beauties, that are deservedly the ~145~~theme of admiration, and
certainly no spot of the same extent, in the three kingdoms, perhaps in
the world, can boast of such a diversity of picturesque qualities, of
natural charms, and local advantages--attractions which have justly
acquired for it the emphatic distinction of the Garden of England.
Every where the coast is adorned with cottages or villas, hill or vale,
enriched by the most luxuriant foliage, and crowned in the distance by
a chain of lofty downs; while in front the coasts of Gosport and
Portsmouth, and that grand naval station for England's best bulwarks,
Spithead, present a forest of towering masts and streamers, which adds
much to the natural grandeur of the scene. As we near Cowes we
are delighted with a variety of striking objects: The chaste and
characteristic seat of Norris, the residence of Lord Henry Seymour,
massive in its construction, and remarkable for the simplicity of its
style and close approximation to the ancient castle. On the brow of the
hill the picturesque towers of East Cowes Castle rise from a surrounding
grove, and present a very beautiful appearance, which is materially
increased upon nearer inspection by the rapid spread of the deep-hued
ivy clinging to its walls, and giving it an appearance of age and
solidity which is admirably relieved by the diversity of the lighter
foliage. On the other side projects from a point westward Cowes Castle,
the allotted residence of the governor, but now inhabited by the Marquis
of Anglesey and his family, to whose partiality for aquatic sports
Cowes is much indebted for its increasing consequence and celebrity. The
building itself, although much improved of late, is neither picturesque
nor appropriate; but the adjoining scenery, and particularly the marine
villas of Lord Grantham and the late Sir J. C. Hippesley, have greatly
increased the beauty of the spot, which first strikes the eye of a
stranger in his progress to West Cowes from ~146~~Southampton Water.
The town itself rises like an amphitheatre from the banks of a noble
harbour, affording security and convenience for large fleets of ships
to ride at anchor safely, or to winter in from stress of weather, or
the repair of damages. But here ends my topographical sketches for the
present. The inspiring air of "Home, sweet Home," played by the steward
upon the key bugle, proclaims our arrival; the boat is now fast drawing
to her moorings at the Fountain Quay, the boatmen who flock along-side
have already solicited the care of my luggage, and the hand of my
friend, Horace Eglantine, is stretched forth to welcome my arrival at
West Cowes.
The first salutations over with my friend Eglantine, I could not help
expressing my surprise at the sailor-like appearance of his costume.
"All the go here, old fellow," said Horace; "we must start that
long-tailed gib of yours for a nice little square mizen, just enough to
cover your beam and keep your bows cool; so bear a hand, my boy, and let
us drop down easy to our births, and when properly rigged you shall go
on board my yacht, the Rover, and we will bear away for the westward.
Only cast off that sky scraper of yours before the boom sweeps it
overboard, and cover your main top with a Waterloo cap: there, now, you
are cutter rigg'd, in good sailing trim, nothing queer and yawl-like
about you." In this way I soon found myself metamorphosed into a
complete sailor, in appearance; and as every other person of any
condition, from the marquis downwards, adopted the same dress, the
alteration was indispensably necessary to escape the imputation of being
considered a Goth. Among the varied sports in which the nobility and
gentry of England have at any time indulged, or that have, from the mere
impulse of the moment and the desire of novelty, become popular, none
have been more truly national and praiseworthy than the establishment of
the Royal Yacht Club. The promotion ~147~~of aquatic amusement combines
the soundest policy in the pursuit of pleasure, two points but rarely
united; in addition to which it benefits that class of our artizans,
the shipwrights, who, during a time of profound peace, require some
such auxiliary aid; nor is it less patriotic in affording employment to
sea-faring men, encouraging the natural characteristic of Britons, and
feeding and fostering a branch of service upon which the country must
ever rely for its support and defence in time of peril. To the owners
it offers advantages and attractions which are not, in other pursuits,
generally attainable; Health here waits on Pleasure,--Science benefits
by its promotion,--friends may partake without inconvenience or much
additional expense,--travel is effected with economy,--and change of
scene and a knowledge of foreign coasts obtained without the usual
privations and incumbrances attendant upon the public mode of
conveyance. By a recent regulation, any gentleman's pleasure yacht may
enter the ports of France, or those of any other power in alliance with
England, exempted from the enormous exactions generally extorted from
private and merchant vessels, as harbour and other dues,--a privilege of
no mean consequence to those who are fond of sailing. In addition,
there are those, and of the service too, who contend, that since the
establishment of the Royal Yacht Club, by their building superior
vessels, exciting emulation, and creating a desire to excel in naval
architecture, and also by the superiority of their sailing, the public
service of the country has been much benefited, particularly as regards
our lighter vessels, such as revenue cutters and cruizers. This club,
which originated with some gentlemen at Cowes in the year 1815, now
comprises the name of almost every nobleman and gentleman in the kingdom
who keeps a yacht, and is honoured with that of the sovereign, and
other members of his family, ~148~~as its patrons. Cowes Harbour is the
favourite rendezvous; and here in the months of July and August may
be seen above one hundred fine vessels built entirely for purposes of
pleasure, and comprising every size and variety of rigging, from a ship
of three hundred tons burthen to the yawl of only eight or ten. It was
just previous to that delightful spectacle, the regatta, taking place,
when the roads and town presented an unusually brilliant appearance,
that I found myself agreeably seated on board the Rover, a cutter
yacht of about thirty tons, who, if she was not fitted up with all the
superiority of many of those which surrounded me, had at least every
comfortable and necessary accommodation for half a dozen visitors,
without incommoding my friend Horace or his jovial crew.
I had arrived at Cowes a low-spirited weakly invalid, more oppressed
in mind than body; but a few trips with my friend Eglantine to sea, on
board the Rover, and some equally pleasant rambles among the delightful
scenery which surrounds the bay of Cowes, had in one week's residence
banished all symptoms of dispepsia and nervous debility, and set the
master of arts once more upon his legs again. Some idea of my condition,
on leaving _alma mater_, may be obtained by the following effusion of
my Muse, who, to do her justice, is not often sentimental, unless when
sickness presses her too close.
THE INVALID.
Light-hearted Mirth and Health farewell,
Twin sisters of my youthful days,
Who through life's early spangled dell
Would oft inspire my humble lays.
Fancy, cameleon of the mind,
The poet's treasure, life, and fame,
Thou too art fled, with wreath to bind
The budding of some happier name.
~149~~
Oppression's sway, or fortune's frown,
My buoyant spirits once could bear;
But now chimeras press me down,
And all around seems fell despair.
With fev'rish dreams and frenzied brain,
When Hecate spreads her veil, I'm crost;
My body sinks a prey to pain,
And all but lingering hope is lost.
With the return of health and spirits, Horace insisted I should write
the "L'Allegro" to this "Il Penseroso" effusion. So, finding the jade
had recovered her wonted buoyancy, I prayed her mount on gayest wing,
and having spread her pinions to the sun, produced the following
impromptu.
THE CONVALESCENT.
Welcome, thou first great gift below,
Hygeian maid, with rosy glow,
Thrice welcome to my call.
Let misers hug their golden store,
I envy none the servile ore;
To me thou art all in all.
Thou spring of life, and herald fair,
Whose charm dispels disease and care,
And yields a summer joy,
All hail! celestial seraph, hail!
Thou art the poet's coat of mail,
His mirth without alloy.
There is a prepossessing something in the life of a sailor which
improves the natural attachment of Englishmen to every thing nautical;
so much so, that I never heard of one in my life who was not, after
a single trip, always fond of relating his hair-breadth perils and
escapes, and of seizing every opportunity to display his marine
knowledge by framing his conversation _ship shape_, and decorating his
oratory with a few of those lingual localisms, which to a landsman must
be almost unintelligible without the aid of ~150~~a naval glossary.
A fortnight's tuition under the able auspices of my friend Horace had
brought me into tolerable good trim in this particular; I already
knew the difference between fore and aft, a gib, a mainsail, and a
mizen;could hand a rope, or let go the foresail upon a tack; and having
gained the good opinion of the sailing captain, I was fast acquiring a
knowledge how to box the binnacle and steer through the Needle's Eye.
But, my conscience! as the Dominie says, I could never learn how to
distinguish the different vessels by name, particularly when at a little
distance; their build and rigging being to my eye so perfectly similar.
In all this, however, my friend Horace was as completely at home as if
he had studied naval architecture at the college; the first glance of a
vessel was quite enough for him: like an old sportsman with the pedigree
of a horse or a dog, only let him see her, through his glass head or
stern, or upon a lee lurch, and he would hail her directly, specify her
qualities and speed, tell you where she was built, and who by, give you
the date of her register, owner's name, tonnage, length and breadth
of her decks, although to the eye of the uninitiated there was no
distinguishing mark about her, the hull being completely black, and
the rigging, to a rope, like every other vessel of the same class.
"For instance," said Horace, "who could possibly mistake that beautiful
cutter, the Pearl? See how she skims along like a swan with her head
up, and stern well under the wind! Then, look at her length; there's
a bowsprit, my boy! full half the measurement of her hull; and her new
mainsail looks large enough to sweep up every breath of wind between
the sea and the horizon. Then only direct your fore lights to her trim;
every rope just where it should be, and not a line too much; and when
she fills well with a stiff breeze, not a wrinkle in all her canvas from
the gib to the gaff topsail. Then observe how she dips in the bows, and
what a breadth she ~151~~has; why she's fit for any seas; and if the
Arrow ever shoots past her, I'll forfeit every shot in my lockers."
"Avast there! master Horace," said our master at the helm, who was an
old Cowes pilot, and as bluff as a Deal sea-boat; "the Pearl is a noble
sailer; but a bird can't fly without wings, nor a ship run thirteen
knots an hour without a good stiff breeze. If the light winds prevail,
the Arrow will have the advantage, particularly now she's cutter rigged,
and has got the marquis's old mainsail up to take the wind out of his
eye." "Ay, ay," said Horace, "you must tell that story to the marines,
old boy; it will never do for the sailors." "Mayhap, your honours
running right a-head with the Pearl, and betting your blunt all one
way; but, take an old seaman's advice; may I get no more rest than a
dog-vane, or want a good _grego_{1} in a winter's watch, if I don't
think you had better keep a good look-out for the wind's changing aft;
and be ready to haul in your weather-braces, and bear the
back-stays abreast the top-br'im, ere the boatswain's mate pipes the
starboard-watch a-hoy." "Tush, tush, old fellow," said Horace, with whom
I found Lord Anglesey's cutter stood a one at Lloyd's. "May my mother
sell vinegar, and I stay at home to bottle it off, if I would give a
farthing per cent, to be ensured for my whole risk upon the grand match!
Mind your weather roll, master--belay every inch of that. There now;
look out a-head; there's the Liberty giving chase to the Julia, and
the Jack-o'lantern weathering the Swallow upon every tack. His Grace of
Norfolk won't like that; but a pleasure hack must not be expected to run
against a thorough-bred racer. There is but one yawl in the club, and
that is the little Eliza, that can sail alongside a cutter; but then Sir
George Thomas is a tar for all weathers--a true blue jacket--every thing
so snug--cawsand rig--no topmasts--all so square and trim, that nothing
of his bulk can
1 A watch-coat.
~152~~beat him." In this way my friend Eglantine very soon perfected me
in nautical affairs, or, to use his expression, succeeded in putting a
"timber head in the ship;" and the first use I made of my newly acquired
information was to pen a _jeu d'esprit_, in the way of a circular in
rhyme, inviting the members of the Royal Yacht Club to assemble in
Cowes-roads. The whim was handed about in MS., and pleased more from
its novelty than merit; but as it contains a correct list of the club at
this period, and as the object of the English Spy is to perpetuate the
recollections of his own time, I shall here introduce it to the notice
of my readers.
A CIRCULAR,
ADDRESSED TO THE MEMBERS OP THE ROYAL YACHT CLUB.
Come, lads, bend your sails; o'er the blue waters thronging, In barks
like the sea-mew that skims o'er the lave; All you to the Royal Yacht
squadron belonging, Come, muster at Cowes, for true sport on the
wave.{1} First our king,{2} Heaven bless him! who's lord of the sea,
And delights in the sport of the circling wave, Commands you attend
him wherever ye be, Sons of ocean, ye loyal, ye witty, and brave. Here
Anglesey,{3} Waterloo's hero, shall greet ye;
1 The club generally assemble in Cowes-roads about the
middle of July to commence their aquatic excursions, which
are continued
until after the Regatta in August.
2 His Majesty is graciously pleased to honour the club by
becoming its patron.
3 The Marquis of Anglesey is a principal promoter of this
truly British sport, and resides with his family at Cowes
Castle during the season. The Pearl cutter, 113 tons, and
the Liberty cutter, 42 tons, are both his property.
~153~~
The Pearl, and the Liberty, cutters in trim, The Welds {4} in the Arrow
and Julia too meet ye, The match for eight hundred affording you whim.
Here Grantham{5} his Nautilus, steer'd by old Hollis, Shall cut through
the wave like a beautiful shell; And Symonds{6} give chase in the yawl
the Cornwallis, And Webster{7} the Scorpion manage right well; And
Williams{8} the younger, and Owen{9} his dad, From the shores of
Beaumaris have run the Gazelle; And Craven{10} his May-fly wings o'er
like a lad That is used to the ocean, and fond of its swell. Come,
lads, bear a hand--here's Sir George hove in sight, With his little
Eliza{11} so snug and so trim; Tan sails, cawsand rigg'd--for all
weather she's tight; You must sail more than well, if you mean to beat
him. Then steady, boys, steady--here's Yarborough's{12} Falcon, A very
fine ship, but a little too large; And here is a true son of Neptune to
talk on, Vice-Admiral Hope,{13} K.CB. in his barge.
4 Joseph and James Welds, Esqrs., of Southampton, the
wealthy and spirited owners of the Arrow yawl, 85 tons, and
the Julia, 43 tons. These gentlemen evince the greatest
spirit in challenging and sailing any of the club.
5 Lord Grantham, Nautilus, Cutter, 103 tons, a new and very
fast sailer.
Owner Vessel Class Tons
6 Capt. J. C. Symonds, R.N. Adm. Cornwallis Yawl 22
7 Sir Godfrey Webster Scorpion, Cutter 110
8 T. P. Williams, Esq., Hussar, Schooner, 120
and the Blue-eyed Maid, Cutter, 39
9 Owen Williams, Esq. Gazelle Cutter 87
10 Earl Craven May-fly Yawl 39
11 Sir George Thomas, Bart. Eliza Yawl 34
12 Lord Yarborough Commodore Falcon Ship 335
13 Vice-Admiral Sir W. Johnston Hope, K.C.B., who is here in
one of the Admiralty yachts.
~154~~
Come, lads, spread your canvas for health and for pleasure,
For both are combined in this true British sport;
Come, muster in Cowes-roads without further leisure,
Blue jackets and trowsers for dresses at court.
See Deerhurst{14} his Mary sticks to like a lover,
And Lindegren's{15}Dove wings it over the main;
Powell's {16} Briton, 'tis very well known, is a rover,
In Union the Pagets{17}must ever remain;
Here's Smith's {18 }Jack o'lantern and Chamberlayne's Fairy,{19}
Earl Harborough's{20} Ann, and F. Pake's Rosabelle{21}
Lord Willoughby's {22} Antelope, Penleaze's {23}Mary,
And Gauntlet's{24}Water-sprite sails very well.
Come, jolly old Curtis,{25} bear up in your Emma,
Eight cheerily laden with turtle and port;
And Melville{26} set sail if you'd scape the dilemma
Of being too late for our aquatic sport.
See Norfolk {27}already is here in the Swallow,
And the Don Giovanni a challenge has sent,
Which Lyons {28} accepts, and intends to beat hollow,
That is if the Londoner should not repent.
Owner Vessel
14 Viscount Deerhurst Mary
15 J. Lindegren, Esq. Dove.
16 J. B. Powell, Esq. Briton
17 Right Hon. Sir A. Paget Union
18 T. A. Smith, jun. Esq. Jack o'lantern
19 W. Chamberlayne, Esq. Fairy
20 Earl of Harborough Ann
21 F. Pare, Esq. Rosabelle
22 Lord Willoughby do Broke Antelope
23 J. S. Penleaze, Esq. Mary
24 Captain J. Gauntlet Water Sprite
25 Sir William Curtis, Bart. Rebecca Maria, Yawl, 76 tons.
and Emma, Schooner, 132 tons.
26 Lord Melville Admiralty Yacht 100
27 Duke of Norfolk Swallow Yawl 124
28 Captain Edmund Lyons (the polar navigator) had just
launched the Queen Mab.
~155~~
But look, what a crowd of fine yachts are arriving!
The Elizabeth,{29 }Unicorn,{30} Cygnet,{31} and Jane,{32}
The Eliza, Sabrina,{33} Madora,{34} all striving
To beat one another as coursing the main.
A fleet of small too, at anchor are riding;
The Margaret{35} Sapphire,{36} the Molly,{37} and Hind,{38}
The Orion,{39} and Dormouse{40} and Janette{41}abiding
The time when each vessel shall covet the wind.
Then, boys, bend your sails, and weigh for our regatta,
We've a Sylph?{42 and a Rambler{43} and a Merry Maid,{44}
A Syren{45} a Cherub{46} a Charlotte{47} and at her
A Corsair(48} who looks as if nothing afraid.
Here the Lord of the Isles{49} and freebooter Rob Roy,{50}
By a Will o' the Wisp{51} are led over the deep;
29 J. Fleming, Esq.
Elizabeth
30 H. Perkins, Esq.
Unicorn,
31 J. Reynolds, Esq.
Cygnet
32 Hon. William Hare
Jane
33 James Maxie, Esq.
Sabrina
34 H. Hopkins, Esq.
Madora
35 Hon. William White
Margaret
36 James Dundas, Esq.
Sapphire
37 Lieutenant-Colonel Harris
Charming Molly
38 Capt. Herringham, R.N.
Hind
39 James Smith, Esq.
Orion
40. P. Peach, Esq.
Dormouse
41 Capt. C. Wyndham, R.N.
Janette
42 R. W. Newman, Esq.
Sylph
43 J. H. Durand, Esq.
Jolly Rambler
44 Joseph Gulston, Esq.
Merry-maid
45 T. Lewin, Esq.
Syren
46 T. Challen, Esq.
Cherub
47 John Vassall, Esq.
Charlotte
48 Corbett, Esq.
Corsair
49 Colonel Seale
Lord of the Isles
50 W. Gaven, Esq.
Rob Roy
51 E. H. Dolatield, Esq.
Will o' the Wisp
And the Highland Lass{52} blushes a welcome of joy,
As alongside the Wombwell{53} she anchors to sleep.
Here the Donna del Lago{54} consorts with Rostellan,{55}
To the New Grove,{56} Lord Nelson{57} Louisa {58} attends,
Galatea{59} runs a Harrie{60} in chase of the Erin,{61}
And here with the Club List my Circular ends.
Owner Vessel Class Tons
52 Lieut.-Gen. Mackenzie Highland Lass Yawl 25
53 T. Harman, Esq. Wombivell Cutter 33
54 S. Halliday, Esq. Lady of Die Lake Yawl 42
55 Marquis of Thoruond Rostellan Schooner 60
56 John Roche, Esq. New Grove Cutter 24
57 Reverend C. A. North Lord Nelson Cutter 75
58 Arch. Swinton, Esq. Louisa Yawl 24
59 C. R. M. Talbot, Esq. Galatea Schooner 179
60 Sir R. J. A. Kemys Harrier Schooner 36
61 T. Allen, Esq. Erin Schooner 94
~156~~
"A right merrie conceit," said Horace, "and a good-humoured jingle that
must be gratifying to all mentioned, and will serve as a record of the
present list of the Yacht Club to future times. We must petition the
commodore to enter you upon the ship's books as poet-laureate to the
squadron: you shall pen lyrics for our annual club-dinner at East Cowes,
compose sea-chants for our cabin jollifications, sing the praises of our
wives and sweethearts, and write a congratulatory ode descriptive of
our vessels, crews, and commanders, at the end of every season; and
your reward shall be a birth on board any of the fleet when you choose a
sail, and a skin-full of grog whenever you like to command it. So come,
old fellow, give us a spice of your qualifications for your new office;
something descriptive of the science of navigation, from its earliest
date to the perfection of a first-rate man of war."
~157~~
THE PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION,
AN ORIGINAL SONG;
Dedicated to the Members of the Royal Yacht Club.
In the first dawn of science, ere man could unfold
The workings of nature, or valued dull gold;
Ere yet he had ventured to dare ocean's swell,
Or could say by the moon how the tides rose and fell;
A philosopher seated one day on the brink
Of the silvery margin thus took him to think:
"If on this side the waters are girted by land,
What controls the wide expanse, I'd fain understand."
Thus buried in thought had he ponder'd till now,
But a beautiful nautilus sail'd to and fro;
Just then a sly breeze raised the curls from his eyes,
And he woke from a dream to extatic surprise.
O'er his head a huge oak spread a canopy round,
Whose trunk being hollow, he levell'd to ground;
With a branch form'd a mast, and some matting a sail,
And thus rudely equipp'd dared the perilous gale;
Of the winds and the waves both the mercy and sport,
His bark was long tost without guidance to port,
And the storms of the ocean went nigh to o'erwhelm,
When the tail of the dolphin suggested a helm.
Ry degrees, the canoe to a cutter became,
And order and form newly-moulded the same,
Ropes, rigging, and canvas, and good cabin room,
A bowsprit, a mizen, a gib, and a boom.
From the cutter, the schooner, brig, frigate arose;
Till Britons, determined to conquer their foes,
Built ships like to castles, they call'd men of war,
The fame of whose broadsides struck terror afar.
Now boldly, philosophy aided by skill,
Bent his course o'er the blue waters sailing at will,
But dubious the track, for as yet 'twas unknown
How to steer 'twixt the poles for a north or south zone,
~158~~
Till the magnet's attraction, by accident found,
Taught man how the globe he could traverse around;
New worlds brought to light, and new people to view,
And by commerce connected Turk, Christian, and Jew.
All this while, father Neptune lay snug in his bed,
Till he heard a sad riot commence o'er his head,
Folks firing, and fighting, and sailing about,
When his godship popp'd up just to witness the rout;
It happen'd in one of those actions to be
When Europe combined fought the isle of the sea,
And, as usual, were conquer'd, sunk, fired, or run,
That old Neptune acknowledged each Briton his son.
"From this time," said his godship, "henceforth, be it known,
Little England's the spot for the ocean-king's throne;
And this charter I grant, and enrol my decree,
That my brave sons, the Britons, are lords of the sea."
"There's nothing like a good song," said Horace, "for conveying
information on nautical subjects, or promoting that national spirit
which is the pride and glory of our isle. I question if the country
are not more indebted to old Charles Dibdin for his patriotic effusions
during the late war, than to all the psalm-singing admirals and
chaplains of the fleet put together. I know that crab Gambier, and the
methodist privateers who press all sail to pick up a deserter from the
orthodox squadron, do a great deal of mischief among our seamen; for as
Corporal Trim says, 'What time has a sailor to palaver about creeds when
it blows great guns, or the enemies of his country heave in sight? a
sailor's religion is to perform his duty aloft and do good below; honour
his king, love his girl, obey his commander, and burn, sink, and destroy
the foes of his country.' Here we have an occasional exhibition of this
sort on board the depot vessel in the harbour, when the _Bethel_ flag
~159~~is hoisted, and the voice of the puritan is heard from East Cowes
to Eaglehurst; as if there were not already conventicles enough on shore
for those who are disposed to separate themselves from the established
church, without the aid of a floating chapel, furnished by the
government agent to subvert the present order of things. On this point,
you know, I was always a liberal thinker, but a firm friend to the
church, as being essential to the best interests of the state. An old
college chum of ours, who has been unusually fortunate in obtaining
ecclesiastical preferment, thought proper to send me a friendly lecture
in one of his letters the other day on this subject, to which I returned
the following answer, and put an end to his scruples, as I think, for
ever: I have entitled it
THE UNIVERSALIST.
'to a friend who questioned the propriety of his
religious opinions.