popularity, the facility of travelling to and from the island being
greatly aided by the steamboats (his property) from Portsmouth and
Southampton; but much yet remains to be done by the inhabitants
themselves, if they wish to secure their present high partronage, and
increase with succeeding seasons the number of their visitors. The
promenade, admirably situate for the enjoyment of the sea ~172~~breeze,
and the delightful spectacle of a picturesque harbour filled with
a forest of beautiful pleasure yachts, is of an evening generally
obstructed by the assemblage of a juvenile band of both sexes, of
the very lowest description, who render it utterly impossible for the
delicate ear of female propriety to hazard coming in contact with their
boisterous vulgarities. The beautiful walk round the Castle battery
is wholly usurped by this congregated mass of rabble; and yet the
appointment of a peace-officer, a useful animal I never once saw at
Cowes, would remove the objection, and preserve a right of way and
good order among the crowd that would at least render it safe, if not
pleasant, to traverse the extended shore. The visit of their royal
highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to John Nash, Esq. the
eminent architect, at East Cowes Castle, gave a new lustre to the
enchanting scene, and afforded the English Spy a favourable opportunity
for completing his sketches of the scenery and character of the island.
Among the festivities which the presence of the royal visitors gave
birth to, the most attractive and delightful was the grand _dejeune a la
fourchette_, given at St. Lawrence by the commodore of the Yacht Club,
the Right Honourable Lord Yarborough. The invitations to meet the royal
party were very general, including all of note and respectability on the
island, and extending to the number of six hundred persons, for whom
a most liberal and princely banquet was prepared upon the lawn of a
delightful cottage, near his seat of Appuldurcombe. The spot selected
for this entertainment was situated under a bold line of cliffs,
extending in a semicircular form for above a mile in length, and
inclosing one of the most romantic of nature's variegated scenes,
abounding with hill, and dale, and rich umbrageous foliage, delightfully
increased by the inspiring freshness of the sea breeze, and the unbroken
view of the Channel in front, and ~173~~rendered still more attractive
and picturesque by the numerous tents and temporary pavilions which had
been erected for the accommodation of the visitors, spreading over
a line of ground like an encampment in the Pyrenees, a similitude of
feature that was more powerfully increased when the well-concerted echo
of the signal bugles resounded from hill to hill, and the cannon's loud
report, from the battery beneath, reverberating through the surrounding
hill and dale, proclaimed for many a mile the gladsome tidings of the
approach of royalty. The scene was, beyond description, magnificent;
the assemblage of fashionables included a long list of noble and
distinguished persons, who, on the approach of the duke and duchess,
congregated upon an eminence, immediately opposite the entrance to the
lawn, and by their loyal cheers, and smiles, and birthday suits, gave
honest welcome to their monarch's brother, and in the fulness of their
hearty zeal, paid a grateful tribute to their absent king. The ungenial
state of the morning's weather had prevented many of the yachts from
coming round, but a few jolly hearts had weathered the Needles, and
displayed their loyalty by decorating their vessels with all the colours
of all the nations of the world. At an appointed signal the tents were
thrown open, and the royal party having retired to the pavilion, the
company sat down to an entertainment, where a profusion of choice wines
and viands covered the extended line; then commenced the interchange of
bright eyes and soft sayings, and the rosy blush of maiden beauty tinged
the cheek of many a sylphic form as the accomplished beau challenged the
fair to wine with him, and many a heart from that day's sportive scene
shall date the first impression of the soveieign passion which blends
with life's red current all of happiness or misery here below. The
repast over, the company again met the royal party and promenaded on
the lawn, and while thus ~174~~engaged, a new delight was prepared for
them--a scene not less congenial than peculiar to the English character,
and one which may well uplift that honest pride of country which ever
animates a Briton's heart. The tables being again replenished, the
peasantry of the surrounding districts were admitted and regaled with
unrestricted hospitality.
And round the gay board cheerful Industry shone,
In a pureness and brightness to wealth oft unknown;
'Twas a feast where a monarch might wish to preside,
For the cottager's comfort's his country's pride;
And Benevolence smiled on the heart-moving scene,
And music and beauty enlivened the green,
While the labourer, gratefully raising the glass,
Gave his king, then his donor, his dame, and his lass.
The commodore's liberality is proverbial; he had sold his old yacht, the
Falcon, and the new vessel was not likely to be launched this season,
yet he would not forego the pleasure of a grand fete, and as it could
not be given on board his own ship, according to annual custom, he
seized upon this opportunity of the royal visit to unite Loyalty and
Friendship under one banner, and it must be recorded, that he displayed
an excellence of arrangement which left no wish ungratified. An
excursion round the island, sailing in a westerly direction, is one of
most delightful amusement to a lover of the picturesque; the circuit
is nearly eighty miles, every where presenting new features of the most
beautiful variety and romantic scenery, a voyage we made in the Rover
in about eight hours. Clearing Sconce Point, which is the first object
worthy notice from Cowes, you perceive the cottage, battery, and
residence of Captain Farrington on the rise of the hill, and beyond are
Gurnet and Harness Bays closely succeeding one another, the shores above
being well diversified with foliage and richly cultivated grounds. From
this station the coast gradually sinks towards Newtown River, where
the luxuriant woods of Swainton are perceived rising in the distance,
crowned by ~175~~Shalfleet church and a rich country as far as
Calbourne, the landscape bounded by a range of downs which stretch to
the extremity of the island. The coast at Hamsted, the farm estate of
John Nash, Esq. presents a very bold outline, and approaching Yarmouth,
which has all the appearance of an ancient French fort, the view of
the opposite point, called Norton, is very picturesque, presenting a
well-wooded promontory, adorned with numerous elegant residences; from
this spot the coast begins to assume a very bold, but sterile aspect,
composed of steep rugged slopes, and dull-coloured earthy cliffs, till
the attention of the voyager is suddenly arrested by the first view
of the Needle rocks, situate at the termination of a noble promontory
called Freshwater cliffs, which extend along a line of nearly three
miles, and at a part called Mainbench are six hundred feet above the sea
level, in some places perpendicular, and in others overhanging the ocean
in a most terrific manner; at the extreme point, or Needles, is the
light-house, where the view of the bays and cliffs beneath is beyond
description awfully sublime, and the precipices being covered with
myriads of sea-fowl of all description, who breed in the crannies of the
rocks, if called into action by the report of a gun fill the air with
screams and cries of most appalling import; the grandeur of the scene
being much increased by the singularly majestic appearance of the Needle
rocks, rearing their craggy heads above the ocean, and giving an awful
impression of the storms and convulsions which must have shaken
and devoured this once enormous mass. Their present form bears no
resemblance to their name, which was derived from a spiral rock, about
one hundred and twenty feet high, that fell in the year 1764, and left
the present fragments of its grandeur to moulder away, like the base of
some proud column of antiquity. On the opposite coast is Hurst Castle, a
circular fort, built by Henry ~176~~the Eighth; and on the north side of
the promontory is Alum Bay, the most beautiful and unique feature of the
sea cliffs of Albion. For about a quarter of a mile from the Needles the
precipice is one entire glare of white chalk, which curves round to, and
is joined by a most extraordinary mixture of vertical strata, composed
of coloured sands and ocherous earths blending into every variety of
tint, and so vivid and beautiful in colour, that they have been not
unfrequently compared to the prismatic hues of the rainbow. It was on
this spot the Fomone, a frigate of fifty guns, returning home, after
an absence of three years, with some Persian princes on board, in June,
1811, struck upon the rocks and went to pieces: the appearance of
a wreck, in such an extraordinary situation, must have formed a
combination of grand materials for the painter, that would be truly
sublime. At Saint Catherine's, in the cliffs, is the gloomy ravine
called Blackgang Chine, which should be visited by the traveller at
sunset, when the depth of shade materially increases the savage grandeur
of its stupendous and terrific effect. Tradition reports, that the awful
chasm beneath was formerly the retreat of a gang of pirates, from which
it derived its name. The total absence of vegetation, and the dusky hue
of the soil, combined with the obvious appearance of constant decay, the
dismembered fragments, and the streamlet to which it owes its origin,
falling perpendicularly over a ledge of hard rock from above seventy
feet high, producing a wild echo in the cavity beneath, all conspire to
render it the most striking and astonishing of Nature's wildest works.
The view off the Sand Rock presents the tasteful marine villas of Sir
Willoughby Gordon and Mrs. Arnold, whose well-cultivated grounds and
rich plantations reach down to the sea shore. Saint Lawrence brings to
view the romantic cottage of Lord Yarborough, succeeded by Steep Hill,
the lovely retreat of the late Earl Dysart; ~177~~the romantic flank of
Saint Boniface Down, and in the distance the fairy land of Bonchurch,
whose enchanting prospects and picturesque scenery have so often called
forth the varied powers of the painter and the poet, where sportive
nature, clothed in her gayest vest, presents a diversified landscape,
abounding with all the delightful combinations of rural scenery, of rich
groves, and dells, and meads of green, and rocks, and rising grounds;
streams edged with osiers, and the lowing herd spread over the luxuriant
land. As you approach East End, you perceive an extensive scene of
devastation, caused by the frequent landslips near to Luccombe Chine,
and the romantic chasm of Shanklin, from which spot Sandown comes next
in view, and sailing under the towering Culver cliffs we arrive at the
eastern extremity of the island. At Bimbridge a very dangerous ledge
spreads out into the sea, and gaining Brading Haven the old church tower
of Saint Helen's proclaims you are fast gaining upon that delightful
watering-place, the town of Ryde, whose picturesque pier, shooting forth
into the ocean, and covered with groups of elegant visitors, forms an
object of the most pleasing description. From this point the whole line
of coast to Cowes wears a rich and highly-cultivated appearance, being
divided into wood, arable, and pasture lands, diversified by the villas
of Earl Spencer, Mr. G. Player, and Mr. Fleming, when, having passed
Wooten Creek, the next object is Norris Castle; and now, having cleared
the point, you are once more landed in safety at the Vine Key, and
my old friend, Mrs. Harrington, whose pleasant countenance, obliging
manners, and good accommodation, are the universal theme of every
traveller's praise, has already made her best curtsy to welcome you back
to Cowes.
The regatta was, indeed, a glorious scene, when the harbour was
literally filled with a forest of masts and streamers, the vessels of
the Royal Yacht ~178~~Club spread forth their milk white canvas to the
gale, many of those who were riding at anchor being decorated from head
to stem, over-mast, with the signal colours of most of the squadron and
the ensigns of the different nations. On the shore, and round the castle
battery, the congregated groups of lovely females traversed to and
fro, and the witchery of blight eyes and beauteous faces upon the manly
hearts of the sons of Neptune must have been magically triumphant. The
Pearl beat the Arrow, and the Julia the Liberty,--thus equalizing the
victory between the contending parties. The procession of the pilot
boats, about forty in number, was a very animated scene; and in the
sailing match of the succeeding day, our little craft, the Rover, came
in second, and received the awarded prize. The race ball at East Cowes
gave the young and fair another opportunity of riveting their suitors'
chains, and the revels of Terpsichore were kept up with spirit until the
streaking blush of golden morn shone through the dusky veil which Hecate
spreads around the couch of drowsy night. But the day of parting was at
hand; the last amusement of the time was a match made between Captain
Lyon and a Mr. Davey, of London, to sail their respective yachts,
the Queen Mab and the Don Giovanni, upon the challenge of the last
mentioned, a stipulated distance, for a sum of two hundred guineas--an
affair which did not, to use a sporting phrase, _come off well_, for
the Don most ungallantly refused to meet his fair opponent; and being
wofully depressed in spirits, either from apprehension of defeat, or sea
sickness, or some such fresh water fears, the little Queen was compelled
to sail over the course alone to claim the reward of her victory.
And now the sports of the season being brought to a conclusion, and
the rough note of old Boreas and the angry groanings of Father Neptune
giving token of approaching storms, I bade farewell to Vectis, my
~179~~friend Horace transporting me in his yacht to Southampton Water.
Reader, if I should appear somewhat prolix in my descriptions, take a
tour yourself to the island, visit the delightful scenery with which it
abounds, participate in the aquatic excursions of the place, and meet,
as I have done, with social friends, and kind hearts, and lovely forms,
and your own delightful feelings will be my excuse for extending my
notice somewhat beyond my usual sketchy style.
FAREWELL TO VECTIS.
Blest isle, fare thee well! land of pleasure and peace,
May the beaux and the belles on thy shores still increase:
How oft shall my spirit, by absence opprest,
Revisit thy scenes, and in fancy be blest,
In the magic of slumber still sport on thy wave,
And dream of delights that I waken to crave.
Farewell, merry hearts! fare ye well, social friends!
Adieu! see the Rover her canvas unbends;
Land of all that is lovely for painting or verse,
Farewell! ere in distance thy beauties disperse,
Now Calshot is passed, now receding from view,
Once more, happy Vectis, a long, last adieu.
[Illustration: page179]
PORTSMOUTH IN TIME OF PEACE.
~180~~
Where now are the frolicsome care-killing souls,
With their girls and their fiddlers, their dances and bowls?
Where now are the blue jackets, once on our shore
The promoters of merriment, spending their store?
Where now are our tars in these dull piping times?
Laid up like old hulks, or enlisted in climes
Where the struggle for liberty calls on the brave,
The Peruvians, the Greeks, or Brazilians to save
From the yoke of oppression--there, Britons are found
Dealing death and destruction to tyrants around;
For wherever our tars rear the banner of fame,
They are still the victorious sons of the main.
A Trip to Portsmouth on board the Medina Steam-Boat--The
Change from War to Peace--Its Consequences--The Portsmouth
Greys--The Man of War's Man--Tom Tackle and his Shipmate--
Lamentation of a Tar--The Hero Cochrane--An old
Acquaintance--Reminiscences of the past--Sketches of Point-
Street and Gosport Beach--Naval Anecdotes--"A Man's like a
Ship on the Ocean of Life."
"Bear a hand, old fellow!" said Horace Eglantine one morning, coming
down the companion hatchway of the Rover: "if you have any mind for a
land-cruise, let us make Portsmouth to-day on board the steamer, while
our yacht goes up the harbour to get her copper polished and her rigging
overhauled." In earlier days, while yet the light-heartedness of youth
~181~~and active curiosity excited my boyish spirit, I had visited
Portsmouth, and the recollection of the scenes I then witnessed was
still fresh upon my memory. The olive-branch of peace now waved over
the land of my fathers; and while the internal state of the country,
benefited by its healing balm, flourished, revived, invigorated and
prosperous, Portsmouth and Gosport, and such like sea-ports, were almost
deserted, and the active bustle and variety which but now reigned among
their inhabitants had given way to desolation and abandonment: at
least such was the account I had received from recent visitors. I was,
therefore, anxious from observation to compare the present with the
past; and, with this view, readily met the invitation of my friend
Horace Eglantine. The voyage from Cowes to Portsmouth on board the
steam-boat, performed, as it now is, with certainty, in about an
hour and a half, is a delightful excursion; and the appearance of the
entrance to the harbour from sea, a most picturesque and imposing scene.
The fortifications, which are considered the most complete in the world,
stretching from east to west, on either side command the sea far as the
cannons' power can reach. Nor is the harbour less attractive, flanked on
each side by the towns of Gosport and Portsmouth, and filled with every
description of vessel from the flag-ship of England's immortal hero,
Nelson, which is here moored in the centre, a monument of past glory,
to the small craft of the trader, and the more humble ferry-boat of the
incessant applicant, who plys the passenger with his eternal note of
"Common Hard, your honour."
One of my companions on board the Medina was an old man of war's man,
whose visage, something of the colour and hardness of dried salmon,
sufficiently indicated that the possessor had weathered many a trying
gale, and was familiar with all the vicissitudes of the mighty deep.
With the habitual roughness of ~182~~his manners was combined a
singular degree of intelligence, and he evinced a disposition to be
communicative, of which I found it very agreeable to avail myself. On
approaching the harbour, my attention was arrested by the sight of a
number of boats rowed by men arrayed in a grotesque uniform of speckled
jackets, whose freights, to judge from appearances, must have been of
no common weight, as the rowers seemed compelled to use a degree of
exertion little inferior to that employed by galley-slaves. I inquired
of my nautical Mentor who these men were, and in what description of
service they were occupied. "Them, master," replied he, releasing
the quid from his mouth, and looking with his weather-eye unutterable
things; "they are the _Portsmouth Greys_." My countenance spoke plainly
enough that this reply had by no means made me _au fait_ to the subject
of my question, and my informant accordingly proceeded--"Shiver my
timbers, mate, they are as rum a set, them boat's crews, as ever pulled
an oar--chaps as the public keeps out of their own pocket for the public
good; and it's been but just a slip, as one may say, between the cup
and the lip, as has saved a good many on 'em from being run up to the
yard-arm. Some on 'em forgot to return things as they _found_ rather too
easy, and some, instead of writing their own name, _by mistake_ wrote
somebody's else's; so government sent 'em here, at its own charge, to
finish their _edication_. You see the _floating academy_ as is kept
a purpose for 'em," said he, pointing to the receiving-hulk for the
convicts at this station, which was lying in the harbour: "them as is
rowing in the boats," added the talkative seaman, "has been a getting
stones, and ballast, and such like, for the repairs of the harbour; they
does all the rough and dirty jobs as is to be done about the works and
place--indeed, we calls 'em the _Port Admiral's skippers_." I now fully
understood the import of the term _Portsmouth Greys_, which had before
been an enigma to ~183~~me; and comprehended that the unhappy beings
before me were of
The ill-fated children of suff'ring and sin,
With conscience reproaching and sorrow within;
Bosoms that mis'ry and guilt could not sever,
Hearts that were blighted and broken for ever:
Where each, to some vice or vile passion a slave,
Shared the wreck of the mind, and the spirit's young grave.
Whose brief hist'ry of life, ere attain'd to its prime,
Unfolded a volume of madness and crime,
Such as leaves on the forehead of manhood a stain
Which tears over shed seek to blot out in vain;
A stain which as long as existence will last,
Embitt'ring the future with thoughts of the past.
I might have indulged much longer in these reflections, but my musing
mood was interrupted by the Medina reaching her destination, and we
disembarked safely at Portsmouth Point.
[Illustration: page184]
On landing, the worthy veteran, who had, by his confabulation during the
voyage, claimed, in his own opinion, a right of becoming my companion
for a time, a privilege which, in such a scene, and at such a place, it
will easily be believed I was not averse from granting him, proceeded
along with me _carpere iter comites parati_, up Point Street, and at one
of the turnings my friend made a sudden stop. "My eyes!" he exclaimed,
"may I perish, but that is my old messmate, Tom Tackle. Many's the can
of flip we've scuttled while on board the _Leander_ frigate together;
and when we were obliged to part convoy and go on board different ships,
there was above a little matter of brine about both our eyes." At this
moment Tom Tackle came up with us: the warmth of affection with which
his old shipmate had spoken of him had interested me not a little in his
favour, and his mutilated frame spoke volumes in behalf of the gallantry
he had displayed in the service of his country. One eye was entirely
~184~~lost; one coat-sleeve hung armless by his side; and one vanished
leg had its place superseded by a wooden substitute. I gazed upon the
"unfortunate brave" with mingled pity and veneration; yet, so true is
the observation of the ancient,
"_Res sunt humanae flobilo ludibrium_"
That is, human feelings and affairs are a singular compound of the
ludicrous and the lamentable, that I could not avoid giving way to my
mercurial disposition, and congratulating my fellow-voyager on the ease
with which he had recognized his old comrade by his present remaining
half. "Lord help your honour!" said he, "a seaman's weather-gauge is
made for squalls--foul weather or fair--in stays or out of trim--sailing
all right before the wind, or coming up under jury-masts; he's no tar
that cannot make out an old friend at a cable's length, and bring to
without waiting for signals of distress. Shiver my timbers, if I should
not know my old messmate here while there's a timber rib left in his
hulk, or a shoulder-boom to hang a blue jacket on. But, my toplights,
Tom!" continued he, "where's all the girls, and the tiddlers, and the
Jews, and bumboat-women that used to crowd all sail to pick up a spare
hand ashore? Not a shark have I seen in the harbour, and all the old
grog-shops with their foul-weather battens up and colours half-mast."
"All in mourning for Mr. Nap, shipmate," said Tom; "we've had no fun
here since they cooped him up on board the Bellerophon, and stowed
him away at St. Helena. All the Jews have cut and run, and all the
bumboat-women retired upon their fortunes; the poor landlords are
most of them in the bilboes at Winchester: and as for a pretty
girl--whew!--not such an article to be had at Point now, either for
love or money: and all this comes of the peace--shiver my odd forelight!
mate, if it lasts much longer, it will be the ruin of the navy.