De Ruyter.—Van Tromp.—Columbus.—Vasquez da Gama.—Villeneuve.—Tom of Ten Thousand.—Hawkins, Drake, Blake, Hawke.—Rodney.—A female soldier.—Vincent, on the 14th of February.—Duncan, off Camperdown.—Admiral Howe, and the glorious First of June.—Maitland’s generosity.—Viscount Exmouth; his courage and humanity.—Codrington and the battle of Navarino.—The flag of old England.

“Who are the principal admirals of England, those who have been famous for their victories?”

“There have been so many of them, that you must be satisfied with a few. In my rambling 279way I will run over their names. There have been British admirals stern and kind-hearted, crabbed, and good-tempered, but all of them brave. A sailor’s figure-head, whether he be ‘before the mast’ or admiral of the fleet, should always telegraph good-humour to the craft around him; but some of our admirals have been crusty old boys. You remember, perhaps, my speaking of the hearty old admirals in the Naval Gallery of Greenwich, in their curled wigs, red, blue, and brown coats, loose robes, ermine capes, armour, and buff leathern jackets?”

“Yes, uncle! yes! And you said there was no fixed uniform in old times for the navy.”

“De Ruyter and Van Tromp were brave admirals, in the service of Holland. Van Tromp was the very first of Dutch Admirals, the Nelson of his country, having been in fifty naval engagements, winning thirty-three victories; he was considered the most intrepid and the ablest seaman of his day. You will not find a Dutchman who does not know all about Van Tromp. It has been said, that he carried a besom at his mast-head to sweep the seas of British ships, but since then British admirals have turned sweepers themselves.”

“Indeed they have, and Admiral Von Tromp, if he were alive would not be able to hinder them.”

“I might say something of Christopher Columbus, 280admiral of Spain, discoverer of the continent of America; of Vasquez da Gama, admiral of Portugal, discoverer of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope; and of Villeneuve, the French Admiral; but I must pass them all by to speak a word of British admirals. And first, let me tell you, that Thomas Smith, admiral of the blue, was known among seamen as Tom of Ten Thousand.”

“What a comical name! No doubt he was a very famous man?”

“Leaving the older admirals, Hawkins, Drake, and Blake, let us come at once to Admiral Hawke. He has the reputation of being not only brave but also circumspect; to the most consummate courage and active spirit he added a temper cool and deliberate; accident ruffled him not; sudden misfortune seemed not to take him by surprise. I will give you one instance of his coolness and steady self-possession. When his flag was on board the Royal George, the ship once took fire, owing to a collection of soot in the funnel of the stove of the great cabin. A man of less presence of mind would have given an alarm instantly to the whole ship; but instead of this, Sir Edward, who was at the time dressing himself, went on deck without manifesting any emotion, and taking aside the first-lieutenant, said to him in a low tone, ‘Sir, the ship is on fire in my cabin; give the necessary directions for putting it out.’”

281“Capital! capital! Why, we should have cried out fire! as loud as we could scream.”

“And by that means have gathered round you those who would have only been in each other’s way. I have given you an instance of coolness in Admiral Hawke; I will now give you an example of fidelity and integrity in Admiral Rodney.”

“Ay! we have heard of Admiral Rodney; he was a very brave commander.”

“After many instances of bravery and skill, he unfortunately engaged in election contests, and became so poor that he was obliged to retire to France to escape from the pursuit of his creditors. When in this forlorn situation, the Duke de Biron invited him to his house, treated him very hospitably, and then hinted, that if he would enter the French navy it would be greatly to his advantage. But the blue-jacket that would fight against his country, even to be made lord-high-admiral of an enemy’s navy, would deserve to be tarred and feathered. Rodney began to think that the duke was a little deranged in his intellects, but what was his surprise when the duke told him, that he was commissioned by his royal master, the king, to offer him the command of a French squadron, with unbounded advantages, should he accept the appointment. What do you think was Rodney’s answer?”

“Why, if he were a true Englishman, he would never fight against his own country.”

282“Right, right! This was his reply to the duke. ‘My distresses, sir, it is true, have driven me from the bosom of my country, but no temptation whatever can estrange me from her service. Had this offer been a voluntary one of your own, I should have deemed it an insult, but I am glad that it proceeds from a source that can do no wrong.’ It is a common saying, ‘A king can do no wrong.’”

“Well done, Admiral Rodney! He was a true Englishman. No doubt the duke was in a fine passion.”

“Quite the contrary. There is that in an upright and noble action which commands respect. The brave respect the brave, and the faithful respect the faithful all the world over. The duke was so struck with admiration of the British tar’s patriotism that he instantly became his friend.”

“Then the duke had a noble mind too. Please to tell us a little of Admiral Rodney’s bravery.”

“When captain of the Eagle, he engaged two French vessels of equal force, but being disabled, he was obliged to drop astern. Undaunted by his ill success, he rove new braces, and repaired his wheel, which had been in part shot away, and then once more, crowding all the sail he could stretch on his shattered spars, returned to the attack.”

“Rodney was as courageous, then, as he was faithful?”

“Yes. His grand battle was with the French Admiral Comte de Grasse, off Dominica. I will tell you how he got the victory.”

283“Oh, he fired away till he sank the Frenchmen, or perhaps he boarded them.”

“No, he went upon a very different plan; and it was the very first time that plan was adopted. He sailed boldly on, and broke the enemy’s line; thus exposing one wing of the fleet to a double attack. This enabled him to obtain the victory.”

“Ay! we remember now, that you told us about breaking the line at the same time that you spoke of your two school-fellows, Captain Bentley and Captain Baines. We see that it is not courage and power alone that conquers, but skill and prudence, and a knowledge of naval tactics.”

“This bold enterprize of breaking the line of the enemy has, since then, often been effected, but I believe, as I said before, that Admiral Rodney set the example, though the thought did not spring from his own mind.

“Rodney, it is said, owing to particular circumstances, found it necessary to keep up proper discipline in the navy, and control faction by an uncompromising sternness of conduct, not belonging to his natural character. He was compelled, as he believed, to convince those under his command that he was not a man to be trifled with.

“The policy pursued by Lord Nelson for securing the obedience of his captains was the reverse of this, but equally successful. This great commander 284cultivated the personal attachment of those under his orders by familiar and confidential intercourse. After settling in his own mind the plan of a campaign, or mode of attack, he would, it is said, communicate it to his captains; sometimes separately, sometimes collectively, as if to consult them on the soundness of what he projected, putting the case to them in the interrogative or consulting tone, as to what he had decided upon, leaving an opening for their lights and corrections; and it is believed that he stated the case differently from what he had secretly decided on, but led them to offer an opinion and advice in accordance with his real determination, in order to pay them the flattering compliment of having amended his plan. ‘Your idea,’ he would say, ‘is the better of the two.’ This illustrates how the same end may be attained by different, and even opposite means, according to the difference of circumstances. Lord Nelson’s captains had lived with him in affectionate personal intercourse, loving and respecting him. Lord Rodney had little or no acquaintance with the great majority of his captains, and had reason to believe that they neither loved nor respected him much; but, by a demeanour suited to such circumstances, he equally secured their obedience and co-operation, after the first misunderstanding and neglect of duty.

“During an action of Admiral Rodney with 285the French, a woman assisted at one of the guns upon the main-deck, and being asked by the admiral what she did there, she replied, ‘An’t please your honour, my husband is sent down to the cockpit wounded, and I am here to supply his place. Do you think, your honour, I am afraid of the French?’ After the action, Lord Rodney called her aft, told her she had been guilty of a breach of orders, by being on board, and rewarded her with ten guineas for so gallantly supplying the place of her husband.”

“What a strange woman that must have been! She was more like a man than a woman.”

“There have been several instances of women becoming soldiers and sailors. At the siege of............