A Middys Recollections 18531860

C O NT E NT S C H A P T E R I ENTERI NG THE NAVY C H A P T E R I I “ T H E P RI NCESS ROYAL C H A P T E R III W R W ITH USS I A DEC ARED A R L . C H A P T E R IV T H E C RI MEA C H AP T E R V PUNI SH M ENTS I N TH E NAVY C H A P T E R VI RUSS I A COLLA PSES ’ viii A MIDDY S RECOLLECTIONS C H A P T E R VI I PAGE LEI SURE HOURS C H AP T E R VIII S OME DI STI NGUI SH E D S AI LORS C H A P T E R I " PLAY ON BOA RD ; AND SOM E DUTIES C H A P T E R " P I RATE - HUNTI NG ; AND A DI NNE R PA RTY C H A P T E R " I WAR W ITH CH I NA DECLARED C H A P T E R " II “ ” T H E RALE IGH WREC K ED C H A P T E R " III AT WAR I N C H I NA C H A P T E R " IV MORE P I RATE HUNTI NG C H A P T E R " V T H E IN D IAN MUTI N Y CONTENTS ix C H A P T E R " VI T H E NAVAL BRIGADE AT WO RK C H A P T E R " VII I NCI DENTS O F THE CAM PA I GN C H A P T E R " VIII A TOUCH - AND- G O E NGAGEMENT C H A P T E R " I " COM P LI MENTS TO TH E NAVAL B RIGADE C H A P T E R " " HOM E AGAI N LI ST O F I LLU ST RAT I O NS T h e au th or a s Mids hi m an in 1 8 6 a p 5 . ’ ’ Fro m a n o il p ai n ti n g Frontzrpzere Na v a e 1 8 Fro T h e a u h o as a a C d . m t r l t, 5 3 a mi n i atu re Fa cing pag e 6 f 1 n s 1 8 H M S . P r n c ess o a o u I O . i R y l , 9 g , 5 3 T h e s n a fl f or w ar an d F e e c h e er ig l ying , l t ing “ H M S a e h o - u n s a r a e . R l ig , 5 g iling f ig t , re c ke d o f" Mac ao Ch n a the 1 th w ( i ), 4 Ap ril 1 8 5 7 T h e bat e o f F sh n sh o n the s n k tl at a , wi g i ing o f C o mm odore T h e H on ou rabl e H e n ry ’ K e e s a e I s t u n e 1 8 pp l g ll y, " 5 7 P r 2 1 - u n c orve e M S . e a H . l , g tt T h e auth o r at the p re s e n t day C H A P T E R I E N T E R I N G T H E N AV Y R N 1 8 1 w as B O in April 4 , I about six months more than twelve years old when I j oined the M f Royal Navy . y ather was the seventh Earl o f o f Sandwich ; my mother, a daughter the of who Marquis Anglesea , commanded cavalry o f at Waterloo , and lost his leg by one the last fi f shots red on that event ul day . It is said that ’ when Lord Anglese a s thigh was struck he hap pened to be riding by the Side o f the Duke o f “ Wellington , and exclaimed , suddenly , O the Devil my leg is hit The Duke turned round “ " looked at him , and said , The deuce it is as f His leg w shortly a terwards amputated . As all the surgeon ’s knives had become blunt f rom ’ the long day s work , it took twenty minutes to f I was o f f per orm the operation . the second our w as sons , and educated by a private tutor . For f some time be ore I was sent to sea , my f f ather had o ten expressed a wish that , hailing ’ 2 A MIDDY S RECOLLECTIONS f f o ne of S rom a naval amily , his sons hould select f the Sea as his pro ession . Somehow or another , it devolved upon me to be the naval representa f f tive ; and , though my ather did not en orce S this idea, I took it into my head that I hould like it . My poor mother had misgivings . She not f loathed the sea , and could bring hersel to o ne believe that any else could endure its hardships . was She second to none , however, in her admira f tion o the Service . No doubt I thought it a fi ne thing to don a naval uniform and wear a sword at my side at f o f twelve and a hal . A position importance was f - f O . n assured . sea li e I knew but little I had o several occasions , when staying at the Castle at Cowes (enjoying the hospitality o f my grand f f o ld ather , Lord Anglesea) , sailed in his amous P ea rl 1 0 cutter , the ( 3 tons) ; but beyond learning , - when beating about the Solent , what sea sickness was . w o n was , my experience naught Ho ever , I th o f m 1 8 the 5 Dece ber 5 3 , I was gazetted a naval ’ cadet in the Queen s Navy . It was deemed advisable to send me to a school where boys were prepared f or examination before joining the Navy . When it is remembered that one ’s qualification consisted only in being able to f master simple dictation rom some English work , f ar o f and arithmetic as as the Rule Three , this will seem incompatible with modern ideas . So it ENTERING T H E NAVY 3 w as f f , however and I ound mysel , some time in 1 8 o f October 5 3 , at the school Mr . Eastman , a retired naval instructor who kept a house o f about ’ P thirty boys in St . George s Square , ortsea . This f mansion I visited not long ago , and ound it a o f fi tavern the rst quality . If my memory serves me rightly , we did not indulge in much study at that school . We used to walk ou t to Southsea Common in twos and if ff twos to play games , and , opportunity o ered , “ ” to have rows with what we called the cads , the youth o f the town a pastime which the usher encouraged . a f It w s a very rough school . The ood was execrable ; many o f us were cooped up in the same room ; and I have a vivid remembrance o f the foot- pan which we were allowed to use only or once a week . On birthdays , other select f ew occasions , the chosen were regaled with very large junks o f bread sparsely besmeared with P M butter , and tea in the parlour , about . o u r host and hostess being at that time well o f into their second glass toddy , and drowsy though attempting to amuse us with old sea stories . Sometimes we were taken to the Dockyard . I well remember being much interested in watching f fi a Russian rigate then in dock re tting , and wondering to myself why Russians looked s o ’ 4 A MIDDY S RECOLLECTIONS diEere nt f o f own rom men my race , and why their ships carried such a curious scent This reminds f f t o me that O ten in a ter years , when returning my ship o n a dark night and not being exactly o f sure her position , I have been guided by the peculiar smell which you notice in passing under f f — f— f the stern o a oreign man o war . The per ume of each navy is distinct ; and the position o f a f was ship , which I recollected rom the daytime , often the means o f putting me o n my right course ’ du ring a night s pull . I do not remember anything particularly worth ’ - recording du ring my s ix weeks stay at that school . o ne Only , on occasion , about midnight , we were all aroused by the noise caused by the smashing of ou r - glass . Running out in night shirts into the v f - street , we disco ered that all the ront plate glass f windows were broken . The master , in his ury , thought that open mutiny had broken o u t in o n school , and vowed vengeance every bone in o u r bodies . It turned out that Mr .

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