In all probability the portrait of George Alfred Henty, which shows him
on his yacht, was the last that was taken prior to his death. It is
certainly Henty as we know him, and it shows him in his most natural
aspect, for it was taken when he was not merely in the full enjoyment of
his favourite pastime, but combining it with his work. It represents
him unexpectant, grave, and intent, reading over and making corrections
in the proof-sheets of one of his last books. Being a genuine
snap-shot, nothing possibly could have been more happy, and it certainly
deserves to be termed a perfectly natural untouched likeness. The
taking of this photograph came about almost by accident. Just before
his last cruise, Henty wished to have some alterations made in the sails
of the _Egret_. A local sail-maker--a Mr Ainger--came on board to
carry out the task, and he chanced to have brought his camera. Seizing
an opportune moment, he took the portrait, with the accompanying
excellent result, and in sending it to the writer Captain C.G. Henty
adds these words, "It seems to me singularly characteristic,"--a comment
that everyone who is well acquainted with the subject must feel bound to
endorse.
Captain Henty goes on to state: "For some years before his death my
father suffered from gouty diabetes. In the autumn of 1902 he
complained of feeling very unwell, and, although he had laid up the
_Egret_, he got her into commission again. After a short cruise,
however, he returned, and finally brought the schooner to an anchor in
Weymouth Harbour, and from there he never moved again.
"On Saturday morning, the first of November, he was stricken with
paralysis, but after a few days he showed signs of recovering the
vigorous health which he had enjoyed almost throughout his life. His
great powers of recuperation stood him in good stead, and he steadily
improved to such an extent that hopes were entertained of his being
brought up to town. Exactly a fortnight, though, after the first
seizure he was attacked by bronchitis, and on Sunday morning, the
sixteenth of the month, he passed quietly away."
He was laid to rest in Brompton Cemetery, in the same grave as his first
wife and his two daughters.
Heading a long article descriptive of his career, the _Standard_, the
journal with which he had been intimately connected since the year 1865,
says in reference to his passing: "We regret to announce the death of
Mr G.A. Henty, which occurred yesterday on his yacht at Weymouth. He
had been in weak health for some time, but almost to the last he
retained his capacity for work."