope
to protract the negociations to any length. It
was necessary to examine maturely the danger of
234 MEMOIRS OF
breaking them off, to lay aside all motives of
personal vanity, and not to expose the lives of
all the Frenchmen entrusted to me, to the ter-
rible consequences which farther delay would ren-
der inevitable.
" The most recent account stated the Turkish
army to amount to eighty thousand men, and it
must still have increased : there were in it twelve
pashas, six of whom were of the first rank.
Forty-five thousand men were before El- Arisen,
having fifty pieces of cannon, and waggons in
proportion : this artillery was drawn by mules.
Twenty other pieces of cannon were at the gates
of Gaza with the corps of reserve : the remainder
of the troops were at Jaffa, and in the neigh-
bourhood of Ramli. Active foraging parties
supplied the Vizier's camp with provisions : all
the tribes of the Arabs were emulous of assisting
this army, and furnished it with more than fif-
teen thousand camels.* I am assured that the
distributions were regularly made. All these
forces were directed by European officers, and
from five to six thousand Russians were every
moment expected.
" To this army I had to oppose eight thousand
five hundred men, divided on the three points,
Katich, Salachich, and Belbeys. This division
t was necessary, in order to facilitate our commu-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 235
riications with Cairo, and in order to enable us
to grant assistance speedily to the post which
should be first attacked : in fact, it is certain that
they all might have been turned or avoided.
This is what Elfi Bey has recently done, who,
during the negociations, entered with his Mama-
lukes into the Charkie, in order to join the
Billis Arabs, and to rejoin Mourad in Upper
Egypt. The remainder of the army was distri-
buted as follows : one ' thousand men, under the
command of General Verdier, formed the garri-
son of Lesbe, and were employed to raise contri-
butions of money and provisions, and to keep in
obedience the country between the canal of Ach-
moun and that of Moes, blindly directed by the
sheik Leskam. Eighteen hundred men were
under the command of General Lannes, to
supply with provisions the garrisons of Alexan-
dria, Aboukir, and Rosetta, to restrain the Delta
and the Batrira. Twelve hundred men remained
at Cairo and Gaza, and they were obliged to
furnish escorts for the convoys of the army; and,
finally, two thousand five hundred men were in
Upper Egypt, on a chain of more than one hun-
dred and fifty leagues in extent : they had daily
to fight the Beys and their partisans. The whole
formed fifteen thousand men. Such, in fact, es-
timating them at the highest, may be reckoned
236 MEMOIRS OF
the number of the disposable combatants in the
army.
" Notwithstanding this disproportion of force,
I would have hazarded a battle, if I had
had the certainty of the arrival of succours
before the season of a debarkation. But this
season having once arrived without my re-
ceiving reinforcements, I should have been
obliged to send five thousand men to the
coasts. There would have remained to me three
thousand men to defend a country, open on all
parts, against an invasion of thirty thousand
cavalry, seconded by the Arabs and the inhabit-
ants, without a fortified place, without provisions,
money, or ships. It behoved me to foresee this
period, and to ask myself what I could then do
for the preservation of the army. No means of
safety remained ; it would be impossible to treat,
but with arms in our hands, with undisciplined
hordes of barbarous fanatics, who despise all the
laws of war : these motives affected every mind ;
they determined my opinion. I gave orders to
my plenipotentiaries not to break off the ne-
gociations, unless the articles proposed tended to
the sacrifice of our glory or our security.
'* I finish this account, citizens Directors, by
observing to you, that the circumstances of my
situation were riot foreseen in the instructions left
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 237
me by General Bonaparte. When he promised
me speedy succours, he founded his hopes, as
well as I did, upon the junction of the French
and Spanish fleets in the Mediterranean : we
were then far from thinking that these fleets
would return into the ocean, and that the expe-
dition of Egypt, entirely abandoned, would be-
come a ground of accusation against those who
had planned it. I annex to this letter a copy of
my correspondence with the Grand Vizier, and
with Sir Sidney Smith and my plenipotentiaries,
and all the official notes sent on either side : I
annex also a copy of the reports which have
been given relative to the capture of El- Arisen.
" The French army, during its stay in Egypt,
has engraved on the minds of the inhabitants the
remembrance of its victories, that of the modera-
tion and equity with which we have governed,
and an impression of the strength and power of
the nation by whom it was sent. The French
name will be long respected, not only in this pro-
vince of the Ottoman empire, but throughout all
the East, and I expect to return to France with
the army at the latest by the middle of June.
" Health and respect,
" KLEBER.''
238 MEMOIRS OF
" Kleber, Commander -in- Chief, to the Divan of
Cairo, and to those of the different Provinces of
Egypt.
" Head-quarters Salachich, February 6.
" You have for a long time known the con-
stant resolution of the French nation to preserve
its ancient relations with the Ottoman empire.
My illustrious predecessor, General Bonaparte,
has often declared it to you since the circum-
stances of the war have induced us to visit this
country. He neglected no measure to dissipate
the apprehensions which had been infused into
the Porte, led as it was to conclude an alliance
equally contrary to its interests and ours. The
explanation sent by him to the court of Constan-
tinople failed in re-establishing so desirable an
union ; and the march of the Grand Vizier against
Damascus having opened a more direct mode of
communicating, he commenced negociations, and
confided to me the task of terminating them, at
the moment when affairs of superior interest
obliged him to return to Europe. I have this
day concluded them, and restore this country to
the possession of our ancient ally. The re-esta-
blishment of the commerce of Egypt will be the
first effect of the measure. The treaty shall be
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 239
the first clause of a peace, which is become neces-
sary to the nations of the West."
When Lord Keith, the British commander-in-
chief in the Mediterranean, heard of these pro-
ceedings, he despatched the following letter to
General Kleber :
" On board his Majesty's Ship the Queen Charlotte,
June 8, 1800.
" SIR, I inform you that I have received
positive orders from his Majesty not to consent
to any capitulation with the French troops whicli
you command in Egypt and Syria, at least unless
they lay down their arms, surrender themselves
prisoners of war, and deliver up all the ships and
stores of the port of Alexandria to the allied
powers.
" In the event of this capitulation, I cannot
permit any of the troops to depart for France
before they have been exchanged. I think it
equally necessary to inform you, that all vessels
having French troops on board, and sailing from
this, with passports from others than those autho-
rised to grant them, will be forced by the officers
of the ships which I command to remain in Alex-
andria ; in short, that ships which shall be met
returning to Europe, with passports granted in
240 MEMOIRS OF
consequence of a particular capitulation with one
of the allied powers, will be retained as prizes,
and all individuals on board considered as pri-
soners of war.
( Signed) " KEITH."
Many very painful reflections will be suggested
by this unfortunate and somewhat Thrasonical
letter. It must have been excessively painful to
Sir Sidney, and is not a little insulting to the
Sublime Porte. It was as unwise as it was dis-
courteous. It proved rife with the most disas-
trous consequences ; and its errors, let them have
originated where they might, were only expiated
by some of the bravest and noblest of English
blood. As it was in direct opposition to that ex-
cellent maxim which inculcates the providing of
a golden bridge for a flying enemy, its results
may be easily anticipated.
This ill-advised letter was given out in public
orders to the French, with the following brief
but soul-stirring remark from General Kleber.
" Soldiers ! we know how to reply to such in-
solence by victories prepare for battle.
(Signed) " KLEBER.
" The General of Division, Chief of the Staff,
* (Signed) " DAMAS."
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 241
This imprudent disavowal of the acts of the
allied Turkish and British commanders morally
doubled the strength of the enemy. They im-
mediately recommenced hostilities, and rapid
and considerable advantages were gained over
the Turks.
In the midst of these operations, orders arrived
from the British cabinet to accede to the conven-
tion of El-Arisch. They were too late. The
French had already made themselves masters of
the strong posts in the country, and were now
fully resolved to persevere in their original ob-
jectthe complete conquest of Egypt, and the
making it a French colony.
One of the earliest consequences of this mis-
taken policy was the defeat of the Turks at El-
hanka, on which occasion eight thousand of them
were left dead upon the field of battle.
We will briefly dismiss this affair by the inser-
tion of two official letters, both of them explana-
tory in their way ; the one from Sir Sidney
Smith, the other from Lord Keith.
" Sir Sidney Smith to Citizen Poussielgue, Admi-
nistrator- General of the Finances.
" On board the Tigre, March 8, 1800.
u I lost not a moment to repair to Alexandria,
as soon as I could complete the provisioning of
VOL. I. R
242 MEMOIRS OF
my ships, in order to inform you in detail of the
obstacles which my superiors have opposed to the
execution of a convention such as I thought it my
duty to agree to, not having received the instruc-
tions to the contrary, which reached Cyprus on
the 22d of February, bearing date the 10th of
January.
" As to myself, I should not hesitate to pass
over any arrangement of an old date, in order to
support what took place on the 24th and 31st of
January ; but it would be only throwing out a
snare to my brave antagonists, were I to encou-
rage them to embark. I owe it to the French
army, and to myself, to acquaint them with the
state of things, which, however, I am endeavour-
ing to change. At any rate, I stand between
them and the false impressions which have dic-
tated a proceeding of this kind ; and as I know
the liberality of my superiors, I doubt not that I
shall produce the same conviction on their minds
that I feel myself, respecting the business which
we concluded. A conversation with you would
enable me to communicate the origin and nature
of this restriction ; and I propose that you should
proceed, on board an English frigate, to the com-
mander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, who has
newly arrived, in order to confer with him on the
subject.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 243
" I depend much on your abilities and conci-
liatory disposition, which facilitated our former
agreement, in order again to support my reason-
ings respecting the impossibility of revoking what
has been formally settled, after a detailed discus-
sion and a mature deliberation. I then propose,
sir, that you should come on board, in order to
consult on what is to be done in the difficult cir-
cumstances in which we are placed. I view with
calmness the heavy responsibility to which I am
subject ; my life is at stake I know it ; but I
should prefer an unmerited death to the preserva-
tion of my existence, by exposing both my life
and my honour.
" I have the honour to be, with perfect consi-
deration and high esteem, sir, your very humble
servant,
(Signed) " W. SIDNEY SMITH."
This is candid, upright, and honourable ; and,
although a little too much worded for effect in
the latter part, is just such an epistle that we
might expect from one of Sir Sidney's chivalrous
character.
M. Poussielgue went on his philanthropical
mission, first writing the following letter.
R 2
244 MEMOIRS OF
Letter from Citizen Poussielgue to Lord Keith.
" On board the Constance, 13 Germinal, (April 19.)
" MY LORD, At the moment of quitting
Egypt to return to France, in virtue of the con-
vention signed at El-Arisch, I learned at Alexan-
dria the obstacles which your orders had raised
to the execution of that convention, although it
had already been partly carried into effect, with
that good faith which the candour of the con-
tracting parties must have inspired.
" I resolved to proceed directly to you, mv
lord, to request you to revoke your orders,
wish to explain to you all the motives that should
induce you to adopt this measure ; or, if you can-
not consent to what I desire to solicit, that you
will immediately send me to France, in order that
the French government may treat directly with
the English government on this affair.
" The lives of fifty thousand men are at stake,
who may be destroyed without any motive, since,
according to the solemn treaty made with the
English, Russians, and Turks, all hostilities had
terminated.
" I have not powers ad hoc for the step I have
taken; but there is no necessity for claiming
what would be considered as a right between
nations the least civilised. The demand appears
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 245
to me so just and so simple, and besides so urgent,
that I have not thought it necessary to wait for
the orders of General Kleber, who, I am certain,
would not consent to the smallest modification of
the treaty, though his fidelity in executing it has
rendered his position much less advantageous.
" At the moment we concluded the convention
at El-Arisch, under the simple pledge of English
good faith, we were far from suspecting that
obstacles would be started from that same power,
the most liberal of those with whom we had to
treat.
" For the rest, my lord, I am not a military
character, and all my functions have ceased.
Two years of fatigue and sickness have rendered
my return to my country indispensable. I aspire
only to repose with my wife and children, happy
if I can carry to the families of the French I
left in Egypt the news that you have removed
the only obstacle to their return.
(Signed) " POUSSIELGUE."
The following is Lord Keith's explanation,
dated April 25th.
Lord Keith's Answer.
" Minotaur, April 25.
" I have this day received the letter which you
246 MEMOIRS OF
have done me the honour to write. I have to in-
form you, that I have given no orders or authority
against the observance of the convention between
the Grand Vizier and General Kleber, having re-
ceived no orders on this head from the king's
ministers. Accordingly I was of opinion, that
his Majesty should take no part in it ; but since
the treaty has been concluded, his Majesty, being
desirous of showing his respect for his allies, I
have received instructions to allow a passage to
the French troops, and I lost not a moment in
sending to Egypt orders to permit them to return
to France without molestation. At the same time
1 thought it my duty to my king, and those of his
allies whose states lie in the seas through which
they are to pass, to require that they should not
return in a mass, nor in ships of war, nor in
armed ships. I wished likewise that the cartel
should carry no merchandise, which would be
contrary to the law of nations. I have likewise
asked of General Kleber his word of honour,
that neither he nor his army should commit any
hostilities against the coalesced powers ; and I
doubt not that General Kleber will find the con-
ditions perfectly reasonable.
" Captain Hay has received my orders to allow
you to proceed to France with the adjutant-gene-
ral Cambis, as soon as he arrives at Leghorn.
(Signed) " KEITH."
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 247
This letter contrasts strangely with the former
one from his lordship to General Kleber; but we
discover by it that he wished it to be understood
that he acted on his own notions of his duty to
his king, in disavowing the convention of El-
Arisch.
Notwithstanding the combined successes of
General Kleber and his army, he still found his
and their situation so harassing, that he was
willing to agree to a renewal of the terms for-
merly accepted by the Grand Vizier and Sir
Sidney Smith, for the evacuation of Egypt ; and
Lord Keith being now authorised to accede to
them, all obstacles seemed to have been satisfac-
torily removed. But all these good dispositions
were rendered of no avail by the assassination of
General Kleber on the 15th of June. This event
will be best detailed by transcribing General
Menou' s letter to Sir Sidney Smith.
Letter from General Menou to Sir Sidney
Smith, informing him of the Assassination of
General Kleber, and of his having taken upon
himself the chief command.
"J. Menou, General in Chief, to Sir Sidney
Smith, Commander of his Britannic Majesty's
ship of war the Tigre.
248 MEMOIRS OF
" Head-quarters at Cairo, 1 Messidor (June 1 9), Year 8
of the French Republic, one and indivisible.
" SIR, I have received the letter which you
did me the honour of writing to me, under date
of the 9th of June, from on board the Tigre, off
Rhodes. Since the French army is deprived of
its leader, by the atrocious assassination of the
General-in-chief Kleber, I have taken upon my-
self the command of it. Your allies the Turks
not having been able to conquer the French near
Malarich, they have, to be revenged, made use of
the dagger, which is only resorted to by cowards.
A Janissary, who had quitted Gaza about forty-
two days ago, had been sent to perpetrate the
horrid deed. The French willingly believe the
Turks only to have been guilty. The account of
the murder shall be communicated to every
nation, for all are equally interested in avenging
it. The behaviour which you, sir, observed,
with regard to the convention at El-Arisch, points
out to me the road which I have to pursue. You
demanded the ratification of your court : I must
also demand that of the counsels who now govern
the French nation, for any treaty that might be
concluded with the English and their allies. This
is the only legal way, the only one admissible in
any negociations that may ever take place. As
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 249
well as you, sir, I abhor the flames of war ; as
well as you, I wish to see an end put to the
misery which it has caused. But I shall never,
in any point whatever, exempt myself from what
the honour of the French republic and of her
arms requires. I am fully convinced that these
sentiments must also be yours. Good faith and
morality must prevail in treaties concluded be-
tween nations. The French republicans know
not those stratagems which are mentioned in the
papers of Mr. Mories. They know not any other
behaviour than courage during the combat, mag-
nanimity after the victory, and good faith in
their treaties.
" One hundred and fifty Englishmen are
prisoners of war here ;* had I followed only the
dictates of republican magnanimity, I would
have sent them back, without considering them
as prisoners, for they were taken on the coast of
Egypt, not with arms in their hands, and I am
fully convinced that the consuls would have ap-
proved of it ; but your allies have detained citizen
and chief of brigade Baudet, adjutant of General
Kleber, whose person ought to have been held
sacred, as he had been sent with a flag of truce.
Contrary to my principles and my inclination, I
have, therefore, been forced to reprisals against
* Alluding to the officers and crew of H. M. ship Cen-
turion, which was wrecked on the cost.
250
MEMOIRS OF
your countrymen ; but they shall be set at liberty
immediately on the arrival of citizen Baudet at
Damietta, who shall there be exchanged against
Mustapha Pasha, and several other Turkish com-
missaries. If, sir, as I have no doubt, you have
some influence over your allies, this affair will
soon be settled, which interests your honour, and
evidently endangers one hundred and fifty of
your countrymen. I have the honour to repeat
to you, sir, that with enthusiastic pleasure I shall
see the termination of a war which has, for so
long a period, agitated the whole world. The
French and English nations are destined mutu-
ally to esteem, not to destroy one another ; but
when they enter into negociations with each other,
it must only be done on conditions which are
equally honourable to both, and promotive of
their welfare. Receive, sir, the very sincere as-
surances of my esteem and high respect.
" I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed) " ABDALLAH BEY, J. MENOU."
This letter is certainly to the purpose, and just
what might have been expected after so unhappy
an event. It shows, also, the habitual respect in
which our officer was held by his stern and des-
perate foes. It produced the following conciliatory
and amicable answer.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 251
Letter from Sir Sidney Smith to General
MenoUj Commander-in- Chief of the French
Army in Egypt ; originally written in French ;
dated Jaffa, June 22, 1800.
" GENERAL, I received this evening the letter
which you did me the honour of writing to me
on the 20th instant. At the instant when I ex-
pected to see General Kleber, under the most
favourable and satisfactory auspices, I learned,
with the liveliest concern and the most heartfelt
sorrow, his tragical fate. I immediately com-
municated the intelligence to the Grand Vizier
and the Ottoman ministers, in the terms in which
you announced to me that sad event ; and no-
thing less than the certainty and detail with
which you communicated it, could have induced
their excellencies to credit the information. The
Grand Vizier has declared to me, formally and
officially, that he had not the slightest knowledge
of those who had been guilty of the assassination ;
and I am persuaded that his declaration is true
and sincere. Without entering into the par-
ticulars of this unfortunate event, I shall content
myself with answering the articles of your letter
that relate to our affairs.
" If the Grand Vizier has detained in his camp
the aide-de-camp Baudet, despatched to him at
252
MEMOIRS OF
Jebli-il-Illam, it was because his excellency did
not think proper to suffer any person to quit his
camp at the moment when he saw himself sur-
rounded by his enemies. Baudet was detained
at Jebil-il-Illam in the same manner as the
Turkish officers destined to serve reciprocally with
him as hostages were detained at Cairo.
" This aide-de-camp was sent to the Ottoman
squadron to be exchanged, according to your
desire ; and during that interval, his excellency
the Captain Pacha having arrived here, the ex-
change was postponed in consequence of his
absence from the squadron. When his excel-
lency shall have joined the squadron, the ex-
change may be carried into effect, should you
think proper, as the aide-de-camp Baudet is off
Alexandria ; but I cannot perceive why you
make the release of one hundred and fifty Eng-
lish, who were shipwrecked at Cape Brulos, de-
pend upon a transaction relating only to yourself
and the Porte. I expect from your good faith
and your justice, according to the regulations
settled between both nations relative to the re-
ciprocal exchange of our prisoners, which we are
authorised to enforce, that you will allow Captain
Buttal, his officers and crew, to return.
" Your promises expressive of the hope of re-
ciprocity on my part cannot apply to this circum-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 253
stance, and I think it superfluous to offer you in
return the assurance of my good offices in favour
of any person who may be reduced to the painful
situation which I have myself experienced. I
am convinced that the Grand Vizier will sanction
with his generous and dignified approbation all
the humane proceedings which we may adopt
with respect to one another. The tricks of war-
fare are unknown to us both, and while I shall
continue to behave to you with the same candour
and the same good faith which I have manifested
to the present moment, I shall earnestly employ
all my means to prevent any person on whom I
may possess influence from pursuing a contrary
line of conduct. Be assured that the hostile dis-
positions which have been recently announced,
and which have acquired extent and publicity,
may be appeased by the opportunities furnished
to both parties by the present circumstances of
mutual correspondence and communication, and
that we shall at length be united by the ties of
sincere friendship. In the mean time we shall
prosecute hostilities against you with the means
which we have hitherto employed against you,
and we shall endeavour to render ourselves worthy
of the esteem of your brave troops.
" The hostilities which you have committed
without waiting for Admiral Keith's answer, who
254 MEMOIRS OF
was unacquainted with the convention concluded
for the evacuation of Egypt, have furnished us
with a rule for our conduct. I had not demanded
of my court the ratification of the convention ;
I merely was desirous to remove some obstacles
that might have opposed the return of the French
to their country.
" As General Kleber did not, in the late pre-
liminaries which were agreed to, give us to un-
derstand that it was necessary the treaty which
was to have followed them should be ratified by
the consuls, this condition now introduced by
you in your preliminaries has the appearance of
a refusal to evacuate Egypt, and the Grand
Vizier has commissioned me to require of you,
on that head, a clear and precise answer. You
wish, as I do, for a termination of the war which
desolates the whole world.
" It is in your power to remove one of the
obstacles in the way of peace, by evacuating
Egypt according to the terms agreed upon with
General Kleber; and if you refuse, we shall
exert all our means, and those of our allies, in
order to compel you to accept conditions which
may not prove so advantageous. I cannot sup-
press my regret at being forced to fulfil that
duty ; but the evacuation of Egypt being an ob-
ject of so much interest to the cause of humanity,
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 255
the mode of accomplishing it by correspondence
and conference is still open.
" As the admiral, under whose orders I am, is
at a considerable distance, I am authorised to
agree to such arrangements as the necessity of
circumstances may dictate ; and although, from
the nature of events, I am not warranted in offer-
ing any new proposition, I am, however, ready
and disposed to receive all those which you may
think fit to make. I can declare to you officially
that I shall exert all my efforts to prevent any
rash proceedings, and to oppose all vexatious
measures, from whatever quarter they may
arise.
" I shall literally adhere to all the instructions
of my court. I know its principles to be founded
upon the most punctilious equity and the most
perfect good faith. My conduct shall be con-
formable to its principles, and all my exertions
shall be directed to the performance of my duty,
by promoting its interests.
" As it is not yet decided in what direction I
am about to act, I beg you will transmit me
your answer in two despatches, the one addressed
to Alexandria, and the other to Jaffa, at the camp
of the Grand Vizier.
(Signed) " SIDNEY SMITH."
256 MEMOIRS OF
We now proceed to subjoin another despatch
from Menou to Bonaparte, as it goes more into
particulars concerning this atrocious transaction.
" Menou, Provisional General-in-Chief, to Citizen
Bonaparte, First Consul of the Republic.
" Head-quarters at Cairo, I4tk Messidor, (July 3.)
66 CITIZEN CONSUL, A horrible event, of which
there are few examples in history, has provision-
ally raised me to the command of the army of
the East. General Kleber was assassinated on
the 25th of last month (June 14.) A wretch, sent
by the Aga of the Janissaries of the Ottoman
army, gave the general-in-chief four stabs with a
poniard, while he was walking with citizen Pro-
tain, the architect, on the terrace which looks
from the garden of the head-quarters into the
square of Esbekier. Citizen Protain, in endea-
vouring to defend the general, received himself
six wounds. The first wound which Kleber re-
ceived was mortal. He fell Protain still lives.
The general, who was giving orders for repairing
the head-quarters and the garden,* had no aide-
de-camp with him, nor any individual of the
corps of guards : he had desired to be alone : he
was found expiring. The assassin, who was dis-
' The head-quarters had been damaged by cannon-shot
during the siege.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 257
covered in the midst of a heap of ruins, being
brought to the head-quarters, confessed that he
was solicited to commit this crime by the aga of
the Janissaries of the Ottoman army, commanded
by the Grand Vizier in person. This vizier, un-
able to vanquish the French in open warfare, has
sought to avenge himself by the dagger, a weapon
which belongs only to cowards. The assassin is
named Soleyman-el-Alepi. He came from
Aleppo, and had arrived at Cairo, after crossing
the Desert on a dromedary. He took up his
lodging at the grand mosque Eleaser, whence he
proceeded every day to watch a favourable oppor-
tunity for committing his crime. He had en-
trusted his secret to four petty cheiks of the law,
who wished to dissuade him from his project ;
but who, not having denounced him, have been
arrested, in consequence of the depositions of the
assassin, condemned to death, arid executed on
the 28th of last month (June 17). I appointed
to conduct the trial a commission ad hoc. The
commission, after conducting the trial with the
utmost solemnity, thought it proper to follow the
customs of Egypt in the application of the punish-
ment. They condemned the assassin to be im-
paled, after having his right hand burnt; and
three of the guilty cheiks to be beheaded, and
their bodies burnt. The fourth, not having been
VOL. i. s
258 MEMOIRS OF
arrested, was outlawed. I annex, citizen consul,
the different papers relative to the trial.
"At present, citizen consul, it would be proper
to make you acquainted with the events, almost
incredible, that have occurred in Egypt ; but I
must first have the honour of informing you, that
General Kleber's papers not being yet in order, I
can only inform you of those events by a simple
reference to the date of the transactions. When
circumstances are more favourable, I shall send
you the details."
Napoleon thus pays his tribute to the high
sense of honour and the right-mindedness of our
hero on this very important and delicate business.
" He manifested great honour in sending imme-
diately to Kleber the refusal of Lord Keith to
ratify the treaty, which saved the French army,
If he had kept it secret for seven or eight days
longer, Cairo would have been given up to the
Turks, and the French army necessarily been
obliged to surrender to the English."
There is much of grandeur in this conduct of
Sir Sidney. All the temptations lay adversely
to his high sense of honour. We believe that
his conduct, had he sacrificed the French army,
would have met applause and reward from his
superiors at home. In the agitated state of the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 259
public feeling, it would have wonderfully increased
his popularity ; and the abstraction of so many
thousand well-tried veterans from the force op-
posed to his country would have been, though
dishonourably obtained, a real and substantial
good. All the ad captandum advantages were on
the side, not of a treachery, but merely of the
permitting one by others, and that, too, well
disguised under diplomatic forms. All these
considerations he resisted he saved the French
army, but at the same time he saved his country's
honour, and advanced his own.
During these momentous concerns, in which
Sir Sidney acted so conspicuous, and often the
principal part, he found time to exercise his pri-
vate benevolence. Having been apprized that a
young man of the name of Thevenard was among
the miserable captives held by the Turks, and
knowing that his father was a person of the
highest respectability at Toulon, he interested
himself successfully for his release. Sir Sidney
also provided for his safe conveyance from
Rhodes ; and, on his arrival, sent him the follow-
ing* characteristic note of invitation.
o
" On board the Tigre, June I5tk, 1800.
" Mr. Thevenard is requested to come and
dine with Sir Sidney Smith on board the Tigre,
s 2
260 MEMOIRS OF
this day at three o'clock. Sir Sidney takes the
liberty to send some clothes, which he supposes
a person just escaped from prison may require.
The great-coat is not of the best ; but, excepting
English naval uniforms, it is the only one on
board the Tigre, and the same Sir Sidney Smith
wore during his journey from the Temple till he
reached the sea. It will have done good service
if it again serves a similar purpose, by restoring
another son to the arms of his aged father dying
with chagrin."
Sir Sidney's kindness did not stop here. He
generously completed the good work that he had
begun, by supplying him with money and all
kind of necessaries, together with a recommen-
dation to his brother, the minister at Constan-
tinople, and to several other persons of respectabi-
lity in that city.
S1H SIDNEY SMITH. 261
CHAPTER XVII.
The conduct of Sir Sidney Smith considered respecting his
concurrence with the convention of El- Arisen Parliamen-
tary proceedings upon it Short speech of his late Ma-
jesty William IV.
HAVING brought down our narrative of these
transactions to this epoch, it becomes a duty to
us to look at home, and see in what light these
transactions were viewed by those who possessed
the right and the ability to decide upon them.
The question very naturally resolved itself into
two distinct interrogatories. Firstly, had Sir
Sidney Smith the power to do that which he
did ? and, secondly, without reference to his au-
thority, was that which he did done well ?
It is notorious that the ministry and Mr. Pitt,
with a great proportion of the nation, believed
that the terms granted to General Kleber were
altogether too lenient ; and that he and his army
262
MEMOIRS OF
must, in the nature of events, have been shortly
compelled to surrender at discretion. Men's minds
were too rashly led to this conclusion, because,
by an accident, a packet of letters, directed from
Kleber's army to the French government, was,
about this juncture, intercepted, which letters,
purporting to describe the actual state of the
French army in Egypt and Syria, were of such a
nature as to induce the persuasion that the enemy
could by no means sustain his post, and that
the troops were upon the eve of a complete dis-
organisation : and also because that Sir Sidney
Smith having performed great deeds, impossibi-
lities were expected at his hands, thus being
made a martyr to his own superior merits.
Thus prepared to prejudge the question, it was
angrily asked, had Sir Sidney the authority to
conclude a convention, apparently so unwise, if
not altogether treacherous to the best interests of
his country?
This momentous subject led to the following
proceedings in the House of Commons :
Mr. T. Jones begged the attention of the
house to the subject of the evacuation of Egypt ;
a subject to which he had already called that
attention last session, and which had now be-
come, by the incapacity of his Majesty's ministers,
the bone of contention between England and
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 263
France, and the stumbling-block of peace. From
the correspondence on the table, it was evident
that those counsels which opposed the evacuation
of Egypt by the invading army, presented a very
serious obstacle to the conclusion, and even to
the negociation of a peace. Of the two points
most insisted on by France, and which operated
as impediments to peace, one was the demand of
sending succours to Egypt ; and it remained for
the House to inquire, why that difficulty had not
been precluded, by accepting the terms of the
convention agreed on by General Kleber and
the Grand Vizier, and guaranteed by the sanction
of a general officer ? Mr. Jones, after six mo-
tions that he had made on the 23d of July, last
session, on the subject of the evacuation of Egypt,
were read by the clerk, said, that the object of
his motion this day would be, the production of
a letter, on the subject of which almost the whole
of the voluminous correspondence which he held
in his hand turned. Having read a number of
extracts from the correspondence, and particularly
Lord Grenvi lie's instruction to Mr. Hammond,
for holding a conference with Mr. Otto, on the
subject of the proposed armistice between Great
Britain and France, he asked if Sir Sidney
Smith was not joined with his brother Mr. Spen-
cer Smith, as joint plenipotentiary of Great
264
MEMOIRS OF
Britain at the court of Constantinople ? Had he
not power to treat at Acre ? Did not ministers
know that, in conjunction with the Bashaw
Ghezzar, Sir Sidney offered to convey the French
out of Egypt, individually or in the aggregate ?
Did his Majesty's ministers, previous to January
24, 1800, countermand the orders under which,
it was presumed, he acted from the beginning of
May in the preceding year, as if not warranted
in his conduct ? Did they, to prevent a repeti-
tion of such conduct, express their anger within
the eight following months, or even some time
after he had acceded to the convention ? Did
not Lord Elgin, before and since the present
year, instruct Sir Sidney Smith to get the French
out of Egypt by all possible means ? Was not
the intention of the court of London, not to
ratify the original treaty, sent immediately to
General Kleber in the first instance ? Ought it
not to have been sent to the French general
through Sir Sidney Smith ? Ought not our ally,
the Ottoman Porte, to have had the earliest
notice ? Arid farther, did not La Constance
galley deliver the letter of Lord Keith, first to
Kleber at Alexandria, and then proceed with the
same instructions to Sir Sidney, who was on
duty at Cyprus ? What was the consequence ?
Did not eight or nine thousand of our good allies
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 265
perish in the field ? Was not the very existence
of the Ottoman government threatened at its
centre? In Mr. Hammond's letter to Lord
Grenville, after the conference with Mr. Otto,
which letter referred, almost in every line, to
Egypt, there was this particular assertion, " Mr.
Otto added, that he would not conceal from me,
that the reinforcement which France intended to
send to Egypt amounted to twelve hundred men,
and that the supply of military stores consisted
chiefly of ten thousand muskets. The language
of Mr. Otto, in this part of our conversation, and
of Mr. Talleyrand's letter, appeared to me to be
so decisive and peremptory, that I was induced
to ask of him, distinctly, whether I was to under-
stand that this stipulation was a point from
which the French government would not recede ?
Mr. Otto replied, that, in his opinion, the French
government would not recede from it." Mr.
Jones having recapitulated the whole of the cor-
respondence, moved, " That the letter alluded to
in General Kleber's letter to the Kairnakan of
the Sublime Porte, be now laid on the table of
that House."
Mr. Pitt replied, that it would be hardly pos-
sible for his Majesty's ministers to comply with
the object of the present motion. It would be a
very difficult thing for government to undertake
266
MEMOIRS OF
for the production of a letter referred to in one
from General Kleber to the Kaimakan, even sup-
posing the representation given of it to be true,
and the description of it in the motion proper,
which it was not. But the answer he had to
give to the reasoning of the honourable gentle-
man was exceedingly short. The motion ap-
peared to be altogether unnecessary. He was
not aware of any good end that could be answered,
nor of any blame that could be fixed on minis-
ters, in consequence of a French general being-
referred to a letter, which evidently, on the face
of the transaction, must have been written before
government was acquainted with the convention
alluded to having been signed by any British
officer. The letter, therefore, could not state any
new fact : nor had Mr. Jones offered anything
in addition to what he had urged unsuccessfully
in the last session of Parliament. As soon as it
was known in England that the French general
had the faith of a British officer pledged to him,
and was disposed to act upon it, instructions were
sent out to have the convention executed, though
the officer in question had, in fact, no authority
to sign it. The contents of Lord Keith's letter
were far from being a secret. It was printed,
quoted, and universally known in July last, when
Mr. Jones brought forward a question on the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 267
same subject, which the House thought proper to
negative. The next thing for the House to con-
sider was, in what manner the present subject was
connected with the late correspondence between
France and this country relative to an armistice.
By the observations accompanying the motion, it
was shown that, in making the proposal, the
French government meant to derive great advan-
tage from the relief it might be enabled to send
both to Malta and Egypt; a relief which it
could not hope for, while our fleets and armies
pursued their operations against them : and thus
it was evident that France set great value on rein-
forcing those places, which we had an equal in-
terest in preventing them from doing. As we
had, since the convention of El-Arisch, taken
Malta from the enemy, we were, in a degree pro-
portionate to the importance of that island, mas-
ters of preventing them from sending any rein-
forcements to Egypt, the maritime places of
which were, besides, blocked by our fleets. So
far then it was plain, that, in respect to Egypt,
France was not on higher ground, now that we
were in possession of Malta, than it was at the
time when General Kleber first entered into the
capitulation. And he could not conceive what it
was that gentlemen thought they could complain
of. When Parliament considered the conduct of
268 MEMOIRS OF
his Majesty's ministers, in refusing to acquiesce
in a convention which they did not know to have
had the sanction of a British officer, it should
discuss that conduct with a reference to what was
the state of Kleber's army at the time ; with a
reference to the condition of the war in Italy at
the beginning of the campaign, when it was ex-
tremely doubtful whether the issue might be
favourable to one side or the other ; and most of
all, in this doubtful state of the termination of the
contest, with a reference to the effect which such
a reinforcement as that of the army of Egypt
might be likely, under all the circumstances, to
have on the war on the continent.
Mr. Grey, in answer to, these positions, re-
specting the position of Kleber's army, the state
of the belligerent armies in Italy, and the exist-
ing circumstances of the war, all together, said,
that the present motion did not preclude the con-
sideration of any of these topics, but only asked
for such information as would enable the House
to judge of Admiral Keith's instructions. It
was not to be supposed that the present motion
would stand alone, but, if carried, be followed
by others of a more comprehensive nature.
With respect to Sir Sidney Smith's powers, it
was not necessary for him to be specially in-
structed, either to sanction or to reject a conven-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 269
tion. Sir Sidney was the British officer com-
manding on the spot. And nothing was more
undeniable, than that every military commandant
had power to accept any stipulations which his
prudence might direct him to agree to with the
enemy, without having any special authority for
the purpose. On such occasions, government
were bound, in good faith, to admit what their
officers stipulated : and, if it were otherwise, the
consequences would be subversive of those prin-
ciples on which war was now conducted between
civilised nations. On these and other grounds,
Mr. Grey defended the propriety and the neces-
sity of the motion : which he considered as a
preliminary step to further inquiry into the con-
duct of ministers on this important and interest-
ing subject. Mr. Grey's observations on the
powers of Sir Sidney Smith were supported by
Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Tierney, and Mr. Hobhouse.
Mr. Sheridan observed, that the House of Com-
mons could not, without a neglect of its duty,
omit entering into an inquiry into the matter be-
fore them : for he held it as a principle, which
should never be lost sight of, that when an officer,
either general or admiral, was employed, to take
it for granted, that whatever such an officer did
in name and on the behalf of the country he
served, was done according to his instructions,
270 MEMOIRS OF
until the contrary was proved ; otherwise nations
could never confide in any proposal Mr. Tier-
ney said, that it was a part of the national com-
pact to regard officers under government, abroad
upon service in time of war, as having a certain
portion of power, to be exercised according to
their discretion, for the purpose of alleviating, or
perhaps putting an end to, the horrors of war.
What was observed by Mr. Hobhouse, had a re-
ference to what had been asserted by Mr. Pitt,
who had spoken a second time in explanation, on
the present subject. Mr. Pitt said, that, before
the order to Lord Keith went out, there was no
supposition that Sir Sidney Smith was then in
Egypt, nor that he would be a party to the
treaty between the Ottoman Porte and the French
general. When he did take a part in that trans-
action, it was not a direct part. He did not
exercise any direct power : if he had done so, he
would have done it without authority. He had
no such power from his situation : for he was not
commander-in-chief. Large powers, for obvious
reasons, must be given to the commander-in-
chief, subject to the discretion of the person with
whom they were intrusted. But that neither was
nor ought to be the case with every officer of
inferior station. Such person, however great his
talents, should not go beyond a specified point ; for
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 271
otherwise he might treat for whole provinces,
and counteract his superior in command. Mr.
Hobhouse observed, that if even a subordinate
officer, intrusted with the direction of a parti-
cular enterprise, entered, as Sir Sidney Smith
had done, into a convention, which, strictly
speaking, he had no powers to conclude, many
examples could be found, of cases in which the
commander-in-chief thought himself bound to
ratify what the subordinate officer had done, and
in which government had ratified the consent of
the commanding officer. Was not this the case
at Cape Nicola Mole, when General Whitelock,
though a subordinate officer, without any specific
powers, and without the consent of the com-
mander-in-chief, agreed to a convention which
General Williamson, the commander-in-chief,
afterwards thought himself bound to ratify, and
which was afterwards ratified by government ?
An objection had been made to the form in which
the motion was worded. This, indeed, Mr. Hob-
house did not think quite so accurate, and re-
commended it to his honourable friend to make
some alteration in it.
Mr. Yorke, after observing that the motion
was not of a parliamentary form, because Parlia-
ment could have no power over a letter which
must be in the possession of General Kleber, ex-
272 MEMOIRS OF
pressed his astonishment that any one could have
the confidence to say, in that house, that the
British fleet was in the least degree injured by
that which took place, on our behalf, in Egypt ;
and that the more especially, after we had been
in possession of the intercepted French corre-
spondence on that subject.
Mr. Percival said, that the English, after the
orders from government had been communicated
to them by Lord Keith, had done nothing to
break the treaty. The English committed no act
of hostility. But the French, on receiving the
communication from Lord Keith, had chosen to
break it themselves. If there was any breach of
faith, it was on the side of the French. When
government heard that the French had trusted
and acted on the belief that this country would
consent to the convention, it sent out orders not
to ratify, but to respect it. With regard to the
motion before the House, he could not recollect
that he had ever heard one supported by less
argument. He readily allowed that the publica-
tion of a letter was not a sufficient means of in-
formation for the purpose of founding on it any
specific motion. But, if this was the intention,
the supporters of the motion ought to have argued
'from the contents of the letter, that it would
afford ground on which to rest a motion.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 273
Mr. Jones, as a proof that this country was
a party in the convention of El-Arisch, stated,
that it was an article in this, that passports should
be given to the French by the Porte, and by its
allies, Russia and England. " As to the form of
the motion," said Mr. Jones, " I am prepared.
On such occasions as these I generally go doubly
armed, and now move, That an humble address
be presented to his Majesty, that he will be gra-
ciously pleased to give directions that copies of
all letters from the commander-in-chief of the
fleet in the Mediterranean to General Kleber be
laid on the table of this house." This motion
was rejected by eighty noes against twelve
ayes.
Lord Holland also failed in the Upper House
to bring this matter in full light, his motion being
negatived by twelve votes to two.
Mr. Pitt, in his speech, distinctly avers that
Sir Sidney Smith had no authority to sign the
treaty a sentence that must convey a severe
condemnation upon the conduct of that officer.
The question then is, what authority had he ?
did he possess the usual powers of a plenipoten-
tiary or were those powers so circumscribed,
that for every delicate conjunction of circum-
stances when slaughter that ought to have been
stopped was going forward when the miseries
VOL. I. T
274 MEMOIRS OF
of a whole friendly nation, that ought immediately
to have been alleviated, were increasing was
he, thus situated, to wait for months for instruc-
tions? Common sense decides in the negative.
Even the ordinary powers of a commanding
officer on the spot were, in our opinion a suffi-
cient justification for the course that he adopted.
Well, we will grant, that neither as a plenipo-
tentiary fully accredited, nor as a commander-in-
chief fully endowed with the usual discretionary
powers, had he authority to sign the conven-
tion. But was he, was Great Britain, the only
parties to it ? Who were the most concerned ?
Against whom did the sharp edge of war come in
actual contact ? Whose provinces were occupied ?
whose subjects plundered and slain ? The Sul-
tan's an independent sovereign of himself, per-
fectly competent and free, by his proper ministers,
without the sanction of the British government, to
make what treaty or convention he pleased, that
was not, according to the terms of his alliance
with England, an actual peace with the enemy.
Such a justifiable convention he made to rid
his provinces of a consuming host, and his dia-
dem of a galling insult ; and Sir Sidney Smith
did no more than agree to the act on the part of
his own government. What a mockery to say
that he had not full powers to do so small a
thing !
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 275
But we now come to the second category ; and
in that Sir Sidney stands in a still more triumph-
ant light. What he did was eminently well done,
and the undoing of it very nearly proved the undo-
ing of England's pre-eminence on the southern
shores of the Mediterranean ; for, after the loss of
some of our best generals, and many of our best
officers, together with a dreadful slaughter of
some of our bravest troops, our authorities at home
were obliged to do tardily, and not very gloriously,
that which Sir Sidney Smith had before done, with
honour to himself and with glory to the English
name, without, in the slightest manner, commit-
ting an outrage upon humanity.
It was this transaction that called forth, some
time after, the honourable testimony to the great
merits of Sir Sidney Smith, from one from whom
eulogium must at all times have been most grati-
fying and distinguishing : we mean the good,
the philanthropic, and the pious Mr. Wilberforce.
After mentioning our gallant officer's exploit at
Acre, in which he observes, " that if he, Sir Sid-
ney, had had with him regular officers of engi-
neers, he must have reported the place untenable
and abandoned it," he goes on to state, that
" the extraordinary achievements of that gallant
officer had been but ill requited," with many
observations to the same effect.
T 2
276 MEMOIRS OF
Mr. Wilberforce spoke truly. Sir Sidney
Smith was not adequately rewarded. The peer-
age was, at that time, plentifully lavished upon
individuals who required that distinction to make
them stand apart from their fellow men Sir
Sidney Smith did not.
As we have been just reverting to parliamentary
proceedings, it may not be misplaced to mention
that our late sovereign, William IV., when Duke
of Clarence, thus spoke of Sir Sidney in the House
of Peers : " The first important check which
the formidable army of French invaders met, was
from a handful of British troops, under Sir Sid-
ney Smith, long before the landing of the army
which became, in their turn, the conquerors of
Egypt."
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 277
CHAPTER XVIII.
Sir Sidney Smith's personal appearance at this time His
humanity to his crews The English government sends
reinforcements to Egypt The state of the country
English land at Aboukir Bay Battle of Alexandria
Death of Sir Ralph Abercromby.
BEFORE we proceed further in these Memoirs, we
shall briefly state the appearance of their subject
at this juncture. It is a very natural curiosity,
that of being anxious to be acquainted with the
looks and bearing of those who have been able,
by their merits, to stand separate from their fel-
low men. But alas ! man is still more variable
in his physical than in his mental identity. The
portrait of the youth of fourteen presents but lit-
tle similitude to the man at the mature age of
thirty, and the virility of thirty would look with
disgust upon the lineaments of the same indivi-
dual when he had numbered the average years
allotted to humanity, three sicore and ten.
278 MEMOIRS OF
We have described Sir Sidney Smith's appear-
ance as the fresh, amiable, and rosy-cheeked boy.
We now, upon the testimony of one who was in
daily communication with him, portray him in
the vigour of his manhood, shortly after he had
effected the expulsion of the French from Acre.
Then, though small in stature, he had all the
appearances that indicate a brave and generous
hearted man, with a fine dark countenance, and
eyes that sparkled with intelligence. His very
appearance showed that he possessed an ardent
imagination, which naturally prompted him to
form and execute bold and important enterprises :
he seemed, as it were, to be born to deserve glory
and to acquire it.
This testimony to the dignity of his presence
is from a Frenchman, and, so far as his public cha-
racter was concerned, an enemy ; and as the nar-
rator was allowed, on all hands, to be a person
of probity and honour, we must place implicit-
belief that he has put upon record the actual im-
pression that Sir Sidney Smith made upon him.
But let us have recourse to other and less re-
fined evidence. It is that of a worthy old Green-
wich pensioner, who held an office about our
officer's person, and who had the fullest opportu-
nities of seeing him in all situations and in all
moods, in full dress, ;n undress, and in no dress
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 279
at all, and such is nearly the words of the vete-
ran.
" Why, sir, after we skivered the mounseers
away from Acre, Sir Sidney was looking as taut
set up as the mainstay by a new first lieutenant ;
but, for all that, Sir Sidney was a weaselly man,
no hull, sir, none ; but all head, like a tad-
pole. But such a head ! it put you in mind of
a flash of lightning rolled up into a ball ; and
then his black curly nob when he shook it, it
made every man shake in his shoes."
" Was he then handsome ?"
" Blest if I can tell ! You know, sir, as how we
don't say of an eighteen-pounder, when it strikes
the mark at a couple of miles or so, that's hand-
some, but we sings out ' beautiful;' though, arter
all, it's nothing but a lump of black iron. You're
laughing, sir. And so you thinks I'm transmo-
grifying Sir Sidney's head into a round lump of
iron shot ! Well, I'm off like one. All I can
say is, that he was most handsome when there
was the most to do."
This worthy old sailor's notions of the line of
beauty being rather tortuous, we have only to
endeavour to reconcile the two accounts, which
may be done by the single word " soul." It pre-
dominated in the expression of his features, and
that, we conceive, is the noblest kind of beauty.
At the time of which we write, the use of the
280 MEMOIRS OF
eat-o'-nine-tails was general throughout the navy,
and as lavish as it was general. It therefore
highly redounds to the humanity as well as to the
good sense of Sir Sidney, that he was very sparing
of the revolting infliction, but rarely having re-
course to this brutal ultima ratio of naval com-
manders ; and, when compelled to it by absolute
necessity, never inflicting more than twenty-four
lashes at one punishment. He had gained the
entire confidence, and, though the word looks a
little effeminate, we must add, the affection of
all those who were so happy as to serve under
him. Sir Sidney appears to have been distaste-
ful only to those superior officers placed in com-
mand immediately over him.
Having thus been a little diffuse upon that
which is merely personal to our celebrated com-
mander, we must now proceed to trace the splen-
did course of his services, which in order the
more fully to appreciate, we must turn our atten-
tion to the state of Egypt after the flight of Bona-
parte, and the atrocious assassination of General
Kleber. At this time, the fair average of the
French troops occupying Egypt was twenty-six
thousand men, with something more than eleven
hundred Greek and Copt auxiliaries. In this
average must be included sailors acting with
the forces, commissioned and non-commissioned
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 281
officers, the sick, the artillery, the commissariat,
and every description of persons attached to the
army.
This force was at once both dispirited and
exasperated; for, pining for their homes, and
being deprived of the stimulus of spirituous
liquors, they could hardly be prevailed upon to
work on the fortifications, or even to throw up
the necessary entrenchments for the safety of the
posts of the army, yet, remembering the sup-
posed injuries that they had received at the hands
of the English, they were prepared to and ac-
tually did fight, when the occasion offered itself,
like so many furies.
We know it to be admitted on all hands that
General Menou had not the force of character or
the martial intelligence of his predecessors in
command. The dispositions for the defence of
Egypt have been severely animadverted upon, and
very generally condemned. He should have,
before he thus dared the enmity of the English,
either have possessed more military strength, or
have been conscious of more military talent, be-
fore he attempted to wield it.
Whatever was the cause of all the misunder-
standings with respect to the treaty of El-Arisch,
or to whomever censure ought to have been
justly charged for thus prolonging a needless
and a bloody strife, our government was not
282 MEMOIRS OF
wanting in promptitude in taking steps to remedy
these mistakes, and to clear Egypt from the pre-
sence of the French. The Turks were stimulated to
fresh exertions, and several of their corps put in
motion in various points, whilst Sir Ralph Aber-
cromby was appointed to the command of an
efficient body of English troops, destined to act,
in conjunction with Sir Sidney Smith and our
Turkish allies, against Menou, now in the chief
command of the republican forces.
After receiving some reinforcements in the
Mediterranean, and collecting a very respectable
train of artillery at Gibraltar, the British army
proceeded to its destination, but certainly not
with that celerity which was expected from it,
or which the urgency of the occasion seemed to
demand. After various harassing arid unex-
pected dela} r s, the armament, in conjunction with
Lord Keith, at length proceeded to the coast of
Egypt, and arrived off Alexandria on the 1st of
March, 1801, and the next day sailed for Abou-
kir Bay.
Alexandria being then in possession of the
French, and there being but two or three spots on
the coast accessible to invasion, Aboukir Bay was
necessarily chosen for the disembarkment of the
British troops, and at a most favourable period,
for, at this time, the force of the Mamelukes in
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 283
the French pay seems almost to have been sub-
dued, and the Arabs, after the manner of their
tribe, trafficked equally with both parties, and
waited for the termination of the contest, to side
with the victorious party. The French, as we have
before stated, dispirited by the flight of Bona-
parte and the assassination of General Kleber,
had fallen under the command of Menou, a man
confessedly inferior to his predecessors in all great
and wise qualities, and of so little moral influ-
ence with those whom he commanded, that he
had not the power to overawe into obedience the
various parties into which his army had split
themselves.
By a singular oversight, Menou, instead of
concentrating all his strength to prevent the land-
ing of the English at Aboukir, divided his forces
and sent bodies of them to oppose the Turks, and
retained a large corps in garrison at Alexandria.
This want of policy was the more absurd, as the
Turks did not arrive on the confines of Egypt
until the 27th of April, fifty days after the land-
ing of the British.
However, when the English fleet had arrived at
Aboukir Bay, they found so high a sea running,
and so violent a surf breaking upon the beach,
that it was the 8th before any disembarkation
could be attempted. On this occasion the inca-
284
MEMOIRS OF
pacity of Menou was strikingly exemplified. He
employed these six days of the inactivity forced
upon the English, neither by sufficiently forti-
fying the coast, nor by moving up fresh bodies
of men, so that the sixteen thousand troops of
the British found only four thousand men op-
posed to them. However, the French were most
advantageously posted, and made a most credit-
able resistance to the disembarkation. The diffi-
culties with which the English had to contend were
neither few nor insignificant. They had to be
conveyed, directly under the fire of the enemy's
artillery, for a long space in open boats, and,
when they neared the beach, to receive the
incessant volleys of musketry that played upon
them, whilst they were obliged to remain seated
in a state of inactivity. The landing, under the
superintendence of the Honourable Captain Coch-
rarie, was brilliantly effected, and with a loss
much less than was calculated upon, and imme-
diately after, the enemy were driven from their
posts, and their defeat made the more humili-
ating and disastrous by the loss of several pieces
of artillery.
Sir Ralph Abercromby was struck with admi-
ration at the admirable coolness and tact evinced
by the naval officers and men on this all-impor-
tant service. He bestowed upon them the high-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 285
est praises, and openly declared that, without
their eminent services, he never could have
brought his brave troops into action.
It certainly was a most desperate service, and
it is the opinion of the highest military authori-
ties, that the event of this invasion would have
been extremely doubtful if the whole French
army, with their great superiority in cavalry,
had been brought down to the coast, before
their opponents were clear of' the sea, and, even
had they effected a landing, before they could
have gained time to organise and arrange their
order of battle.
The personal services that Sir Sidney Smith
performed were, among others, the taking charge
of the launches which contained the field artil-
lery. After the debarkation and consequent vic-
tory of our troops, Sir Sidney Smith, who had
landed and reconnoitred this ground the year
before, proposed that the battery at the entrance
of Lake Maadie should be maintained when
carried, or its assault, at all events, combined
with the operations of the landing. Sir Robert
Wilson confesses that this would have been a
masterly movement, yet it was not adopted.
After the action of the landing, the army em-
ployed itself in finding water, as Sir Sidney
assured the troops that wherever date trees grew
water must be near. This assertion proved true,
286 MEMOIRS OF
and thus Sir Ralph Abercromby found himself
relieved from an anxiety which might have de-
termined him to relinquish the expedition. On
the 20th of March an Arab chief sent in a letter
to Sir Sidney Smith, acquainting him with the
arrival of General Menou with a large army, and
that it was his intention to surprise and attack
the British camp the next morning ; but much
confidence was not placed in this communication
at head -quarters, although Sir Sidney was, in
his own mind, convinced of the honesty and
truth of the information, and assured his friends
that the event would take place.
This little trait shows of what vast importance
was the presence of our hero with the army, and
how useful were his counsels, for the next day
the memorable battle of Alexandria took place.
We shall not describe the technical movements
of the respective armies, but confine ourselves to
the stating of the manner in which the com-
mander-in-chief met with the wound that was fatal
to him. On the first alarm of the surprise which
Sir Sidney foretold, and who was not believed,
Sir Ralph, finding that the right was seriously
engaged, proceeded thither. When he came near
some ruins near which it was stationed, he de-
spatched his aide-de-camp with some orders to the
different brigades, and, whilst thus left alone, some
French dragoons penetrated to the spot, and he
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 287
was unhorsed : one of them was supposed to be an
officer, from the tassel attached to his sword ; but
just as the edge of the weapon was descending,
his natural heroism and the emergency of the mo-
ment so much invigorated him, that he seized
the sword, and wrested it from the hand of
his adversary, who, at the very moment, was
bayoneted by a soldier of the 42nd.
Sir Ralph did not perceive that he was wounded
when he received the musket-ball in his thigh,
but complained greatly of a contusion on his
breast, supposed to have been received from the
hilt of the sword in the scuffle. Sir Sidney
Smith was the first officer who came to Sir Ralph,
and who, by an accident, had broken his own
sword, which Sir Ralph observing, he instantly
presented him with the one which he had so glo-
riously acquired from the French dragoon. This
sword Sir Sidney intends to place upon his mo-
nument.
A singular circumstance happened almost im-
mediately afterwards. Major Hall, aide-de-camp
to General Cradock, whilst going with orders,
had his horse killed. Seeing Sir Sidne}^ he
begged of him permission to remount himself
upon the horse of his orderly-man. As Sir
Sidney was turning round to the man, he was
saved the trouble of giving directions, by a can-
non-ball sweeping off the dragoon's head.
288 MEMOIRS OF
" This," exclaimed Sir Sidney, " is destiny !
Major Hall, the horse is yours."
Very shortly after, Sir Sidney Smith himself
received a violent contusion from a musket-ball,
which glanced on his right shoulder.
But to return to the wounded commander-in-
chief. As the French cavalry was by this time
repulsed, Sir Ralph walked to the redoubt on the
right of the Guards, from which he could com-
mand a view of the whole field.
At ten o'clock in the morning the action
ceased by an orderly and unmolested retreat of
the French to the position from which they had
emerged, and it was not until their defeat was
thus absolutely assured, that Sir Ralph Aber-
cromby, who had remained on the battery, where
several times he had been nearly killed by cannon-
shot, could be prevailed upon to quit the field.
He had continued walking about, paying no
attention to his wound, only occasionally com-
plaining of a pain in his breast from the contu-
sion. Officers who went to him in the course of
the action returned, without knowing, from his
manner or his appearance, that he was wounded,
and many ascertained it only by seeing the blood
trickling down his clothes. At last, his spirit,
when no longer stimulated by exertion, yielded
to exhausted nature ; he became faint, was placed
in a hammock, and borne to the depot, cheered
SIR SII)\KY SMITH. 289
by the feeling expressions and the blessings of
the soldiers as he passed. He was then put into
a boat, accompanied by his aide-de-camp and
esteemed friend, Sir Thomas Dyer, and conveyed
to Lord Keith's ship.
On the evening of the 23rd, Sir Sidney Smith
went with a flag of truce to the outposts, and
demanded to be permitted to communicate with
the commandant of Alexandria. An answer hav-
ing been returned that no person could be per-
mitted to pass the outposts, Sir Sidney sent in his
letter, as from Sir Ralph Abercromby and Lord
Keith, proposing an evacuation of Egypt by the
French, by which they might return to France
without being considered as prisoners of war;
but that their shipping, artillery, and material
must be placed in the hands of the allies. This
was angrily refused.
On the 29th, Sir Sidney Smith again went
with a flag of truce to the outposts, as on the part
of the Capitan Pasha, Sir Ralph Abercromby,
and Lord Keith. Admittance into the town was
refused, and no answer was returned to the
despatch.
It was on the morning of this day that the
death of Sir Ralph Abercromby was known.
He had borne painful operations with great firm-
ness, but the ball could not be extracted. At
VOL. i. u
290 MEMOIRS OF
length, mortification ensued, and he died on the
evening of the 28th, having always expressed his
solicitude for the army, and irritating his body,
through his mind, from the first moment of his
accident, with a desire to resume his command.
He died as should a brave officer at a good old
age, loved and honoured. His fate was a happy
one.
On the 31st of this memorable March, eleven
Arab chiefs came to Sir Sidney Smith. They
were all very intelligent men, with uncommonly
fine countenances, and they were well clothed.
It was impossible to regard these chiefs without
thinking of the wise men of the land, and to see
the simplicity of their manners without remem-
bering the patriarchs.
On the 13th of April, we find Sir Sidney, with
a party of dragoons, reconnoitring a position,
and shortly after proceeding up the Nile with an
armed flotilla, so far as El Arisch. This ubiquity
seems astonishing. On the 18th, we next meet
with him cannonading Rosetta from four dgerms
that he had equipped with wonderful despatch.
We now come to the termination of his inva-
luable services on shore in Egypt. Sir Robert
Wilson thus pays an honest tribute to his
merits :
" Sir Sidney was endeared to officers and men
SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
by his conduct, courage, and affability. With
pride they beheld the hero of Acre ; with admi-
ration they reflected on the convention of El
Arisch ; they had witnessed his exertions, and
calculated on his enterprise. The Arabs regarded
him as a superior being. To be the friend of
Smith was the highest honour they courted, and
his word the only pledge they required. No
trouble, no exertions, no expense, had been spared
by him to obtain their friendship, and to elevate,
in their opinions, the national character. But
the order was given, and remonstrance would
have been unworthy ; it is true, as a seaman he
could not complain of being ordered to reassume
the command of his ship ; but the high power he
had been invested with, the ability he had dis-
played as a soldier and a statesman, entitled him
to a superior situation in this expedition, and the
interest of the service seemed to require that the
connexion he had formed with the Mamelukes
should, through him, be maintained. The army,
therefore, saw Sir Sidney leave them with regret,
but he carried with him their best wishes and
gratitude."
It is thus that General Hutchinson mentions
Sir Sidney in his despatch :
" Sir Sidney Smith had originally the com-
mand of the seamen who landed from the fleet ;
u 2
292 MEMOIRS OF
he continued on shore till after the capture of
Eosetta, and returned on board the Tigre a short
time before the appearance of Admiral Gan-
theaume's squadron on the coast. He was present
at the three actions of the 8th, 13th, and 21st of
March, when he displayed that ardour of mind
for the service of his country, and that noble in-
trepidity, for which he has ever been so con-
spicuous."
SIR sm\KY SMITH. 203
CHAPTER XIX.
Cursory sketch of the termination of the Egyptian cam-
paign Sir Sidney feted by the Capitan Pasha Anecdote
of another similar honour Bonaparte's impiety Sir Sid-
ney returns to England with despatches Civic honours.
As we have thus far glanced at the military
operations of the combined forces in Egypt, it
will not be thought superfluous to give a rapid
sketch of the proceedings of the allied army, up
to the treaty for the evacuation of Egypt.
These proceedings were marked by most sin-
gular delays and procrastinations. After the
battle of the 21st of March, which was fought
about four miles distant from Alexandria, we
waited until the 14th of April before we presented
ourselves at the gates of Rosetta, which were
flung open at our approach. We remained con-
tent with this advantage until the 5th of May,
when we again commenced military operations
294 MEMOIRS OF
by investing the Fort of St. Julien, garrisoned
by only two hundred and sixty men, which we
reduced in two days.
On the 5th of May, we commenced our march
for Cairo from El Hamed, which was distant
only one hundred and twenty miles, yet it occu-
pied us forty-two days in the march. The only
opposition that we experienced was at Rhama-
meth, where we lost twenty men, the French
suffering a defeat. This took place on the 9th of
May. From this place the French retired from
before General Hutchiuson, and reached Cairo in
three days. However, we moved more deli-
berately, occupying thirty-eight days to overcome
the same distance, without seeing an enemy or
firing a shot the whole of the way.
Cairo capitulated on the 20th of June. We
then proceeded against Alexandria, at which
place Menou had stationed himself with the main
body of the French army, and fifty days after the
fall of Cairo, during which time not an hostile
shot was fired, we opened the siege, and reduced
the place in fifteen days.
After this success, so long protracted, Menou
consented to the evacuation of Egypt, upon pre-
cisely the same terms as those which formed the
original evacuation of El Arisen, and the republi-
can army, with its baggage, was conveyed in
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 295
ships of the allied powers to the nearest French
ports.
As we have before stated, it was only at the
commencement of this campaign that Sir Sid-
ney Smith served with the allied army. Is
it hazarding too much to say, that if he had
continued with it, he would have infused into
its commanders some of the same spirit of en-
terprise that made the defeat of Acre so success-
ful ? There is no doubt but that the conquest
of Egypt was glorious to our arms, but still we
think that we did not reap the full measure of
honour in the field that lay before us.
Be this as it may, when the allied army ad-
vanced towards Cairo, by a very unworthy
compliance with the antipathies of the Capitan
Pacha, Sir Sidney was sent on board his ship.
The following, reason is assigned by Sir Robert
Wilson for the aversion of the Capitan towards
Sir Sidney.
" Sir Sidney, on receiving Lord Keith's refusal
to the convention of El Arisen, instantly sent off
an express with it to Cairo, as he knew that
General Kleberwas immediately to evacuate that
city on the faitli of the treaty ; thus preferring
the maintenance of his own and his country's
honour to a temporary advantage. The mes-
296 MEMOIRS OF
senger arrived a few days before the evacuation
was to have been completed, and the conse-
quences are well known. But certainly, the
Turks had so fully depended on its execution,
that they had advanced without artillery and
ammunition."
We can well conceive this to have been a mortal
offence to the Capitan, as he could have but a
slight conception of the chivalrous character of
Sir Sidney ; but, great as was the umbrage taken
by the Turks, we should not have suffered the
ignominy of permitting our barbarous allies to
dictate to us what officers we should or should
not employ. Of this we are well assured, that
the presence of Sir Sidney Smith with the army
was of more importance to its success than that
of the Capitan Pacha and all his forces.
Whatever might have been the pique on the
one hand by the Turkish commander, and the
resentment on the other, we find, shortly after the
evacuation of the French, the naval Capitan
Pacha giving a grand entertainment on board
the Sultan Selirn, to Sir William Sidney Smith,
to whom, with strong expressions of admiration
and attachment, he presented a valuable scimitar,
and, what was considered as the greatest compli-
ment that he could confer on him, one of his own
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 29?
silk flags, a badge of distinction which claims
from all Turkish admirals, and other commanders,
an equal respect to that which they owe to his
highness the Pacha ; such as the obligation of
personally waiting on him previously to their
departure from, and on their rej unction with, the
fleet.
Honours of this sort seem to have been
lavished on our officer with a prodigality that
merit only such as his could have justified.
Having, in 1799, rendered himself of much im-
portance to the Grand Seignior, he received the
Ottoman order of the Crescent from Constanti-
nople, accompanied with a firman and seal from
the Sultan, delegating to him unlimited authority
over his subjects in the sea of the Archipelago,
and of his Asiatic provinces, a power which Sir
Sidney can exercise at any time by virtue of the
seal and document above mentioned. The seal,
the turban, and the aigrette, are the same
with the Sultan's, with the exception of the in-
scription which surrounds it, a text from the
Koran in Arabic, of which the following is a
translation.
Speaking of the Christians, the Koran says,
" They are a people which exist. They read of
the wonders of God during whole nights, and
298 MEMOIRS OF
they adore Him with bended knees. They be-
lieve in God and in the last day. They order
the doing of good deeds, they forbid evil ones, and
they are eager in works of charity ; therefore are
they (the Christians) good."
The Pacha, who was, on this occasion, the envoy
of the Sultan to Sir Sidney Smith, having
formerly incurred Sir Sidney's displeasure, was
extremely troubled in his mind with appre-
hension and fear all the time that he was invest-
ing him with the order, and performing the other
requisite commands; and, when finally he buckled
on the rich sword, he fully expected to see the
glittering blade flash in the light, and that, in
the next twinkling of his eye, his head would fly
off from his shoulders. Had this been the case, it
would not have excited the smallest surprise in the
by-standers ; for it is quite customary in Turkey,
and among the Mahometans generally, in send-
ing an embassy to a powerful prince or a pasha,
to replace another, or, as in this instance, on a
mission of importance, bearing honours and pre-
sents from the Sultan, to select an individual who
has offended the person whom the Sultan thus
deigns to notice with favourable marks of confi-
dence; and immediately after the unfortunate
ambassador makes his salaam, he "is either re-
SJU SIDNEY SMITH. 2 ( J9
lieved of his head by the ready Damascus blade,
or, with equal promptitude and facility, strangled
by the mutes with the bowstring.
No such fate, however, awaited the pasha sent
by the Sultan to Sir Sidney. The commodore
certainly enjoyed his embarrassment, and was
highly amused at the trepidation and alarm which
the old Turk displayed, and which he, in turn,
endeavoured to conceal by an appearance of
cheerfulness, a vivacity so awkwardly assumed,
that even his own followers were quite surprised
at his strange gestures and grimaces. The ob-
stinate resistance that the muscles of his face
made to represent anything like a genuine smile,
and his fruitless attempts to force them to relax,
were perfectly frightful, and provoked the laugh-
ter of the whole assembly. This mirth was the
means of reassuring him a little, for he took it
for granted that such a man as Sir Sidney
Smith could not look upon the depriving of a
poor Turk like himself of his head, to be the
most fitting subject in the world for merriment,
and, on daring to look up into his face, he was con-
vinced that he had conjectured rightly. Upon a
more earnest survey, his astonishment equalled
his joy when he found not the slightest indi-
cation of resentment, or even of displeasure, in
the admiral's countenance, as he turned his eyes
300
MEMOIRS OF
upon him with an expression that he well under-
stood, and began greeting him with words of
peace and good- will, thus entirely removing from
him any doubts or fears with which he might
still be harassed concerning his personal safety.
As a still further assurance of Sir Sidney's kindly
intention, and because he knew that there were
valuable qualities in the man, he made him, a
few days afterwards, the governor of Cyprus.
To return to our narrative. After the surrender
of the French army, Sir Sidney Smith seized the
opportunity of visiting the holy city of Jerusalem,
where the following anecdote of Bonaparte was
related to him by the superior of a convent.
People may place what reliance they choose upon
its authenticity, and either conceive it to be of
no more value than is generally affixed to a
monkish tale, or give it full credence, on the
score that, at that time, so strong was the current
of infidelity among the French people, that Bona-
parte, who wished to float to power on its stream,
might well have been guilty of the ascribed
impiety.
When his general, Damas, had advanced with
a detachment of the army, within a few leagues
of Jerusalem, he (Damas) sent to his commander-
in-chief for permission to make an attack upon
the place. Bonaparte replied, that " when he had
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 301
taken Acre, he would come in person, and plant
the tree of liberty on the very spot where Christ
suffered ; and that the first French soldier who
fell in the attack should be buried in the holy
sepulchre."
At this period, when men's minds are less ex-
cited, such fanaticism of infidelity as is here dis-
played seems altogether incredible. However,
whether this anecdote be true or not, as it was
uttered to suit the temper of those times, it is a
curious record of the exasperation that was enter-
tained, either by the one party or the other. That
much of this kind of senseless bravado on the
score of religion was promulgated by Bonaparte
in his Egyptian career is but too certain, yet this
man died a certified good Catholic, and in a faith
the most credulous that ever existed.
Sir Sidney Smith was the first Christian who
was ever permitted to enter Jerusalem armed, or
even in the customary dress of a Frank. By his
means, his followers also, and all who visited it
through his influence, were allowed the same
privilege.
On the 5th of September of the current year,
the transactions of which we have been narrat-
ing, Sir Sidney Smith and Colonel Abercromby
embarked at Alexandria on board the Carmen
frigate, with the despatches relative to the late
302 MEMOIRS OF
campaign. Every one will concede that this
honourable mission was justly devolved upon the
naval commander ; and not the less so was 'it
shared by Colonel Abercromby, whose meri-
torious services had been of the most valuable
description, to say nothing of the selection of the
herald of the intelligence that was to complete
his father's fame being gracefully and properly
assigned to a son that was assiduously following
in his parent's steps. These two accomplished
officers arrived in London on the 10th of No-
vember following.
We must presume that Sir Sidney Smith's
diplomatic character had now altogether ceased
on his accepting this mission with the despatches,
even if they had not been supposed to have
terminated at the disavowal, on the part of our
government, through Lord Keith, of the conven-
tion of El Arisch, which we maintain that he so
wisely signed. However, we have it upon good
authority, that, up to the present time, he was
never pecuniarily remunerated for his ambassa-
dorial functions.
Sir Sidney, some very considerable time after,
finding himself at Vienna, when the late Mar-
quis of Londonderry, then Lord Castlereagh, was
settling the affairs of the European world, stated
to his lordship the disagreeable position in which
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 303
lie found himself, and dwelt forcibly upon the
injustice of letting claims for services so valuable
as those which he had performed in Egypt remain
so long unsettled. Lord Castlereagh immediately
assented to the hardship of the case, and pro-
ceeded directly to make use of the best remedy,
by amply satisfying the demand. " But," as Sir
Sidney expressed it himself, " as he thought
proper to terminate his existence shortly after-
wards, and neglected to leave an official memo-
randum of the transaction, I was obliged to
refund the money, and up to the present moment,
although I have been perpetually promised by
the different ministers that I should be indemni-
nified and settled with, I have never received one
farthing."
Upon Sir Sidney Smith's return to England,
one of the first honours with which he was
greeted, and at which we have before hinted, was
displayed in the following manner.
The Corporation of London, anxious to ex-
hibit a proof of their admiration of the gallant
achievements of Sir Sidney Smith at the siege
of Acre, resolved to bestow upon him the free-
dom of their ancient city, and to accompany it
with the present of a valuable sword ; on the 7th
instant, the naval hero attended at Guildhall, in
order to be invested with the civic privileges of
304 MEMOIRS OF
which he had been deemed worthy, and to re.
ceive the symbol of valour he had so justly
merited.
The Lord Mayor, the Chamberlain, and
several of the Aldermen were ready to receive
him. He made his appearance between one and
two, and was ushered into the Chamberlain's
office. The Lord Mayor received him with the
utmost courtesy, and introduced him to Mr.
James Dixon, the gentleman who had done him-
self the honour of voting the thanks of the court
of common council in his favour. The Cham-
berlain then addressed the distinguished officer
in the following terms :
" Sir Sidney Smith I give you joy, in the
name of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Com-
mons of the City of London, in common coun-
cil assembled, and present you the thanks of
the Court for your gallant and successful de-
fence of St. Jean d'Acre against the desperate
attack of the French army under the command
of General Bonaparte. And, as a further tes-
timony of the sense the Court entertains of
your great display of valour on that occasion, I
have the honour to present you with the free-
dom of the city and this sword. [Sir Sidney
received the sword, and pressed it with fervour
to his lips.] I will not, sir, attempt a panegyric
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 305
upon an action to which the first oratorical
powers in the most eloquent assemblies have
been confessed unequal ; but I cannot help ex-
ulting on this happy occasion at the vast acqui-
sition of national reputation acquired by your con-
duct at the head of a handful of Britons, in re-
pulsing him who has been justly styled the
Alexander of the day, surrounded by a host of
conquerors till then deemed invincible. By this
splendid achievement you frustrated the designs
of the foe on our East Indian territories, prevented
the overthrow of the Ottoman power in Asia,
the downfall of its throne in Europe, and pre-
pared the way for that treaty of peace, which
it is devoutly to be wished may long preserve the
tranquillity of the universe, and promote friend-
ship and goodwill among all nations. It must
be highly gratifying to every lover of his country
that this event should happen on the very spot
where a gallant English monarch formerly dis-
played such prodigies of valour that a cele-
brated historian, recording his actions, struck
with the stupendous instances of prowess dis-
played by that heroic prince, suddenly exclaimed,
* Am I writing history or romance ? ' Had, sir,
that historian survived to have witnessed what
has recently happened at St. Jean d'Acre, lie
would have exultingly resigned his doubts, and
VOL. i. x
306 MEMOIRS OF
generously have confessed that actions, no less
extraordinary than those performed by the gal-
lant Cosur de Lion, have been achieved by Sir
Sidney Smith." This speech was followed by
universal acclamations.
Sir Sidney Smith thus replied:
" Sir Unconscious that I should have been
thought worthy of being addressed by you on
the part of the city of London in terms of such
high and unqualified approbation, I am but ill
prepared for replying in a manner adequately to
express the sentiments with which I am im-
pressed. My confidence would be lessened, did I
not feel that I was surrounded by friends who
are dear to me, and whose approbation I am
proud to have received. It shall be the object
of my future life to merit the panegyric you have
been pleased to pronounce in my favour. For
the freedom of your city, with which you have
honoured me, I return you my sincere thanks,
and shall implicitly conform to all the obligations
annexed to it. Above all, I accept this sword as
the most honourable reward which could have been
conferred on me. In peace it will be my proud-
est ornament, and in war I trust I shall be ever
ready to draw it in defence of my country, and
for the protection of the city of London." [Loud
applause.]
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 307
Sir Sidney Smith then took the usual civic
oaths ; and having made a liberal donation to
the poor's box, departed amidst the acclamations
of the populace.
308
MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER XX.
Sir Sidney Smith returned member of parliament for Ro-
chester His speech in the House of Commons, and at
the anniversary of the Naval Institution His appointment
in the Antelope to the command of a squadron His ser-
vices in that command.
THE grateful countrymen of Sir Sidney Smith,
eager to testify their feelings for his almost uni-
versal talents, showed him, on every occasion,
the most marked respect. Civic honours followed
those of the battle, the ocean, and the court. At
the general election of representatives for the
second parliament of the United Kingdom, the
citizens of Rochester evinced their good taste by
choosing our officer, in conjunction with Mr.
James Hulkes, to watch their own interests and
those of the empire in the House of Commons.
Sir Sidney accordingly took his seat for that an-
cient city on the opening of the session, on the
16th of November, 1802.
At this period, the country was in a state of
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 309
fitful repose, during a short and hollow peace ; a
peace that seemed to be more like a mutual ces-
sation of hostilities, only obtained in order to afford
all parties a little respite to enable them to re-
commence war with increased bitterness, fury,
and devastation.
In his Majesty's address to his parliament,
whilst he assured both Houses that he was, with
a paternal anxiety, most solicitous to maintain
peace, he spoke as apprehensive of approaching
war, and breathed forth the accents of defiance
and preparation. In the Upper House, Lord
Nelson, fresh in the glories of the victory of the
Nile, seconded the address to the throne. This
was commendable to all parties, and honourable
to the ministry.
At this distance of time it is impossible accu-
rately to know, or if known, fully to appreciate,
the various actuating motives of those who then
ruled the destinies of England. But, looking to
the services of Sir Sidney, and weighing how
greatly his talents and activity had been the cause
of gaining for England the peace, such as it was,
we presume to think that he should have done
that in the House of Commons, which Lord
Nelson so gracefully performed in the House of
Lords.
For the short time that he was enabled to
310
MEMOIRS OF
attend to his parliamentary duties, the commo-
dore was, though by no means obtrusive, dili-
gent and attentive. At that period Pitt, Fox,
and Sheridan, with other men who have identi-
fied themselves with the history of the country,
were in the zenith of their glory. In the fields
of oratory, competition with declaimers like these
would have been vain. Besides, at that time,
Sir Sidney conscientiously supported the party
that was opposed to the latitudinarian principles
of government, religion, and morals, that was
then so lamentably gaining ground. The posts
that a man of virtuous ambition would have been
anxious to fill, were all occupied. Nothing was
left for Sir Sidney, but to follow those who were
so well able to lead ; and to support by his vote,
and strengthen by his countenance, those princi-
ples for which he had so gloriously fought, bled,
and conquered.
Yet, though by no means a clamorous or even
a garrulous member, when the opportunity oc-
curred, by which the House might benefit by his
nautical or military experience, he knew well
how to impart that experience in a manner both
dignified and impressive. On the debate on the
navy estimates, when Mr. Alexander moved for
a grant of fifty thousand seamen for the service
of the ensuing year, Sir Sidney Smith expressed
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 311
considerable regret at the great reductions which
were so suddenly made, not only in the king's
dockyards, but also throughout the naval ser-
vice. He remarked, feelingly, that by this pro-
ceeding a prodigious number of men had thus
been reduced to the utmost poverty and distress ;
and thus, being goaded by a sudden and unde-
served misery, they would be compelled to seek
for employment in foreign states, and the very
sinews of our strength and safety be wasted. He
knew that, however distasteful foreign service
might be to the English sailor, dire necessity
would oblige him to enter into it. Though he
supported the vote, yet, on the grounds that he
had stated, he earnestly wished that the number
of seamen to be employed were considerably
greater than it actually was ; for he knew, from
his own experience, that what was called an
ordinary seaman could hardly find employ-
ment, at present, either in his Majesty's or the
merchant service. He then proceeded to in-
form the House that he himself had been pre-
sent at some of the changes which had lately
taken place in France, and that they resembled
more the changes of scenery at a theatre than
anything else. In that versatile country every-
thing was done for stage effect ; and, whether it
were the death of Caesar, the fall of Byzantium,
312 MEMOIRS OF
or the march of Alexander, it seemed, to a
Frenchman, almost indifferent. He looked only
to the blaze of the moment, and the magic of
effect. Knowing this trait in the Gallic charac-
ter, he felt assured, that if the invasion of Bri-
tain were to be produced for the amusement and
excitement of that nation, it would have the
stage effect sufficient to draw four hundred thou-
sand volunteers to join in the procession. Under
these circumstances, he wished that this country
should always be in a situation to call together
speedily a strong naval force a force equal to
frustrate any attempts on the part of the enemy.
The salutary nature of this advice events were
not slow in making apparent, for, in a few weeks
subsequent to the delivery of this concise and
sensible speech, our subject was in the command
of a portion of the naval armament, the increase
of which he had so wisely and powerfully ad-
vocated.
In all those acts that had philanthropy for
their end, or which could tend to ameliorate hu-
man suffering, Sir Sidney Smith was always
found in the foremost ranks of the beneficent.
On the 2d of June in the year 1802, the anni-
versary of the Naval Institution was held at the
London Tavern. On this occasion Lord Bel-
grave was the chairman, occupying that dis-
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 313
tinguished post in the room of Earl St. Vincent,
who was compelled to be absent on account of
ill health. There were present some of the most
distinguished heroes of the country, hardly one
of whom now lives, saving in the memories of
their grateful countrymen, with the exception of
Sir Sidney Smith. Sir Hyde Parker, Lord Nel-
son, Sir William Hamilton, with very many
others, to whom the nation then looked up with
confidence, graced this benevolent meeting. We
have no space, nor is it our province to record,
any of those proceedings, excepting those person-
ally connected with our officer.
Upon the health of Sir Sidney Smith being
drunk with the warmest and most enthusiastic
applause, he thus addressed the meeting :
" He need not assure the company of his
warm feelings towards them for that Asylum
they had provided for the orphans of those brave
men who had fallen in the late contest. Unfor-
tunately for him, too many were in the list of
his dearest friends." [Here Sir Sidney's feelings
were too great for utterance his head sank
the big tear rolled down the hero's cheek.*] A
solemn silence prevailed for several minutes, and
soft sympathy filled many a manly bosom, until
Sir Sidney was roused by the thunder of ap-
* This is an extract from the Naval Chronicle.
314
MEMOIRS OF
plause which followed. He again addressed the
company, stated that it was his intention to
hand the governors a list of those sufferers;
among them was his intimate friend Captain
Miller, of the Theseus ; they had served together
as midshipmen under Lord Rodney. Captain
Miller lost his life off Acre, and had left two
children. The next was Major Oldfield, of the
marines. He would tell the company where the
dead body of this brave man was contended for,
and they would judge where and how he died.
It was in the sortie of the garrison of St. Jean
d'Acre, when attacked by General Bonaparte,
that Major Oldfield, who commanded the sortie,
was missing. On our troops advancing, his body
was found at the mouth of one of the enemy's
mines, and at the foot of their works. Our brave
men hooked him by the neckcloth, as he lay
dead, to draw him off; the enemy at the same time
pierced him in the side with a halberd, and each
party struggled for the body ; the neckcloth gave
way, and the enemy succeeded in dragging to
their works this brave man ; and here he must
do them that justice which such gallant enemies
are fully entitled to ; they next day buried Major
Oldfield with all the honours of war. This brave
man has left children. In the list also is Cap-
tain Canes, late first lieutenant of the Tigre.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 315
He lost not his life in any of the numerous actions
in which he was engaged, but in carrying de-
spatches to the Mediterranean of the prelimina-
ries of peace. He perished at sea with his ship
and crew. This brave officer has left young or-
phans who want support." Sir Sidney concluded
a most affecting address thus : " That their or-
phans, and the offspring of the many others who
have so nobly fought and died in their king and
country's service, may meet support equal to
their claim, is the warmest wish of my heart."
On the 7th of January 1803, Sir Sidney ob-
tained from his sovereign permission to bear the
following honourable augmentations to the armo-
rial ensigns borne by his family, viz. on the
cheveron a wreath of laurel, accompanied by two
crosses Calvary ; and, on the chief augmentation,
the interior of an ancient fortification in perspec-
tive ; in the angle a breach, and on the sides of
the said breach the standard of the Ottoman
Empire and the union flag of Great Britain.
For crest, the imperial Ottoman chelengk, or
plume of triumph, upon a turban, in allusion to
the honourable and distinguished decoration
transmitted by the Turkish Emperor to Sir
William Sidney Smith, in testimony of his
esteem, and in acknowledgment of his merito-
rious exertions in defence of Acre; and the
316 MEMOIRS OF
family crest, viz. a leopard's head, collared and
lined, issuing out of an oriental crown, the same
arms and crest to be borne by Sir William Sid-
ney Smith and his issue, together with the motto
" CCEUR DE LION." And although the privilege
of bearing supporters be limited to peers of the
realm, the knights of the different orders, and
the proxies of princes of the blood-royal at in-
stallations, except in such cases wherein, under
particular circumstances, the king shall be pleased
to grant his especial license for the use thereof;
his Majesty, in order to give a further testimony
of his particular approbation of Sir Sidney
Smith's services, was also graciously pleased to
allow him to bear, for supporters to his arms, a
tiger gardant navally crowned, in the mouth a
palm branch, being the symbol of victory sup-
porting the union flag of Great Britain, with
the inscription " JERUSALEM, 1799," upon the
cross of St. George, and a lamb murally crowned,
being the symbol of peace, supporting the banner
of Jerusalem.
Honoured thus by his king, and thus prized by
his country, shortly after his Majesty's declaration
against France, dated at Westminster, May the
18th, Sir Sidney hoisted his broad pennant as
commodore on board of the Antelope, of fifty
guns, with the command of a squadron to be
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 317
employed on the French coast. His appoint-
ment to this ship bears the date of the 12th of
March, 1803.
Of the fatigue, the irksomeness, and the dan-
ger of this service, a landsman can form no
adequate opinion. The very seas in which
the vessel is forced to remain, sailing hither
and thither, within a very circumscribed com-
pass, are replete with dangers. The pilot and
the master have no longer to contend with the
open sea, of which the dangers are, compara-
tively speaking, frank though great. But in the
waters that wash the French, Flemish, and Eng-
lish shores, the soundings are variable, the sand-
banks multitudinous, and continually shifting
their positions. When we add to all these the
impetuosity of the tides as they rush through the
narrow races, and whirl round the low head-
lands, it will be most apparent that the shot and
shell of the enemy are to be reckoned among the
least of the dangers to which a ship is exposed in
the service on which the Antelope was employed
when under the command of Sir Sidney Smith.
The vessel was always either lying off the
Texel, Ostend, or the coast of France opposite
to England, sometimes at sea, sometimes at
single anchor, excepting on those occasions when
318 MEMOIRS OF
she was obliged to repair to Yarmouth Roads for
the necessary refits.
When on the enemy's coasts, scarcely a day
passed but some skirmish ensued, now with
the ship, then with the boats. The prizes made
were numerous, but singly of too little importance
to call for observation. Sometimes these harass-
ing services were performed by the crew of the
Antelope alone, sometimes assisted by other
vessels.
Very much of this fatiguing service consisted
of taking soundings in the mouths of the har-
bours, and under the guns of the batteries. The
danger and the damage encountered in these
useful but little valued services, so far as either
emolument or fame is concerned, are of an
extent as little understood as it is appreciated.
Arms and legs may be shredded off, and yet no
room afforded even for five lines of glory to the suf-
ferers in a despatch published in the Gazette.
We acknowledge that the pension will be paid,
but the man may be disabled for life, and all his
hopes of future advancement in his profession
destroyed. We have been induced to make these
remarks, in order to impress upon the general
reader that naval officers may have deserved well
of the country, though they could never boast
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 319
of 1 laving contributed to the success of a general
action, or to the glory of some well-contested
single encounter.
Our officer soon made his presence felt by the
enemy, for by his vigilance he kept them in a
state of continual alarm. At this time, the
French were employing all their skill and acti-
vity in preparing, in the various seaports con-
tiguous to Great Britain, a vast armament for
the invasion of those shores that have never seen
a successful enemy upon them since the Norman
conquest. Nothing now was spoken of on one
side of the Channel but praams, flat-bottomed
boats, and flotillas ; and, on the other, sea fen-
cibles, corps of loyal volunteers, and catama-
rans.
The service on which our commodore was now
employed gave but little scope to his ambition,
and he performed nothing brilliant, solely be-
cause the enemy would give him no opportunity.
But his untiring watchfulness, though it brought
him no increase of glory, insured the safety of
his country, and security to the commerce of
England in the Channel.
But he was not wholly confined to the duties
of vigilance, for on the 17th of May, 1804, he
made an attack on a French flotilla lying at
anchor off Ostend. This was a bold, well-
320 MEMOIRS OF
planned, but unsuccessful attempt to prevent the
junction of the enemy's flotilla at Flushing with
that of Ostend. The failure principally arose
from the want of a sufficient number of gun-
boats, which, from the shallowness of water in
which these vessels move, could alone act against
the enemy with effect. Fifty-nine sail of the
Flushing division reached Ostend in safety ; and
the English force, on the falling of the tide, were
compelled to haul off into deep water, after
being nearly the whole day engaged, and with
considerable loss.
We shall give the narrative of this little affair
in his own words, in a despatch addressed to
Lord Keith.
" MY LORD, Information from all quarters,
and the evident state of readiness in which the
enemy's armaments were in Helvoet, Flushing,
and Ostend, indicating the probability of a ge-
neral movement from those ports, I reinforced
Captain Manby, off Helvoet, with one ship, and
directed Captain Hancock, of the Cruiser, sta-
tioned in-shore, to combine his operations and
the Rattler's with the squadron of gunboats sta-
tioned off Ostend. The Antelope, Penelope, and
Amiable, occupied a central position in sight
both of Flushing and Ostend, in anxious expec-
tation of the enemy's appearance. Yesterday,
SIR SIDNKY SMITH. 321
at half-past five A.M., I received information from
Captain Hancock, then off Ostend, that the
enemy's flotilla was hauling out of that pier, and
had already twenty-one one-masted vessels, arid
one schooner outside in the roads ; and at half
past seven the same morning I had the satisfac-
tion to see the Flushing flotilla, of fifty-nine sail,
viz. two ship-rigged praams, nineteen schooners,
and thirty-eight schuyts, steering along-shore
from that port towards Ostend, under circum-
stances which allowed me to hope I should be
able to bring them to action. The signal was
made in the Cruiser and Rattler for an enemy
in the E.S.E. to call their attention from Ostend ;
the squadron weighed the moment the flood made,
and allowed of the heavier ships following them
over the banks ; the signals to chase and engage
were obeyed with alacrity, spirit, and judgment
by the active and experienced officers your lord-
ship has done me the honour to place under my
orders. Captains Hancock and Mason attacked
this formidable line with the greatest gallantry
and address, attaching themselves particularly
to the two praams, both of them of greater force
than themselves, independent of the cross fire
from the schooners and schuyts. I sent the
Amiable by signal to support them. The Pe-
nelope (having an able pilot, Mr. Thornton)
VOL. I. Y
322 MEMOIRS OF
on signal being made to engage, Captain Brough-
ton worked up to the centre of the enemy's line,
as near as the shoal water would allow, while the
Antelope went round the Stroom Sand, to cut the
van off from Ostend. Unfortunately our gun-
boats were not in sight, having, as I undersood
since, devoted their attention to preventing the
Ostend division from moving westward. The
enemy attempted to get back to Flushing ; but
being harassed by the Cruiser and the Rattler,
and the wind coming more easterly against them,
they were obliged to run the gauntlet to the west-
ward, keeping close to the beach under the pro-
tection of the batteries. Having found a passage
for the Antelope within the Stroom Sand, she
was enabled to bring her broadside to bear on
the headmost schooners before they got the
length of Ostend. The leader struck immedi-
ately, and the crew deserted her : she was, how-
ever, recovered by the followers. The artillery
from the town and camp, and the rowing gun-
boats from the pier, kept up a constant and well-
directed fire for their support ; our shot, however,
which went over the schooners, going ashore
among the horse artillery, interrupted it in a de-
gree ; still, however, it was from the shore we
received the greatest annoyance ; for the schooners
and schuyts crowding along could not bring
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 323
their prow guns to bear without altering their
course towards us, which they could not venture;
and their side guns, though numerous and well
served, were very light. In this manner the
Penelope and Antelope engaged every part of
their long line, from four to eight, while the
Amiable, Cruiser, and Rattler continued to press
their rear. Since two o'clock the sternmost praam
struck her colours and ran on shore ; but the ar-
tillery-men from the army got on board, and she
renewed her fire on the Amiable with the pre-
cision of a land battery, from which that ship
suffered much. Captain Bolton speaks much in
praise of Lieutenant Mather, who is wounded.
Several of the schooners and schuyts immediately
under the fire of the ships were driven on shore
in the like manner, and recovered by the army.
At eight, the tide falling and leaving us in little
more water than we could draw, we were re-
luctantly obliged to haul off into deeper water to
keep afloat, and the enemy's vessels that were
not on shore, or too much shattered, were thus
able to reach Ostend, these and the Ostend
division having hauled into the basin. I have
anchored in such a position as to keep an eye on
them ; and I shall endeavour to close with them
again, if they move into deeper water. I have to
regret that, from the depth of water in which
y 2
324 MEMOIRS OF
these vessels move, gunboats only can act against
them with effect : four have joined me, and I
have sent them in to see what they can do with
the praam that is on shore. I have great satis-
faction in bearing testimony to your lordship,
of the gallant and steady conduct of the captains,
commanders, officers, seamen, and marines under
my orders. Captains Hancock and Mason bore
the brunt of the attack, and continued it for six
hours against a great superiority of fire, particu-
larly from the army on shore, the howitzer shells
annoying them much. These officers deserve the
highest praise I can give them. They speak of
the conduct of their lieutenants, officers, and
crews, in terms of warm panegyric. Messrs.
Budd and Dalyell, from the Antelope, acted in
the absence of two lieutenants of those ships.
Lieutenants Garrety and Patful, commanding the
Favourite and Stag cutters, did their best with
their small guns against greater numbers of
greater calibre. Lieutenant Hillier, of the An-
telope, gave me all the assistance and support on
her quarter-deck his ill state of health would
permit. Lieutenant Stokes and Mr. Slesser, acting
lieutenants, directed the fire on the lower and main
decks with coolness and precision. It would be the
highest injustice if I omitted to mention the in-
trepid conduct of Mr. Lewis, the master, Mr.
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 325
Nunn and Mr. Webb, pilots, to whose steadiness,
skill, and attention, particularly the former, I
shall ever feel myself indebted for having brought
the Antelope into action within the sands, where
certainly the enemy could riot expect to be met
by a ship of her size ; and for having allowed her
to continue engaged with Commodore Verheuil,
to the last minute it was possible to remain in
such shoal water, with a falling tide. It is but
justice to say, the enemy's commodore pursued a
steady course, notwithstanding our fire, and re-
turned it with spirit to the last. I could not
detach open boats in the enemy's line, to pick up
those vessels which had struck and were deserted,
mixed as they were with those still firing. Cap-
tain Hancock sent me one schuyt that had hauled
out of the line and surrendered. She had a lieu-
tenant and twenty-three soldiers of the forty-eighth
regiment, with five Dutch seamen, on board. She
is so useful here, I cannot part with her yet. En-
closed is a list of our loss, which, though great,
is less than might have been expected, owing to
the enemy's directing their fire at our masts.
The Rattler and Cruiser have, of course, suffered
most in the latter respect, but are nearly ready
for service again. The smoke would not allow
us to see the effect of our shot on the enemy ;
but their loss, considering the number of them
326 MEMOIRS OF
under our guns for so long, must be great in pro-
portion. We see the mastheads above water of
three of the schooners and one of the schuyts
which were sunk.
" W. SIDNEY SMITH.
" Lord Keith, K. B. Sfc. frc. fyc"
In this little skirmish, Sir Sidney's squadron
sustained a loss of two petty officers, ten seamen,
and one boy killed ; and two officers, four petty
officers, twenty-five seamen, and one marine
wounded.
This despatch will give the reader a tolerably
accurate idea of the nature of the warfare that we
were then compelled to carry on. It was of a
most harassing nature, attended with great pri-
vation and suffering, and involving a loss of limb
and life, that seems no way commensurate to the
combatants, either in fame or in advantage, even
when the operations were the most successful.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH 327
CHAPTER XXI.
The Court of Naples violates its treaty of neutrality with the
French Naples overrun by them Sir Sidney Smith pro-
ceeds to annoy them Relieves Gaeta Takes Capri His
despatch.
AT this momentous period, war was raging in
almost every quarter of the civilised world ; and
after Sir Sidney's term of command in the Ante-
lope had expired, his services were of a nature
far too valuable to permit them to remain, longer
than the rules of the navy permitted, uncalled
for. But his past conduct merited much more
distinction, and far greater rewards, than it had
yet received, though, about the beginning of the
year 1804, he was promoted to the highly ho-
nourable and somewhat lucrative appointment of
a Colonel of Royal Marines, and, on the 9th of
November 1805, was advanced to the rank of
Rear- Admiral of the Blue.
328 MEMOIRS OF
During this interval, as he was not employed
afloat, we do not find his name mentioned in the
public records. He was assiduously and success-
fully cultivating the arts of peace, and laying the
foundation for that scientific proficiency, for which
he afterwards became, in many branches of use-
ful knowledge, so conspicuous.
The progress of Bonaparte towards universal
European dominion had now become most alarm-
ing. He had nearly overrun the continent, and
had really hardly anything to do but to look
around him for fresh pretences for aggression,
and such a pretence the imprudence of the Nea-
politan government readily afforded him.
By a treaty ratified by the King of Naples on
the 8th of October of the year 1805, the French
troops agreed to withdraw from the occupation
of the Neapolitan territory ; and the king engaged,
in return, to remain neutral in the war between
France and the allies, and to repel by force every
encroachment on his neutrality. He more par-
ticularly became bound not to permit the troops
of any other great power to enter his territories,
or to confide the command of his armies or
strong places to any Russian or Austrian officers,
or to any French emigrant, and not to permit
any belligerent squadron to enter into his ports.
Hardly had six weeks elapsed when every one
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 329
of tlie stipulations of the treaty had been violated.
On the 20th of November, an English and Russian
fleet appeared in the Bay of Naples, and landed a
body offerees in that city and the vicinity. The
French ambassador immediately took down the
arms of France from over the gate of his hotel,
and demanded his passport.
The Russians, who were in number about
fourteen thousand men, under General Lacey,
landed at Naples, and the English, amounting to
about ten thousand, under Sir James Craig and
Sir John Stuart, landed at Castell-a-Mare. The
Neapolitans now openly abetted these operations.
But it was not long before the Court of Naples
was made sensible of the full extent of its im-
prudence. On the morning after the signature of
the peace of Presburg, Bonaparte issued a procla-
mation from his head-quarters at Vienna, declar-
ing that " the Neapolitan dynasty had ceased to
reign," and denouncing vengeance against the
family, in terms that left no hope for accommoda-
tion or pardon.
From reasons only to be discovered in the
arcana of those who conducted the political opera-
tions of England, immediately after this denuncia-
tion of vengeance, the principal cause of it, the
Russian and English troops, withdrew from
Naples, and left the King and his advisers in
330
MEMOIRS OF
dismay, to repent of their folly as they best could.
The immediate consequence of all this was, that
the King of Naples, with his court, was forced to
fly a second time to Palermo, whilst Joseph Bo-
naparte was crowned, in his stead, at Naples, and
all the constituted authorities took the oath of
fidelity to him. No sovereign was, perhaps, more
easily manoauvred out of his kingdom than was
this unfortunate King of Naples.
The assumption of the royal dignity in Naples
by Joseph Bonaparte, and the defection of so
many persons of distinction, excited the liveliest
indignation at the court of Palermo. Though
driven from Naples by their inability to resist
the French arms, they were eager to attempt
the recovery of that kingdom, and thus they con-
tinued to excite the Neapolitans to rebellion
against their de facto sovereign.
These attempts only produced defeat and slaugh-
ter; and though Abruzzo and Calabria were de-
livered, for a short time, from the French yoke, the
French prevailed in the end ; and after a fruitless
waste of blood, and the perpetration of atrocities by
both parties, disgraceful to humanity, those pro-
vinces were again compelled to acknowledge
Joseph Bonaparte as their sovereign.
Notwithstanding these disasters, a fresh insur-
rection was decided upon ; but so great was the uni-
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 331
versal dread of the French arms, that the court
would not have attained its ends, had not an Eng-
lish army landed on the coast of Calabria, and
begun its military operations by a most splendid
and glorious victory.
It was to forward these operations on an exten-
sive scale that induced our government to select
some enterprising officer. The choice naturally
fell upon Sir Sidney Smith. About the middle of
April he had arrived at Palermo in the Pompee
of eighty -four guns, and had taken the command
of the English squadron destined, among other
things, for the defence of Sicily, consisting of five
ships of the line, besides frigates, transports, and
gunboats.
With this force at his disposal, the gallant rear-
admiral proceeded to the coast of Italy, and
began his operations by introducing into Gaeta
supplies of stores and ammunition, for the want
of which its garrison had been greatly straitened.
This operation produced the very best effects,
as, through it, the enemy, though the besiegers,
were immediately compelled to act on the de-
fensive.
Having performed this important service, and
left at Gaeta a flotilla of gunboats, under the
protection of a frigate to assist at the defence of
the place, he proceeded to the Bay of Naples,
332 MEMOIRS OF
spreading consternation and alarm all along the
coast, and so much intimidated the French, that
they, in much haste, conveyed the greater part of
their battering train from Gaeta to Naples, in
order to protect the capital from insult, and secure
it, if possible, from attack.
By these operations, the rear-admiral thus vir-
tually raised the siege of Gaeta, as all the batter-
ing trains were removed from the trenches, and
the attack was totally suspended.
It happened that, at the very moment when
he approached Naples, the city was splendidly
illuminated, on account of Joseph Bonaparte
being proclaimed King of the Two Sicilies.
Indeed, with a fickleness that is much the
character of the unthinking multitude, there was
every demonstration of joy evinced on the part of
the populace, in which the nobility and gentry
seemed to do more than share. The nobles were
most eager to show their attachment to their new
king, by soliciting from him all manner of offices
and distinctions, at the same time most zealously
proffering their services.
It was completely in the power of the English
admiral to have disturbed these demonstrations of
festivity, and to turn the place of rejoicing into a
scene of mourning and desolation ; but, as the
sufferers from his hostilities must have been the
Sill SIDNEY SMITH. 333
inhabitants of Naples, and not the French troops
or the new king, he wisely and humanely for-
hore to pour upon the city the devastations of
war. He considered that the unfortunate in-
habitants had evil enough already upon them,
and that the restoration of his capital to the law-
ful sovereign and its fugitive denizens, would
be but of little gratification, if it should be found a
heap of ruins ; and, lastly, that as he had no force
to land and preserve order, in the event of the
French retiring to the fortresses, he should leave
an opulent city a prey to the licentious part of
the community, who would not fail to profit by
the confusion that the flames might occasion.
From the Bay of Naples, the rear-admiral pro-
ceeded with all despatch to the Island of Capri,
determined to wrest that place from the enemy,
which, by its position so effectually preserving
their southern communications, were of a para-
mount object to the French to possess.
The commandant was accordingly summoned
to surrender, and on his refusal, an attack com-
menced, in which he was slain. The army then
beat a parley, a capitulation was subsequently
signed, and the garrison marched out with all the
honours of war.
The following is Sir Sidney Smith's despatch.
334 MEMOIRS OF
"Letter from Sir Sidney Smith, dated Pompee, at
anchor off Scalia, May 24, containing an Ac-
count of Proceedings in Calabria.
MY LORD, I arrived at Palermo in the Pompee
on the 21st of last month, and took on me the
command of the squadron your lordship has done
me the honour to place under my orders. I
found things in the state that may be well ima-
gined, on the government being displaced
from its capital, with the loss of one of the
two kingdoms, and the dispersion of the army
assembled in Calabria. The judicious arrange-
ment made by Captain Sotheron, of the ships
under his orders, and the position of the British
army under Sir J. Stuart at Messina, had, how-
ever, prevented farther mischief. I had the satis-
faction of learning that Gaeta still held out,
although, as yet, without succour, from a mistaken
idea, much too prevalent, that the progress of the
French armies is irresistible. It was my first
care to see that the necessary supplies should be
safely conveyed to the governor. I had the in-
expressible satisfaction of conveying the most
essential articles to Gaeta, and of communicating
to his Serene highness the governor (on the
breach-battery, which he never quits) the as-
surance of farther support to any extent within
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 335
my power, for the maintenance of that important
fortress, hitherto so long preserved by his intre-
pidity and example. Things wore a new aspect
on the arrival of the ammunition : the redoubted
fire of the enemy, with red-hot shot into the Mole,
(being answered with redoubled vigour,) did not
prevent the landing of everything we had brought,
together with four of the Excellent' s lower-deck
guns, to answer this galling fire, which bore directly
on the landing-place. A second convoy, with the
Intrepid, placed the garrison beyond the imme-
diate want of anything essential ; and the enemy,
from advancing his nearest approaches within
two hundred and fifty yards, was reduced to the
defensive, in a degree dreading one of those sorties
which the Prince of Hesse had already shown him
his garrison was equal to, and which was become
a much safer operation, now that the flanking fire
of eight Neapolitan gunboats I had brought with
me, in addition to four his highness had already
used successfully, would cover it, even to the rear
of the enemy's trenches. Arrangements were put
in a train for this purpose ; and, according to a
wise suggestion of his Serene highness, measures
were taken for the embarkation of a small party
from the garrison to land in the rear of the
enemy's batteries to the northward. I confided
the execution of the naval part of this arrange-
336 MEMOIRS OF
ment to Captain Richardson, of H. M. S. Juno,
putting the Neapolitan frigate and gunboats
under his orders. His Serene Highness, possess-
ing the experience of European warfare, and a
most firm mind, having no occasion for farther
aid on the spot, I felt I could quit the garrison
without apprehension for its safety in such hands,
with the present means of defence, and that I
could best co-operate with him by drawing some
of the attacking force off for the defence of Naples.
I accordingly proceeded thither with the line of
battle ships named in the margin.* The enemy's
apprehension of attack occasioned them to convey
some of the battering train from the trenches be-
fore Gaeta to Naples, The city was illuminated
on account of Joseph Bonaparte proclaiming him-
self King of the Two Sicilies ! The junction of the
Eagle made us five sail of the line, and it would
have been easy for their fire to have interrupted
this ceremony and show of festivity : but I con-
sidered that the unfortunate inhabitants had evil
enough on them ; that the restoration of the
capital to its lawful sovereign and fugitive in-
habitants would be no gratification, if it should
be found a heap of ruins, ashes, and bones ; and
that as I had no force to land and keep order, in
case of the French army retiring to the fortresses,
* Pompee, Excellent, Athenienne, Intrepid.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 337
I should leave an opulent city a prey to the
licentious part of the community, who would not
fail to profit by the confusion the flames would
occasion : not a gun was fired.
" But no such consideration operated on my
mind to prevent me dislodging the French
garrison from the Island of Capri, which, from its
situation, protecting the coasting communication
southward, was a great object for the enemy to
keep, and by so much, one for me to wrest from
him. I accordingly summoned the French com-
mandant to surrender : on his non-acquiescence,
I directed Captain Rowley, in H. M. S. Eagle, to
cover the landing of marines and boats' crews,
and caused an attack to be made under his orders.
That brave officer placed his ship judiciously ;
nor did he open his fire till she was secured, and
his distance marked by the effect of musketry on
his quarter-deck, where the first lieutenant, J.
Crawley, fell wounded, and a seaman was killed.
Although Captain Rowley regretted much the
services of that meritorious officer in such a criti-
cal moment, he has since recovered. An hour's
fire from both decks of the Eagle, (between nine
and ten o'clock,) with that of two Neapolitan
mortar-boats under an active officer, Lieutenant
Rivers, drove the enemy from the vineyards with-
in their walls; the marines were landed, and
VOL. i. z
338
MEMOIRS OF
gallantly led by Captain Bunce ; the seamen in
like manner, under Lieutenant Morrell of the
Eagle, and Lieutenant Redding of the Pompee,
mounted the steps : for such was their road,
headed by the officers, nearest to the narrow pass
by which alone they could ascend. Lieutenant
Carrol had thus an opportunity of particularly dis-
tinguishing himself. Captain Stannus, command-
ing the Athenienne's marines, gallantly pressing
forward, gained the heights, and the French
commandant fell by his hand. This event being
known, the enemy beat a parley, a letter from the
second in command claimed the terms offered,
but being dated on the 12th, after midnight, some
difficulty occurred, my limitation as to time
being precise ; but on the assurance that the drum
beat before twelve, the capitulation annexed was
signed, and the garrison allowed to march out
and pass over to Naples with every honour of
war, after the interment of their former brave com-
mander with due respect. We thus became
masters of this important post. The enemy not
having been allowed time to bring two pieces of
heavy cannon, with their ammunition, to Capri,
the boat containing them, together with a boat
loaded with timber for the construction of gun-
boats at Castilamare, took refuge at Massa, on
the main land, opposite to the island, where the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 339
guard had hauled the whole upon the beach. I
detached the two mortar-boats and a Gaeta pri-
vateer, under the orders of Lieutenants Faliverne
and Rivera, to bring them off, sending only Mr.
Williams, midshipman of the Pompee, from the
squadron, on purpose to let the Neapolitans have
the credit of the action which they fairly obtained ;
for, after dislodging the enemy from a strong
tower, they not only brought off the boats and two
thirty-five pounders, but the powder also (twenty
barrels) from the magazine of the tower, before
the enemy assembled in force. The projected
sorties took place on the 13th and 15th in the.
morning, in a manner to reflect the highest
credit on the part of the garrison and naval force
employed. The covering fire from the fleet
was judiciously directed by Captains Richard-
son and Vicuna, whose conduct on this whole
service merits my warmest approbation. I en-
close Captain Richardson's two letters, as best
detailing these affairs, and a list of the killed and
wounded on the 12th.
"On the 19th ult., the boats of the Pompee,
under Lieutenant Beaucroft, brought out a mer-
chant vessel from Scalvitra, near Salerno, al-
though protected by a heavy fire of musketry.
That officer and Mr. Sterling distinguished them-
selves much. The enemy are endeavouring to
z 2
340
MEMOIRS OF
establish a land-carriage there to Naples. On
the 23rd, obtaining intelligence that the enemy
had two thirty-six pounders in a small vessel on
the beach at Sealia, I sent the Pompee's boats in
for them ; but the French troops were too well
posted in the houses of the town for them to suc-
ceed without the cover of the ship. I accordingly
stood in with the Pompee ; sent a messenger to
the inhabitants to withdraw ; which being done,
a few of the Pompee's lower-deck guns cleared
the town and neighbouring hills, while the
launch, commanded by Lieutenant Mouraylian,
.and Lieutenant Gates of the marines, and Mr.
Williams, drove the French, with their armed
adherents, from the guns, and took possession of
the castle, and of them. Finding, on my land-
ing, that the town was tenable against any force
the enemy could bring against me from the
nearest garrison in a given time, I took post with
the marines ; and, under cover of their position,
by the extreme exertions of Lieutenant Carrol,
Mr. Ives, master, and the petty officers and boats'
crew, the guns were conveyed to the Pompee, with
twenty-two barrels of powder.
(Signed) " W. SIDNEY SMITH."
After placing an English garrison in Capri, Sir
Sidney proceeded southward along the coast, giv-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH 341
ing the greatest annoyance everywhere to the
enemy, obstructing by land, and intercepting by
sea entirely, their communications along the shore,
so as to retard their operations against Gaeta,
which was the chief purpose of undertaking the
expedition.
Encouraged by this success of our arms, several
sorties took place from out of Gaeta, which we
have stated Sir Sidney had so opportunely
relieved.
All this had, however, but little effect upon
the fate of the place, as it was enabled to hold out
only until the 13th of July, and was then com-
pelled to surrender to the French.
342 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER XXII.
Further operations for the recovery of Naples Their inu-
tility Sir Sidney Smith receives the acknowledgments
of their Sicilian Majesties Remarks on naval appoint-
ments.
ON the return of Sir Sidney Smith to Palermo,
after the conclusion of this service, and a most
harassing cruise to the enemy, the active turn
and the sanguine temper of his mind induced
him not only to enter into, but also to originate,
projects that were, from time to time, suggested to
the court, to second the King of the Sicilies'
attempts for the recovery of Calabria from the in-
vaders. Had all others, whose duty it was to
carry these projects into execution, been actuated
by half the zeal of Sir Sidney, and had they been
possessed of enough humility and good sense to
have followed in matters in which they were not
qualified to lead, the re-conquest of Calabria
would not have been long delayed.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 343
The eager yet incompetent advisers of the
King, finding the admiral thus favourably inclined
towards the furtherance of their schemes, and the
latter being most anxious to distinguish himself
by some great exploit, their Sicilian Majesties
invested him with the most ample authority to
be exercised in Calabria, and they even went to
the extent of constituting the British admiral
their viceroy in that province.
But there w r ere obstacles that even the energy
of Sir Sidney Smith could not surmount. Though
active and indefatigable in the duties of his new
dignity, and successful in distributing arms and
ammunition among the Calabrians, and a great
deal of money among their leaders and influential
men, he soon discovered, that unless an English
army made its appearance in the country, there
was not the remotest chance of producing an in-
surrection against the French.
It became, therefore, necessary for the court of
Palermo either to abandon the fruit of all its in-
trigues and machinations, or to prevail on the
commander of the English forces in Sicily to
invade Calabria with the greatest part of his
army. In this latter attempt the court succeeded.
The operations, after this, being strictly and
almost exclusively military, they do not fall with-
in our province to record. Of course, the admiral
344 MEMOIRS OF
had to attend to the safe and convenient convey-
ance of the troops to their destination to provide
for their comfort on board, and their safe debark-
ation on shore. All this was duly effected, and
Sir John Stuart, with an army of four thousand
five hundred effective men, shortly after gained
that victory, than which one more honourable to
the combatants, or more glorious to the arms of
any nation, was never recorded the victory of
Maida.
Major-general Sir John Stuart, in his despatch,
dated, " Camp on the plain of Maida, July 6,
1806," published in the London Gazette Extra-
ordinary of September 5, of the same year, states
as follows :
" The scene of action was too far from the sea
to enable us to derive any direct co-operation
from the navy : but Admiral Sir Sidney Smith,
who had arrived in the bay the evening before
the action, had directed such a disposition of
ships and gun-boats as would have greatly fa-
voured us, had events obliged us to retire. The
solicitude, however, of every part of the navy to
be of use to us, the promptitude with which the
seamen hastened on shore with our supplies, their
anxiety to assist our wounded, and the tenderness
with which they treated them, would have been
an affecting circumstance to observers, even the
SIR S1DNLY SMITH. 345
most indifferent : to me it was particularly
so."
This victory led to the desired insurrection, but
it proved transient and unsuccessful. So sensible
was Sir John Stuart of his inability to maintain
the ground he had won in Calabria, that very
shortly afterwards he withdrew all his forces from
that country, with the exception of a garrison left
at Scylla, and a detachment of the seventy-eighth
regiment, under Colonel M'Leod, which had
been sent in the Amphion frigate to the coast
near Catangaro, in order to countenance and
assist the insurgents in that quarter.
General Acland was also despatched to the
Bay of Naples ; and though he was not absolutely
prohibited from landing his troops, yet was he
directed not to expose them to that danger,
unless he had the prospect of effecting some object
of real and permanent utility.
During all these operations, Sir Sidney Smith
was most actively, if not judiciously, employed
along the coast, assisting the insurgents with
arms and ammunition, supplying them with pro-
visions, and conveying them from one place
to another, in the vessels under his command.
Though we doubt that all this was a judicious
acting, yet the manner in which the rear-admiral
performed it was most judicious and effective.
346 MEMOIRS OF
He had nothing to do with the policy of this con-
duct he had only to see that it was well done
and well done indeed it was. His name became
a very terror to the French.
By these unremitting exertions he contributed
materially to extend the insurrection along the
coast, and to expel the enemy from the watch-
towers and the castles which they occupied upon
the shore.
These spirited operations were, in some in-
stances, of use, by securing a safer and better
anchorage for his ships ; but in others, we are
bound to say, and it is with grief we say it, that
the blood and treasure which they cost far ex-
ceeded the value of those temporary acquisitions.
In one of these adventures for many of these
exploits were more like the adventurous outbreaks
of knight-errantry than the well-considered enter-
prises of modern warfare he had in his own
ship, the Pompee, a lieutenant and eight men
killed, and thirty-four wounded, in an attack
upon an insignificant fort on Point Licosa, which
he destroyed when it fell into his hands.
It would, of itself, form a volume to detail
all the services that he performed in this de-
sultory warfare services that really tended to
no other result than to teach the seamen the art
of gunnery, and to inure the ships' crews to the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 347
excitement of constant action. Geatawas lost, the
country became one scene of social disorganisation,
and rapine and bloodshed prevailed wherever the
human species congregated. The land was ruined
and depopulated, whilst every place and post worth
retaining still remained in the hands of the French.
While things were in this state, Sir Sidney was
called away to other duties.
The poor and despised court of Sicily was as
grateful to Sir Sidney Smith as the bestowal of
mere honours could prove them. The ex-vice-
roy of Calabria received the orders of the
Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and of Merit, ac-
companied by a letter from the then reigning
Queen, expressive of the regret felt by the royal
family at his departure, and the utmost gratitude
for his exertions in their cause.
The subjoined is a translation of the letter (from
the French) from the Queen of the two Sicilies to
Rear- Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, dated Palermo,
January 25th, 1837, and enclosed in a packet
that conveyed the order.
" My very worthy and dear Admiral,
" I cannot find sufficient expressions to convey
the painful feeling which your departure (so
very unforeseen) has caused, both to me and
among my whole family. I can only tell you
348 MEMOIRS OF
that you are accompanied by our most sincere
good wishes, and, more particularly on my part,
by gratitude that will only cease with my life,
for all that you have done for us ; and for what
you would still have done for us, if everything
had not thwarted you, and cramped your zeal
and enterprise.
"May you be as happy as my heart prays for
you ! And may you continue, by fresh laurels,
to augment your own glory and the number of
the envious. I still cherish the hope of seeing
you again in better times, and of giving you
proof of those sentiments which, at the present mo-
ment, I cannot express ; but you will find, in all
times and places, (whatever may be the fate
reserved for us,) our hearts gratefully attached to
you, even unto the grave.
" Pray make my sincere compliments to the
Captain (Dacre) and to all the officers of Le
Pompee, as well as my good wishes for their
happiness. Assure them of the pain witli which
I witness their departure.
" I am, most truly, for life,
" Your very sincere and devoted friend,
" CHARLOTTE."
We are now going to inflict a digression
upon the reader, but one intimately connected with
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 349
the subject-matter of these volumes, and bearing
individually upon the usefulness and the great
talent of Sir Sidney Smith. It consists in a consi-
deration as to the best method of giving merit, and
merit only, that due preponderance in the naval
service, so that, when the greatest object is to be
effected, the very best man should be appointed
to effect it.
We need not to be informed that a military
autocracy, vested in one sole person an autocracy
of a character so absolute that no one of its acts
could ever be called in question, would be the
best principle for making either an army or a
navy perfect: we mean such a power as Bonaparte so
advantageously and universally exercised over the
troops that he commanded. But this power can
never be used in a free country, and may we never
see an approximation to it ; therefore, in a mixed
government like that of the British Empire
it is a most difficult question to solve, that
of discovering the most efficacious method of
rendering all public services the most available for
the good of those for whom they should be insti-
tutedthe public. It is but seldom that one
isolated mistake of a civil servant can produce
disastrous, perhaps fatal consequences : he has
only to swim forward, borne quietly down on the
stream of office, with etiquette for his compass,
350 MEMOIRS OF
custom for his helm, and precedent for his chart.
So be it, for it is well that it is so.
But in the military, and still more stringently
in the naval service, one act of incapacity, one
moment's vacillation, and a ship is lost, a fleet
destroyed, or the very salvation of a nation en-
dangered. And how are these men appointed, on
whom contingencies so awful depend ? Like Crom-
well's gallant Admiral, we meddle not with poli-
tics we know it to be our primal duty, a duty
sacred to good order and dear to humanity, to obey
the powers that are legally constituted, however
much we may condemn the policy of those who
wield it, or despise their persons. We shall, there-
fore, without reference to this or that adminis-
tration, fearlessly though briefly discuss a point so
important in itself, and not irrelevant to our
subject.
We freely confess that our hero, Sir Sidney
Smith, sprang up to his glorious maturity from
the very hotbed of corruption : but he was of
a noble stock, and would have flourished in any
soil. But this hotbed nourishes not only slug-
gish but poisonous weeds, and, for the sake of
one Sir Sidney Smith, we are not willing to
risk the honour and safety of the country to
troops of such commanders-in-chief, naval or
military, that one's heart burns to expose.
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 351
That promotion should take place in the navy
solely by seniority is ridiculous. The sensible man
and the fool, the gallant and cool sailor and the
driveller and dastard, would have then equal
chances of command, and the country be com-
pletely at the mercy of accident. Besides, to pro-
mote by seniority must necessarily throw the chief
command into the hands of superannuated do-
tards, or, if these were to be provided for until
the list showed an active man, the nation would
be soon burthened with useless pensions, and the
service made ridiculous by the then almost in-
terminable multiplying of officers of rank.
Seniority should have its weight in, but should
not be the rule of, promotion. Yet as high com-
mands are now gained by interests decidedly not
naval, by courtly influences, by weight in parlia-
ment, by a bias most unjust, because carried to the
extreme, in favour of the aristocracy, or to serve
a party purpose, this system is still worse than
the advancements of mere seniority. We have
too often seen men in command of squadrons
and of fleets, to whom we would not have en-
trusted the conduct of a flock of geese, even had
they served seven years of apprenticeship to the
humble but honest employment.
Well, then, it will be said, let merit determine
the question. Alas ! who shall decide what me-
35:2 MEMOIRS OF
rit is ? It is never the most distinguished offi-
cer that is the most meritorious, " Palmam ferat
qui meruit," was a proud, a noble motto, and
true also, and therefore the more noble. But it
would be a libel, a gross calumny upon the
British seamen of Nelson's glorious day, to say,
though the hero bore the palm, that he the most
deserved it if mere merit had been the a warder.
A truly great man, as a naval commander,
was the justly immortal Nelson. But we say it
boldly, and we say it proudly, that in the fleet
there were hundreds of men in every sense im-
measurably better seamen, more skilful, and quite
as brave as he the hero whose memory no one
can more deeply venerate than ourselves.
But who were they ? It is a vain and an unfair
question. The individuals cannot be pointed out,
but they existed notwithstanding. They were
hedged round by the rank weeds of favouritism
they were crushed down by the weight of au-
thority they lacked friends on shore and oppor-
tunities afloat accident, that was the midwife to
others, was, to them, the cause of abortions. It is
ten millions of chances to one, that the single grain
7 O O
of gold in the vessel filled with sand shall be the
uppermost.
It would then seem that the officers should be
elected and promoted by the votes of those who
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 353
best understand, ami are most immediately in-
terested in their merit. That each ship should be,
in itself, a floating, independent democracy, for
certainly the crew of one vessel could not pos-
sibly be cognisant of the quantity or the quality
of the talent in another. Already does the pro-
position begin to appear absurd, even before it is
fully stated. The free discussion, the soliciting,
the canvassing, the caballing who would obey
an irksome order, that knew he must be cajoled
for his vote by the orderer ? the notion would be
preposterous ; and yet the crews are the only wit-
nesses, the only true appreciators of nautical
merit. As a mass, the seamen of the royal navy
have ever been, and still are, a rightly-minded
and shrewd body they best know when their
ship is well worked, well disciplined, well navi-
gated, and well fought.
Another great and insurmountable objection
exists to the principle of the power of self-election
to commands being vested in the navy. Valuable,
nay, beyond all value as is the service, still, it
must be a service a subordinate body to defend,
and neither to intimidate nor control the na-
tion for whose good it was created. Directly that
they were made an independent body, relying
upon themselves for promotion, and all the good
VOL. i. A A
354 MEMOIRS OF
tilings the service has to bestow, they would soon
cease to be a service, for they would no longer be
subservient. It may be said, that there is al-
ways a check upon this fear of a naval usurpation,
because the body of the people would cease to
pay or to victual them, and thus, in a very short
time, they must necessarily be subjugated.
But this reasoning would not hold good.
Every one must perceive that, if the navy were to
become a body distinct from and independent of
the community, the army must become so too.
The army, if the paramount power as a military
despotism can always pay and victual itself
from the resources of a prostrate country, and,
in order to secure its power, it would imme-
diately extend the privilege to the brother ser-
vice, the navy.
Self-election must be vested in the members of
neither the army nor the navy, if the liberties and
the well-being of the community are to be pre-
served*
It then appears that those appointed by the
forms of the country must still wield its naval
and military powers keep them under control
command them despotically and distribute among
their members all the prizes worth contending
for. But, as yet, they have ever done, and must
still do this, in comparative darkness and igno-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 355
ranee a darkness and an ignorance that afford
them the apology for the disgusting exercise
of a patronage, that we boldly affirm is fast un-
dermining the best interests of the navy. The
high officials at home cannot tell who really the
most deserve promotion, and thus, that promotion
is bestowed, but too, too often on those who do not
deserve it at all.
Now, these men in high places should no
longer be permitted to shelter their gross and
nefarious partialities under the plea of ignorance.
The light should be brought to their very faces
in spite of themselves, and then, if they wilfully
and wickedly close their eyes against it, the
country at large would know how properly to
appreciate them.
To effect this, every ship's company, officers
included, at stated intervals, should be called upon,
as a duty, to recommend the most deserving
among them as fit objects for promotion ; at
the same time it should be fully understood,
that it was not to be looked upon as a rule that
actual promotion should follow such nomination :
the names of those persons thus virtuously dis-
tinguished should be published duly in the
Gazette. This alone would be a great check upon
unfair private patronage.
A A 2
356 MEMOIRS OF
We well know that a system of secretly report-
ing to the Admiralty, by the captain of each
vessel, has long existed ; we also know,, that
such reports are but seldom acted upon excepting
the reporter have other influence, not connected
with his official station. We are glad of this ;
for what is this reporting but nursing in the
mind of the captain all bad tendencies, pander-
ing to his spirit of favouritism, of pique, of re-
venge : he becomes, in reality, nothing better
than a dignified spy we will allow that the
majority exercise this function with discrimina-
tion and impartiality we sincerely believe that
they do ; but the mischief that the few evil-dis-
posed among them may cause, by far outbalances
the very uncertain good.
That accident, that seniority, and that blind
patronage, have promoted admirals to important
and extensive commands, is but too disgracefully
true in the annals of our naval history. W r e
have ourselves served under men at once tyran-
nical, brutal, and fatuous animals of such
limited intelligence, that we would not have en-
trusted to them the most insignificant com-
mand ; we have seen such men manoeuvring
fleets, with the safety and welfare of thousands
at their disposal ; and, still more revolting, witli
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 357
the power of life and death in their hands. We
will mention no names, but only refer to those
commanders-in-chief, who once were a by- word
and a mockery in the navy, of whom the most
ridiculous stories were continually told, and who
were really so stolid, that no story, however ridi-
culous, was too absurd to admit them as its
heroes.
We deny not that even victories have been
gained under the names of these men, and well-
written despatches have given a false impression
to their countrymen of their worth and of their
services. But if so much have been achieved
under such imbecility, how much more would
have been performed under men of activity and
talent, and who had been recommended by
those who knew them, to their respective com-
mands, before they had been promoted to
them.
We do not mean that this power of recom-
mendation should be anything but a limited one.
The navy must be under the control of the high
civil authorities ; it should be taught obedience
to the constituted powers, and patriotism and loy-
alty impressed upon it to the utmost. We know
all this, so much to be desired, might be fully
attained, although the navy should be permitted
at intervals, but not frequently, to name those
358 MEMOIRS OF
of its own body who deserve well of their coun-
try, and upon whom promotion, if bestowed,
would be bestowed worthily.
In resuming the course of our narrative, we
think that it will be acknowledged, that, notwith-
standing the great merit, and the enlightened
bravery of the commander-in-chief, to whom the
expedition against Constantinople was entrusted,
had the conduct of it fallen to the lot of
Sir Sidney, or the wish of the fleet been con-
sulted, other and more brilliant results would
have attended the British arms. We say this
hesitatingly, for who can safely speculate upon
mere probabilities ? But we speak more decidedly
when we say, that had it been demanded who,
of all naval officers then fit for service, was the
very best to have had the sole direction of this
nice experiment upon the Turks, common sense
would have replied " our officer," and the ap-
plause of the navy would have been the echo to
the sentence. That we are not singular in our
opinion, we quote the following extract from a
publication cotemporary with the proceed-
ings.
" As impartial observers, it seems to us that
there were several circumstances which ought to
have pointed out Sir Sidney Smith as the most
proper officer that could be selected for the con-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 359
duct of an expedition against Constantinople.
His local knowledge of the country, it is thought,
might have been an object of some consideration:
he spoke the language ; he had proved himself
the saviour of the Ottoman empire, at St. John
of Acre ; and he had been accredited as a joint
minister plenipotentiary to the then reigning
sultan, Selim III. Yet, palpably absurd as it
must appear, he was taken from the active station
of Sicily, where he commanded, and placed, not
first, nor SECOND, but THIRD " in command of
an expedition, of which he alone was competent
to be the commander-in-chief ! and, as an aggra-
vation of this absurdity, when on the spot, he was
not employed in the only diplomatic part of the
proceedings which Sir John Duckworth entrusted
out of his own hands ! At the very time that the
commander-in-chief was complimenting Sir
Sidney Smith, Sir Thomas Louis was officiating
as his deputed diplomatic agent ! "
Let us again repeat, that we mean nothing-
invidious against Sir John Duckworth ; his
name stands deservedly high in the naval records
of his country ; more than one splendid victory
have been gained under his flag, and the navy
are indebted to him for many very facetious
stories. Having thus done him all the justice
36*0 MEMOIRS OF
that his warmest admirers can demand, we may
be permitted to say, that he was not the best
commander who could have been selected cun-
ningly to display a force that he was not to
employ, but under extremities, against a power
in possession of much greater force, and possess-
ing infinitely more cunning than himself.
On this delicate and very important subject
we have been favoured with the enlightened and
highly honourable opinion of Captain Montagu
Montagu, who served under Sir John, as flag-
lieutenant, in the memorable expedition which we
are about to relate. We had candidly submitted
our idea to the Captain, that Sir Sidney Smith
would have been, for that particular service, a
more efficient commander. Captain Montagu's
reply was as follows :
u History is stern, she deals alone in facts, and
makes no compromise with actions, as her busi-
ness is above all truth. But, at the same time,
she also estimates motives, as far as they can
fairly be traced, and still more circumstances,
which are, in fact, the deponing witnesses of that
to which general reasoning is but the presumptive
evidence. A Chief, and he alone, has upon him
the responsibility of command, and which is not
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 361
of a simple but very compound nature, in the
discriminating obedience he owes to his orders,
the reference to public opinion not that of the
vulgar, and lastly regard to his own conscience,
which, to one of a mind suitable to his station,
is most serious an immense charge ; consider-
ing that, in naval warfare, besides the ships' com-
panies numerous invaluable lives, the supremacy
as well as the honour of his country's flag, are all
confided to his care.
" No one who has not been invested with
command can sufficiently estimate its weight ;
and I will say more, that none can judge of the
just line of conduct to be pursued in any specific
case but he who has to decide upon it. Others,
feeling their own powers, might perhaps fancy
they would have done more than those who may
be thought to have done too little, who, if in their
place, would have found that more was not to be
done. And, as for those who know not the se-
riousness of that responsibility, and still less
juniors and subordinates, who have to fear neither
condemnation censure nor self-reproach, with
whom, naturally, every advance is a triumph
and miscarriage is only ' the fortune of war,'
little store will be set on their opinions by those
who have passed the age of first hope, who have
362 MEMOIRS OF
added reflection to experience, and above all-
who are not interested in the decision.
" That Sir Sidney would have * dared all that
may become a man/ nobody will for a moment
doubt. That he may have imagined that he
might have accomplished more, is also possible ;
but even he cannot say he would have done so.
It is not unlikely, that, certainly better acquainted
as he was with the character of the Turks than
Sir John Duckworth, and both more sanguine
and more adventurous, he would, in negociating
with them, have used more of both cajolery and
menace: he would have glittered brightlier, and
have frowned more darkly : but it may be alto-
gether doubted, whether this would have been one
whit more successful than the dignified severity
of his older chief ; for it would not have been
backed by one gun more, nor would all his skill,
suavity, and determination have drawn one
breath more wind to bring the British broadsides
to bear on the Seven Towers.
" So long as circumstances prevented the
Squadron from acting, and every hour made that
acting less to be feared from the preparations
making to resist it, the Turks were not to be
hectored into submission ; and Izaac Bey (whom
I well remember) with all his long beard and his
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 363
Mussulman impassibility, was, at short-handed
diplomacy, a match for the most wily Euro-
pean.
" This was the second time that Sir John Duck-
worth had been placed in these most trying and
cruel circumstances ; the first, two years before,
in the presence of a French squadron ; of appear-
ing to decline an encounter with the enemy. But,
in both, I am persuaded that Time, the great
truth-teller and retributor though often a sadly
slow one, has done him ample justice ; and re-
echoed the voice of his own conscience, the
noblest approver of a good man, as he was, who
submitted to obloquy for doing what he felt to
be right, where less scrupulous or reflecting
men would have hazarded all for the gratifica-
tion of their own personal vanity for an ap-
plause that is seldom refused to an Englishman
who fights, though with an utter disregard to
the real interests of his Country.
" From what I have said, then, you may infer
my opinion on the subject ; though, even if it were
different, and I could incline to your view, you
could not expect me to alter it, attached as I was
to the good and brave man, whose conduct on
this important occasion it goes to call in ques-
tion. My conscientious persuasion my convic-
tion is altogether in his favour and against your
364 MEMOIRS OF
conclusion ; as, I firmly believe, was that of all
the senior officers of the squadron.
" I must, then, leave you altogether to your-
self in this matter ; merely suggesting the danger,
in all cases of this sort, of an over though na-
tural, as scarcely avoidable partiality for one's
hero.
" As minutes of evidence are always of use,
though those of a log-book or a ship's journal,
from their cut and dry record of facts, are not
very amusing, I send you a copy of the flagship's
log for the time actually engaged, that is from
our appearing before to after repassing the Dar-
danelles," &c. &c.
The gallant officer thus concludes :
" I will only add, that, with the exception of
the greatly calamitous Walcheren expedition,
this to Constantinople was the most crudely
planned rash and insufficient, that to use the
term ever left the British shores ; and that, as it
was, its escape from destruction was next to
miraculous."
We are now about to narrate the expedition,
and, if we still feel induced to suppose that it
would better have prospered under the control
of Sir Sidney Smith, we think so, solely because
he had more accidental advantages for its happy
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 365
accomplishment than Sir John Thomas Duck-
worth.
But before we proceed to it, we must devote
one chapter to some very important affairs that
were transacting in England at the time, and
which materially affected the character of our
officer.
366 MEMOIRS OF
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Princess of Wales's vindication against the charges
affecting her and Sir Sidney Smith.
WHILE Sir Sidney Smith was thus actively and
usefully employed in the service of his country
abroad, men's minds were put almost into an uni-
versal agitation by a most delicate investigation
at home, an investigation that deeply implicated
the honour of the future Queen of England, toge-
ther with that of many persons of high character,
some of whom had made the nation their debtors
by the value of their official exertions, and, among
these, we are sorry to say, that our hero stood
prominently forward.
It was the natural consequences of Sir Sidney's
brilliant achievements, and his position in society,
to be much sought for, and greatly admired.
SIR SIDNF.Y SMITH. 367
To these advantages he added a graceful vivacity
of manner, tinctured, at times, with an eccen-
tricity as engaging as it was original. These
physical advantages, and the fluency of his con-
versation, replete with anecdote, made him a
dangerous man in female society, to which, we
are bound to state, he was always most chi-
valrously partial.
His high connexions, and his deserved repu-
tation, at length brought him within the circle
over which Caroline Princess of Wales presided
with so much imprudence and good-heartedness.
His conduct, at that period, will ever be in-
volved in an impenetrable darkness a darkness
made the more deep and inscrutable by the
solemn and yet ridiculous attempts of commis-
sioners and privy counsellors to dispel it. We
have carefully perused and reperused all the de-
positions sworn to as affecting the continence of
that unfortunate Princess, during her residence
on Blackheath, and the only safe conclusion
at which we can arrive is, that the laxity of
morals, and the licentiousness of the manners of
almost all concerned in that investigation, make
us feel shame for the conduct, with but a few
exceptions, for all the parties concerned.
Whether the attractions of Sir Sidney Smith,
were only incitements to, or actually the cause of
368 MEMOIRS OF
criminality with the Princess, he now only knows.
That he was much in her society, that his conver-
sation amused and his attentions pleased this
unfortunate woman, cannot be doubted. It is
also no less certain that he was discovered in her
company at times, and in situations, that neither
befitted her rank, nor his position as a future
subject to the heir apparent.
This intercourse, of whatever nature it might
have been, continued with unabated strictness for
several months. To render it the more uninter-
rupted, Sir Sidney went and partly resided witli
his old companion in arms, Sir John Douglas, the
huband of that Lady Douglas who, throughout
these transactions, procured for herself an unenvi-
able notoriety.
Having thus made himself conveniently proxi-
mate to the Princess, he was seen for weeks daily
in her society ; and being thus unguarded in his
conduct, he gave too much scope for the voice of
scandal to breathe guilt upon the fame of a per-
son, already too much open to suspicion, and, as
moralists, we are bound to say, to leave a stain
of no very light dye upon his own.
We wish to tread lightly upon the ashes of the
dead, who, when living, we think was hardly
dealt with. We shall, therefore, not go into
details of the evidence which imputed criminality
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 36(J
to our officer, but merely state that, first, a cold-
ness, and then a quarrel, having occurred between
him and the object of his attentions, he shortly
after forsook her society altogether, and was soon
after found most actively employed in that scene
so natural to his genius, and so conducive to his
own fame and his country's glory.
The following is a description of Sir Sidney's
appearance at the time of his acquaintance with
the princess, to whom the world so generally
gave him as a favoured lover. He had an air
of general smartness, and was extremely gentle-
manly in his deportment. He had a good-hu-
moured, agreeable manner with him, with a cer-
tain dash and turn of chivalry that was very
taking with the ladies. We are not using our
own words, but the very expressive ones of a
good judge upon these matters.
He used then to wear mustachios; they were
not then vulgarised, as now ; which fashion he had
adopted when so much associated with the Turks.
He was about the middle height, rather under
than over, and of slender construction, which
much helped his activity. He was generally
very showily dressed, perhaps with some singu-
larity ; but there was not a particle of cox-
combry about him. In features, he something re-
sembled Bernadotte, though with not so promi-
VOL. I. B B
370 MEMOIRS OF
nent a facial angle. The countenance of Southey
the poet still more closely resembled that of Sir
Sidney Smith, when both were in their younger
days.
The following is the best means in our posses-
sion of vindicating Sir Sidney Smith's character,
being an extract from the letter dated 2d of Octo-
ber, 1806, that the Princess of Wales sent to
his Majesty George the Third.
" And I will begin with those which respect
Sir Sidney Smith, as he is the person first men-
tioned in the deposition of W. Cole,
" W. Cole says, " that Sir Sidney Smith first
visited at Montague-house in 1802 ; that he ob-
served that the princess was too familiar with Sir
Sidney Smith. One day, he thinks in February,
he (Cole) carried into the blue room to the
princess some sandwiches which she had ordered,
and was surprised to see that Sir Sidney was
there. He must have come in from the park.
If he had been let in from Blackheath he must
have passed through the room in which he
(Cole) was waiting. When he had left the sand-
wiches, he returned, after some time, into the
room, and Sir Sidney Smith was sitting very
close to the princess on the sofa : he (Cole)
looked at her Royal Highness ; she caught his
ey^e, and saw that he noticed the manner in
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 371
which they were sitting together ; they appeared
both a little confused."
" R. Bidgood says also, in his deposition on
the 6th of June, (for he was examined twice,)
" that it was early in 1802 that he first observed
Sir Sidney Smith come to Montague-house. He
used to stay very late at night ; he had seen him
early in the morning there ; about ten or eleven
o'clock. He was at Sir John Douglas's, and
was in the habit, as well as Sir John and Lady
Douglas, of dining, or having luncheon, or sup-
ping there every day. He saw Sir Sidney Smith
one day in 1802 in the blue room, about eleven
o'clock in the morning, which was full two hours
before they expected ever to see company. He
asked the servants why they did not let him
know Sir Sidney Smith was there ; the footmen
told him that they had let no person in. There
was a private door to the park, by which he
might have come in if he had a key to it, and
have got into the blue room without any of the
servants perceiving him. And in his second de-
position, taken on the 3d of July, he says he
lived at Montague-house when Sir Sidney came.
Her (the princess) manner with him appeared
very familiar ; she appeared very attentive to
him, but he did not suspect anything further.
Mrs. Lisle says, that the princess at one time ap-
B B 2
372 MEMOIRS OF
peared to like Sir John and Lady Douglas.
' I have seen Sir Sidney Smith there very late
in the evening, but not alone with the princess.
I have no reason to suspect he had a key of the
park-gate; I never heard of anybody being
found wandering about at Blackheath.'
" Fanny Lloyd does not mention Sir Sidney
Smith in her deposition.
" Upon the whole of this evidence then, which
is the whole that respects Sir Sidney Smith, in
any of these depositions, (except some particular
passages in Cole's evidence, which are so import-
ant as to require very particular and distinct
statement,) I would request your Majesty to
understand, that, with respect to the fact of Sir
Sidney Smith's visiting frequently at Montague-
house, both with Sir John and Lady Douglas,
and without them ; with respect to his being
frequently there at luncheon, dinner, and supper,
and staying with the rest of the company till
twelve, one o'clock, or even sometimes later,
if these are some of the facts e which must give
occasion to unfavourable interpretations, and
must be credited till they are contradicted,'
they are facts which I never can contradict, for
they are perfectly true. And I trust it will im-
ply the confession of no guilt, to admit that Sir
Sidney Smith's conversation, his account of the
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 373
various and extraordinary events, and heroic
achievements in which he had been concerned,
amused and interested me ; and the circumstance
of his living so much with his friends, Sir John
and Lady Douglas, in my neighbourhood on
Blackheath, gave the opportunity of his increas-
ing his acquaintance with me.
" It happened also that about this time I fitted
up, as your Majesty may have observed, one of
the rooms in my house after the fashion of a
Turkish tent. Sir Sidney furnished me with a
pattern for it, in a drawing of the tent of Murat
Bey, which he had brought over with him from
Egypt. And he taught him how to draw Egyp-
tian arabesques, which were necessary for the
ornaments of the ceiling : this may have occa-
sioned, while that room was fitting up, several
visits, and possibly some, though I do not recol-
lect them, as early in the morning as Mr. Bid-
good mentions. I believe also, that it has hap-
pened more than once, that walking with my
ladies in the park, we have met Sir Sidney
Smith, and that he has come in with us through
the gate from the park. My ladies may have
gone up to take off their cloaks, or to dress, and
have left me alone with him rand, at some one
of these times, it may very possibly have hap-
pened that Mr. Cole and Mr. Bidgood may have
374 MEMOIRS OF
seen him, when he has not come through the
waiting-room, nor been let in by any of the foot-
men. But I solemnly declare to your Majesty,
that I have not the least idea or belief that he
ever had a key of the gate into the park, or that
he ever entered in or passed out at that gate,
except in company with myself and my ladies.
As for the circumstance of my permitting him to
be in the room alone with me ; if suffering a man
to be so alone is evidence of guilt from whence
the commissioners can draw any unfavourable
inference, I must leave them to draw it, for I
cannot deny that it has happened, and happened
frequently ; not only with Sir Sidney Smith, but
with many, many others ; gentlemen who have
visited me ; tradesmen who have come to receive
my orders ; masters whom I have had to instruct
me in painting, in music, in English, &c., that
I have received them without any one being by.
In short, I trust I am not confessing a crime, for
unquestionably it is a truth, that I never had an
idea that there was anything wrong or objection-
able in thus seeing men in the morning, and I
confidently believe your Majesty will see nothing
in it from which any guilt can be inferred. I
feel certain that there is nothing immoral in the
thing itself; and I have always understood that
it was perfectly customary and usual for ladies of
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 375
the first rank and the first character in the
country, to receive the visits of gentlemen in a
morning, though they might be themselves alone
at the time. But if, in the opinions and fashions
of this country, there should be more impropriety
ascribed to it than what it ever entered into my
mind to conceive, I hope your Majesty, and every
candid mind, will make allowance for the differ-
ent notions which my foreign education and
foreign habits may have given me.
" But whatever character may belong to this
practice, it is not a practice which commenced
after my leaving Carlton-house. While there,
and from my first arrival in this country, I was
accustomed, with the knowledge of his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales, and without his
ever having hinted to me the slightest disappro-
bation, to receive lessons from various masters,
for my amusement and improvement ; I was
attended by them frequently from twelve o'clock
till five in the afternoon ; Mr. Atwood for mu-
sic, Mr. Geffadiere for English, Mr. Tourfronelli
for painting, Mr. Tutoye for imitating marble,
Mr. Elwes for the harp. I saw them all alone ;
and, indeed, if I were to see them at all, I could
do no otherwise than see them alone. Miss
Garth, who was then sub-governess to my daugh-
ter, lived certainly under the same roof with me,
376 MEMOIRS OF
but she could not be spared from her duty and
attendance on my daughter. I desired her some-
times to come down stairs, and read to me, dur-
ing the time when I drew or painted, but my
Lord Cholmondeley informed me this could not
be. I then requested that I might have one of
my bed-chamber women to live constantly at
Carlton-house, that I might have her at call
whenever I wanted her ; but I was answered that
it was not customary that the attendants of the
royal family should live with them in town ; so
that request could not be complied with. But,
independent of this, I never conceived that it was
offensive to the fashions and manners of the
country to receive gentlemen who might call
upon me in a morning, whether I had or had
not any one with me ; and it never occurred to
me to think that there was either impropriety
or indecorum in it, at that time, nor in con-
tinuing the practice at Montague-house. But
this has been confined to morning visits, in no
private apartments in my house, but in my
drawing-room, where my ladies have at all times
free access, and as they usually take their lun-
cheon with me, except when they are engaged
with visiters or pursuits of their own, it could
but rarely occur that I could be left with any
gentleman alone for any length of time, unless
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 377
there were something, in the known and avowed
business, which might occasion his waiting upon
me, that would fully account for the circum-
stance.
" I trust your Majesty will excuse the length
at which I have dwelt upon this topic. I per-
ceived, from the examinations, that it had been
much inquired after, and I felt it necessary to re-
present it in its true light. And the candour of
your Majesty's mind will, I am confident, sug-
gest that those who are the least conscious of
intending guilt are the least suspicious of having
it imputed to them : and therefore that they do
not think it necessary to guard themselves at
every turn, with witnesses to prove their inno-
cence, fancying their character to be safe as long
as their conduct is innocent, and that guilt will
not be imputed to them from actions quite dif-
ferent.
" The deposition, however, of Mr. Cole, is not
confined to my being alone with Sir Sidney Smith.
The circumstance in which he observed us to-
gether he particularises, and states his opinion.
He introduces, indeed, the whole of the evidence
by saying, that I was too familiar with Sir Sidney
Smith ; but as I trust I am not yet so far degraded
as to have my character decided by the opinion of
Mr. Cole, I shall not comment upon that observa-
378 MEMOIRS OF
tion. He then proceeds to describe the scene
which he observed on the day when he brought in
the sandwiches, which I trust your Majesty did
not fail to notice, I had myself ordered to be brought
in. For there is an obvious insinuation that Sir
Sidney must have come in through the park, and
that there was great impropriety in his being alone
with me. And at least the witness's own story
proves, whatever impropriety there might be in
this circumstance, that I was not conscious of it,
nor meant to take advantage of his clandestine
entry from the park, to conceal the fact from my
servant's observation. For if I had had such con-
sciousness, or such meaning, I never could have
ordered sandwiches to have been brought in, or
any other act to have been done which must have
brought myself under the notice of my servants,
while I continued in a situation which I thought
improper and wished to conceal. Any of the cir-
cumstances of this visit, to which this part of the
deposition refers, my memory does not enable ine
in the least degree to particularise and recal. Mr.
Cole may have seen me sitting on the same sofa
with Sir Sidney Smith. Nay, I have no doubt he
must have seen me over and over again, not only
with Sir Sidney Smith, but with other gentlemen,
sitting upon the same sofa ; and I trust your Ma-
jesty will feel it the hardest thing imaginable, that
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 379
I should be called upon to account what corner of
a sofa I sat upon four years ago, and how close Sir
Sidney Smith was sitting to me. I can only so-
lemnly aver to your Majesty, that my conscience
supplies me with the fullest means of confidently
assuring you, that I never permitted Sir Sidney
Smith to sit on any sofa with me in any manner,
which in my own judgment was in the slightest
degree offensive to the strictest propriety and de-
corum. In the judgment of many persons, per-
haps, a Princess of Wales should at no time
forget the elevation of her rank, or descend in
any degree to the familiarities and intimacies of
private life. Under any circumstances, this
would be a hard condition to be annexed to her
situation. Under the circumstances, in which it
has been my misfortune to have lost the neces-
sary support to the dignity and station of a Prin-
cess of Wales, to have assumed and maintained
an unbending dignity would have been impos-
sible, and, if possible, could hardly have been
expected from me.
" After these observations, sire, I must now re-
quest your Majesty's attention to those written de-
clarations which are mentioned in the report, and
which I shall never be able sufficiently to thank
your Majesty for having condescended, in compli-
ance with my earnest request, to order to be trans-
380 MEMOIRS OF
mitted to me. From observations upon these
declarations themselves, as well as upon comparing
them with the depositions made before the com-
missioners, your Majesty will see the strongest
reason for discrediting the testimony of W. Cole,
as well as others of these witnesses, whose credit
stands, in the opinion of the commissioners, so un-
impeachable. They supply important observations,
even with respect to that part of Mr. Cole's evi-
dence which I am now considering, though in no
degree equal in importance to those which I shall
afterwards have occasion to notice.
" Your Majesty will please to observe, that there
are no less than four different examinations or de-
clarations of Mr. Cole. They are dated on the
llth, 14th, and 30th of January, and on 23rd of
February. In these four different declarations he
twice mentions the circumstances of finding Sir
Sidney Smith and myself on the sofa, and he men-
tions it not only in a different manner, at each of
these times, but at both of them in a manner which
materially differs from his deposition before the
commissioners. In his declaration on the llth of
January, he says, that he found us in so familiar
a posture, as to alarm him very much, which he
expressed by a start back and a look at the
gentleman.
" In that dated on 23rd of February, however,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 381
(being asked, I suppose as to that which he had
dared to assert, of the familiar posture which had
alarmed him so much,) he says, ' there was nothing
particular in our dress, position of legs or arms,
that was extraordinary ; he thought it improper
that a single gentleman should be sitting quite
close to a married lady on the sofa, and from that
situation, and former observations^ he thought the
thing improper. In the second account, therefore,
your Majesty perceives he was obliged to bring in
his former observation to help out the statement,
in order to account for his having been so shocked
with what he saw, as to express his alarm by 'start-
ing back/ But unfortunately he accounts for it,
as it seems to me at least, by the very circumstance
which would have induced him to have been less
surprised, and consequently less startled by what
he saw ; for had his former observations been such
as he insinuates, he would have been prepared the
more to expect, and the less to be surprised at,
what he pretends to have seen.
" But your Majesty will observe, that in his
deposition before the commissioners, (recollecting,
perhaps, how awkwardly he had accounted for his
starting in his former declaration,) he drops his
starting altogether. Instead of looking at the
gentleman only, he looked at us both ; that I caught
his eye, and saw that he noticed the manner in
382 MEMOIRS OF
which we were sitting, and instead of his own
starting, or any description of the manner in which
he exhibited his own feelings, we are represented
as both appearing a little confused. Our confusion
is a circumstance', which, during his four declara-
tions, which he made before the appointment of
the commissioners, it never once occurred to him
to recollect. And now he does recollect it, we ap-
peared, he says, ' a little confused.' A little con-
fused ! The Princess of Wales detected in a
situation such as to shock and alarm her servant,
and so detected as to be sensible of her detection,
and so conscious of the impropriety of the situa-
tion as to exhibit symptoms of confusion ; would
not her confusion have been extreme ? would it
have been so little as to have slipped the memory
of the witness who observed it, during his first
four declarations, and at last to be recalled to his
recollection in such a manner as to be repre-
sented in the faint and feeble way in which he
here describes it.
" What weight your Majesty will ascribe to
these differences in the accounts given by this
witness, I cannot pretend to say. But I am
ready to confess that, probably, if there was no-
thing stronger of the same kind to be observed in
other parts of his testimony, the inference which
would be drawn from them would depend very
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 383
much upon the opinion previously entertained of
the witness. To me, who know many parts of
his testimony to be absolutely false, and all the
colouring given to it to be wholly from his own
wicked and malicious invention, it appears plain,
that these differences in his representations are
the unsteady, awkward shuffles and prevarications
of falsehood. To those, if there are any such,
who from preconceived prejudices in his favour,
or from any other circumstances, think that his
veracity is free from all suspicion, satisfactory
means of reconciling them may possibly occur.
But before I have left Mr. Cole's examinations,
your Majesty will find that they will have much
more to account for, and much more to reconcile.
" Mr. Cole's examination before the commis-
sioners goes on thus : ' A short time before this,
one night about twelve o'clock, I saw a man go
into the house from the park, wrapt up in a great-
coat. I did not give any alarm, for the impres-
sion on my mind was, that it was not a thief.'
When I read this passage, sire, I could hardly
believe my eyes ; when I found such a fact left
in this dark state, without any farther explana-
tion, or without a trace, in the examination, of
any attempt to get it further explained. How he
got this impression on his mind, that this was not
a thief? whom he believed it to be ? what part of
384 MEMOIRS OF
the house he saw him enter? if the drawing-
room, or any part which I usually occupy, who
was there at the time ? whether I was there ?
whether alone or with my ladies ? or with other
company ? whether he told anybody of the circum-
stance at the time ? or how long after ? whom he
told ? whether any inquiries were made in conse-
quence ? these, and a thousand other questions,
with a view to have penetrated into the mystery
of this strange story, and to have tried the credit
of this witness, would, I should have thought,
have occurred to any one; but certainly must
have occurred to persons so experienced and so
able in the examination of facts, and the trying
of the credit of witnesses, as the two learned lords
unquestionably are, whom your Majesty took
care to have introduced into this commission.
They never could have permitted these unex-
plained, and unsifted hints and insinuations to
have had the weight and effect of proof. But,
unfortunately for me, the duties, probably of their
respective situations, prevented their attendance
on the examination of this, and on the first ex-
amination of another most important witness, Mr.
Robert Bidgood and surely your Majesty will
permit me here, without offence, to complain that
it is not a little hard, that, when your Majesty
had shown your anxiety to have legal accuracy,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 385
and legal experience assist on this examination,
the two most important witnesses, in whose ex-
aminations there is more matter for unfavourable
interpretation than in all the rest put together,
should have been examined without the benefit
of this accuracy, and this experience. And I am
the better justified in making this observation,
if what has been suggested to me is correct
that if it shall not be allowed that the power of
administering an oath under this warrant or
commission is questionable, yet it can hardly be
doubted that it is most questionable, whether,
according to the terms or meaning of the warrant
or commission, as it constitutes no quorum,
Lord Spencer and Lord Glenville could adminis-
ter an oath, or act in the absence of the other
Lords ; and if they could not, Mr. Cole's false-
hood must be out of the reach of punishment.
" Returning then from this digression, will
your Majesty permit me to ask, whether I am
to understand this fact, respecting the man in a
great-coat, to be one of those which must neces-
sarily give occasion to the most unfavourable
interpretations ; which must be credited till
decidedly contradicted ? and which, if true, de-
serve the most serious consideration ? The un-
favourable interpretations which this fact may
occasion, doubtless are, that this man was either
VOL. i. c c
386 MEMOIRS OF
Sir Sidney Smith, or some other paramour, who
was admitted by me into my house in disguise
at midnight, for the accomplishment of my
wicked and adulterous purposes. And is it pos-
sible that your Majesty is it possible that any
candid mind can believe this fact, with the un-
favourable interpretations which it occasions, on
the relation of a servant, who, for all that ap-
pears, mentions it for the first time four years
after the event took place ? and who gives, him-
self, this picture of his honesty and fidelity to a
master whom he has served so long, that he,
whose nerves are of so moral a frame that he
starts at seeing a single man sitting at mid-day
in an open drawing-room, on the same sofa with a
married woman, permitted this disguised mid-
night adulterer to approach his master's bed
without taking any notice, without making any
alarm, without offering any interruption ? And
why? because (as he expressly states) he did
not believe him to be a thief : and because (as
he plainly insinuates) he did believe him to be
an adulterer.
" But what makes the manner in which the
commissioners suffered this fact to remain so un-
explained, the more extraordinary, is this : Mr.
Cole had, in his original declaration of the llth
of January, which was before the commissioners,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 387
stated, ' that one night, about twelve o'clock, he
saw a person wrapped up in a great-coat, go
across the park into the gate at the green-house,
and he verily believes it was Sir Sidney Smith/
In his declaration then, (when he was not upon
oath) he ventures to state, ' that he verily be-
lieves it was Sir Sidney Smith.' When he is
upon his oath in his deposition before the com-
missioners, all that he ventures to swear is,
" that he gave no alarm, because the impression
upon his mind was, that it was not a thief!'
And the difference is most important, ' The im-
pression upon his mind was, that it was not a
thief !' I believe him, and the impression upon
my mind too is, that he knew it was not a thief
that he knew who it was and that he knew it was
no- other than my watchman. What incident it
is that he alludes to, I cannot pretend to know.
But this I know, that if it refers to any man
with whose proceedings I have the least acquaint-
ance or privity, it must have been my watchman,
who, if he executes my orders, nightly, and
often in the night goes his rounds, both inside
and outside out of my house. And this circum-
stance, which I should think would rather afford,
to most minds, an inference that I was not pre-
paring the way of planning facilities for secret
midnight assignations, has, in my conscience, I
c c 2
388 MEMOIRS OF
believe, (if there is one word of truth in any part
of this story, and the whole of it is not pure in-
vention,) afforded the handle, and suggested the
idea, to this honest, trusty man, this witness,
' who cannot be suspected of any unfavourable
bias/ ' whose veracity in that respect the com-
missioners saw no ground to question/ and
t who must be credited till he received decided
contradiction/ suggested, I say, the idea of the
dark and vile insinuation contained in this part
of his testimony.
" Whether I am right or wrong, however, in
this conjecture, this appears to be evident, that
his examination is so left, that supposing an in-
dictment for perjury or false swearing would lie
against any witness examined by the commis-
sioners, and supposing this examination had been
taken before the whole four. If Mr. Cole was
indicted for perjury in respect to this part of his
deposition, the proof that he did see the watch-
man would necessarily acquit him ; would es-
tablish the truth of what he said, and rescue
him from the punishment of perjury, though it
would at the same time prove the falsehood and
injustice of the inference, and the insinuation,
for the establishment of which alone, the fact
itself was sworn.
" Mr. Cole chooses further to state, that he
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 389
ascribes his removal from Montague-house to
London to the discovery he had made, and the
notice he had taken of the improper situation of
Sir Sidney Smith with me upon the sofa. To
this I can oppose little more than my own asser-
tions, as my motives can only be known to my-
self. But Mr. Cole was a very disagreeable
j
servant to me ; he was a man who, as I always
conceived, had been educated above his station.
He talked French, and was a musician, playing
well on the violin. By these qualifications he
had got admitted, occasionally, into better com-
pany, and this probably led to that forward and
obtrusive conduct which I thought extremely
offensive and impertinent in a servant. I had
long been extremely displeased with him ; I had
discovered, that when I went out he would come
into my drawing-room, and play on my harpsi-
chord, or sit there reading my books ; and, in
short, there was a forwardness which would have
led to my absolutely discharging him a long
time before, if I had not made a sort of rule to
myself, to forbear, as long as possible, from re-
moving any servant who had been placed about
me by his Royal Highness. Before Mr. Cole
lived with the prince, he had lived with the Duke
of Devonshire, and I had reason to believe that
he carried to Devonshire- house all the observa-
390 MEMOIRS OF
lions he could make at mine. For these various
reasons, just before the Duke of Kent was about
to go out of the kingdom, I requested his Royal
Highness the Duke of Kent, who had been good
enough to take the trouble of arranging many
particulars in my establishment, to make the
arrangements with respect to Mr. Cole; which
was to leave him in town to wait upon me only
when I went to Carlton-house, and not to come
to Montague-house except when specially re-
quired. This arrangement, it seems, offended
him. It certainly deprived him of some perqui-
sites which he had when living at Blackheath ;
but, upon the whole, as it left him so much more
of his time at his own disposal, I should not have
thought it had been much to his prejudice. It
seems, however, that he did not like it ; and I
must leave this part of the case with this one ob-
servation more That your Majesty, I trust, will
hardly believe, that if Mr. Cole had, by any
accident, discovered any improper conduct of
mine towards Sir Sidney Smith, or any one else,
the way which I should have taken to suppress
his information, to close his mouth, would not
have been by immediately adopting an arrange-
ment in my family, with regard to him, which
was either prejudicial or disagreeable to him ; or
that the way to remove him from the opportunity
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 391
and the temptation of betraying my secret,
whether through levity or design, in the quarter
where it would be most fatal to me that it should
be known, was by making an arrangement which,
while all his resentment and anger were fresh
and warm about him, would place him frequently,
nay, almost daily, at Carlton-house ; would place
him precisely at that place from whence, unques-
tionably, it must have been my interest to have
kept him as far removed as possible.
" There is little or nothing in the examinations
of the other witnesses which is material for me
to observe upon, as far as respects this part of the
case. It appears from them, indeed, what I have
had no difficulty in admitting, and have observed
upon before, that Sir Sidney Smith was fre-
quently at Montague-house that they have
known him to be alone with me in the morning,
but that they never knew him to be alone with
me in an evening, or staying later than my com-
pany or the ladies ; for what Mr. Stikeman says,
with respect to his being alone with me in an
evening, can only mean, and is only reconcile-
able with all the rest of the evidence on this part
of the case, by its being understood, to mean
alone, in respect to other company, but not alone
in the absence of my ladies. The deposition, in-
deed, of my servant, S. Roberts, is thus far ma-
392 MEMOIRS OF
terial upon that point, that it exhibits Mr. Cole,
not less than three years ago, endeavouring to
collect evidence upon these points to my pre-
judice. For your Majesty will find that he says,
* I recollect Mr. Cole once asking me, I think
three years ago, whether there were any favour-
ites in the family. I remember saying that Cap-
tain Manby and Sir Sidney Smith were fre-
quently at Blackheath, and dined there oftener
than other persons.' He then proceeds ' I never
knew Sir Sidney Smith stay later than the
ladies ; I cannot exactly say at what time he
went, but I never remember his staying alone
with the Princess."
" As to what is contained in the written de-
clarations of Mr. and Mrs. Lampert, the old ser-
vants of Sir John and Lady Douglas, (as from
some circumstance or other respecting, I con-
ceive, either their credit, or their supposed im-
portance,) the commissioners have not thought
proper to examine them upon their oaths, I do
not imagine your Majesty would expect that I
should take any notice of them. And as to what
is deposed by my Lady Douglas, if your Majesty
will observe the gross and horrid indecencies
with which she ushers in and states my confes-
sions to her, of my asserted criminal intercourse
with Sir Sidney Smith, your Majesty, I am con-
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 393
fident, will not be surprised that I do not descend
to any particular observations on her deposition.
One, and only one, observation will 1 make,
which, however, could not have escaped your
Majesty, if I had omitted it. That your Majesty
will have an excellent portraiture of the true
female delicacy and purity of my Lady Douglas's
mind and character, when you will observe that
she seems wholly insensible to what a sink of
infamy she degrades herself by her testimony
against me. It is not only that it appears, from
her statement, that she was contented to live in
familiarity and apparent friendship with me, after
the confession which I made of my adultery, (for
by the indulgence and liberality, as it is called,
of modern manners, the company of adulteresses
has ceased to reflect that discredit upon the cha-
racters of other women who admit them to their
society, which the best interests of female virtue
may perhaps require ;) but she was contented to
live in familiarity with a woman, who, if Lady
Douglas's evidence of me is true, was a most
low, vulgar, and profligate disgrace to her sex ;
the grossness of whose ideas and conversation
would add infamy to the lowest, most vulgar, and
most infamous prostitute. It is not, however,
upon this circumstance that I rest assured no re-
liance can be placed on Lady Douglas's testi-
394 MEMOIRS OF
mony ; but after what is proved, with regard to her
evidence respecting my pregnancy and delivery
in 1802, I am certain that any observations upon
her testimony or her veracity must be flung away.
" Your Majesty has, therefore, now before you
the state of the charge against me, as far as it
respects Sir Sidney Smith. And this is, as I
understand the report, one of the charges which,
with its unfavourable interpretations, must, in the
opinion of the commissioners, be credited till de-
cidedly contradicted.
" As to the facts of frequent visiting on terms
of great intimacy, as I have said before, they
cannot be contradicted at all. How inferences
and unfavourable interpretations are to be de-
cidedly contradicted, I wish the commissioners
had been so good as to explain. I know of no
possible way but by the declarations of myself
and Sir Sidney Smith. Yet we, being the sup-
posed guilty parties, our denial, probably, will
be thought of no great weight. As to my own,
however, I tender it to your Majesty in the most
solemn manner ; and if I knew what fact it was
that I ought to contradict, to clear my innocence,
I would precisely address myself to that fact, as
I am confident my conscience would enable me
to do, to any, from which a criminal or an unbe-
coming inference could be drawn. I am sure,
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 395
however, your Majesty will feel for the humili-
ated and. degraded situation to which this report
has reduced your daughter-in-law, the Princess
of Wales ; when you see her reduced to the ne-
cessity of either risking the danger that the most
unfavourable interpretations should be credited ;
or else of stating, as I am now degraded to the ne-
cessity of stating, that not only no adulterous, or
criminal, but no indecent or improper intercourse
whatever, ever subsisted between Sir Sidney
Smith and myself, or anything which I should
have objected that all the world should have
seen. I say degraded to the necessity of stating
it ; for your Majesty must feel that a woman's
character is degraded when it is put upon her to
make such statement, at the peril of the contrary
being credited, unless she decidedly contradicts it.
Sir Sidney Smith's absence from the country
prevents me calling upon him to attest the same
truth. But I trust, when your Majesty shall find,
as you will find, that my declaration to a similar
effect, with respect to the other gentleman referred
to in this report, is confirmed by their denial,
that your Majesty will think that in a case
where nothing but my own word can be adduced,
my own word alone may be opposed to whatever
little remains of credit or weight may, after all
the above observations, be supposed yet to belong
396 MEMOIRS OF
to Mr. Cole, to his inferences, his insinuations,
or his facts. Not, indeed, that I have yet finished
my observations on Mr. Cole's credit; but I
must reserve the remainder till I consider his
evidence with respect to Mr. Lawrence ; and till
I have occasion to comment upon the testimony
of Fanny Loyd. Then, indeed, I shall be under
the necessity of exhibiting to your Majesty these
witnesses, Fanny Loyd and Mr. Cole, (both of
whom are represented as so unbiassed, and so
credible,) in flat, decisive, and irreconcilable
contradiction to each other."
After all the deliberatious and meetings of the
commissioners, as far as regards Sir Sidney
Smith, and other questions in connexion with the
Princess, his Majesty says
" On the other matters produced in the course
of the inquiry, the King is advised that none of
the facts or allegations stated in the preliminary
examinations, carried on in the absence of the par-
ties interested, can be considered as legally or
conclusively established. But in those exami-
nations, and even in the answer drawn in the
name of the Princess by her legal advisers, there
have appeared circumstances of conduct on the
part of the Princess, which his Majesty never
could regard but with serious concern. The
elevated rank which the Princess hold in this
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 397
country, and the relation in which she stands to
his Majesty and the royal family, must always
deeply involve both the interests of the state and
the personal feelings of his Majesty, in the pro-
priety and correctness of her conduct. And his
Majesty cannot, therefore, forbear to express, in
the conclusion of the business, his desire and ex-
pectation, that such a conduct may in future be
observed by the Princess, as may fully justify
those marks of paternal regard and affection
which the King always wishes to show to every
part of his royal family.
" His Majesty has directed that this message
should be transmitted to the Princess of Wales,
by his Lord Chancellor, and that copies of the
proceedings which have taken place on the sub-
ject should also be communicated to his dearly
beloved son, the Prince of Wales."
Therefore, from the charge of levity and im-
prudence, the Princess must still be deemed as
not exonerated.
We should not have adverted, in the slightest
degree, to the affair narrated in this chapter,
had it not assumed, to all intents and purposes,
the features of a public transaction. We have
called these volumes by a name no more pre-
tending than that of " Memoirs ;" and having
meant to do no more than the title warranted,
398 MEMOIRS OF
we have only given so much of our hero's
private adventures and family concerns as was
needful to form something like continuity in the
narrative. Indeed, we are well aware, so replete
as Sir William Sidney Smith's life has been of
" moving accident by flood and field," so rife
has been his prolonged days with private enter-
prise and wonderful surprises in a word, the feats
he has performed and witnessed have been so
numerous and so strange, and his memory is
stuffed so full of anecdote, that none but himself
could be his biographer : for no one can tell the
tales of himself that he can ; and if any one
could, disappointment would still be the result,
for to achieve his happy manner of telling them
would be utterly impossible.
Many of these anecdotes have found their way
into the public periodicals : generally speaking,
they do not read well, because the hero did not
himself write them. They are turgid and over-
strained, being miserably bloated and swelled out
with too much panegyric. We shall quote a few
of them at the end of these volumes, and en-
deavour to divest them a little of their inflated
laudation.
We may just now, moreover, observe, that to
write a good life, in the extended sense of the word,
of the gallant veteran, would be a matter of no
SIR SIDNEY SMITH. 399
small difficulty, were it rigidly a true one ; and a
biography, however amusing, if not true, could
not be good. It is in this that the difficulty lies,
the impossibility to find a person sufficiently im-
partial. Were Sir Sidney himself to attempt it,
much of it would appear, from him, like gasconade,
simply because his adventures have been so sin-
gular that it would be hazardous for a man to
publish them of himself; and unfortunately, such
are his qualities, that his friends are very friends
indeed, and verge too much upon idolaters ; and
his enemies are contemning sceptics of anything
good or great about him. Whilst the one party
would extol him, as the ne plus ultra of heroism,
the other would designate him merely as a
successful charlatan brave, but without con-
duct, cunning without being sensible arrogant
and supercilious in his youth, and, in his after
life, immersed in the vapours of his intolerable
vanity ; that all that ever was sterling in the man
is totally evaporated, and that nothing remains
of him but a gaudy shell, tricked out with rib-
bons and stars, and all the blazonry of which
beggarly monarchs are so lavish, and fools so
greedy.
That Sir Sidney has nothing of the latter cha-
racter about him, those who attentively read
these memoirs must be convinced. They must
400 MEMOIRS OF
also be convinced that he is, properly speaking,
truly a great man, and had more favourable op-
portunities presented themselves, would have been
a much greater, perhaps the very greatest man of his
time or nothing. We have always thought, and
always said, that he possessed wonderful but
dangerous faculties ; that he is a sort of warrior
Lord Brougham, though a much pleasanter fellow.
We do not mean to say that his lordship is not
a very pleasant man ; but still, after his public
avowal of his inability to play the courtier, he
will not consider us as libellous in saying, that
it is possible there may be pleasanter men, and
that our fine old admiral is one of them, though
we fear he will not take the comparison alto-
gether as a compliment.
We must resume our narrative in the next
volume.
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON :
IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY-STREET, STRAND.
