AY N
A MEMO IR OF HIS LIFE
E L I Z A B E T H R E I D
H I D S WI OW.
A D W EY WARD ND O N ,
2 R R EE CO V N G R DEN NDO N 1 YO K E O . , ST T, T A , L
1690. PRINTED BY
- - K ELLY A co . LE LL K ST O N THA ES ND , MIDD MI , ING ON M ; ’ A ATE STREET L L S F EL S . W . C ND G , INCO N INN I D , T O
LE S LLIV N T C H A R O A ,
IN T OK EN O F
H IS DEVOTION T O
N E M A Y R E I D .
5 2 1 1 4 3
C O N T E N T S .
HA A E C P . P G — ARLY L E RAT T o ER A E AR I E F . . . I EMIG ION AM IC DG ALLEN POE
—THE EX A WA R II . M IC N
— HT EX III . FIG ING IN M ICO I —THE SSA LT CHA LTE E V . A U ON PU P C
V—H E S M R E AS EA . I OU N D D D
V — AY E E RE A S EX —C TE RARY L M N R ID M IN IN M ICO . ON MPO NOTICES IN THE UNITED S TATES — WH O WAS F RST T CHA LTE E ". VII . I IN O PU P C
—H E SEEK S T A THE EV L T ARY TAT S VIII . O ID R O U ION AGI ION IN E UROPE
I — H S F RST A ES X . I I ROM NC
—K SS TH THE TI ES X . O U . M .
XI THE CA TA A H S CH L FE . P IN ND I I D WI
II —B RICXS A MRTAR X . ND O
—NE XIII . W YORK
—CL S S E ES XIV. O ING C N
—D F ATT’S E S E E — RESS T ES XV . ONN I R MINI C NC . P NO IC
APPENDIX LIS TO FMAYNE RE/D’S PRINCIPALWORKS .
N O VE LS N D B O Y S ’ B O O K S A . I R R A . D S OM THE R FLE NGE S THE E ERT H E . T H E A P . B O Y R S SC L HUNTERS THE HUNTE . R ’S A . O VO A THE HUNTE FE ST THE Y UNG Y GEURS . W I I O R S XI THE H TE CH EF . THE F E T E LES . AD ROO B B YS . THE "U N . THE USH O
WAR RAI . O A THE T L THE Y UNG Y GERS . A B OOD O O A P A THE H LF L ( CE L ) . THE L NT HUNTERS . WI D R I IM B THE L HUNT ESS . THE CL FF CL ERS . WOOD A R . A A WA O A THE R NGE S R N Y T SE . I R . O A WAI THE T GE HUNTER THE CE N FS . RI A I B A O Y . THE GUE LL CH EF . THE T R M T E AROON . B R IN ; OR T E RAND B EAR H U , H G
O OR . L ST LEN E HUNT . W I A ODD P OP THE H TE G UNTLET . E LE . A S A D O M T H E B O Y AV . THE HE LE S H RSE N . SL ES O R A . A OA I O THE L NE NCHE FL T N THE F REST . I R O A I A THE F NGE F F TE . THE G R FFE HUNTERS . I I D W . A A O D THE CH L FE THE F T L C R . A I THE DE TH SHOT . THE WH TE S"UAW . A O DI A P A A O THE FL G F STRESS . G S R , THE G UCH . R A O M AI O . THE F EE L NCES . THE L ST UNT N W I ' ‘ A . A C F LE V AI H N GWEN YNN THE CH SE .
A . A I NO "U RTER THE L N D OF F RE .
MAY E REI MEMOIR OF N D.
CHAPTER
L L . M N T A EAR Y IFE E IGRATIO O AMERIC . G ALL N P O E ED AR E .
m o f M To ost the world , Captain ayne Reid
is known only as a writer o f thrilling
n romances and works on atural history .
It Will appear in these pages that he Was also distinguished as a man of action and
a soldier , and the record of his many
gallant dee ds should still further endear
to o f him the hearts his readers .
n He was bor in the north of Ireland ,
1 8 18 . in April , , at Ballyroney , co Down ,
the eldest son of the Rev . Thomas Mayne
Reid , Presbyterian minister , a man of great E O M M IROF MAYNE REID .
i earni ng an d abl li ty His mother was the
daughter of the Rev . Samuel Rutherford , a descendant of the hot and hasty Rutherford ” mentioned in Sir Walter
’ ” Scott s Marmion .
’ One o f Mayne Reid s frequent eX p r es s io n s was I have all the talent o f the Reids
” and all the deviltry of the Rutherfords . He certainly may be said to have inherited
“ at least th e hot and hasty temper
’ f fo r of his mother s amily , his father ,
the Rev . Thomas Mayne Reid , was of a
most placid disposition , much beloved by
n l his parishio ers , and a favourite a ike with t Catholics and Protestan s . It used to be
“ said of him by the peasantry , Mr . Reid
is s o polite he would b o w to the ducks . Several daughters had been born to
them before the advent of their first son .
h He was christened T omas Mayne , but in O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID.
'
. R after life dropped the Thomas , and as
known only as Mayne Reid . Other sons
w as and daughters followed , but Mayne the only o n e destined to figure in the
’ world s history .
Young Mayne Reid early evinced a taste
ar for w . When a small boy he was often found running barefooted along the road
to after a drum and fife band , greatly his
’ mother s dismay . She chided him , saying ,
“ What will the folks think to see Mr
’ 9 Reid s s o n going about like this To .
“ ’ u which young Mav e replied , I don t
’ ” I d rather be Mr . Drum than Mr . Reid . It was the ardent wish of both parents that their eldest son S hould enter the
an d Church ; , at the age of sixteen , Mayne Reid was sent to college to pre pare for the ministry of the Presbyterian
’ b u t w a s Church , after four years study , it 4 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
found that his inclinations were altogether
s opposed to thi calling . He carried o ff
a prizes in mathematics , cl ssics , and elo
c uti o n ; distinguished himself in all athletic
sports ; anything but theology . It is
recorded , on one occasion when called
k upon to ma e a prayer , he utterly failed ,
fe w breaking down at the first sentences .
“ ’ It was called by his fellow- students Reid s
” wee prayer . Captain Mayne Reid has been heard to
“ s a t y, My mo her would rather have had
me settle down as a minister , on a stipend o f one hundred a year , than know me to
f be the most amous man in history .
The good mother co uld never under
’ stand her eldest son s ambition ; but S h e
a s w happy in seeing her second son , John
f Cl o skilt succeed his ather as pastor of ,
l Drumgo o an d . R N 5 MEMOI OF MAY E REID .
1 8 10 In the month of January , , Mayne
Reid first set foot in the new w orld
e landing at Ne w Orleans . We quot his
“ o w n Wol ‘ ds ' Like other striplings escaped
from college , I was no longer happy at
Th e fo r w as home . yearning travel upon
me , and without a sigh I beheld the hills o f my native land sink behind the black
ld waves , not much caring whether I shou
” ever see them again .
d Soon after landing, he thus expresse
S ho w s e t himself, howing little store he upon his classical training as a stock- I n trade upon which to begin the battle of
“ life : And one of my earliest surprises one that met me on the very threshold of fi my Transatlantic e xi s te n c e w a s the dis c o ve r v o w n of my utter u selessness . I could
‘ h point to my desk and say , T ere lie the proofs of my erudition ; the highest prizes “ (5 MEMOIR O I MAYNE REID .
Of ’ my college class . But of what use are they " The dry theories I had been taught h ad no application to the purposes of real
life . My logic was the prattle of the parrot .
’ My c l assi c lore lay upon my mind like l umber ; and I was altogether about as — Well prepared to struggle with life to
fi - m b ene t either my fellow men or yself
a s if I . had graduated in Chinese mnemo
An d " r f nics , oh ye pale p o essors , who d i n rilled me syntax and scansion , ye would deem me ungrateful indeed we re I to give utterance to the contempt and indignation which I then felt for ye ;
I b then , when looked ack upon ten years of wasted eXi st en c e spent under your
tutelage ; then , when , after believing
myself an educated man , the illusion
vanished , and I awoke to the knowledge
that I knew nothing . O F E MEMOIR MAYN REID .
’ We shall not here follow Mayne Reid through the ever varying scenes of this
— l t period his ife in Louisiana , encoun ers
uff on the prairies with b aloes , grizzly
n ' - bears , and India s on the war path with their trophies of scalps ; his excursions with trappers and I ndians up the Red — River , the Missouri , and Platte for all
of these are embodied in his w ritings
h h w ich contain more reality t an romance .
Mayne R eid tried his hand at various o c c u
atio n s t e p , both in h civilized and uncivilized
n life of the e w world . For a brief space he was “ storekeeper
” and nigger driver , then tutor in the family
n . of Judge Peyto Robertson , of Tennessee
r o f Soon ti ing this , he set up a school of
his own in the neighbourhood , erecting a
o w n wooden building as school house , at his
n w as expe se . He very popular as a teacher , 8 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . but hunting in the backwoods being more to
o f f his taste , he soon went in quest resh
sport .
t w a At Cincinna i , Ohio , by y of a
change , he j oined a company of strolling
v t players , but ery soon convinced himself hat
- play acting was not his forte . This little
episode in his life , the gallant Captain was anxious to keep from the knowledge of his
f . amily in Ireland They, strict Presbyterians
d - as they were , looke upon play actors as
l w almost lost to the evi one . Ho ever , the
fact got into print some years later .
O f all his varied adventures , the Captain would never tell us o f his failure in this one
O f w o n line business , though he would d ell his talent as storekeeper and schoolmaster
Betw een the years 1 842 and 1 846 w e hea r
O f him as a poet, ne wspaper correspondent
th , and editor . In e autumn of 1 842 Mayne
1 O F 0 MEMOIR MAYNE REID . asso ciation extending over a period of t w o years; He was then a reputed poet ; I only
an humble admirer of the Muses . But it is not of his poetic talent I here
n h a d inte d to speak . I never myself a very — exalted Opinion o f it more especially as I knew that the poem upon which rest s the head corner- stone O f his fame is not the
d o f creation of E gar Allen Poe , but Elizabeth
B t B ‘ ’ arret rowning . In Lady Geraldine s
’ Courtship , you will find the original of
‘ ' ’ Th e Rave n I mean the tune , the softly
‘ flowing measure , the imagery and a good many of the words—even to the ‘ rustling
’ of the soft and silken curtain .
This does not seem like defending - the
h i f a s a oet i s . s dead poet , nor , p , de ence
intended . I could do it better were I to
speak of his prose , which for classic diction and keen analytic power has not been sur MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 1 1
passed in the republic of letters . Neither t o
t speak of his poetry , or his prose , have I aken
b ut i n up the pen ; of what is , my opinion , of much more importance than either—his
moral character . Contrary to my estimate , the world believes him to have been a great poet ; and there are fe w w h o will question his
transcendent talents as a writer of prose . But the world also believes him to have been a blackguard ; and there are but fe w who
e e m to dissent from this doctrine .
“ I am one of this fe w ; and I shall give
d - m my reasons , rawing them from y own
knowledge of the man . In attempting to rescue his maligned memory from the clutch
to of calumniators , I have no design re present Edgar Allen Poe as a model of what
man ought to be , either morally or socially . I desire to obtain for h im only strict j ustice
and if this be accorded , I have no fear that 12 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . those according it will continue to regard him as the monster he has been hitherto
a s depicted . R ther may it be that the hideou garment Will be transferred from his to the
shoulders o f his hostile biographer . When I first became acquainted with Poe he was living in a suburban district o f Phila
‘ ’ delphia , called Spring Garden . I have not
w been there for t enty years , and , for aught
i n o f I know, it may now be the centre that
n progressive city . It was the a quiet resi
dential neighbourhood , noted as the chosen
quarter of the Q uakers .
“ Poe was no Quaker ; but , I remember
- well , he was next door neighbour to one .
And in this wise : that while the wealthy
c o - religionist of William Penn dwelt in a
f - splendid our story house , built of the beau
tiful coral- coloured bricks for which Phila
delphia is celebrated , the poet lived in a O F R MEMOIR MAYNE EID . 13 lean- to of three rooms—there may have — been a garret with a closet o f painted
n th plank constructio , supported against e
gable of the more pretentious dwelling.
If I remember aright , the Quaker was
’ a dealer in cereals . He was also Poe s
r landlord ; and , I think , ather looked down upon the poet—though not from any
o f f question character , but simply rom his being fool enough to figure as a scribbler
and a poet .
In this humble domicile I c an say that I have spent some of th e pleasantest hours of my life—certainly some of the
most intellectual . They were passed in the company of the poet himself and his wife
a lady angelically beautiful in perso n
S and not less beautiful in pirit . No one
r — who remembers that da k eyed , dark — haired daughter of Vi rgi ni a her own 14 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID . — name , if I rightly remember her grace ,
her facial beauty , her demeanour , so modest as to be remarkable—no one who has e ver spent an hour in her company but will
r e endorse what I have above said . I
member how we , the friends of the poet ,
used to talk of her high qualities . And
when we talked of her beauty , I well
knew that the rose - tint upon her cheek
t o o . was bright , too pure to be of earth It was consumption ’s colour— that sadly beautiful light which beckons to an early
- In the little lean to , besides the poet
b ut and his interesting wife , there was
w one other d eller . This was a woman of
middle age , and almost masculine aspect .
ma n She had the size and figure of a ,
with a countenance that , at first sight
n seemed scarce feminine . A stra ger would E MEMOIR OF MAYNE R ID . 15
— u have been incredulous s rprised , as I was—when introduced to her as the mother of that angelic creature who . had accepted Edgar Poe as the partner of her
llf ' 8 .
“ Such was the relationship ; and w hen
you came to know this woman better ,
the masculinity of her person . disappeared before the truly feminine nature of her mind ; and you saw before you a type of those grand American mothers—such as existed in the days When block - houses had
- to be defended , bullets run in red hot
a n d un s saucepans , g loaded for sons and
husbands to fire them . Just such a — — woman was the mother in l aw of the poet
Poe . If not called upon to defend her home and family against the assaults of
d w a s a the In ian savage , she gainst that
as ruthless , as Implacable , and almost as 16 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
ffi di cult to repel She was the
— r o f the ever vigilant gua dian house , watch
ing it against the silent but continuous
o f c sap ne essity , that appeared every day
to be approaching closer and nearer .
She was the sole servant , keeping every
thing clean ; the sole messenger , doing
the errands , making pilgrimages between
the poet and his publishers , frequently bringing back such chilling responses as
‘ ’ ‘ The article not accepted , or , The cheque n o t to be given until such and such a
— fo r day often too late his necessities .
And she was also messenger to the
n market ; from it bringi g back , not the
‘ ’ delicacies of the season , but only such commodities as were called fo r by the
dire exigencies of hunger .
“ And yet w ere there s ome delicacies . I
n h o w shall ever forget , when peaches
18 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
d association with E gar Allan Poe , I found
f in him the ollowing phases of character , accomplishment and disposition
“ First : I discovered rare genius ; not at
” e all of the po tic order , not even of the
c f fan i ul , but far more of a practical kind , shown in a power of analytic reasoning
fe w such as men possess , and which would have made h im the finest detective police
r V man in the wo ld . idocq would have
e n e tb e a simpleton besid him .
“ Secondly : I encountered a s cholar of — T are accomplishments especially skilled in
N the lore of orthern Europe , and more imbued with it than with the southern and
strictly classic . How he had drifted into
B ut this sp e c i alitv I never knew . he had
it in a high degree , as is apparent through
w n out all his riti gs , some of which read
’ like an echo of the Scandinavian Sagas . MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 19
Thirdly : I felt . myself in c o mmuni c a
tion with a man of original character , disputing many of the received doctrines and dogmas o f the day ; but only original
far in so as to dispute them , altogether. regardless of consequences to himself or
u the mbrage he gave to his adversaries .
“ Fourthly : I s aw before me a man to whom vulgar rumour had attributed those personal graces supposed to attract the
admiration o f women . This is the usual description given o f him in biographical
sketches . And why , I cannot tell , unless
‘ it has been done to round o ff a piquant
paragraph . His was a face purely intel
lectual . Women might admire it , thinking of this ; but it is doubtful if many o f
them ever fell , or could have fallen , in
" love with the man to whom it belonged .
’ I don t think many ever did . It was . E O F 20 M MOIR MAYNE REID . enough fo r o ne man to be beloved by one
' S u ch woman as he had for his wife .
“ Fifthly : I feel satisfied that Edgar Allan
n o t h re re Poe was , what his slanderers ave p
t . w was sen ed him , a rake I kno he not ;
n but in truth the very opposite . I have bee
his c ompanion in one or tw o o f his wildest f ' f h rolics , and can certi y that t ey never went
beyond the innocent mirth in which we all indulge when Bacchus gets the better of
s u . With him the jolly god sometimes — played fantastic tricks to th e stealing aw ay
his brain , and sometimes , too , his hat leaving him to walk bareheaded through
the streets at an hour when the sun shone
n too clearly on his crow , then prematurely
bald . “ While acknowledging this as one of
’ P f n c an o f oe s aili gs , I speak truly its not
n n being habitual ; o ly occasional , and draw E O F M MOIR MAYNE REID . 21 — out by some accidental circumstance n o w disappoin tment ; now th e co ncurrence of a
social crowd , whose flattering friendship
might lead to champagne , a single glass of which used to affect him so much that he was hardly any longer responsible for his
actions , or the disp osal of his hat .
“ ’ I have ch ronicled the poet s crimes all
k b e i n that I ever new him to guilty of, and ,
t deed , all that can be hones ly alleged against
him ; though m any call him a monster . It
is time to say a word of his virtues . I could expatiate upon these far beyond the space left me ; or I might sum them up in a single sentence by saying that he was n o worse and
no better than most other men .
“ I have known him to be fo r a whole — month closeted in his o w n house the little
’ ‘ shanty S upported against the gable of the — rich Quaker all the time hard a t work 22 O F Y MEMOIR MA NE REID .
with his pen , poorly paid , and hard driven
to keep the wolf from his slightly- fastened
t o n fe w s door , in ruded only by a select friend ,
who always found him , what they knew him
h ff e to be , a generous ost , an a ectionat son
in - h t law and husband ; in s ort , a respec able
gentleman .
h as In the list of literary men , there
been no such Spiteful biographer as Dr . Rufus
e t Griswold , and n ver such a victim of pos hu
” mous spite as poor Edgar Allan Poe . Mayne Reid left Philadelphia in the spring
1 84 6 N of , spending the summer at ewport ,
n a s N e w Rhode Isla d , correspondent to the
“ ” Yor k H era ld E l i r c o e . , under the name of In September of the same year he was in
’ New York,and had secured a post on Wilkes
S i r it o the Ti mes N p f , but in ovember he
’ n abando ed the pen for the sword . The following extract from a letter of O F R E 2 MEMOIR MAYNE ID . 3 Mayne Reid to his father tells something of his life in Philadelphia
Headquarters , U . S . Army
“ o f City Mexico ,
“ 20th 1 4 8 8 . January ,
“ Can I expect that my silence fo r several years will be pardoned " When I last wrote you I made a determination that our cor
h respondence , on my side at least , s ould cease until I had made myself worthy of con tinuin g that correspondence . Since then cir c um stan c es have enabled me to take rank — among men to prove myself not unworthy
of that gentle blood from which I am sprung .
O h h o w , my heart beats at the renewal of
— rn f l those tender ties pate al , raterna , filial affection ; those golden chains o f the heart
S O . long, so sadly broken
If I mistake not , my last letter to you 24 E O O F M M IR MAYNE REID . w a s f written in the city o Pittsburgh . I w as then o n my way from the West to the
o f f cities the Atlantic . Shortly a ter I reached
h for m Philadelp ia , where a while y wild
n wa derings ceased . In this city I devoted
o f tw o myself to literature , and for a period or three years earned a scanty but honour
able subsistence with my pen . My g enius ,
unfortunately for my purse , was not of that marketable class which prostitutes itself to
M fo r the low literature o f the day . y love tame literature enabl ed me to remain poor
u if w — aye , even obsc re , you ill though I have the consolation o f knowing that there are t o f understandings , and hose , too , a
high order , who believe that my capabilities
if in this field are not surpassed , equalled ,
' by any writer o n this continent . This is
th e under - current of feeli n g regarding me in
- am: the United States the current , I happy to
26 E O F M MOIR MAYNE REID .
t quen ly sent you papers and magazines ,
s containing my production , generally , I
‘ l th e 720 m cl e lume be ieve , under p of The
’ Poor Scholar . Have these missiles ever
" d for reached you As I have sai , three or four years I struggled on through this
o f life literature , and amid the charlatanism and quackery of the age I found I must
descend to the everyday nothings of th e
d aily press . I edited , corresponded , became
disgusted . The war broke out w ith Mexico . I flung down the pen and took up the
w e w s ord . I entered the regiment of N
Y 2n d ork Volunteers as a lieutenant , and sailing
The letter is torn here and the r e
maining portion has unfortunately been lost . The regiment in which Mayne Reid Obtained a commission was th e l st New York Vo l un O E MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 27
t Ne w teers , the first regimen raised York
War for the Mexican , and of which Ward
n B . Burnett was colo el . Mayne Reid sailed
1 846 fo r with his regiment in December , ,
Vera Cruz . CHAPTER II .
E C THE M XI AN WAR .
S IIO RTLY before his death Captain Mayn e Reid conceived the idea of publishing his
t recollec ions of the Mexican war , and had commenced to roughly sketch out tw o or three
“ ” chapters entitled Mexican W ar Memories . From these the following account in his own
words is taken . The ink was scarcely dry on the last pages when he took to the bed
n from which he ever more arose .
“ o f 1 84 7 During the first months , the look- o u t sentinel stationed on the crenated
’ parapet o f S an Juan d Ullo a must have seen an array of ships unusual in numbers fo r
that coast , so little frequented by mariners O F 5 MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 1 9 equally unusual in the kind of craft and the
n men on board . For , in additio to the half—score ships flying the flags of different
nations , some at anchor close to the Castle ,
ri fii r S ac c o s some unde the lee of Isle , there
s r t ff was a tream of other c af out in the o ing ,
n as sin or not at anchor or lyi g to , but p coast
u wise p and down , beyond the most distant range of cannon shot : craft of every size
and speciality , schooners , brigs , barques and
- - t ZOO - square rigged three mas ers , from a ton
S loop to a ship of as many thousands . No t
o f armed vessels either , though every one them was loaded to the water - line either with armed and uniformed men or the ma
terial s of w ar ; in the large ones a whole
o f in regiment soldiers , the less , half a regi
th e ment , a consort ship containing other
half, and in some but two or three companies ,
all they were capable of accommodating . 30 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
Some carried cavalrymen with their horses , others artillerymen with their mounts and
batteries , while a large number were but laden with the senseless material of war
f t tents , waggons , the e fec s coming under the head O f commissariat and quartermaster
No t stores . one out of twenty of these vessels
- - r was an actual man o f w a . But one might be seen leading and guiding a group of the
others , as if their convoy to some known
- pre arranged destination . Just this were they
- doing , escorting the transport ships to their
- anchorage pre determined .
“ Tw o such anchorages were there , quite
f thirty miles apart rom one another , though in the diaphanous atmosphere of the Vera Cruz coast a bird of eagle eye soaring mid
way between could command a view of both .
The one northernmost was the Isle o f Lobos ;
that south , Punta Anton Lizardo . To the O F E MEMOIR MAYN REID . 31
th first I shall take e reader, as to it I w as
fi . rst taken myself
“ Lobos Islet lies O ff the Vera Cruz
coast , opposite the town of Tuxpan , and
. m about two miles It is of circular for ,
and , if I remember rightly, about a half
mile in diameter . Its availability as an anchorage comes from a surrounding of coral
s reefs , with a gap in its northern ide that
admits S ll l p S Into water the breakers cannot
Ch iefl disturb . y is it a harbour of refuge
against the dreaded norther of the Caribbean
e coast , and a vessel caught in one of th se
might run for it ; but not likely , unless her papers were not presentable to the Vera
Cruz custom house . If they were , the
rifiio s S a c c an d shelter under would be safer ,
c o n trab an easily reached . In later times the dista is the man who has most availed himself
of the advantages of Lobos , and in times 32 E O F E M MOIR fiMAYN REID . more remote the lib us ter s ; the Tuxpan fishermen also occasionally beach their boats
upon it . But that neither buccaneer , smug
l er g , nor fisherman had frequented it lately , we had proof given us at landing on its shore
by its real denizens , the birds . These several species of sea - fowl—were so tame they fl e w screaming ove r the heads of the
soldiers , so close that many were knocked
h down by their muskets . They became S y
enough anon . “ We found the island covered all over with a thick growth o f chapp a ra l ; it could
not be called forest , as the tallest of the trees was but some fifteen or t wen ty feet
i in height . The species were var ed , most
o f of them true tropical character , and amongst them was one that attracted general
' ’ attention as being the india- rubber tre e f
Whether it was the true s ip /i oni ca ela stica
34 O F Y E D MEMOIR MA N REI .
& &c n f c . . O e o Pennsylvania , , the obj ects in this debarkation w as to give these n ew regi
a fo r ments n opportunity drilling , such as the
f time might permit , be ore making descent u n B ut po the Mexican coast . there was no
- w e s aw drill ground there , as as soon as we — set foot on shore no t enough o f open space
to parade a single regiment in line , unless it
f were formed along the ribbon o beach .
n d o f f w O iscovery this want , there ollo ed
i t—ia instant action to supply curious scene , hundreds o f uniformed men plying axe and
n ff chopper , hewing and cutti g , even the O icers with their sabres slashing away at the chap p a ra l o f Lobos Island : a scene of great a c tivity and not without interludes of amuse
n ow ment , as and then a snake , scorpion , or
f lizard , dislodged rom its lair and attempt
o f ing escape , drew a group relentless
enemies around it . M O F R ME OIR MAYNE EID . 35
“ ‘
. w a s In fine , enough surface cleared fo r
- camp and parade ground . Then up went
’ ’ - ffir o c e s soldiers bell tents and marquees , in
company rows and regimental , each regiment
occupying its allotted ground . “ The old buccaneers may have caroused
in Lobos , but never could they have been
r me rier than we , nor had they ampler
fo r means promoting cheer , even though
f resting there a ter a successful raid . Both our sutlers and the skippers of our trans
a n port ships , with keen eye to conti gencies , were well provided with stores of the fancy sort ; many the champagne cork had its
wire fastenings cut on Lobos , and probably n o w b f an , in that are isle , would be ound array o f empty bottles lying half buried
in the sand . Any one curious about the life we led on Lobos Island will find some detailed de 36 E D MEMOIR OF MAYN REI .
scrip tion of it in a book I h ave written called
’ n The Rifle Ra gers , given to the public as a
fo r t romance , yet all more of a reali y .
O ur bu t n n soj ourn there was brief, e di g
f n in a ortnight or so , still it may have do e
something to help out the design fo r which
it was made . It got several regiments o f h — ’ green soldiers t rough the goose step , and
o f better still , taught them the ways camp
and campaigning life .
—A f f Mems . right rom threatened small
u pox , tro ble with insects , scorpions and little
o f crabs . Also curious case lizard remain
ing on my tent ridge pole fo r days withou t
’ o w moving . N onder at Shakespeare s Chame
’ f n leon eedi g on air Amusements , stories , a n d songs ; mingling of mariners w ith
N soldiers . orther j ust after landing, well
p rotected under Lobos .
“ a R de Vera Cr uz l a Vill ica. (the O M N D 3 MEM IR OF AY E REI . 7
r w rich city of the True C oss) , vie ed from
n im the sea , prese ts a picture unique and
n viv idl m th e posi g . It v re inded me of
’ vig nette engravings O f cities in G oldsmith s
O ld r m geography , f om which I got y earliest
lessons about foreign lands . And j us t as
’ they were bordered by the engraver s
u lines , so is Vera Cr z embraced by an
n t l t e cei n e of wall . For it is a wal ed ci y
O f without suburbs , scarce a building any kind beyond the parapet and fosse engirdling
. R S it oughly peaking , its ground plan is
- dia a half circle , having the sea shore for
n o t — meter , this more than three quarters of
a mile in length . There is no beach or strand intervening between the houses and
the sea; the former overlooking the latter , an d protected from its wash by a break
water buttress .
The architecture is altogether unlike that 38 E O O F M M IR MAYNE REID .
o f an American or English seaport o f similar
size . Substantially massive , yet full of grace
‘ o f ful lines , most the private dwellings are
o f - fl at- the Hispano Moriscan order , roofed and
ara ette d p p , while the public buildings ,
th e r chiefly chu ches , display a variety of
d omes , towers and turrets worthy of Inigo
Jones or Christopher Wren . “ From near the centre of the semicircle a Mu ello pier or mole , El , proj ects about a
y hundred ards into the sea , and on this all
n a l visiti g voy gers have to make anding , as
’ a t its inner end stands the custom house
' a dua na : o n i sl e t o r ( ) Fronting this an , rather
f a ree of coral rocks , stands the fortress
’ d Ull o a o fl a castle of San Juan , shore bout
a quarter of a mile . It is a low structure
with the u sual c ar amit e coverings and cre
n ate d parapet , surmounted by a watch and
fl - ag tower . I O F E MEMO R MAYN REID . 39 The anchorage near it is neither good no r m th e a ple , better being found under lee
rifii a l S ac c o s of , a sm ll treeless islet ying south
fo r of it nearly a league , and, luckily us ,
’ Ull o a s beyond the range of guns , as also those of a fort at the southern extremity o f the city .
Hundreds o f ship s may ride there in
f u h f sa ety , tho g not so many nor so sa e as
t n a . Anton Lizardo Perhaps ever so many , n or of such varied kind , were brought to
th 1 47 9 8 . under it as on March ,
“ o f The surf boats are worthy a word , as without them our beaching would have
f n im o s been di ficult and da gerous , if not p
sible . They were of the whale boat speciality ,
tw o . and , as I remember , of sizes The larger
l tw o were bui t to carry hundred men , the
l h o f sma ler alf this number . Most them were brought to Anton Lizardo in two large O R A I 40 MEM I OF M YNE RE D .
a e vessels , and so h stily had th y been built
and dispatched , that there had not been
"
time to paint them , all appearing in that
pale slate colour known to painters as the
n priming coa t . Of course one had any
e n . d cki g , only the thwarts
“ The commander- i n - chief had made r e
isiti o n 1 50 u q for of these boats , tho gh
only sixty - nine arrived at Anton Lizardo
in time to serve the purpose they were i n
f r tended o .
“ The capture of Vera Cruz was a n event
alike creditable to the army and navy o f
fo r the United States , both bore part in it ; and creditable not only on account of t h e
courage displayed , but the strategic skill .
w as h cou s w It , in trut , one of those p in hich boldness was backed up by intelligence eve n
w to cunning , this last especially sho n in the w a ff y we e ected a landing .
42 O F M E MEMOIR AYN REID . with streams of men backing down the man
ropes and taking seat in them . These men were
soldiers in uniform an d full marching order .
Knapsacks strapped on , haversacks filled and
t . slung , car ouche box on hip , and gun in hand In perfect order was the transfer made from
h s ip to boat , and , when in the boats , each com pany had its own place as on a parade
h ground . W ere it was a bo at that held
m f two co panies , one occupied the orward
f thwarts , the other the stern , their our
ffi— o c ers captain , first lieutenant , second and brevet conforming to their respective
places .
“ But there were other than soldiers in
n o f the boat , each havi g its complement
sailors from the ships .
“ A gun from th e ship that carried our commander - in - chief gave the signal for
f departure rom Punta Anton Lizardo , and D MEMOIR OF MAYNE REI . 43
e : n whil its boom was still reverberati g , ship
h after ship was seen to spread sail ; t en ,
h one after anot er , under careful pilotage , slipped out through th e roadway of the
fo r coral reef, steaming up coast straight
Vera Cruz , the doomed city . ,
“ u While sweeping p the coast , I can per fe c tl f l y remember what my own ee ings were , and h o w much I admired the strategy o f
m the ovement . Who should get credit for
Bu t it I cannot tell . I can hardly think that
’ Winfield Scott s w a s the head that planned
i this enterpr se , my after experience with this man guiding me to regard him as a soldier
— in incapable short , such as late severe critics
‘ ’ ‘ s have called him , fus and feathers . The hasty plate of soup was then ringing around
his name . Whoever planned it is deserving
of great praise . Its ingenuity , misleading our
m enemy , lay in aking the latter believe that MEM O F ID 44 OIR MAYNE RE . we Intended to make landing at Anton
f Lizardo . Hence all his disposable orce that
could be spared from the garrison o f Vera
Cruz was there to oppose us . And when our ships hastily drew in anchor and went straight
a t for Vera Cruz , as hawks unprotected
quarry , these detached garrison troops saw
‘ the mistake they had made . The coast road from Vera Cruz to Anton Lizardo is cut by
u n merous streams , all bridgeless . To cross them safely needed taking many a roundabout — route so m any that the swiftest horse could n o t reach Vera Cruz so soon a s our slo w est
m ship , and we were there before the . We did not aim to enter the port nor come within
t range of its defending bat eries , least of all
’ o f d Ull o a o f those San Juan . The islet Sacri
fii s c o , about a league from the latter , whose
n ff n souther end a ords shelteri g anchorage , was the point we aimed at ; and there our O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 45
i l r m sce laneous flotilla became concent ated ,
some of the ships dropping anchor , others
remaining adrift . Then the beaching boats ,
O ff casting hawsers , were rowed straight for
o ff. the shore , some half mile A shoal strand
’ w it was , here a boat s keel touched bottom
dr long before reaching y land . That in
w a s m which I did so , and well do I reme ber how myself and comrades at once sprang o ver
o ut the gunwales , and , waist deep , waded to
- the sand strewn shore . — There we encountered no enemy nothing
to obstruct us . All the antagonism we met with or s aw was a stray shot or tw o from some long- range guns mounted on the parapet
of the most southern fort of the city . But we had no w our feet sure planted on the soil of Mexico CHAPTER III .
FIGHTING IN MEXICO .
I GIVE n o w some accounts written by Mayne
Reid o f the various engagements of the
American army in Mexico . Some of these
f o f were written rom the seat war , and others
subsequently .
The capture of Vera Cruz was an afl ai r o f f artillery . The city was bombarded o r several days by a semicircle o f batteries placed
upon the sandhills in its rear . It at length
d surrendered , and with it the celebrate castle
’ d llo a of San Juan U .
During the siege a fe w o f us wh o were fond of fighting found opportunities of being
shot at in the back country . The sandhills M ME OIR OF MAYNE REID . 47
: B resembling Murlock anks , only more exten — sive form a semicircle round Vera Cruz .
C The ity itself, compactly built , and of pic t ures ue l o w q appearance , stands upon a sandy
— — - plain semicircular , of course the sea shore
m being the boundary dia eter . Behind the h fo r d ills of sand , leagues inwar , extends a l o w f j ungly country , covered with the orests
f o . tropical America This , like all the coast
ti er ra ca liente lands of Mexico , is called the
u n (hot land) . This region is far from being
s inhabited . These thickets have their clearing
e o f and their cottag s , the latter the most temporary construction that may serve the wants o f man in a climate of almost perpetual summer There are also several villages
scattered through this part of the tier r a
ca li te en .
During the siege the inhabitants of these
cottages ( ra ti o/ ms ) and villages banded t o 4S E I O F NE M MO R MAY REID .
gether under the name ja rochos or guer
r i/ler os w to , but better kno n our soldiers by
t r unolzer os the general itle , and kept up a
desultory warfare in our rear , occasionally committing murders on straggling parties of
w f soldiers h o had wandered rom our lines .
Several expeditions were sent out agains t
’ in ifl r d e e nt . them , but with success I was
i n o f present many these expeditions , and
o f on one occasion , when in command about
o f uer thirty men , I fell in with a party g r iller os n n early a hundred stro g , routed
ft o f them , and , a er a straggling fight several
n hours , drove them back upon a stro g
d llin i t Me e . position . the village of In his skirmish I was fired at by from fifty to a
al hundred muskets and escopettes , and , though a t the distance o f not over tw o hun d f red yards , had the good ortune to escape
n bei g hit .
50 E O F E M MOIR MAYN REID . the left breast showed where the heart had
n n bee tor out , to satisfy the vengeance of
a an inhum n enemy . There were shot w ounds
w and s ord cuts all over the body , and other
s o v mutilation made by the zopilotes and w l es .
N otwithstanding all , it was recognized as
o f w h o that a brave young soldier , was
much esteemed by his comrades , and who fo r tw o days had been missing from the c amp . He had imprudently strayed beyond t h e o f f line pickets , and allen into the hands
’ o f uer r illeros the enemy s g . The men Would not pass on without giving to his mutilated remains the last rites
f O burial . There was neither spade nor
S h a d hovel to be ; but fixing bayonets , they
f n b o d dug up the tur , and depositi g the v,
gave it such sepulture as was possible . One
d who had been his bosom frien , cutting
a slip from a bay laurel close by , p lanted E M MOIR OF MAYNE REID . 5 1
‘ i t in the grave . The ceremony was per
i n formed deep silence , for they knew that
d they were on dangerous groun , and that a
S ingle shout or shot at that mome nt might
s fo r h ave been the ignal their destruction . “ I afterwards le arnt that this fiendish
a s o f act w partly due to a spirit retaliation .
One of the American soldiers , a very brutal f ellow, had shot a Mexican , a young Jarocho
w as i peasant , who seen near the roads de
n hi s choppi g some wood with machete . It
was an act of sheer wantonness , or for sport , j ust as a thoughtless boy might fire at a
l P bird to see whether he cou d kill it . ortu
n atel y the Mexican was not killed , but his elbow was shattered by the shot so badly
that the whole arm required amputation .
It was the wantonness o f the act that pro
vok e d retaliation ; and after this th e lee:
ta lionis r became common a ound Vera Cruz , 4—2 52 O F Y MEMOIR MA NE REID . and was practised in all its deadly severity
t l long af er the place was taken . Severa
n other America soldiers , straying thought
th e ff lessly beyond lines , su ered in the same
n f way, their bodies bei g ound mutilated in
a precisely similar manner . Strange to say ,
the man who was the cause o f this vengeance
o t became himself one of its victims . N
then , at Vera Cruz , but long afterwards , in
the Valley of Mexico ; and this was the
strangest p ar t of it . Shortly after the
r American a my entered the capital , his body was found in the canal of Las Vigas
‘ ’ alongside the Chinampas , or floating gar
all t dens , gashed over wi h wounds , made
by the knives of assassins , and mutilated just
m as the others had been . It ight have been
a mere coincidence , but it was supposed at
the time that the o n e o arm e d Jarocho must
f have ollowed him up , with that implacable MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 53
e spirit of vengeanc characteristic of his race , u h im had ntil at length , finding alone , he
completed his vendetta .
V a era Cruz being taken , we m rched for
. u N the interior P ente aciofinal , the next d stron g point , had been forti e , but th e
n i t f enemy , deemi g too weak , ell back upon
Cerro Gordo , another strong pass about
w f f t enty miles rom the ormer . Here they
n u were agai completely routed , altho gh num
r bering th ee times our force . In this action
I was cheated out of the opportunity o f
m having y name recorded , by the cowardice
m or imbecility of the maj or of y regiment , who on that day commanded the detachment
h of whic I formed part . In an early part
of th e action I discovered a large body of the enemy escaping through a narrow gorge
running down the face of a high precipice .
The force which this officer commanded h ad 54 M ME OIR OF MAYNE REID . been sufficient to have captured these
fugitives , but he not only refused to go f d f orwar , but refused to give me a su ficient
command to accomplish the obj ect . I learnt
f r - in a terwa ds that Santa Anna , commander
f o f th e i c chie Mex can army , had es aped
by this gorge .
r v Afte the ictory of Cerro Gordo , the
f army pushed orward to Jalapa , a fine vil
l - f age half way up the table lands . A ter a
h w e a s ort rest here gain took the road , and
n crossi g a spur of the Cordilleras , swept
o f over the plains Perote , and entered the
O f u f city P ebla . Yes , with a orce of
w e men , entered that great city , containing a population of at least The in habitants were almost paralyzed w ith as ‘ to nish me n t r ifitio n and m o t c a at seeing the
smallness of our force . The balconies , windows and house - tops were crowded with O F Y 5 MEMOIR MA NE REID . 5 spectators ; and there were enough men in the streets - had they been men—to have
stoned us to death . At Puebla we halted fo r reinforceme nts a period of about tw o
h mont s .
“ o f u 1 847 w e In the month A gust , , num
’ e fl e c ti ve bered about men , and leav
ing a small garrison here , with the remainder
— w e took the road for the capital . The city of Mexico lies about eighty miles
o f from Puebla . Half way , another spur the
l 0t f Andes must be crossed . O n the h o
w S August , ith an immense iege and baggage
- c train , we moved over these pine lad hills ,
and entered the Valley of Mexico . Here
halt was made for reconnaissance , which
lasted several days . The city stands in the middle of a marshy plain interspersed with
o r lakes , and is entered by eight roads cause
. w ways These were kno n to be fortified , 56 M O F E E EMOIR MAYN R ID .
but especially th at whic h leads through th e
a d gate San Laz ro , on the irect road to
a Puebl . This was covered by a strong work
n on the hill El Pi ol , and was considered by
l t Genera Sco t as next t o impregnable . To
’ to n o r th o r turn this , a wide diversion the
s n t outh was ecessary . The la ter was adopted ,
a n d an old road winding around Lake Chalco
— th e t through old own of that name , and
along the base of the so uthern mo untain
“ r — f idge was ound practicable .
“ f We took this road , and a ter a slow
m arch of four days our vanguard debouched
the N on great ational Road , which rounds southward from the city of Mexico to Aca
ul c o . p This road was also strongly fortified ,
and it was still further resolved to turn th e
fortifications on it by making more to the
n u t d u en as t . S a e C wes A gus in las , a village
fi ve leagues from Mexico on the National
58 M O F E E ME OIR MAYN R ID .
and shortly after sunrise we were at it again .
‘ In less than an hour that army O f the
’ ’ north , as Valencia s division was styled , being men of San Luis Potosi and other
northern States , the flower of the Mexican
i n f fo r the army , was scattered and ull flight
city of Mexico .
w as This army strong , backed by a reserve of more under Santa Anna
did himself . The reserve not act , owing ,
it was said , to some j ealousy between
t n Valencia and San a An a . In this battle w e captured a crowd of prisoners and
twenty seven pieces of artillery .
w e d w as The road , as suppose , now open
s to the city ; a great mi take , as the sharp skirmishes which our light troops e n c o un
r te e d as we advanced soon led us to believe .
All at once w e stumbled upon the main
e body of the en my , collected behind two 59 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . o f th e t stronges field works I have ever seen ,
h ru u s in a little village called C e b c o . “ The road to the village passed over a
l m smal strea spanned by a bridge , which was
i n f held orce by the Mexicans , and it soon
became evident that , unless something like a
flank movement were made , they would not
e d b dislodged . The bri ge was well fortified
f f and the army attacked ruitlessly in ront . General Shields ’ brigade was ordered to go round by the hacienda of Los Portales
and attack the enemy on the flank . They
got as far as the barns at Los Portales , but w n ould go no farther . They were bei g shot
down by scores , and the men eagerly sought shelter behind walls or wherever else it could
B B be found . Colonel Ward . urnett made a desperate attempt to get the companies
r i t togethe , but was unsuccessful , and he
l w u himself fel , badly o nded . 6 0 R O F D MEMOI MAYNE REI .
The situation h ad become very critical . I was in command of the Grenadier Com
a Ne w V p ny of York olunteers , and saw that a squadron o f Mexican l ancers w ere
t o getting ready charge , and knew that if they came on while the flanking party fiwere in such a state of disorganization the n ght would end in a rout . O the other
if hand , we charged on them , the chances were the enemy would give way and
run In any case , nothing could be worse than the present state of inaction and
l s aughter .
“ The lieutenant - colonel o f the South — n t B . Caroli a Volunteers heir colonel , utler
fild e having been wounded , was not on the w as carrying the bl ue palmetto flag of the
regiment . I cried out to him
“ ‘ Colonel , will you lead the men on a ch arge 9 R 0 MEMOIR OF MAYNE EID . 1
B r efore he could answer , I hea d some
thing snap , and the colonel fell , with one
h S leg broken at t e ankle by a hot . I took
ffi the flag , and as the wounded o cer was
n o ff bei g carried the field , he cried
t . Maj or Gladden , ake the flag Captain
r Lo un de s Blanding , remember Moult ie , and old Charleston "’
men Hurrying back to my , reaching
them on the extreme right , I rushed on in
‘ o f : front the line , calling out Soldiers , will you follow me to the charge "’
’ Ve vill l H a u shouted Corporal p , a
n Swiss . The order to charge being give ,
w e away went , the Swiss and John Murphy ,
n r a brave Irishman , bei g the first two afte — their leader myself. “ The Mexicans seeing cold steel coming
towards them with such gusto , took to their heels and made for the splendid road leading 62 M N D ME OIR OF MAY E REI . to ff u n the city of Mexico , which o ered
f r h equalled opportunities o flig t . “ A broad ditch intervened between the highway and the field across which we were
h n o t c arging . Thinking this was very deep ,
as it was covered with a green scum , I
plunged into it . It took me nearly up to
all ‘ c o ve re d the armpits , and I struggled out
with slime and mud . The men avoided my
mishap , coming to the road by a dryer but
more roundabout path . “ As we got on the road Captain Phil
Kearn ey came thundering over the bridge
his n o n with compa y , all mounted dappled
greys . The gallant P hil had a weakness
d for appled greys . As they approached
: B I sang out oys , have you breath
' enough left to give a Cheer fo r C ap tain Kearney "’
“ Phil acknowledged th e compliment with M EMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 63
w a wave of his s ord , as he went swinging by towards the works the enemy had thrown
up across this road . Just as he reached
l a t this spot , the recal bugle sounded , and that moment Kearney received the shot that
cost him an arm .
o f Disregarding the bugle call , we the
r infantry kept on , when a ride came tearing
u u . p , calling pon us to halt
’ ‘ fo r " What I cried .
‘ ’ ’ General Scott s orders .
’ w as m We shall rue this halt , y re
‘ mer c w e j oinder . The city is at our v ;
d ’ an . can take it now , should
“ t - B Lieu Colonel axter , then in command
O f Ne w the York Volunteers , called out
’ “ ‘ For God s sake , Mayne Reid , obey
’ orders , and halt the men .
“ At this appeal I faced round to my
’ t ‘ " followers, and shou ed Halt 6 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
Th e soldiers came up abreast o f me and one big North Irishman cried
’ Do you s av halt " I set my sword towards them
‘ ’ again shouted H al t l This time I was
obeyed , the soldiers crying out
‘ ’ W fo r d e ll halt you , sir , but for nobo y
9 7 )
6 Y E 6 MEMOIR OF MA N REID .
Twiggs h eld the village o f San Angel ; Pillo w
Misc u ac l rested at , a sma l Indian village
th e between San Angel and Tacubaya , while Volunteer and Marine division fell back on
a en San Augustine . An rmistice had been tere d into between the commanders - ln - chief
o f the two armies . This armistice was intended to facilitate a treaty o f peace ; fc r it was thought that th e Mexicans would accept any terms rather than see their ancient city at the mercy
f N o a f . O oreign army doubt , however , a
w as a s great mistake made , the armistice gave the crafty Santa Anna a chan ce to f o f ortify an inner line defence , the key to
th e s n u which was tro g Castle of Chap ltepec , which had to be taken three weeks la ter
with the loss of many brave men .
“ The commissioners o f both governments
‘ met at a small village near Tacubaya , and 6 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 7
A o a s the merican c mmissioner demanded ,
s a necessary preliminary to peace , the ce sion
r Ne w of Upper and Lowe California , all
o f u Mexico , Texas , parts Sonora , Coah ila
and Tamaulipas . Although this was in
general a wild , unsettled tract of country , yet it constituted more than one - half the
" territory of Mexico , and the Mexican com
n o t if missioners would , even they dared ,
agree to such a dismemberment . The armis
f 6 th tice was there ore abortive , and on the
th e - in of September , American commander chief sent a formal notic e to the enemy that
it had ceased to exist . This elicited from
Santa Anna an insulting reply , and on the same day the enemy w as seen in great force
f to the le t of Tacubaya , at a building called
w as Molino del Rey, which a large stone
ill m , with a foundry, belonging to the
r gove nment , and where most of their cannon 5 —2 68 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
had been made . It is a buildi ng n otorious in the ann als of Mexican history as th e place w here the unfortunate Texan prisoners s nfl ere d the most cruel treatment from their
barbarous captors . It lies directly under
f the guns of Chapultepec , rom which it is
distant about a quarter of a mile , and it is separated from the hill of Chapultepec by
a thick wood of almond trees .
On the afternoon of the 7 th of Septem
ber , Captain Mason , of the Engineers , was
’ e n emv s s ent to reconnoitre the position .
d His right lay at a strong stone buil ing ,
f M0 with bastions , at some distance rom
f lino del Rey, while his le t rested in the
works around the latter . “ The building on the right is called Casa
o Mata . It is to be presumed that this p sitio n o f the enemy was taken to pr event our army from turni ng the Castle o f Cha R E MEMOI OF MAYNE R ID . 6 9 p ulte p ec and entering the city by the Tacu
baya road and the gate San Cosme . All
a r ita s P ie das N the other g , , ino Perdido , San Antonio and Belen were strongly for
ifid t e b , and guarded y a large body of
the enemy s troops . Having in all at this
iffi d time about men , they had no culty in placin g a strong guard at every
o f point attack .
“ On the 7 th General Worth was ordered
’ to attack and carry the enemy s lines at .
b e Molino del Rey . His attack was to planned on the night of the 7th and ex e c u te d f on the morning o the 8th .
7 th 1 s t On the night of the the Division , s t th e 3r d rengthened by a brigade of , moved
forward in front of the enemy . The dis positions made were as follows It was discovered that the weakest point
’ of the enemy s lines w a s at a place about 0 O F I 7 MEMOIR MAYNE RE D. midway between the Casa Mata and Molino
n del Rey . This point , however , was stre gth
e ned by a battery o f several gu n s .
“ 500 An assaulting party of men , com
m an de d by Maj or Wright , were detailed
f to attack the battery , a ter it had been
cann onaded by Captain Huger with the
th o f battering guns . To e right this as
’ sa ulting party Garland s brigade took posi
tion within supportin g distance .
’ On our left , and to the enemy s right ,
’ B Clark s brigade , commanded by revet
k ’ Colonel Mac intosh , with Duncan s battery,
were po sted ; while the supporting brigade from Pillow’s division lay between the
’ assaulting column and Clark s brigade .
“ At break of day the action commenced .
’ w 24th Huger , ith the , opened on the enemy s
centre . Every discharg e told ; and the
n No w as e emy seemed to retire . answer 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 7
made from his guns . Worth , becoming at length convinced fatal conviction that the works in the centre had been aban do n e d , ordered the assaulting column to
advance .
“ w These moved rapidly do n the slope , a M j or Wright leading . When they had arrived Within about half musket shot the enemy Opened upon this gallant band the most dreadful fire it has ever been the fate
f of a soldier to sustain . Six pieces rom the
field battery played upon thei r ranks while
the heavy guns from Chapultepec , and nearly
’ six thousand muskets from the enemy s e n tr n h m n e c e ts . , mowed them down in hundreds The first discharge covered the ground with
dead and dying . One half the command at
least fell with this terrible cataract of bullets .
The others , retiring for a moment , took
ma n e i n shelter behind some g y, or , fact , 72 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . anything that would lend a momentary p ro
i n te ct o .
The light battalion and the 1 1 th Infantry n o w l fo r came to their re ief, and springing ward amid the clouds o f smoke and deadly
’ n fire , the enemy s works were soo in our
possession . At the same time the right and left wing had become hotly engaged
with the left and right of the enemy .
’ ’ Garland s brigade , with Duncan s battery ,
f f a ter driving out a large body of in antry ,
occupied the mills , while the command of Colonel Mackintosh attacked the Casa
Mata . “ This building proved to be a strong
work with deep ditches and entrenchments . The brigade moved rapidly forward to assault
it , but on reaching the wide ditch the tre me n do u s fire of muskets to which they were
exposed , as well as the heavy guns from
4 O F YNE E 7 MEMOIR MA R ID . our brave troops were either killed or
o f wounded , while the loss the enemy did not
amount to more than half this number .
“ The fatal action at Molino del R ey cast
N a gloom over the whole army . othing
s f had been gained . The victoriou troops ell
f 1 i back to their ormer pos t ons , and the i vanqu shed assumed a bolder front , cele
i b r at ng the action as a victory . The Mexican commander gave out that the attack was
fo r c on se intended Chapultepec , and had
quently failed . This , among his soldiers ,
n fi received credence and doubled their c o
i t dence ; we , on the other hand , called a
victory on our side . Another such victory and the American army would never have
left the Valley of Mexico .
1 l th On the night of the of September ,
‘ e at midnight , two small parties of men wer
s o f een to go out from the village Tacubaya , E 5 MEMOIR OF MAYNE R ID . 7
d ff moving silently along i erent roads . One party directed itself along an old road
toward Molino del Rey , and about half way between th e village and this latter point
halted . The other moved a short distance along the direct road to Chapultepec and
halted in like manner . They did not halt
to S leep ; all night long t hese men were
- busy piling up earth , filling sand bags , and
n f f layi g the plat orms o a gun battery . “ When day broke these batteries were
finished , their guns in position , and , much
to the astonishment of the Mexican troops , a merry fire was opened upon the
Castle . This fire was soon answered , but
fit ’ e e c with little . By ten O clock another
battery from Molino del Rey , with some
well- directed shots from a howitzer at the
same point , seemed to annoy the garrison
l exceeding y . 6 MEM 7 OIR OF MAYNE REID .
“ A belt o f wood lies between the Castle
and Molino del Rey on the south . A stone
l - n wa l surrounds these woods . Well garriso ed ,
Chapultepec would be impregnable . The belief is that Americans could hold
it against all Mexico . They might starve
m them out , or choke the with thirst , but
they could not drive them out of it . There are but few fortresses in the world so strong
in natural advantages .
“ During the whole of the 1 2th the shot from the American batteries kept playing
o f upon the walls the Castle , answered by
the guns of the fortress , and an incessant fire of musketry was kept up by the skirmish
ing party in the woods of Molino del Rey . Towards evening the Castle began to assume
a battered and beleaguered appearance . Shot
and shell had made ruin on every point , and
’ several of the enemy s guns were dismounted . E MEMOIR OF MAYN REID . 7 7 To enumerate the feats of artillerists on
this day would fill a volume . A t w enty pound shot from a battery commanded by
Captain Huger and Lieutenant H agn e v e n
’ t ere d the muzzle of one of the enemy s
tz howi ers and burst the piece . It was not
a chance shot . This battery w a s placed on the old road between Tacubaya and Monno
del Rey . The gate of the Castle fronts this
way , and the Calzada , or winding road from
to f the Castle the oot of the hill , was exposed
th . fir AS to e e . the ground lying to the
n orth and east of Chapultepec was still in
possession of the enemy, a constant inter course was kept up with the Castle by this
Calzada .
1 1 On the morning of the th , however ,
’ ’ H a n e s when Huger s and g y battery opened , the Calzada became a dangerous thorough
f f are . The latter o ficer found that his shot R F 7 8 MEMOI O MAYNE REID . thrown on the face of the road ricochette' d u t r ff pon the walls with e rible e ect , and con sequently most of his shots were aimed at
this point . It was amusing to see the Mexican officers who wished to enter or go
’ out of the Castle wait until H agne y s guns
were discharged , and then gallop over the
Calzada as if the devil were after them . “ A Mexican soldier at the principal gate
was packing a mule with ordnance .
“ ‘ f "’ Can you hit that ellow , Hagney was
asked .
’ ’ w as I ll try , the quiet and laconic reply .
The long gun was pointed and levelled . At this moment the soldier stooped by the side
o f n th e of the mule in the act tighteni g girth .
"’ Fire said Hagney , and almost simultaneous with the shot a cloud of dust rose over the W causeway . hen this cleared away the mule was seen running wild along the E D MEMOIR OF MAYNE R I . 79
a w th e th e Calzad , hile soldier lay dead by
wall .
“ On the day when Chapultepec w as
1 3th 1 84 7 stormed , September , , I was in
n o f 2n d comma d the Grenadier Company of . — — Ne w York Volunteers my own and a
detachment of United States Marines , acting
with us as light infantry , my orders being to sta y by and guard the battery we had — built on the south eastern S ide of the Castle
h during the night o f the 1 1t . It was about
a thousand yards from , and directly in front
’ of, the Castle s main gate , through which
r w o u shots ent crashing all the day . The
first assault h ad been fixed for the morning
1 3 500 m e n of the th , a storming party of ,
‘ ’ or forlorn hope , as it was called , having
volunteered for this dangerous duty . These
n were of all arms of the service , a captai
o f of regular infantry having charge them , 80 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . with a lieutenant of Pennsylvanian Volunteers
in as his second command . “ At an early hour the three divisions of
’ ’ ’ our army , Worth s , Pillow s and Quitman s ,
S closed in upon Chapultepec , our kirmishers
’ driving the enemy s outposts before them ; some of these retreating up the hill and
into the Castle , others passing around it
and on towards the city .
It was n o w expected that our storming
party would do the work assigned to it ,
and for which it had volunteered . Standing
n by our battery , at this time ecessarily silent ,
ill ffi with the art ery and engineer o cers who
had charge of it , Captain Huger and
Lieutenant Hagney, we three watched the
" a o f ufl s dvance the attacking line , the p of smoke from musketry and rifles indicating
the exact point to which it had re ached .
w e Anxiously watched it . I need not say,
8 2 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
w ith his spotted Indians (p intos ) had s wung
n In rou d our rear , and held the mountain
us passes behind , so that retreat upon
Puebla would have been impossible . This
Was f . not my belie alone , but that of every
intelligent o fli c er in the army : the two who
f f stood beside me eeling sure of it as mysel .
This certainty , combined with the slow
progress of the attacking party , determined
me to participate in the assault . As the
ffi— senior engineer o cer out ranked me , it was necessary I should have his leave to forsake — the battery now needi ng no further defence
—a leave freely and instantly given , with
‘ ’ : " the words Go , and God be with you The Mexican flag was still waving
triumphantly over the Castle , and the line of smoke - p ufl s had not got an inch nearer it : nor was there much change in the situation
f u i n ter ven when , a ter a q ick run across the M R ME OI OF MAYNE REID . 83 ing ground with my following of volunteers
and marines , we came up with the storming
party at halt , and irregularly aligned along
w t the base of the hill . For ha reason they
w were staying there we kne not at the time , but I afterwards heard it was some trouble
n t about scaling ladders . I did o pause then
to inquire , but , breaking through their line
f with my brave ollowers , pushed on up the
N slope . ear the summit I found a scattered
o f crowd soldiers , some of them in the grey u niform of the Voltigeur Regiment ; others ,
1 5 9th 14 . , th and th Infantry They were the
S kirmishers , who had thus far cleared the
‘ w a y for us , and far ahead of the forlorn
’ But hope . beyond lay the real area of
danger , a slightly sloping ground , some forty
’ yards in width , between us and the Castle s
— i n outward wall short , the glacis . It was commanded by three pieces of cannon on the 6 0 84 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
w parapet , hich swept it with grape and canister as fast as they could be loaded and
m fired . There see ed no chance to advance
f t But arther Wi hout meeting certain death .
it would be death all the same if we did n o t
o m such was my th ught at that oment . “ Just as I reached this point there was
m a momentary halt , which ade it possible to
d S be heard ; and the wor s I then poke , or
r ather shouted , are remembered by me as
though it were but v e s te rday °
’ " t ak e Men if we don t Chapultepec , the
American army is lost . Let us charge up
’ to the walls .
‘ ’ A voice answered : We ll charge if any
’ ne o leads us .
‘ ’ ’ : " Another adding Yes , we re ready At that instant the three guns on the parapet belched forth their deadl y showers M almost simultaneously . v heart bounded MEMOIR O F MA YNE REID 85 with j oy at hearing them go o ff thus together
—i t t was our opportuni y ; and , quickly com
r prehending it , I leaped ove the scarp which
had sheltered us , calling out
’ ’ Come on ; I ll le ad you "
It did not need looking back to know
that I was followed . The men I had appealed to were not the men to stay b e
hind , else they would not have been there ,
and all came after .
When about half- way across the open
ground I saw the parapet cro w ded with Mexican artillerists in uniforms of dark blue
f h d with crimson acings , eac musket in han ,
a t o wn and all aiming , as I believed , my
O n o f person . account a crimson silk sash
f I was wearing , they no doubt ancied me a
a s general at least . The volley w almost as
w one sound , and I avoided it by thro ing
myself flat along the earth . only getting 86 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . touched on one of the fingers of my sword
th e hand , another shot passing through loose
f cloth of my overalls . Instantly on my eet
fo r w a s again , I made the wall , which I
scaling , when a bullet from an escopette went
f tearing through my thigh , and I ell into the
ditch .
Even as he lay wounded in the ditch ,
R f brave Mayne eid painfully raised himsel ,
addressing the men and encouraging them .
Above the din of musketry his voice w as h eard .
‘ ’ ’ For God s sake , men , don t leave that
Only a few scattered shots were fired
after this . The scaling ladders came up , and some scores of men went swarming over the
n parapet and Chapultepec was take .
“ The second man u p to the walls o f the E 8 MEMOIR OF MAYN REID . 7
H a u Castle was Corporal p , the Swiss , when
S he fell , hot through the face , over the body
of Mayne Reid , covering the latter with his
w n u blood . The poor fello e deavo red to roll
‘ ’ o ff I m himself , saying , not hurt so badly
’ f as you . But he was dead be ore Mayne
Reid was carried o ff the field .
“ ’ Mayne Reid s lieutenant , Hypolite Dar
donville , a brave young Frenchman , dragged
w s tafl n the Mexican flag do n from its , pla ting the Stars and Stripes in its place—the
standard of the Ne w York regiment .
“ The contest was not yet over . The
advantage must be followed up , and the
’ n - city entered . Worth s division obliqui g to
the right followed the enemy on the Tab u c a
Road , and through the gate of San Cosme ;
while the volunteers , with the rifle and one
tw o t or other regiments , de ached from the
n division of General Twiggs , were led alo g 88 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID. the aq u educt towards the citadel an d the
gate of Belen . Inch by inch did these gallant fellows drive back their opponents ;
, v and he who led them the fieteran Quitman , was ever foremost in the ght .
A very storm o f bullets rained along this
oa r d , and hundreds of brave men fell to rise no more ; but when night closed the gates of Belen and San Cosme were in possession
f o the Americans . During the still hours of midnight the
Mexican army, to the number of some
stole out o f the city and took the
l road for Guada oupe .
N n ext morning at daybreak , the rem ant
o f the American army , in all less than
men , entered the city without further opposi
u . tion , and formed p in the Grand Plaza
Ere sunrise the American star - spangled
banner floated proudly over the Palace o f
0 E 9 M MOIR OF MAYNE REID .
way of approach . Even a charge by cavalry
going at full gallop must fail ; they would
be decimated , or utterly destroyed , long
f be ore arriving at the entrenched line . “ These were the exact conditions under which Mexico had to be assaulted by the
r American a my . There were no houses
outside of the city walls , no cover of any
d s kin , save row of tall poplar trees lining
the sides of the outgoing roads , and most
of these had been cut down . How then was th e place to be stormed , or rather approached within storming distance " The eyes of some skilled American engineers rested upon the two aqueducts running from C hapultepec
into the suburbs of the city . Their mason
work , with its massive piers and open arches
between , promised the necessary cover for
S kirmishers , to be supported by close follow
ing battalions . 91 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
ff th And they did a ord is very shelter ,
enabling the American army to capture the
city o f Mexico . But to get at the aqueducts
l n Chapu tepec need to be first take , otherwise the besiegers would have had the enemy both
f in ront and rear . Hence the desperate and
determined stru ggle at the taking o f the
an d th e n . Castle , importa ce of its succeeding
n Had it failed , I have no hesitation in givi g my opinion that no American who fought
that day in the Valley o f Mexico would ever
’ have left it alive . Scott s army was already
weakened by the previous engagements , too much so to hold itself three davs on the
defensive . Retreat would have been not
disastrous , but absolutely impossible . The position was far worse than that of Lord
t Sale , in the celebrated Cabool expedi ion . All the passes leading out of the valley by which the Americans might have attempted 92 O F D MEMOIR MAYNE REI .
escape were closed by columns of cavalry .
v The Indian general , Al arez , with his host of
h spotted orsemen , the Pintos of the Acapulco
r egion , had occupied the main road by Rio Frio the moment after the Americans
o marched in . N wonder these fought on
fo r that day as very life . Every intelligent
soldier among them kne w that in their attack
upon Chapultepec there we re but tw o alter
f : . natives success and li e , or defeat and death The following are extracts from dispatches and official documents
- From Maj or General Winfield Scott , com
- mander in chief.
1 8 1 84 7 . September ,
The following are the officers and c orps
most distinguished in these brilliant opera
tions . Particularly a detachment
Ne w Vo lu n under Lieutenant Reid , York
4 9 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . o f Ne w V York olunteers , had been detailed
1 2 on the morning of the th , by General
No . Shields , to the support of our battery,
2 Th e , well performed the service . former ,
w a s by the orders of Captain Huger , de t ai n e d at that battery during the stormi n g
of Chapultepec . The latter , a brave and
f energetic young o ficer , being relieved from th e battery on the advance to the Castle ,
w as hastened to the assault , and among
the first to ascend the crest of the hill ,
Where he was severely wounded . The gallant Ne w York Regiment claims fo r their s tandard the honour of being the first waved f o f rom the battlements Chapultepec .
- From Brigadier General Shields .
“ 2 5 1 847 September , .
The New York flag and Co . B of that
o f regiment , under the command a gallant MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 9 5
ffi young o cer , Lieutenant Reid , were among the first to moun t the ramparts of the
t Cas le , and then display the Stars and Stripes
” to the admiration of the army .
i From Capta n Huger , chief of ordnance .
“ 20 1 4 8 7 . September ,
As there were tw o companies in sup
o f 2 3 n o w port batteries and , I allowed
one of them , commanded by Lieutenant
R New eid , York Volunteers , his command,
o f . composed volunteers and marines , to j oin
its proper division , and he gallantly pushed up the hill and joined it during the storm
ing of the Castle .
W . From Colonel ard B Burnett , com
w manding Ne York Regiment .
“ N 35 ORDER o . .
The followi ng promotions and appoint ments having been made ‘ upon good and 96 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
ffi su cient recommendations will be obeyed and respected accordingly
B 2n d u R o f CO . Lie tenant Mayne eid , ,
1 st CO . to be lieutenant of G , vice Innes ,
promoted .
F 98 MEMOIR O MAYNE REID .
s n th e has been mo tly con ected with press , either as an associate editor or c o rre sp o n
i n dent ; this last ca pacity , he passed the
1 84 6 N I u . . s mmer of in ewport , R , engaged
N ew York H era ld in writing letters to the ,
‘ ’ n E li r under the sig ature of c o e . It was at this time that we became acquainted
with him , and there are many others in the community who will j oin us in bear
ing testimony to his worth as a man , all of whom will be grieved at the announce
f ment o his death . He returned to Ne w
York about the first of September , and
S hortly after sailed fo r Mexico with his e regim nt . He was at the battle of
f Monterey, and distinguished himsel in
’ fl air e that bloody a . W published a little
f ‘ ’ poem rom his pen , entitled Monterey,
un about three months ago , which will doub tedly be remembered by our readers ; MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 99
towards the close of the poem , was this stanza
— W e were not many w e who pressed Beside the brave who fell that day ; ’ B ut w h o of us has not confessed ’ S He d rather hare their warrior rest, Than not have been at Monterey
" fo r a " T he Alas hum n glory departed ,
t probably , little thought at the ime he penned the above lines that he should
‘ ’ so soon b e sharing their warrior rest .
At the storming o f Chapultepec he w as
severely wounded , and died soon after from
S his wounds . He was a man of ingular talents ,
a s and gave much promise a writer . His
temperament was exceedingly nervous , and
’ i his fancy br lliant . His best productions
’ ’ n ‘ may be fou d in Godey s Book , about
a e three or four years g , under the signa
’ ‘ r t t ure of Po or Schola . I is m o urnful that talents like his should be so early 7—2 10 E O NE I 0 M M IR OF MAY RE D .
s d S acrifice , and that his career hould be — d far - f m so soon close , far very ro the land
o f' m his birth and the boso of his home ,
o f B t as well as the land his adoption . u thus
it is " When the day arrives fo r our army
to return , if it ever does , it will present
a sad spectacle . The ranks will be thinned , and hearts made sorrowful at their coming that hoped to rej oice in the fullest fruition
o f gladness . Many a gallant spirit has
fallen to rise n o more ; and the wild note
of the bugle cannot awake them to duty ,
o f and or the sweeter call friendship home . The triumphs may be as splendid as ever
c e fl o r t rowned a human , but they have
been purchased at the price of noble lives , a nd too dearly not to mingle the tear of
” o f sorrow with the shout j oy . The verses by Captain Mayne R eid re ferred to are
J M I T F EMO R O MAYNE REID .
At a p ublic dinn er held in the city o f
o f Columbus , Ohio , to celebrate the capture
’ Mexico , Mayne Reid s memory was toasted ,
f n and the ollowing lines , by a you g poetess
’ o f O efl e c t hio , were recited with great
DIR GE .
G — — one gone gone , Gone to his dreamless sleep S And pirits of the brave , ’ W n atchi g o er his lone grave, V — — V e ep weep weep .
l= = Mourn—mourn—mourn
M t n o her, to sorrow lo g wed ’ m Far o er the ighty deep ,
c d y W here the brave ol l sleep ,
Thy warrior son lies dead .
— n — Lone lo e lone ,
In thine own far island home, ’ a E re thy life s t sk is done ,
O ft with the setting sun , ’ m O er t h e sea thy t houghts will roa .
zk
n — — Sou d sound sound , i n i The trumpet , wh le thousa ds d e
Madly forcing his way ,
Through t h e blood- d ashing spray H ebeareth our banner on high O F N MEMOIR MAY E REID . 103 — — VVo e woe woe
Like a thought he hath sunk to rest . w h im Slo they bear away, I m n stern artial array,
The flag and the sword on his breast .
- — High high high ,
th e m High in temple of fa e , ’ ’ w t The poet s fadeless rea h , ’ A nd the soldier s sheath ,
Are engraven above his name .
- — Long long long,
S n As time to the earth hall belo g, ’ The sad wind o er, the surge Shall chant its low dirge
s e n To thi p erless child of so g .
Gone—gone—gone Gone to his dreamless sleep
And spirits of the brave , W ’ atching o er his lone grave ,
VVe e — — p weep weep .
The muse of the poetess perhaps required
C n o t hastening , but the verses are without
f p o w e r and at least show the love and a d
mir atio n felt for the hero . P CHA TER VI .
IN M MAYNE REID REMAINS EXIC O . CO NTEM
Y N T C IN T H E IT T T FORAB O I ES UN ED S A ES .
MAYNE REID was . laid up in the city o f
fo r w a s Mexico some time . It at first sup posed that amputation o f the leg would be
necessary ; but on the doctors consulting , they came to the conclusion that this would
be certain death , as the bullet had only j ust
f . escaped severing the emoral artery At last ,
under skilful care , he made a good recovery ,
and by the following December we find him
on the eve of fighting a duel , but the chal
“ f lenged one backed out , his riend sending
th e following letter
106 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . on acco unt of the late intelligence brought
us by th e papers of th e severe wound
h l . received by Lieut . Reid and S death Whilst we look with pride upon the many
f gallant deeds he per ormed , it but poorly
remunerates us for so severe a loss . And we sh ould receive w ith sad but infinite pl easure any further account o f him whils t
t l wounded . It is with regret tha we cal
u s upon you to give this sad intelligence ,
o u as it may inconvenience y , but the deep
fo r interest we felt Mr . Reid has tempted
us to trouble you with these inquiries , and remain
Yours r e spectfully
. TT . A . L PIA
w c The Fiatts ere originally a Fren h family ,
o f and the elder Mr . Piatt , the writer the
t . let er , was a great friend of Mayne Reid N E 10 MEMOIR OF MAY E R ID . 7
It is n o t given to every man to read
o f f obituary notices himsel , but this happened
' to Mayne Reid more than once . So mar v el lo u s f , indeed , were his recoveries rom the
d t a brink of eath , hat he came to be reg rded
“ a by his friends as bearing a ch rmed life .
Two or three weeks after th e announce
’ de ath th e N ew York H era ld ment of his , published . a contradiction of the report
m Through misinfor ation , it was cur r entl y reported that Lieutenant Mayne Reid , w hose gallant behaviour at the battle of
Chapultepe c call ed forth a merited compli
’ ment from G eneral Scott in one o f his late
d . dispatches , had ied of his wounds We are
informed by one o f our returned o fli c e rs
that although w ounded severely by an e s
c o e tte b t a n p all in the lef leg bove the k ee ,
c d re he has since re overe , and intends to
”
m f . ain . O course he will be promoted 10 E O YN EI 3 M M IR OF MA E R D .
‘ In the N a tiona l G a zette of Philadelphia
“ was printed : We percei ve in the list of
wounded in the recent battles in Mexico ,
R the name of Lieutenant Mayne eid , of
th e Ne w . York If we mistake not , gentle man named is favourably known throughout
the country as a writer , and a contributor
r to our leading magazines . For seve al
r yea s he resided in Philadelphia . While in
C fo r this ity he won himself many friends ,
as well as a high literary reputation . His
‘ first essays appeared as the composi tions o f
‘ l ’ the Poor Scho ar . Lieutenant Reid is a
’ ’ ripe scholar as well as a ready writer .
The following paragraph a ppeared i n
D a il D is a tch the Pittsburgh y p , in March ,
“ 1 848 : Lieutenant Mayne Reid , whose
a w a s r si nc e is b de th rep o ted some time ," a out to b e married to Signorina Guadaloupe
“ l Rozas , a beautiful ady, daughter o f Senator
1 10 O F MEMfiOIR MAYNE REID . m ts In initials in c o on the top . a letter he wrote
During the campaign in which I had
n take part , chance threw me into the com
f pany of monks o more than one order .
’ Under the circumstances that gave me entree
o f ac uain their convents , and an intimate q
tance with the brethren , even to j oining — them i n their cu ps these consisting of the
o f n best wines Spain and her colo ies ,
‘ n o w Xeres , Canario , Pedro Ximenes , with
and then a spice of Catalan brandy , opening the hearts and loosening the tongues of these cloistered gentry— I can speak to the char acter o f the present monks of Mexico as Friar Gage spoke of their fraternity more
” than a centuryfiago . le
The following letter from Mayne Reid to 1 1 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
ta te J urna l 1 8 8 2 the O hio S o in , may be here
fitl : y introduced
S IR —M , y attention has been called to a letter which lately appea red in some American
’ newspapers headed ‘ Mayne Reid s Mexican
’ War Experiences , in which certain state
° ments are made gravely a fl e c ting my char
acter and reputation . The writer says that
‘ P ue blao R in , Mexico , Lieutenant eid , while
r ‘ rep oving one of the men of his company ,
became very much heated , and ran his sword
’ through the man s body . The man died
’ the same night .
“ No w , sir , it is quite true that I ran a
soldier through with my sword , who soon
t o f af er died the wound . But it is absolutely untrue that there was any heat of temper on
m — n y part , or other ince tive to act , save that
of self- defence and the discharge of my duty
ffi o f as an o cer . On the day the occurrence D 1 12 MEMO IR O F MAYNE REI .
w as f o f th e r d I o ficer gua , and the man a
th e a — prisoner in gu rd prison where , indeed , — he spent most o f his time fo r he was a
r noted desperado , and , I may add , robbe ,
long the pest and terror not only o f his com
r rades in the regiment , but the poo Mexican
’ sufl er e d people who from his depredations ,
as all w h o were then there and are still
living may remember . Having several times
f - escaped rom the guard house prison , he had
that day been recaptured , and I entered the
cell to see to his being better sec ured . While the manacles were being placed upon his
— - — wrists long linked heavy irons h e clutched
hold of them , and , rushing at me , aimed a
blow at my head , which , but for my being
fo r too quick him , would have been dealt
ff me with serious if not fatal e ect . He was
m an and a of immense size strength , and as
f o . all knew, regardless consequences He
114 M EMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
w as u t- m n s o tried by co r artial , and i tead f
n t e t o t to bei g sen enc d be sho , was ordered
resume c o mmand of my compan y fo r the
f u orward march pon Mexico . And so far
from the feelin g being strong against me in
th e n w as th e e regime t , it j ust rev rse , not only
in th e u regiment , but thro ghout the whole a r —th e a K e arne m my l mented Phil v, co mand i n th e d a t m f g r goons , wi h any other o ficers o f hi l n fo r gh rank , pub icly declari g that w h a d d e hat I on , instead of condemnation
I deserved a vote of thanks . This because the army ’s discipline h ad become greatly r el axed durin g the lo ng period o f inaction that pr e ceded our a dvance into the Valley
M w of exico , and we had much trouble ith
— ‘ th e men especially of the volunteer regi
M ac t an d u nin t en m . ents y , involuntary ti o nal th u t n t o gh it was , did some hi g oward bringin g them back to a sense of obedien ce EM 1 M OIR OF MAYNE REID . 1 5
f r . o and duty That I sorrowed it is true , but n o t in the sense attributed to me by
w as the newspaper correspondent . My grief
o t e fr m h necessity that forced it upon me ,
and its lamentable result . It is some satis faction to know that the unfortunate man
himself held me blameless , and in his dying
w as words , as I told , said I had but done
" my duty . So I trust that this explanation will place the affair in a different light from
” w to that thro n upon it by the article alluded . D T E APPEN IX O CHAPT R V.
’ I F 1876 Mr C a tain Ma n e n ebruary, , . Henry Lee wrote to p y
R m t h e M eid for so e account of exican axolotl, and received the following answer :
C R F 28 1876 hasewood , oss , Herefordshire , ebruary , .
M d ar H nr —Y u e _ e o I y y Lee , ask me to tell you what
t P — a xolo tl w know of hat strange rotean the . Such kno ledge as I have is at your service .
F h u irst, as to its name ; whic is a word p rely Aztecan .
rd i n The Spania s , adopting it, have made some change the
w i thOut spelling materially altering the pronunciation . Their
’ a o lo te— l u form is j the fina syllable so nded , though with the
h B ut t t e . o accent on penultimate , one unacquainted with “ ” Spanish orthoepy, it may be Observed that the j is pro nounce d —i n G — as an aspirated h short, as the reek x and “ ” ” X i n tl so also is the Aztec orthography . The final of the
Z a ot e ue — latter, common to many Aztec and p q words as in te e tl m et a tl mill sto ne w h i ch I p (mountain) , ( ) , the ndian linger — i ngly lets fall from t h e tip of his tongue cannot well be
i n symbolized by any exponent of vocal sound our language . T ff “ ” he Spaniards represent it indi erently by te , sometimes w m eta te P o o ca te ec ith the addition of a thus, , p p . The ’ ” a o lo te i t h e and j , however, is w thout added c, pronounced ,
’ ” a h - ho - loa t- e as nearly as possible , , with emphasis on the loat, and the terminating e barely distinguishable .
S o th f - fish e o much for name the reptile . As to its nature , I fear I can add but little to the information already before
h a bi ta t the public ; though , perhaps, something of its that m a be t n Y B m y in eresti g . our species , of the righton Aquariu ,
1 18 O F N ’ MEMOIR MAY E REID .
you surprise m e by saying it has spawned i n f res h water i n B I the righton Aquarium . Tezcoco , from which presume
‘ u P difl erent yo r rotean must have come , is altogether of a
—s o u m an character, being salt as brine itself m ch that a m bathing in it co es out with a scaly crust over his skin ,
w w a hile terfowl are often caught upon it, unable to fly
" No through their wings" getting thus encrusted fish can
fe w - S live in it, for the minnow like pecies there observed are
i nfl uent - found only by the estuaries of fresh water streams . E ven vegetation struggles in vain against the blighting i n
fl uence i ts of its atmosphere , and around shores are seen but the forms of plants belonging to species that grow i n s ali tros e soil ; these so stunted and sparse as rather to heighten i D . n t a the impression of sterility Tezcoco is , ruth , a ead S e W t N . ot of the es ern world so small , neither , since its area m a y be estimated at a hundred square miles , more or less . — O nce it w as much larger at the time of the Conquest this being the lake whose waters washed the walls of the
t i ts ancient Tenochtitlan . At the present ime edge is , at
a t h e th e least, league from suburbs of modern city standing
th e n on same site . At certain seasons, however , after a lo g
o f ff n w spell rain, but more from the e ects of a stro g east ind ,
u the lake is bro ght nearer , by overflow of the adjacent plain , a phenomenon leading to the popular but erroneous idea that
t h t O e . Tezcoco , like ocean , has a ide nce , too , if we are to credit Humboldt, this lake was much deeper than it is now .
W 1803 i t s riting of it in , he states depth then to have been
F met e I t h e G from three to five rench r s . think great erman traveller must have been misinformed , as there has been no
u sent silting p to account for its p m shallowness . There is not T t a spot in Lake ezcoco where a man , s anding upright, I would have his head under water . t is traversed by market
t - . t n n i boats of he bread basket pa ter , flat bottomed , a d mpelled — by poling just the same sort as Cortez found navigating it t when he launched his brigan ine on its eastern edge , which
n m r vessel was doubtless nothi g ore than a rude aft . The M R O F 1 ME OI MAYNE REID . 1 9
er ia ua s and w i n n i in i n p g , other craft h ch ow ply upo t, br g g produce from Tezcoco , and other lake shore towns to the
i i a re all nt i n n m in cap tal c ty, of the pu spec es , o e of the draw g N t over eighteen inches of water . o withstanding , they have
- n w n e e t to keep to well k o ways , where the lak is deep s , guid
t n a o n ing their course by cer ain la dm rks the shore , passing a “ ” n L C r uz n n n in i n woode cross, a , pla ted ear the ce tre , com g
—or I sight of which the devout rather, should say, super “ s titi o us — m co f boat en un ver, and o fer up a prayer to Al V irgen .
w t s o This grand shallo shee , then , saline that fish cannot l i t s ive in it, and vegetation withers under blighting breath ,
w - I is the congenial d elling place of the axolotl, and, if mistake
i n V M i c I not, its only one the alley of ex o ; at least am not aware of its existence i n the other three lakes lying north
l o w ward , their waters salt, too, but at times so as to be
u w u m ud almost dried p , or sho ing only a resid um of , its
e fll ores en e d surface an c c , akin to so a, and resembling hoar ” t e u i zu it e frost, called q q .
i n n t h e Though a sense the sole i habitant of Tezcoco , axolotl
t h e is not left to peaceful or undisputed possession of lake .
I i n — t has its enemies the predatory aquatic birds herons , — cranes, and cormorants while man is also among them . To the Lake Indian ” its capture is a matter of economic indus m I try, its flesh being a saleable commodity in the arket . t
n ot is absolutely relished as an article of food , except by the
I i v l nd ans themsel es ; who , as is wel known , will eat anything and everything that lives , moves , and has being, be it fish , fowl, reptile, or insect . This, from ancient usage , originally
t h e a thing of necessity, not choice , when Aztec, surrounded
Tl ascal lan w as d by , with other warlike enemies , confine to w the islands of this inland sea, and from it compelled to dra
r — ff n pa t of his sustenance to eat indi ere tly frogs, tadpoles , w ne ts, and such repulsive reptiles ; as also the eggs of a
’ - — — curious water fl y the axavacatl (Alzua tlea M exzca na ) a sort ‘ ” 0 f in th e M caviar, still obtainable markets of the exican 120 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
I e i capital . have seen the axolotl of respectabl d mensions
at n e and least a foot in le gth , while specimens of fifte n
i n ll F o c c as o a . sixteen inches are v exhibited ish or flesh ,
i - b M rel shed or not , it is often eaten y invalids , the exican
' m edzc os pronouncing it a specific for liver inflammation and
‘ om a s d o - pulmonary c plaints, we cod liver oil ; while it is
i n also supposed to be serviceable cases of hectic fever, and
A ' m ucil a ino us as a food for children . g syrup , compounded m of its gelatinous portions and certain edicinal herbs, is
’ s l botzc a s t o d in the of the apo hecaries as a balsam for colds,
n coughs , and other bro chial maladies . I refrain from touching - o u the zoological character of t i r n n I n in h s creatu e , so stra gely ab ormal , as could add oth g d B to what is alrea y known to you . esides , that is a question f o r n I B ut ma the scientific aturalist, to whom leave it . it y no t t B be generally known that , in addi ion to your righton — ' A i i hi i I S zred on H um quar um spec es w ch s , suppose , the
' ' ' boldtiz o S H a rl m z - r . a , , of Laguna de Tezcoco there is a
n ew s and quite distinct one recently di covered , inhabiting P w Lake atzcuaro . This large sheet of ater, lying centrally in the State of Michoacan —more than a hundred miles from — t h e M n i n exica valley, a direction nearly due west has also
' ’ ' i ts S aredon D umerzliz axolotl . Its discoverer has named it , after the accomplished French herpetologist ; while its local “ vulgar name on the shores of Patzcuaro is achoque de ” o “ ” i in i h i o agua, r water achoque , to d st gu s t from a s rt — of land lizard called achoque de t ierra the B o li toglos s a
M exica na Dum r il B ibro n t h e of e and , also common around M P edges of the ichoacan Lake . The atzcuaro species differs from yours of the B righton Aquarium in several
I i ts respects . n size it is somewhat the same ; but colour, in in i i in A in stead of be g black sh , or wh te , as the lb o ’ - varieties of Humbold t s Siredon , is of a violet red ,
s i i it t h e i n in l ghtly blem shed w h grey, g lls o ly be g black ,
ue i n n i i h . wh le the eck, throat , a d breast are of a pale , wh t sh
W t w u I n i hout d elling longer on this s bject, will ve ture
CHAP TER VII .
WH O WAS FIRST INTO C H AP ULT EP EC "
CAPTAIN MAYNE REID returned from Mexico
1 4 to the United States in the spring of 8 8 .
He spent the autumn and win ter at his friend Donn Fiatt ’s house in the valley of the — - i t h e o . Mac Chee , Oh o Here he wrote greater
” part of The Rifle Rangers , in which he gives
us pictures of his Mexican life , returning to
Ne w York in the spring of 1 84 9 . The ques tion was then goi ng th e round of the news
t " papers , Who was first in o Chapultepec The following is an extract from a letter written by Mayne Reid in reference to the
storming of Chapultepec , and in which he inclosed some testimonies of his part in the affair M Y D 123 ME OIR OF MA NE REI . These documents were hastily collected
Ne w 1 8 49 in York in the spring of , when I heard of other individuals claiming to have
been first into Chapultepec . I do not claim
to have been first over the walls , as I did not
get over the wall at all , but was shot down in front of it ; but I claim to have l e d u p the men w h o received the last volley of the
’ ef i enemy s fire , and thus l t the scal ng the
t wall a mere mat er of climbing , as scarcely
any one was shot aft erwards . While collecting this testimony I was sud de nly called upon to take the leadership of a legion organized in Ne w Yo rk to assist the
l revolutionary strugg e in Europe , and I sailed
’ 9 r 4 . at the latte end of June , Otherwise I could have obtained far more testimony than
n contai ed in these scant documents here .
‘ F MAYNE REID .
P S — . h e . General Pillow was at t time 124 E MEMOIR OF MAYN REID .
using every exertion to disprove my claims , it bei n g a life and death matter with him, h an e e aving y to the Presidency, to prove that
m fi the en of his division were the rst to enter
l ” Chapu tepec .
The following testimony was given to
“ a s Mayne Reid , and he says , generously
O f f given , as only one these O ficers was my
e m un p ersonal friend , the others b ing al ost
n k own to me .
M Y F C A O T O O T . H C TES I N LIEU CO R NE , SE ND
M V ’ REGI ENT O F O LTIGEURS .
On th e morning of the 13th of Septem
1 84 7 o f V eu to ber , , the regiment oltig rs ,
' a t ff which I was ttached as subal ern o icer ,
” was ordered to clear th e woods and the
e f western side of the wall , ext nding rom
l Molino del Rey to the Castle of Chapu tepec ,
th e - to of Mexican Infantry (light) , and halt at
1 F 26 MEMOIR O MAYNE REID .
n scrambli g . On collecting under the wall o f the Castle there were some thirty or forty of us infantry and Voltige urs at the extreme c o f an d ff orner the Castle , several other o icers
were there at the same point . The main body h a d O f f halted at the scarp the hill , some orty
f th e w a o f yards rom all , waiting the arrival the scaling ladders before making the final
and decisive assault .
I ordered two men of the Vol tigeurs to go back a li ttle way and assist the ladders up
the hill . As they proceeded to do so they passed the point where the infantry Officer
w h o w above alluded to lay wounded , , ith
n - evide t pain , raised himself and sang out above th e d in and rattle O f musketry
’ ’
men . For God s sake , don t leave that
w e . wall , or shall all be cut to pieces Hold
"’ on , and the Castle is ours or words to that
ff e ect . O F 12 MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 7 I immediately answered from the wall
- o u r n There is no danger , Captain , of leavi g
d to m N . this . ever fear or wor s that a ount — Shortly after the ladders came the rush
was made and the Castle fell .
“ In the course o f a casual conversation about the events of that memorable morn
ing , while in the city of Mexico , this inci d an d ff ent was mentioned , the o icer who was
wounded proved to be Lieut . Mayne Reid ,
New w h o of the York Volunteers , had been ordered to guard the battering guns upon the
n th e r s plai , and had joined pa ty in the as ault
l n on the Mo i o del Rey side of the Castle . I
f spoke reely of this matter, and was quite
d i n solicitous to become acquainte , while M exico , with the gallant and chivalric
o ffi cer in question . This is a hasty and im
f perfect sketch O this transaction . I heard
that Lieut. Reid had made a speech to the 128 M D EMOIR OF MAYNE REI .
o f all men arms , which had induced them to
e n ascend ; but , as a party were fiercely
’ a n fe w n g ged at the reda for a seco ds , I could not have heard his remarks above the
. It din , as I was one of the redan party may be possible that the above speech is th e one alluded to , though from what I
O f heard said it , he must have made other
remarks at an earlier moment .
“ O f course , I have not given the exact
words , as some eighteen months have elapsed
- - b e - since that never to forgotten day , but I
. have given the fa ct and the substance of
w h — a ct the words , hich s ows far more the f , I mean—credit and honour to his courage and his gallant conduct t han the mere
words could .
“
H O . . CO O H R ANE T E D ,
Late Second Lieut . Regt . of Voltigeurs .
P a . 20 1 49 8 . Columbia , , May ,
130 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
sa w chased the Mexicans out of it , I a young officer on my right hand side collecting about
ff thirty or forty men of di erent corps , and
o enc uraging the same with an address , which th e roaring of the cannon and the musketry
n hindered me from understandi g . Shortly
f saw o f a ter I the little band heroes , with their
f brave leader in ront , charge the right side
battery , where a howitzer was posted ; and
they tried very hard to climb the mud walls ,
f which were about twenty eet high . Soon
after I perceived through the dense smoke , caused by the last discharge of the battery
ff towards that small command , that the o icer
had scaled the wall and fell , what I then took fo r dead . All this was done in half the time I take
w as to write it , and I too much occupied with the command of my o w n detachment to enter
into more particulars of that deciding moment . 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 31
My earnest admiration was paid to the dead hero and onward we went to the left corner
H o w of the fortification . we entered the
t Castle , and wha great excitement prevailed
f- o f in the first hal hour that glorious victory ,
f r f is too well known o urther description . But
one thing I must add , that my first inquiry
f n a ter the abati g of the excitement was , Who was that young officer leading the charge on
’ o ur right " and one of my men gave me the answer : It is a Ne w Yorker by the name of
— f ’ Mayne Reid a hell of a ellow . That name I had heard several times before very favour
ably mentioned , without being personally acquainted with the man and j ust as I w as
going to see if he was really dead , or wounded ,
Gen . Cadwallader addressed the troops from
of t h e d the window Castle , and gave or ers to r ally the different companies a n d be prepared fo r f urther orders . I had to stay with my 9 —2 132 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
o f n o t company , course , and could satisfy my great desire to ascertain the fate of that brave
h young man . One thing more I wis to say,
namely , that this same brave conduct of
yours helped on the left a great deal , because it turned the fire of the infantry in our front and gave us time to storm the walls the right
moment .
Yours most respectfully,
HA L S P ETERNELL C R E ,
en Captain Fifte th Infantry .
Donn Piatt received the following state
m n f . e t , made on a fidavit by Lieut Marshall , o f the Fifteenth Infantry
I w as in command of our company
f ordered to the attack o Chapultepec (Capt .
King being indisposed) , and had approached ,
u nder cover of trees and rocks , to the brow
th e of the hill upon which Castle stands ,
4 D 13 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REI .
I am satisfied that his daring was the cau se
N r of our taking the Castle as we did . o
o f was it an act of blind courage , but one cool self- possession in the midst o f immin ent
f danger . Lieut . Reid had observed rom the sound that the Castle was poorly supplied
with side guns , and knew that could he once get his men to charge up to the walls they would be almost upon equal footing with
the defenders . What makes this achieve
ment more remarkable , Lieut . Reid was not
ordered to attack , but volunteered .
He also received letters from Captain D . J .
Sutherland , of the United States Marines ,
U m . an and Captain D p , of the United States
f ff . In antry , to the same e ect
The chief honours o f the assault on the
r Castle at Chapultepec w e e undoubtedly his . CHAPTER VIII .
HE SEEK S T O AID T H E REVO LUTIO NARY AGITATIO NS
IN EURO PE
B O T 1 849 A U the middle of June , , Captain
R Mayne eid , in company with the revolution
ary leader Hecker , and others bent upon the
same errand , sailed in the Cunard steamship
“ ” r evolu Caledonia for Liverpool , to aid the
ti o n ary movements then disturbing Europe . The men composing the legion raised in
Ne w . York , were to follow in another steamer
On arrival at Liverpool , Captain Reid and
Hecker received the intelligence , which had
j ust arrived , that the Bavarian revolution was
at an end . They were therefore to proceed
s o direct for Hungary , soon as their men 136 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
r should arrive . Thei plans had been to make fo r B n r ade fi st , and then on to Hungary .
f Taking leave of his riend Hecker , Captain Mayne Reid appointed to j oin him in London
in about a week or te n days . Mayne R eid then
took the first boat leaving for Warren Point , to visit his native home before embarking on
his perilous expedition . He landed in Ireland
1 2th on the morning of July , and at once
took a car to Rathfriland , some twenty miles — distant , reaching it about mid day . Here he dispatched a messenger to Ballyroney to
o f f break the news his return to his amily , who were in ignorance o f his having left
f S America , earing the hock that his sudden
appearance might have upon his mother , for
t la joi e fa i p ea r .
The Captain quickly follo w ed on the heels
O f his messenger . We leave the reader to imagine this reunion after so long an
138 M ME OIR OF MAYNE REID .
Squ are Rooms to advocate the recognition
o f Hungary as a nation . Mayne Reid was
o f present , and the following is a report his part In the proceedings
“ Colonel Reid , United States , moved the n f ext resolution , and announced himsel to be
at the head of a band of bold Americans , who had arrived in this metropolis on their
S way to Hungary , to place their words and
lives at the disposal of her people . The
‘ resolution he moved was as follows : That the immediate recognition of the government d e fa cto of the kingdom of Hungary by this country is no less demanded by considerations of j ustice and policy and the commercial
interests of the two States , than with a View
to putting a stop to the effusion o f human
blood , and of terminating the prospect of the
’ S fearful and b loody sepulchre of a oldier .
‘ ’ ‘ d h O e t Gentlemen , he sai , let us p hat M I E 139 ME O R OF MAYNE R ID . — this result may never b e let us pray that it may never be ; and before I resum e my seat I will offer a prayer to the God of
Omnipotence , couched in a paraphrase upon the language o f the eloquent Curran : May the Austrian and the Russian sink together in the dust ; may the brave Magyar walk abroad in his own maj esty ; may his body
swell beyond the measure of his chains , now bursting from around him and may he stand
redeemed , regenerated , and disenthralled by
the irresistible genius of universal e m an c i
But Captain Mayne Reid was not des tined
to fight in the cause of Hungary , any more
than in the Baden insurrection . Fate held
ff di erent purposes for him to fulfil . Before the expedition had started came
Te m se var the news of the defeat at , on
9th 1 84 9 August , . Kossuth had been com 140 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . p elle d to abandon his position and flee into
Turkey , and the subj ugation of Hungary was
f soon a ter completed .
n o w fo r There was no use the legion , and Captain Reid helped them in returning to
America .
To raise sufficient funds fo r this purpose he sold most of the Colt ’s revolvers he had
brought over .
at ate at axe
Captain Mayne Reid now finally sheathed
his sword , once more took up the pen , and began those marvellous tales o f adventure
which have made his name famous .
142 MEMOIR O F MAYNE REID .
which fancy has doubtless imparted . The
characters are taken from living originals , though most of them figure under fictitious
” s names ; th ey are portraits neverthele s .
The book was dedicated to his friend ,
Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart . “ The Rifle Rangers ” became at once a
the success , and reviews in the press were of
O b r r . s e ve the most flattering description The ,
7 th 18 50 April , , says
Two extraordinary volumes , teeming with
varied Mexican adventures , and written by no
everyday man . Of Captain Mayne Reid may
be said , according to his own analysis of him
l se f, what Byron wrote of Bonaparte
‘ And quiet to quick bosoms is a hell "’ The volumes contain some wild love
m o f passages , and any descriptions manners
and scenery . Of this book a writer in an American 14 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 3 j ournal says : In London he found a
b - pu lisher, and awoke to a world wide f l ame . The book that cou d not be pub lish e d l here , was trans ated and republished
in every language in Europe , and returning
d o f to this country, found thousan s
delighted readers . Your correspondent ,
callin g once . to pay his respects to
f u Lamartine , o nd that gentleman with
’ Mayne Reid s book in his hand , and the
eminent Frenchman loud in its praise .
Dumas , senior , said he could not close the
book till he had read the last word .
This was followed by his second romance ,
—f “ ” the world amed Scalp Hunters , which w a s n writte by Mayne Reid in Ireland ,
O ld h at Ballyroney , in the house in whic
he w as born . On its completion he returned
w a s to London , and the book published
18 51 t l in , by Charles Street , in hree vo umes . 144 M ME OIR OF MAYNE REID .
It at once bec ame one of the most popular
books of the season , and has maintained
its popularity ever since . Over a million
O opies have been sold in Great Britain
alone , and it has been translated into as m ’ ” any languages as The Pilgrim s Progress . The preface to The Scalp Hunters ” is
1 8 51 dated June ,
“ tra er My book is a p p book . It is well known that trappers swear like
f troopers ; some of them , in act , worse . I have endeavoured to christianize my trap
pers as much as lay in my power . I ,
however , see a wide distinction between the impiety of a trapper ’s oath and the
immorality of an unchaste episode . Th ere was not an adverse criticism in
any of the press notices .
David Bogue , publisher , of Fleet Street , proposed to Mayne Reid to write a s eries
4 D 1 6 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REI .
t the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord Lieu enant
o f Middlesex , to be that the numbers of
S S a Volunteer Rifle Corp s hould exceed ixty ,
and that particulars o f the names o f the
m o f embers , and the mode of training in
S . arms practised , hould be supplied The Christmas of 1 8 52 saw the pro
“ ” “ B o Fo r duction of The y Hunters . the
boy readers o f England and America this
book has been written , and to them it is
e d dicated ; that it may interest them ,
r ff so as to ival in their a ections the top , — the ball , and the kite that it may
fo r impress them , so as to create a taste
o f that most refining study , the study
N — b e ature that it may benefit them , by
f fo r getting a ondness books , the antidotes
o f of ignorance , idleness , and vice , has
. been the design , as it is the sincere wish ,
of their friend the author . CHAPTER X .
“ T H E E K O SSUTH . TIM S .
DURING the year 18 52 a str ong friendship had sprung up between Captain Mayne
u - n r Reid and Louis Koss th , the ex gover o
of Hungary , who was at that time living
r e n in London . Captain Reid ente ed th u si asti c ally into the Hungarian cause and attended many public meetings on behalf
f o f the re ugees .
1 8 53 — In February , , when the ill fated
u insurrection at Milan took place , Koss th was anxious to j oin the insurgents as soon
as possible . Captain Reid proposed that Kossuth should travel across the Continent disguised 10 —2 148 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
as his servant . A passport was actually got from the Foreign Office for this pur
24 th 1 8 53 pose , and bears date February , ,
“ fo r the free passage of Captain Mayne
R B eid , ritish subj ect , travelling on the
- Continent with a man servant , James
”
w B . Ha kins , ritish subj ect All was in
n fo r u readi ess their depart re , when a telegram in cipher was received by Kossuth
"meute that the rising had proved only an .
fo r w h o Fortunately Captain Reid , was thus spared riskin g his life on the altar of f riendship , as he was q uite prepared to do . Capture in Austria would have been certain
fo r m death one , if not both of the . He remained a staunch friend to Louis Kossuth during the latter’s residence in
a f n England , ever re dy to de e d him with
the pen , as he had been with the sword .
Times l Cth 1 8 53 The of February , ,
150 Y E MEMOIR OF MA N REID .
o urselves by Captain Mayne Reid , inclosing,
c o m as will be seen , a somewhat remarkable
m unic atio n addressed to one o f our morning
f contemporaries . In our leading columns o this evening we have referred more directly to
th e very curious documents here subjoined
n To the Editor of the S u .
30 P arkfild . e , Street , Islington
. l 6 th 1 58 8 . Feb ,
S IR - I , regret that I am a stranger to
you , but I have a confidence that your sense
’ o f ‘ fair play will influence you to insert the accompanying le t ter in your j ournal of to
r mo row . I need hardly add that the facts which it states have been drawn from an
u s a thentic ource .
S ir With high respect , ,
& c . I am , ,
A R I M YNE E D . E MEMOIR OF MAYN REID . 151
To the Editor of the Times .
S IR —In r o f l 0 th , your j ou nal the inst . appears a telegraphic dispatch announcing
an insurrection in Milan ; and underneath ,
in the same column , a document which you
‘ ’ a f st te purports to be rom Kossuth , and to
which is appended the name o f that
gentleman .
“ N w did o . e , sir , M Kossuth either writ
. If that document , or he did not he did , and you have published it without his
authorization , you have committed , by all
the laws of honour in this land , a dis
. o u honourable act If he did not write it , y
have committed , by the laws of j ustice in
this land , a criminal act . I charge you
with the committal of both . You are
guilty of the latter ; and the latter , like a
parenthesis , embraces the former . You have published that document with 152 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . out any authorization from the man whose name is subscribed to it ; and upon the day
following , in an additional article , you have
i t s declared authenticity , as a proclamation
a . ddressed by M Kossuth , from Bayswater , for the purpose o f engaging the Lombard and Hungarian patriots in the late insurrection at
Milan .
ir f S o . As such , , in the name M Kossuth ,
I dis a vow th d u t r nounc i t t be a e oc men . I p o e o
r r fo ge y.
It remains with M . Kossuth to bring you
f be ore the bar of the law . It has become my du ty to arraign you before the tribunal o f
public Opinion .
c I harge you , then , with having given
n f uttera ce to a orged document , which was calculated to reflect with a damning influence
h upon the fame of its reputed author . Suc
conduct is in any case culpable . In yours it
154 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
' " t er m e d mo st struction , must be cruel and
It i s n ot tr ue . . n atrocious It is a sla der , and I feel confident that all who read
n will pronou ce it , as I have done , cruel
and atrocious .
to With regard its first clause , I here
ffi a rm that M . Kossuth had not only no part in inciting the Italians to a revolution at this
o time ; but , that up to the latest moment , he p posed such an ill—j udged and premature move
o l ment with all the might of his c unse . He
had weighty reasons for so doing . Perhap s
w you , sir , may kno what these weighty
’ reasons are ; but whether you do or not , I am not going to declare them for the benefit o f
n o w Austrian ears . This is not the question ,
u affir but yo r charge is ; to which I oppose the
n ot tru mation that it is e . With regard to the
latter clause of your quoted assertion , I have
thus to answer : that the moment in which M . E O F D 1 M MOIR MAYNE REI . 55 Kossuth received the news of the insurrection — in Milan and which came upon him as n u expectedly as upon any man in England upon that moment he hurried to make pre
p ara ti o n fo r his departure to the scene o f
a action . Although filled with a prophetic p prehension that the affair would turn out to be
’ emeute an , and not a national revolution , he ,
nevertheless , resolved to fling his body into
the struggle . I , who was to have had the
a honour of sharing his d ngers , can bear testi mony to the zeal with which he was hurrying
w to face them , hen he was frustrated by the
n ews that the insurrection was crushed . Were
I to detail , as I may one day be called upon
" to do , the sacrifices which he made to e fle c t
S S ir that obj ect , the landers , , which you have uttered against him would recoil still more
bitterly upon yourself. For the present I content myself with the assertion of the fact 156 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . but should you render it necessary I am ready
f with the proo s .
“ B ut no such explanation was n e eded to shield Louis Kossuth from your unmanly
accusation . Shall I recall a circumstance in the life O f that heroic man to refute you "
You , sir , must know it well . It has been
recorded in the columns , and engraven in the
l h A 1 849 tab ets , of istory . In ugust , , upon th e banks o f the Danube stood Louis
n n Kossuth . O one side was the avengi g
Austrian , thirsting for his blood ; on the
an d w h o other his weak wavering protector , — — had declared that unless h e Kossuth and his associates would consent to abandon the religion of their fathers they must be yielded
t o " o f up , what On the part Kossuth , to —fi — death c ert ain death upon the ignominious
ff o sca old . In this peril us crisis , others , less
t compromised , accepted life upon the erms
15s O E MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
“ you to purify your soiled escutcheon as you
best may .
S ir n I am , , yours obedie tly ,
ID MAYNE RE .
1 5 February th .
P l 6 th S IR — In u S . . . February , yo r
o f j ournal of this morning , instead publishing
the above letter , you have noticed it in a short
paragraph , worthy of the pen that would
malign a patriot . But do not imagine that you are to escape thus easily from the unpleasant position in which you have placed
f yourself. In this country the character o a
gentleman , though he be a stranger , is not to
be wantonly assailed with impunity , and you ,
o f sir , shall be as amenable to the laws honour
and justice as the meanest citizen in the land .
r You say , in relation to you pseudo pro
fo r clamation , that you had good reason
n u a n believi g it to be gen ine , and sh ll certai ly 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 59 not discredit it without better authority than
’ that of Mayne Reid .
“ If you had no better authority for pub lishing it than what is implied by the tenor
f o u of the above paragraph , I ancy y will have some difficulty in explaining to your readers
t o why you published it at all , and your — countrymen why s o long a s a doubt exis ted i n — your mind as to i ts genuin eness you took advantage o f the sentiments expressed by it
f to de ame the character of its reputed author . You take occasion to characterize my letter
’ as absurdly bombasti c language . It is
before the public as above . Let them be
the j udges and the only favour I S hould ask
o u r of them would be , to read y editorial
article upon the same subj ect . Having given
yours a prior perusal , I feel satisfied that their ears will not be so delicately attuned as to be
’ j arred by the absurdly bombastic of mine . 6 I F 1 0 MEMO R O MAYNE REID .
‘ Bombastic ’ seems to be a favourite phrase
fo r r with you , and the style itself no write in England is more accustomed to its usage than — that mythical personage the editor o f the
Times .
“ ‘ Your sneer at the authority o f Mayn e
’ Reid , is equally characteristic . It is true I am
n but a plain gentleman , who make my livi g ,
. n o t like yourself, by literature But I did calculate upon the statement of a plain gentle
man having any weight with yo u . In my letter I Offered you full proof o f my asser
t n o t m ions . You do see inclined to call
them forth .
“ If n o w . And , sir , one word more you
flatter yourself that by means of bold swagger and personal invective you can cover your
misdeeds , you are sadly mistaken . You may
n o f insult the u derstanding Englishmen , as
S you repeatedly do , with your wordy ophistry ,
162 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
Kossuth l eads me to hope that you will
‘ also publish the inclosed document .
I am , sir , W ith high respect ,
Truly yours ,
MAYNE REID .
l t 7 1 . 30 1 rkfi. P a e d , Stree , Feb th
To the Editor o f The Ti mes .
You have refused to disavow the
b pseudo proclamation , which you pu lished
th e without better over name of M . Kossuth ,
" ha n th t o Ma n d a uthority t a f y e R ei . Perhaps you will be satisfied with the authority of
the gentleman whose name i s m autograph
‘ appended to the communication I n o w in
close you .
& c . I am, sir , ,
MAYNE REID . 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 6 3
To Captain Mayne Reid .
“ 1 1 . 8 8 53 London , Feb .
“ MY A S IR DE R , I feel myself under high obligations for the generous and chivalric manner in
which you stepped forth to do me justice , when you knew me to be wronged in that
‘ ’ proclamation matter ; as also I feel bound to lasting gratitude towards yo u for the noble readiness with which you gave me at once
t your helping hand , at my reques , to aid me to reach the field o f that action which
I did not approve , but which , of course , I
must have been anxious to j oin .
“ s o Your generous assistance , which you
a re readily granted me , I can the more p p
ciate , as I am sorry to say with us there
ff are many di iculties , even in reaching any
field of honourable danger at all . We are
f not free to move . Evidence o it : That 1 1 —2 16 4 F M EMOIR O MAYNE REID . when not long ago my departed dear mother — was on her death bed in exile , a certain
’ ‘ constitutional government w ould allo w me to go to imprint the parting kiss of filial devotio n on her b ro w upon the condition only that I should submit to the dis g raceful profanation of being accompa nied by a gen
’ ’ darme to my dying mother s bed .
“ ff I thank you , sir, most a ectionately , for
that your assistance , as well as your chivalric defence I was just about myself to pub lish a formal disavowal o f that ‘ Proclama
’ tion to the Hungarian Soldiers . I hope you ,
as well as every Englishman , will appreciate
fo r my motive not having done it earlier .
S ir : My motive , , was this that my dis
avowal would , of course , have been tele
graphed to Austrian quarters ; and , suppos
the h ing fight in Italy still pending , mig t have possibly done some harm to my beloved
166 MEMOIR O F MAYNE REID
“ I certainly , sir , did highly disapprove of any idea o f rising in Italy now ; but the failure o f the unfortunate victims I will con sider but as a n ew claim upon my compassion
f and sympathy . Men , in the peace ul enj oy
f c ment of reedom and prosperity , can s arcely imagine what aspirations and what thoughts
' ' can and must cross th e h e arts o f a people
ff su ering what Italy does . That should be borne in mind before we cast the stone o f b lame upon those who fell .
m I , sir , am so uch penetrated by this sen timen t fo r , that , were it not higher motives —which are entirely of no personal sus
c ep tibility that I am not permitted to take
upon myself the imputation o f an imprudent
—I act which I did not commit , perhaps , would have preferred to be inj ured by letting pass
s in ilence the whole proclamation matter , and
all the venomous slander connected with it . M O O F 6 EM IR MAYNE REID . 1 7 fiB ut fo r those highe r motives I feel in nitely obliged to you for having so gener o u sl n y undertaken to vi dicate my prudence ,
and my plain but honest character . May be t t hat this , your chivalry , will en irely release me from the necessity o f any further public
I S steps in that respect . That hall see , and leave in the meantime my ready disavowal
where it is .
“ im However , as following the generous
pulse of your heart , you may, perhaps , feel
l the l if inc ined to fight on batt e , required ,
d in which you so nobly engage , I thought it would perhaps be as well to state to
u vo some particulars . “ I think any intelligent reader of that
purported proclamation , may have at once become aw ar e o f its not being genuine on
B reading it . ecause , to sav in one and the
‘ ff : . same document something to this, e ect I 68 M N 1 MEMO IR OF AY E REID . send the bearer to you that he may inform
f me who amongst you are aithful and true ,
and infor m me how you should organiz e ;
and to say in the same document , as it
‘ were with the same breath : Rise " Strike "
’ The moment is at hand , which is as much
‘ ’ —t i s as to say , Don t organize his , indeed ,
too absurd a blunder in logic to be believed .
“ Do I then disavo w the sentiments con t ain ed t " N in hat document o , sir ; all my
f an d i n li e is , will be , summed up this idea
’ — ’ my country s freedom my country s rights ; a nd c o n si sten tl v with this , I am , and will
irrec o n c il eable remain , an enemy to Francis
o f w h o Joseph Austria , stole by perj ury
f from my country sacred rights , reedom , con s tit uti o n , laws , and national existence ; and
beaten back in his criminal attack , robbed — it by treason and by foreign force and n o w
r . . mu ders it Yes , sir , I avow Openly these
170 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
O f sentence of it ; some them at one time ,
some at another on difl e re n t occasions
w a s K u t a ah probably when I a prisoner at y ,
fo r ff all di erent exigencies , past , long past ,
o f n years ago , out which writi gs the present document might have been patched up
’ m k n o w le d e without y g , and used on the
n prese t occasion without my consent .
“ All this is not the question . The ques
— t tion , sir , is have I addressed his (or what
soever else) proclamation from English soil
for the purpose of enga g ing the Hungarian
i n soldiers , or whomsoever else , in the late
surrection at Milan , or wherever else , in Italy "
“ That is the question . Answering to this
th e question , you disavowed document as
such , and pronounced it to be a forgery
and you are perfectly right . I neither
to invited , nor gave any authority any one 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 71 t o th e invite , Hungarian soldiers to j oin in
. Na any insurrection in Italy now y, when e ve r I heard anything said about the Lom bard patriots being incapable O f enduring
longer their oppression , and that perhaps they might feel inclined to break forth at
o f any risk , I condemned the very idea
n o w thinking upon an insurrection in Italy ,
fo r re vo l u declaring that , the present , no tionary movement would succeed in Lom
‘ b ut bardy , but would turn out to be a
' ’ e meute fo r deplorable ; and I , one , declared
' e meute f w every , however valiantly ought , ould
- l e i ti but render impure the well founded , g
mate prospects o f the cause of liberty .
“ All this, sir , you have known , when you gave your chivalric dementi to that pur
ported proclamation o f mine . You have known more ye t ; you have seen a letter from ' one of the most renowned Italian 1 F 72 MEMOIR O MAYNE REID .
l 0 th f patriots , dated on the of February, rom
the field of action , in which he categorically
‘ confesses that I i n my views w a s perfectly
’ right , and they have been wrong ; and in
w f hich he urther , giving me the first notice of my name having been used clandestinely
m e at Milan , gives himself full evidence that
i t w a s t done without my knowledge , withou
my consent .
You have known all this , sir ; but one
thing you may not yet know , and that is
“ I came to England about the end . of
1 2 2 8 . June , Since that time I have been
always on English soil ; and since I have
o n s been Engli h soil , I never addressed any proclamation to th e Hungarian soldiers in
Italy .
“ B u t r stop . Yes , I have add essed a pro
S clamation to them . A ingle one , dated Feb r u ar 1 5 y th , a copy of which I beg leave
174 MEMOIR O F MAYNE REID .
Italy fo r th e present moment . I issued no appeal calling o n you to take a part
in it . “ Once the time will come—and come it h — s all , undoubtedly when I , in the name of
l our country, wil desire you , wheresoever
n vou may the be , to side with the peo ple
around the banner o f liberty . That is a
ur m a " sacred duty . O ene y is the s me every
’ Where , and the people s cause is one and
o n e the same alike as there is but one God ,
honour , and one liberty .
“ But this o n e I shall do at the right
time . The present time was not the right
one .
“ O f one thing you may rest assured , and
h that is , that I shall never play wit your
blood a wanton play .
“ ‘ Whensoever I shall say to you , Ye
r " l b aves , the time is at hand I will tel you O F 1 5 MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 7
‘ i f this ne ther rom London , nor from any
f m distant safe place , but ro headquarters .
n i a d. m In person w ll I lead you on , clai the
first share in your glorious dangers . “ Never shall I invite you to risk any
h danger in which I myself do not s are . “ And as no one can be present in two
e a t fo r plac s once , should I , that reason ,
f o f n o t place mysel . at the head your heroic ranks— because duty will call on me to do
c r that in our own dear ount y , where I shall have to fight for freedom and right in Hun
fi gary , while you will be ghting for it in — Italy my appeal will reach you by the
a hand of a gallant Hungarian comm nder , whom I will charge to lead you on to the
—fii n f field of glory ght g orward home to j oin
the banner which I shall hold there . “ Of this you may rest assured Until
— ’ then be prepared but wait . Don t play O F D MEMOIR MAYNE REI .
your blood wantonly . The Fatherland , the
n i t world , is eeding . “ For freedom and Fatherland "
“ K . o ss ur n L .
“ 5 1 1 53 . . 8 London , Feb ,
“ The forged proclamation c o rre sp o n
dence elicited numerous editorials from th e
m o f Press , all war ly in praise Captain Mayne
’ f Reid s able de ence of Kossuth .
From the Morning Advertis er o f February 1 9 the following is extracted
The Times w e say it with regret ,
because the character o f the entire news paper press i s mor e or less affected by the
misdeeds o f one of its leading members has earned for itself an unenviable notoriety by the frequency with which it gives cir
c ulation to calumnies against those to whom
fu it is opposed , and then re sing to allow
1 o r 7s MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
Times all this while believed the document to be an emanation from the pen of the
illustrious Magyar .
“ But farther than this , in our allowances fo r The our contemporary , we cannot go .
Ti mes is told that the proclamation to the
, Hungarian soldiers in the Austrian army
’ K o s suth s was not the production of pen , a n d that he was in no wise responsible fo r
its sentiments or its exhortations . Captain
M The Times ayne Reid writes to , not only d enying the genuineness of the document
f but producing acts and assigning reasons , which ought “ to have satisfied that j ournal that it had preferred a charge against Kos
suth as groundless as it was inj urious . But instead of giving a ready insertion to Captain Mayne Reid ’s vindication of the character of the Hungarian chief from the calumnies
The Times which put into circulation , that or N R E ID 1 9 MEMOIR MAY E . 7
ass i n 1n j ournal , without g g , or being able to
assign , any reason for still believing that the
document was genuine , reiterates the asser
’ tion of its having proceeded from K o ss uth s
pen .
“ Fortunately fo r the character of the
English press , there is not another j ournal of any reputation in the country that would
act in this matter as The Times has done . However much a paper may chance to be
opposed to a particular individual , we know
of no instance , with this solitary exception
The Times n of , in which an editor, havi g preferred a groundless charge against a man
to whose character is everything him , would refuse to allow a contradiction and disproof
f of the accusation . The force o inj ustice
f a could no urther go . To act in this w y is
o f to play the part a moral assassin , and
. ought to draw down on the head of the 12—2 180 E M MOIR OF MAYNE REID. j ournalist who could play so criminal a part the indignation and abhorrence of the
public .
“ The Times has not ye t forgotte n its old
d h gru ge against the Magyar c ief, nor is it
likely it ever will . It not only greatly
damaged its . commercial interests by the
sv s te m of calumny which it pursued towards
b ut e n the Hungarian exile , it had also to
ifii n dure the m o r t c a t o of finding that all its
’ ff K o ss uth s e orts to inj ure character , or to
diminish the interest felt in the cause o f
H . N ungary , were entirely unsuccessful ever was the utter powerlessness of a j ournal more thoroughly demonstrated than was that
o f The Times on the arrival of Kossuth in
m o r tifia tio n c this country , and the of its
signal failure to prevent the tide of popular feeling from flowing in favour of the ex
n governor of Hu gary , still rankles in the
2 E 18 MEMOIR OF MAYN E R ID .
showed him to be a statesman of c o n s um
mate capacity .
Afterwards came the other , and , in some
e m r spects , still nobler display of lofty herois ,
which Kossuth made when a prisoner i n
Turkey . Those are indeed heartless calum
niato rs wh o would seek to brand with the
t guil of cowardice one of the bravest of men , overwhelmed with sorrow and an exile from — his country a country dearer to him than
f B ut fo r o f li e itself. the credit English
j ournalism be it s poken , there is only one paper amidst the entire press of this country
f o which he can complain . We need not
w name that j ournal . Every one knows e — allude to The Times a j ournal whose name
has fo r some time past been everywhere
regarded as syn onymous w ith all that is
unprincipled and ungenerous .
’ Since th e above was in the printer s O F 18 3 MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
hands , we have received another communi
R cation from Captain Mayne eid , inclosing a
letter from Kossuth himself, which comp letely settles the question of the forged proclama
o o f tion . N one can read the letter the
illustrious Hungarian without blushing to think that he should be systematically as
i n m r sailed the ost savage manne , and be made the victim of a series of the grossest calumnies by a paper arrogating to itself the
‘ ’ title of the leading j ournal of Europe .
Captain Mayne Reid deserves , and will
o f receive , the thanks of every lover justice for his spirited and triumphant defence o f
” t h e f character o Kossuth .
The Ti mes afterwards stated that Kossuth
was storing arms at Rotherhithe . In the
o f 1 8th 1 8 53 issue that j ournal on April , , appeared the following editorial note 194 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . We have received another highly com
limen tar m — w e p y letter fro Mr . Mayne Reid mean a whole sheet full of abuse—and so
w e t . long as con inue what we are , and Mr
u Mav e Reid continues what he is , we shall consider his abuse the greatest praise it is in
f o f his power to bestow . A eeling regard
h h o w for the Englis language induces us ,
n ever , to refrain from givi g publicity to
’
. R h Mr Mayne eid s balderdash , whic we dare
’ s ay may be read in another place .
A copy o f this letter had been forwarded
M orni n Ad ver tis er to the g , and appeared in
1 8 th full in its columns on April . It is as follows
Th Ti mes To the Editor o f e .
S IR —It ‘ , is written Whom the
’ would destroy , him they make mad
doom then seems inevitable ; for if an
1 6 O F D 8 MEMOIR MAYNE REI .
Into this you designed to drive M . Kossuth .
him f You essayed to push rom the cliff.
o u Headlong y rushed upon him ; but , blinded
by bad passions , you missed your aim . You have staggered over yourself ; and your in t l ended victim stands triumphant y above you .
“ From the declarations o f the gentleman
m o w n himself, fro my personal knowledge
u m t of facts , I pronounce yo r whole state en regarding M Kossuth an d his Rotherhith e
a f d arsenal web of wicked alsehoo s . But the
- h arlo ti c a ba ndon cold blooded audacity , the
with which you have uttered these falsehoods ,
o s itivel and commented upon them , are p v
ffito astounding . It is di cult believe you in earnest ; and one is inclined to fancy you
the dup e of so me gross deception .
B u t the palpable a nimus that g uides your
p en zw ill not p ermit this charitable c o n s tru c
t f tion , and we are preven ed rom giving you or MA E 18 MEMOIR YN REID . 7
f d even the benefit o a oubt . We have no
v alternati e but to believe you guilty , with
’
re ens e . deliberate forethought , with malice p p
“ f But , sir , if you are to be suf ered to drag innocent men from the pri vacy of thei r hearth to charge them with imaginary cri mes—to support your charges with not
d a shadow of evi ence , but , upon the contrary , to substitute coarse calumny and vengeful — vitupe ration if all this be permitted you
with impunity , it is full time that we inquire , in what consists English freedom "
“ There a r e other tyrannies besides th at of despotic governments There is the
m tyranny of a licentious press ; and , for y
h part , I would rat er submit me to the
t rule of the sabre and the knou , than live at the mercy of a conclave of dissi pated adventurers who sneak around the
purlieus of Printing House Square . 188 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
I shall not con descend to repeat the
t slan ders you have lately ut ered . I am
saved th e necessity of refuting them .
The pen and the ton gue have already a o
i complished this . H gher names than mine
d have endorse the refutation . In the House
s VValm sle of Common , Duncombe , y, Bright
and Dudley Stuart , have nailed the lie to
the wall .
“ I know not what course M . Kossuth
may pursue towards you . Doubtless he may treat you with that dignifi ed silence he
ff has hitherto observed . He can well a ord
n t o . it . He need fear to be silent He
shall not lack defenders . “ You may double your sta ff of facile
w scribes , and arm each of them ith a
plum e plucked from the fetid wing of th e
th e Austrian eagle . You will find among
h c ampions of truth , brains as clear and
190 D MEMOIR OF MAYNE REI . disgraced— as the friend of a man by you i —I l nj ured cannot submit myself to si ence .
When you charge M . Kossuth and other
Hun garian leaders with a violation o f our
'I hospitality , cannot do otherwise than
f pronounce your statements alse . You per haps do not know how much you your self are indebted to the high respect which these gentlemen have for the laws of Eng
. B u t lish hospitality for that , sir , I can assure you t hat you would long since have
f been dragged rom your incognito , and
treated in a manner I will not describe ; and although I for one should not approve of
such a proceeding , I could not deny that you have done all in your power to de
i serve t . But if the laws of our country
protect you , they also protect the stranger
f rom personal insult . The host has duties
as well as the guest , and may equally 19 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
v . iolate the laws of hospitality You , sir ,
t hav e been guilty of that viola ion .
“ I call upon you , then , to make some
atonement fo r the wrong you have done
o u n to apologize to the man y have wro ged ,
m h to your country en , whose onour you
have compromised , whose intelligence you
to have insulted . I counsel you this course ,
h i fin d t e . which you w ll most prudent Do
m not affect to despise y counsel . Do not
m ‘ i agine , like Macbeth , that by becoming
’ worse . and keeping up a meretricious
u s swagger , you may extricate yo r elf from
h your un appy position . This , be assured ,
you can never do . Po w erful as you fancy
n to yourself, you are not stro g enough
f defy public opinion . You may lounce about — the lobbies of a theat re you may frown
u pon the manager , and frighten the trem
debuta n te— n o w bling you may , and then , MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . make merit for yourself by holding up to public execration some unfortunate wretc h
who , having miscalculated the amount of
- in a de ua te black mail , has made you an q
ff n o t o er ; but fancy , for all this , that you
are omnipotent : you cannot annihilate one
atom of truth . The humblest gentleman in
England may condemn and defy you .
MAYNE REID .
1 4 ’ , Alpha Road , Regent s Park .
“ 1 6 April ,
The language of this letter seems now
fl somewhat in ated . Allowance must be made
fo r the feelings of the writer , which , naturally
b sensitive , were then strongly stirred y his
friendshi p for Kossuth and his enthusiasm
r fo a popular cause . A week later Kossuth wrote to Mayne Reid complaining of the espionage to which
4 19 MEMOIR or MAYNE REID .
1 56 6 8 . Friday evening, June ,
“ MY S IR DEAR ,
“ Sick , exhausted and outworn , I have had to prepare a n e w lecture for
Glasgow, whither I travel next Monday .
“ Hard work this lecturing , but they promise to be remunerative ; and I have
e d bts to pay , and my children want
re b ad .
“ I am greatly under obligation fo r your m any kindnesses and assistance . I am not u m f n ind ul of my obligation , and I hope soon to testify it ; but do me the favou r once more to revise my grammar and
r syntax , I p ay you . “ With the most sincere assurance of
r d g atitu e ,
ru an d ff Yours in t th a ection ,
K sur n os .
R Captain Mayne eid . on 1 5 MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 9
1 2 ’ , Regent s Park Terrace ,
“ 4 th 1 6 1 8 . March ,
MY DEAR FRIEND
“ Very sorry to h ear o f the illness
o f Madame Reid and o f your o w n indis
— o f th e position . Bronchitis that curse — London climate is a very trying affair ;
o f we kn ow only too much it .
M fo r r ff any, many thanks you kind o er ,
which I gladly accept as far as your
f power ul pen is concerned . I am indeed
o f n o in need it , the more so as I have — time to write myself have scarcely time
to breathe .
“ We must try and make this Chan c erv suit a glorious triumph to my country ’s rights and to the great principles involved
if in it , and I think we may only the
press is not allo wed to relax its support .
“ — The papers at least most o f them 13—2 196 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID . — are well disposed even The Times (only
think l) . So write " write " write " is the word
m now ore than ever .
“ D a il N ews n The y will , I thi k , accept — any good article on the subj ect at least I — expect them to do s o the M orning S ta r
M orni n Advertis er still more , and of the g I
f feel per ectly sure .
“ I shall try to see yo u in the course o f — t o - w if if morro , possible not , then after
- t o morrow for certainty .
“ v e rv l Yours faithfu ly,
O TH K SSU .
Captain Mayne Reid .
1 853 In October , , a meeting was held
at the London Tavern , under the presidency
of Lord Dudley Stuart , to express sympathy
with Turkey . Captain Mayne Reid was
198 O I O F N E D MEM R MAY E R I .
r s course to it . Their fi st duty w a to kno w what was right ; and having ascertained
that , to demand it in the most Open and s r traightfo ward manner . He was no lover o f war ; he would be glad to see the sword t urned into the plough share ; but he b e lieve d th e time had come when war was no t b ut only j ust , a strict and holy
n e cessity . They were bound by treaty to
protect the integrity o f Turkey . Throw
n interest to the winds , their ho our called
upon them .
22nd o f O r A week later , on the ctobe , the British and French fleets entered the
B u m osphor s , deter ined to prevent the dis
e m o f it m mber ent Turkey, although was n o t until the following March that war was
declared against Russia .
“ At Christmas 1 8 53 The Yo ung Voy F I 199 MEMO IR O MAYNE RE D . a e urs Bo w a s g , a sequel to The y Hunters ,
° published . The dedication was
Kind Father ,
n and ff Ge tle A ectionate Mother , Accept this tribute f ’ o a Son s gratitude .
MAYNE REID .
O f this book the N onconformis t says :
o f As a writer books for boys , com mend us above all m e n living to Captain
Mayne Reid .
“ w e We venture to add , that should like to see men of any age who could deny that its perusal gave them both pleasure and instruction X1 CHAPTER .
TH CA TA N AND H CH LD WI E E P I IS I F .
CAPTAIN MAY N E REID had now met his
f - ate ; not in the dark eyed Mexican senorita ,
f l but a air little English gir , a child scarce
o f thirteen years age . Her name w a s Eliza
u o f beth Hyde , the only da ghter George
o f William Hyde , a lineal descendant the
f first Earl o Clarendon .
“ o f In his novel The Child Wife , he describes his first meeting this young girl : In
f w a s l e ss than ten minutes a ter , he in love with a child " There are those who will deem this
i t an improbability . Nevertheles s was true ;
fo r we are recording an actual experience .
Later on he says to his friend R o s eve ldt “ That child has impressed me with a
20 E IR F D 2 M MO O MAYNE REI .
gentleman . This was repeated to Captain
R f eid , and he a terwards allowed that his
vanity was much wounded at the time . A fe w weeks passed and the middle - aged
” gentleman was quite forgotten . Other m ’ atters occupied Elizabeth Hyde s thou ghts .
O n e day she was alone in th e drawing - room
’ e making a doll s outfit . Captain Reid ent red
the room , but she did not recognize him .
He looked surprised , and said , Do you not
” remember me " As he had a very foreign
“ O h appearance , she exclaimed , , yes , you are Monsieur Then he mentioned his
. h o w name He asked old she was , and , on
“ s o ld hearing , aid , You are getting enough
to have a lover , and you must have me .
“ - The middle aged gentleman did not,
H e r however , come up to her standard .
uncle was her ideal .
After this Captain Reid made long and O F 20 MEMOIR MAYNE REID . 3 f a ’ requent visits to the unt s house , but saw the
h niece very little . Wit her , indeed , he found so little favour that she in te nt10 n ally avoided
his society . Mrs . Hyde began to believe her
f sel the attraction , as Mayne Reid spent hours i n her society . All is fair in love and war .
— a f An old Quaker lady great riend , who was frequently at the house at the time o f
’ — Mayne Reid s visits was under the same
r imp ession , and at the first visit she paid after
R his marriage , said to Mayne eid , in her quaint f ashion , Why , Mayne , I always thought thou
f ’ wast a ter Eliza (Mrs . Reid s aunt) .
At last Elizabeth w as beginning t o feel some
“ ” interest in her lover . It was pity at first , as
w as she had a notion he a refugee , having lately heard his name in connection with the Hun a f g rian re ugees , thfiough to her childish mind a r efugee had no de nite meaning . She thought ,
w w as h . ho ever , it somet ing to be sorry for 204 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID One dav Captain Reid brought her “ The
Scalp Hunters , asking her to read it , and
saying she would find herself there . This book was written and published before the
s aw f Captain her , but he said it was a ore
w shado ing , and that at first sight of her he
“ Zo e " had exclaimed to himself, This is
n Mrs . Hyde was n o w about to marry agai a clergyman—and to reside in a distant
u l sub rb of London . Just before her remova ,
Captain Mayne Reid called to s ay he was
to h going on a visit Paris , and to wis good
w as m . bye . Mrs . Hyde not at ho e He said
“ to Elizabeth , I shall not know where to
” find you when I return . But she did not
enlighten him on the subj ect , little thinking
h o w long it would be ere they met again .
’ After Mrs . Hyde s marriage , Elizabeth
e went to her father in the country . Th re
did not s eem any probability o f Captain
206 EM E M OIR OF MAYNE R ID . by the speakers and a few ladies and gentle m en . f He took his seat on the plat orm , and
n I mi e also , j ust opposite to him . We did
not speak , but our eyes met . — At last it all came " to an end near mid
f d i night . The audience were ast ispersing n
b o f the ody the hall , the lights were being
fe w extinguished . The who remained on the platform were hand - shakin g and c o ngr atulat
ing the speakers . Captain Reid had a
number around him . I might also have — j oined them w e were then standing only a f — n e w feet apart but somethi g held me back .
The place was n o w almost in darkness
all were leaving the platform . I caught a
o f m e glimpse my father hurrying towards , and could just dimly see two or three gen tl eme n fo r n evidently waiting the Captai , who was still conversing with one person .
It seemed as though w e were again about E O F 2 M MOIR MAYNE REID . 07
h to be severed . At t at moment he came
w to ards me , grasped mv hand , and I j ust caught the hurried words I leave for
London by the next train . Send me your
’ d f d . ad ress Speech seeme to have le t me ,
i but it fl ash e d upon me that I was i n igno r
his ance of , and managed to stammer out
‘ ’ I do not know where . He instantly d h . anded me his car , and was gone “ My father lifted me down from the platform and we groped our way out in the
darkness .
I then learned that Captain Mayne Reid h ad only arrived that evening , and was obliged to leave by the midnight train fo r
London .
imm e di On awaking the next morning , I ately sprang out o f bed to see if th e card which I had left on my table the previous — night was still there o r if it had not all been 208 O F N MEMOIR MAY E REID .
t a dream . But there was the card , wi h the
an d l n ame d a dress in fu l .
“ It w as not long after breakfast before I wrote and posted a formal little n ote
“ ‘ E T N D — D AR CAP AI REI , As you asked
me last night to send you my address , I
’ do so .
By return of post I received the following
‘ MY TTL ZoE — nl LI E , O y say that you love
’ me . , and I will be with you at once My reply was
‘ ’ I think I do love you .
On receipt of this the Captain p u t himself
th e into an express train , quickly covering hun
dred and fifty miles which separated us . My lover told me that when we parted in London he had feared that it was impossible t o make
f r me love him , but he could never o get me ,
o f and , in spite all obstacles , had the firm
his c onviction I should yet be .
M 210 EMOIR OF MAYNE REID . Her aunt was greatly astonished at hear
n o f ing the ews the marriage , as she was
’ daily expecting her niece s arrival en r oute f r o school .
The child had gone to school o f a different kind to educate herself i n the real
e xperiences of life . After Captain Reid ’s marriage many amusing incidents occurred in relation to
“ f R his Child Wi e One day Captain eid ,
accompanied by his little lady , was choosing
’ a bonnet fo r her at a fashio n able milliner s
In Regent Street .
l The mil iner had addressed Mrs . Reid
“ v l m se era ti es as Miss . At last the Cap tain exclaimed rather sharply “ This lady is my wife "
The milliner , looking very much astonished ,
“ : said I beg your pardon , sir , I thought
the young lady was about retu rning to 21 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 1
school , and that you were choosing a
bonnet fo r her to take .
Tw o n years later , when they were residi g
n . in the cou try , Mrs Reid was one day in the baker ’s shop in the village ordering
amongst other things some biscuits . Whilst
m a n the old was weighing them out , he
offered some to Mrs . Reid . She thought
o dd this rather , but not liking to appear
offended took a biscuit . The baker in
“ quired , How is Captain and Mrs . Reid ,
” a miss " Mrs . Mayne Reid w s much s ur
a t n prised as well as amused this que stio , thinking of course the baker must know
f her, as she and Captain Reid had o ten
“ : been in the shop . She answered Captai n
I ” . R . Reid is quite well , and am Mrs eid
’ The old man s face w as a study fo r an
artist ; he nearly fell back behind hi s
“ : counter , exclaiming I humbly beg your
14 - 2 21-2 I D MEMO R OF MAYNE REI .
’ h . u t e pardon , ma am I tho ght you was young lady visiting at the house during
” ’ the holidays . The Captain s wife being still
fo r - taken a school girl , it was necessary for
j her to assume an extra amount of dignity ,
f It appeared they had ancied that Mrs . Mayne Reid was an elderly invalid lady
who did not go out much .
’ f About this time Mrs . Reid s ather w a s
on a visit to them , and used to accompany his daughter on horse - back nearly every
day . He looked so young that the servants
“ were asked : Who is that young gentle
wh o man is always riding out with Mrs . Reid "”
k They got things considerably mixed , ta ing
th e f the husband for ather , and the father fo r something else , the latter being much
l o c kin the younger g of the two , though of
o ‘ ab ut the same age .
2 14 M O F ME OIR MAYNE REID .
- s Captain author , which she would afterward
relate fo r his amusement . Captain Reid used to say he could not
have endured having an old wife . On one
n occasio , when attending a large public
’ s oiree ac , a somewhat elderly dame of his
f quaintance attached hersel to him , and promenaded the room by his side fo r a
f . gr eat part o the evening . Mrs Reid won dered what was making her husband look
so savage . He came across the room to
“ her saying : I want you to keep close by
fo r o f me the rest the evening , or people will be taking that old thing for my wife I”
w a s f He proud of his wi e , and liked to have her remain his “ Child Wife to the e nd o f the chapter . The Hunter ’s Feast and “ The Forest
” Exiles were now written , the latter being
’ his n ext boys book for Christmas 18 54 . 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 2 5
B 18 55 The ush Boys , published in , was the first of Captain Mayne Reid ’s South
w as African books for boys . It dedicated
To three very dear young friends , Franz ,
Louis and Vilma ; the children o f a still
f o f f older friend the riend reedom , of virtue ,
o f and truth Louis Kossuth , by their
” - sincere well wisher , Mayne Reid . Captain Reid had commenced “ The Quad
roon some time before , and laid the MSS . away in his desk. It w as finally published
1 8 56 c in three volumes , , and was a very p pu
lar book . It was dramatized shortly after its
first appearance , and performed at the
City of London Theatre . Some years later , when a controversy arose as to the source
’ ” B u i a ul t s o f . o c c Mr drama of The Octoroon , Mayne Reid sent the following letter to the
Athen ce um 14th 1 8 6 1 , on December , — During a residence of many years com " 210 EM R D M OI OF MAYNE REI . m en c in 1 8 39 s g in , and ending , with interval
18 48— o f ‘ of absence , in the author The
’ Q uadroon was an eye - witness of nearly
a score of slave auctions , at which beautiful
i n n Quadroon girls were sold ba kruptcy, a n d b ought up , too , notoriously with the
’ motives that actuated the G ayarr e of
his tale ; and upon such actual incidents
’ th e ‘ f was story of The Quadroon ounded .
Most of the book was written in 1 8 52 ;
but , as truthfully stated in its preface , in
‘ consequence o f the appearance of Uncle
r ’ ’ To m s Cabin its publication w as postponed
1 8 56 Th e o f w as until . writing it finished
1 8 55 early in .
With regard to ‘ The Quadroon ’ and the
Adelphi drama , the resemblance is j ust that w hich must ever exist between a melo drama and the romance from which it is
’ taken ; and when ‘ The Octoroon w a s first
218 E MEMOIR OF MAYN REID .
s 20 f at Gerrards Cro s , about miles rom
London . The greater number of his works
were written in this rural retreat .
“ a' ” “ The Young Y gers , a sequel to The
B B ” ush oys , was his Christmas book for
1 8 56 3rd 1 8 57 , and on the of January , ,
“ v War the first chapter of his no el , The
” ’
r Cha mbers Jour na l . Trail , appea ed in
h Messrs . Chambers paid three undred guineas fo r t the righ of issue in their j ournal , and the following year they published Oceola
in the same manner , with an advance in
price . The scene of this novel is laid in
r Flo ida , and deals with the Seminole war .
1 8 58 During the year , Captain Mayne Reid
“ ” wrote The Plant Hunters , also his first
essay at a sea book of adventure for boys ,
“ ” Ran Away to Sea . It was followed in
1 8 59 by The Boy Tar , published by Messrs .
a 1 8 6 0 h Routledge , nd in he wrote for t at D 219 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REI .
“ firm O dd People, a popular description
o f singular races of men .
“ ” 18 59 The White Chief, published in ,
was his next novel . In 1 8 60 The Wild Huntress first
’ appeared i n Cha mbers Journa l .
1 8 6 1 . In Messrs Routledge . published
” B a ruin , or the Great Bear Hunt , also
“ f Z f r s o . o : book oology Boy Quadrupeds ,
what they are and where found . Captain Reid dramatized “ The Wild
Huntress himself.
1 6 1—2 “ In 8 6 . The Wood Rangers and
i o f The Tiger Hunter , or a Hero in Sp te
f ” m Himsel , adapted fro the French of Louis
1 8 6 2 de Bellemare , were published ; and in , the first part of “ The Maroon ’ appeared
’ i n Ca ssell s F a f mily P ap er . It was a terwards issued in three volumes by Hurst and
B o f lackett , Marlborough Street . Mayne Reid 2 0 E 2 MEMOIR OF MAYN REID .
dramatized this story himself, and the play w as performed at one of the East End
t London heatres .
o f 1 8 63 In the autumn , Mayne Reid
“ ” published a Treatise on Croquet . He
o f was an enthusiast the game , had made
a study of the rules , and spent many a happy hour in sending his enemy to “ Hong
’ Kong . Calling one day at a friend s house he picked up a little book called “ The
“ Rules of Croquet , by an Old Hand ; on examination this proved to be a copy o f
his own book . It was sent out in boxes o f croquet , of what was known as the
“ Ca ssio b u r r e y set , and Lord Essex was
l sponsib e for its publication . Mayne Reid demanded an explanation and withdrawal
of the work . This being refused him , he
advised his solicitor , the result being a
n Chancery suit agai st Lord Essex , which
222 R M MEMOI OF AYNE REID . f i ork , having been away so long from civil
” i n za t o .
R During the repast , Captain eid had to
leave the table to see some one in his study ,
and Mrs . Reid quickly made an excuse for
fe ' going too , aring she might be eaten
The parcel contained a story he had writ
ten . He had tried to get an audience of s In ome publishers London , but they would
not look at him . His name was Charles
3,
B . each , otherwise Cannibal Charlie Mayne
Reid told him to leave his manuscript , and he
would look at it , at the same time giving the man a sum of money and telling him to get
” - r himself a rig out , as no doubt his appea ance being so outlandish prej udiced those
whom he called upon .
“ ’ t h e At cannibal s next appearance , he
l was looking a ittle more civilized , and the
o f manuscript in time , through the help 22 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 3
d Captain Mayne Rei , developed into a three
1 8 64 volume novel , published in , under the
“ title of Lost Lenore ; or the Adventures o f
” a Rolling Stone . In the preface Mayne Reid scarcely takes suffi cient credit to himself fo r the part he played ; he had recast and nearly rewritten the whole work before it was placed in the
’ publisher s hands . He says
A ‘ Rolling Stone ’ came tumbling across
my track . There was a crystalline sparkle
about it , proclaiming it no common pebble .
I took it up , and submitted it to examina — tion it proved to be a diamond " A dia
‘ ’ fir t s mond of the water , slightly encrusted
t with quar z , needing but the chisel of the lapidary to lay bare its brilliant beauties
to the gaze of an admiring world . Charles Beach is the proprietor of this precious
th e artizan t gem ; I , but in rusted with its 224 O F E D MEMOIR MAYN REI . s If f etting . my share o the task has been
‘ r attended with labour , it has been a labou
’ fo r f re of love , which I shall eel amply warded in listening to the congratulation s which are due—and will certainly be given
— ‘ ’ to the lucky owner of the Rolling Stone ,
‘ ’ the finder o f Lost Lenore .
226 O F MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
“ This year the wonderful tale of The Headless Horseman ” made its first appear
ance . There was a large coloured lithograph
’ to be s ee n at all the railway stations and
k o f boo stalls a handsome black horse , with
a rider , in Mexican striped blanket , booted — and spurred all complete , but wanting a
" ‘ head By many, this work is considered
’ Mayne Reid s masterpiece . It is translated
into Russian , and the circulation is stated to be the largest of any English author in
Russia . Captain Mayne Reid is the most
l n popu ar E glish novelist there .
In addition to his novels and books fo r
o f boys , Mayne Reid is the author numerous
short stories and magazine sketches , most
f ar e o which published in collected form .
axe a axe a
’ The author s many eccentricities were the
’ theme of his rural neighbours gossip . R O F N 22 MEMOI MAY E REID . 7
“ u n e D ri g his resid nce at Gerrards Cross , the gallant Captain atten ded church more for the purpose o f studying the bonnets than
anything else . His inattention to the ser
vice , as also his dandyism in dress , were
alike commented upon . One morning the
h im post brought the following , sent anony mo us ly by a young lady
“ A friend who is deeply interes ted in Captain Mayne Reid ’s spiritual welfare for
h wards a prayer book , with the sincere wis that it may induce him to behave mor e
e v m d hi m r erently in church , and in re in ing
that there is such a colour as lavender ,
hopes that the everlasting lemon kids m ay be varied "” This was accompanied by an
fim in nitesi al prayer book , and a pair of
lavender cotton gloves . The vicar also presented him with a
’ " large church service ; so the Captain s 15—2 228 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . spiritual welfare was well looked after j ust
then .
One of the h umbl cr members of the con
re atio n g g , a labouring man , had also noticed
" the non use of a prayer book , and accosted
“ th e : Captain one day, thus Ah , sir , I see
’ you don t require n o book ; you be a
” h r sc ol a d . The poor man evidently thinking
that he knew it all by heart . Between the years 1 8 6 2 and 1 8 6 5 Captain Mayne Reid built himself a house in the
o f style a Mexican hacienda , with flat roof.
In front o f the house he constructed an — artificial pond a circular basin lined with — cement , a j et of water in the centre proba bly to remind him of the alligator and
the sisters Loupe , and Luz , to whom we
“ f ” are introduced in The Ri le Rangers . He also built some model cottages and a
reading room .
230 NE D MEMOIR OF MAY REI .
- him and disappointments , in re establishing
f sel .
27 th 1 8 6 1 On Saturday , April , , there appeared in the streets of London the first
n e w number of a penny evening j ournal ,
Th Li tt T called e le imes . It was an almost exact counterpar t of The Ti me s in minia ture In the first column was
“ B — 5— . n 27 TH O 27 th . IR S the inst at 3,
S The Ti mes Li ttle Ti mes . trand , London , , of a
MAR R IA E — h . u B G s O 6 t . the inst , at russels ,
P hilip Coburg to Mary Hohen zollern - Sigma
r . NO ingen cards .
“ — 2 . TH . O n 1 . DEA S the th inst , at St
’ ’
e . Steph n s , Westminster , Mr Gladstone s
f B amendment to the Re orm ill , deeply
lamented by Lord Derby . This paper was Captain Reid’s first enter
’ prise after his b ankruptcy . The Publisher s
advertisement was The Little Times w ill M N E EMOIR OF MAY E R ID . 231 be published daily as soon as possible after the receipt o f th e morning mails and tele
grams . “ Its latest edition will contain all the news received up to the dispatch o f the
evening mails for the country . “ Subscribers in the provinces will thus receive the latest London and Foreign In tellige n c e before it can reach them by the
n mor ing papers .
“ About the political leaning of The Little
s Ti me nothing need here be said . Its spirit
and proclivities will soon be discovered . It is scarcely necessary to point out to men of business the advantage of using
The Little Times as an advertising medium .
“ No quack or immoral advertisements will be admitted into its columns—the
P ublisher reserving to himself the right to
decide as to their character . 232 O IR MEM OF MAYNE REID .
The terms fo r advertising will be One
p enny per word , and Twopence per word fo r No the title in Capitals . advertisement
charged less than T wo Shillings .
“ It is hoped that The Li ttle Ti mes will be fo und in the shop o f every newsvendor
and on the stalls of every railway station .
If not , a note of requisition addressed to t he Publisher will ensure not only an
answer but a prompt supply .
w as fo r It a stupendous undertaking him ,
as he not only edited and wrote the leaders ,
as well as the feuilletons of the paper , but
did other literary work at the same time . We give the following “ editorial ” from his
6 1 8 6 6 pen , under date of May ,
“ We are on the eve o f an event that
o f will startle , not only the people this
u country , but E rope and the whole world . “ Our information comes from high and
4 23 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
give it to them in the shape of advice , but
that we know it would reach them too late .
a If dam ge is to be done , it will be begun
before we get u p on the scene , and our presence there would have no influence in
n to stayi g it . If windows are be smashed the stones will commence flying before three
’ o n o o cl ck , and when stones are in the air
quiet peacemaker will be tolerated .
“ Bu t you are not going about your busi
ness in the right way . On the contrary ,
You ha ve n o ri ht to a ssemble i n all wrong . g
h P a rk t e .
“ We do not speak o f the P ark as being
private property , or belonging to the Crown .
n t to N We deny such a doctrine i o . either
t o that Park , nor any other which the Crown claims ownership by fossil fictions
O ld of statutory law . It belongs to the
n nation , but no part . or portion of the ation 2 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 35 has the right to use it for party purposes
o f without the consent the whole , and that consent should be obtained through the only authority that can legally grant it
the Legislative Government of the people .
We know that this user is claimed by a
n thing which calls itself Gover ment , in the — shape o f a Privy Council not only claimed
o f . but enj oyed , without thought illegality
f f We have militia trainings , ancy airs , grand
o f cavalcades idleness and elegance , with
roads cut to accommodate them . All this
w ithout asking either Parliament or people .
But all this without asking is wrong
positively and legally wrong . If such privi
leges were asked , neither Parliament nor
people would be slow to refuse them .
r Certainly not the Pa liament , and as cer
tai nl y not the English people , who have
never been addicted to a dog - i n- the - manger 2 0 E O 3 M MOIR F MAYNE REID .
policy when the sport o f their aristocracy.
required permission . The sting lies in your
n o w not being consulted , and the greater sting in being yourselves refused a share of
the same privilege . Is this not the true
explanation of your present ill- humour We
would risk a wager that it is . “ For all that you have no right to
assemble in the Park , as you declare your
selves determined upon doing .
He was compelled to abandon The Little
Times f f for want of unds , and also rom his health breaking down under the strain o f
night and day work .
After resting awhile , Mayne Reid wrote
” o f The Finger of Fate , the first part which
’ B o s O u' n M a a z ine appeared in the y g ,
December ,
“ The Finger o f Fate has since earned a fame its author never anticipated for it,
CHAPTER XIII .
K NEw YOR .
i IN 1 86 7 a . October , , C pta n and Mrs Mayne
th e Reid went to United States , arriving at
N N . ewport , Rhode Island , in ovember Here they took a furnished cottage for the
winter .
Soon after his ar ri val Captain Reid was eagerly sought by different publishers who
wished to get his name . At Newport he
“ W fo r h Fr a n/e wrote The Child ife , whic
’ Lesli e s P ap er paid him dollars for
the right of first appearance in its columns . “ The Child Wife was published by Ward
3 186 8 n o w Lock and Tyler , in vols . , in , and is
issued in one volume by Messrs . Sonnenschein MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID: 239
“ o Fir es id e and Co . The pr prietor of the
Comp a ni on also paid dollars to run
The Finger of Fate in his paper . Mayne Reid had as much work for his pen
as he could get through , and was now speculating upon bringing out a boys ’ maga z o f o w n ine his in Ne w York .
m 18 68 In Dece ber , , the first number of
’ O nw a r d , Mayne Reid s magazine , appeared ; h e In 14 continued the editorship for months ,
n doi g other literary work in addition , till
his health completely gave way , and the
magazine was abandoned . He was a constant sufferer from the
ff e ects of the wound in his leg , and during this brief soj ourn in the United States was a
’ Ne w patient in St . Luke s Hospital , York ,
1 87 0 in , suppuration of the thigh having
’ brought him to dea th s door . From the hospital he writes 240 I Y MEMO R O F MA NE REID .
To the Editor o f the S un .
“ S IR - I fo r , have been some days an inmate
’ ff f of St . Luke s Hospital , a su erer rom a severe
and dangerous malady . To save my life calls
for the highest surgical skill , along with combination o f the most favourable circum
stances , among them quiet . And yet during
' o f o f the whole yesterday, and part the day
’ before (the Lord s Day) , the air around me
has been resonant with what , in the bitter
’
eu d en er . ness of my spirit , I pronounce a f f It has resembled an almost continuous fusil
lade of small arms , at intervals varied by a report like the bursting o f a bombshell or
the discharge o f a cannon . I am told that this infernal fracas proceeds from a ro w of
dwelling houses in front of this hospital , and that it is caused by the occupants o f these
dwellings or their children .
“ Accustomed in early life to th e roar o f
242 O F E MEMOIR MAYN REID . n eed not point out the utter falsity of this
o f assured view civic rights , but I would
remark that the man , who , even under the
sanction of long custom , and the pretence of
’ country s love , permits his children , through
mere wanton sport , to murder annually one o r o f f more his ellow citizens , I say that such a man is not likely to make out of these children citizens who will be distinguished
i s e ither fo r their patr oti m or humanity .
In the name of humanity I ask you , sir , t o call public attention to this great cruelty ,
i a n d f . , possible , have it discontinued
Yours very truly,
Y MA NE REID .
’ “ L 5th St . uke s Hospital , July ,
He w a s interviewed in the hospital by a
t o f lady , who wro e the following account her visit to Mayne Reid ° 243 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID .
e w Y u t 1 N 9 8 7 0 . ork , A gus ,
My sympathies were enlisted , too , for the brave fello w w h o has b een languish
n s . i g in St . Luke s Ho pital The sole tidings
was 4th u r of him the of J ly remonst ance , which revealed h o w his spirit chafed at the s eclusion and helplessness incomparably
w orse than physical pain .
“ w a To find my y, then , to the hospital
seemed a part of my pleasure in Ne w York .
The gate shut me in with a heavy clang , and I walked up the path to the main
n buildi g with , I confess , no little trepidation
at my boldness . In answ er to the request
‘ ’ to see Captain Mayne Reid , I was con d ucted through a broad hall into a long ward furnished with an infinite number of l o w l , narrow cots , that looked too smal for
any practical purpose . A turn through a
short hall and wha t appeared to be an 244 E E D M MOIR OF MAYN REI . apothecary ’s closet brought us to the pri
vate room of the author . He was lying upon a bedstead (similar to the ones in the ward) which was placed in the centre
th e of apartment . As he turned his head and raised himself upon his elbow to address
o f - me , he presented the view a middle aged ,
- sturdy looking English squire . The head is compact and covered by a profusion of dark
brown hair , which , in contrast with the
if h ad pallid complexion , stood out as it
no part and p arcel with the corpse - like
th whiteness of e scalp . The brow was
fa smooth and ir, rounded out to gigantic
proportions by ideality , causality and reve
rence . The nose , nervous and scornful ,
would have been remarkable but for th e
large and beautiful eyes , that are restless
habitually, but when fixed upon an obj ect
h l an c ellatin ff ave a g e ect , and withal an
246 O P MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
f f no relie . With li e slowly ebbing away , and the past and future passing in rapid
ll review before my mind , an old reco ection f f n lashed be ore me in the stra gest way , that draughts of pure brandy would sometimes
arrest hiccoughs . I reached forth my hand f o r the bottle of bra n dy that stood on my
s tand and took a swallow . Instantly it
l h went ike fire throug my veins , and with
another draught my life was saved . I tell it to you for it may be of service t o you
’ some time .
“ As we talked , the air coming fresh
through the open window, laden with the
o f murmur of leaves and twitter swallows ,
a n a light , even step was heard appro chi g
and a lady came forward , pausing on the
‘ f r " threshold . Oh , but she was ai with her golden hair caught u p under an azure
‘ fanchon Of satin, an d ‘ falling in soft ripples R O F 24 MEMOI MAYNE REID . 7
' f a over her orehead . There w s an expres sion of fi rmness in her calm blue eyes which gave character to the face of i nfan
i f t le shape and loveliness . From her ace
d h my eye wandere to her figure , struck wit — admiration at her graceful pose an a c c o m
lish me nt fe w p women possess . They dance
and sometimes walk well , but they rarely
w h r w o w . H e kno to stand still go n , I
w as observed , white , with an overdress or
o f m h e r e wrap blue , ad irably suited to p c uliar style of beauty .
“ ‘ M ’ y wife , said the invalid , and as he explained that I called because I had read
his books she smiled and extended her hand .
o f The smile was like sunshine , and the clasp
f . her so t, cool hand a positive luxury The clear and musical voice was i n keeping with
f fo r her beauti ul self, and I loitered a moment
” to gathe r a full impression of the scene . 248 O F RE ID MEMOIR MAYNE .
A fe w days after this interview a serious
t l 0th relapse ook place , and on August ,
telegrams were sent to his frien ds : Captain
R ‘ Mayne eid is dying . Everything was pre
fo r pared his interment , and even an obituary
n otice was written .
H is wife was allowed to stay at the
h n th e t ospital duri g nigh , being told by
“ the doctors that any m inute might be h e r
’ husband s last . He had been lying in an
" fo r unconscious state the past three days ,
. a ll . the signs of approaching dissolution
’ n lb ei g present . About 8 O clock on the
m 1 t orning o f the 1 h he rallied considerably . The doctors and two of the lady nurses
were around his bed , when he suddenly
f s raised himsel up , exclaiming in a trong
“ : - voice Turn those she Beelzebubs , point
“ ing to the two ladies , out of the room at
f w l him once , preaching at a ello , and te ling
XI CHAPTER V.
E CLO SING SCEN S .
FO R some time after his return home Mayne
’ Reid s health remained in a precarious state ,
and he suffered very much from dep ression . At one time it was almost feared that his
mind would not recover its balance . That wonderful intellect was sadly clouded ; the terrible ordeal he had passed through in
e w f B ut N York had le t its mark behind .
f in the end , with care ul nursing his illusions v anished , and he once more resumed the
f r pen . A ter writing some short articles fo
’ ” u Cassell s Ill strated Travels , he revised
“ The Finger of Fate and Lone Ranche , which was published in tw o volumes by O F 251 MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
’ III 1 7 2 m . 8 Chap an and Hall May , , Mayne
“ n e w Reid commenced writing a story , The
”
D fo r . . eath Shot , Mr Ingram It appeared
The P enn Illus tr a ted P a er an d w as in y p , a
n great success , speedily increasi g the cir
h ” culation of t at paper . The Death Shot
l was also published by Bead e and Adams ,
t r d n New S a u a Jour a l . of York , in their y
On r eturning from his autumn tour in
South Wales , Captain Reid writes to his
O lli van t young friend , Charles
“ ’ fa t a I m growing as as the cl imant , and
n b ‘ stro g as a ull , but sorrowful as a gib
’ cat .
“ re - He was then writing The Lone Ranche ,
n and making it a much lo ger book . It ran
through th e columns of The P enny Illus
d “ tra te P a er . p , under the title of Adela
N In a letter written in ovember , Mayne Reid says 252 ME MOIR OF MAYNE REID .
I am now in th e middle o f a n ego tia
w tion , that if successful ill be of great — se r vice to me perhaps give m e a small
fo r l income ife , and for my dear wife when
n r e - th e I die . I am tryi g to purchase
h ” copyrig ts of my novels .
1 8 73 It was successful , and in December , ,
1 8 74 and the following June , , he was enabled t o re - purchase the Copyrights of m ost of his works .
1 8 74 In the autumn of , Chapman and
Hall published “ The Dea th Shot in three
volumes . It had recently been revised .
d n In the preface , ated Great Malver ,
1 8 74 September , , he says
“ — The author has re modelled almost re w ritten it .
“ ‘ m s to r v It is the sa e , but as he hopes
n d b a t . elieves , be ter told
During the summer o f this vear Captain
254 M O F ME OIR MAYNE REID . once more arrangements made for his
l buria . For six months he was on his
bed , and rose at last a cripple , never being able to walk again for the remainder of
o f In his life without the aid crutches . 1 882 a small pension was granted him from th e United States Government for
s f r Mexican war services . The claimw a o
n h an i valid pension , and t is was afterwards
increased , but only shortly before his
death .
o f D uring the last few years his life , Captain Mayne Reid may be said to have literally turned his sword into the “ plough
s . e hare He resided then near Ross , Her fo rdshi r e t h e ic ture s ue W e , amid p q , y scenery ,
and occupied himself in farming . He reared — a peculiar breed of sheep a cross between a Mexican species and the Welsh mountain — sheep and succeeded a t length in getting O F E 55 MEMOIR MAYNE R ID. 2
fl th e a ock , all with same peculiarities ,
b - namely , j et lack bodies , snow white faces and
n lo g white bushy tails . An account of these sheep appeared in the Live S tock J our na l
“ ’
1 880 . They were called Jacob s sheep ,
being ringed and speckled .
n The Captain used to say , j esti gly , that he should go do wn to posterity as a breeder
h of s eep . Their mutton appeared on his
o table , and out of their wo l he had cloth
woven , from which he wore garments made
n to his o w design .
a g ro we r He was lso a large potato a ,
experimenting with Mexican seed . Some clever articles upon po tato culture fro m his pen were contributed to the Li ve S tock
1 ourna l 8 80 . J ,
In his Herefordshire home he wro te
man e Gwen Wynn : a Ro C of the Wye .
Towards the end of 1 8 80 Captain Mayn e 256 I O F MEMO R MAYNE REID .
“ Reid revised The Free Lances , in fact
r - e writing almost e very line . The book h ad been o riginally written while he was editing
O n wa rd JWa a zin e i n Ne w the g York , but
w a s . . not then published Mr Bonner , the
N ew York Led er proprietor of the g , paid a
f r th large su m o running it rough his paper .
This revising , in addition to other literary
work , was rather hard upon Mayne Reid . He writes
w u b I thought I o ld have roken down ,
but I seem to ge t better with the hard
a m r work , only I in g eat fear my poor
a wife will give w v . She is in very delicate
. t health , and looking quite ill Tha acts
sadly against me in my work , for when she is not cheerful I don ’t write nearly so
” well .
wa s hi s His wife amanuensis . Captain
E 258 MEMOIR OF MAYNE R ID .
personally visited before writing the story .
The principal characters and scenes of the
book are historically correct .
’ He also ‘ w rote for the Sp orting a nd
“ D ra ma ti c N ews articles on Our Home
N N ew atural History , and letters to the
“ Yorlc Tr ibune on the Rural Life o f
” England .
’ ’ B o s Illus For Mr . Ingram s paper , the y tra ted N ews R , of which Captain Mayne eid
c o - was editor on its first appearance , he
” wrote The Lost Moun tain and The Chase
” o f Leviathan , also natural history notes and
short stories .
“ N The aturalist in Siluria , a popular
n book on natural history , was also writte
f in Here ordshire .
Mr . . B . u N W H ates , a thor of The aturalist
” on A z n the ma o , in a letter to Mrs . Reid , says M O P EMOIR MAYNE REID . 259
Throughout o ur mutual acquaintance Captain Mayne Reid always impressed me as a man deeply interested in all natural
history lore , and the subj ect was one of
r our most constant topics of conve sation .
If circ umstances in early life had turned his attention in that direction he would
” have made a reputation as a naturalist .
The last book fo r boys written by Captain
” Mayne Reid was The Land of Fire , a short
story of the South Seas ; but ere its publica tion the hand that penned it was cold in
death .
a a
Captain Mayne Reid possessed great powers
of oratory . He would speak for hours on
a subj ect with untiring energy . The lan guage from his tongue flowed facile as that
from his pen , his favourite theme being
f politics . He would O ten astound his 17 260 O F E MEMOIR MAYN REID . hearers by the eloquence he expended upon
his beloved theory th e superiority of
R n epublican over Monarchial institutio s . Occasionally he came across a Tory equally
“ - fur u red hot , and then the wo ld fly
But t Captain Reid , by his grea charm of
o fl e n c e manner , rarely gave , and was , as a
0 11 b O t h rule , listened to with good nature
sides . Often while in the height of a very hot discussion he would suddenly change the
theme , dropping at once from the sublime
to the ridiculous with such c ase that it was
ffi di cult for his audience to tell if he had
really been in earnest . Had Mayne Reid
n chosen , he would have made a ame as an
fe w n w h orator . The occasio s on ich he
occupied the platform amply prov e d this .
Though cherishing the stron gest Repub
n d lican principles , May e Rei was by no
means a leveller , but in many things the
262 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . r arely sat at a table , but reclined on a couch ,
n - an d arrayed in dressi g gown slippers , with
a portable desk and fur robe thro wn across
his knees even in hot weather , and a cigar — between his lips which was constantly goi ng — out and being re - lighted while the floor
all around him was stre wed with matches .
f Latterly , a ter he became a cripple , the
dressing- gown was discarded for a large
’ N f o w n orfolk j acket , made rom his sheep s wool ; an d he would sit and write at the
window in a large arm - chair with an im
p r o vise d table in front o f him resting on
his knees , upon which at night he would
O f have a couple candles placed , the inevi
table cigar , matches , and whisky toddy
being the accessories .
He had a sing ular habit of reading in
bed , with news papers , manuscript , and a
hi s lighted candle on pillow . At least a I 26 MEMO R OF MAYNE REID . 3 score or more of times he has been found in the morning with the paper burnt to black
tinder all round him , but neither himself
- nor the bed clothes in the slightest singed .
The Mexican hero was never an idle man ; and after his sword was sheathed in its
r . r scabba d , his pen never rested His b ain was as active as ever till within a fortnight
f o his death .
n O 22n d 1 883 R O ctober , , Mayne eid had
fought his last battle .
at aIe a s at
An irregular block of white marble , on
which is carved a sword and pen crossing
f “ each other , and these words rom The Scalp Hunters
t e This is h weed prairie, m m It is isna ed,
It is the Garden of God,
- marks his last resting place , in Kensal Green
Cemetery , London . CHAPTER XV
’
O NN P I T T S M C C . N TIC D A RE INIS EN E PRESS O ES .
IN this chapter are given a r eminiscence by
R fe w Donn Piatt of Mayne eid , and a ex tracts from the numerous obituary notices
which appeared in the press . Donn Piatt writes
Mayne Reid wrote his first r omance at
r my house , in this valley , whe e he spent
o f a winter . He had come out the Mexi
can war decorated with an ugly wound , and covered with glory as the bravest of
the brave , in our little army under Scott . When not making love to the fair girls — o - of the Mac chee , or dashing over the
country on my mare , he was writing a
266 I M N MEMO R OF AY E REID .
f rf m ro . soldier of ortune us , never to return
He would not have been content to remain
fo r f as long as he did , but the act that he was desperately in love with a fair inmate o f
Bu t our house . in her big blue eyes the
no t f gallant Irishman did find avour , and he
r at last gave up the pu suit . From the station where he awaited his
n train he wrote us two letters . O e of these
I never saw The other contained the fol
lowing lines , which , without possessing any
remarkable poetic merit , gracefully put on record his kind feelings on parting from the
house he had made his home fo r nearly a
year .
- - MAC O CHEE ADIE U .
Fade from my sight the valley sweet, m ill The brown , old , mossy , i l i ir The w l ows , where the w ld b ds keep S ong watch beside the rill M O F Y 2 ME OIR MA NE REID . 67
a i i i The cott ge, w th ts rust c porch , W here the latest flower blooms, m And autumn, with her fla ing torch ,
The dying year illumes .
W ithin mine ears the sad farew ell
In music lingers yet, And casts upon my soul a spell That bids it not forget F I orget , dear friends, never may,
W n hile yet there lives a strai , w A flo er, a thought, a favoured lay
To call you back again . W hen evening comes you fondly meet
fir l i e t About the hearth ,
And e hours fly by on wing d feet , In music and in mirth ; Ah "give a thought to on e whose fate
O n thorny pathway lies , W h o lingered fondly n ear the gate
That hid his paradise .
I th e hear, along ringing rails , M y fate , that comes apace, A moment more and strife p revaIl s W here once w ere peace and rest
Unrest begins , my furlough ends,
The world breaks on my view ,
n Ah "peaceful scene ; ah "loving frie ds,
e A sad and last adi u .
“ Between that parting and our next e n counter some twenty years intervened .
R f f Mayne eid had made his ame and ortune , 6 P 2 8 MEMOIR O MAYNE REID . throwing the last away upon a Mexican ranch
in England , and I yet floating about on spars had j ust begun to use my pen as a means
. w as of support He grey, stout and rosy, living with his handsome little wife in r ooms in Union Square . I told him that
the old homestead upon the Mac - o - chee
o f had fallen into decay, and the little family circle he so fondly remembered I
alone remained . “ That made him so sad that I proposed a
of bottle wine to alleviate our sorrow , and he led the way to a subterranean excavation in
Broadway , where we had not only the bottle ,
but a dinner and several bottles .
The follo wing are short extracts from some
public notices o f his life
The Tim es 24th 18 83 In , October ,
Every schoolboy , and every one who has
270 O P MEMOIR MAYNE REID .
fo r wrote men and women , as well as b oys ; but there was not , we believe , a word in his books which a schoolboy could
” not r r ead aloud to his mother and siste s .
In The D a ily N ews An active man o f
r u adventu o s temperament , he imparted his own animal spirits and his passion for the marvellou s into the products O f his b usy
fo r brain . He was born with a zest travel , which he contrived to indulge at a very
n early age . He explored America back
R e d woods , hunted with Indians up the
R r o n iver , and roamed the boundless p airie
n n f o f his o w account . O behal the United
States , in whose army he received a com
f mission , he ought against Mexico . When
hi s r his sword was in its sheath , and finge s
held the pen , he wrote with vigour and
if impetuosity as under fire . Captain Mayne
Reid gave by his books a great deal o f 2 1 MEMOIR OF MAYNE REID . 7
u innocent pleas re , and they could always be admitted without scruple or inquiry into
- the best regulated families .
The S ecta tor O 27 th And in p ctober ,
— “ ’ 1883 As o ur j udgment on Mayne Reid s
novels is not that of our contemporaries , we
are disinclined to allow his de ath to pass
without a word of criticism ; As an indi
v idual we knew nothing about him , except that in our j udgment he missed his career
fir t— and would have made a s class agent of
r the Geog aphical Society, to explore dan
n ff gero s or excessively di icult regions , like
R Thibet , the Atlas ange , or the unknown
- u hills and locked p villages of Eastern Peru .
He was a man of exceptional daring , having
a positive liking for danger ; he had the typographical eyes which should belong to
a general ; and he had a faculty o f de
scription , which he watered down for his 2 2 E O F N D 7 M MOIR MAY E REI .
novels till it was hardly apparent . During the only interview which this writer ever
had with him , accident induced his inter locutor to ask about the Pintos—the parti coloured race sprung from native Mexicans
and the cross breed betw een Indians and Negroes—who are stated to exist in the
t d i n State of Mexico . The wri er isbelieved
an d f them , expressed his belie , but Captain
l Mayne Reid , who dec ared he had seen
specimens of the race , held him quite fascinated for half- an - h our by a description
if which , imaginary , was a triumph of art , but which left on the hearer ’s mind an
f ” impression o absolute truth .
9 4 F 7 MEMOIR O MAYNE REID .
O U E RN N E T A S TH SU S .
” F C MA R E ID rom La ubana, by YNE .
H o w gorgeously the golden sun declining Gilds the soft sea w hose tranquil waters span F C ’ I air uba s sle, the broad blue billow lining W ith such bright tints as painter ’s pencil can Project upon the naked canvas never " I l w n me lo er beam his parting glances quiver , B n in n n le d g the hues of gold a d red a d azure ,
And pouring on the wave his richest treasure .
F t h e rom terraced roof above noisy town , The Spanish maiden w atches him go do w n ; And mischief glistens in her dark brown eye
F t m a or sunset brings h e sking hour nigh .
in Through loophole barred yonder battlement, ’ W here grimly frow ns E l Moro s castled w all ’ There s many an eye in weary watching bent, And many a sigh—alas "too idly spent
B n t y pinioned captive pini g in his hrall . The brilliant sheen upon the distant sea Perchance may to his memory recall Some happy thought O f days when he w as free ; Draw from his haggard eye the scalding tear The first that he has shed for many a year
He breathes he moves alas , the clanking chain, — ’ Soon checks the thought he s in h is cell again ’ brazured The sentry pacing on the wall ,
Lets to his feet the burnished carbine fall,
And looking down upon the busy bay, Hums to himself some Andalusian lay
O r , gazing on the banner floating gay, “ ’ D w Vi va c l re . rawls out the loyal ords, y
Along the shores that skirt this southern town , A thousand dark eyes beam from faces brown ’ T o t o is they that j y see the sun go down . O F E 2 5 MEMOIR MAYN REID . 7
m The uleteer, mounting , homeward turns his face , And goads his laden mule to quicker pace T he weary slave from out the field of cane , t A momen glances at the far free main ,
And sighs as he bethinks him of his chain .
- Short lived and silent is his thought of pain , F or, stopping in his task while it is on,
He reads relief in yonder setting sun , F ’ or, tis the herald of his labor done
T B oza l he poor , who knows not yet to pray ,
T h i s hinks of wife and children far away, B ’ In some rude kraal by iafra s bay .
B ut where are they, that mild and gentle race, W h o w orshipped him with prostrate form and face "
W - b ut here is the palm screened of the cacique , ’ That once rose over you barranca s brow
“Ih ere " S on " are they all of the island, speak
W bohi o here the stood , domes , turrets now
Alone along the hill- sides proudly gleam " Ha "thou ar t sad and silent on the theme B ut in thy silence I can read their doom N ame, nation , all, have passed into the tomb . — The tomb " No no they have not even one t To tell that hey were once, and now are gone
X' if it at i f it
The fading light grows purple on the deep , In gorgeous robes the god hath sunk to sleep ; ’ S o C u sets the sun o er ba , with a smile The sweetest that he sheds upon this southern isle "
M R w ayne eid did not admire a classical education . He rote
M a 188 1 the following in y, and intended to publish it “ ’ The O ld adage ‘ knowledge is power is more trite than
i n true . Like many other proverbs long unquestioned these modern days it often meets contradiction—indeed Oftener than — o therwise ignorant men i n every walk of life w ielding an 276 E M O l R O F E M MAYN REID .
n n i fluence de ied to the most learned . Substitute the word w w w ealth for kno ledge, or even craft of the lo est kind, and
th e " d s proverb , alas hol good . “ Nevertheless is there still some truth in it in its original
m k n use for , dependent on the kind of owledge , whether it be
ful or merely ornamental . To the latter belong most of that — taught at our universities and public schools especially what — are called th e dead languages all b u t useless as regards the
needs and realities of after life , and but of little value even
s w for its adornments . Lore more valueles , and time orse spent
in I than acquiring it, are scarce possible to be conceived . t C W barely finds its parallel in the hinese mnemonics . hen one
S — h n reflects on the hours pent on this study, days wit ights as —w n n n n in i well eeks , mo ths, a d years, a d the after l fe looks
it— n back how little good he has got from u less, indeed , he be himself a school teacher or college professor to perpetuate the — t W folly his reflections cannot be of a satisfac ory kind . hat — — might he have done what could he n o t have done had he
been instructed in science , instead of his mind made a store
- o ff house of lumber , the cast clothing of nations who were ff never properly clad , with co ins containing their language dead as themselves "
v s o - i i n say the ad ocates of called class cal educat o , ‘ w hat better way is there of training the youthful mind — I giving it shape , scope, and direction what other t seems hardly worth while to answer such a question the w onder is
h t h e that any one s ould ask it . Training the mind by declina ’ all tion of hic hac hoc, or that most absurd of absurd excess ing, scansion , is the veriest mockery of mental discipline .
i n i t s Science even humblest branches does infinitely better , and along with the lesson gives somet hing as valuable as th e
in tra ing itself, or more so . ‘ ’ " t u Ah that may be true , admi the admirers of def nct n but n in i r n th e to gues, the th k of the sold e s , the statesme ,
t h e h poets, heroes and notables of every speciality, who ave
a nd a s lived, whose deeds are alone recorded in the langu ge
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