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SKETCHES
FROM
MY LIFE
BY THE LATE
ADMIRAL HOBART PASHA
_WITH A PORTRAIT_
THIRD EDITION
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1887
_All rights reserved_
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
PREFACE.
These pages were the last ever written by the brave and true-hearted
sailor of whose life they are a simple record.
A few months before his death, some of his friends made the fortunate
suggestion that he should put on paper a detailed account of his
sporting adventures, and this idea gradually developed itself until the
work took the present form of an autobiography, written roughly, it is
true, and put together without much method, part of it being dictated at
the Riviera during the last days of the author's fatal illness. Such as
it is, however, we are convinced that the many devoted friends of
Hobart Pasha who now lament his death will be glad to recall in these
'Sketches' the adventures and sports which some of them shared with him,
and the genial disposition and manly qualities which endeared him to
them all.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. A ROUGH START IN LIFE 1
II. PERILS BY SEA AND LAND 14
III. A TRAGICAL AFFAIR 27
IV. RIO DE JANEIRO 36
V. SLAVER HUNTING 43
VI. SLAVER HUNTING (_continued_) 53
VII. LOVE AND MURDER 62
VIII. THE QUEEN'S YACHT 71
IX. IN THE BALTIC 78
X. BLOCKADE-RUNNING 87
XI. EXCITING ADVENTURES 103
XII. A VISIT TO CHARLESTON 120
XIII. NEVER CAUGHT! 133
XIV. LAST DAYS ON THE 'D----N' 147
CHAPTER PAGE
XV. RICHMOND DURING THE SIEGE 159
XVI. THE LAND BLOCKADE 175
XVII. I ENTER THE TURKISH NAVY 186
XVIII. THE WAR WITH RUSSIA 201
XIX. THE TURKISH FLEET DURING THE WAR 217
XX. SPORT IN TURKEY 235
XXI. SPORT AND SOCIETY 253
EXTRACT FROM THE 'DAILY TELEGRAPH' 277
SKETCHES FROM MY LIFE.
CHAPTER I.
A ROUGH START IN LIFE.
To attempt to write and publish sketches of my somewhat eventful career
is an act that, I fear, entails the risk of making enemies of some with
whom I have come in contact. But I have arrived at that time of life
when, while respecting, as I do, public opinion, I have hardened
somewhat into indifference of censure. I will, however, endeavour to
write as far as lies in my power (while recording facts) 'in charity
with all men.' This can be done in most part by omitting the names of
ships in which and officers under whom I have served.
I was born, as the novelists say, of respectable parents, at
Walton-on-the-Wold, in Leicestershire, on April 1, 1822. I will pass
over my early youth, which was, as might be expected, from the time of
my birth until I was ten years of age, without any event that could
prove interesting to those who are kind enough to peruse these pages.
At the age of ten I was sent to a well-known school at Cheam, in Surrey,
the master of which, Dr. Mayo, has turned out some very distinguished
pupils, of whom I was not fated to be one; for, after a year or so of
futile attempt on my part to learn something, and give promise that I
might aspire to the woolsack or the premiership, I was pronounced
hopeless; and having declared myself anxious to emulate the deeds of
Nelson, and other celebrated sailors, it was decided that I should enter
the navy, and steps were taken to send me at once to sea.
A young cousin of mine who had been advanced to the rank of captain,
more through the influence of his high connections than from any merit
of his own, condescended to give me a nomination in a ship which he had
just commissioned, and thus I was launched like a young bear, 'having
all his sorrows to come,' into Her Majesty's navy as a naval cadet. I
shall never forget the pride with which I donned my first uniform,
little thinking what I should have to go through. My only consolation
while recounting facts that will make many parents shudder at the
thought of what their children (for they are little more when they join
the service) were liable to suffer, is, that things are now totally
altered, and that under the present régime every officer, whatever his
rank, is treated like a gentleman, or he, or his friends, can know 'the
reason why.'
I am writing of a period some fifteen or twenty years after Marryat had
astonished the world by his thrilling descriptions of a naval officer's
life and its accompanying troubles. At the time of which I write people
flattered themselves that the sufferings which 'Midshipman Easy' and
'The Naval Officer' underwent while serving the Crown were tales of the
past. I will show by what I am about very briefly to relate that such
was very far from being the case.
Everything being prepared, and good-bye being said to my friends, who
seemed rather glad to be rid of me, I was allowed to travel from London
on the box of a carriage which contained the great man who had given me
the nomination (captains of men-of-war were very great men in those
days), and after a long weary journey we arrived at the port where
H.M.S.---- was lying ready for sea. On the same night of our arrival the
sailing orders came from the Admiralty; we were to go to sea the next
day, our destination being South America.
Being a very insignificant individual, I was put into a waterman's boat
with my chest and bed, and was sent on board. On reporting myself, I was
told by the commanding officer not to bother him, but to go to my mess,
where I should be taken care of. On descending a ladder to the lower
deck, I looked about for the mess, or midshipmen's berth, as it was then
called. In one corner of this deck was a dirty little hole about ten
feet long and six feet wide, five feet high. It was lighted by two or
three dips, otherwise tallow candles, of the commonest
description--behold the mess!
In this were seated six or seven officers and gentlemen, some
twenty-five to thirty years of age, called mates, meaning what are now
called sub-lieutenants. They were drinking rum and water and eating
mouldy biscuits; all were in their shirtsleeves, and really, considering
the circumstances, seemed to be enjoying themselves exceedingly.
On my appearance it was evident that I was looked upon as an interloper,
for whom, small as I was, room must be found. I was received with a
chorus of exclamations, such as, 'What the deuce does the little fellow
want here?' 'Surely there are enough of us crammed into this beastly
little hole!' 'Oh, I suppose he is some protégé of the captain's,' &c.
&c.
At last one, more kindly disposed than the rest, addressed me: 'Sorry
there is no more room in here, youngster;' and calling a dirty-looking
fellow, also in his shirtsleeves, said, 'Steward, give this young
gentleman some tea and bread and butter, and get him a hammock to sleep
in.' So I had to be contented to sit on a chest outside the midshipmen's
berth, eat my tea and bread and butter, and turn into a hammock for the
first time in my life, which means 'turned out'--the usual procedure
being to tumble out several times before getting accustomed to this, to
me, novel bedstead. However, once accustomed to the thing, it is easy
enough, and many indeed have been the comfortable nights I have slept in
a hammock, such a sleep as many an occupant of a luxurious four-poster
might envy. At early dawn a noise all around me disturbed my slumbers:
this was caused by all hands--officers and men--being called up to
receive the captain, who was coming alongside to assume his command by
reading his official appointment.
I shall never forget his first words. He was a handsome young man, with
fine features, darkened, however, by a deep scowl. As he stepped over
the side he greeted us by saying to the first lieutenant in a loud
voice, 'Put all my boat's crew in irons for neglect of duty.' It seems
that one of them kept him waiting for a couple of minutes when he came
down to embark. After giving this order our captain honoured the
officers who received him with a haughty bow, read aloud his commission,
and retired to his cabin, having ordered the anchor to be weighed in two
hours.
Accordingly at eight o'clock we stood out to sea, the weather being fine
and wind favourable. At eleven all hands were called to attend the
punishment of the captain's boat's crew. I cannot describe the horror
with which I witnessed six fine sailor-like looking fellows torn by the
frightful cat, for having kept this officer waiting a few minutes on the
pier. Nor will I dwell on this illegal sickening proceeding, as I do not
write to create a sensation, and, thank goodness! such things cannot be
done now.
I had not much time for reflection, for my turn came next. I believe I
cried or got into somebody's way, or did something to vex the tyrant;
all I know is that I heard myself addressed as 'You young scoundrel,'
and ordered to go to the 'mast-head.' Go to the mast-head indeed! with
a freshening wind, under whose influence the ship was beginning to heel
over, and an increasing sea that made her jump about like an acrobat. I
had not got my sea legs, and this feat seemed an utter impossibility to
me. I looked with horror up aloft; then came over me the remembrance of
Marryat's story of the lad who refused to go to the mast-head, and who
was hoisted up by the signal halyards. While thinking of this, another
'Well, sir, why don't you obey orders?' started me into the lower
rigging, which I began with the greatest difficulty to climb, expecting
at every step to go headlong overboard.
A good-natured sailor, seeing the fix I was in, gave me a helping hand,
and up I crawled as far as the maintop. This, I must explain to my
non-nautical reader, is not the mast-head, but a comparatively
comfortable half-way resting-place, from whence one can look about
feeling somewhat secure.
On looking down to the deck my heart bled to see the poor sailor who had
helped me undergoing punishment for his kind act. I heard myself at the
same time ordered 'to go higher,' and a little higher I did go. Then I
stopped, frightened to death, and almost senseless; terror, however,
seemed to give me presence of mind to cling on, and there I remained
till some hours afterwards; then I was called down. On reaching the deck
I fainted, and knew no more till I awoke after some time in my hammock.
Now, I ask anyone, even a martinet at heart, whether such treatment of a
boy, not thirteen years of age, putting his life into the greatest
danger, taking this first step towards breaking his spirit, and in all
probability making him, as most likely had been done to the poor men I
had seen flogged that morning, into a hardened mutinous savage, was not
disgraceful?
Moreover, it was as close akin to murder as it could be, for I don't
know how it was I didn't fall overboard, and then nothing could have
saved my life. However, as I didn't fall, I was not drowned, and the
effect on me was curious enough. For all I had seen and suffered on that
the opening day of my sea-life made me think for the first time--and I
have never ceased thinking (half a century has passed since then)--how
to oppose tyranny in every shape. Indeed, I have always done so to such
an extent as to have been frequently called by my superiors 'a
troublesome character,' 'a sea lawyer,' &c.
Perhaps in this way I have been able to effect something, however
small, towards the entire change that has taken place in the treatment
of those holding subordinate positions in the navy--and that something
has had its use, for the tyrant's hand is by force stayed now, 'for once
and for all.'
With this little I am satisfied.
Now let us briefly look into the question, 'Why are men tyrants when
they have it in _their power to be so_?'
Unfortunately, as a rule, it appears to come natural to them! What
caused the Indian Mutiny? Let Indian officers and those employed in the
Indian civil service answer that question.
However, I have only to do with naval officers. My experience tells me
that a man clothed with brief but supreme authority, such as the command
of a man-of-war, in those days when for months and months he was away
from all control of his superiors and out of reach of public censure, is
more frequently apt to listen to the promptings of the devil, which more
or less attack every man, especially when he is alone.
Away from the softening influence of society and the wholesome fear of
restraint, for a time at least the voice of his better angel is
silenced. Perhaps also the necessarily solitary position of a commander
of a man-of-war, his long, lonely hours, the utter change from the
jovial life he led previous to being afloat, to say nothing of his liver
getting occasionally out of order, may all tend to make him irritable
and despotic.
I have seen a captain order his steward to be flogged, almost to death,
because his pea-soup was not hot. I have seen an officer from twenty to
twenty-five years of age made to stand between two guns with a sentry
over him for hours, because he had neglected to see and salute the
tyrant who had come on deck in the dark. And as a proof, though it seems
scarcely credible, of what such men can do when unchecked by fear of
consequences, I will cite the following:--
On one occasion the captain of whom I have been writing invited a friend
to breakfast with him, and there being, I suppose, a slight monotony in
the conversation, he asked his guest whether he would like, by way of
diversion, to see a man flogged. The amusement was accepted, and a man
_was_ flogged.
It was about the time I write of that the tyranny practised on board Her
Majesty's ships was slowly but surely dawning upon the public, and a
general outcry against injustice began.
This was shown in a very significant manner by the following fact:--
A post-captain of high rank and powerful connections dared, in
contradiction to naval law, to flog a midshipman. This young officer's
father, happening to be a somewhat influential man, made a stir about
the affair. The honourable captain was tried by court-martial and
severely reprimanded.
However, I will cut short these perhaps uninteresting details, merely
stating that for three years I suffered most shameful treatment. My last
interview with my amiable cousin is worth relating. The ship was paid
off, and the captain, on going to the hotel at Portsmouth, sent for me
and offered me a seat on his carriage to London. Full of disgust and
horror at the very sight of him, I replied that I would rather 'crawl
home on my hands and knees than go in his carriage,' and so ended our
acquaintance, for I never saw him again.
It may be asked how, like many others, I tided over all the ill-usage
and the many trials endured during three years. The fact is, I had
become during that period of ill-treatment so utterly hardened to it
that I seemed to feel quite indifferent and didn't care a rap. But
wasn't I glad to be free!
I had learnt many a lesson of use to me in after life, the most
important of all being to sympathise with other people's miseries, and
to make allowance for the faults and shortcomings of humanity.
On the other hand, experience is a severe taskmaster, and it taught me
to be somewhat insubordinate in my notions. I fear I must confess that
this spirit of insubordination has never left me.
On my arrival at home my relations failed to see in me an ill-used lad
(I was only sixteen), and seemed inclined to disbelieve my yarns; but
this did not alter the facts, nor can I ever forget what I went through
during that 'reign of terror,' as it might well be called.
People may wonder how was it in the days of Benbow and his successors no
complaints were made. To this I answer, first, that the men of those
days, knowing the utter hopelessness of complaining, preferred to 'grin
and bear;' secondly, that neither officers nor men were supposed to
possess such a thing as feeling, when they had once put their foot on
board a man-of-war. Then there were the almost interminable sea voyages
under sail, during which unspeakable tyrannies could be practised,
unheard of beyond the ship, and unpunished. It must be remembered that
there were no telegraphs, no newspaper correspondents, no questioning
public, so that the evil side of human nature (so often shown in the
very young in their cruelty to animals) had its swing, fearless of
retribution.
Let us leave this painful subject, with the consoling thought that we
shall never see the like again.