LORD COCHRANE's DISMISSAL FROM BRAZILIAN SERVICE, AND HIS ACCEPTANCE
OF EMPLOYMENT AS CHIEF ADMIRAL OF THE GREEKS.—THE GREEK COMMITTEE AND
THE GREEK DEPUTIES IN LONDON—THE TERMS OF LORD COCHRANE's AGREEMENT,
AND THE CONSEQUENT PREPARATIONS.—HIS VISIT TO SCOTLAND—SIR WALTER
SCOTT'S VERSES ON LADY COCHRANE.—LORD COCHRANE'S FORCED RETIREMENT TO
BOULOGNE, AND THENCE TO BRUSSELS.—THE DELAYS IN FITTING OUT THE
GREEK ARMAMENT.—CAPTAIN HASTINGS, MR. HOBHOUSE, AND SIR FRANCES
BURDETT.—CAPTAIN HASTINGS'S MEMOIR ON THE GREEK LEADERS AND
THEIR CHARACTERS.—THE FIRST CONSEQUENCE OF LORD COCHRANE's NEW
ENTERPRISE.—THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S INDIRECT MESSAGE TO LORD
COCHRANE.—THE GREEK DEPUTIES' PROPOSAL TO LORD COCHRANE AND HIS
ANSWER.—THE FINAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR HIS DEPARTURE.—THE MESSIAH OF THE
GREEKS.
[1825-1826.]
The letter from Mavrocordatos quoted in the last chapter was only part
of a series of negotiations that had been long pending. Lord Cochrane,
as we have seen, had arrived at Portsmouth on the 26th of June, 1825,
in command of a Brazilian war-ship and still holding office as First
Admiral of the Empire of Brazil. His intention in visiting England
had been only to effect the necessary repairs in his ship before going
back to Rio de Janeiro. He had no sooner arrived, however, than it was
clear to him, from the vague and insolent language of the Brazilian
envoy in London, that it was designed by that official, if not by the
authorities in Rio de Janeiro, to oust him from his command. During
four months he remained in uncertainty, determined not willingly to
retire from his Brazilian service, but gradually convinced by the
increasing insolence of the envoy's treatment of him that it would
be inexpedient for him hastily to return to Brazil, where, before
his departure, he had experienced the grossest ingratitude for his
brilliant achievements and neglect and abuse of all sorts. At length,
in November, upon learning that his captain and crew had been formally
instructed to "cast off all subordination" to him, he deemed that he
had no alternative but to consider himself dismissed from Brazilian
employment and free to enter upon a new engagement.
That engagement had been urged upon him even while he was in South
America by his friends in England, who were also devoted friends to
the cause of Greek independence, and the proposal had been renewed
very soon after his arrival at Portsmouth. It was so freely talked of
among all classes of the English public and so openly discussed in the
newspapers before the middle of August that by it Lord Cochrane's last
relations with the Brazilian envoy were seriously complicated. "Lord
Cochrane is looking very well, after eight years of harassing and
ungrateful service," wrote Sir Francis Burdett on the 20th of August,
"and, I trust, will be the liberator of Greece. What a glorious
title!"
It is needless to say that Sir Francis Burdett, always the noble
and disinterested champion of the oppressed, and the far-seeing and
fearless advocate of liberty both at home and abroad, was a leading
member of the Greek Committee in London. This committee was a
counterpart—though composed of more illustrious members than any of
the others—of Philhellenic associations that had been organized in
nearly every capital of Europe and in the chief towns of the United
States. Everywhere a keen sympathy was aroused on behalf of the
down-trodden Greeks; and the sympathy only showed itself more
zealously when it appeared that the Greeks were still burdened with
the moral degradation of their long centuries of slavery, and needed
the guidance and support of men more fortunately trained than they
had been in ways of freedom. Such a man, and foremost among such men,
always generous, wise, and earnest, was Sir Francis Burdett, Lord
Cochrane's oldest and best political friend, his readiest adviser
and stoutest defender all through the weary time of his subjection to
unmerited disgrace and heartless contumely. Another leading member
of the Greek Committee was Mr. John Cam Hobhouse, afterwards Lord
Broughton, Lord Byron's friend and fellow-traveller, now Sir Francis
Burdett's colleague in the representation of Westminster as successor
to Lord Cochrane. Another of high note was Mr. Edward Ellice, eminent
alike as a merchant and as a statesman. Another, no less eminent, was
Joseph Hume. Another was Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Bowring, secretary
to the Greek Committee. By them and many others the progress of the
Greek Revolution was carefully watched and its best interests were
strenuously advocated, and by all the return of Lord Cochrane to
England and the prospect of his enlistment in the Philhellenic
enterprise afforded hearty satisfaction. To them the real liberty of
Greece was a cherished object; and one and all united in welcoming the
great promoter of Chilian and Brazilian independence as the liberator
of Greece.
Other honest friends of Greece were less sanguine, and more disposed
to urge caution upon Lord Cochrane. "My very dear friend," wrote one
of them, Dr. William Porter, from Bristol on the 25th of August, "I
will not suffer you to be longer in England without welcoming you; for
your health, happiness, and fame are all dear to me. I have followed
you in your Transatlantic career with deep feelings of anxiety for
your life, but none for your glory: I know you too well to entertain
a fear for that. I had hoped that you would repose on your laurels and
enjoy the evening of life in peace, but am told that you are about to
launch a thunderbolt against the Grand Seignior on behalf of Greece.
I wish to see Greece free; but could also wish you to rest from your
labours. For a sexagenarian to command a fleet in ordinary war is an
easy task, and even threescore and ten might do it; but fifty years
are too many to conduct a naval war for a people whose pretensions to
nautical skill you will find on a thousand occasions to give rise to
jealousies against you. You will also find that on some important day
they will withhold their co-operation, in order to rob you of your
glory. The cause of Greece is, nevertheless, a glorious cause. Our
remembrance of what their ancestors did at Salamis, at Marathon, at
Thermopylae, gives an additional interest to all that concerns them.
But, to say the truth of them, they are a race of tigers, and their
ancestors were the same. I shall be glad to see them fall upon their
aigretted keeper and his pashas; but, confound them! I would not
answer for their destroying the man that would break their fetters and
set them loose in all the power of recognised freedom."
There was much truth in those opinions, and Lord Cochrane was not
blind to it. That he, though now in his fiftieth year, was too old
for any difficult seamanship or daring warfare that came in his way
he certainly was not inclined to admit; but he was not quite as
enthusiastic as Sir Francis Burdett and many of his other friends
regarding the immediate purposes and the ultimate issue of the Greek
Revolution. He was now as hearty a lover of liberty, and as willing
to employ all his great experience and his excellent ability in its
service, as he had been eight years before when he went to aid the
cause of South American independence. But both in Chili and in Brazil
he had suffered much himself, and, what was yet more galling to one
of his generous disposition, had seen how grievously his disinterested
efforts for the benefit of others had been stultified, by the
selfishness and imprudence, the meanness and treachery of those whom
he had done his utmost to direct in a sure and rapid way of freedom.
He feared, and had good reason for fearing, like disappointments in
any relations into which he might enter with Greece. Therefore, though
he readily consented to work for the Hellenic revolutionists, as he
had worked for the Chilians and Brazilians, he did so with
something of a forlorn hope, with a fear—which in the end was fully
justified—that thereby his own troubles might only be augmented, and
that his philanthropic plans might in great measure be frustrated.
Coming newly to England, where the real state of affairs in Greece,
the selfishness of the leaders, the want of discipline among
the masses, and the consequent weakness and embarrassment to the
revolutionary cause, were not thoroughly understood, and where this
understanding was especially difficult for him without previous
acquaintance even with all the details that were known and apprehended
by his friends, he yet saw enough to lead him to the belief that
the work they wished him to do in Greece would be harder and more
thankless than they supposed.
This must be remembered as an answer to the first of the
misstatements—misstatements that will have to be controverted
at every stage of the ensuing narrative—which were carefully
disseminated, and have been persistently recorded by political
opponents and jealous rivals of Lord Cochrane. It has been alleged
that he was induced by mercenary motives, and by them alone, to enter
the service of the Greeks. His sole inducements were a desire to do
his best on all occasions towards the punishment of oppressors and
the relief of the oppressed, and a desire, hardly less strong, to seek
relief in the naval enterprise that was always very dear to him
from the oppression under which he himself suffered so heavily.
The ingratitude that he had lately experienced in Chili and Brazil,
however, bringing upon him much present embarrassment in lawsuits and
other troubles, led him to use what was only common prudence in his
negotiations with the Greek Committee and with the Greek deputies,
John Orlando and Andreas Luriottis, who were in London at the time,
and on whom devolved the formal arrangements for employing him and
providing him with suitable equipments for his work.
These were done with help of a second Greek loan, contracted in London
in 1825, for 2,000,000£ Out of this sum it was agreed that Lord
Cochrane was to receive 37,000£ at starting, and a further sum of
20,000£ on the completion of his services; and that he was to be
provided with a suitable squadron, for which purpose 150,000£ were
to be expended in the construction of six steamships in England, and a
like sum on the building and fitting out of two sixty-gun frigates in
the United States. With the disappointments that he had experienced
in Chili and Brazil fresh in his mind, he refused to enter on this new
engagement without a formidable little fleet, manned by English and
American seamen, and under his exclusive direction; and he further
stipulated that the entire Greek fleet should be at his sole
command, and that he should have full power to carry out his views
independently of the Greek Government.
These arrangements were completed on the 16th of August, except that
Lord Cochrane, not having yet been actually dismissed by the Brazilian
envoy, refused formally to pledge himself to his new employers. In
conjunction with Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, Mr. Ellice, and
the Ricardos, as contractors, however, he made all the preliminary
arrangements, and before the end of August he went for a two months'
visit to his native county and other parts of Scotland, from which he
had been absent more than twenty years.
One incident in that visit was noteworthy. On the 3rd of October, Lord
and Lady Cochrane, being in Edinburgh, went to the theatre, where
an eager crowd assembled to do them honour. Into the after-piece an
allusion to South America was specially introduced. Upon that
the whole audience rose and, turning to the seats occupied by the
visitors, showed their admiration by plaudits so long and so vehement
that Lady Cochrane, overpowered by her feelings, burst into tears.
Thereupon Sir Walter Scott, who was in the theatre, wrote the
following verses:—
"I knew thee, lady, by that glorious eye,
By that pure brow and those dark locks of thine,
I knew thee for a soldier's bride, and high
My full heart bounded: for the golden mine
Of heavenly thought kindled at sight of thee,
Radiant with all the stars of memory.
"I knew thee, and, albeit, myself unknown,
I called on Heaven to bless thee for thy love,
The strength, the constancy thou long hast shown,
Each selfish aim, each womanish fear above:
And, lady, Heaven is with thee; thou art blest,
Blest in whatever thy immortal soul loves best.
"Thy name, ask Brazil, for she knows it well;
It is a name a hero gave to thee;
In every letter lurks there not a spell,—
The mighty spell of immortality?
Ye sail together down time's glittering stream;
Around your heads two glittering haloes gleam.
"Even now, as through the air the plaudits rung,
I marked the smiles that in her features came;
She caught the word that fell from every tongue,
And her eye brightened at her Cochrane's name;
And brighter yet became her bright eyes' blaze;
It was his country, and she felt the praise,—
"Ay, even as a woman, and his bride, should feel,
With all the warmth of an o'erflowing soul:
Unshaken she had seen the ensanguined steel,
Unshaken she had heard war's thunders roll,
But now her noble heart could find relief
In tears alone, though not the tears of grief.
"May the gods guard thee, lady, whereso'er
Thou wanderest in thy love and loveliness!
For thee may every scene and sky be fair,
Each hour instinct with more than happiness!
May all thou valuest be good and great,
And be thy wishes thy own future fate!"
Those aspirations were very far from realised. Even during his brief
holiday in Scotland, Lord Cochrane was troubled by the news that Mr.
Galloway, the engineer to whom had been entrusted the chief work in
constructing steam-boilers for the Greek vessels, was proceeding very
slowly with his task. "My conviction is," wrote Mr. Ellice, "that
Galloway, in undertaking so much, has promised what he can never
perform, and that it will be Christmas, if not later, before the
whole work is completed. No engines are to be got either in Glasgow or
Liverpool. You know I am not sanguine, and the sooner you are here to
judge for yourself the better. There has been no hesitation about the
means from the beginning, but money will not produce steam-engines and
vessels in these times."
In consequence of that letter, Lord Cochrane hurried up to London at
once, intending personally to superintend and hasten on the work. He
arrived on the 3rd of November; but only to find that fresh troubles
were in store for him. He had already been exposed to vexatious
litigation, arising out of groundless and malicious prosecutions with
reference to his Brazilian enterprise. He was now informed that a more
serious prosecution was being initiated. The Foreign Enlistment Act,
passed shortly after his acceptance of service under the Chilian
Republic, and at the special instigation of the Spanish Government,
had made his work in South America an indictable offence; but it was
supposed that no action would be taken against him now that he had
returned to England. As soon as it was publicly known, however, that
he was about to embark in a new enterprise, on behalf of Greece, steps
were taken to restrain him by means of an indictment on the score of
his former employment. "There is a most unchristian league against
us," he wrote to his secretary, "and fearful odds too. To be
prosecuted at home, and not permitted to go abroad, is the devil. How
can I be prosecuted for fighting in Brazil for the heir-apparent
to the throne, who, whilst his father was held in restraint by the
rebellious Cortes, contended for the legitimate rights of the royal
House of Braganza, then the ally of England, who had, during the
contest, by the presence of her consuls and other official agents,
sanctioned the acts of the Prince Regent of Brazil?"
It soon became clear, however, that the Government had found some
justification of its conduct, and that active measures were being
adopted for Lord Cochrane's punishment. He was warned by Mr. Brougham
that, if he stayed many days longer in England, he would be arrested
and so prevented not only from facilitating the construction of the
Greek vessels, but even from going to Greece at all. Therefore, at the
earnest advice of his friends, he left London for Calais on the 9th
of November, soon to proceed to Boulogne, where he was joined by his
family, and where he waited for six weeks, vainly hoping that in
his absence the contractors and their overseers would see that the
ship-building was promptly and properly executed.
While at Boulogne, foreseeing the troubles that would ensue from
these new difficulties, he was half inclined to abandon his Greek
engagement, and in that temper he wrote to Sir Francis Burdett for
advice. "I have taken four-and-twenty hours," wrote his good friend
in answer, on the 18th of November, "to consider your last letter, and
have not one moment varied in my first opinion as to the propriety
of your persevering in your glorious career. According to Brougham's
opinion, you cannot be put in a worse situation,—that is, more in
peril of Government here,—by continuing foreign service in the Greek
cause than you already stand in by having served the Emperor of the
Brazils. In my opinion you will be in a great deal less; for, the
greater your renown, the less power will your enemies have, whatever
may be their inclination, to meddle with you. Perhaps they only at
present desist to look out for a better opportunity, 'reculer pour
mieux sauter,' like the tiger. I don't mean to accuse them of this
baseness; but, should it be the case, the less you do the more power
they will have to injure you, if so inclined. Were they to prosecute
you for having served the Brazilian Emperor, it would call forth no
public sympathy, or but slight, in your favour. The case would be
thought very hard, to be sure; but that would be all. Not so, should
you triumph in the Greek cause. Transcendent glory would not only
crown but protect you. No minister would dare to wag a finger—no, nor
even Crown lawyer a tongue—against you; and, if they did, the feeling
of the whole English public would surround you with an impenetrable
shield. Fines would be paid; imprisonment protested and petitioned
against; in short, I am convinced the nation would be in a flame, and
you in far less danger of any attempt to your injury than at present.
This, my dear Lord Cochrane, is my firm conviction."
Encouraged by that letter and other like expressions of opinion from
his English friends, Lord Cochrane determined to persevere in his
Greek enterprise, and to reside at Boulogne until the fleet that was
being prepared for him was ready for service. He had to wait, however,
very much longer than had been anticipated, and he was unable to wait
all the time in Boulogne. There also prosecution threatened him. About
the middle of December he heard that proceedings were about to be
instituted against him for his detention, while in the Pacific, of a
French brig named _La Gazelle_, the real inducement thereto being in
the fact, as it was reported, that the French Government had espoused
the cause of the Pasha of Egypt, and so was averse to such a plan
for destroying the Egyptian fleet under Ibrahim as Lord Cochrane
was concocting. Therefore, he deemed it expedient to quit French
territory, and accordingly he left Boulogne on the 23rd of December,
and took up his residence at Brussels, with his family, on the 28th of
the same month.
Through four weary months and more he was waiting at Brussels,
harassed by the prosecutions arising out of the lawsuits that have
been already alluded to, in reference to which he said in one letter,
"I think I must make up my mind, though it is a hard task, to quit
England for ever;" harassed even more by the knowledge that the
building and fitting out of the vessels for his Greek expedition were
being delayed on frivolous pretexts and for selfish ends, which his
presence in London, if that had been possible, might, to a great
extent, have averted. "The welfare of Greece at this moment rests much
on your lordship," wrote Orlando, the chief deputy in London, "and
I dare hope that you will hasten her triumph:" yet Orlando and his
fellows were idling in London, profiting by delays that increased
their opportunities of peculation, and doing nothing to quicken the
construction of the fleet. Galloway, the engineer, wrote again and
again to promise that his work should be done in three weeks,—it was
always "three weeks hence;" yet he was well informed that Galloway
was wilfully negligent, though he did not know till afterwards that
Galloway, having private connections with the Pasha of Egypt, never
intended to do the work which he was employed to do. Lord Cochrane had
good friends at home in Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, and others;
but they were not competent to take personal supervision of the
details. He had an experienced deputy in Captain Abney Hastings, who
had come from Greece some time before, and who was now to return
as Lord Cochrane's second in command; but Captain Hastings,
single-handed, could not exert much influence upon the rogues with
whom he had to deal. "The _Perseverance_," he wrote of the largest of
the ships, which was to be ready first, on the 10th of December, "may
perhaps be ready to sail in six weeks—Mr. Galloway has said three
weeks for the last month; but to his professions I do not, and have
not for a length of time, paid the slightest attention. I believe he
does all he can do; all I object against him is that he promises
more than he can perform, and promises with the determination of not
performing it. The _Perseverance_ is a fine vessel. Her power of two
forty-horses will, however, be feeble. I suspect you are not quite
aware of the delay which will take place." Lord Cochrane soon became
quite aware of the delay, but was unable to prevent it, and the
next few months were passed by him in tedious anxiety and ceaseless
chagrin.
There was one desperate mode of lessening the delay—for Lord Cochrane
to go out in the _Perseverance_ as soon as it was ready to start,
leaving the other vessels to follow as soon as they were ready.
Captain Abney Hastings went to Brussels on purpose to urge him to that
course, and Mr. Hobhouse also recommended it. "There are two points,"
he wrote on the 23rd of December, "to which your attention will
probably be chiefly directed by Captain Hastings. These are, the
expediency of your going with the _Perseverance_, instead of waiting
for the other boats, and the propriety of immediately disposing of the
two frigates in America"—about which frequent reports had arrived,
showing that their preparation was in even worse hands than was that
of the London vessels—"to the highest bidder. As to the first, I
am confident that, although it would have been desirable to have got
together the whole force in the first instance, yet, as the salvation
of Greece is a question of time only, and as it will be probably so
late either as May or June next before the two larger boats can leave
the river, it would be in every way inexpedient for you to wait until
you could have the whole armament under your orders. Be assured, your
presence in Greece would do more than the activity of any man living,
and, as far as anything can be done in pushing forward the business at
home, neither time nor pains shall be spared. I wish indeed you could
have the whole of the boats at once; but Galloway has determined
otherwise, and we must do the next best thing. Captain Hastings will
tell you how much may be done even by one steam-vessel, commanded by
you, and directing the operations of the fire-vessels. On such a
topic I should not have the presumption to enlarge to you. As to the
American frigates, it is Mr. Ellice's decided opinion, as well as my
own, that you should have the money instead of the frigates. First and
last, the frigates _never will be finished_. The rogues at New York
demand 60,000£ above the 157,000£ which they have already received,
and protest they will not complete their work without the additional
sum. Now 70,000£ in your hands will be better than the _hopes_ —and
they will be nothing but _hopes_ —of having the frigates. If you agree
in this view, perhaps you will be so good as to state it in writing,
which may remove Mr. Ricardo's objections."
Lord Cochrane was tempted to follow Captain Hastings's and Mr.
Hobhouse's advice; but he first, as was his wont, sought Sir Francis
Burdett's opinion; and Sir Francis dissuaded him, for the time, at any
rate. "I would by no means have you proceed with the first vessel, nor
at all without adequate means," he wrote on the 15th of January, 1826;
"for besides thinking of the Greeks, for whom I am, I own, greatly
interested, I must think, and certainly not with less interest, of
you, and, I may add, in some degree of myself too; for I am placed
under much responsibility, and I don't mean to be a party to making
shipwreck of you and your great naval reputation; nor will I ever
consent to your going upon a forlorn and desperate attempt—that is,
without the means necessary for the fair chance of success—in other
words, adequate means. Although you have worked miracles, we can never
be justified in expecting them, and still less in requiring them."
Following that sound advice, Lord Cochrane resolved to wait until, at
any rate, a good part of his fleet was ready. He wrote to that effect,
and in as good spirits as he could muster, to Mr. Hobhouse, who in
the answer which he despatched on the 5th of February acknowledged the
wisdom of the decision. "I am very glad to perceive," he said in that
answer, "that you have good heart and hope for the great cause.
I assure you we have been doing all we can to induce the parties
concerned to second your wishes in every respect; and I now learn from
Mr. Hastings, who is our sheet anchor, that matters go on pretty well.
I hope you write every now and then to Galloway, in whose hands is the
fate of Greece—the worse our luck, for he is the great cause of our
sad delay."
"You see our House is opened," said Mr. Hobhouse in the same letter.
"Not a word of Greece in the Speech, and I spoke to Hume and Wilson,
and begged them not to touch upon the subject. It is much better to
keep all quiet, in order to prevent angry words from the ministers,
who, if nothing is said, will, I think, shut their eyes at what we are
doing. There is a very prevalent notion here that the (Holy) Alliance
have resolved to recommend something to Turkey in favour of the
Greeks. Whether this is true or not signifies nothing. The Turks will
promise anything, and do just what suits them. They have always lost
in war, for more than a hundred years, and have uniformly gained by
diplomacy. They will never abandon the hope of reconquering Greece
until driven out of Europe themselves, which they ought to be. By
the way, the Greeks really appear to have been doing a little better
lately; but I still fear these disciplined Arabians. I have written
a very strong letter to Prince Mavrocordatos, telling them to hold
out:—no surrender on any terms. I have not mentioned your name; but I
have stated vaguely that they may expect the promised assistance early
in the spring. It would indeed be a fine thing if you could commence
operations during the Rhamadan; but I fear that is impossible. Any
time, however, will do against the stupid, besotted Turks. Were they
not led by Frenchmen, even the Greeks would beat them."
Of the leisure forced upon him, Lord Cochrane made good use in
studying for himself the character of "the stupid, besotted Turks,"
and the nature of the war that was being waged against them by the
Greeks; and he asked Mr. Hobhouse to procure for him all the books
published on the subject or in any way related to it, of which he was
not already master. "With respect to books," wrote Mr. Hobhouse, in
reply to this request, "there are very few that are not what you have
found those you have read to be, namely, romances; but I will take
care to send out with you such as are the best, together with the
most useful map that can be got." More than fifty volumes were thus
collected for Lord Cochrane's use.
From Captain Abney Hastings, moreover, he obtained precise information
about Greek waters, forts, and armaments, as well as "a list of the
names of the principal persons in Greece, with their characters." This
list, as showing the opinions of an intelligent Englishman, based
on personal knowledge, as to the parties and persons with whom Lord
Cochrane was soon to deal, is worth quoting entire, especially as it
was the chief basis of Lord Cochrane's own judgment during this time
of study and preparation.
I. Archontes, or men influential by their riches.
Lazaros Konduriottes.—A Hydriot merchant, the elder of the two
brothers, who are the most wealthy men in that island, and even in all
Greece. This one, by intrigue, by distributing his money adroitly
in Hydra, and keeping in pay the most dissolute and unruly of the
sailors, and protecting them in the commission of their crimes,
has acquired almost unlimited power at Hydra. He asserts democracy,
appealing on all occasions to the people, who are his creatures. The
other primates hate him, of course. Lazaros has the reputation of
being clever. He never quits Hydra for an instant, for fear of finding
himself supplanted on his return.
George Konduriottes.—Brother of the former, and, like him a Hydriot
merchant; an ignorant weak man; said to be vindictive; espouses the
party of his brother at Hydra, by which means he has obtained the
Presidency [of Greece]. He made the land captains his enemies, and had
not good men enough to form an army of his own, viz., regular troops.
His penetration went no further than bribing one captain to destroy
another; which had for effect merely the changing the names of
chieftains without diminishing the power. I understand he has lately
retired to Hydra, and takes no active part in affairs.
EMANUEL TOMBAZES.—A Hydriot merchant and captain. There are two
brothers, at the head of the party opposed to Konduriottes. This
man was the first who ventured on the voyage from the Black Sea to
Marseilles in a latteen-rigged vessel. This traffic afterwards gave
birth to the colossal fortunes in Hydra. These men are the most
enlightened in Hydra. This one is dignified, energetic, and a good
sailor. However, he lost in Candia much of the reputation he had
previously acquired; but with all the errors he committed there, the
loss of that island is not attributable to him. 'Twould have been
lost, under similar circumstances, had Cæsar commanded there.
Konduriottes and his adherents hate him, of course, and did all they
could to paralyze his operations in Crete. All considered, this man is
more capable of introducing order and regularity into the ships than
any other Greek.
JAKOMAKI TOMBAZES.—A Hydriot merchant and captain, brother of the
former. He commanded the fleet the first year of the Revolution, and
to him is due the introduction of fire-vessels, by which he destroyed
the first Turkish line-of-battle ship at Mytelene. He is perhaps the
best-informed Hydriot; but he wants decision, and demands the advice
of everybody at the moment he should be acting. This man takes little
part in politics and follows his mercantile pursuits. His hobby-horse
is ship-building, in which art he is such a proficient as to be
quite the Seppings of Hydra. As to the rest, he is a very worthy,
warm-hearted man, but excessively phlegmatic.
MIAOULIS.—A Hydriot merchant and captain, who obtained command of the
Hydriot fleet after Jakomaki resigned. He is a very dignified,
worthy old man, possesses personal courage and decision, and is less
intriguing than any Greek that I know.
SAKTOURES.—A Hydriot captain. He has risen from a sailor, and is
considered by the Archontes rather in the light of a _parvenu_. He is
courageous and enterprising, but a bit of a pirate.
BONDOMES, SAMADHOFF, GHIKA, ORLANDO.—Hydriot merchants without
anything but their money to recommend them.
PEPINOS.—A Hydriot sailor of the clan of Tombazes, who has
distinguished himself frequently in fireships.
KANARIS.—A Psarian sailor; the most distinguished of the commanders
of fire-vessels.
BOTAZES.—A Spetziot merchant; the most influential person in his
island. But the Hydriot merchants possess so much property in Spetziot
vessels that, in some measure, they rule that island.
PETRO-BEY [or PETROS MAVROMICHALES].—The principal Archonte of Maina;
was governor of that province under the Turks. A fat, stupid, worthy
man; is sincere in the cause, in which he has lost two if not three
sons.
DELIYANNES.—A Moreot Archonte, and one of the most intriguing and
ambitious; was formerly sworn enemy to Kolokotrones and the captains,
but, having betrothed his daughter to Kolokotrones's son, they have
become allies. This man, if not the richest Archonte in the Morea, is
the one who affected the most pomp in the time of the Turks, and
he cannot now easily brook his diminished influence. He is reported
clever and unprincipled.
NOTABAS.—A Moreot Archonte, considered the most ancient of the noble
families in the Morea; is a well-meaning old blockhead; has a son, a
good-looking youth, who commanded the Government forces against the
captains in 1824; is said to be an egregious coward.
LONDOS.—A Moreot Archonte; was much flattered by the Government, but
afterwards leagued against them. He is a drunkard, and a man of no
consideration but for his wealth.[A]
[Footnote A: Lord Byron used to describe an evening passed in the
company of Londos at Vostitza, when both were young men. After supper
Londos, who had the face and figure of a chimpanzee, sprang upon
a table, and commenced singing through his nose Rhiga's "Hymn to
Liberty." A new cadi, passing near the house, inquired the cause of
the discordant hubbub. A native Mussulman replied, "It is only the
young primate Londos, who is drunk, and is singing hymns to the new
franaghia of the Greeks, whom they call 'Eleftheria.'"—Finlay, vol.
ii., p. 35.]
ZAIMES.—A Moreot Archonte; said to possess considerable talent, and
he exercises a very considerable influence. His brother was formerly a
deputy in England.
SISSINES.—A Moreot Archonte; was formerly a doctor at Patras; has
risen into wealth and consequence since the Revolution; has great
talent, and is a great rogue.
SOTIRES XARALAMBI.—A Moreot Archonte of influence. I do not know his
character.
SPELIOTOPOLOS.—A Moreot Archonte, whose name would never have
been heard by a foreigner, if he had not been made a member of the
executive body; a stupid old man, possessing little influence of any
kind.
KOLETTES.—A Romeliot; was formerly doctor to Ali Pasha; possesses
some talent; has held various situations in the ministry; is detested,
yet I know not why. I never could ascertain any act of his that
merited the dislike he has inspired a large party with. I fancy 'tis
alone attributable to jealousy—the peculiar feature of the Greek
character. It must nevertheless be acknowledged that he has sometimes
made himself ridiculous by assuming the sword, for which profession
he is totally incapacitated by want of courage. He is, however, poor,
although in employment since the commencement of the Revolution.
THIKOUPES.—An Archonte of Missolonghi; of some importance from the
English education he has received from Lord Guildford; a worthy man,
possessed of instruction, but, I think, not genius. He has married
Mavrocordatos's sister.
II. Phanaeiots.
[DEMETRIUS] HYPSILANTES.—Is of a Phanariot family; was a Russian
officer; although young, is bald and feeble. His appearance and voice
are much against him. He does not so much want talent as ferocity. He
possesses personal courage and probity, and may be said to be the only
honest man that has figured upon the stage of the Revolution. He does
not favour, but has never openly opposed, the party of the captains.
He felt he had not the power to do it with success, and therefore
showed his good sense in refraining. The Archontes, fearing the
influence he might acquire would destroy theirs, have uniformly
opposed him, secretly and openly; and they hate one another so
cordially now that it is impossible they should ever unite.
MAVROCORDATOS.—Of a Phanariot family; came forward under the auspices
of Hypsilantes, and then tried to supplant him; and to do this he made
himself the tool of the Hydriots, who, as soon as they had obtained
all power in their hands, endeavoured to kick down the stepping-stool
by which they had mounted. Perceiving this, he entered into
negotiations with the captains, and frightened the Hydriots into an
acknowledgment of some power for himself. He possesses quickness and
intrigue; but I doubt if he has solid talent, and it is reported that
he is particularly careful not to court danger.
III. Captains or Land-Chieftains.
KOLOKOTRONES.—A captain of the Morea, and the most powerful one in
all Greece. He owes this partly to the numerous ramifications of his
family, partly to his reputation as a hereditary robber, and also
to the wealth he has amassed in his vocation. He is a fine,
decided-looking man, and knows perfectly all the localities of the
country for carrying on mountain warfare, and he knows also, better
than any other, how to manage the Greek mountaineers. He is, however,
entirely ignorant of any other species of warfare, and is not
sufficiently civilized to look forward for any other advantage to
himself or his country than that of possessing the mountains and
keeping the Turks at bay. He proposed destroying all the fortresses
except Nauplia. 'Twas an error of Mavrocordatos to have made this man
an open enemy to himself and to organization. Had he been allowed to
have profited by order, he would have espoused it. At present he may
be considered irreconcilably opposed to order and the Hydriot party.
NIKETAS.—There are two of this name; but the only one that merits
notice is the Moreot captain, a relation of Kolokrotones. He is
as ignorant and dirty as the rest of his brethren, but bears the
reputation of being disinterested and courageous. He is always poor.
All the chieftains are good bottle-men; but this one excels them so
much that 'tis confidently asserted he drinks three bottles of rum per
day.
STAIKOS.—A Moreot captain who took part early with the Hydriot party
from jealousy of Kolokotrones. When that party gained the ascendency,
not finding himself sufficiently rewarded, he joined the captains.
MOMGINOS.—A Mainot chieftain, a rival of Petro-Bey; is
undistinguished, except by his colossal stature and ferocious
countenance.
GOURA.—A Romeliot captain; was a soldier of Odysseus, and employed
by him in various assassinations, and thus he rose to preferment and
supplanted his protector, and at length assassinated him. This man
possesses courage and extreme ferocity, but is remarkably ignorant.
In the hands of a similar master, he would have been a perfect Tristan
l'Hermite. To supplant Odysseus, he was obliged to range himself with
the Hydriot party.
CONSTANTINE BOTZARES.—A Suliot captain; nephew to the celebrated
Makrys, who, from all accounts, was a phenomenon among the captains.
This man bears a good character.
KARAÏSKAKES, RANGO, KALTZAS, ZAVELLA, &c. &c.—Romeliot captains; all
more or less opposed to order, according as they see it suits their
immediate interest.
That estimate of the Greek heroes—in the main wonderfully
accurate—was certainly not encouraging to Lord Cochrane. He
determined, however, to go on with the work he had entered upon, and
in doing his duty to the Greeks, to try to bring into healthy play the
real patriotism that was being perverted by such unworthy leaders.
Great benefit was conferred upon the Greeks by his entering into their
service from its very beginning, in spite of the obstacles which were
thrown in his way at starting, and which materially damaged all his
subsequent work on their behalf. No sooner was it known that he was
coming to aid them with his unsurpassed bravery and his unrivalled
genius than they took heart and held out against the Turkish and
Egyptian foes to whom they had just before been inclined to yield.
And his enlistment in their cause had another effect, of which they
themselves were ignorant. The mere announcement that he intended to
fight and win for them, as he had fought and won for Chili, for Peru,
and for Brazil, while it caused both England and France to do their
utmost in hindering him from achieving an end which was more thorough
than they desired, forced both England and France to shake off the
listlessness with which they had regarded the contest during nearly
five years, and initiate the temporizing action by which Greece was
prevented from becoming as great and independent a state as it might
have been, yet by which a smaller independence was secured for it.
Hardly had Lord Cochrane consented to serve as admiral of the Greeks
than the Duke of Wellington was despatched, in the beginning of 1826,
on a mission to Russia, which issued in the protocol of April, 1826,
and the treaty of July, 1827—both having for their avowed object the
pacification of Greece—and in the battle of Navarino, by which that
pacification was secured.
The Duke of Wellington passed through Brussels, on his way to
St. Petersburg, in March, 1826. Halting there, he informed the
hotel-keeper that he could see no one _except Lord Cochrane_, which
was as distinct an intimation that he desired an interview as,
in accordance with the rules of etiquette, he could make. The
hotel-keeper, however, was too dull to take the hint. He did not
acquaint Lord Cochrane of the indirect message intended for him
until the Duke of Wellington had proceeded on his journey. Thus was
prevented a meeting between one of England's greatest soldiers and one
of her greatest sailors, which could not but have been very memorable
in itself, and which might have been far more memorable in its
political consequences.
The meeting was hindered, and, without listening either to the
personal courtesies or to the diplomatic arguments of the Duke of
Wellington, Lord Cochrane continued his preparations for active
service in Greek waters. The details of these preparations and their
practical execution, as has been shown, he was forced to leave in
other and less competent hands, and their actual supervision was still
impossible to him. Gradually the irritating and wasteful obstacles for
which Mr. Galloway was chiefly responsible induced him to resolve upon
following the advice tendered in December by Mr. Hobhouse and Captain
Hastings—that is, to go to Greece with a small portion only of
the naval armament for which he had stipulated, and which his most
cautious friends deemed necessary to his enterprise. To this he was
driven, not only by a desire to do something worthy of his great name,
and something really helpful to the cause which he had espoused,
but also by the knowledge that the tedious delays that arose were
squandering all the money with which he had counted upon rendering his
work efficient when he could get to Greece.
Of this he received frequent and clear intimation from all his
friends in London, though from none so emphatically as from the Greek
deputies, Orlando and Luriottis, who, being themselves grievously to
blame for their peculations and their bad management, threw all the
blame upon Mr. Galloway and the other defaulters. Finding that the
proceeds of the second Greek loan were being rapidly exhausted by
their own and others' wrong-doing, they were even audacious enough to
propose to Lord Cochrane that, not abandoning his Greek engagement,
but rather continuing it under conditions involving much greater risk
and anxiety than had been anticipated, he should return the 37,000£
which had been handed over to Sir Francis Burdett on his account, and
take as sole security for his ultimate recompense the two frigates
half built in America, acknowledged to be of so little value that no
purchaser could be found for them. "Our only desire." they said,
"is to rescue the millions of souls that are praying with a thousand
supplications that they may not fall victims to the despair which is
only averted by the hope of your lordship's arrival."
To that preposterous request Lord Cochrane made a very temperate
answer. "I have perused your letter of the 18th," he wrote on the 28th
of February, "with the utmost attention, and have since considered its
contents with the most anxious desire to promote the objects you have
in view in all ways in my power. But I have not been able to convince
myself that, under existing circumstances, there is any means by which
Greece can be so readily saved as by steady perseverance in equipping
the steam-vessels, which are so admirably calculated to cut off the
enemies' communication with Alexandria and Constantinople, and for
towing fire-vessels and explosion-vessels by night into ports and
places where the hostile squadrons anchor on the shores of Greece.
With steam-vessels constructed for such purposes, and a few gunboats
carrying heavy cannon, I have no doubt but that the Morea might in a
few weeks be cleared of the enemy's naval force. I wish I could give
you, without writing a volume, a clear view of the numerous reasons,
derived from thirty-five years' experience, which induce me to prefer
a force that can move in all directions in the obscurity of night
through narrow channels, in shoal water, and with silence and
celerity, over a naval armament of the usual kind, though of far
superior force. You would then perceive with what efficacy the counsel
of Demosthenes to your countrymen might be carried into effect by
desultory attacks on the enemy; and, in fact, you would perceive that
steam-vessels, whenever they shall be brought into war for hostile
purposes, will prove the most formidable means that ever has been
employed in naval warfare. Indeed, it is my opinion that twenty-four
vessels moved by steam (such as the largest constructed for
your service) could commence at St. Petersburg, and finish at
Constantinople, the destruction of every ship of war in the European
ports. I therefore hold that you ought to strain every nerve to get
the steam-vessels equipped. For on these, next to the valour of
the Greeks themselves, depends the fate of Greece, and not on large
unwieldy ships, immovable in calms, and ill-calculated for nocturnal
operations on the shores of the Morea and adjacent islands. Having
thus repeated to you my opinions, I have only to add that, if
you judge you can follow a better course, I release you from the
engagement you entered into with me, and I am ready to return you the
37,000£ on your receiving as part thereof 72,500 Greek scrip, at
the price I gave for it on the day following my engagement (under the
faith of the stipulations then entered into), as a further stimulus
to my exertion, by casting my property, as well as my life, into the
scale with Greece. This release I am ready to make at once; but I
cannot consent to accept as security, for the fruits of seven years'
toil, vessels manned by Americans, whose pay and provisions I see no
adequate or regular means of providing. But should the 150,000£
placed at the disposal of the Committee not prove sufficient for the
objects _I have required_, I will advance the 37,000£ for the pay
and provisions necessary for the steamboats on the security of the
boats themselves. Thus you have the option of releasing me from
the service, or of continuing my engagement, although I shall lose
severely by my temporary acceptance of your offer."
In that letter Lord Cochrane conceded more than ought to have been
expected of him. In a supplementary letter written on the same day
he added: "I again assure you that I am ready to do whatever is
reasonable for the interest of Greece; but it cannot be expected that
for such interest I ought to sacrifice totally those of my family
and myself, as would be the case were I to give up both the means I
possess to obtain justice in South America and my indemnification, on
so slender a security as that offered to me. Believe me, I should have
tendered the 37,000£, without reference to the Greek scrip I
had purchased, had it not been evident to me that, under such
circumstances, the security of your public funds would be dependent
on chances which I cannot foresee, and over which I should have no
control."
Thus temperately rebuked, the Greek deputies did not urge their
proposal any further. They only wrote to promise all possible
expedition in completing the steam-vessels. Lord Cochrane, however,
voluntarily acceded to one of their wishes. Hearing that the largest
of the steamers, the _Perseverance_, was nearly ready for sea, and
that Mr. Galloway had again solemnly pledged himself to complete the
others in a short time, he determined not to wait for the whole force,
but to start at once for the Mediterranean. It had been all along
decided that the _Perseverance_ should be placed under Captain
Hastings's command; and it was now arranged that he should take her to
Greece as soon as she was ready, and that Lord Cochrane should follow
in a schooner, the _Unicorn_, of 158 tons. It was not intended, of
course, that with that boat alone he should go all the way to Greece;
but it was considered—perhaps not very wisely—that if he were
actually on his way to Greece, the completion of the other five
steamships would be proceeded with more rapidly; and he agreed that,
as soon as he was joined in the Mediterranean by the first two of
these, the _Enterprise_ and the _Irresistible_, he would hasten on
to the Archipelago, and there make the best of the small force at his
disposal. Not only was it supposed that Mr. Galloway and the other
agents would thus be induced to more vigorous action: it was also
deemed that the effect of this step upon the Hellenic nation would
be very beneficial. "As soon as the Greek Government know that your
lordship is on your way to Greece," wrote the London deputies on the
13th of April, "their courage will be animated, and their confidence
renewed. We may with truth assert that your lordship is regarded by
all classes of our countrymen as a Messiah, who is to come to their
deliverance; and, from the enthusiasm which will prevail amongst the
people, we may venture to predict that your lordship's valour and
success at sea will give energy and victory to their arms on land."
With the new arrangements necessitated by this change of plans the
last two or three weeks of April and the first of May were occupied.
Lord Cochrane put to sea on the 8th of May. "As a Greek citizen," one
of the deputies in London, Andreas Luriottis, had written on the
17th of April, "I cannot refrain from expressing my sincere gratitude
towards your lordship for the resolution which you have taken to
depart almost immediately for Greece. This generous determination, at
a moment when my country is really in want of every assistance, cannot
be regarded with indifference by my countrymen, who already look upon
your lordship as a Messiah. Your talents and intrepidity cannot allow
us for a moment to doubt of success. My countrymen will afford you
every assistance, and confer on you all the powers necessary for your
undertaking; although your lordship must be aware that Greece, after
five years' struggle, cannot be expected to present a very favourable
aspect to a stranger. Your lordship will, however, find men full of
devotion and courage—men who have founded, their best hopes on you,
and from whom, under such a leader, everything may be expected. Your
lordship's previous exploits encourage me to hope that Greece will not
be less successful than the Brazils, since the materials she offers
for cultivation are superior. With patience and perseverance in the
outset, all difficulties will soon vanish, and the course will be
direct and unimpeded. The resources of Greece are not to be despised,
and, if successful, she will find ample means to reward those who will
have devoted themselves to her service and to the cause of liberty."