Memoirs of Sir James Campbell, of Ardkinglas [1]

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MEMOIRS OF

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL, OF ARDKINGLAS.

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

IN

TWO VOLUMES.

LONDON: HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON 1832.

STREET.

CT IIS C23R3 V.I

LONDON

t

PRINTED BY SAMUEL BKNTLEY, Doret

Street. Street, Fleet

MEMOIRS OF

SIR JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER Autobiography. nexions

Its

I.

Objects and Attractions.

Man

Profession of a

Estates.

dote of a Treasurer in the reign of James of

Ardkinglas.

1746.

Baronial seat

I.

Refuge of Prince Charles Edward, in

Anecdote.

Law

Family conAnec-

of Rank.

of

Benefits

of Property, &c.

Scottish

Small Pensions

;

Mortgage.

unfavourable to

personal exertions, or the prosecution of large claims.

Conversation with Financier.

I is

Mr.

Pitt.

him

as

a

observed, that

it

of

Boyish days.

HAVE somewhere heard

in every man's power,

and

Anecdote

it

whatever be

his talents

qualifications, or his station in society, to

VOL

i.

B

MEMOIRS OF

2

produce a work of general interest and usefulness,

by the mere exhibition of a

and

faithful

unvarnished narrative of his doings and sufferings, his motives, sentiments, is

and

feelings.

not impossible that some unseen

some lurking

prejudice,

bias,

It

or

may have induced me

to adopt this flattering idea without sufficient

examination.

But

there

is

a certain sympathy

which pervades the great family of mankind, from which the simplest account of individual history and personal adventure appears to derive its greatest charm.

I confess that I

have

not an equal degree of confidence in the usefulness

of this

species

of writing,

although

may perhaps be conceded that didactic precepts are not always attended with the same

it

practical or tions fact

I

immediate influence

which insensibly

arise

as the

from the

deduc-

details of

and experience.

am

persuaded, however, that none of the

ordinary motives for engaging in a this kind;

work of

neither general views of expediency,

nor the importunity of friends

;

and, perhaps,

not even the hope of affording amusement to

SIR others,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

3

of agreeably occupying

or

moments of

my own

could have enabled

leisure,

me

to

overcome the natural repugnance which most men feel to speak much of themselves, had I not been

made

occurrences of

painfully aware that several

my

have been exposed to

life

grievous misconstruction. it

may

The

details

on which

be necessary to enter for the purpose of

disabusing the public mind, regarding some of the events of

my

life, will,

probably, occupy a

very small proportion of the following pages.

But

I think

it

right, in the outset,

once for

to bespeak the reader's indulgence, if I shall

all,

on

any occasion exceed the limits of his patience on a subject which I fear may have occupied too large a portion of

cup which

I offer to

world, will not,

I

my own thoughts. The my friends, and to the

trust,

be altogether unpala-

table

because of a single

Such

as it

is, I

or partiality

;

mix

and

if

it

bitter

without

ingredient. fear, favour,

the composition,

when

completed, shall unhappily prove deficient,

ei-

ther in agreeable or useful qualities, I shall, at least,

take

care that

it

B 2

shall

not be

owing

MEMOIRS OF

4

want of

to any

care or

fidelity

in

its

pre-

paration.

My forth,

John Callander, of Craig-

father, the late

was a man of considerable

literary attain-

ments, and devoted a great part of his time

and enjoyment of the fine arts. In sculpture and painting he was an eminent connoisseur; and in music he took so much to the study

delight,

and was

at the

same time

so distin-

guished as a performer, that he was accustomed to lead the amateur concerts in Edinburgh, so

known

well

day by the name of

in their

Cecilia, the patroness of the art.

known

better

in the literary

His

St.

name

world by the

is

dis-

which he published on the Paradise and on some of the works of James the

sertations

Lost

;

Fifth

;

Christ's

particularly the Gaberlunzie

The

essay on

believe,

acknow-

Kirk on the Green.

Milton in particular,

is,

I

ledged to be as remarkable for

and refined I shall

taste, as for

Man, and

critical

acumen

learning and research.

have occasion in the course of

my

narrative to say something of the family estate

of Craigforth, which

is

situated in the neigh-

SIR

bourhood of

JAMES CAMPBELL.

Stirling,

and

is

5

distinguished by a

remarkable rock on the banks of the Forth, very similar to that on which the Castle of Stirling

is

In

placed.

rental of the property

my

father's

time the

produced no more than

seven or eight hundred a year, although the present returns are considerably greater.

In

common

than

those days, I believe,

now

for

it

gentlemen in

society to

was

less

my

father's

station in

apply themselves to the study of

the learned professions.

The bar, however,

has

always in some degree been an exception to the ordinary practice, from the advantage which

the study of the law was supposed to afford in the acquisition of a knowledge of general business,

and

in fitting a

country gentleman for the

duties of the magistracy.

It

been with views like these that called to the Scottish bar at life,

since,

seems to have

my

father

was

an early period of

with the exception of one or two

remarkable instances, he never engaged professionally in legal practice.

My

mother's

name was Mary

Livingstone,

she was the eldest daughter of Sir

James Li-

MEMOIRS OF

6

vingstone, baronet, whose father was the Earl

of Callander, and whose mother was the eldest

daughter of Sir James Campbell, of Ardkinglas.

My great grandfather,

James Campbell, enof Ardkinglas, on Sir James

tailed the estate

Sir

and Lady Livingstone and their descendants, on condition of their assuming the name and

The

arms of Campbell of Ardkinglas. estates accordingly

descended

first

to

title

my

and

uncle,

James Livingstone, afterwards Sir James Campbell on his death he was succeeded by his son, ;

the late Sir Alexander Campbell,

my

cousin

german, and on Sir Alexander's death, in the year 1810, the succession to the estate

honours of Ardkinglas, opened to next heir of 1722, and

two years

my

My

entail.

mother

older than

in

father

me

and

as the

was born in

1720, so that she was

him.

They had been

very intimately acquainted from their childhood, and in infancy had slept together in the

same lineal

My

crib.

maternal grandfather was the

descendant

of the celebrated Regent

Livingstone.

A story

is

told of one of

my

paternal ances-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

tors in the reign of it is

James the Sixth, which,

a tradition in the family, I

He

down.

7

had served with

may

as

as well set

distinction in the

continental wars of the period

and

;

his father

having been the Royal armour-bearer, a considerable

sum was due

some other

reason,

to the family, for that or

on the accession of James

the Sixth to the crown of England. that to

my

It is said

worthy ancestor had made a journey

London

for the

purpose of receiving his

money, and having taken a friend with him from the City to wait on the officer of the household entrusted with the payment of the Scottish creditors, a

sum was

told over to

just twelve times greater than

An

observation was

made by

them

what was due.

the honest Scot,

importing in general terms that the treasurer

must have committed some mistake, but the friend

who was with him

insisting that all

right, the

money was taken and

charged.

If the

story be

true,

was

the debt disthe mistake

must have originated in the difference which still exists between the Scotch and the English currency, a

pound

Scots being just equal to

MEMOIRS OF

8 v

or>e

and eight-pence hope, be expected that

not, I

a defence of the propriety of tor's

sterling.

shilling

acceptance of the

give the story as that the

sum was

my

money

it is told,

am

I

;

I

It will

to enter

on

worthy ances-

am

content to

with the addition

so considerable as to enable

the son of the armour-bearer to purchase an addition of

some extent

to the family property

of Craigforth.

At

the time of

mother were on a

my

birth,

visit to

my

my great

father

and

grandfather,

James Campbell, at his baronial seat of Ardkinglas on the banks of Loch Fine. It Sir

was a

fine old

mansion, built in the form of

a quadrangle,

with a considerable court-yard

in the centre.

At

sufficient

each corner was a tower of

dimensions to

make

of some cadet of the family.

it

I

the residence

have often

re-

gretted that the late Sir Alexander Campbell

should have thought of demolishing this noble pile, for

the purpose of raising in

its

stead a

great square mass of masonry, which has no-

thing to recommend

it

but

its

conformity to

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

the more

modern

accommodation

ideas of domestic comfort

my

sister

the service

Catherine, was

twice

after sister,

his

Mr.

second wife, and

my

became

;

sister,

to

first

death to Mr. Compton.

Margaret,

George

Another

married,

Dutens the brother of

St.

Lieutenant-General

and myself.

;

now

three only

Marianne, Mrs.

brother Campbell, a

my in

;

eldest of a family of

whom

seventeen children, of survive

and

.

happened to be the

I

9

the

My

third

of

Mr.

wife

Murray, of Polmaize and Helen, my fourth sister, was married to Mr. John Campbell, wri;

ter to the signet.

neth, stone,

One

of

my

Ken-

brothers,

was a physician and another, Livingwent to America, and died there in early ;

life.

My

mother's family were in general decided

partisans of

father

the family of Stuart, while

was equally firm

Hanoverian succession. Charles

Edward was

my

in his support of the It

for

is

said that Prince

some time

house of Ardkinglas in the year 1746

in ;

the

and a

MEMOIRS OF

10

bonnet

is

still

belief that it

preserved in the family, in the

had been placed on

my

infant

head by the hands of that unfortunate aspirant to the

My

crown of Great

Britain.

great uncle, the Earl of Cromarty, had

engaged in the Rebellion of 1715, so that his title was attainted and his estates were forfeited

Like many of the other noble of Scotland, the house of Cromarty was

to the crown. families

divided in

its

allegiance,

and

Sir

Kenneth

M

c

Kenzie, a younger brother of the Earl, had

long served the House of Hanover at the head of the Cameronian Highlanders.

The

father

of these two brothers, a former Earl of Cro-

marty, had by means of a wadset, as called, (equivalent,

I

believe,

to

his estate of

was

the English

term mortgage,) created a burthen of

upon

it

30,000

Cromarty, in favour of his

younger son Kenneth, my great uncle, who bequeathed his whole property to my father, his nephew. of

for his

my

sum

Kenneth by the Governmilitary services, which was paid

8000 due to

ment to

Besides the wadset, there was a Sir

father, in terms of his testimentary dis-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR position

but the

;

11

30,000 remained and

still

remains unpaid.

Long o

after the forfeiture

of the estate of

Cromarty, the interest of the debt was regu-

by the Parliamentary trustees, and c the loyalty of Sir Kenneth Kenzie, the

larly paid as

M

original creditor,

was not to be questioned,

was never supposed that the

it

political offences

of the proprietor of the estate, over which the

mortgage extended, could by any

fiction

of law

be made to apply to the right of Sir Kenneth, or of length,

my

father as

when

and

At

legatee.

the demands of a large and in-

creasing family resources,

his heir

came

to press on

my

father's

he made an application to the Barons

of the Exchequer in Scotland for the payment of the debt,

when by some

Scottish law,

ingenious nicety in

the nature of which I

am

not

enough to describe, it was held that the debt itself was escheat to the crown. It was said

jurist

that the Barons did not wish to take

it

from

us,

and several of them being personal friends

of

my

father,

they recommended

state the case to the

it

to

him

to

Attorney General of Eng-

MEMOIRS OF

12 land,

and to lay

fore the

his opinion, if favourable, be-

Privy Council,

as the ultimate judges in

the cause.

While

these proceedings were in progress, a

paltry pension of

year was given to say, accepted

some two or three hundred a

my

by him,

father, and, I

a circumstance

have either slackened his

am

sorry to

which may

efforts in the prosecu-

may probably have weighed the successive ministers, who were applied

tion of his right, or

with

to on the subject, in delaying the settlement of his claim.

My

father

had a

sort of constitu-

tional dislike to personal exertion, a feature of

which has certainly been no part inheritance; and the pension, which,

his character

of

my

with the rental of Craigforth, enabled him to

go on, was admirably

suited,

with his habits of

and ultimately, I fear, to defeat a claim, the justice of which has inactivity, to postpone,

never been disputed.

The Attorney-General's

opinion was favourable and conclusive, but

was not obtained

By and

until after

many

it

years' delay.

that time I had been abroad in the world,

my

father

was very willing to devolve on

SIR

me

JAMES CAMPBELL.

13

When

the whole charge of the business.

home during I made it my

occasionally at

the interval of fo-

reign service,

business to impor-

tune the Minister of the day, and

I

hold

to

it

have been one of the greatest misfortunes of

my on

life,

that an absolute negative

my demand was

ever,

far

from the

outset.

from being the

was not put Such, how-

The hope

case.

of a speedy settlement was constantly held out

evils

and

need not suggest the numerous which such an expectation could not fail

to me,

to inflict

I

on a person like myself, of a warm,

and perhaps, too sanguine, disposition. Thus the matter was allowed to rest, with some occasional applications

on

my

part, until after

my

father's death.

At

that time the late Mr. Pitt

lor of the

Exchequer, and

was Chancel-

I resolved to ask

an

audience for the purpose of laying before that great financier the documents,

including the

Attorney-General's opinion, by which

was

established.

Mr. Pitt indulged

my claim

me

with a

long conversation, in the course of which he discovered a perfect knowledge of the matter

MEMOIRS OF

14

and suggested a variety of objections which in turn he abandoned. At length he

at issue,

observed that he would take the matter into his

consideration

serious

but,

;

although

I

urged that the law-officers of the crown had maturely considered

it

already,

could not

I

him any positive promise claim would be admitted nor could get from

;

smile of scepticism at his sincerity

me

Pitt assured afford to

pay

its

that the debts,

ment, there was not

saw that farther,

it

the

that

I resist

a

when Mr.

country could not

and

that, at that

50/. in

mo-

the Treasury.

I

was in vain to press the matter

and therefore made

expression of

my

my bow

with an

hope that another time

might be more fortunate

;

I

adding, with refe-

rence to the objections he had raised and relinquished, that I saw with what ease he could " give to airy nothing a local habitation and a

At

he laughed with great apparent good-humour, but availed himself of the

name."

this

opportunity to It

that

bow me

out of the room.

was afterwards announced

by an

to

me, indeed,

application in the proper quarter,

my

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

15

might be transferred to me, never adopted the suggestion, from the

father's pension

but

I

had injured his right by allowing himself to become a pensioner of the

idea that

my

father

Government and, ;

I

as will

be seen in the sequel,

have never since enjoyed the necessary leisure

or opportunity for re-urging

my

claim.

MEMOIRS OF

CHAPTER Anecdote

of

Lord

and

Keith

and Education of

the

II.

the Author.

Author.

Early

Life

Enters the Army.

Sets out for the Continent with the late Lord Dundas,

Masterton, and

Colonel

Matthew Henderson.

sent at the Battle of Minden.

of

Commander

Brunswick,

Seven Years' War.

of the

Sackville.

Witty

of

and of Lord Kerr.

;

Anecdotes

the Allies.

Conduct

of Lord

young Major Oakes and

George

Soldier. his

tional Complexions.

ship.

Minden.

Burial of the Dead.

Anecdotes of Captain

Works

of Rembrandt.

Charge of the

Prince Xavier of Saxony. Prince.

I

The

WAS

Sons;

Instance of Gallant Courtesy between

the English and French at the Battle of Fontenoy.

French.

pre-

Character of Ferdinand

Interrogatory of a

Anecdotes of the Author

Is

Baillie.

Na-

Custom of the Connoisseur-

Plans of the

British Battalions.

Battle

of

Death of

Military Anecdotes of that

born, as I have said, at Ardkinglas.

date was the 21st of October (old style), in

the year 1745.

In

my

eighth year I was sent

JAMES CAMPBELL.

17

High School of Edinburgh, and

re-

SIR

the

to

mained there

four years.

for

period, I lived with

During that grandfather, Sir James

my

Livingstone, whose town residence was in the

Canongate, a few doors below the church, on

do not remember any inboyish days worth relating, ex-

the same side. cident of

cept a relation

my

I

pitched battle which

I

had with

my

and school-fellow Lord Keith, which

was followed

in after-life

by constant

habits of

intimacy and friendship.

On my

return

from the High School,

I

remained for a year at Craigforth, under the

and early in the was appointed to an ensigncy in

charge of a private tutor year 1759

I

of

the 51st regiment

Scotland,

in

foot,

Soon

Colonel Brudenel.

;

commanded by

afterwards

company with the

late

I

left

Lord

Dundas, then about eighteen years of age, on his

way

to Geneva, to complete his education.

In our travelling-party there were also Colonel Masterton, afterwards

Member

for Clackmannanshire,

and Muster-master-Ge-

neral for Scotland

VOL.

i.

;

of Parliament

and Matthew Henderson, c

MEMOIRS Of

18 then,

and afterwards, well known and much

At

esteemed in the town of Edinburgh. time an

officer in

was

like

and

I

a long

the 25th regiment of foot, he

myself on his

may

that

way

to join the army,

say with truth, that in the course of I have never

life

known

more

a

esti-

mable character than Matthew Henderson.

had the honour of

I

Although

a very early age in

assisting at

of the memorable

many

events which signalized the Seven Years' it is

no part of

my

intention to enter

upon a

As

I write

general history of public

from

War,

be excused for mere

recollection, I shall

errors of chronology,

affairs.

my memory

and, as

tolerably tenacious, I set

down

is

the facts of this

early period with considerable confidence.

Soon

after

my

arrival

in

I

Germany

was

present at the trifling affair at Zoest, but I

could not say that I had seriously seen til

fire

un-

the 1st of August, on the memorable field of

Minden

;

world, that

a battle so well it

to

all

would be a waste of time

scribe it in detail.

talized his

known

the

to de-

Wolfe had not yet immor-

name on

the heights of Abraham,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

19

and the battle of Minden was therefore the first

great victory which the British of that age

had achieved on land for the

change which

course of the war.

it

:

it

was remarkable

effected in the general

Up

turned at Minden,

The

series

but after the tide had

;

carried in its reflux the

it

French out of Hanover, and covered states of Prussia

the

that period,

to

Allied armies had sustained a constant

of disasters and defeats

also

the

all

on that side of Germany.

Allied army was

commanded by Fer-

dinand of Brunswick, one of the most brated generals of the age

;

cele-

and opposed to him

were two of the Marechals of France,

Due men

de Broglie, and of distinguished

thorities give the

M. de abilities.

the

Contades, both

The

best au-

numbers of the French

at

60,000 men, and those of the Allies at 34,000.

In consequence of his previous reverses,

by

this

it

had

time become necessary for Prince Fer-

dinand to obtain some signal advantage,

if

he

desired to prevent the French from taking

up

their winter quarters in the tory.

Hanoverian

terri-

Previous to the battle, the town of Minc 2

MEMOIRS OF

20

den was

in possession of the

enemy, who had

entrenched themselves in a very strong position,

between a long and impassable morass, and Availing himself of the advantages

the Weser.

which

this position afforded,

Prince Ferdinand

took up his ground in such a manner as enabled

him

at

once to choose his

sent a front to the

field

of battle, to pre-

as large as could

enemy

brought forward to oppose him

;

and

be the

at

same time to prevent the French from extending themselves over the plains of that part of

Westphalia, except by passing over the ground

which was occupied by the Allied army.

The Duke was secrecy,

he

certainty,

obtained

of the

enemy

of a

cess

and

earliness

intelligence ;

the

chiefly remarkable for

and on

which

with

of the proceedings

this occasion the suc-

very bold and

decisive

measure

was almost entirely dependent on these advantages.

Having

ascertained that his

position

was to be attacked on the following day, he detached 10,000 men, under his nephew,

was

at that time

known

in the

army

who

as the

hereditary Prince of Brunswick, and who,

by

JAMES CAMPBELL.

21

considerable detour across

some moun-

SIR

making a tains,

was able to attack the French

and thus almost insured the

victory.

in flank,

A mea-

sure so hazardous, considering the great dispa-

between the force of the two armies, was

rity

men

considered by military

an instance of

as

extreme rashness and imprudence on the part of his Serene Highness.

if

But,

the propriety

of any proceeding can in any case be justified

by the event, the complete success which attended this bold manosuvre, and the happy results which

nand

it

produced,

to a

may

entitle

Prince Ferdi-

more favourable judgment than that

which Napoleon is said to have pronounced on the battle of Waterloo that it was gained in ;

defiance of

The

all

the rules of the art of war.

Allied army, which had thus been

re-

duced, on the morning of the 1st of August, to

24,000 men, had taken up

its

position

between

the morass and the river, about an hour before the French had entirely

deployed into line

The English

army

of the Allied

of six battalions. ^ flanked

They occupied

consisted only

the right, and

by a strong brigade of

British

MEMOIRS OF

22

On

artillery.

cavalry,

the extreme right was posted the

under the command of Lord George

Sackville.

The to

enemy seemed

chief aim of the

make an

impression on one or other of the

flanks of the Allied

army

the brunt of the battle

and, in consequence,

;

peatedly attacked

by

a long time on

fell for

the six British regiments.

As

they were

was most

re-

fresh troops, supported

by a numerous and well-served loss

to be

considerable.

to sustain a charge of

artillery, their

They had

besides

composed of the household troops of France, led on by Prince Xavier of Saxony, brother to the This charge was made with

French Queen. infinite

cavalry,

but,

gallantry,

notwithstanding

the

thinness of the British ranks from the great losses

we had

already suffered,

we were

still

so

well formed as to be able at last to repulse

them. fell

Thus few, comparatively, of the

by the sabre

;

British

but the enemy had to lament

the loss of their gallant leader Prince Xavier,

who was

killed close to the British ranks, as

well as of a great

number of gentlemen of

SIR superior rank,

from

JAMES CAMPBELL.

who

23

served in these regiments,

their being attached to the person of the

King of France, and who, from the their uniforms,

were known

as

colours of

Les Mousque-

taires gris et rouges.

We

had

scarcely completed our files after

when we were

the charge of cavalry,

attacked by a body of Swiss are

discipline

known

to

again

their valour

:

and

the whole world.

After exchanging several volleys, some of them, I

may

say with truth, at a distance of not

than twenty yards, thin, that

we were

plete them.

severely ness

and

we formed

obliged to

fall

more

our ranks so

back to com-

The Duke himself, observing how

we had

suffered,

self-possession,

with

his usual cool-

brought up two bat-

upon our right. Thus the progress of the Swiss was checked for the moment, and time was afforded us again to talions of Hessians

complete our

files,

so as to present a connected

front to the enemy.

In our turn

we became

the assailants, and at length succeeded in driv-

ing back the troops opposed to us. this

moment

that

Lord George

It

was

at

Sackville should

MEMOIRS OF

24

have come up with the cavalry to have conas

tributed,

Serene Highness

his

himself in general orders, to cision of that

day

"

expressed

make

the de-

more complete and more

brilliant."

It

is

said that first impressions are the last to

wear out strongly

;

and the truth of the observation

confirmed by the

colours with

which I

still

some of those miserable under on

my

notice

of the

vividness

picture to myself

which

objects

after the

this field of blood.

is

firing

fell

had ceased

Major Pringle, an old

schoolfellow of mine, and son to

Lord Edgefield,

one of the Judges of the Supreme Courts in Scotland, agreed to ride out with

me immedi-

ately after the action.

On one

we saw a French

who had been wounded

officer,

in the knee, sitting

part of the field

on the ground, with

supported by a dead horse.

his

back

We accosted him

and offered any assistance in our power. He proved to be the commanding officer of Les Mousquetaires gris, and was distinguished by several orders, which, with a

handsome

snuff-

box, had probably excited the cupidity of some

SIR

of the wretches

JAMES CAMPBELL.

who

are never

found wanting

We left

in the train of an army.

25

him

in high

having undertaken to go and bring a cart or tumbrel to carry him from the field spirits,

;

but, with officers,

we

the

hasty imprudence of

rode off together on this duty, in-

stead of one of us remaining with the

ed

officer.

young

It could not

twelve minutes when

wound-

be more than ten or

we

returned with the

and found, to our unspeakable concern, the murdered body of the poor French Colonel cart,

lying naked on the ground.

Riding soon afterwards along the front of the line, we met with some general-officers, and amongst the number, Lord George Sackville. As I had foreigners as well as English,

been recommended to him personally by near relation

Lord Rossmore,

my

and

respects,

to

my

went up to pay congratulate him on the I

He

had previously shown me many marks of attention, which had probably encouraged me to speak with more freeissue of the day.

dom

than otherwise I should have done.

the buoyancy of youthful

spirits,

In

and without

26

MEMOIRS OF

a moment's reflection

it

will be

remembered

was not then quite fourteen years of age rather indiscreetly asked his Lordship what

that I I

had become of the cavalry?

This encartade

was much spoken of in the army, and the merit was ascribed to me of having said a good thing, although most certainly I was as innocent of the wit, as of the presumption, which the com-

pliment included.

In justice, as well as grati-

tude to Lord George Sackville, I say, that the

crowd was

am bound

to

malignant interpretation of the

entirely lost

upon him,

the year was out, he gave

me

for,

before

a cornetcy in the

2d Dragoon Guards, which was then better

known

At

as

Lord Waldegrave's regiment.

that period, a long pike or lance, called a

spontoon, was carried

by

officers in

In the course of the action I found

ment

so

burdensome that

to carry it

;

the army.

this instru-

I could not continue

but having been taught the correct

idea that a soldier should never, of his

own

motive, part with his arms, I asked leave of

one of our it

field-officers,

away, which, seeing

Major Oakes,

me

a

to fling

good deal ex-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

hausted, he readily authorized

me

27 This

to do.

Major Oakes was the father of the two gallant generals of that name who distinguished themproduced by the

selves so greatly in the wars

French Revolution.

may be

Here, perhaps, I as

allowed to mention,

the feelings of a very

illustrating

soldier, that at

the

first

volley I instinctively

stooped on seeing the line of the

told of

me

This reminds

their pieces.

Lord Mark Kerr,

Fontenoy.

When

the

in

enemy

at

enemy

level

of what was the battle

of

regiment advanced to

his

line,

young

he called out to them,

" Tire% t Messieurs? to which they replied,

with equal gallantry, " although Lord first

Mark

Non

c'est

a vous"

But

succeeded in giving the

shot to the French,

it is

said that

he gain-

ed some advantage by previously instructing his

men

to stoop

on seeing the enemy

level

and receiving the fire in that position, to rush forward and deliver their own with their pieces,

more execution and This gallant

officer

effect at a shorter distance.

of the old school was after-

wards kiUed at Culloden.

He

had run a High-

28

MEM01HS OF

lander through

the body with his spontoon, but he, in the act of had time and falling, strength to cut

down Lord Mark with

his

broadsword, and both were killed on the spot. I had both these anecdotes regarding Lord

Mark Kerr from my

uncle, Sir

James Camp-

of Ardkinglas,

who had long served in the same regiment with his Lordship. Two circumstances occurred in this first bell,

my

engagement, which shocked sion

;

and even now,

years, I feel as if I

dual to

whom

me beyond

expres-

at the distance of seventy

saw before

me

the indivi-

they relate: I can recall their

very features, and even the passing expression

on

their countenances.

vant

;

close

The one was my

ser-

name was Simpson he was standing by me, when he was dreadfully mangled his

:

by a cannon-shot across the body. The other was a young officer of my acquaintance, who stood immediately in

my view, when the greater

part of his face was cut off

by the stroke of a

sabre.

A

serjeant of the 51st,

the wars in Flanders,

who had

served in

made me observe on

the

JAMES CAMPBELL."

SIR

day

after the battle,

when

all

29

the dead bodies

were stripped by the ruthless followers of the army, that the places might be distinguished

where

the

fought,

by the

naked dead

of different

troops

;

nations

colours and complexions of the

the

French,

in

general,

brown, the English and Germans

fairer,

hues or shades of colour.

different

had

being

but of

This old

same time, pointed out to me several heaps of corn, which had been pulled for the purpose of covering some object underSerjeant, at the

neath.

He

French

soldiers,

rades

fell

told

me

was a practice with the that when one of their comit

from a severe wound in a

grain, they

field

of

immediately pulled and covered

him over with

part of

it

;

and

to convince

me

of the truth of what he said, he took up a

man's arm, which was lying near to one of these heaps, and observed that

it

probably be-

longed to the person underneath.

His conjec-

ture proved to be correct, for, on uncovering

the heap,

we found

a miserable object in the

agonies of death, and beyond the reach of any

human

assistance.

30

MEMOIRS OF

Among

the officers of the 51st whose ac-

quaintance I Captain

made

Baillie,

in this first campaign,

was

He

of the grenadier company.

devoted a great deal of his leisure time to the art of engraving,

and was the

works of Rembrandt with

to etch the

first

The

success.

year

Minden, I saw the proof of this at Amsterdam, where he produced the print called " the hundred guilder print," the subject of after

which

the Apostle Paul preaching before

is

Felix, in which, as

is

well known, a great deal

of what most people would consider ludicrous is

mingled with that solemnity which the sub-

ject appears to

duced

as

demand.

At

first

it

was pro-

an original, and under that impres-

was received and admired by the connoisseurs of Amsterdam, until he himself sion

it

acknowledged

it

to

be a copy.

From

such

beginnings, Captain Baillie afterwards became

one of the most celebrated engravers of day.

He

was, besides, a very excellent

and to him I was indebted

his

officer,

for the acquisition of

a great deal of useful knowledge, as well as for

many

practical lessons in the arts of

drawing

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

and engraving, both of which

I

31

pursued with

equal pleasure and advantage for several years

and

after

he had become the treasurer of Green-

wich Hospital, he encouraged cution of the

nued

arts, in

my juvenile

in life

his

joined the

conti-

criticising

performances.

of this

by

in the prose-

which he himself

Bisset, of the 51st,

officers

me

by examining and

to delight,

Mr.

;

regiment

own

was another of the

who made

a subaltern

way

When

unassisted talents.

army he was

his

;

I

but hav-

ing been accidentally employed about headquarters, his

merits became

known

to

Lord

George Sackville, who attached him to his own staff, and soon afterwards gave him a company. It was,

however, in the Commissariat depart-

ment, with which he ultimately connected himself,

that his talents and his honesty were duly

appreciated, not, I fear,

and these

which have

are qualities

been always universal in

tant branch of the public service.

this

impor-

At

length

he rose to the lucrative and important station of

and

Commissary-General to the British army, succeeded

in

amassing

a

considerable

MEMOIRS OF

32

fortune, without the

impeachment of a

single

peculation.

While

I

was yet

a year or

Craigforth,

ture for

Germany,

I

my

at

father's

two before

met

house at

my

depar-

there with Mr.

a respectable land-surveyor,

Roy,

who had been

pro-

father in taking a

employed by my plan of one or two of his fields in the neighHe had afterwards bourhood of Stirling. fessionally

so

never heard of him until

we

military

chanced that

I

profession,

met and recognized each other of Minden.

but

it

adopted the

He

at the battle

afterwards procured a subal-

tern's

commission in the 51st, and from

period

we

this

continued to live together on a very

friendly footing.

As

this

was the

first

great battle in the

gaining of which the English had participated, his Serene

Highness the Commander-in-chief,

was pleased to require that plans of it should be presented to him by the various engineers in the army, in addition to those which were furnished by the gentlemen whose province

was

to prepare such

returns in their

it

official

SIR

Mr.

capacity.

JAMES CAMPBELL.

Roy was

33

one of those

who

volunteered his services on this occasion, and,

from

his previous

habits,

combined with su-

perior ability, he succeeded in exhibiting the

operations of the day in a ligible

and

much more

satisfactory form, than

had hitherto

been attempted by military engineers. plans

intel-

The

received from others were prepared in

the only

mode which was known

showing upon one paper the

first

at the time,

formation of

the armies in the order of battle, and in another their formation

when

the

enemy gave way. Mr. Roy's design was totally different. As the basis of his plan, he had first a general representation of the field of battle

;

and

as

during

the day there were three distinct dispositions

of the adverse armies, he had formed three separate papers,

coincide in

all

which were

so adjusted as to

the fixed positions, such as roads

or rivulets, with the general plan

which formed

the basis of the work; and were so adapted and attached to

it,

as to

convey a

much

clearer con-

ception of the relative positions of the troops, at the three

VOL.

i.

most

critical

D

and important pe-

MEMOIRS OF

34 riods, -than

methods.

could be afforded by the ordinary

The

was entirely new much pleased with the

idea, in short,

and the Duke was

so

Roy was

work, that Mr.

;

soon afterwards

at-

tached to his Serene Highness's personal

staff.

During the time that he remained in the he was so good as to teach me the first

51st,

ciples of military

drawing, and with his

ance I was enabled to battle,

make

which I sent home,

the great delight of

my

prinassist-

a plan of this great as I

father.

remember, to It

was not,

however, as a mere engineer or a soldier that

Mr. Roy was

chiefly

distinguished;

he ap-

plied himself with ardour to the pursuits of

general science, and had a decided genius for

chemistry and astronomy, as

may be

seen in

the Transactions of the Royal Society, of which

he was a distinguished ornament. In private life he was universally esteemed, and he died a general officer.

In noticing the charge which the British

from the household troops should have mentioned that their

battalions sustained

of France, I

commander, Prince Xavier of Saxony, was

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

35

killed immediately in front of the 51st regi-

ment, and within a very few yards of the Bri-

He

tish line.

fell

quite dead from his horse,

and, as he rode a piebald charger, and was dis-

tinguished by

splendid decorations, he

many

readily caught the eye of the soldiers nearest to him,

who were

not slow in possessing them-

One man got

selves of the booty.

which was a diamond stored with his watch,

;

his star,

another his purse, well-

double Louis-d'ors

adorned with

and a third

;

The

other

became the

spoil

brilliants.

valuables about his person

of other soldiers of the regiment.

Among

the

attendants of a victorious army, are always to

be found a number of Jews,

who

are ready to

To

purchase whatever comes in their way.

one of these the

star

of Prince Xavier was

sold at the price of twelve

a sum,

The

it

was

said,

fate of the

hundred pounds

not equal to half

private

who

its

;

value.

possessed

it

is

strikingly characteristic of the volatility

and

want of thought of the common

He

soldier.

immediately purchased his discharge, and set up a suttling-shop with the money but in ;

D 2

MEMOIRS OF

36

bad maconsequence of hard drinking, and the whole of the twelve hundred nagement, o pounds disappeared in the course of six months, when he once more enlisted in the same regiment, saying that his good fortune appeared to

him It

like a dream. is

generally

known

that the melancholy

duty of interring the dead like that of

Minden,

is

after a great battle,

always performed by

the peasants of the neighbourhood, pressed into the service

by the

and compelled to discharge

On

the bayonet. palling task

it

who

are

victorious party, at the point of

the present occasion, this ap-

commenced on the evening of the

of August.

Large holes are dug in the ground, into which are thrown bodies of men and horses in promiscuous heaps. Such was 1st

the fate of Prince Xavier of Saxony, whose

body had been stripped like these of others, and who had only excited an unenviable precedence in this respect from the superior value of his equipments.

On

a letter arrived

the morning after the battle,

from the Mareschal in command

of the French army, addressed to Prince Ferdi-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

37

nand, to inquire into the fate of Prince Xavier; if

wounded, to

for

him

and

;

an equivalent in exchange

offer

if killed, to solicit

The

of his remains.

letter

the restoration

was brought by an

of rank, attended by four trumpeters,

officer

and by the gentlemen who had formerly been in the suite of the

and

six

was

deceased Prince.

also in attendance, together

a squadron of horse,

The news

honour.

peared to

A coach

me

to

to serve as

with

a guard of

of the Prince's death ap-

be received with unfeigned

sorrow by his attendants

;

and orders were im-

mediately given by his Serene Highness the

Commander-in-chief, to use recovery of the body. plished, it

diligence in the

Before this was accom-

became necessary

hundred of the holes

all

I

to

open perhaps an

have mentioned.

In

one of them was found his horse, and from thence fallen

it

was conjectured that he himself had

not far from the spot where the piebald

The

was found.

conjecture proved to be cor-

happened to be by when the Prince's body was discovered. He had re-

rect,

and

I

ceived a shot in his head, which appeared to

MEMOIRS OF

f38

have been the mortal wound, and one of

arms was broken.

man

He

of small stature

inferred,

;

his

had evidently been a

and

I

remember, that

from the appearance of precision

I

in the

dressing of his hair, and from the black pins

which remained in the

dug

curls after the

body was

up, that he had been neat and even parti-

cular in his dress.

The remains were wrapt up

in a velvet cloak, bearing the Prince's star, after

being put

into

the

coach

which had

been brought for that purpose, two of principal

officers

placed

themselves

body, and immediately drove

off,

and

the

by the

escorted

by

the cavalcade which had been sent from the

French army.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER

III.

Entertainment given by a young Subaltern.

CONGE. chiefly

Odd

Gallantry of the Hereditary Prince.

owing

dinand.

39

to the British.

Victory

Complimented by Prince Fer-

Masterly conduct of the Prince.

of Captain Fox.

military

Progress of the war.

Gallant exploit Singular fact re-

garding bombs. Lord George Sackville's trial. Rupture between the French commanders.-*-Campaign of 1760.

Success of the French.

Gallant conduct of an English

Remarkable instance of presentiment of death. regiment. Anecdotes of Sir William Erskine. Affair of Emsdorff.

SOON

after the battle of

ment was given

to

by Mr.

young

Blair, a

Minden, an entertain-

most of the British

subaltern of the 12th

regiment, afterwards married to

Fane, a

sister

officers

Lady Mary

of the Earl of Westmoreland, at

had the pleasure of assisting. At the conclusion of the repast, Mr. Blair addressed

which

I

the assembled company, and said that he had

MEMOIRS OF

40

brought them together for the purpose of pro" Pray, gentlemen," posing a question to them.

he

said,

do you think that 1st of

on the glorious

self,

an

"

officer

and a gentleman

I

conducted my-

August,

became

as

The answer was

?"

one of acclamation, accompanied by a cordial

acknowledgment that no one had ever seen a braver fellow. " Well, then," he replied, " since are all satisfied with

you

soldiership, so

ask your

am

I

commands

;

and

for

short career of

my I

have now only to

England,

as I

is

only mentioned as an illustration of a

He

peculiar character.

had probably adopted

the profession of a soldier without tion

;

to

This inci-

depart the day after to-morrow."

dent

mean

and

finding,

on a short

much

trial,

that

reflecit

was

not suited to his disposition, he was anxious to seize the earliest opportunity of retiring

good

grace,

and

which I have just

finally followed

set

with a

the method

down.

I cannot dismiss the subject of the victory of

Minden without some mention

of the distin-

guished gallantry of the Hereditary Prince, to

SIR

whom chief

JAMES CAMPBELL.

his Serene

41

Highness the Commander-in-

had entrusted the

1

0,000 men,

who had

been dispatched, as already noticed, to attack the

enemy in flank. This simultaneous attack was commenced at five o'clock in the morning and ;

the French, under the

Due

de Brisac, though

very advantageously posted, were compelled to

make

a speedy retreat, and to take refuge in

the town of Minden.

The

fate of the

no doubt decided by the success of expedient.

It

day was

this

daring

gave possession to the Allies of

the enemy's lines of communication, and thus cut

them

off

from their

supplies.

Relinquish-

ing the strong position they had formerly occupied between the morass and the Weser, they fled

through the town of Minden, and retreated

hastily to the eastward.

They were thus

depri-

ved of the great advantages they had obtained in the early part of the campaign, and compelled to march through a country in which they

had taken no measures to procure subsistence. Even after the deduction which must be made for the

mistake of Lord George Sackville,

it is

MEMOIRS OF

42

universally admitted that the Allies were chiefly

indebted for this victory to the British batta-

who, while they gained the greatest glory, were also the greatest sufferers on the

lions

;

The

occasion.

total loss of the allies

was 2,000

men, while the share which fell to the British was no

less

than 1,200.

The Prince was not unmind-

ful of the merits of the British officers, distin-

guishing

many

of them by

name

in the orders

which he issued on the following day, and paying this compliment to some even of the rank

of captain.

No

one knew better than Prince Ferdinand

the means best suited to encourage both officers

and privates in the performance of their several The highduties with spirit and cheerfulness. er officers

were presented with honorary marks

of his regard

;

but to those in inferior

and even to some with the rank of

stations,

field-officer,

he sent considerable presents in money,

a

mode

of encouragement which probably would not be

spurned at by

officers

of the present day, at the

end of a severe campaign.

SIR,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

43

In the course of the enemy's retreat, they

made an attempt

to resume their lines of

com-

back on

their

munication, with a view to

fall

supplies,

but their purpose was defeated by a

masterly

movement

At

of Prince Ferdinand.

the period in question, the

enemy were posted

with their right to Unna, and their

left to

the

town of Wetter, by which they covered all the country on the Rhine which they had gained in the early part of the campaign.

During the

Highness made a feint to turn the right flank of the enemy, but as soon as night had fallen, he made a half conversion to

day

his Serene

the

left

with his whole army, and not only

gained the flank but absolutely posted himself in the rear of the

tually cut off

enemy, who were thus

from

their lines of

effec-

communica-

tion.

This brilliant manoeuvre, which had, per-

haps,

in its effects as

the general course of the

Minden

itself,

was

an influence on

great

war

as the victory of

recalled to

my

attention

by

a circumstance of inferior importance, but per-

haps quite as well calculated to impress

itself

on

MEMOIRS OF

44 the

mind of

a soldier in his

the hurry of the

first

movement

directed

several of the outposts

Duke,

and amongst Fusileers,

others, Captain

who

In

campaign.

by the

were forgotten,

Fox, of the Welsh

was, as I remember, a

tall,

thin,

hard-favoured man, and was reckoned in the army a very stern soldier.

The morning

after this

change of position had been effected by the Prince, the suite of the Marechal de Broglie had

entered the

town of Wetter, which was now the

nearest to their head-quarters, although the day

before

it

had been

in possession of the Allies;

but to the utter astonishment of the gentlemen of the Marechal's suite, they were unceremoniously driven out by Captain

who had been castle

Fox and his

party,

posted over-night in a strong

or, fortified house

connected with

the

town. In the morning,

we were

the report of a heavy

fire

surprised to hear

of artillery in the rear

of the enemy, which was afterwards ascertained to be an attack on the strong hold in which

Captain

Fox had entrenched

himself.

walls of the building were strong

The

enough

to

JAMES CAMPBELL.

45

offer a considerable resistance to the

guns which

SIR

were brought against it and after the firinghad continued for several hours without a breach ;

being effected, a message was sent to Captain

Fox, requiring him to surrender

at discretion.

His answer was, that he would defend the post to the last extremity. On this the cannonade was recommenced but, ;

as

every hour which he

remained in possession was no doubt felt as a reproach by the enemy, a second message was sent to him, announcing that he should be al-

lowed to

capitulate,

army with

the Allied

Fox was

Captain

Due

and to march out and all

rejoin

the honours of war.

highly complimented by the

de Broglie on the gallantry of his defence,

which was long a topic of

interest

and admira-

tion throughout the Allied army.

When retreat,

the French, in the course of their

had almost evacuated the

territory of

Hesse, they attempted to put some stop to the victorious career of the Allies, a garrison into

by throwing the town of Marburg. But

the obstacle thus presented was of very short endurance.

I

can only say, in general, that having

MEMOIRS OF

46

our bombardment was

laid siege to the town,

so exceedingly hot, that

who had

some of our troops

were driven out by our own and that the Hanoverian General who

shells,

entered

it

led the attack, having been killed in the melee, his

body was

horses,

so dreadfully

carriages,

and

mangled by the

artillery

passing over

the dead in the narrow streets of the town, that

it

could not, after a careful search, be re-

cognized or recovered.

burg

is

The

castle of

Mar-

so situated as to touch the town, being

placed on the eminence of a steep, sharp hill, but the town itself extends across the adjoining

bottom or

valley.

on the

effected

side

Before

;

adjoining

hills,

lodgment was

of the town,

several times driven out of

the castle

a

we were

by the guns of batteries on some

it

but having erected

which considerably annoyed the

without absolutely commanding it, we at length made good our lodgment; and the castle,

effect

of both attacks produced a surrender in

the course of a few days, so that the 'garrison, consisting of some eight or nine hundred men,

became

prisoners of war.

SIR It appears to if

now

JAMES CAMPBELL.

me

47

that circumstances, which,

occurring, I should regard as

unworthy

of observation or remark, but which, at the

moment when they

did occur, took such a hold

my imagination as to imprint themselves on my memory, and leave there a distinct impres-

of

sion at the distance of

many

years,

have some

claim to be recorded from that very circumstance,

without any reference to their intrinsic

merits.

to set

Of

this nature

down.

It

is

is

am

the fact I

known

about

that a shell, on be-

ing projected from a bomb, describes a parabolic curve,

and that when

it

reaches

its

great-

est elevation its descent

is

almost vertical.

At

the siege of Marburg,

observed a shell in

its

I

descent pass through the dead body of a lying by

me

on the ground, and immediately

When

afterwards explode.

the explosion had

taken place, I naturally looked in expectation of seeing

not a vestige of direction.

all

round

me

some of the mangled

soldier,

but strange to say,

them was

to be discovered in

remains of the poor

any

man

Here

tunity of noticing a

may take the opporcommon practice among I

MEMOIRS OF

48

the cautious and experienced on the falling of a

shell.

Unless the ground be very hard in-

deed, the

shell

must

necessarily

bury

itself

some considerable depth in the earth, and the soldiers, more, perhaps, from the observation of facts,

than from the deductions of theory, are

taught that

it is safest

to

throw themselves

flat

on the ground, close by the buried shell, the fragments of which pass over those who have thus esconced themselves, without any farther injury than to cover

them with the

scattered

mould.

The French were pursued two hundred miles paign, after their

;

and

at

upwards of the end of the cam-

numerous

for

successes in the

summer, they found themin a situation at least not more favour-

early part of the selves

able than at

its

the important possession

the

.Allies.

commencement.

however,

Still,

town of Munster remained

of the enemy, and in the

At

this siege I

had

also the

in

rear of

honour

of assisting, although the English troops op-

posed to

it

were comparatively few.

Offensive

measures on the part of the French army were

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

now understood sent

campaign

49

to be terminated for the pre-

;

but they

still

exceeded the

Allies very considerably in point of

M. de

number.

made an attempt

Contades, however,

to

prevent the town of Munster from falling into

our hands, and

sent a

strong

M.

d'Armentieres, reinforced

the

Lower Rhine

to 15,000

The

by

force,

under

from

troops

men, for the pro-

army was commanded by General Count Imhoff, who, on tection of the place.

besieging

the approach of D'Armentieres, gave orders that the guns should be teries,

and that we should

position, at a

In

drawn from the

this

retreat to a stronger

moderate distance from the

position

enemy without

bat-

we were

attacked

place.

by the

sustaining any material injury

;

and D'Armentieres, having thrown some supplies into the town, and afforded it a temporary relief, soon afterwards withdrew, and rejoined the main body of the French army.

General

Imhoff receiving reinforcements, immediately resumed the siege, and carried the place.

The

public appeals which were

Lord George VOL.

I.

made by

Sackville, in consequence of his

E

MEMOIRS OF

50

Serene Highness's animadversions on his Lordship's

conduct

mand, and

his

;

his

of

resignation

subsequent

trial,

his

com-

were counter-

balanced, on the other side,

by the bitterest recriminations between the two French Mare-

chals,

the

Due

de Broglie and M. de Contades.

Popular opinion took the side of the French

Duke, who retained

his

employment, and a con-

siderable proportion of his influence at Court.

But the veteran Marechal D'E trees was vested with authority, which,

it

was

said,

in-

he

accepted unwillingly, to supersede both com-

manders,

if

he could not compose the differences

between them.

The enemy having been as Frankfort, hostilities

driven back as far

were understood to be

terminated for the season, and both armies went into winter quarters cited his friend Sir

My

father having soli-

Adolphus Oughton,

at that

time Lieutenant-colonel of the 37th regiment, to give

me

a seat in his carriage as far as

Utrecht, on his return to England, I availed

myself of the opportunity to resume

my studies

during the winter months at that University.

SIR I

may

life

my

JAMES CAMPBELL.

fairly admit, that at this period of

education was very imperfect

Utrecht I began for the

at

51

life, if

time to be per-

first

under which I

suaded of the disadvantages should labour for

;

my

and that

I did not

apply myself

with determined assiduity to the prosecution of

my

studies.

Passionately attached as I have

always been to the profession

I

had chosen, and

particularly to those departments of

it

which

required a knowledge of the mathematics and of their practical application to military for

which

I

cided taste

Captain

affairs,

had been inspired with a more deby my kind friends Mr. Roy and

Baillie, I

was not long

in acquiring a

considerable proficiency in the arts of riding, fencing, and drawing, but especially in a

know-

ledge of fortification, and of the general business of a military engineer.

On

the opening of the campaign of 1760, I

returned to the army, in company with several officers

of

my

acquaintance,

who were

passing

regiment,

the

by the route of Utrecht.

Having joined Dragoon Guards,

my new in

which E 2

I

2d

had obtained a

MEMOIRS OF

52 cornetcy ville,

me

by the favour of Lord George Sack-

an incident soon afterwards occurred to

Aybach, which some to chance, and others, who think

at the slight affair of

would

ascribe

better,

the

to

superintending

Supreme Being; but which, influence

important

on

my

care

certainly,

of the

had an

progress in

life.

Returning from a skirmish in the neighbourhood of Aybach, I passed through the village of that name, in which there happened at the

time to be a body of cavalry, commanded by a general

officer,

who was engaged

in recon-

noitering the ground in the vicinity, and ask-

ing questions for this purpose of some of the inhabitants respecting the localities of the adja-

cent villages.

The

officer

was an Englishman,

and having nobody by him who spoke German, he was exposed to some difficulty in

making

A

his

communications with the peasants.

gentleman with

acquainted, at

whom

I

was very

slightly

that time the Adjutant of the

llth Dragoons, and afterwards Colonel Lyon, was with the General at the moment, and said to

him

as I passed

with

my

detachment, that

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

who spoke German.

here was an officer

Lyon was

some degree

in

53

correct in

Mr.

communi-

cating this information, for I have always had

a natural aptitude in the acquisition of lan-

guages

;

and

instrument of knowledge

as this

for language should rather be considered as an

medium

engine or

for acquiring information

than as knowledge to

accessible

those

itself

is

said to

be more

the youthful student, than to

more advanced

in years,

it

is

probable

that I enjoyed facilities in this respect superior to those of

my

advantage of

seniors,

me

who had

greatly the

in general information

and

experience.

Mixing a good

deal during service

among

the peasantry of the districts in which I hap-

had learned enough of the patois of the country to be able on this occasion to serve as an interpreter to the Gepened to be quartered,

neral.

me I

He

I

me my name; and, bidding we parted as we had met, and

asked

good-day,

thought no more of the matter.

The

officer

was General Mostyn, one of the gentlemen of the bedchamber to King George

in question

.

MEMOIRS OF

54 the

Second, and at this time Commander-in-

chief of the cavalry of the Allied army.

At

commencement of the campaign of

the

1760, the French and the Allied armies had

each received very powerful

On

reinforcements.

the side of Great Britain, the preparations

for the renewal of hostilities

be equalled in It

country.

number of

is

were scarcely to

the previous history of the

certain at least, that so great a

British troops, serving in one army,

had not been seen on the continent of Europe The first detachment for two centuries before. consisted of six regiments of foot,

were soon followed by light horse

so

;

Elliot's

that, at the

and these

regiment of

opening of

campaign, the British force in

Germany

this

con-

twelve regiments of heavy dragoons, and one of light horse, with twelve sisted of

regi-

ments of

two Highland batfoot, The whole armament amounted to

talions.

22,000

besides

men

paign, and

the

at the it

summer

number,

commencement of the cam-

was reinforced in the course of to nearly 25,000.

indeed,

the

Allied

In point

army

fell

of

con-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

siderably short of the in

feriority

this

French

respect

was

;

55

but their fully

in-

counter-

balanced by the better quality of the troops, their

by

superior discipline,

of Prince

talents

by the

Ferdinand,

brilliant

and, perhaps,

by the unbounded confidence reposed him by every individual under his command.

above in

all,

The campaign commenced with some siderable successes

The

Castles of

con-

on the part of the French.

Marburg and Dillingbourg

into. their hands;

fell

and before the middle of

summer, they had again overrun the greater part of the

Landgraviate of Hesse, out of

which they had been driven

after the victory

of Minden.

The

forces of the

French consisted of two

separate armaments, the one under the

de

St.

Germain, the other under the

Broglie

;

but each

in

his

pendent of the other. vanced, the Allied river

Dymel

posture,

;

army

Comte

Due

command was

As fell

de

inde-

the French ad-

back towards the

and, while affairs were in this

and the two French armies were about

to effect a junction in the neighbourhood of

MEMOIRS OF

56

town of Corbach, the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick was detached with a large body the

of troops,

some miles

in front of the army,

with the view of attacking the corps of

Germain before

its

junction with that of

De

Contrary, however, to the expecta-

Broglie.

he found, when

tions of the Hereditary Prince, it

St.

was too

late to recede, that the junction

had

already been effected, and although attacked

with great gallantry, the French stood their

ground with firmness and, with the fresh supplies which were constantly brought up from the ;

corps of the

Due

de Broglie, they were enabled

to repel the repeated assault of the Allies, led

Al-

on by the Hereditary Prince in person.

though the main body of the Allied army was within a few miles of the scene of this engagement, yet, from the occupied,

his

Serene

found

mander-in-chief sist

his

gallant

Highness it

nephew

in

the

order,

in

his

the day,

it

and

it

Comto

as-

retreat

effected in

considering that

middle of

the

impossible

which was, notwithstanding, lerable

which

ground

;

to-

took place in the face

SIR

of an

JAMES CAMPBELL.

enemy who were

up reinforcements of deeply impressed

and

steadiness

on

57

constantly bringing

fresh

was

I

troops.

occasion with the

this

my

discipline of

old regiment,

the 51st, in which 1 had served at Minden.

In the course of the

retreat, this

regiment oc-

cupied a rising ground, which, from the closed state of the country,

en-

drew upon them

almost the whole of the enemy's cannonade

while the

distance

was

so

great that

;

they

could not return a single musket-shot with

The

effect.

will

heaviness and severity of the

be appreciated by military men, when I

mention, that the 51st on this occasion

by round shot

alone,

firmness

with

structive visitation, while

to have been

My

and

beyond

it

this

de-

evinces the highest

discipline, appears to all praise.

old lieutenant-colonel, Noel Fury, was

one of the viduals

The temper and

which they received

principles of courage

lost,

upwards of sixty men,

besides four or five officers.

me

fire

slain.

may

It

is

said

by some that

indi-

be visited with an undefined pre-

sentiment or mental warning of their approach-

MEMOIRS OF

58 ing

while such ideas are treated by others

fate,

as visionary

and impossible.

I shall not at-

tempt to enter upon the merits of a discussion which might lead me into the mazes of metaphysical inquiry, but shall content myself with

a simple narrative of what I witnessed on the

Colonel Fury morning of this engagement. was remarkable for the liveliness and gaiety of his disposition

;

like the present,

and

his spirits,

when about to

on an occasion

enter into action,

were uniformly observed to be unusuaUy vated.

His habitual

humour made him regiment

;

sprightliness

and good-

a general favourite in the

and he was besides a man of

tinguished gallantry, and an excellent

Among attention

ele-

dis-

officer.

other good qualities, he paid especial to

the

filling

of

his

canteens

;

and on the morning in question he sat down under a tree, and asked his brother officers to breakfast.

For the

first

time in his

life,

on the eve of an engagement, he seemed extremely pensive and dull and on being rallied ;

on the subject by some of the gentlemen pre" I don't know how it is, but sent, he answered,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR I think I shall

59

The cannon-

be killed to-day."

ade having just begun, he mounted his horse

and rode up to the front of the regiment, where he had been but a very short time when

head was carried off by a round In

this retreat

tish horse did

German

shot.

from before Corbach, the Bri-

good

troops,

his

service.

Several bodies of

both horse and

fallen into great confusion, the

forward to take advantage of

it

;

foot,

having

enemy

pressed

but the Here-

ditary Prince, having placed himself at the head

of a squadron composed of Eland's and

How-

regiments of dragoons, he charged the

ard's

enemy with

the utmost fury, put a stop to the

career of their victorious horse,

and enabled the

Allied battalions to make an undisturbed retreat.

He

thus succeeded in effecting a re-junction

with the main body of the Allied army, which

was posted continued

at Saxenhausen, while the

to observe

French

them from the strong

post of Corbach.

In

this action

wounded ness,

;

the

Hereditary Prince was

but forgetful of his pain and weak-

he burned with impatience to revenge

his

MEMOIRS OF

60 defeat,

and

it

was not long before an oppor-

tunity presented retreat,

The

itself.

Allies, in their

had garrisoned a number of

fortresses

;

and among others that of Ziegenhagen, a place of some importance in the Landgraviate of Intelligence having been received that

Hesse.

the French had sent a detachment to reduce this fortress,

relieve ral

the Hereditary Prince undertook to it

and

;

German

for that purpose selected seve-

battalions, at the

with the addition of ceeded to attack

command was the

the

first

the

detachment under the

name of

The regiment

Elliot's

light

by the late

Sir

It

had been

William Erskine,

in the

British

army.

disci-

whom I

had always been accustomed to consider best officer

horse,

of that description of force brought

forward by the British. plined

he pro-

Elliot's light horse,

of General Glaubitz.

known by

head of which,

as the

He

had

served with distinction in previous wars, and

had observed the advantages possessed by the light troops of other nations.

The Hereditary

Prince came up with the detachment of General Glaubitz at Emsdorff.

On

the enemy's right a

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

61

brigade was posted, consisting of six battalions,

which

Sir

William Erskine was directed to

charge with his single regiment of light horse, consisting,

however,

about

of

1,200

men.

Until this occasion the regiment had never seen

fire,

but they had probably been selected

from their

appearance, and from

soldier-like

the well-known character of Sir William Erskine, of

as a

whom,

would be

tleman,

it

word of

praise.

Having made

and a gensuperfluous to add a

man, an

officer,

his dispositions for the attack,

he proceeded to charge the

six battalions of the

enemy with great fury, and those who were opposed to him having been driven back upon the others, he charged them again before they their confusion,

and

whole of the enemy's

bri-

had time to recover from totally routed the

gade,

The very

prisoners of all

making affair

that survived.

of Emsdorff was not in itself of a

important

much spoken

afterwards

of in the army, from the extra-

ordinary result produced

of light horse

but was

nature,

;

in

by a

which

it

single regiment

was shown how

MEMOIRS OF

62

much may be done with an

officer as

Sir

a small force

William Erskine.

not personaUy engaged in this

affair,

by such

Although I had the

good fortune to witness the brilliant result. The whole of the survivors of the six battalions of the

amongst

enemy were made

prisoners, and,

others, Glaubitz himself, together

the Prince of Anhalt to have been

by

;

far the

so that this

most

may be

with said

brilliant action in

the petit guerre of which this campaign consisted.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER

Anecdotes

Cavalry.

Brilliant

of

Position of the Armies. at Fellinghausen.

OF

Preston.

Battle

of

Close of the Campaign.

Renewal of

Affair

hostilities.

Surprise of the Allies.

Adventures of the Author. of Prince Ferdinand.

Narrow

Conduct of the English

Colonel

Curious Anecdote.

Zerenberg

IV.

Battle of Warbourg.

Progress of the Campaign.

Escape of the Author.

63

Anecdotes and

Able and prompt movements

Victory of the Allies.

the battle of Warbourg, which

took

place soon after the affair of Emsdorff, I can-

not say tion

;

much from my own

as,

was made

my

personal observa-

in the first charge of cavalry, at five o'clock in the

morning,

horse killed under me, and was

which I

had

wounded

two of them gun-shot wounds, one from a bayonet, and two slight

in five different places

cuts.

The

place where I had fallen was on a

MEMOIRS OF

64

ploughed ance

and

field,

I lay there

without

six o'clock in the evening, that

till

thirteen hours.

It

who have

to those

may

assistis,

for

appear extraordinary

not suffered severely, that,

notwithstanding the pain of

my

wounds, I was

not prevented from sleeping soundly.

Indeed

was only awoke, some time after mid-day it was towards the end of July by the rays of I

the

sun beating intensely on

head,

my

When

I

steel

came

situation, I

my

having

skull-cap

uncovered fallen

off.

to understand the nature of

found a French

officer sitting

me, who

seemed, from his orders, to be a

of rank.

He

said that

for a glass of water,

my by

man

he would give the world

and

I

replied that

my

was unspeakable, which indeed it was; but whether it arose from my anxiety thirst

also

before the action, or from causes merely physical,

do not profess to be able to decide.

I

While speaking

French

officer,

I ob-

sword lying at a little distance, and had been a favourite, I endeavoured to

served as it

to the

my

crawl towards efforts I

it

to secure

it,

but after repeated

found myself unequal to the

task.

At

SIR this

moment

I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

65

saw the French gentleman

fall

back and expire. Of the various orders which he carried I took one, the Cross of St. Louis*

ahd afterwards gave it to wore it during her life-time,

my

who

mother,

as a trinket* at her

watch-chain;

The next tion

object

which attracted

whom

was a young man

dragoon of

my own

my

atten-

I recognized as a

His wound

regiment.

had produced mental imbecility, which was strikingly depicted on his countenance, and was, besides,

perceptible

of

playing with a clod

Soon afterwards he

Having by self, I

this

by

manner of

his

the ploughed

field.

also expired*

time come perfectly to rny^

perceived that

we had

gained the day,

in consequence of observing that the firing

had

advanced a great way in front of the spot where I

had

fallen,

although

the right of the

line.

it

was

I shall

heavy to

still

be pardoned for

mentioning, that in the midst of this scene of death I

felt

no more alarm than

I

do

at this

my

satisfac-

tion at the success of the Allied arms

was not

moment.

VOL.

i.

I confess, indeed, that

F

MEMOIRS OF

66

unmingled with some

selfish considerations

more speedily

I inferred that I should be

tended to than to have

remained

ed

without

field,

more than after so

were

my

much

my

we had

if

for

;

the day

lost

;

at-

and

night on the plough-

all

assistance,

might have been

strength could have sustained, loss

Although such the moment, I must not

of blood.

feelings at

French

omit to mention, in justice to the character, that they, as

well as

others,

were

accustomed, after a battle, to gather up the

wounded

Of

of both sides indiscriminately.

course, I

had become perfectly

the blood having clotted about

and when of the

I

my

stiff

from

wounds

;

was taken up to be put into one

carts, I felt

the soldiers carried

such excruciating pain, that

me

on a blanket to one of

the nearest villages, which had been converted into temporary hospitals.

The bayonet wound

was much the longest of healing situated, that the surgeon

cut

it

open

rally good,

;

I

but

my

found

;

and it

it

was

so

necessary to

constitution being natu-

was able to return to

before the end of the campaign.

my

duty

SIR

As

an

JAMES CAMPBELL.

6?

illustration of the hair-breadth escapes

which constantly occur on a field of battle, I may mention, that a few seconds before I received in

me

line,

had raised

down, when from behind

what tion life

thigh the thrust which brought

man, straggling from the came just under my sword, which

to the ground, a

French I

my

;

;

for the purpose of cutting

my arm

him

was arrested by some one

calling out to

know

me, I

not

but probably, just because the exclama-

was

unintelligible, it saved the

when one

since,

he has not

much

I cannot

is

poor man's

galloping at a charge,

time for

reflection.

dismiss the battle of

Warbourg,

without some notice of the gallant bearing of

two of the regiments of

cavalry.

Indeed, the

whole of the cavalry, both English and Hanoverians, behaved remarkably well; but the Scots Greys, led on in person,

made

by the Marquis of Granby

a charge prodigiously brilliant;

and that of the

1st

Guards, under the

command

was scarcely

less so.

regiment

of

Dragoon

of Colonel Sloper,

The name

of this gen-

tleman became afterwards conspicuous in the

F 2

MEMOIRS OF

68

army, from the gross abuse he received while

under examination

Lord George

as a witness

He

Sackville.

on the

trial

of

was accused of

entertaining sentiments of personal hostility to

Lord George

opinion, Colonel Sloper occasion, as I

my

but, according to

;

was

humble

ill-treated

on the

do not believe him to have been

actuated by any such feelings.

The main body

of the Allied army, on the

morning of the day of battle at Warbourg, was formed on the heights of Corbach the enemy ;

being advantageously posted in the neighbour-

hood of the

place,

While

which gave

its

name

to the

was performing, the Hereditary Prince, with two columns, succeeded in wheeling round the enemy's left, and day.

this operation

began a vigorous and simultaneous attack on their flank

and

rear.

The French brought up

reinforcements, and a hot engagement ensued in that quarter,

which lasted for several hours.

Prince Ferdinand, in the

mean

time, having

charged the enemy in front, succeeded in driving them back, in consequence of the weaken-

ed

state of their

main body, from the

reinforce-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

69

ments they had detached to oppose the HereIt was thus that I ditary Prince on their left.

was I

left

undisturbed where I

and thus

fell,

was able afterwards to account

for the

also

heavy

had heard on the right of our line. have already mentioned that the English

firing I I

cavalry did wonders on this occasion.

thought

themselves, perhaps, in

They

some measure,

defrauded of their share of the glory of Minden, and panted for an opportunity of signaliz-

ing themselves

;

nor did any thing arise to cool

the ardour of the troops, in the bearing of then-

commanders, General Mostyn and the Marquis of Granby.

As

soon as I was so far recovered as to be

able to return to

my

duty, I was one morning

agreeably surprised, while occupying

my

place

in the line of the regiment, to be addressed

by

General Mostyn, the commander-in-chief of the cavalry of the Allied army.

While

riding along

the line, he called me out from the ranks, and said that he intended to appoint

de-camps.

time to the

me

one of his aides-

This good fortune I ascribed at the trifling service I

had had an op-

MEMOIRS OF

70

portunity of rendering to the General, in act-

ing for him as interpreter some time before at the little skirmish at

ever that

may

life.

be seen in the

be, it had, as will

sequel, an important influence

through

Suffice

it,

But, how-

Aybach.

in the

on

my

mean

course

time, to

immediately joined General Mos-

say, that I

tyn's staff, in the capacity of his aid-de-camp,

and that I attained teenth year of

While

I

my

this distinction in the

fif-

age.

was yet

in a state of convalescence,

but able to mount

my

my

it

ordinary duties,

horse and attend to

was resolved

to

make

an attack on the town of Zerenberg, at which a part of

my

regiment

assisted.

The

place

was not considered of any great strength, but it was surrounded by a dry ditch, and a wall in a state of decay.

The

attack was a business

of surprise, and the place was carried in a very gallant style.

At

the head of the attack was old Colonel

Preston, of the Scots Greys, a gentleman at that time far advanced in years, originally a

drummer

in the

who had been

regiment of which

SIR

he had

now

handsome,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

He

the command.

71

was

tall

and

and he had uniformly sustained

the highest character, not only as a gallant

but

soldier,

man.

When

as

an

and

honest

respectable

he had risen by his merit to the

rank of captain, he performed an achievement

which was much spoken of in the army, and which I now relate, on the authority of my uncle, Sir James Campbell, of Ardkinglas, at that time

commanding the 25th regiment

Duke

the battle of Laffeld, under the berland.

ward

of

at

Cum-

Captain Preston, having pressed for-

in the plain with

some

thirty

surrounded by the French cavalry. duct was seen by the whole

line,

men, was

His conwhich oc-

cupied higher ground, and overlooked the scene of the adventure.

men

Having formed

in a close body,

his thirty

he charged with them

through the surrounding squadrons, and joined the line in safety, without the loss of a single

man.

But the army were not

so

much surprised

with the gallantry of this achievement, as with the extraordinary influence which

it

produced on

the feelings of the worthy gentleman himself.

72

MEMOIRS OF

He

was known to be singularly fond of

money

;

his

but he was so pleased with the be-

haviour of the soldiers

who

shared the danger

and the glory of the adventure, that he pulled out his purse and gave them a ducat a piece.

He

had made such excellent use of

sword

in the melee, that his

his

hand had swelled

in the basket-hilt, so that it could not tricated

veral

without forcing open the

years

after

the

own

affair

at

be ex-

bars.

Se-

Zerenberg,

I

had the honour of dining with the Scots Greys, at

Northampton, when

this gallant officer,

a General in the army,

the

command

came down

then

to take

of the regiment, as colonel-in-

chief.

Some idea may be formed of the fusion in which the entry

town of Zerenberg, when

was

state of con-

effected into the

I mention, that

Cap-

Cunningham, of the Greys, was almost killed by a blow he received from a French tain

soldier

with the

hilt of his sabre.

after charging the

Our

troops,

French cavalry and driving

them back, had attempted to force their way into the town along with them, and were so

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

73

much

intermingled with the enemy, and so

crowded together on the drawbridge, and in the narrow streets of the town, that neither party could

make any

their weapons.

use of the blades of

Captain Cunningham, in con-

sequence of the blow he had received,

on

his horse,

crowded

but could not

state of the passage,

fall off,

fell

back

from the

and he was

after-

wards taken down, and attended to by some of his

own men.

Colonel Preston himself rode a very

spirit-

ed horse, which, on being pressed forward with too

much

eagerness,

the bridge

jumped over

with his rider into the ditch.

When

the at-

tack was over, the Colonel and his charger

were relieved from their awkward

situation,

without either of them having sustained any material injury.

was an old

soldier

Colonel Preston, :

tion in former wars

I

have

he had served with ;

said,

distinc-

and, as a measure of pre-

he always charged in an excellent buff which he wore under his coat ; and, as

caution, jerkin,

had been cut through remarkable charge in at least a dozen

far as I recollect, his coat in this

74

MEMOIRS OF

different places,

but none of the cuts had pe-

netrated through the jerkin.

My field

who

old friend Pringle,

of

Minden

with"

me

rode over the

after the battle,

a

very gallant gentleman, was severely wounded

He

at the battle of Zerenberg. first

who

was one of the

entered the town, sword in hand, and

received his

wound

in the street leading

from

the gate.

The

dispositions for the surprise of the place

The French

were very ably conducted. ving thrown about 2,000

men

ha-

into the place, a

body of light troops was ordered to turn the town, and to take post between it and the

camp of the enemy,

in order to intercept such

might attempt to escape. When the attacking party had arrived within a mile or two as

of Zerenberg, they divided three bodies, which; arriving routes, completely

enemy had posted outside

ing, in the

by three

different

surrounded the place. a strong

the walls;

driven in about

themselves into

but

two

body of dragoons

these

o'clock

manner already

The

having been in

the

morn-

described, the fugi-

SIR tives

and

ther,

and the

JAMES CAMPBELL.

75

town toge-

their pursuers entered the

surprise

was

so complete, that the

place was taken, and the garrison soners,

with very

When

me

was, perhaps, the happiest I

pri-

part.

General Mostyn announced to

that he had appointed

and

on our

little loss

made

was

me

his aid-de-camp, it

moment

of

my

justified in regarding it as the

life

;

most

advantageous event which could have occurred to me.

tary

It will readily

men, that an

be understood by milidoing duty with his

officer

regiment, can only see what passes in the nar-

row and circumscribed

circle

in

which he

moves; but, attached to a commander capacity

of

aid- de-camp,

he has at

in the

least the

he chooses to improve it, of seeing more in the great line, and acquiring a

opportunity,

if

knowledge of the higher

objects of his

pro-

fession.

After the

affair

of Zerenberg, I was ap-

pointed adjutant to the 2d Dragoon Guards;

and in the celebrated

my

retreat of

Wolfshagen,

place being on the left of the squadron, I

had occasion to

feel

how

soon a soldier becomes,

MEMOIRS OF

76

in spite of himself,

and in defiance of the best

established theories, a practical predestinarian.

In this retreat, which

generally admitted to

is

have been one of the most

brilliant actions of

Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, our regiment

was one of the

last

of the retiring columns.

The enemy brought forward guns, and the

Of

halted often,

giments, to repel the enemy,

ing on our to their

rear,

fire.

number of

cannonade was rather severe.

we

course,

a

with other

who were

re-

press-

and were thus much exposed

Mure

Colonel

Campbell, after-

wards the Earl of Loudoun, and father to the Marchioness Dowager of

that

commanded the 2d Dragoon Guards

time

and

at

Hastings,

as

my

station

on the

left flank

;

happened

to be exactly in the range of the enemy's can-

non,

Colonel observing

the

sideration, probably, of

ance,

was

so

had better

good

my

as to call

it,

and in con-

youthful appearout to me, "

You

incline a little to the right, so as

to be

more out of the range of these guns."

With

a feeling and,

difference,

arising

perhaps, an air

from

a

sort

of

of in-

intuitive

SIR belief that I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

my time was

should say, that

it,

if it

not yet come, or rather, were, I could not help

than from any wish

tatious

display

of

Colonel

if

having

answered

such

my

the

;

negative,

take

osten-

asked

I

orders

his

begged to be allowed to This incident, however

make an

to

valour,

were in

77

my

and I

the

he then

chance.

trivial in itself, I

now

give as a sort of counterpart to the feeling I experienced in stooping at

Minden

no want

;

neither the

As -a

being persuaded, that there was

in the one case of a proper degree

of firmness,

excess of

at the first volley

while in reality

the

nor

other

the

there

was

pretence of an

it.

farther illustration,

and perhaps

also, as

a confirmation of the truth of that doctrine of

which the founder of Moslemism has made such good use in the application of his gious

creed to military

tactics,

I

may

mention a circumstance which occurred in

reli-

here

my

time, and which became the subject of con-

versation

and of

army, and was an instance of a man draw-

ridicule in the

generally treated as

MEMOIRS OF

78

upon himself the misfortune which he meant to avoid. In a slight affair so slight ing

as to

be without a name, where very few can-

non shot were

who

shall also

place

was

in

fired,

the surgeon of a regiment,

be nameless, observed that his the rear, to take care of the

wounded, which, indeed,

was

;

but being so

much alarmed

that he probably

full possession

of his faculties, he took hold of

the

was not in the

arm of a drummer, and going

laid himself .

it

down

in a ditch,

to the rear,

where a recochet

which had passed the regiment without

shot,

doing the slightest injury, in bounding along struck the poor

man on

him

was

inferred, that if

line,

that shot, at least,

;

whereas,

it

remained in the

the back, and killed

he had

would

not have harmed him.

At

the conclusion of the campaign, the terri-

tory of Hesse, which had been so often overrun

by both armies, was

left in possession

of the

French, together with the whole country eastward of the Weser to the frontiers of the Electorate.

The English

troops were cantoned

for the winter in the Bishopric of Paderborn,

SIR

where felt

was

JAMES CAMPBELL.

79

said that great

hardships were

by the troops from the

scarcity of- pro-

it

visions.

As

in family

with General Mostyn, I had no com-

plaint to

make

to myself, personally, as I lived

in this respect

that the British troops were

indeed, as it et

greater suf-

The

observation,

probably as true at the present day

is

was in the time of Tacitus

quamquam

incompti, largi

De

pro stipendio cedunt. rum,

much

than the Germans.

ferers

but I believe

;

;

Nam

epulce,

tamen apparatus

Moribus Germano-

$ 14.

Before the commencement of the campaign of 1761, a great negotiate a peace rents; cile,

many

among

but with so

and

so

made

attempts were

the different bellige-

many

many angry

to

interests

to recon-

feelings to propitiate,

the negotiation was at length abandoned, and preparations

were made for the renewal of

hostilities.

In consequence of the great hardships which the Allied

army were

suffering

by the

scarcity

of provisions, as well as from the failure in the negotiations for a peace, Prince Ferdinand

MEMOIRS OF

80 resolved to

make an

inroad into the Hessian

and to attack some of those positions which the enemy's magazines were accumu-

territory,

in

lated, at a period of the season

The

first affair

fortune to

unusually early.

of this kind at which I had the

was the attack on

assist,

Fritzlar, a

town of great note in the territory of Hesse, from the interminable lawsuits which are there conducted.

It

not a place of any strength*

is

and not otherwise wall.

The

fortified

attack was conducted

command

ditary Prince, in

guard of the army, with

He

than by a simple

by the Here-

of the advanced

his usual gallantry.

pushed forward with a corps of cavalry

the midst of deep snow, and

town

to surrender,

who commanded,

summoned

in

the

but the Count de Narbonne

perceiving that

cavalry, rejected the

we were

summons, and

in the

only

mean

and a few guns were brought up, our poor horses and ourselves were in a most miserable condition exposed as we time, until the infantry

;

Were

at this inclement season of the year

was

early in

hunger and

February

to

all

cold, lying ourselves for

it

the evils of

many

nights

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

81

on the snow, while our horses wanted fodder. After some show of resistance, the place was at length surrendered,

when most

of our wants

were supplied from the extensive magazines

it

contained.

have elsewhere observed, that a great battle like Blenheim or Waterloo, assumes a conspiI

cuous station in history, not so

much from

the

numbers engaged, or the returns of killed and wounded, as from the influence which may result

from

it

on the

This remark

ligerents.

is

peculiarly applicable

to the battle of Fellinghausen, a scarcely survived the place, while

sing,

campaign

in

name which

which

Minden and Quebec are

the annals of fame.

the bel-

political interests of

What

is still

it

took

enrolled in

more

surpri-

and must even to military men appear

extraordinary

is,

that an

army of 100,000 men

should be surprised at noon-day. in the

The country

neighbourhood of Fellinghausen, where

the Allied

army was encamped, though capable

of being traversed by infantry, and solutely impervious even to

cavalry,

not ab-

was ex-

tremely close and covered with thick wood.

VOL.

i.

G

MEMOIRS OF

82

About twelve and

o'clock in the day, aids-de-camps

orderly-serjeants arrived in rapid succession,

to say that the enemy's light troops

mishing in

front,

Attacks of this occurrence, that

skir-

and driving back our outposts. kind were of such frequent

it

did not for some time

any serious impression any report of

were

;

artillery,

for, as

we

we

make

did not hear

could not suppose

About an hour

the attack to be serious.

after

mid-day, however, intelligence was brought to his

Serene Highness by Count Redhaezl in

person

the colonel of the black hussars, a fine

young man of high rank, and not above twenty years of age, that the enemy were certainly moving forward in column.

Orders were imme-

diately issued for the line to turn

Lord Granby's

corps,

out

;

but

which was somewhat

advance, had scarcely seized their arms,

in

when

they found the French line close upon their front,

and were actually obliged to form in the

rear of their

To me,

own encampment.

in particular, this hasty

very embarrassing. to be

my

It

summons was

happened on that day

duty to be the aid-de-camp

in wait-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

ing on General Mostyn,

who

83

the night before

had been overtaken by the return of a complaint to which he was periodically liable ; and at the

moment when

the order from his Serene

Highness arrived for the

found

it

line to turn out, I

impossible to disturb him.

consulting for a

After

moment with Count Winzen-

rode, the aid-de-camp of the

Duke who brought

the order, I adopted the resolution of mount-

ing one of the General's best horses, and galloping round to the stations of the different brigades of cavalry under the eral

Mostyn, where, in

my

command of Genofficial capacity, I

communicated the order which had arrived from head-quarters, that the

line

should im-

mediately turn out in front of the encamp-

ment.

The

extent of the duty I had thus un-

some degree be estimated, from the number of the squadrons under Gedertaken,

may

neral Mostyn's 110.

Before

in

command, which amounted

my

departure, I had left orders

that he should not be disturbed; and on

return I found

to

him

still

my

under the influence of

the opiate which he had taken the night be-

G 2

MEMOIRS OF

84

When

fore.

he awoke,

communicated

I

him the order which had

to

arrived from head-

quarters; and, on his exclaiming at the lateness of the information, I

begged

his Excel-

lency to be perfectly at ease, as the cavalry

were

all

under arms

;

observing that, as he had

not been well over-night, I had taken the

li-

berty of ordering that he should not be disturbed. After the relief which was thus brought to the

mind of General Mostyn,

I was readily

excused for having ridden one or two of his best horses almost to death cellency

;

indeed, his

Ex-

was never unmindful of the service

I

had that morning been able to render him, and it was not long before he afforded me the most substantial proofs of the regard which he had conceived for me.

Our whole

line

was pressed

with equal impetuosity;

at every point

and, from the ex-

tremely wooded state of the country, there was scarcely an opportunity of bringing great

guns

into action field,

on

either side.

In no part of the

indeed, was half a mile of open ground

to be seen.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

The Hereditary

Prince,

85

who commanded

considerable corps to the right of the

body, was immediately called at

a very

time

for the

;

moment,

critical

in,

in

a

main

and arrived

double-quick

columns which pressed on the

front of the right

had already made a

serious

impression.

In this emergency,

my

neral

Mostyn displayed

cised

his

self-possession

excellent friend

his science

to

good

Ge-

and exereffect,

by

charging the enemy, with separate squadrons,

through the intervals of the battalions of fantry

;

or,

to speak

more

correctly,

in-

through

those vacant spaces where the line was not

completed.

The enemy were

at length driven

back at

this part of the line,

of the two species

by a happy combination of force which were thus

brought simultaneously to oppose them. In the meantime a heavy

fire

of cannon as

well as musketry was heard on our

left,

where

Granby commanded; and as General Mostyn was closely and personally attached to Lord Granby, he directed me to go the Marquis of

86

MEMOIRS OF

to his Lordship,

and bring him intelligence of

As

the result. Irish

was mounted on an excellent

hunter, I was I

Marquis. ed,

I

found

and himself,

as

not long in joining the

his corps

was

most hotly engag-

his custom, in the heat

After delivering

of the battle.

from General Mostyn,

his

what was doing on the

right.

my

message

While

I

was

the act of speaking to him, several of the cers

under

command were

his

me

Lordship asked

in

offi-

forced back, and

happened to be the first under his eye, You will go," he said, " to the Duke, and re-

as I

"

port to him, that

may

it is

not be tenable."

my

possible I

found

his

position

Serene

Highness about the centre of the line, and having communicated Lord Granby's message, the Duke's answer was, " // maintiendra sa position coute qui

it

was

possible,

Duke's answer. well,"

Clapping spurs to

my

found myself at Lord Granby's side

horse, I

soon as

couteT

as

and reported to him the

His Lordship

said,

" It

is

and proceeded to give his orders to those

around him.

From

the closeness of the country in which

SIR battle

this

JAMES CAMPBELL.

87

was fought, the attacks were

quent and complicated.

As

fre-

moment

the

ap-

peared to be critical, I remained a little while,

from

my

municate

anxiety to see the event, and comto General Mostyn,

it

whom

to be deeply interested in the report I

able to bring to him.

During the

I

knew

might be

short time I

saw a prodigiously strong column of the enemy driven back by two regiments of stayed, I

Campbell's and Keith's

Highlanders

battalion of grenadiers,

and a

commanded by Colonel

Maxwell, brother to a very worthy gentleman

name, a wine-merchant

of that

at

Leith

;

al-

though the disparity between the two forces was so very great as to appear to me to be at least as ten to

When

one in favour of the enemy.

arrived again

upon the right, found that General Mostyn had succeeded I

I

in

effecting a junction with the Hereditary Prince,

who by and

that time had

come up with

his corps,

by the General's able manoeuvres, the had been nearly restored to its first posi-

that,

battle tion.

The

point where

it

seemed to be most

hotly carried on was in some low ground, where

MEMOIRS OF

88

there was an old triangular fort, in the possession of the

mined

French

struggle, the

but, after another deter-

;

enemy was

at last driven

out, although not

without a heavy slaughter

on both

sides.

degrees our success became

general,

and by the time that

dark, each

which

it

By

army found

had occupied

commencement of the it

it

itself

began to grow

in the position

in the morning, at the attack.

was not doubted that the

At

this period

battle

would be

renewed by the dawn of the following day which accordingly it was, but on our side it ;

was no longer a surprise. The Duke was said to be in bad humour, in consequence of an English General of rank, sary to name, having station field,

whom

moved

it is

unneces-

his corps

from the

which he occupied in the centre of the

contrary to precise orders which had been

The

given to him to remain where he was. battle

had commenced on the 15th of June,

and by the able dispositions of

his

Serene

Highness, in the course of the following night, the cannonade began on our side of the morning of the

1

6th."

by the dawn

The Duke's

pro-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

ceedings were taken with

and

his

89

such promptitude,

manoeuvres were so ably conducted,

mid-day the enemy were driven back to the position they had occupied before that soon after

their this

advance to the attack, and by

original

tune

it

became evident that we had gained

the battle. It cers

was admitted by many of the oldest offiin the army, that they had never before

The

witnessed so heavy a slaughter.

loss

of

the Allies amounted very nearly to 20,000 men,

while that of the enemy, after the battle,

greater.

But

if

taken immediately

was understood

it

may be

laid

to be

down

universal application, that a beaten

more by

as a rule of

army

desertion in the course of

than by actual

loss

upon the

field

;

somewhat

its

suffers

retreat

and on

this

occasion " the total of the whole," on the part

of the French, was never computed at less than

50,000 men.

Yet

after

all,

the battle of Fel-

linghausen, although thus keenly contested, and

although

it

gave to us the possession of a con-

siderable tract of country, to retain

which we were able

during the succeeding winter, was

MEMOIRS OF

90

never understood to have materially altered the relative situation of the belligerents, or to

made any

difference

have

on the general operations

of the war.

Some

years afterwards, I had a conversation

with the celebrated Count Dohna, the Adjutant-general of

He

this battle.

the army, on the subject

of

allowed that the position of

the Allies was a very bad one at the beginning, their rear being parallel

and

being inevitable in the

total destruction

event of a

failure.

with the river Lippe,

But the Count observed,

that his Serene Highness

vious events, and that

was

it

justified

by

pre-

was a position of

necessity.

When it

the

enemy had

finally

was observed, that one of

sisting of several

in a

bend of the

begun

to retire,

their divisions, con-

thousand men, was so situated, river,

as to

be totally cut off

from the retreating army by the advance of the corps of the Marquis of Granby.

To

spare

unnecessary effusion of blood, his Lordship sent

William Erskine. to represent to the Count de Bellesnuce, the Commander of the French Sir

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR division, that

escape was

91

impossible,

and op-

and to require the division to In a mission which relay down their arms. quired the union of courage, delicacy, and pruposition vain,

a fitter emissary could not have been

dence,

William Erskine, whose con-

selected than Sir

duct was never deficient in these inestimable

The French General agreed

qualities.

to an

unconditional surrender, and the entire division

became prisoners of war. In returning from

my

mission to the Mar-

Granby, I met a wounded

quis of

who appeared

to

me

as if

serjeant,

he were a person

I

had formerly known. On speaking to him, I found that he had been long a servant in my father's

who had suddenly

family,

the

left

country in consequence of a sad accident which befel

him while amusing himself with

in the

neighbourhood of

at Craigforth.

bushes, a

gun,

father's residence

Unhappily, among some hazel-

young

father's tenants,

my

his

creature, the son of

one of

my

was gathering nuts, and mistak-

ing the object for a hare, the lad,

who was

keen sportsman, but not a cool one,

fired at

a it,

MEMOIRS OF

92

and

He

killed the child.

saw

moment

in a

the

misfortune which had happened to him, and

taking the boy in his arms, he carried him to the house of Craigforth, and having laid

on the table in the

servants' hall,

From

disappeared.

that

him

immediately

time he had never

been heard of until I met him, with a severe

wound, returning from the field at the battle He was a remarkably good of Fellinghausen.

young man, and afterwards his

merit

to

raised himself

by

the rank of serjeant-major of

Keith's Highlanders.

As

the troops of both sides were mingled on

the evening of the 15th, an officer of the same

regiment,

Keith's

Highlanders, Captain Fo-

theringham, of Ponry, then a young

man

not

above twenty years of age, made a gallant attack with two companies upon a French battery,

drove the

and kept the

enemy from

position.

their

guns,

In the neighbourhood

of the battery there was an old store-house,

which he occupied during the night, and at the commencement of next morning's attack the

enemy attempted

to dispossess

him, but

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

93

was thought in his regiment, that Captain Fotheringham and his two companies had been taken prisoners; but soon without

effect.

It

began on the morning of the they were liberated with great honour by

after the firing 1

6th,

the advance of the Allied troops.

Immediately after

this battle, I

had an op-

portunity of witnessing an instance of coolness

and address, in availing himself of the advantage arising from passing events, on the part of Captain Wedderburn, the brother of the

lawyer of that name the woolsack.

who

afterwards occupied

Captain Wedderburn was at

that time a very

young man, and

just before

the battle had received intelligence of his pro-

motion to the majority of a regiment then

He

had thus no place in the army when the action was approaching, and this was announced to him by Colonel stationed in England.

Keith, in presenting

But with

him with

his commission.

a proper degree of spirit, he said to

Colonel Keith, in making his acknowledgments, that field

was impossible for him to leave the in the immediate prospect of a battle.

it

MEMOIRS OF

94

When

the

soon as

it

enemy were

in full retreat,

and

as

had been ascertained that our arms

were victorious, a number of

of the

officers

and others who were known to the Duke,

staff,

crowded round

his person,

to offer

Amongst

congratulations.

Wedderburn came

him

others,

their

Captain

up, and addressing his Se-

rene Highness in the French language, which

he spoke remarkably well, he said that he was just

he

setting

out for England, and asked

if

could be honoured with any commands.

The Duke

to

said

him,

" Tell

the

King,

cousin, of the glorious victory his troops

my

With

have achieved."

and out

self-possession

his

young Wedderburn pulled

pocket-book,

the Duke,

said,

"

characteristic readiness

and presenting

Duke spirits

it

down."

added, from the

much

to

Tn

natural

on such an occasion,

has added

to

Lest I should make some

mistake, perhaps your Serene Highness

deign to write

it

"

doing flow

And

would so,

the

of

his

the bearer

the honour of the day."

may be

supposed that Mr. Wedderburn

made good

use of his time in travelling to

It

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

he

London, where sent

officer

happy piece of his

came

much

as

Lord

had

enemy under the

been cover

which, to

enable

was

perforated

with

One

him

such good

holes, that the ball

his

his career in

attack of

at the

reconnoitering

of

him

small

a

the

mud

to use his glass,

loop-holes

in

several

of the enemy's sharp-shooters had

probably seen

taken

be Commander-in-

to

manner

hut,

places.

it

Chancellor, that he

where he ended

a very unfortunate

He

the

to be ascribed to this

few years

chief in India,

Broach.

as

dexterity, as to the influence

brother, the

in a very

soon

as

by the Duke; and

officially

was probably

of

arrived

95

enter the hut,

and had

aim through one of these taking effect, had entered

head and killed him on the

spot.

Shortly after the battle of Fellinghausen, I

happened to be present

at a slight affair in the

neighbourhood of the town of Wetter, where cavalry alone were engaged.

fortune to be close to

I

had the good

placed, on this occasion, quite

General Harvie, afterwards Adjutant-

general of the British army,

who commanded.

MEMOIllS OF

96

In the charge which immediately followed, I

had

still,

When

accident, remained at

by

his

side.

the affair was over, he was pleased to

compliment

me

on

my

behaviour

;

and thus an

commenced which enabled me, I commanded the afterwards, when

acquaintance years

67th regiment, and he was Adjutant-general, to accelerate the promotion of several

and gallant neither

officers

money nor

of

the

67th,

protection:

I

worthy

who had

may

add,

with truth, that General Harvie never refused

me

any thing

I

asked of him.

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

CHAPTER Returns to England. of Generals

New

Court Presentations.

Mostyn, &c.

Scott,

to

arrangements

V.

return

the

to

Anecdotes

Curious Wager.

Em-

Continent.

Arduous and perilous duty. Entrusted with a separate Detachment. Prompt and

barks for active service.

judicious measures on the part of the Author.

Guerre.

Ulterior

march and success of

Reported good conduct. Military

Emblems and

pointed Aid-de-Camp the

French

Armies

Commanders.

Skilful

Arrival at

Devices.

to General

Extreme

Ruse de

his Project.

Head

Quarters.

Anecdotes.

Mostyn.

Re-ap-

Position of

Jealousy between

the

Manreuvres of the Allied General.

Takes the French by surprise at Graebenstein. Imminent risk. Rout of the Enemy. Field Sports, and other

Amusements.

Singular Anecdote.

French and English

Counts. ^

IN consequence of the prospect of a peace, from the continued negotiations at London and

Paris,

I

returned at

the

end of the

campaign of 1761, in company with General VOL.

I.

H

MEMOIRS OF

98

Soon

Mostyn, to England.

after

our arrival

in town, the presentations at Court

and other

matters of form being accomplished, the ge" neral said to me one day, Now, my boy, it is

time to think of you

and very soon

;"

after-

wards I found myself a captain in the lllth regiment of of

foot, better

known by

name

the

General Scott, the father-in-law

its colonel,

of the late Mr. Canning.

In I

all

my

intercourse

with General Scott,

found him uniformly good-natured and ob-

When

liging.

I

received

my

commission,

the regiment was stationed at Coventry

he was so good it

became

my

;

and

me with him when As an instance of join.

as to carry

duty to

his easy disposition, considering the style

play to which he

accustomed, I

is

of

understood to have been

may mention how much

seemed to enjoy himself with rubber of sixpenny whist.

He

he

his officers at a

seemed on

all

occasions to be perfectly sensible of the evils of

gaming

;

and, as far as his influence could be

supposed to operate, he discouraged regiment, earnestly and systematically.

it

in the

SIR

On

JAMES CAMPBELL.

99

one occasion, I remember, when walking

out with one or two of his junior

officers,

whom

he believed to be addicted to play, the conver-

odd appearance of a dog-kennel, and on the form and number of the tiles with which it was covered. sation chanced

turn on the

to

was proposed by some one as the subject of a bet, which, with some people in the world, It

is

admitted at

a stimulant

all

times as a succedaneum or

to conversation, that the general

would not name a number true one as he

who had

so

near to the

proposed the wager.

This led to a sort of sweepstakes of a considerable

amount, when each of the gentlemen

having made his nomination, some were found to be above, and some below the mark, but the

number named by the general was observed

to

be precisely the true one. "

Now,"

said he, "

my young

if

you allow yourselves

your money so

ob-

which you must ever

serve the disadvantages

encounter,

friends,

In

easily.

to

hazard

making the bet

with you I had one small advantage which another

might not

have

H

2

acknowledged.

/

MEMOIRS OF

100 counted the

tiles

of the dog-kennel yesterday

morning? After about a month's stay at Coventry, and

assuming

ment

my

station at the right of the regi-

as Captain of Grenadiers, I returned to

London

;

and, waiting on General Mostyn, re-

presented to him, that as there was by this

time the prospect of a renewal of

hostilities,

I

was very desirous of engaging once more in active service and begged that I might be ;

allowed to return with him to Germany.

answered that he feared

it

He

was impossible,

as

the regiment to which I belonged was not to serve in the Allied army.

To

this I replied,

with the confidence of a young man, that I

would rather relinquish the great advantages of rank which he had been so good as to procure for me, and return with

him on

service

duty

aid-de-camp, than remain on garrison" That must not in he

said

" but

as his

;

England.

The

we

be,"

shall see

what can be done."

losses of the last

campaign, and the

by the Government to renew with vigour, made it necessary to

solution adopted hostilities

re-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

101

The

draft all the regiments in England.

pro-

drawn from the lllth regiment amount150 men and these were ordered to em-

portion

ed to

;

bark for Germany as

mand

of Captain

under the com-

recruits,

Mark

Napier, the brother of

Lord Napier, and a married man. I had heard of this arrangement,

As soon

my as

on the

to Captain Napier

entrusted, if effect

and repre-

subject,

that I should be

happy to rehim of the duty with which he had been

sented to lieve

him

I applied

we

could

an exchange.

make

interest

enough to

This was readily effected

through the influence of General Scott with his usual good-nature, did to accelerate the arrangement,

be as satisfactory to Napier, as

all

in his

who,

;

power

which proved to it

was agreeable

to me.

As

soon as this was completed, I went to

General Mostyn, and informed transaction,

him of the

adding an expression of

ance on His Excellency's influence in it

unnecessary for

England.

me

to rejoin

my

my

reli-

making

regiment in

General Mostyn was not sorry to

find that I continued

my

attachment to him-

MEMOIRS OF

102 self

and to the service

;

and he did not attempt

to discourage the zeal I

had manifested in the 4

cause.

General Mostyn soon afterwards returned to his

command, and

tachment at

at

Bremen,

proceeded to embark my de-

I

Deptford; and, having landed them I

some farther

there joined

levies

number of about two thousand men, who

to the

were placed under the command of Colonel Calcraft, the brother of the

agent of that name. levies consisted of

well-known army-

Almost the whole of the

raw

recruits

;

and

I believe

and myself were the only the whole detachment, who had seen

that Colonel Calcraft officers in fire.

In a march of this kind,

sible to

it is

scarcely pos-

prevent some of the younger soldiers

from straggling; and with a view to keep

them

together, Colonel Calcraft appointed

to the

Our

command

me

of the rear-guard.

object of course

was to reach the Allied

army by the nearest route and when we had proceeded somewhat more than one hundred ;

miles from Bremen, which was about half the distance,

we were met by

Captain

Guy dickens

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

of the Guards, Aid-de-Camp to

Serene

his

Highness Prince Ferdinand, and son of the Swedish Consul in England, who informed us of the necessity of hastening our march

much

as

was a French corps en campagne, commanded by the Marquis de as possible, as there

Conflans, a distinguished officer of hussars, and

was most probable we should soon be attacked. On receiving this intelligence, Cothat

it

lonel

Calcraft

soldiers of the

seen

service,

number of as

much

directed

me

detachment

to

I

officers for

stability to the rear

some two hundred

their

was

previously

the purpose of giving

had thus obtained

officers I

who had

the

and to choose a proportionate

cumstances would permit.

men

to select all

chiefly

;

guard

as

our

The number I

found

to

cir-

of the

amount

and in the choice of

my

guided by the activity of

demeanour, and their apparent alacrity in

the cause.

In the evening, after making these arrangelents,

we

gained the banks of the Lippe, at a

where there was a stone bridge, with one or two houses at the one end, and a small village )lace

MEMOIRS OF

104

As

at the other.

excellent

this

appeared to

making a march on as

place for

Colonel Calcraft to

me

to be an

stand, I

urged

fast as possible

with the main body of the troops, and to leave

me

with

passage.

my two hundred men to guard the He could not refuse his concurrence

in the expediency of this arrangement,

and with

an expression of his regret at leaving

me

arduous a situation, he

set

in so

out at an early hour

view of gaining

in the morning, with the

at

twenty miles that night. Colonel Calcraft well known to have been a good and gallant

least is

officer,

was

and on

right.

he did exactly what

this occasion

We

parted as soldiers part,

when

about to engage in a hazardous undertaking,

and I bade him be assured, that whatever might be the issue, he should at least hear that I had done

my

duty, in discharge of the trust

reposed in me.

Having placed

one end of the bridge, across the river,

I

sentinels at

marched the men

and having taken possession of

the two houses in the village, on the other side,

most conveniently situated passage, I proceeded to

commanding the make my dispositions for

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

105

had a trench dug round the walls of the two houses in the inside, and at a for

defence.

I

;

convenient height, I had loop-holes perforated

through the walls, so

to give

as

a

decided

advantage to our musquetry over that of our I

assailants.

from the carried

then got a number of waggons

village,

them

and

filling

to the farther

them with dung

end of the bridge,

causing the wheels to be taken off the one side

After

of each. to be it

directed the bridge itself

this, I

broken up in several

impassable for cavalry

make

places, so as to ;

and

as the houses

were covered with wood and thatch, I caused

them

to

be unroofed.

In making these trifling preparations

I

con-

tinued to explain the probable advantages of each

;

and

in place of

wearing out the men,

I

had the pleasure of seeing that they performed their tasks with cheerfulness and that the ;

both of

spirits

men and

siderably exhilarated

ment

officers,

were con-

by the obvious improve-

in the posture of our affairs.

village,

I

obtained

having procured

a

supplies

of

In the

bread

;

and

number of buckets and

MEMOIRS OF

106

them with water,

filled

had them carried

I

into the houses for the use of the

from biting the

become

men, who,

and other

cartridge,

causes,

liable in action to excessive thirst.

the volume entitled " Military Maxims,"

by example,* which

trated

In illus-

I published in the

year 1782, I have given a variety of rules and instructions for the defence of posts,

which

may

perhaps be found to be useful.

Among

the

men

of

my

detachment

there were several deserters

;

I

found

and, as I needed

a

man

I

had in view, I determined to make use of

of resolution and address for a purpose

a clever fellow vices,

who had been

in several ser-

and had formerly belonged to the Black

Hussars.

In the mean time,

I

posted some additional

sentinels along the road

by which the enemy

were expected, and caused the houses at the farther end of the bridge to be filled with furze,

and straw, and

all

sorts of combustibles.

This was scarcely completed when a shot was fired

by one of the most * Cadell

distant of the sen-

and Strachan, London, 1782.

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR tinels

;

107

and, as an illustration of the quality of

the troops I had to deal with, I was told on

running along the bridge to ascertain the cause of the alarm, that the man declared he had seen a ghost

!

In order to pacify the men,

I

consented to the placing of double sentinels, after

which

then

all

was quiet

heard several shots

viously directed

at their posts in a

shots

I

and having pre-

;

where each man should be

had the

stationed, I

The

for about an hour.

satisfaction of seeing

them

moment.

we had

heard proceeded apparently

from a party of hussars, and were not therefore at all dangerous against infantry.

It

was

fortunate also that the fire of a sentinel had killed one

of the hussar horses; and on the

man being brought

to me,

I

ledge I had acquired of the

found the know-

German language

of the greatest use in interrogating soner.

I learned

that

my

he belonged to

pri-

the

advanced guard of the celebrated French par-

whose approach we had been warned by Captain Guydikens, and that the main body of his detachment might be about

tizan Conflans, of

MEMOIRS OF

108

four or five miles distant.

While proceeding

with the examination of the prisoner, I heard

more

shots in the direction

from which he had

man

said very simply,

come, on which the

" These are the rest of the Hussars

Having

ascertained

by

a peasant,

coming up." I had

whom

sent to the other side for the purpose of bring-

me

ing

were certainly

intelligence, that they

only cavalry, and that their numbers were not

very considerable, I immediately took with

me

about one half of the men, and pushing along the bridge with them, succeeded with a volley

two

or

several,

By

in driving the

enemy back, killing and taking two or three prisoners.

comparing their information with what I

had previously acquired from the man first taken, I found that the enemy's detachment consisted of two battalions of infantry, with five

hundred light

troops, their object

having

been to intercept the English levies on their

march to the army, and the hussars being sent forward to impede our march and give time for the enemy's infantry to It

now became

come up.

necessary for

me

to take

my

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR final

resolution.

about

picked out

I

109 thirty

men, and placed them under the charge of two very clever young

on the bridge I then sent

officers,

whom

stationed

I

for the defence of the passage.

for the deserter

Hussars, and giving

him

from the Black

five ducats,

with a

compliment on his talents and on the length and variety of the service he had seen, I promised him an additional reward of

fifty ducats,

on our reaching the Allied army,

in conside-

ration

of his faithful discharge of the duty

which

I then

proposed to him.

When

attack should be made, I desired that he

the

would

either desert, or allow himself to be taken prisoner, as

he should find most convenient, and

then to communicate to the

detachment consisted of

five

enemy

that the

hundred infantry,

which were only the rear guard of a large body of troops on their march to join the Allied army. It

may be

objected to this

little

stratagem,

was imprudent and ridiculous to trust a man who had been repeatedly guilty of that

it

breach of faith and desertion

;

but he seemed

MEMOIRS OF

110 to

me

the best qualified to assist in this

ruse de guerre, which I conceived

on the score of necessity

tifiable

I

secured his fidelity,

;

little

to be jus-

and

in effect

in a

it

by combining

material degree with that principle of selfishness

which all

I fear is

human

the most generally influential of

motives.

$).[%

Having secured two guides from the and established a

them

as to

me, and cers

them

with

our route, I took one of them with the other in charge of the

left

and

village,

distinct understanding

two

offi-

their party at the bridge, instructing

at the

same time, whenever they should

be attacked, to make a resolute stand for a short period

;

then, after setting fire to the

two houses

which had been prepared for that purpose, they were to follow the detachment with all possible speed, taking care that the guide

who was

left

with them should on no account be allowed to escape. bled,

The

rest of the

detachment being assem-

we proceeded on our

route at a rapid pace,

and about ten o'clock in the forenoon made a halt in the

the two

neighbourhood of a

young

officers

and

village,

their party

where

came up

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

with

us,

one of the

officers

Ill

and three or four of

men having been slightly wounded. They told me that the enemy's infantry had not come

the

up when they

left

the bridge, and that in

probability, the cavalry

were

still

On

a good

who had

way behind

attacked

all

them

us.

obtaining this intelligence, I put some in requisition, in

waggons

which I placed the

wounded men, together with the knapsacks of the whole detachment.

with a slight

escort,

These I sent forward

and followed soon afterwards

with the rear guard myself. Moving rapidly on,

we soon gained a great deal of ground country was tolerably to be

much

five

did not seem

reached an open common, about

hundred yards

path.

and, as the

danger, even if we should be attack-

we had

ed, until

close, there

;

Here,

across,

which traversed our

I confess, I felt

some alarm

lest

the

enemy's cavalry should charge us on the com-

mon.

Observing a small farm-house near

its

further boundary, with a kitchen-garden attach-

ed to

it,

surrounded by a paling, I sent some

thirty or forty

distance

men, in

single

files,

at a

moderate

from one another, to occupy the house

;

112

MEMOIRS OF

and forming the

rest of the

most compact order low.

By

detachment

I could, I prepared to fol-

time I perceived that the enemy

this

had assembled

to the

amount of two squadrons.

Twice they indicated a

disposition to charge us,

but never approached so near permit the

in the

men

to

as that I could

When we

fire.

had ap-

proached within a short distance of the hedge

on the farther

who had been in terms of

common, the men

side of the

posted in the farm house, having,

my

previous instructions, lain

down

and kept quiet until the enemy had just passed, rushed out and gave them a volley. On this I

ran back with some fifty

men

party off from the house and yard caution was unnecessary, as

to bring the

but the pre-

;

we were

not again

molested, but reached the enclosed ground in safety.

Here

also I learned, to

faction, that the

a day's

my

great satis-

enemy's infantry were at

march behind us

;

so that

we were

en-

On

the

abled to proceed at an ordinary pace.

following day craft

we came up with

and the main body of the

obliging enough to approve of

Colonel Cal-

levies.

my

least

He

was

proceedings,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

113

and to make a favourable report of them on our arrival at head-quarters, which

we

soon

afterwards accomplished.

was the fashion

It

at that period, in raising

bedizen them with gaudy and

recruits, to

and to adorn these with

diculous uniforms,

corresponding

and

legends

" Death

and glory," and the

arrival,

and before

trappings,

ri-

I

devices,

like.

such as

Soon after my

had doffed these gorgeous

of which I was heartily ashamed,

from the contempt in which they were held by those

who had

seen

fire,

I

met an acquaintance

one evening hi the twilight, passing hastily along the past, with,

way

who

line,

"

You

infernal glory, get out pf the

This completed

!"

ventry uniform. recognized by of

whom

tened

saluted me, in hurrying

my

my

I felt

disgust for

some

my

relief in

Co-

being

friend of the staff as

one

he need not be ashamed, and has-

home

to dress myself like other fighting

people.

Having given up the detachment of 150

men from

the lllth regiment with which I

had been originally entrusted, and taken VOL.

I.

I

a

MEMOIRS OF

114 receipt

for

them

time in paying

my

General Mostyn, greatest

I lost

at head-quarters,

respects to

who

cordiality,

old friend

my me

received

and reinstated

no

with the

me

in

my

former situation of his Excellency's Aid-de-

camp.

From

this period I

never quitted his

person until the separate peace between France

and England,

in 1763.

In the course of our march from the sea coast, I

had occasion to mention the name of

Captain Guydikens.

He

great favourite with

his Serene

Commander-in-chief,

who had asked

was

some time

for

a

Highness the a com-

pany for him in the British Guards, and would no doubt soon have raised him to the

rank

of

a

general

officer,

unhappily become addicted to a

was

sufficient to

had he not vice,

which,

close the military career of

poor Guydikens, and mar his whole prospects in

life.

The French

in this

campaign had,

as

merly, two separate armies in Westphalia

for;

the

one under the Prince de Soubise and Marechal

SIR d'Etrees,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

115

on the Weser, and another, under the

Cond, on the Lower Rhine. At commencement of the campaign there was

Prince de the

great disunion

corresponding Court.

De

the French camp,

in

and

difference

and a

distraction

at

Broglie and Soubise had been en-

trusted with

command

a joint

;

but having

mutually accused each other, and formed a strong array of partizans on either side, generally understood that

it

was

the efforts of the

French were thus in a great measure paralysed, and that offensive operations on their part

were not to be seriously apprehended.

The enemy,

was

however,

advantageously

posted at a place called Graebenstein, on the frontiers of

by the rivulets,

Hesse; their right being covered

village of

their

that

left

name and by

almost

inaccessible

several

by a

deep ravine, and then* centre being stationed

on a commanding eminence.

In

this situation

they thought themselves impregnable, but the

Duke, by a series of brilliant manoeuvres, brought his

army, although inferior in numbers, and i

2

MEMOIRS OF

116

apparently scattered and dislocated, so to bear

upon the enemy's

position, as to attack

at once

flank,

in

front,

parations had been

and

The

rear.

made with

them pre-

much judg-

so

ment, and had been executed with such perfect

and good

promptitude

French were taken by attempted

At

attack.

my

to

surprise,

The

me and ;

which prevented horse, or loss

and we

of the

me

seeing

and scarcely

was going had a most severe as I

from mounting an-

much

of the action.

enemy was very

considerable,

also sustained a

in consequence

of

good deal of damage, the gallant stand which

was made by M. Stain ville

lumns

the

an early hour of the day I had

rather quick at the time, I

other

that

the impetuosity of our

resist

horse shot under

fall,

order,

to oppose our co-

in pursuit.

After the battle of Graeben stein, the

enemy

were driven back to the extremity of Upper Westphalia, and there took up a strong position near a singular

niberg,

their

mountain

called

front being covered

Amoe-

by a

with marshy banks, not broad but deep.

river

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR this

By

time

I

had recovered from the con-

tusions and other consequences of

Graebenstein

my In

as to

so far

station in

117

my

fall at

be able to resume

the suite of General Mostyn.

two armies remained

this position the

in

presence, observing each other for the greater

part of the autumn. officers

on both

During

were accustomed to amuse

sides

hunting and shooting

themselves with

while excited by the

spirit

times happened that

yond the enemy's

we

of the chase,

it

;

and

some-

followed the hare be-

outposts, but without ever

receiving the slightest interruption. casional trespasses

the

this period,

These oc-

were not exactly consistent

with the general orders of the respective com-

manders

among

;

but

by a

sort

of tacit agreement

the officers on the outposts, they were

mutually overlooked.

On

interchange of

would often take

and

I

civilities

such occasions, an place,

remember one instance which excited a

good deal of merriment

in the British camp.

In our party there happened to be a Captain Nixon, called a

who had practical

a strong relish for what

joke

;

is

and on one of the

MEMOIRS OF

118

French

officers

that he could not

lamenting

enjoy the sport for want of good greyhounds,

our quizzical friend observed, that he had a of excellent

couple

much

at the

Frenchman's

would send them ing

;

ones,

which were very service,

and that he

to the outpost next

morn-

requesting at the same time to be fa-

voured with the gentleman's name, that he

might know to whom to address them. The answer was Count M, I forget what " And :

Frenchman, "to

pray," said the

whom am

I

indebted for so great a favour ?" to which the other answered " is

The favour

:

is

nothing, Sir

;

but

my name

Count Nixon, of the 51st regiment."

tinuing the joke, Captain sent

down two

Con-

Nixon next morning

miserable curs to the outpost,

where a French servant was in waiting to receive and lead them away. In the evening we were

all

surprised,

and some of us a good deal

annoyed, by the arrival of a couple of mules, each attended by a servant, the one of them loaded with two cases of Burgundy, the other

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

119

with two cases of Champaigne, as a return for the present of the greyhounds, addressed to

" Count Nixon" of the 51st regiment.

of us

who

could not enjoy a joke with the

same gusto

as

the national transaction,

rying

it

sible to

Those

Nixon, taking the alarm

character

should suffer by the

began to take him to task for

so far.

But with Nixon

be serious

with the greatest

car-

How

was imposthe devil," he said,

naivete,

" could the fellow

" :

lest

it

take these curs for greyhounds, or

me

for a

count ?"

This story was told at head-quarters, and created a general laugh.

On

this

a council of inquiry, because

do a thing that was wrong able

Major

;

we

assembled

we would

not

and the Honour-

Digby, afterwards

Gentleman-

Usher to the Queen, very kindly ceded two of the best greyhounds in the army, for the pur-

pose of enabling us to place the matter on a proper

footing.

polite letter,

These were

sent with a

saying that the other two had

been forwarded by mistake, and with the ex-

MEMOIRS OF

120 pression of

a wish

that the French

might continue to enjoy son.

Duke,

When

the. sports

officers

of the sea-

spoken of at head-quarters, the

it is said,

could not help smiling at the

transaction, although it

had taken place

in con-

travention of the orders he had issued, that there should be no communication between the

outposts of the

two armies.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER

VI.

Results of the battle of Graebenstein.

lemma.

Horses killed under him.

The Author's

The

Severe service, and privations.

Renewal of

Allied

Ludicrous charge

Splendid successes of the Duke.

of cavalry.

thor's sufferings.

di-

Serjeant's horse.

Movements of the

Anecdotes of Cornet Smith. army.

121

hostilities

The Au-

by the French.

Engagement, immense slaughter on both The English withdraw from the Seven Years

Severe sides.

War.

Anecdotes of Major M'Lean. Noble character Lord Townsend. Anecdotes of a dinner-

of the Duke. party.

Old Major Hume.

Gallant exploit.

tion of Prince Ferdinand's Birth-day.

W.

Erskine,

litary vision.

Celebra-

Anecdotes of Sir

and Captain Fletcher. Obtuseness of miAnecdotes of Mr. Calcraft. Lord Ducie.

Close of the war.

The Author

returns to London.

Personal anecdotes.

AFTEK

the battle of Graebenstein, I do not

remember any

affair

of consequence

course of this campaign place

the

which

;

in

the

nothing certainly took

had any material influence on

general operations

of the war, although

MEMOIRS OF

122

there was never a complete cessation of hos-

and I was unfortunate enough in the course of the season to have a second horse

tilities

;

killed

under me.

By

this

time a different and

courteous feeling had arisen between the

less

rival outposts,

and skirmishes often took

place,

which

sometimes ended rather unpleasantly. one occasion, I happened to be dining with

On

my

old regiment, the 2d

when

the officers

Dragoon Guards, and proposed, as was frequently

the case, to ride out after dinner to the outposts to

what was

see

going on,

should be happy to attend them, lend

me a

up by

horse, as

my own my

who

ed to have

;

knocked

Not

finding

mind, I said there

was an old friend of mine, a regiment,

said I

they would

|had been

a long ride that morning.

myself accommodated to

if

I

serjeant in the

rode just such a horse as I wish-

and

thus,

by

a piece of indiscretion,

which could only be ascribed to thoughtlessness, I

avoided the necessity of borrowing a charger

from any of

my

old messmates.

On

sion a slight skirmish ensued, and, to

this occa-

my

concern, the Serjeant's horse was killed

;

great and,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

123

indeed, I had myself a great deal of difficulty

withdrawing from the bustle which the rencontre had occasioned. But a still greater

in

difficulty

remained to me, which was to give a

satisfactory account of the loss of the Serjeant's

In this emergency, 1 fortunately be-

horse.

thought myself of the friendship of tion,

Colonel

Mure Campbell,

of

my

whom

rela-

have

I

already spoken, and who, I thought, might be able to report

proper

quarter.

the matter favourably in

Colonel Campbell,

the

however,

better to let the matter pass sub

thotight

it

silentio

observing that, as I had probably no

;

horses to spare, he to

mount

would lend one

King

the serjeant upon.

In the 2d Dragoon Guards

mate

to the

friend, of

whom

had an

I

inti-

I shall take this oppor-

tunity of relating an achievement which might serve as a parallel to that

which

I

have already

given of Colonel Preston, of the Scots Greys.

The young gentleman in the

I allude to,

was known

regiment by the name of Cornet Smith,

but in other respects he was recognized as the elder brother of the

Duke

of Dorset, and was

MEMOIRS OF

124 thus the

At

nephew of Lord George

this period

he was only in

and being thus about

my own

his

Sackville.

18th year,

age,

we

had,

while in the regiment together, contracted the closest

intimacy.

He

had been educated

in

Edinburgh, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Webster, one of the clergyman of the town.

His whole appearance and demeanour was characterized by the greatest gentleness and deliand in the army he had made himself On his return on one a universal favourite. cacy,

occasion from an outpost, with a detachment of

some

thirty

men, who had just been relieved

from duty, and were proceeding to rejoin the regiment, my young friend and his party were suddenly attacked and surrounded by several squadrons of hussars. in a

Forming

his little troop

compact body, he charged the hussars in

the direction of the line of the Allied army,

and having succeeded safe to

camp.

He

in breaking them, got

had the misfortune

to lose

four or five of his men, but escaped himself

without a scratch. After

we had

taken up our quarters as

we

SIR

had hoped

JAMES CAMPBELL.

for the winter,

125

we were unexpect-

edly called upon, at the most unfavourable season of the year, to engage in a service which

is

generally considered the most severe to which

the soldier

is

exposed.

The

Allied

army was

scattered over an extensive tract of

ground in Lower Westphalia, for the sake of provision and The French had in like mariner dispoforage. sed their troops in cantonments along the banks

of the Maine, and in that plentiful country

which

to the north of

lies

it.

About

the begin-

ning of the year 1762, when there were two feet of snow on the ground, an order was issued that

army should immediately put them-

the Allied

and accordingly we pushed forward without intermission until we found selves in

motion

;

ourselves within a day's

who had been their forces.

march of the enemy,

equally diligent in assembling

But

as the

better qualified than the

Allied troops were

French to sustain the

hardships of a winter campaign,

we

succeeded

very easily in pushing in their outposts to the extremity of Hesse, and as far as Geissen, within a day's

march of Frankfort, which formed

MEMOIRS OF

126

the head-quarters of the French army.

In the

course of this march our provisions were bad

and scanty, and the state of privation which we suffered will be judged of by military men, when

was the price of a botFor upwards of two months we

I say that thirty shillings tle

of brandy.

never saw the inside of a house, but uniformly slept

on the snow.

A great

variety of affairs

took place on the march, but there was none of

One

general interest or importance.

mention, by

way

I

may

The town

of specimen.

of

Zuderesheime became a desirable object

for us,

in consequence of the extensive magazines

which

it

contained

;

but assuredly no

man

ever enter-

ed into action in so miserable a plight

as I did

on that occasion.

From

the losses I had sustained in the pre-

vious campaign, I

and

my

been

in

was wretchedly mounted,

purse was lower than ever the

course of

my

life.

had

it

But

I

am

not sure that I was worse off than others, and

we had

the satisfaction to perceive that the ap-

enemy was even more deplorable than our own. We made a charge through the pearance of the

SIR

snow

JAMES CAMPBELL.

127

which horses drag a The French did dray along Thames-street. at about the speed at

we had been accustomed

not stand as

to see

and when they turned their backs upon us to fly, they found it was impossible. Such

them

;

was the miserable condition of themselves and their horses, that they

snow and the

mud

more, than that

;

tumbled down in the

and, for us, I can say

we tumbled

a-top

little

of them,

making a great number of prisoners. Thus the town of Zuderesheime, with all its valuable magazines,

fell

into our hands, producing ad-

vantages which were

felt

by the whole of the

Allied army.

The

hardships and fatigue which the troops

underwent in

cessive, that a spirit

prevalent,

campaign were so exof insubordination was very

this winter

and men and

officers

discovered a

remarkable degree of indifference about itself.

But on the

life

part of his Serene Highness,

the measure was no doubt indispensable for the preservation and subsistence of the army.

both sides the

loss

was incalculable

;

but

On

as the

French were driven from their cantonments,

MEMOIRS OF

128

their subsequent sufferings

must even have been

They were pushed out

greater than ours.

of

Hesse, the bishoprics, and part of Hanover after

;

which we encamped, where encampments

could be made, on the banks of the Laune.

This undertaking was considered among military

men

as

one of the most splendid which his

Serene Highness had ever performed

;

but after

the object of supplying the wants of the

army

was accomplished, we were once more obliged to retire, and, for the second time, to return to

winter quarters towards the end of April.

The

inhabitants of the

country in which

these operations

were performed must have

been the greatest

sufferers of all

subject on dilate.

which

it

For myself,

is

;

but

this

is

a

not very agreeable to

I suffered so severely in

person, from the severity of the weather, the

necessary

exposure to the elements, and the

insufficiency

of food,

both in quantity and

was covered in various places and blotches, and in short, in such a

quality, that I

with

biles

state as to

make

Towards the

life

almost insupportable.

close of the

summer, and while

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

the negotiations for a peace were

129 still

in pro-

gress, the

French, as they are said to have done

on other

occasions, appeared to

have adopted

the resolution of closing the campaign and the

war by a coup separated

was

The two armies were

d'eclat.

by the

Laune, on which a mill

river

situated, in the occupation of the

we had

Opposite to the mill

enemy.

a redoubt flung

up, which was capable of containing about 200

men.

Between these there was a

bridge,

by

which the peasants from either side were in the constant habit of passing and repassing with provisions to the Allies,

French

troops, as well as to the

wherever they could obtain the best price

for their commodities. lines

The French camp and

were open to our view

In this situation

we

in the course of the

as ours

were to them.

observed one morning,

autumn, that the enemy,

by a general movement, were forming

into

marching down to the river, from which a general attack was of course to columns, and

be expected.

The

Allied army was immedi-

put under arms, and soon afterwards a column of the enemy, having marched down to

ately

VOL.

I.

K

MEMOIRS OF

130

the mill and the bridge, rious attack

commenced

a very se-

The

corps op-

on our redoubt.

posed to this part of the

field

was that com-

manded by Lord Granby, who was not slow

and very soon dewalls of the mill, which was

returning the enemy's

molished the

in

mud

fire,

known by the name of the Brucker-muhl. The enemy then sent reinforcements we followed their example, and

as the distance

was

not considerable, the slaughter on both sides

was tremendous

:

but the enemy did not suc-

ceed in passing the bridge, and on our part

was never attempted.

At

it

one period in the

course of the day, there were not less than thirty

and 200 pieces of cannon engaged in unhappy affair, which ended in no result,

battalions this

and could

not,

under any circumstances, have

materially benefited the operations of the ene-

Our poor redoubt was speedily levelled with the ground. The fire was so incessant,

my.

and the slaughter

so great, that

it

was neces-

sary to relieve the troops in this part of the field

every half hour

;

and

I

may

say,

without

hyperbole, that towards the close of the day,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

131

that which truly served as a redoubt, was the

dead bodies of the pose.

men heaped up

For a considerable

distance, indeed, along

the meadow, between our

Laune,

it

for the pur-

encampment and the

was impossible next day,

as I observ-

ed in riding over the ground, to find a spot to place a foot

on ground which had not been This

ploughed up by the enemy's cannon. unfortunate scene, which closed the hostility of the

last act

of

Seven Years' War, in so far at

least as the British

were concerned, was only

terminated by the approach of night-fall.

It

bears an

unhappy resemblance to the battle of Toulouse in the late war, which there was just

as little occasion to fight;

and

it

places in a

point of view, which cannot be called favourable,

that

feature

of

the

French character,

which we are accustomed to ascribe to vanity,

and they to the passion pour

la gloire

!

In the redoubt at the Brucker-muhl, among

many

other gallant officers,

fell

Major Alex-

ander M'Lean, of Keith's Highlanders. soldier,

he had always shown the greatest

and perseverance.

On

first

K 2

As

a

spirit

joining the army,

MEMOIRS OF

132

he crossed the Atlantic as of the

West

ait

Ensign with one

India expeditions, I don't

remem-

In the war in Germany, he soon

ber which.

distinguished himself

by

soldier-like

several lost

an arm, and

was presented with a company

in exchange.

actions, in

one of which he

Corresponding in

with the ardour and

spirit

impetuosity of the Hereditary Prince, he soon

caught the eye of that gallant

leader,

and

having been appointed his Aid-de-camp, rose rapidly into favour.

At

one moment,

it

ap-

peared that the troops in the redoubt were faltering

and unsteady

;

and in order to en-

courage them to perseverance, he, with his usual forwardness, leaped

upon the

parapet,

posed himself to the hottest of the

fire.

and exHere,

of course, having no shelter from the shower of shot with which the redoubt was assailed, he

add another to the heap. He was a very handsome young man, of the most The polished manners and polite address. soon

fell,

to

French language he spoke admirably, and Ger-

man

so well as to be of the greatest use in his

capacity of Aid-de-camp.

From

the want of

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

133

and from riding much about, he was a well-known figure in the army, and he was his arm,

often chided cretion,

for acts of indis-

by the Prince

amounting to

which terminated

like that

foolhardiness,

his existence.

ever, highly respected in the

He was,

how-

regiment to which

he belonged, but shortly before his death he

had resolved to quit the British

service,

to accept the Lieutenant- colonelcy

and

which was

him by Prince Ferdinand, through the instrumentality of the Hereditary Prince. Nor offered

was the favour of

his Serene

Highness exhaust-

which made a deep and geneimpression in the army. With his wonted

ed by ral

his death,

attention to the comforts as well as to the feel-

ings of those in

Duke

sent a very

more handsome ther of Major

and

at

he was

handsome

letter of

memory

present,

M'Lean, soon

paying

interested, the

and a

still

condolence to the mo-

this distant period,

satisfaction in

the

whom

after his death I

;

have no small

this imperfect tribute to

of a gallant soldier, for

whom

I

entertained a strong feeling of attachment.

Soon

after

the

affair

of the Brucker-muhl,

MEMOIRS or

134

Lord Townsend, who commanded one of the brigades,

as

usual with Generals on

was

march, gave a dinner to a number officers,

and invited such strangers

in the neighbourhood,

wise be assist

left to

his

might be

and who might other-

Duke Humphrey,

dine with

The

at his party.

as

of

a

village

to

where Lord

Townsend's brigade was quartered on

this occa-

had been occupied two days before by the French as an hospital and it appeared, that to sion,

;

expedite the interment of their dead, they had

thrown them into the well of the

When

village.

the soup was served up, a universal

complaint was

made

of

its

horrid taste;

and,

although soldiers on a march have seldom an opportunity of indulging in gastronomic fancies, it

was agreed on

inquiry should be

had made

their

this occasion that

made

into the cause

some which

meal so unpalatable, when

it

was speedily traced to the corrupted state of the water in the well. The discovery was sufficient to stay the appetite of

most of the company but among the number present was old Major

Hume,

of the 25th foot, then

;

known

as the

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

135

Edinburgh regiment, who had been a soldier from his infancy, and had served with disAfter Fontenoy and Dettingen. so many campaigns, he had no doubt often been exposed to fare on viands not perhaps the tinction

at

and when the company had broken up in most admired disorder, he promost

delicate;

ceeded with characteristic indifference to finish his dinner, exclaiming

with an oath, that the

soup was good, and that

would have been

whole French army had been

better if the in

it

it.

Major

Hume

was as remarkable for the

bluntness of his manners, as for his unflinch-

ing courage.

On

duty, with 250

one occasion,

men

He

became

his

of the 25th, to relieve a

post which had been occupied

regiment.

it

by

a Brunswick

was attacked about daybreak

body of the enemy, but with unflinching courage and obstinacy he succeeded in repelling them, and in keeping his

by a very

superior

ground, until succour arrived about two hours afterwards.

About

the same time, His Serene

Highness happened to

visit that

post in person

;

MEMOIRS OF

136 and, as was

his

in addition to

custom on such

many

flattering

occasions,

encomiums on

Major Hume's conduct, presented him with a purse of 500 dollars. rior rank, the

To

an

officer

of supe-

Prince would probably have given

diamond ring

gold-mounted sword ; but when such an exploit fell under his notice, it a

or a

was never allowed to pass unrewarded

;

and

I

have no doubt that these marks of attention

had the very best effect in promoting the zeal and activity of men of all ranks in the army. In acknowledging the Duke's compliment, jor

Hume

a post

;

replied,

but,

that he could not fortify

by Gad, he added,

wickers would

if

the Bruns-

" a bawtee," as

make

nounced the word, he would defend last

Ma-

he proit

to the

extremity.

Prince Ferdinand, as every body knows, was

Royal family of Great that the King's birthday was always

related

nearly

Britain, so

to the

celebrated in the rejoicing.

for the

some

On

enemy

slight

army with the

such occasions

it

greatest public

was customary

to interrupt the festivities

attack

on the

outposts,

and

by I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

remember an this kind,

that Sir

instance, in the

when

midst of a fte of

Duke was

the

William Erskine

137

sitting at table,

arrived, his horse all

covered with foam, and reported to His Serene Highness that the post of Weisenstein several

men having been

many wounded, and

the rest of the de-

had been attacked killed,

tachment

made

;

The

taken prisoners.

in a tone of voice so

low

report

as

was

not to be

by the company but I could overhear the Duke's answer, which was in so

generally audible

many

words,

Amongst

"

;

Go

the

and drive them out of

wounded

it."

in this affair of the

was Captain Fletcher, of the 12th regiment, who commanded. His wound was of

outpost,

a very remarkable nature, having been in fact shot through the head.

The ball had

entered at

one temple and come out at the other,

as

I

learned from the surgeons in attendance, but, strange to say, without affecting any of his senses,

and,

indeed,

without producing any

other permanent inconvenience than some difficulty in

little

opening his jaws, which exposed

him, on his recovery, to a variety of jokes from

MEMOIRS OF

138

his brother officers, in

consequence of his being

considered a very hearty eater.

I

am bound

to

him

in

add, that no blame was imputable to

the

fall

of the outpost, which was carried by

an overwhelming

Perhaps

and

may be

I

permitted without offence,

an illustration

as

rising in the all

force.

the

of the

army without the

commander, to mention

me

moment when into line.

I

on a

an

field

of

possession of

which are necessary

qualities

occurred to

possibility

incident

in

a

which

of battle, at the

the two armies were forming

had been sent by General Mostyn

to the right flank, to report to

him the

disposi-

tion of both armies in that quarter of the field.

While occupied with

this

having the order of battle joined by a general

officer,

unnecessary to record.

he was possessed of least of full

which was

employment, and in my hand, I was

whose name

Suffice

many

it

military virtues, the

his personal courage

by keeping me

is

to say, that

;

of the

enjoyment of which he afforded some

dence,

it

talking to

evi-

him during

a

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

pretty smart cannonade, which

139

we might

easily

have avoided.

He

asked a vast variety of questions regard-

ing the position of the different columns which

were under our eye

;

but, from

want of an ha-

to such matters, rather than

bitual attention

from any deficiency in his visual organs, he was unable to tell of what troops the various

He

columns were composed. greatest surprise

one of

when

I told him, in

his inquiries, that a

pointed out on a

expressed the

answer to

column which he

no great distance beHe could not even dis-

hill at

longed to the enemy.

tinguish the difference between a column of

which was making its way round the base of the hill on which we stood, although

artillery,

sufficiently

marked by

its

blue colour alone

;

and pointing to another column at some little distance, he asked if it was moving? To which I

answered, that the

marching to the

left.

column was

He

certainly

again expressed his

astonishment that I should be able to see so distinctly,

although the glancing of the arms,

MEMOIRS OF

140

the angle at which they are carried, and the

of the light, should at once have

reflection

told

him

what

in

direction the

column was

advancing.

These indeed are matters of

mo-

trifling

ment, but they serve to show that the knowledge of the ordinary duties of a soldier intuitive,

but

not

is

as in other professions, can only

be acquired by

and experience.

application

Resolution and courage in the

doubt indispensable

qualities

;

field

but I

are

am

suaded that deficiency in these respects

no

peris

of

very rare occurrence, and that there are other qualities not less

essential,

which do not

which they

ceive the degree of attention to are entitled

re-

in the administration of military

affairs.

I have

somewhere mentioned the name of Mr.

army agent. The man were somewhat singular. Calcraft, the

servant in the family of the

fortunes of this

He

Duke

had been a

of Rutland

;

and having been established as an army agent, he soon became entrusted with the pecuniary concerns of half the army, in consequence of

SIR

Lord Granby's

JAMES CAMPBELL.

141

His character

protection.

for

and attention stood uniformly high

civility

;

and he was understood to know very well how to improve his influence

young

own

finances,

and to extend

his

and connexions by loans of money to

officers,

judiciously applied.

While the

Marquis of Granby was exhausting

his fortune,

and involving himself in pecuniary

difficulties,

by the munificence and splendour with which he supported his high station in the army, Mr. Calcraft rior,

was accumulating a fortune not

infe-

perhaps, to that which the Marquis had

dissipated.

The

late

Lord Ducie was long

Aide-de-camp in the service of General Mostyn.

He

was

his

my

brother

Excellency

chiefly remarkable

for an excessive degree of that sort of bashful-

ness

and taciturnity which are

racteristic peculiarity

said to

of the English nation

but a better man, or a more gallant

Lord Ducie, was not VOL.

i.

be a cha-

to be

K 7

officer,

;

than

found in the ranks

MEMOIRS OF

142

of the British army.

am

writing, to

At

the period of which I

drink hard, especially

among

military men, was considered an essential test

manhood

of

;

and

my

friend

Ducie was never

backward, when a proper opportunity occurred, at

measuring

companion.

with a favourite boon

Walking one evening along the

company with some of

line, in

cers,

his strength

one of them

my

brother

the curtain of

lifted

offi-

Lord

Ducie's tent, and called upon us to observe the

happy and

state of oblivion in

his

which

his

Lordship

worthy friend of the Fusileers, Robin

Rennie by name, had succeeded their sense

of

all

in

steeping

sublunary concerns.

Lord

Ducie, with a glass in his hand, was addressing his

companion with a certain solemnity of man-

ner which was

perfectly

"

I crave

Pray,

Sir,

may

irresistible,

saying,

your name ?"

I can-

not report the progress of the conversation,

which probably proceeded in the same tone of gravity, as one of the gentlemen on the

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

of the tent could no longer restrain

mitside

himself from ah immoderate

must be

of laughter,

fit

make good our

which obliged us to It

143

recollected,

retreat.

however, in excuse for

worthy convive, who was always considered a good and worthy fellow,

Lord Ducie and

his

manners of the period were materially and I am different from what they now are that the

;

bound

to add, after saying so

subject, that I

to

much on

the

was always very much obliged

Lord Ducie.

had repeatedly suffered

I

severely in the limited state of

my

finances

by

the loss of some valuable horses, and on one

when my best charger had under me, he made me a present,

of these occasions,

been killed in the

most handsome manner, of an excellent

steed, fully caparisoned,

with

pistols, furniture,

and other necessary appendages.

At of

the conclusion of hostilities in the

November,

1762,

when the

month

notification

reached the seat of war that the preliminaries of peace had been signed, I found myself in

the situation of

many

pation being gone,

I

others; and,

sold

my

horses,

my

occu-

and pack-

MEMOIRS OF

144

my

ing up

swords and plans, prepared to

re-

had now been employed three years on General Mostyn's staff, and

turn to London. for

As

I

had applied myself with considerable assiduity to study the duties of a military engineer, I

had made a

collection of plans, positions, at-

tacks, fortifications,

and

sieges,

with other ob-

jects of interest in this department,

I

on which

placed a great value.

them with the for safety in

to

return

found, to

greatest

my

Having preserved care, I deposited them

father's

house, but on

my

Scotland some years afterwards, I

my

my

great mortification, that

ho-

noured and worthy mother, from their lying in the cases in

which

so long

unemployed

had

them, thought that in papering a tea

left

I

closet,

they might be applied to a purpose both

useful

and ornamental.

blame her

I could not seriously

for this little mistake, since, although

she was the mother of several pretty good soldiers, she

never applied herself to the study of

military tactics.

During the

early

part

of

my

life

I

was

SIR

known

in the

JAMES CAMPBELL.

145

army by the name of "Whisker,"

not from any striking ornament of that kind

on

my own

person, but from a ridiculous cir-

cumstance which happened at Piermont, when I

was a very young person indeed.

ing-places in

The water-

Germany were regarded during the

War

Seven Years'

as so

many

neutral stations,

where great numbers of people assembled from all

quarters for the purposes

which I lodged was incommodious, and very much crowded

laxation. small,

The house

of health or re-

in

;

and finding one evening that get access to

my own

I

could not easily

apartment, I chanced

to stray into another part of the house

which

was occupied by the lady of the Baron de As the room was imperfectly lightJenneret. ed, I

stretched

out

my

hand,

when

it

came

somewhat unexpectedly with the and he, starting up from Baron's whiskers his reclining posture, drew his sabre in great

in contact

;

wrath and made a cut at me, just as I had cleared

the

door- way

afterwards a striking

VOL.

I.

;

which retained long

memorandum L

of

my

nar-

MEMOIRS OF

146

row

escape.

The

story

was thought a great

good to be allowed to go to sleep, " many years the sobriquet of Whisker"

deal too

and was

for

my

only appellation

acquaintances.

among my

military

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

CHAPTER End

of

Settlements.

guished

Military

A

Grand

Review.

Fighting

Reign of George

ALTHOUGH

Garrison

yet

it

will

rate peace

A

Ludi-

Edinburgh

Duke

of Choiseul.

Anecdote

of Fencing.

Duty.

A

of

Lord

Duel.

The

Anecdotes of the

II.

the hostilities of which I have

hitherto been writing, are history by the

to Scotland.

Beauclerk.

XIV.

Louis

Colonel.

Reception

at Soissons.

The Art

George Lennox.

Distin-

Abroad.

Prince Eugene and the Turks.

Lady George

French Court

Coteries.

England.

Family

Return

Continental Tour.

in

and Anecdotes.

Author's

Characters.

Incident.

Arrival

the year 1763.

till

Details

Court of Maria Theresa.

crous

VII.

Seven Years' War.

the

Attached to Foreign Service

147

name

known

in

European

of the Seven Years'

be remembered

that,

by the

War, sepa-

which Great Britain concluded with

France, towards the end of the year 1762, the

L 2

MEMOIRS OF

148

war, in so far as this country was concerned,

was only of

On my

six years' duration.

arrival

after

London,

returning

myself in communifather, and stated my extreme

from Germany, cation with

in

I placed

my

reluctance to lead a life of inactivity at home.

At my it

he wisely concluded that was not desirable for me to remain long in time of

London. Sir

He

Andrew

life,

therefore applied to his friend

Ambassador from

Mitchell, then

Britain at the

Court of Berlin, to get

me

attached as a supernumerary captain to some

Prussian regiment, that I might be enabled by returning to

Germany

myself in the

to put

way

of advancement in the military profession.

Sir

Andrew was good enough

engage to

to

procure this appointment for me.

on

his protection, I returned to

joined the Prussian

In reliance

Germany, and before

my

departure, I obtained leave to purchase a

ma-

jority

at

army

;

but,

home, through the

gallant friend General Mostyn.

the interval between the date leave

to purchase,

interest of It

my

was thus in

when

I obtained

and the period when the

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

149

purchase was completed, that I proceeded to the Prussian head-quarters, but I had scarcely

when

arrived there,

I received intelligence that

a majority had been procured for

me

in

British service, which, of course, precluded

from serving

as a captain in

any

I

other.

the

me was

permitted, however, to remain as a volunteer

with the Prussian army, which

end of the war I

I

did

till

the

in 1763.

have hinted in the outset that

my

father's

pecuniary resources were never very extensive:

he was more distinguished in the literary world for the depth of his erudition, and for the elegance and purity of his taste, than for

any

zeal in the pursuit of a profession

he had probably adopted, because

tomary

at the period for

men

it

which

was cus-

of his station to

apply themselves either to the study of the law, or the practice of the military profession.

Until

he obtained the pension to which I

alluded in the outset, his whole income arose

from the rental of an to be subject entail,

estate

which was believed

to the fetters of a very strict

while at the period of which I write

MEMOIRS OF

150

the revenue arising from

exceed

did not probably

it

700 a year.

When

it

considered, on the other hand,

is

that I was the eldest of seventeen children,

who were

all

suitably provided for,

it

will not

be thought extraordinary, that in looking for the means of advancement in the service, father

was the

last

person to

have thought of applying. possessed no other resource coffers, I

whom Had

my

I should I

indeed

but the paternal

should certainly never have thought

of applying for leave to purchase

But two

different

persons, in

my

majority.

very different

had voluntarily offered me and I was much too ambitious

stations of society,

their assistance,

of promotion, to decline on both hands two

such disinterested proposals.

was cise

The one

party

Lawrence Dundas, who, by the exerof his talents, had acquired an immense Sir

fortune in the commissariat department of the

army;

the other,

pretension,

is

not

although a less

name of

worthy of being

less

re-

John King, of Henrietta-street, Covent-garden, had long been my tailor; and corded.

SIR at the period

JAMES CAMPBELL.

when

I

151

was arranging the pur-

my majority, I was considerably in his He was probably aware of the narrow-

chase of debt.

ness of

my

finances,

and taking

day that I chanced to be

me

begged of

to dine with

in

me his

aside one

he

shop,

him on the

follow-

ing Sunday at his country-house at Clapham, as

he wished to have some conversation with

me

on a subject in which he

said

he was deeply

interested.

On my man, he

arrival at the

own room, and he knew how much I wished to

carried

saying that

me

house of this worthy

into his

push myself forward in the service, he produced the sum necessary for the purchase of my majority, and pressed

it

on

my acceptance

;

but

what had previously passed between me and Sir Lawrence Dundas on the in consequence of

same

subject, I

was compelled, with some

luctance, to decline so generous an offer,

re-

and

had afterwards some reason to regret that I had done so, as Sir Lawrence thought fit to I

call

up the money from me

was not quite convenient

at a

time when

to repay

it.

it

MEMOIRS OF

152

was not by any means the only British disofficer who was desirous of serving under so I

tinguished a I shall

commander as Frederick the

Great.

mention an instance, attended by

cir-

under

my

cumstances which happened to

fall

own

who had com-

General Beckwith,

notice.

manded with

the

much

20th regiment during the war distinction, was known to be a

most excellent service

officer,

and was either offered Prussia, or perhaps he

by the King of

had asked

for

it.

His own regiment, the 20th,

some time quartered in the town of Munster, where there were also some Prus-

had been

for

sian troops,

when the

army received Colonel Beckwith had

British

orders to return home.

not disclosed his acceptance of service from the

King of

Prussia, until the

accompanied

regiment, battalion,

the

the Prussian

On

by another English

of the Major of the 20th, leaving troops

behind to garrison the

the morning in question, he had

asked a number of the

with him.

his

had marched out of the town, under

command

place.

morning when

When

officers

to

breakfast

the party were rising from

SIR

153

he called to his valet-de-chambre to bring

table,

him

JAMES CAMPBELL.

his coat, and, to the great surprise of the

company, the servant brought in the uniform of a Prussian General, which he immediately put

He

on.

then put his hand in the pocket, and

pulling out a parchment, desired the oldest officer in

his

the room to read

commission

service,

as a

and contained

town of Munster

until

God

It

proved to be

General in the Prussian his

mander-in-chief of the the

it.

appointment

district,

as

com-

and governor of

for his Prussian Majesty,

should give him peace.

If the English officers were before surprised,

they

now seemed

astonishment.

absolutely struck

For

it

dumb

must be observed,

with

that in

consequence of the separate peace which had

been concluded between the English and the French, a considerable degree of jealousy had arisen

between the subjects of Great Britain

and the King of Prussia, which was considerably inflamed by a supposed breach of certain articles in

the original treaty between Prussia

and England, by which

it

that peace should not be

made by

had been stipulated either party,

MEMOIRS OF

154

except in conjunction with the other

;

and that

during the war Great Britain should pay to Prussia an annual subsidy of

It

700,000.

was generally understood that the King of Prussia, who was always a man of expedients,

was no great

end by the pretended

loser in the

breach of faith on the part of Great Britain

and

that,

torate,

by quartering

;

his troops in the Elec-

he contrived to exact performance of

the pecuniary part of the stipulation from his

Be

Britannic Majesty's Hanoverian subjects. that as

it

may, the

British

at the period in question,

and Prussian were

far

troops,

from living

on a good understanding with each other as

;

and

General Beckwith had induced his brother

officers of the

20th to remain with him to din-

new arrangement had overtaken the English troops, who had marched out of Munster in the morning, when

ner, the intelligence of the

they proposed to

make

a stand, and to return

and take possession of the town. These symptoms of insubordination were communicated to the General in the course of the afternoon,

when he despatched

a note to inform

them of

SIR

the hazard they

155

JAMES CAMPBELL.

would incur by any attack on

a possession of his Prussian Majesty, without a

formal declaration of war

;

and he added, with

more, perhaps, of bravado than sincerity, that if

war had been

new

heard, he would, in his

vernor for the

town to the was

finally

which he had not

declared, of

King of

last

capacity of

Prussia,

extremity.

Go-

defend the

When

the war

concluded, General Beckwith re-

home

and having purchased an estate between Durham and Newcastle, where heturned

;

kept fox-hounds, and enjoyed a country for

in

many years, died his own house. In

man,

it is

at

life

length very quietly

speaking of this gentle-

unnecessary to remind

my

military

friends, that his sons, the Generals

Beckwith,

were two of the most distinguished

officers in

the service. It

was not long

after

that the expectations

my

return to Germany,

had formed of com-

I

paring, so to speak, the genius of Frederick the

Duke

Great with that of the

were

finally disappointed

hostilities,

preliminary

to

of Brunswick,

by the the

cessation of

general

peace

MEMOIRS OF

156

which was concluded

and from thence pro-

I then left Berlin,

year.

ceeded to Vienna of

an early period of the

at

my journey

having visited in the course

;

the greater

number of the

smaller

In the notes I had pre-

Courts in Germany.

pared regarding the manners of these minor Courts, I find a good deal of matter which I fear

is

Suffice

quite it

unfit

to say in

meet the public eye. general, that I found them to

extremely dissolute and loose; being for the

most part

filled

with military men, often driven to

time of peace are

and

intrigue, as resources for filling

who

in

gaming up

their

time.

My reception

where more agreeable than

Englishmen

was every Berlin, where

as a British officer

at that period

at

seemed to be held

as

individually answerable for the wrongs of which

the Prussians complained at the hands of the British

Government.

The

lesser

Courts,

as

compared with those of Berlin and Vienna, were distinguished externally by greater gaiety and

politeness.

Brunswick

At

the Court of the

Duke

of

in particular, as well as at that of

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

157

Waldeck, every thing seemed to be arranged on the French model. In the latter instance, it

may

some degree be ascribed

in

the

to

circumstance of the Princess being a French-

woman.

Having

my

carried

reader to Vienna,

I

need

not surely fatigue him with an account of the

and splendour of the Court of Maria Theresa, of whom it would be superfluous to brilliancy

say that she was the greatest Princess that time existed in

Europe

:

who

nor need I

at

tell

which were uniformly sumptuous, ceremonious, and dull nor of eating and drinkofJPtes,

;

ing,

which seemed to be the

and the

last,

first

consideration

in the daily routine of the inha-

bitants of Vienna.

In such enjoyments, 1 confess that I had no great interest; and as I could no longer witness

the actual progress of warlike operations, I re-

solved to visit

make

a journey into

Hungary, to some of the scenes which had been im-

mortalized the Turks.

by Prince Eugene

From

in his

wars with

Peste I proceeded, by

Trieste, to Venice,

where

I

way of

must acknowledge

MEMOIRS OF

158

that I stayed a great deal longer than I should

At Venice

have done.

I

embarked

for

Ancona,

and from thence proceeded to Rome, where

I

spent the winter.

In the spring of 1764,

I

embarked

at Civita

Vecchia for Marseilles, which, with the exception of Venice,

is

perhaps for a stranger the

most pleasing town seilles I travelled

in

to Paris,

Lyons, but did not make

and from thence

much

Taking London

these places.

From Mar-

Europe.

stay at in

my

to

any of

route,

I

returned to Scotland in the course of the sum-

mer, and spent the following autumn at Ardkinglass, then stone,

my

The and

as

the seat of Sir

James Living-

maternal grandfather.

winter of 1764 I spent in Edinburgh,

my

education had not been of the most

regular description,

my

father directed

me

at

an early period of the following year to proceed by

way

of France to Geneva, where I de-

voted the greater part of 1765 to the pursuit of those acquirements in which I found myself chiefly deficient.

During

my

stay in Edinburgh,

a circum-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

159

stance occurred of rather a ludicrous nature,

which was much spoken of in the circle in Lord George which I happened to move. Beauclerk,

the brother of the

Albans, at that time

Duke

commanded

of St.

the forces in

and Lady George commanded him a duty for which she was peculiarly qualified When by her early habits and education. Scotland,

;

had occasion to meet her Ladyship in the bean monde of Edinburgh, Lord George occuI

pied apartments in the palace of Holyrood-

house

;

they

and kept and Lady George was

gave good

up a considerable

state,

very well received

among

the northern metropolis. she was

known

dinners,

the good people of

From

the influence

to possess with the

commander

was not unusual

for officers,

of the forces,

it

who had any

thing to ask, to address them-

selves to her.

Among

the numerous suitors at

her Ladyship's levee, was one Peter Innes, a

very gallant gentleman, of the Scots' Fusileers,

who was probably dress

deficient in that courtly ad-

which her Ladyship was entitled to ex-

VOL.

i.

L 8

MEMOIRS OF

160 pect,

but

who was

certainly animated with all

the earnestness which

the importance he at-

tached to his wished-for leave of absence inspired.

In advancing to prefer his request, he had the misfortune to tread on

little

Pedro, her

Ladyship's favourite lap-dog, which produced a yell sufficient

to

awaken the sympathies and

rouse feelings of irritation in her Ladyship's breast.

Our

friend

Peter was in

his

turn

Ladyship did not stay to hear his reply, being probably conscious of the unseemly exhibition which had already been excited, but her

made.

The laugh which was

excited on her

bouncing out of the room was perfectly irresistible; and Peter, mistaking its application, began to vent his wrath on

his

poor

little

namesake, which he seized by the whirled round his head

till

it

canine

tail,

and

flew at a tangent

through the drawing-room window ; on which Peter took his leave of absence for the day without farther parley, and made his escape speedily as possible.

as

SIR

This

little

JAMES CAMPBELL.

incident excited

much

161 talk

the gossiping coteries of Edinburgh.

VOL.

i.

M

among

MEMOIRS OF

162

On my

return from Geneva, I went to Sois-

sons, to see a

grand encampment of 30,000 men,

assembled under the

command

of the Mare'chal

D'Armentieres, for the purpose of exercising the troops, and exhibiting the peaceful evolutions of an

army on a scale of extraordinary magnitude. The King of France, with his Court, was there in person, attended by his cele-

brated minister the

performance of

Due

The

de Choiseul.

this great military

tinued for a period of three weeks

drama con;

and

if to

the soldier there was any deficiency of that ani-

mating impulse which

arises

from the sense

of personal danger, there was at least no want of

all

" the

pomp and

circumstance of glorious

war." I

had,

in

my

to see a goodly

short

career,

had occasion

number of encampments

;

for splendour, magnificence, or extent, I

never formed an idea of any thing like It

was not the number of

men who were

but

had this.

the

performers in this dramatic spectacle, but the

immense assemblage of attendants and

specta-

SIR tors,

which gave

JAMES CAMPBELL. it

such imposing

Europe

amusement and ;

and

effect.

It seem-

had been prepared

ed, indeed, as if the scene for the

163

delight of congregated

as if the nations

had attended,

not metaphorically merely, by their ambassadors

and representatives, but absolutely and collec" in numbers numberless." It was a very tively agreeable circumstance to minister was

me

that the English

Lord George Lennox, with

whom

had formed an acquaintance during the Seven Years' War, and ever afterwards lived on terms of

I

By

intimacy.

his Lordship's

access to the highest circles

means,

I

had easy

and the best company,

and was a frequent guest at the table of the MareFor some reason, which I chal D'Armentieres. either never

the French to evince,

or

do not now remember,

King was

at this period disposed

knew

on many public occasions, the

he entertained for the English nation selecting

Lord George Lennox

;

dislike

but in

as the object of

he found a person who was not disposed to brook indignity from the his severe observations,

Grande Monarque

himself.

Sitting one even-

ing at supper, the subject of the distinctions of

M

2

MEMOIRS OF

164

rank, as observed in different countries, and particularly in

King

England, was introduced by the

who, in the course of

;

it,

turned abruptly

round to the English Ambassador, who was standing at his right hand, and said to him, "

Vous

this

"

n'etes, milord,

que par

courtesie."

Lord George answered with

To

great readiness,

Oui, Sire, mais je suis n& prince."

While yet of

my

at Soissons, I received intelligence

appointment to the majority of the 67th

regiment, which was then stationed at Minorca. Hitherto, of course, from being on half-pay, I

was quite

my own

master

;

but

now

it

necessary that I should proceed to join

ment

;

and, with

became

my regi-

on the breaking up returned to Paris, and

this view,

of the encampment,

from thence made

I

my

journey to Marseilles,

where, in the enjoyment of the pleasures of that

and delightful place, 1 was induced to spend some part of the summer before emfascinating

barking for Minorca.

The enjoyments

of the place were greatly

enhanced by the presence of a number of British officers,

and of strangers

all

nations.

Among

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

165

Lord Kilmaurs, the son of the Earl of

others,

Glencairn,

was then a resident

Having had some dispute a French officer,

it

called out; a call

at Marseilles.

at the theatre

ended in

his

with

Lordship being

which he attended to with

the greatest alacrity

:

but, as he

was known to

be quite unacquainted with the art of fencing, several of his English friends

who happened

to

be present, expostulated with him on the great odds he would give to the French officer, who

was known to be an expert swordsman. His Lordship, however, would not be dissuaded; he went out and was desperately wounded-

Lord Kilmaurs was very much the whole of this transaction that he

man. sion

and in

was thought

had been badly treated by the French-

The circumstance made on several of

Captain

it

liked,

a deep impres-

us, particularly

on

my

friend

Foy and myself, who were both resolved

to check the

Frenchman

again occur.

Captain

ance of mine;

if an

opportunity should

Foy was an

old acquaint-

a brother officer at Minden,

although serving in different arms, he in the artillery

and

I in

the infantry

;

and by birth

MEMOIRS OF

166 a

Welshman

so that

;

monial right

to

he had a

sort of patri-

some degree of

irascibility.

Indeed, he was so resolved to take vengeance

on the Frenchman, that a gentleman d'hote,

whom

at the table

he mistook for Lord Kilrnaurs's

antagonist, having extended his leg across one

of the seats at the table, Captain coolly sat

to

no

down on

result, as the

;

but

this,

of course, led

mistake was readily acknow-

should add a circumstance more

I

ledged.

it

Foy very

honourable to the

name

of Captain Foy, that

he was distinguished by the thanks of Prince

Ferdinand of Brunswick, in the orders which

were issued by

his Serene

after the

Highness

victory of Minden.

Another

day,

at

the table d'hote,

Major

Staunton, the brother of the late Sir George

Staunton,

who accompanied Lord Macartney

to China, arrived

from a journey just

hour of dinner, pulled off sat

down

his jack-boots,

officer,

;

but the

who had wounded Lord

maurs, having adverted to

and

This might per-

to table in slippers.

haps be regarded as an impropriety

French

at the

it

in terms

Kil-

which

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR I

16?

thought improper, saying that no

one but

an Englishman would have behaved in that

made some

I

manner,

observation in reply,

which was probably distinguished by equal impropriety, touching the matter of the slippers,

was

as I

under some excitement at the

still

ungenerous treatment which Lord Kilmaurs

had received.

This produced a request that I

walk with him to the bastion of

should

St.

Antoine, the place where such disputes were usually settled

much

;

and, of course,

persuasion.

As

I

complied without

soon as he had prepared

himself by pulling off his coat, I

sword

by

and the

;

his

affair

ended

after a

drew few

my

passes,

being run through the body, the point

of the

weapon coming out just under the

shoulderblade, but happily without producing

any

fatal

result.

Although such

common, and not much attended this occasion

amongst

we had

others, I

a great

many

affairs to,

were

yet on

spectators

;

remember my friend Admiral

Wolseley, and Colonel Campbell of the Marines,

but the arrogant bearing of the Frenchman brought few to sympathize with

his misfortune.

MEMOIRS OF

168

Not long

after

my

arrival at Minorca, I

the happiness to find that

my

early

had

and much

valued friend General Mostyn, had been appointed Governor of the island, and der-in-chief of the troops

;

the second in com-

mand was General James known

in the

ing Colonel

;

Comman-

Johnston, better

army by the name of the Fightand the third was Lord George

Lennox.

As

I

am now

to

be engaged for several

years with the tedious details of garrison duty,

the reader

may

not, perhaps,

in pla.ce of carrying

be displeased

him along with me

monotonous routine, I should just with him and

tell

three individuals

sit

if,

in this

down

an anecdote or two of the with

whom

I

was

chiefly

conversant. I shall

I

whom

found exercising the functions of Governor

on as

begin with General Johnston,

my I

arrival at Minorca.

said before,

Among

the men,

he was known by the name of

the Fighting Colonel

;

but the ladies distin-

guished him by the more flattering appellative of the handsome

Johnston.

Although of a

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR fiery

was

and

irritable

169

temper when provoked, he

in ordinary society

one of the most plea-

and agreeable fellows in the world. As I had served with him in Germany during the sant

greater part of the war, I

had the

home

of finding a welcome and a

on

my arrival

stances

at Minorca.

which gave

One

rise to

satisfaction

in his

house

of the circum-

his

less

agreeable

nickname took place under the observation of Towards the conclusion of the royalty itself. reign of George the Second, large wigs were

and Johnston having gone to the theatre on an evening when the King was

still

in fashion,

he unfortunately involved him-

to be present,

self in a quarrel,

when, with that haste and

violence for which he

was

so remarkable,

he

pulled off the wig of his antagonist, and threw it

on the

manding

It so happened, that his

stage. officer,

gentlemen

of

standing at the

com-

General Conway, one of the

the

King's

bedchamber, was

moment behind

his Majesty's

and to him the King turned round, and asked who it was who had committed the act

chair,

of violence.

General

Conway

replied, that

he

MEMOIRS OF

170 feared

was an

it

Johnston

officer

of his regiment, Major

on which the King observed,

;

deep tone of resentment,

"

And

in a

a major he

remain."

shall

Soon

after the affair in the theatre,

Major

Johnston went to join his regiment at Man-

town.

cobite

was

which

chester,

responding

am

I

title

in

I believe that the ical"

then considered

a

Ja-

not aware of the cor-

modern nomenclature, but

terms " democrat" and " rad-

have each had their day.

Going one

evening to the assembly, he found the favourite tunes consisted of those Jacobite

now admired

although

were

at that

airs

which,

for their intrinsic value,

time applauded or contemned as

they happened to harmonize or to clash with the political feelings of the audience.

Soon

Major Johnston had entered the assemblyroom, "Over the water to Charlie," or some after

thing equally offensive, was struck up by the orchestra;

when

the Major, unable any longer

to restrain himself, called out to the musicians to stop

;

and on

their yielding obedience, re" God save the

quired them to play

King."

SIR

On

JAMES CAMPBELL.

master of the cere-

this interruption the

man

monies, a

171

of some note in the

town,

although tinged with the supposed sentiments of disloyalty for which his townsmen were

understood to be distinguished, strutted up to the Major, and asked if he, an entire stranger in the place, persisted in

making a demand

which was calculated to interrupt the amuse-

ments of the evening. ill

Major Johnston could brook the supercilious and authoritative air

with which this remonstrance was addressed to him, and taking the master of the ceremonies

by the poor

nose,

man was

little

his friends

he twirled him round until the

;

hustled

away by some of

on which Johnston, turning round

to the orchestra, again required

the King's anthem.

To

this

them

demand

to play

there

was

some demur on the part of the musicians, on which the Major snatched up the great bass fiddle, and applied it with such good-will to the head of one of the delinquents, as to leave

him standing amidst the shattered fragments of the instrument. This new adventure was speedily

communicated

to

General

Conway,

MEMOIRS OF

172

who having found an opportunity to the King, made it the means

of stating

it

of restoring

Major Johnston to the Royal favour, and from that period his

promotion proceeded in the

ordinary course. It

was

this

same Johnston who, on being

dis-

abled at the battle of Campan, by a shot through his

sword hand, turned round to the men and

exclaimed, "Royals! I have done

charge

At

again.''

that

moment

my

duty;

also fell poor

Briscoe, the adjutant of the Royals, a very hand-

some young man, who shortly before the battle had been placed under an arrest for some trifling neglect of duty.

Until regularly acquitted, he

was of course prevented from wearing a sword but as soon as the regiment was drawn up in order ;

of battle, he rode to the front, and addressing-

Colonel Johnston, to

go

to,

said, that as

he had no prison

he hoped to be allowed to accompany

his regiment,

wear a sword.

although he was not permitted to

Then mixing with

the men, he

joined them in the charge, and was killed at the

same moment that Colonel Johnston was

dis-

abled, to the great regret of his brother officers.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER Court Anecdotes.

George

Theatricals.

British discipline.

A

Deputies.

between the

Russian and

present of English Soldiers.

Sir Richard Onslow.

I

Hostilities

Difference between

bration of a Royal Birth-day.

THINK

Extra-

An eccentric genius. Madame Clairon. Meetings at

Lusignan.

Russians and Turks.

I

offices.

arrangements.

Interviews with Voltaire.

Ferney.

and General Mostyn.

Government

ordinary court-martial.

Matrimonial

II.

VIII.

Sea

fight.

A

Narrow escape.

Cele-

Ship on

fire.

Shark.

have already mentioned that

my

Mostyn had been gentleman of he the bed-chamber to George the Second friend General

;

could not with

strict

propriety be said to have

been a favourite of the King a friend

whom

his

;

he was rather

Majesty could not

George the Second was known to play and he was party at whist every evening

out. his

live with-

;

MEMOIRS OF never

satisfied if

General Mostyn did not

One

one of the number. could not be found

;

make

evening, the General

and the King, who was

far

from being dull in discovering the characters and habits of those around him, exclaimed in his vexation at the delay of his party, "

him

directly.

If he be not with

Peg Woffing-

he will be found in one

ton,

Go, bring

house."

General Mostyn had the peculiar merit of precisely the nature

knowing

as the proper application

He

of his

own

as well

abilities.

Europe that he was an cavalry officer, and that he was well

had proved to

excellent fitted

and extent

by experience

all

as well as gallantry for the

subordinate station in an

army which

is

inferred

from the command of that species of force

;

but he was sensible that he did not possess those general views, and that comprehensive genius,

which are

so essential to the character of a

mander-in-chief.

General Mostyn afforded a

striking proof of the sense

ed of

his

own

com-

deficiency,

which he entertain-

when

the King, from

a feeling of personal affection, was pleased to offer

him the command

of the expedition to the

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

175

Havannah, in which Lord Albemarle afterwards acquired so large a fortune.

King his

He

thanked the with which

for the gracious consideration

Majesty had condescended to attend to his

by the

personal interests,

offer of a

which promised to be so lucrative

;

command

but, as the

expedition would infer the necessity for his su-

perintendence of a series of combined operations sea

by

and land, he

solicited the King's per-

mission to decline an appointment for which he felt

that he was not fitted, either

talents or

by

his natural

" I have

his previous experience.

" led long," he said, and, with

by

on your Majesty's cavalry, I

your gracious approbation,

shall

continue in the department where I feel that I n

can best contribute to the benefit of your Majesty's service."

It

was some time

after this that General

Mos-

tyn accepted the government of Minorca, at the period

when

with Spain. in years,

he

a probability had arisen of a war

Although considerably advanced 1

felt

ah his youthful energies revive

in the prospect of a battle.

he was considered a

Among

the troops,

strict disciplinarian

;

but as

MEMOIRS OF

176 he attended on punctuality to

all

occasions with the

the performance

most

duty, the troops were less disposed to at the strict discipline

those under his

During

murmur

which he exacted from

command.

my former when

tyn's family,

rigid

own

of his

residence in General

Mos-

I acted as his aid- de-camp,

had often observed the King's cypher on his linen and, on my asking the reason of it, he I

;

said that the

a good

was

gentlemen of the bed-chamber had

many

linen,

perquisites,

which was supplied

dance as to make for their

and that one of them

own

it

in

such abun-

unnecessary to purchase any

use.

In the course of General Mostyn's at

Minorca, a court-martial

from

the

was

command

held,

which

rank and relative situation of the

parties concerned in

it,

is

not perhaps to be

paralleled in the annals of the British army.

The

prosecutor was General Mostyn, the

Com-

mander-in-chief; General Johnston, the second

command, was the principal, if not the only witness and Lord George Lennox, the third

in

;

in

command, was the

prisoner, the

party ac-

1

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

A

cused.

177

dispute had arisen between General

Mostyn and Lord George, about the

price of

the soldiers' wine, in a small fort called Furnelles;

and

it

was

for

some

act of insubordi-

nation which had arisen out of this dispute,

but of which I do not remember the

parti-

Lordship was ordered to be

culars, that his tried.

The

court was composed of the

field-officers

of this

thirteen

next in rank to the accused, and

number

I

happened to be the fourth.

do not pretend to report the finding and

I

sentence of the court-martial, but the general

Lord George, being found in wrong, was condemned to make an apology

result was, that

the

to the Governor.

Lord George was and

as

the time of the

trial,

in a delicate state of health

;

he happened to be very badly lodged,

we were his

At

all

rather apprehensive for

temper was such,

that,

him

;

for

being under a sort

of nominal arrest, during the long period which necessarily elapsed court,

to

it

and the

between the decision of the

arrival of the King's sanction

from England, he resisted

VOL.

I.

N

all

our

efforts

MEMOIRS OF

178

the result

him even

go out to walk, should be communicated.

to persuade

my

early intimacy with

in the Seven Years'

War, and afterwards

In consequence of

him

until

to

in France,

when he was

d' Affaires

from England,

ambassador, or Charg6 it

occurred to

Louisa Lennox, that I might have

him

influence with him, to engage

which was necessary

exercise

On

vation of his health.

sufficient

to take the

for the

calling

Lady

preser-

one day at the

miserable shed in which they were lodged,

which indeed was

little

better than those of

the Spanish villagers in general, her ladyship

walked out, and desired soon as

we were

great concern at his

to

go

But the

me

alone, she expressed to

me

truth

renew

which

is,

the best-natured

that

man

my

himself in the right,

He

it

efforts to

I readily

in

and

induce

agreed to do.

Lord George, although in the world,

peculiarities of temper, which,

come.

her

Lord George's perseverance

to

out,

As

to attend her.

resolution of remaining within doors,

begged of

him

me

had some

when he thought

was impossible to over-

was naturally what

is

called a de-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

termined character;

and, as

179

natural with

is

persons of that turn of thinking, he was very

mistake a sort of dogged obstinacy for

liable to

manly firmness and

To

resolution.

all

this,

General Mostyn's temper was as opposite as

He

was hasty and warm, but same time good-natured and considerate.

possible.

exhausting to induce

all

him

his friends,

my to

efforts

at the

After

with Lord George

comply with the wishes of

without any prospect of success, I

Mostyn, and explained to him how the matter stood; but the General said,

went

to General

what was no doubt quite could neither ask nor

what seemed

reasonable, that he

command him

so necessary, but that I

to

do

was

at

would give His

liberty to say, that nothing

Excellency greater pleasure than to hear that

Lord George Lennox took the exercise as his Lordship

benefit of such

might find necessary

or agreeable.

All

this,

however, was

of no avail with

Lord George, who remained

in

his

wretched

barrack for upwards of three months, until the

Royal sanction arrived

for carrying the sentence

N

2

-

MEMOIRS OF

180

of the court-martial into

effect.

The judgment

of the court, which had been expressed in the mildest and most gentle terms, was not only

approved of and confirmed by the King, but his

Majesty was

also pleased to

add a

direct

reprimand to Lord George, for his conduct in the matter which had given rise to the courtmartial.

When

the court was again assembled for the

purpose of receiving his Majesty's pleasure on their

proceedings,

it

was

arranged that the

sentence should be simply read to him, and that

Lord George, without repeating the words

of the apology, should merely add -I

"

all this

do :" and having been employed on the part

of the court-martial to negotiate and arrange this delicate

matter with Lord George, for the

purpose of saving his feelings, as far as was consistent

with

what

was

Mostyn, and to the public

due

to

General

service, I

had not

only the satisfaction of bringing the parties

and friendly understanding with but of retaining the friendship and

to a proper

each other,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

181

With Lord George good opinion of both. and Lady Louisa Lennox I continued to live on terms of habitual intimacy. As a proof that it was not of a very temporary nature, I mention, that to

may

my

who was

eldest son,

not then born, his Lordship gave a company

own

in his

regiment, and appointed

aid-de-camp,

when,

long

him

afterwards,

his

Lord

Lennox was commander-in-chief

George

at

Plymouth. Neither must I omit neral

Mostyn

for

my

one of

obligations to

many

Ge-

favours which

As

about this period he conferred on me.

or quality

made about the quantity of the wood and oil supplied to the

garrison,

his

complaints had been

Excellency

me

appointed

in-

spector in these departments, with an addition to

my

this

pay of twenty

sum

shillings per

diem; of

I gave five shillings to a deputy,

performed

my

generally done

and

part of the duty as I fear

by Government officers

looked at the wood, nor tasted the

is

I never

oil.

In a narrative which professes to be

full

and

MEMOIRS OF

182

not merely as to events and circum-

faithful,

but

stances,

as to

sentiments and feelings,

made the

confes-

had a tendre

for the

should sooner perhaps have sion that I have always sex.

was

It

I

not, however, until after I

had

been some time oppressed with the tedium and

monotony of garrison-duty, that began to turn matrimony.

my

I

seriously

attention to the subject of

Under the

influence of these pre-

possessions, I soon afterwards

met with

Chris-

tiana Forbes, the daughter of

George Forbes,

Esq. of Tiree, and

the Paymaster-

sister

to

General of the forces at Minorca, who, after the ordinary course of events in matters of this kind,

made me happy by

hand. fortune,

the possession of her

Miss Forbes was a young lady of small

but handsome,

clever,

and

intelligent.

She had been educated at Geneva, in the house of Mr. Gaussen, the

banker,

who was

her

maternal uncle, and she had come to Minorca to reside

with her brother

;

the change of

climate having been prescribed for the benefit

of her health.

The

preliminaries having been

arranged during her stay at Minorca, the

affair

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

183

was completed after her return to Switzerland, and the marriage ceremony was performed in the house of Mr. Gaussen, at Geneva.

This event took place in the summer of 1769,

and

after it

we remained

for

some months

at

Geneva, until I was called back to the performance of

my

military duties.

During our residence

Geneva, I became

at

M. Hubert,

intimately acquainted with

He

of singular but eccentric genius.

once a

man

a

man

was

at

of fashion and fortune, a decided

humourist, and an amateur

artist

of consider-

His paintings were universally efforts of genius but his favourite

able celebrity.

admired

as

amusement was

;

in vellum, so as to give scape, or

many

any other

the effect of a land-

of his performances with

me

fail to elicit

I

brought

to England,

the most

flat-

marks of admiration.

M. Hubert was Voltaire,

duce

it

style of painting.

where they did not tering

and figures

to cut out scenes

me

a great personal friend of

and he did at Ferney,

me

the favour to intro-

and to carry

me

frequently

with him to dine at that celebrated spot.

Vol-

MEMOIRS OF

184 taire

had a noble

with a profusion of

estate,

game, which I fear were much more attractive in my eyes, than all the philosophy which was

from

to be acquired

His were

my

however,

invitations,

as frankly accepted

;

distinguished host. if

frankly given,

and

I often

made

his permission available to shoot over his preserves,

It taire

and to dine with him on

my

return.

was the fashion of the period to treat Volas a sort of demi-god, and to regard every

thing he did as the work of a being of some superior order.

empt from

I

had the misfortune to be ex-

this universal feeling of adoration,

perhaps from national dislike; or rather, perhaps,

from

personal

inability

value on the great man's merits. at large

were

knee to

this divinity

sufficiently

to

place

If the world

ready to

of their

due

own

bow

the

creation,

Voltaire was not less willing to " Assume the god, Affect to nod,

And seem

to shake the spheres."

This was equally observable in small matters as in great.

In cutting up a partridge which

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

was placed before him at table, that he first thrust his fork into

185 I

observed

it,

and then

put the fork into his mouth, apparently to certain if the fumette

He then of it

it

;

was

proceeded to cut

to me.

it

he would have

it.

up, and sent a part

away without eating of asking the reason, I told him

I sent

and, on his

as

as-

it

the true one, without any circumlocution, that

he had used a fork

in carving the partridge,

which had just been in his own mouth. On this he observed that the English were a strange people,

and had singular customs

peculiar laugh of the sardonic kind, his

This

;

adding a

which was

custom when anything displeased him. little scene,

however, did not prevent

me

from occasionally dining with him, or from shooting over his estate.

The

eccentricity of

characteristic

;

and spurious.

Hubert was genuine and

that of Voltaire was affected

He

had, in fact, been spoiled

by

the too flattering attentions of almost every

crowned head

in

Europe

had thus been fostered

;

and

after his vanity

to the highest pitch of

MEMOIRS or

186 extravagance,

it

was not to be supposed that

he could be cured of his preposterous pretensions,

by

that sort of military discipline which

was administered by the orders of of Prussia,

friend the

King of Hussars to him

who

his

quondam

sent a Colonel

at Frankfort, to give

him

cent coups de baton., as a reward for the free-

dom he had obligations

taken in divulging the literary

under which the great Frederick

lay to him, in regard to the revision of his royal lucubrations.

formed

It is said that the Colonel per-

his task

with great good

will,

and ex-

acted a formal receipt from the philosopher, to satisfy his

master that the duty had been faith-

fully performed.

When assist at

Geneva

was invited to Ferney to the presentation of the Prince Dolat

I

young man of very high rank in Russia, who came to Voltaire at the head of a gouroukie, a

deputation from the Empress

Second, than

whom,

been more anxious

to foster, at the

perhaps, no one has ever

as to

her by the world.

Catherine the

what should be

said of

Voltaire had contributed

same time that he

gratified,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

187

by writing a great deal in the Emand the presents which were praise

this passion, press's

;

brought by the Prince

Dolgouroukie were

probably intended either as a reward for past praises, or as a retaining fee for the future.

I

say nothing of the truth of what he has written,

but content myself with recording what

I

witnessed at the reception of the embassy.

The

presents were produced

by the Prince

and exhibited with great state and ceremony. The first was an ivory box, the value of which consisted in its being the work in succession,

of the Empress's

own

hands.

The next was

her Imperial Majesty's portrait, brilliantly set in diamonds, of very great value

not

resist

;

and I could

the idea that the eyes of the philo-

sopher sparkled with delight at the splendid setting of the picture, rather than at the pic-

ture

itself.

Then followed

in the Russian language,

a collection of books

which Voltaire admitted

that he did not understand;

them,

and very

justly, as

but he admired

rare specimens

of

typography, and as being bound in a style of magnificence befitting an Imperial

gift.

The

MEMOIRS OF

188 last

of the presents was a robe, the lining of

which was of the fur of the black fox, from the Curile

was

It

Isles.

immense

Empress of Russia Prince, on producing it,

value,

and such only

could

give.

The

certainly of

as the

begged to be shown into a darkened room, where, on drawing his hand across the fur, it produced so

much

possible to read

by

electrical fire, it.

that

it

was

This was ascribed to

the extreme closeness or thickness with which the hair was set on the skin.

In return for these princely

Voltaire

drawn by my friend Hubert, which he was exhibited in rather an ex-

had in

gifts,

his portrait

traordinary position, rising out of bed in an ecstasy

him.

upon the presents being presented to The picture was accompanied by a copy

of verses in the Empress's praise, in the taste of the period, and of course sufficiently nauseous

and fulsome.

Madame

Clairon, perhaps the

most

distin-

guished actress that ever graced the boards of the French

during

my

stage,

was on a

residence there

;

visit to

Geneva

and Voltaire, hav-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

189

ing a private theatre at Ferney, expressed his

Lusignan should be perSome French actors were found to

desire that his play of

formed. fill

up the dramatis persons, reserving

self

him-

for

the character of Lusignan, the hero of the

His appearance and costume were altogether the most preposterous it is possible to

piece.

conceive.

Only think of

with a sword

of

his tall

gaunt

corresponding dimensions,

His coat

constantly getting between his legs.

was

wig

of the era of Louis

XIV.

to correspond, the whole

a

huge pasteboard helmet, and ridiculous taste. To extreme awkwardness of

all

power of

face

;

figure,

and

it

with a

tie-

surmounted by

in the

most absurd

resist a titter at

his figure,

the

was beyond

required no small exer-

tion to smother the tendency of a general laugh, so as to hinder

Next day

it

it

from coming to an

eclat.

was a point of indispensable

eti-

quette for the invited guests to pay their com-

pliments at Ferney, and administer a quantum sufficit

of adulation on the histrionic talents

of the representative of Lusignan

was a point

;

for

that

on which he was much more

MEMOIRS OF

190 sensitive

drama

than on the poetical merits of the

itself.

Among

the attendants at his

young Englishman, the

deal,

relish for a sarcastic joke,

national contempt for

Lon-

son, I think, of a

don brewer, who had travelled a great with a strong

was a

leve'e

what he held

and

had a

to be pre-

tence and affectation in the character of Voltaire.

This gentleman seemed to wait for an

opportunity of contributing his quota to the

compliments of the day

;

and when

all

the

pretty things which were prepared for the occasion

had been duly delivered, he stepped up

to Voltaire in the

zenith of his self-compla-

cency, and apologizing for the slenderness of

knowledge of the French language, observed, that he thought it best to commit his his-

sentiments on the subject to writing.

On

this

he delivered a written paper to Voltaire and immediately retired from the crowd.

The

writ-

ing was received with a smile of gracious condescension, but verses

on opening

were presented to

his

it

view

the following :

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR " Etre

cite,

mele dans toutes

Les plaintes,

191

les querelles,

les rapports, les histoires nouvelles,

Etre craint a la fois et desire par tout,

ma

Voila

mon

destinee et

Quant aux amis,

Se prend chez tout

le

monde,

J'en ai mille, et pas un.

Au

petit cercle

unique gout.

nom

crois-moi, ce vain

qu'on se donne

et n'est vrai chez personne

;

limite

Veux-tu, que

obscur d'une societe

J'aille m'ensevelir

dans quelque coterie

?

me

Je vais ou plait, je pars quand on m'ennuie, Je m'etablis ailleurs, me moquant au surplus 1'on

D'etre

hai'

des gens chez qui je ne vais plus."

Le Mechant,

At

the period of

my

GRESSET.

residence at Geneva,

the Russians were engaged in active hostilities against the

Turks

;

and soon

after

my return

to

the island, the fleet from Cronstadt put in to

Minorca for the purpose of being refitted. They proved on their arrival to be in a most wretched condition

;

having, from obvious ignorance of

ordinary seamanship, suffered more in this short

voyage than a British squadron would have done in

sailing

London and

round the world. The Courts of

St.

Petersburgh being at that time

on the best understanding, the Governor had

MEMOIRS OF

192

orders to let the Russian

commanders have every

thing they wanted from his Majesty's dockyards

and military depots

But

if

at Minorca.

the inferiority of the Russians was

conspicuous in naval military discipline British troops rival of the

tary

tactics, their deficiency in

was not

had a

less

field-day soon after the ar-

Russian armament

and

;

commander, Count Butterlin,

known

at Paris

The

apparent.

when

their mili-

whom

resident there as

I

had

Ambas-

sador from the Court of St. Petersburgh, was

frank enough to confess to

he

felt

at the

marked

me the astonishment

difference

between the

appearance and discipline of the troops of the

two

He

was pleased to say many civil things tome on the precision and rapidity with which the 67th regiment, at that time countries.

under

my

command, had performed the various

evolutions and manoeuvres which he had that

day witnessed

The regiment was undoubted-

ly in a high state of discipline

;

but the only

merit which on that account was due to me, was the attention and strictness with which I

fol-

lowed the system which had been introduced

SIR into

JAMES CAMPBELL.

the regiment

by

its

193

former colonel, the

hero of Quebec.

The

difference

between the habits and modes

of thinking of two persons, the one accustomed to the forms of liberty, the other to the practice

of vassalage

and coercion,

is

and

strikingly

somewhat ludicrously illustrated, by a request which was made to me by my friend Count Butterlin.

It was, that I

present of a few of

my

should

make him

a

soldiers, to assist in dril-

some of the Russian regiments. I have no doubt that he was quite as much surprized at

ling

the answer I

made

to

him

He must have been

quest.

as 1

was

at the re-

aware, from the ex-

tent and liberality with which the

armament

had been supplied with naval and military stores, that the Governor and the Government were equally disposed to lend him every tance

;

but when I told

him

assis-

that not

the

Governor of Minorca, nor even the King of

England himself, could make him a present of a single vidual,

man without it is

not easy to describe the combina-

tion of incredulity

VOL.

i.

the consent of the indi-

and wonder with which the o

MEMOIRS OF

194

At

intimation was regarded. I succeeded in

to

him

;

length, however,

making the matter

intelligible

and having applied to the Governor

on the subject, his Excellency gave

me

leave to

lend to Count Butterlin two men from the 67th,

who were

capable of drilling a regiment and

mode

teaching the British

of discipline

;

an

arrangement with which Count Butterlin had probably as

much

reason to be satisfied as

had been able to present

to

him

as

many

if I

serfs,

in fee simple.

In return for the sian

officers

civilities

had received from the

they invited us to a dances,

which the Rus-

succession

British,

of dinners,

and entertainments, sometimes on board

their ships,

and sometimes on

believe, pretty generally

sian Grandees, of

whom

shore.

known,

It

that the

is,

I

Rus-

there were several of

high rank connected with the armament, are very magnificent in their

festivities

only say, that on this occasion,

;

when

and

I can

at a dis-

tance from home, they did not belie the character

they have acquired for a liberal and

splendid hospitality.

I recollect in particular

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

that this observation a great dinner

is

peculiarly applicable to

which was given to the Gover-

and the principal English

nor,

195

officers

on board

the flag-ship,

by the Russian Admiral. His captain was a Dane, and an excellent seaman ;

but he had not succeeded in preserving any semblance of that order and regularity on shipboard for which the British navy rably pre-eminent.

so admi-

is

The tremendous

broadsides

which were given in compliment to each successive toast, reminded me of what our immortal

bard has put into the mouth of the Danish

monarch on an occasion of princely but

deceit-

ful festivity "

Now

the kettle to the trumpet speak,

let

The trumpets to the cannoneers without, The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to

Now

to

earth,

King drinks to Hamlet."

happened to be seated next the Danish captain, and on my observing

At to

the

him

this party I

that

navy to

it

fire

was not customary

in the British

the main-deck and quarter-deck

saguns on occasions of mere compliment and lute, he very readily admitted that our practice

o 2

MEMOIRS OF

196

was much more reasonable health of the

Empress was given, he seemed

in considerable alarm lest his

from excess of

make

short

it,

and blow up the

indeed, if

over our heads, to be

Danish

my

ship.

we might judge from

clamour which was going on

the noise and

But

Muscovite crew,

should loyalty, or excess of grog,

work of

They seemed,

and when the

;

all

excessively drunk.

friend, either did not possess

the authority, or did not care to exert

it,

on an

which might compromise either

occasion

his

for the British officers, or

feelings of respect

his devotion to his Imperial mistress.

When

the supplies for the

armament had

been completed, and the Russians

nounced

had

an-

then* intention to depart, I applied, in

conjunction with Captain Price of the 69th regiment, to attend the Russian commanderin-chief, the celebrated

summer campaign difficulty

we

;

and

Count

Orloff, for the

after a

good deal of

succeeded in obtaining the neces-

sary leave from his Excellency the Governor.

We

sailed

from Minorca in the month of

February 1770, and had the fortune to witness

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

197

a number of very brilliant actions

;

among

others the burning of the Turkish fleet in the

Bay

But without,

of Tachma.

any undue

spirit

I

am

persuaded,

of nationality, and without

any wish to deprive the Russians of any portion which is due to them of the fame of these achievements, I cannot, in justice to

trymen, conceal

coun-

conviction, that in all the

had an opportunity of witnessthe merit and the success were chiefly to be

actions ing,

which

my

my

I

ascribed to the English

and Scotch

officers at

that time engaged in the Russian service.

the burning of the Turkish

fleet,

At

the fireships

were led on by Captain Dugdale, by birth, I and the fleet itself was believe, a Scotchman ;

virtually

commanded by Captain Elphinstone,

who was

also a

Scotchman, and an Admiral in

the Russian service.

In the previous engagement, the most remarkable occurrence was a sort of tremendous duel between the Russian and Turkish admirals.

They appeared

to have singled

out

each other for this separate engagement, as the fate of the day were to be decided

by

if

their

MEMOIKS OF

198

Both ships were fought

individual endeavours.

with the greatest fury, and in the course of the engagement they

when their

aboard of each other

by the too hand-grenades which is, the Russians,

men

garded by naval

and

fire,

as the

board, both

as

;

liberal use of

I believe, re-

a very dangerous

arm

soon set the Turkish admiral

on ship-board on

fell

two

ships were board

a very short

in

common

veloped in one

a ninety-gun ship,

that of the

Moslem admiral,

The Russian

ship

was

time were en-

conflagration.

Turk was

I

and

but

its

The

name, or

do not remember.

smaller,

and the ad-

miral was the veteran Spiritoff, who, although at that

time on the verge of eighty years of

age, succeeded

crowd

in saving his life

among

the

of drowning wretches,

overboard.

The

explosion,

blew up, was perhaps

as

by dropping when the two ships

sublime a spectacle

as it is possible to conceive.

It

was

Turkish

after this that the fleet

remainder of the

bore up to the bay of Tachma,

and came to an anchor within the bay. Russian

fleet

followed, and hove to

The

opposite

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

to the Turks, but without

By

dawn of

the

sian fireships

coming

199 to anchor.

the following day, the Rus-

made

sail for

the Turkish

fleet,

and, on approaching within the range of the

enemy's guns, they were of course received with the heaviest

fire

which

it

was possible

for the ships at anchor to bring to bear

Such, indeed, was

them.

its

severity,

upon

and such

the awkwardness and mismanagement of the

Russian seamen, that every thing like reguapproach was immediately lost

larity in their

and the greater number of the

sight of; ships

were exploded too soon to take

the enemy.

The

result

fire-

effect

on

was that only two

could be brought up to the positions assigned

One

to them.

of these was that on board of

which Captain Dugdale had himself taken station

Turkish VOL.

and these two were so judiciously

;

placed,

his

that in a very short time fleet, i.

the whole

consisting of thirteen or four-

o 4

MEMOIRS OF

200

teen ships of the line, was completely annihilated.

After

several

witnessing

brilliant

actions

under Count Romanzou, on what was more properly our

own

element, Captain Price and

I returned, at the end

the summer,

of

to

Minorca.

From

thence I proceeded to Geneva, where

Mrs. Callander had some months before given birth to a daughter,

who

infant was then too

young

it

became necessary

still

The

survives.

to travel, so that

with

for us to leave her

Mr. and Mrs. Gaussen, her aunt, on our departure

from Geneva

autumn of 1770.

We

Scotland, and took

up our

and

great- uncle

then

in

the

proceeded to

residence for

some

time in my father's house, at Craigforth, where, in the year 1771,

was born.

my eldest

son,

George Callander,

His mother did not long survive

the birth of her second child.

Having

fallen

SIR into

JAMES CAMPBELL.

201

bad health, and the child too being

West

the air of the

sickly,

of England was prescribed

She was carried to Bristol by two of aunts, and I soon afterwards joined them

for her.

my

in time to see her expire, after she

my

wife

for

which

two-and-twenty months.

only

The interment took

had been

place at Bristol; soon after

I proceeded to

London, and from thence

returned to Minorca.

Here

I

may

tioning one or

curred to

me

take the opportunity of men-

two circumstances which

in the course of

my

oc-

residence in

the Mediterranean. It

is

known

manders of

to be a practice with the

com-

frigates in various quarters of the

world, with the sanction of the board of miralty,

to

accommodate the mercantile

Adin-

by allowing individuals to deposit their bullion and specie on board his Majesty's ships, terest,

for the purpose of securing the safety of its transit tice

is,

from one port to another.

This prac-

no doubt, encouraged by the com-

manders of

frigates,

who

are placed

on favour-

able stations for its adoption, on account of the

MEMOIRS OF

202

commission which they are authorized to ceive on the

amount of the

becomes their

re-

It thus

deposit.

interest, as well as their duty, to

afford every possible facility for the safe

and

expeditious transmission of the precious metals.

In the Mediterranean

station,

this

duty has

long been an agreeable and profitable source of

revenue to the captains of our

war only, but the

in times of

cruisers,

not in

profound peace, from

apprehensions which are entertained by

mercantile men, of the

depredations of the

From

the general acquaint-

Barbary

corsairs.

ance I enjoyed

induced cruises,

to

and

among

naval men, I was often

accompany in

them

in

occasional

the periodical circuits which

they made of the seas to which their station extended.

Among Onslow,

number was

the

who

my

friend Captain

afterwards distinguished himself

so greatly, and

who became

the world as

Sir

so well

Richard Onslow.

known

to

For the

rank and honours he acquired in the navy, he was much more indebted to his own courage

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

and conduct, than to

203

his near relationship to

the celebrated Speaker Onslow.

In returning on one occasion to Minorca from a cruise, the

wind blowing

fresh, the

evening

dusky, and the ship under double-reefed courses,

with a heavy

up

to

sea,

one of the midshipmen came

Captain Onslow as he stood "

quarter-deck, saying,

forward."

Sir,

on the

the ship

The same alarming

a

fire

intelligence

had

's

spread with the rapidity of lightning through-

out the

who, from the impulse of were hastening to launch the

ship's crew,

self-preservation,

boats in a sea where

it

was obvious they could

not live for a moment. ness,

The coolness,

collected-

and decision which Captain Onslow

dis-

played, under circumstances sufficiently appalling, are

beyond

all praise.

He

saw in a mo-

ment the nature and consequences of the emer-

who were

gency.

Before the men,

engaged

in an act of insubordination,

either

to

reflect or

already

had time

combine, he gave imme-

engaged in launching the boats should stand clear upon the booms. diate orders that those

MEMOIRS OF

204

At

the same

time

he

caused two of the

quarter-deck guns to be turned upon the boats,

and blew them

orders were obeyed with

which pline,

all

the promptitude

from habits of order and

arises

disci-

and the exertions of the men being con-

fined to the single purpose

the

These

in an instant to atoms.

fire,

of extinguishing

the best and the only

chance was

afforded of at once preserving the ship and the

on board.

lives of all

After Captain Onslow

and determined proceeding, the danger proved to be much more imminent, than I and many others had at first ima-

had adopted

gined

;

for

this bold

it

was found that although several

pumps had been placed over the bows, they did not produce a drop of water, in conse-

quence of the rolling and pitching of the arising

from the heaviness of the

sea

;

ship,

which,

without a figure, might really be said to be

running mountain high.

When tion, the

matters were in this unpleasant situa-

seamen became very unsteady

;

and

Captain Onslow himself was, I have reason to believe,

in

considerable perplexity

as

to the

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

205

course to be pursued for the preservation of the

The

ship.

proaching, believe, a

crisis

of our fate was rapidly ap-

when one

of the crew, by birth, I

Dane, asked leave to speak to Captain

Onslow, and said that he had seen the same thing happen in a ship of the Danish

being interrogated as to the

line.

mode which

On his

countrymen had adopted of extinguishing the fire, he replied, that they had started a tier of water-casks, and dipping the bedding of the

men

roughly saturated and soaked

when

so tho-

as to serve,

it,

applied to the burning part of the ship,

to smother,

This

had

into the water thus obtained,

and

method

adopted

;

and

finally to extinguish the flames.

Captain

Onslow

in about an

immediately

hour and a quarter

from the time the idea was suggested, we had the happiness to see 'it prove completely successful.

The

had originated in the boatswain's store-room and the ship had been burning for eleven hours before it was reported to the fire

;

captain.

In going

a

officer

young

down

for the eye of a

had imprudently

sail,

taken the

MEMOIRS OF

206

candle out of his lantern, and, as was supposed,

had dropped a spark at least no other cause was discovered to which the accident could be ;

Some

ascribed.

idea

may be formed

of the

the heat had atdegree of intensity to which tained,

when

after the

hand

to

I mention, that in

going down

danger had abated, and applying

my

one of the sheets of copper which servcovering to the

magazine, I found

ed

as a

it

too hot to be borne for a

fire

moment.

The

powder-magazines on ship-board are protected

from

fire

by

a lining or covering of plates of

copper and ox-hides.

I

should add, that on

Captain Onslow's representation to the the Danish

Admi-

tion

whose timely suggeshad saved the frigate, and all on board of

her,

had a comfortable pension

ralty,

for

escapes, I

I

settled

on him

life.

While

to

sailor,

me

I

am on

the subject of hair-breadth

may mention

another which occurred

not long after in the

Bay

was accompanied on the cruise

occurred by

my

the grenadier

of Gibraltar. in

which

it

friend Sherwin, the captain of

company of the 67th regiment,

JAMES CAMPliELL.

SIR

who was

a very brave and gallant officer,

wards killed

207 after-

On

at the battle of Bunker's-hill.

a beautiful summer's evening, with the sea as

smooth

as

Captain Sherwin and I had

glass,

taken a boat, and gone to some distance from the ship, to enjoy ourselves in

we were

swimming

happily not far from the boat,

;

but

when

we were

saluted with a cry from the deck of It is not the frigate of " a shark a shark !" !

easy to describe the feelings I experienced at this

moment, nor the

exertions

instinctive

which we made

to gain the boat.

Sherwin was farther off than I

was quite

ster

him out of the

and incredible

close to him,

;

and the mon-

when

I assisted

to this

Every one accustgmed kind of exercise, however practised or

expert,

must have experienced the

water.

difficulty

of

getting into a boat from the sea without assistance.

The

understood the

first

scarcely

state of

when

my

feelings will be better

I say, that in this instance

attempt was

sufficient,

and that

touched the gunwale when

myself in safety.

I

I

had

found

MEMOIRS OF

208

CHAPTER

A

Navigation of the Mediterranean.

Merchantman.

Corsair.

Prince Boothby.

Captain Cornwallis.

Church

gular case. venture.

A

Lord Cowper and Horace Mann.

Sir

Epicurean anecdotes.

gaieties.

Colonel Stafford.

Interesting anecdote.

A

drawn

Sin-

Odd

ad-

Lord Ligonier. Conversations with

Mrs. Dutens and her daughters.

second marriage.

Mr. Temple

Taking sanctuary.

privileges.

Anecdotes of military men.

field-day.

royalty.

Town

of Lord Tilney.

Nephew

Mrs. Tilney Long Wellesley's father. the Magliabecchi.

English

Scenery

Lord Tilney's entertain-

Florence.

Succession of wines.

Luttrel.

An

A prize. The Author visits Italy

of the Val d'Arno.

ments.

IX.

The

Author's

bet.

IN the Mediterranean there

is

perhaps more

variety of practice in naval tactics than in any

other sea, from the great diversity in the manners and habits of the surrounding nations, as

well as from the differences in the form and

rigging of the vessels by which

it is

navigated.

SIR

I

was

JAMES CAMPBELL.

told, for instance,

commanded by

Lively,

Galloway, the

by an

209

a brother

Honourable

of the

officer

of

Lord

Captain Stewart,

afterwards an admiral, and the representative in

Parliament for his native county, that on leaving the Archipelago, on a very fine night, they

which followed them very but made no answer to the hail from

remarked closely,

a

the frigate. gerine

sail

The

corsair,

vessel proved to be an

Al-

rigged with short masts and

latine sails of very large dimensions.

became evident that they had mistaken the Lively for a merchantman. They It soon

ran her aboard upon the weather-quarter, and

suddenly dropped about

fifty

men from

of their latine

great projecting yard

the Lively's quarter-deck.

But the

sail

the

on

discipline

and regularity which constantly prevail in a British ship of war, forbid the possibility of a

The men who had been put on board

surprise.

the frigate were instantly exterminated, and a

few broadsides made a perfect wreck of the corsair. No answer was returned to their cries

of " Algerino, Algerino

VOL.

i.

p

;"

and

it

was not

MEMOIRS OF

210

known whether any

of

the

ever

survivors

reached the shore.

Another made,

illustration of the

as to the variety of

navigation of

remark

I

have

adventure which the

the Mediterranean

affords,

is

suggested by the case of an English merchant-

man, which, though mounting a few guns, was She was chiefly fitted up for close quarters. attacked by a Turkish vessel, and after a short

cannonade, was boarded by about

fifty or sixty

men, who were thrown into her by the Turk, and left on board, in the belief that they were undoubtedly

and possession of the the

secure the capture

sufficient to

Turk proceeded

vessel.

In the mean time,

in pursuit of another

which just then hove in

sail,

The crew

sight.

of

the merchantman had retired to the close quar-

and the cabins of the ship and as the boarding party had nothing with them but ters

;

their ordinary arms, they

found

force the bulkheads of the

it

impossible to

merchantman.

The

English crew being under cover, and perfectly secure, soon cleared the decks

their close quarters

by

upon the Turks

firing ;

from

who were

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

211

thus compelled to get into the main-chains for

There they remained

shelter.

all

night, but the

excessive heat of the following day, and the total

want of water,

at

surrender

when morning dawned,

;

for

length compelled them to

ascertained that the Turkish rover

They were

sight.

soners

;

it

was

was not in

accordingly received as pri-

and, after being handcuffed and other-

wise secured, they were conducted to Minorca

by a crew much

less

numerous than them-

selves.

The

visits

which I occasionally paid to the

various coasts of the Mediterranean, assisted very

much

in relieving the

monotony of our every-

The coast of Spain day life in the garrison. was of course of easiest access ; but we sometimes found our

way

to the shores

the inland towns of Italy.

When

and even to at

Leghorn,

was found, to our great satisfacthat the frigate in which we had embark-

for instance, it tion,

ed stood in need of some gladly

little

availed ourselves of

the

which the interval afforded, to ful

repair

;

and we

opportunity

visit

the beauti-

and interesting scenery of the Val d'Arno, p 2

MEMOIRS OF

212

and to examine the works of city of Florence

was

with which the

at that time,

again, so richly adorned.

by the

art

finest scenery in

and

is

now

Although surrounded the world, and replen-

ished to satiety with the greatest efforts of imitative genius, there seems to be

something in

the blue sky or the luxurious climate of Florence,

which tends to corruption and degeneracy.

In the course of

my

stay in this scene of vo-

luptuousness, I dined repeatedly at the table of

Lord Tilney

;

who, though regarded

centricities as a real

for his ec-

Florentine, was neverthe-

less visited

by most of the English of the

as well as

by

strangers.

The

place

entertainments

which he gave were of the most sumptuous deand in wine, as in other matters, he scription ;

proved himself a distinguished epicure. the

mode

at his

to

was

Lordship's table to produce a

constant succession of wines

seemed

It

;

but that which

be most highly valued, was a species

of Tokay, grown upon the same mountain with that which

the it

is

preserved for the exclusive use of

Emperor and

was considered

his friends.

Even

as a favour to

this

kind

be allowed to

SIR

purchase

;

JAMES CAMPBELL.

and Lord Tinley had not obtained

it

without the exertion of a great deal of influence, arising from his personal intimacy with the

The

Austrian Grand-duke. Mrs. Tilney

father of the late

Long Wellesley was

his Lordship's

nephew, and successor to his princely revenues. Another of the English residents at Florence

Lord Cowper, who, from excessive susceptibility, or some other cause, had been was

my

by the charms of a lady called The Magliabecchi. The lady had considerably the

captivated

advantage of her admirer in point of years, but

was

she hesitated,

it

conscience, to

make

said,

his

from tenderness of

Lordship happy by the

Lord Cowper had been at Florence for twenty years, and every season, on the return of spring, o he had his bag-gaffe OO O

possession of her hand.

packed up, and prepared for his departure but with equal regularity his resolution was over;

come.

ed to turity

The charms of The Magliabecchi seemacquire new force as they approached ma;

and the return of the season of love

only rivetted his Lordship's charms.

His bag-

gage was duly unpacked, and his hotel retaken

MEMOIRS OF Although not a man of the Lord Cowper was a great favour-

for another year.

brightest parts,

with the Grand-duke of Tuscany, the Emwas at peror's brother, whose ordinary residence ite

Florence.

By

his Highnesses influence,

Lord

Cowper was created a prince, with the title of Count of the Empire. When this intelligence reached England, it became a question at one Lord

of the clubs in St. James's-street, where

Cowper should be placed dency,

when

the

Duke

in the order of prece-

of Devonshire,

who was

then rather a grave young man, proposed to

by placing Lord Cowper, as Grace expressed himself, somewhere be-

solve the difficulty his

tween the Prince of Wales and " Prince Boothat that

by,"

time the most elegant

English Court, and

At

member

the period alluded

to,

man

at the

for Leicestershire.

the English

bassador at the Court of Tuscany was

AmSir

Horace Mann, who from long residence in the country had yielded to the influence of the to

atmosphere, and

all

other

accommodated

the luxuries of the place. respects

a

decided

himself

He

epicure,

was in

and

his

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

215

dinners were always select and rechercht.

happened to be present

at

one of his

I

repasts,

when Captain Cornwallis, the brother of the Marquis, made one of the company. Captain Cornwallis was noted for a bluntness beyond the seaman, and for an habitual dislike of every

thing approaching to fanfaronade or affectation,

same time that with a certain dryness of humour, he enjoyed a sort of practical joke at the

whom

at the expense of those

His place

overacting or pretence.

was

at the

he suspected of at the table

Ambassador's right hand.

There were just twelve persons present and the bouilli, when served up, from his station at ;

the table, was

make

it

and

twelve

slices

very

so arranged

each person present.

modicum

self to

the

ed the

assiette

and

of

on the plate as obvious that one was designed for

delicately cut,

to

presented to Captain Corn-

consisted

It

wallis.

first

calling

In place of helping himallotted to him,

he snatch-

out of the hands of the footman,

lustily

for

mustard, poured the

whole contents of the pot over

it,

observing at

the same time with studied composure to the

216

MEMOIRS of

-

astonished Envoy, that he was glad to see such a wholesome dish at his Excellency's table, and that he

would show him how well he could

dine upon

was of course a point of ho-

It

it.

nour with the humorist to eat up the whole,

and the truth to

say, it

was not a very great

undertaking to a person like Captain Cornwallis,

At

with an appetite perfectly unvitiated.

table,

individual as

on

this occasion, there

who had

as

Captain Cornwallis, and

the

less,

although

it

of the malicious in to

keen a

was another

relish for a

who

did not like

to

it

savoured pretty smartly its

application.

allude

I

Mr. Temple Luttrel: he happened

seated next

joke

to be

an English gentleman,

might be supposed from

his appearance to

had consulted Mr. Luttrel

be a

In the

person engaged in mercantile pursuits. simplicity of his heart, this

who

worthy individual as to the

which he should conduct himself

what should be expected from him

style in

at table,

and

in the

way

of compliment to the Ambassador, so that if the poor

man was

led into the commission of

any lapse on the score of propriety or

discre-

SIR tion,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

217

was no doubt to be ascribed to the

it

wicked waggery of this determined joker. It is to be observed, that besides being extremely sensitive

and

fastidious

in his notions of de-

corum, Sir Horace was remarkably feeble and

puny

in his personal appearance,

Luttrel's

friend got formally

and when Mr.

upon

his

legs,

and exclaimed with more than ordinary emphasis,

" Sir Hercules

Mann,

sure of drinking your very

may

I

have the plea-

good

readily be supposed that the

health," it

poor am-

bassador was absolutely perspiring with agony. " For in his he

iGod

sake,"

said,

lisping accents,

" set the gentleman right as to my name." " Well," replied our more obtuse countryman,

with the assistance no doubt of his wicked prompter,

" there

or Hercules,

's

no harm done,

as

Horace

you know, were both very great

men !" The extent

which the privileges of the church were formerly carried, if it be Hot so still,

by the

Italian priesthood,

even in those

which are not under the temporal conof the Roman Pontiff, was placed during

States trol

to

MEMOIRS OF

218

my

stay

Florence in

at

point of view.

It

is

rather a ridiculous

known

that the Catholic

churches and their precincts were regarded as sanctuaries,

not merely for the protection of

the persons of debtors, but even of those

committed the greatest

had

crimes.

who

In

a

church, situated in the immediate neighbour-

hood of the house in which

happened to be

I

lodged, a person had taken refuge suspected

of the commission of

murder and other

crimes,

attended with circumstances of peculiar atrocity.

He

was by trade a shoemaker, and had

sufficient influence in the place to procure

em-

ployment and food for a period of several months, during which he was accustomed to sit

at his

work on the

portico of the church, authorities with

The

steps,

and to

contempt and

case of this

or under the treat the civil

defiance.

offender

daring

was

at

length represented to the Grand-duke and his ministers,

who

succeeded

ecclesiastical conservators

in

persuading the

of the church, by a

sort of legal fiction, to deprive the criminal of

the benefit of sanctuary.

It

is

needless to say,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

219

that in Catholic countries the churches remain

who

constantly open, so that those selves of its

avail

them-

protecting privilege have perpe-

freedom of ingress and egress but even were otherwise, as the external precincts

tual

;

if it

confer the same security with the church there

would often be

Italian

little

hardship under an

sky in spending the night

the day in the open

itself,

as well as

air.

The method adopted by

the authorities for

bringing the shoemaker to justice, was to shut the doors of the church

when he was

at

work

and by placing a guard, or cordon of sentinels around the precincts, to starve

in the portico,

him

into a surrender,

plies of

by intercepting

food and water.

his sup-

The wretched

crea-

ture held out with great obstinacy for three or four days, but

submit to a

was

at length

trial for his offences,

compelled to

and ultimately

to that horrid sort of execution so Italy,

common

in

he was broken on the wheel.

The duty

of the garrison, although

ciently irksome

attend to

it

when

it

suffi-

became necessary to

in all its details,

was happily not

MEMOIRS OF

220

of such a continuous and permanent nature as to

be inconsistent with occasional leaves of

absence of considerable duration.

At

length, in the year 1772, the

intelligence

arrived

that

the

welcome

67th regiment

was immediately to be sent home to England. In the ordinary course of events

wards became

my

it

soon after-

duty, as the officer in com-

mand, to take the necessary measures barking the regiment.

for

em-

After a voyage, which

probably had no events worth remembering,

our debarkation

took

place

at

Portsmouth,

where a circumstance occurred which seems to

me

to illustrate the character of the

soldier for

want of

consideration,

common

and love of

change.

The regiment was inspected on the beach by Lord Cornwallis, who had always been a particular friend of

mine; and such was the

patriotism and apparent love of

home on

the

part of the men, that immediately on landing

they threw themselves on the shore, as

if

by

one accord, and kissed the pebbles on the beach, as a demonstration of the ardour of sentiments

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

221

which had no doubt been long and dearly cherished. It seemed to me that I had never seen

men

happy or contented, and such also was the remark which was made by Lord Cornwallis, on witnessing this marked expresso

sion of their feelings.

we marched

In the course of the day

to Petersfield,

which may perhaps

be a distance of some fifteen miles after

our

arrival, I

went, as was

inspect the quarters of the

them

;

and, soon

my

duty, to

men, when

I

found

in general at dinner.

After having commanded the regiment for

was of course well acquainted with every individual in the corps and in so

many

years, I

;

going round their quarters, I naturally congratulated

them with

all

the familiarity arising

from long intercourse on their eating a good

But the discontented an-

dinner in England.

swer I received was quite as unanimous as the expression of joyfulness in the morning. " noble colonel, but we "Yes," said they, can't

be very happy

weak small beer

to

;

for here

drink,

abundance of good wine

we have

only

whereas we had

at Minorca."

In

short,

MEMOIRS OF

222 after a day's

march, and a few hours of hun-

ger and fatigue, I found them sunk from the of elevation, to

highest point

the

zero

of

wretchedness and despondency.

From

we

Petersfield

continued our march

to the metropolis, where, soon after our arrival,

the regiment was reviewed by the

King on

one of the heaths or commons in the neigh-

bourhood of London or

Wimbleton,

I

Hounslow, Blackheath

don't

remember which.

Before the arrival of the day which had been

demand was made upon

fixed for the review, a

me by

the Victualling Board, which gave

good deal of following

uneasiness.

circumstances.

me

a

It arose out of the

When

the orders

arrived at Minorca for the embarkation of the

regiment,

it

was found that there were up-

wards of forty children, the offspring of deceased soldiers of the corps, for whose transport or maintenance there provision.

by a

Guided

would be no authorized

rather

by

my

feelings than

frigid adherence to the technical rules of

military duty, I found

the applications

made

it

to

impossible to

me by

resist

the mothers

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

and

connexions of

many

223

of these children,

seconded as they were, in a number of in-

by the

stances,

brother

friendly

importunity of

my

officers.

I first

applied to General Johnston, at that

time invested with

the

supreme command;

and, on his declining to interfere, I resolved at all

hazards to carry the children to England.

In justice to General Johnston,

I

must here

observe, that although he could not give

such an

official

would

order, as

relieve

me

me from

the responsibility to which I might be subjected,

by the course

yet, as

an act of humanity, he fully approved

I proposed to pursue;

of the proceeding, and expressed his viction that

it

could not

by the

authorities

farther

consideration,

orders

for

fail

I

con-

to be sanctioned

home.

at

own

Thus, without

gave

the

necessary

the embarkation and maintenance

of the children, and brought

them with the

regiment in safety to England.

When

the accounts were

made up

at the

Victualling office for the provisions supplied to the regiment, a personal

demand was made on

MEMOIRS OF

224

and payment of the childrens' rations the period during which they had been sup-

me as

for

;

plied with

extended over several

provisions

months, the demand amounted to a larger than it

moment

was convenient In

to satisfy.

this

sum much

me

for

emergency I beof

thought myself of the friendship Ligonier,

who was now one had served

Lord

of his Majesty's

favourite Aids-de-camp, and who, recollected,

at the

it

may be

in that capacity

under

Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, at the battle of Minden.

Of Lord

Ligonier, I

and exclusive

may

truth, that

say with perfect

he was

the most complete gentleman

And here of setting

I cannot

in all respects I

deny myself the

down one

ever knew. satisfaction

of his Lordship's answers

Lord George Sackville. The general tenor of Lord Ligonier's testimony was unfavourable to Lord George on the celebrated

trial

of

;

but when asked on the part of the prosecutor, if he did not discover any marks of fear on the countenance of the accused, he answered

with equal readiness and

spirit,

that in

all

his

SIR

military

JAMES CAMPBELL.

225

he had never seen any

experience,

such marks on the face of an English gentle-

man

!

The

advice

which

I

Ligonier, in reference to the

demand of the

was, on the

Victualling Board,

Lord

received from

day of the

drawn up to the left of the regiment; and, as on arriving at the extremity of the line, they would no doubt review, to have the children

under

fall

his Majesty's notice, the probability

was, that the

King would

cause of their appearance.

Ligonier advised of-fact, in I

could

On I

me

inquire into the

In that

Lord

to tell the plain matter-

the simplest and most concise terms

select.

the arrival of the regiment in England,

was of course superseded

in the

command

superior officer, Lieutenant-Colonel St.

my

by

case,

John, the brother of Lord Bolingbroke.

him

am bound

I

much

to say, that although

not

acquainted with the details of military

duty, he was always very

As

Of

much my

friend.

I write for the general reader, I shall be

pardoned by VOL.

i.

my

military friends for observing

Q

MEMOIRS OF

226 that

was

it

my

Majesty along the

Major to attend his while it was the pro-

as

duty

line,

vince of the Lieutenant-Colonel to take his place in the centre and give the words of com-

mand; a duty peculiarly

for

fitted

which he had not been habits as a courtier,

his

by

mem-

a gentleman of the bed-chamber, and a

The

ber of Parliament. interested

chiefly

Lord Ligonier had

which

affair in

took place very

was

I

much

as

foreseen.

After proceeding along the front, the King's attention

was

attracted,

on

his arrival at the left

by the appearance of the little troop of boys and girls drawn up in order for his Majesty's inspection ; and he immediately in-

of the

line,

"

quired, replied,

What

children are these ?"

with becoming gravity,

children, Sir, of soldiers jesty's service.

Had

who

"

To

They

this I

are the

died in your

they been

left in

Ma-

Minorca,

they would have been bred up as Catholics, and might have become menial servants to the Spaniards."

The King had

a

manner of throw-

ing back his head, and saying, "

What, what," which

to

"

Ay, ay," or me who had not been

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

accustomed to

who was on

conveyed the idea of disap-

it,

At

probation.

227

that

moment Lord

horseback in his Majesty's

Ligonier,

and

suite,

immediately behind the Royal person, beckoned to

me

with

with great signs of earnestness to proceed

my

statement

;

on which, taking up

my

" These last words, I continued, helpless chil-

dren are your Majesty's subjects, and I con-

them

England I was doing no more than the duty which I owed to your Majesty and the service. Their rations

ceived that in bringing

to

have been charged against me by the Victualling Board, and although I have reported the matter to the Adjutant-General, he has not thought

himself authorised to afford the "

King again

tossed

me relief." his

up

Well, well very well." ;

At

this

head, saying,

that

light infantry catching his eye,

On

moment

the

he began to ask

some questions regarding them, and the review proceeded as ever,

all

was not

reviews do.

lost

The incident, how-

on the King

no more of the Victualling

;

at least I heard

Office,

and

I

have

reason to believe that the poor orphans were

not forgotten.

Q 2

MEMOIRS OF

228

As interviews with Royalty

are not with

people of every-day occurrence, there

some excuse

for

most

may be

mentioning a matter of very

momentary interest. The charger on which I was mounted was a horse of the highest spirit and the

finest figure, in

short,

war-horse, and therefore only

he was quite a

fit

for the exhi-

bition of a little horsemanship at a review.

My

place being close to his Majesty's person,

my

horse, during

one of the manoeuvres, in the act

of rearing, turned briskly round, and covered the

King

all

over with foam.

sufficient self-possession

had fortunately to recollect what I had I

seen at foreign Courts, and to take no notice

of the accident.

Shall I be pardoned for the

vanity of repeating what the

King was

after-

wards pleased to say to Lord Ligonier in conversing on the subject, "That he had never seen a better-looking man, or a better-looking horse."

Soon

moted

after

my arrival

in

England, I was pro-

in the ordinary course of seniority to a

Lieutenant-Colonelcy in the army, and with

my

usual

frankness

of acknowledgment,

I

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

must here confess

that,

during

my

don, I entered with alacrity into

who was Count

stay in

all

Lon-

the gaieties

One evening

and pleasures of the town. the Opera, in

229

at

company with Colonel

Stafford,

known by

name of

generally

Stafford, a lady,

whom

the

neither of us

knew, made a considerable impression upon me. Piqued by some observation which fell from Colonel the

Stafford, I offered

amount of which

make

him

a wager,

I forget, that I should

her acquaintance in three days.

She

was accompanied by a lady some years older than herself

;

and, at the end of the opera, I

saw them enter a carriage distinguished by a On this I gave a chairman a guinea, lozenge. with the promise of a second, on his telling

me

next morning where the two ladies were

set

down, and to

whom

Next morning,

accordingly,

telligence, that the ters of

two

ladies

I

received the in-

were the daugh-

Mrs. Dutens, the widow of the jeweller

of the Court, tion,

the carriage belonged.

who had been

of French extrac-

and had died some time before, leaving a

considerable fortune, with a family of three

MEMOIRS OF

230

and two daughters. I shall not fatigue the reader with a detail of the circumstances which arose out of this

children, consisting of a son

adventure.

Suffice

it

to

won

that I

say,

wager of Colonel Stafford, and in ten days afterwards was married by special li-

my

at

cense,

St.

George's,

to

Hanover-square,

Henrietta Dutens, the younger of the two ladies

who had

attracted our attention at the

Opera.

In addition to her personal

found

my

I

attractions,

wife to be possessed of

many

amia-

and of accomplishments which made me very much her debtor. She had not merely practised music as an art, but had stuble

qualities,

died

it as

for

any

a science

little

;

and to her

I

am

indebted

knowledge of astronomy which

I

afterwards possessed.

In consequence of this ter

connexion,

my

sis-

Catherine became the wife of Mr. Peter

Dutens, Mrs. Callander's elder brother.

Not

long after he died, leaving an only son,

who

was killed giment

at the

head of General Stewart's

at the battle of Alexandria.

re-

Although

JAMES CAMPBELL.

Sill

231

but twenty-three years of age at the time of

he had risen to the rank of Lieute-

his death,

nant-Colonel of his regiment it

;

and

I

as equally creditable to this brave

gant young man, as to the

officer in

mention

and

ele-

command

of the brigade, that General Stewart, on his death, wrote a very kind

and well-penned

to his mother, conceived in terms of

and condolence,

so eloquent

to have been thought

married to

sympathy

and impressive

as

worthy of preservation

The mother

in all the periodicals of the day.

of Colonel Dutens,

letter

who by

this

time had been of Bistern-

Henry Compton, Esq.

house, in the county Hants, was almost frantic at the loss of her only son, of

well have exclaimed, with

emphasis of a bereaved and 11

During the

my

beautiful,

whom

all

she might

the agonizing

afflicted parent

my

brave

!"

lifetime of Mrs. Callander,

we

re-

sided chiefly in Golden-square, with the exception of a visit to

the ter,

autumn of

who

still

my

1772.

father,

On

survives,

which we made in

the birth of a daugh-

my

wife was seized

MEMOIKS OF

232

with a pulmonary affection, and immediately fell

into a rapid decline.

the advice of her

By

medical attendants, I carried her to the hotwells at Bristol,

where she

died, after

Her

only been ten months a wife.

had accompanied us to death she returned with

Of Miss Dutens

it is

Bristol,

me

elder sister

and

after her

London.

to

impossible for

speak in terms of eulogium at merits

having

me

to

equal to her

all

such was her amiable disposition, that

;

she tranferred to

pure and

me and

my

to to

sisterly affection

family that

which her de-

parted relative had been so well entitled.

Mrs. Callander was interred in the buryingvault of her family, at Great

Had

Baddow,

she survived her mother, she

succeeded

pounds derived

;

to

a fortune of

in Essex.

would have

eighty thousand

but although, personally, I have never any benefit from the succession,

ultimately devolved on the daughter of

second marriage,

Magginnis, the

who

is

Member

has a family of sons.

now for

Her

it

my

the wife of Mr. ,

by

first

Captain Dashwood, of the Guards.

whom

she

husband was

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

In the year 1773,

233

the 67th regiment was

Tynemouth and Newcastle, where with them for the greater part of

ordered to

I

resided

a

From

year.

where we

thence

also

we

made

inarched to Edinburgh,

and

a considerable stay,

from Edinburgh to Fort George, in the north of Scotland.

In the neighbourhood of Fort George I had the advantage of finding society very

my

I

liking.

I

much

was well acquainted, before

went abroad, with Lady Margaret Duff, to the Earl of Fife,

and by

this

to I

sister

time her Lady-

ship was married to another old friend of mine,

Mr. Brodie, of Brodie, a great part of

my

at

castle I spent

time while the regiment was

stationed at Fort George.

myself, a keen sportsman ciality

whose

Mr. Brodie was, like ;

and from the

so-

of his disposition was equally well dis-

posed to extend to those around him the enjoy-

ment he

received from the sports of the

field.

I shall here attempt a hasty sketch of one or

two of the days which were devoted

to this

happy combination, as I am willing, even to regard them as a compensation in full

still,

for a

MEMOIRS OF

234

legion of those annoyances

times dignify with the

which we some-

name

of suffering and

misery.

The for the

Findhorn

river

is

known

to sportsmen

abundance and the quality of

Brodie and

I,

its

salmon.

being both devoted followers of

the gentle Izaac, and both tolerably read in the

mysteries of fly-fishing, agreed

may be made should

kill

as

any thing that he who

the subject of a bet

the greatest number, should give

a public breakfast to the ladies of the neigh-

bourhood

at the fine old castle of

Darnaway,

which overlooks the Findhorn, and was then in a state approaching to decay.

I

need not speak

of the beauty of the scenery, nor of the inspir-

ing presence of our numerous guests.

After

each of us had killed seven beautiful salmon,

Mr. Brodie complained of exhaustion, the com-

pany of hunger, and we agreed to hold it as a drawn bet. After breakfast we engaged in dancing, with which lighted, that

the breaking ball

we were

Mr. Brodie and

I

so

much

de-

agreed, before

up of the company, to give a joint and supper at the town of Mairne to all

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

the ladies of the county; in

Scotch

and

as

235 gentlemen

rather a scarce

counties are

com-

modity, I believe the addition which I brought of twenty fine young fellows from the regi-

mental mess at Fort George, was any thing but

unwelcome. it as

For myself,

a white day in

my

I shall

calendar.

always regard

MEMOIRS OF

236

CHAPTER Means

of dispelling

ennui.

Military anecdotes.

March

to

Holidays at Craigforth.

bernian.

A

Serjeant-Major Booth, Mr. Sharp,

Fitzpatrick.

of fashionable

Mr. Fox.

diction.

Anecdotes of

Duke

Mr.

Singular pre-

The

on character.

Anecdotes of

Johnson.

Garrick.

departs for Dublin.

London.

clubs, &c.

societies,

influence

High play; Pandemonium. Its members.

gallant Hi-

Arrival at

Lord Littleton. its

Goldsmith.

with America.

A

Scotch veterans.

Quarrel and reconciliation.

member

AT

War

Perth and Stirling.

Inspector-General.

Ad-

Hospitable reception.

vantages of the funding system.

&c.

X.

Foote. Irish

it.

Oliver

The Author

Gentlemen.

Fort George

we were reviewed by

of Argyle.

We

best dinner

we

could,

gave

his

the

Grace the

and marched soon

af-

terwards to Fort Augustus and Fort William.

This

last

fortress,

which now became the

head-quarters of the regiment,

is

not remark-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR able for

its

237

resemblance to Bergen-op-Zoom, or

any of those in Flanders. The fortifications are of turf, and the wretched guns, which had to

formerly been mounted on the ramparts, were

long since more than half buried in the mud. If I cannot celebrate Fort William as a place

of strength, I fear that I can say as it as

a place of gaiety and pleasure.

under the shadow of Ben Nevis, the exertion of

which the

is

and despondency.

To repel we resolved

to get

up

at

Fort William

may be judged

it

in

;

but, such as

all

the

of the

of from the ex-

pense, which, as far as I recollect, to fifty shillings

it

The splendour

ladies of the village.

entertainment

into ennui

the advances of

and to invite to

a ball,

of

have so large a

said to

him from sinking

devils of all hues,

requires

that vivida vis mice,

all

soldier

Situated

it

share, to prevent

to

little for

it

amounted

was,

we went

the spirit of that philosophy which

accommodates

to

itself

the circumstances in

which we are placed and, with the resolution to enjoy ourselves, and to " take the good the ;

Gods provide

us,"

we persuaded

ourselves for

MEMOIRS OF

238 the

moment

that nothing at Almack's was half

so agreeable.

The

inhabitants of Fort William appeared

at that

time to enjoy a happy immunity from

the operation of the

game

I cannot tell

laws.

whether they have since been promulgated in

am

that part of the island, nor

I

sufficiently

an adept in the science of legislation to determine the effect of those severe and highly penal restrictions which have elsewhere been carried into

execution

rigorous

against the

unlicensed and unprivileged sportsman

;

much, however, I can say with perfect

truth,

this

that the quantity of

game

hood of Fort William,

at the period I speak of,

was great beyond all

seasons

observed to

miscuous and

it

all

times and in

on our table

in every

moor game, black cock, hare, The abundance which was thus

possible variety

and roebuck.

At

belief.

we had

in the neighbour-

:

continue,

constant

in

spite

of this pro-

destruction,

arose,

apprehend, from the interest which was

I

felt

by every individual of the community in the preservation of the game, which was to serve

SIR

him

JAMES CAMPBELL.

at once for sport

and

239 If the

for food.

farmer and the hind are not to be permitted to enjoy an

amusement which our

seem desirous of monopolizing caste in society, if

those

we

so

much

in

their

is it

for the

power

for the destruction of that

it

which they are not permitted to enjoy. easy

own

for their

surely cannot be surprised

who have

should employ

legislators

ploughman

a nest of partridges

!

How on

to put his foot

How much

is

it

the

interest

of the farmer to destroy the

leverets,

and exterminate the denizens of the

warren

In

young

!

this land

of mountain and of flood, the

scattered so thinly as to admit " like only of a species of intercourse which, if

population

is

angels' visits,

few and

far between,"

compensated by the sterling pitality of

forgot

all

your reception.

is

amply warmth and hos-

They had

already

those feelings of jealousy and well-

earned hatred which they had inherited from their forefathers,

and which had been engen-

dered in their blood by a long succession of injury and wrong.

Considering the colour of

MEMOIRS OF

240

our uniform, I think myself called on to make

some

acknowledgment for the oblivion in which they were disposed to bury the horrid

But

massacre of Glencoe.

if

we have any

charge to bring against the glorious of

memory

King William, we should remember, on the

other hand, the enviable facility which he be-

queathed us of getting into debt.

One

considerable advantage has no

doubt

from the funding system, in the possibility which it affords of providing against arisen

a great national emergency

on the credit of posterity.

by making But there

a draft are in-

homely enough to imagine that the system has some slight tendency to waste and extravagance, and that we of the present day dividuals

might have fared quite been imported cantile

;

had never

as well if it

or at least, if our great mer-

monarch and

his

enjoyed such unlimited

successors

facilities in

had not

carrying

it

into operation.

In the autumn of 1775, the regiment was

marched to Perth, where we were quartered the winter.

And

here the

first

for

opportunity

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

presented

itself,

which

years, of visiting

At

forth.

my

I

had enjoyed

241 for several

father's house, at Craig-

the approach of Christmas,

it

was

agreed that I should invite the regiment to For the spend the holidays at Craigforth.

amusement of

my

brother officers and the com-

pany invited to meet them, regimental band.

I sent also for the

It was, I

remember, a strange sight to see the musicians after they had retired

The apartment prepared

to rest.

for their ac-

commodation was no other than the hay-loft and in place of a counterpane, they were co;

vered with the drawing-room carpet, from under

which a

score of heads

What

chiefly puzzled

tation,

was the

so as to leave

the

men

In

me

in

difficulty of

making

this invi-

making a

selection,

some proper person

during the absence of the

this

hands I

showed somewhat oddly.

dilemma

felt that I

fide,

whom

officers.

I sent for a friend, in

should be

safe,

ed him as to what I should do.

Houston, in

in charge of

I

whose

and consult-

Mr. Sharp, of

was thus disposed to con-

although at that time a very young man,

had always distinguished himself u VOL. i.

in the regi

MEMOIRS OF

242

ment

an excellent

as

me by

disappoint

officer;

and he did not

the readiness with which he

of commander agreed to exercise the functions of the garrison, while his comrades were enjoyI charged him,

ing the holidays at Craigforth. of course, to send to

me

on the instant

He

attention.

any-

presence or

my

thing should occur to require

if

undertook the duty

as a

mark

of friendship as well as of distinction, and at the

moment sacrifice

of entering on

it

he was willing to

the festivities of the season for the no-

velty and pride of

commanding a regiment. But

the novelty soon wore

off,

and

it

was not long

before he ceased to enjoy his solitary dignity.

One

ner, there entered the

and astonishment, Sharp,

we had

sat

down

room, to

my

utter dismay

evening, just as

my

who proceeded

to din-

worthy locum tenens Mr. to address

me

in a for-

mal speech, interrupted by the exclamations of " Give me leave," he every officer in the room. said,

" to speak, and I will

tell

you

all

You know, Colonel, that you have often

about

it.

bestow-

ed the highest encomiums on the serjeant-major, Mr. Booth and considering that the regiment ;

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

had behaved remarkably is

in a state of

besides, is

243

well, that the country

profound peace, and that Perth,

an inland town, where there

is little

danger of disturbance or attack, I thought that I

was fully

manding

justified, as the

officer for

undoubted com-

the time, to give myself

leave of absence, especially as told

me

you have often that Mr. Booth had more steadiness

than myself."

This appeal was

irresistible,

and there could of

course be no other answer to

it

than the assu-

rance of our happiness at seeing the blank sup-

where the want of any member of the corps inferred a deduction from the harmony and unanimity which had prevailed in plied in a meeting,

the regiment since I had had the happiness of

commanding

On

it.

our return to Perth, I had the satisfaction

to find that the anxiety I

had experienced for the

proper conduct of the men, during the absence

had been compensated by the most exemplary behaviour on the of the commissioned

officers,

part of every individual of the garrison.

the course of the following spring

R

2

In

we marched

MEMOIRS OF

244 to Stirling,

when

tunities of seeing sion, at

my

at Stirling,

I

had more frequent oppor-

my brother officers,

After a short stay

father's house.

we marched

in succes-

to Glasgow,

where

it

was universally admitted that we had never met elsewhere with such distinguished civility and

The

attention.

was

at that

business of the

time in agitation.

American

War

In consequence

of the extensive levies which became necessary to prepare for approaching hostilities, an order

was issued soldiers

for the

inspection

of the invalid

throughout the kingdom.

of this inspection was to ascertain the pensioners were

still fit

The

object

how many

of

for service, either in

the actual scene of war, or to do garrison-duty at

home, under the name of veteran

For

this

districts,

battalions.

purpose the kingdom was divided into

and

I

was appointed Inspector-general

of the whole of the west of Scotland, including its islands

and appurtenances.

In the course of duties to

which

this

my

performance of the

appointment subjected me,

I had repeated reason to lament the hardship

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

245

and inconvenience to which many of the poor invalids were subjected, by want of method

and information on the part of those who had regulated the manner in which this inspection was to be conducted. I had one man brought to

me

from Lewis, and another from Skye,

who were

each of them upwards of ninety "

years of age.

Indeed,

my

them, putting his hand on

bud," said one of

my

shoulder with

the privileged familiarity of a veteran who had survived so many campaigns, " it was all

very idle of you to bring a

other

of ninety from

My answer to such

the Isle of Skye." strances

man

remon-

was probably in keeping with that of

official

personages,

who

are

generally

sufficiently ready to throw the responsibility of

their

proceedings, and the

excite,

ment. that I

odium

they,

may

on the broad shoulders of the GovernIn a case like

this, it will

had some reason to be

be admitted

solicitous for

im-

munity from the charge of wantonness and oppression, since

very

little

it

cannot be concealed, that a

attention,

in

the proper quarter,

MEMOIRS OF

246

would have relieved

all

those

who

at least

were absolutely superannuated from the

in-

tolerable burthen of nonogenarian journeys.

In a place like Glasgow, of great extent

and population, I found, of course, a number of detachments from other regiments, which, with

became subordinate to

their officers,

mand,

my

com-

as the senior officer of the district.

In

the promiscuous associations which are caused

by

of things, there

state

this

is

sometimes

reason to regret the introduction of habits of idleness,

and

their usual concomitants, such as

gaming, drinking, and

Under such

all

sorts

of dissipation.

circumstances, I felt myself called

upon to keep a watchful eye over some of these strangers, so as to neutralize, as far as possi-

contamination which

ble, the

might

intercourse that,

by too

suffer ;

and

with very

part, the

I

free or

had the

little

my own

unrestrained an

satisfaction to find

active interference

mere show of attention which

to the subject

officers

on

my

I paid

was accompanied with the very

best effects.

Among

other unpleasant

consequences which

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

sometimes arose in

was a

little

who had

this

mixed

occasional fracas

247

state of society,

among

individuals

been long enough acquainted

not

with each other to understand those niceties

and

peculiarities of

rise to serious

manner which I

consequences.

instance, a quarrel about

some

between two of these strange

so often give

remember, for trifling matter,

officers

the one

Mr. Quin, the other a Mr. M'Gregor. In consequence of the altercation which had I think, a

between them, some common acquaintance had communicated the matter to me, arisen

and on

my

arrival at their place of meeting, I

found them prepared to proceed immediately to the ultima ratio.

On my

entrance, I

found

Mr. Quin observing with great gravity to his he should be sorry to carry antagonist, that matters to extremity, as he had had the mis-

two men already under simiThis was regarded by the circumstances.

fortune to kill lar

M'Gregor

as

an imputation on his courage,

which, I believe, was far from being intended " That by the hasty but gallant Hibernian.

may be

" very true," said M'Gregor, for aught

MEMOIRS OF

248 I

know

but, egad !" he continued, suiting the

;

same time to the word by draw" sword, you never killed me !" In

action at the

ing his

consequence, I right feeling,

may

truly say, of the honesty,

and courage of the

parties con-

cerned, I got this quarrel appeased with very little difficulty

;

and I may lay

it

down

as the

some experience in such matters, that men of honour and principle are always pre-

result of

make

pared to

large allowance for their

own

misconception of circumstances, and to apply a fair

and

liberal

construction to the motives

by

which those are guided with whom Between such men the most serious to deal. they have

difference facility,

may be

while he

adjusted with comparative

who

is

conscious of a defi-

ciency in courage or integrity,

is

proportionally

and impracticable, and consequently much the more prone to bring a trifling

obstinate so

dispute to a fatal conclusion.

In the course of the year 1776, I received

an order to march the regiment to Portpatrick,

and embark them

for

Donoghadee

whence they were immediately

;

from

to proceed to

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

249

Dublin, to take up their quarters in the barracks of the Irish metropolis.

After seeing the

regiment on ship-board at Portpatrick, I

them

to proceed

mand

of a junior

rected to

left

on their route, under the com-

My

officer.

London, where

I

own

steps I di-

remained during the

ensuing winter.

My

residence in

not distinguished

London

at this period

by any remarkable

was

absti-

nence from the pleasures and gaieties of the town.

A

member

of the Savolr vivre, and of

most of the other clubs which had any pretension to brilliancy or fashion, I

tunity of becoming personally

had the oppor-

known

to

many

of the most distinguished characters of that

narrow and exclusive

which

circle

lead the manners of the age. tion the

affects

When

I

to

men-

names of Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Fox,

and Lord Lyttleton, I cannot fail to call up recollections in which men of the present day,

much younger than to

myself, will

still

be ready

acknowledge a deep and engrossing

Of Lord

Lyttleton I

may

was a man of transcendent

interest.

truly say, that he ability.

Had

he

MEMOIRS OF

250

not been addicted to play, his talents must

have raised him to the highest State.

He

offices in

the

had not been educated for any par-

ticular profession;

and, I believe, had never

seriously applied himself to study of

any kind

;

but such was the native force of his genius, that in the in the

week

in

which he

first

took his seat

House of Lords, he made two

speeches,

both necessarily unpremeditated, from

their

being in reply, which were separately consider-

ed by the best judges of the period as masterIn conversation

pieces of senatorial eloquence.

he was exceedingly

sarcastic

possession of that hazardous

;

but with the

and peculiar vein

of pleasantry, he enjoyed the rare advantage of

being able so to conduct himself as to avoid giving cause of offence.

He

never drank, but

allowed himself the indulgence of appetites.

table ing,

;

all his

other

His greatest bane was the gaming-

but with the single exception of drink-

he certainly did not

stint himself in

any

species of debauchery.

Of

his death,

which happened

at an early

SIR age, there

JAMES CAMPBELL.

251

have been various accounts.

generally agreed, that long before

he had affected to

it

It

is

took place,

foretell the precise period at

which he was to terminate

his career.

Like

the prophecies of Mr. Irving and other soothsayers, the prediction of

and disregarded but with a resoluperhaps, to verify what he had so long en-

laughed tion,

Lord Lyttleton was

at

;

deavoured to impress on the minds of others, certain that

is

him

at his

it

he invited a large party to meet

house at Hagley, on the day he had

foretold as the period of his dissolution.

entertained his

He

company with a strange and

incoherent mixture of drollery and seriousness, until the time arrived for their retiring to rest.

Following the he went as

example of

his

company, usual to bed, where he was found

next morning

dead.

marks of violence on

There were no external his

body

;

but

nerally supposed that the event he

it

was ge-

had predict-

ed was in some way or other accomplished by his

own

agency.

The

account. I

given was communicated to

have

now

me by Admiral

MEMOIRS OF

252 Wolseley,

who was one

Lord Lyttleton

to

of the party invited by the day of his

signalize

death.

For myself, I must be permitted to say in self-defence, that it was only during a short period of

my

that I spent

life

much time

at the

gaming-table, or engaged in the other follies of Constitutionally, I cannot be said to

the day.

have ever been addicted to play.

With

strong

passions in other respects, I never suffered self at

my-

the gaming-table to lose that coolness

and circumspection which are so indispensably necessary to him who would not be overwhelmI have thus been

ed in the fascinating vortex.

always what

made

it

is

called a fortunate player.

I

more than a

cer-

a rule never to lose

tain limited

amount

at

any

single sitting

;

and

was enabled to follow by that mastery over my feelings to which I have just alluded. With this limit to my losses, and withthis rule I

out any limit to

my

gains, the results

such as ought to have enabled plied

to have ap-

good fortune to a better purpose than all pretend to have done.

my

I can at

me

were

SIR.

I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

253

have often been accustomed to observe that

the love of play

a vice

is

which

originates in

and invariably leads to extravagance and profusion; while its influence on the geavarice,

neral character

is

to produce a sort of universal

apathy, without substituting in the place of the feelings

which

it

has paralysed a single good,

or sound, or solid principle of action.

I fear

that I dare not claim for myself any right of

exemption from the influence of #, law to which it

would be

difficult to assign a limit.

If

1

have

escaped the contagion of this great moral pestilence,

ings

with some remains of those better

feel-

which give a dignity and grace to human

nature,

and which,

I flatter

myself,

my

enemy would never have denied me,

greatest

the escape

any want of uniformity in the operation of the law itself, but to the influence of circumstances, by which my conduct

is

to be ascribed, not to

was controlled, before

I

was irrecoverably

lost

in this whirlpool of folly.

Here

I

cannot deny myself the satisfaction of

recording one

VOL.

i.

little

circumstance, which, with

R 7

254

.'.?:

MEMOIKS OF

the candid and the good,

garded

as a sort of

of this portion of

enabled by

my

may

redeeming

my

life

and

possibly be re-

trait in

the aspect I

character.

was

success at play to be of consi-

derable service to

my

father,

whose pecuniary

circumstances were far from being prosperous.

At

one time, I gave him

1,000 of

and

;

2,500/.

finally, I

;

at another,

became bound

sum

for a

which he had borrowed from

brother-in-law,

of Ardkinglas. that I

1,700/.

his

the late Sir James Campbell, It will

be seen in the sequel,

was afterwards arrested

for the

payment

of this debt, by Sir Alexander Campbell, the son of

my

uncle, Sir

James Campbell,

in con-

sequence of a difference arising out of one of those great causes of excitement, a contested election.

But

to arise

from

my

make some atonement

confessional

and to

for that sort of purga-

tory into which I have been leading the cour-

teous reader, allow

me

to conduct

him

single evening to the inmost recesses of

monium

itself.

The

club of that

for a

Pande-

name was

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

255

the resort of the greatest wits of the day as the seeds of vanity

position with as

of

much

could not

folly, I

took root in

my

;

and com-

kindliness as other sorts

resist

deavouring to become a

the ambition of en-

member

of a society

which had acquired a just degree of celebrity, from the rank and eminence of many of its associates, in

It is

the world of

true, that

letters.

an institution like the Pan-

demonium may be regarded partnership,

ber

is

in

which every individual mem-

expected to furnish his proportion of the

general stock of ideas in this, as in

who

as a sort of literary

;

and

it

may

also

mere mercantile concerns, that he

brings the greatest share of stock,

to reap the greatest share of profit.

however, as

up

be true

it

may, I

to this period,

am bound

my

is

Be

likely that,

to confess that

reading was confined to

the regimental orderly-book, with the addition

perhaps of the newspapers and the other periodicals of the day. It

was

when

not, therefore, to

I offered

at the table

myself

be supposed, that

as a candidate for a seat

where men of the highest

fashion,

MEMOIRS OF

256

,

with the additions of fortune, and of

title,

and

of every quality but that of wit had applied in I

vain for admission, believe, that I

many I

was

had the presumption to

had a better

title to success

of those rejected applicants with

than

whom

in the habit of associating at the clubs of

was probably piqued into the attempt by the notable failures which had St. James's-street.

I

been made by several of

my friends

;

and when

once I have seriously proposed to myself any object of attainment, bitious, I

however

difficult or

am-

have never wanted the perseverance

necessary to

its

acquisition so long as a

of success remained.

I

hope

chanced to form an

acquaintance with the celebrated Samuel Foote,

who, besides being a player and a wit, was,

what

is

not so generally known, a

and varied erudition.

member

of the

He

man

of great

was of course a

Pandemonium, and

to

him

applied for his interest and protection.

answer to the proposal was somewhat "

What

you

?"

I

His

startling,

the Devil," he said, " can I say for

But the recommendation which

posed for myself was

much

I pro-

better received

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

than

I

had any reason to expect.

257 said that

I

I was as good a listener as any in England,

and that although I had not much to say for myself, I was persuaded that I could at least

On

enjoy what was said by others.

Foote observed, that these were

this

qualities

Mr.

which

he would gladly recommend to the attention of

many I

of the members of the society.

secured his influence

In

me

he proposed

;

effect,

as a

member next

club-day, and soon afterwards

announced that

I

had passed the ordeal of the

ballot-box.

At

that time, the place of meeting of the

Pandemonium was May-Fair.

in a house in Clarges-street,

was a dinner-club, and the

It

day that I attended arm-chair next the seated,

whom

I

I

it,

fire,

I

went

alone.

found a

had never seen

fat

first

In the

gentleman

before.

Stand-

ing by his side, in close conversation with him,

was a dapper to

me

I

man with whom

I

room there were i.

seemed

had already been acquainted, could not remember when or where

had met with him.

VOL.

it

if I

as

although

little

In other parts of the

several little groups of indis

MEMOIRS OF

258

viduals, all evidently waiting with impatience for the

announcement of dinner.

Among these, I at son to whom I could named

formerly been

deeply

immersed

own, that

in

length discovered a peraddress myself as having to

but him

;

I

found so

some cogitation of

his

was not without a good deal of

it

difficulty I could so far arrest his attention as

to induce

man

him

to present

me to the stout gentle-

and one or two

in the chair,

whose

others,

The

acquaintance I was desirous of making.

person I addressed was Oliver Goldsmith, perhaps, without exception, the in

He who

Europe.

tion, I

age, the

my

first

most absent man

attracted

my

atten-

found to be the great moralist of the

Author of the Rambler.

best bow, he

gruffly

In return for

nodded

to me,

and

continued some observations of a ludicrous nature which he

was making,

solemnity, to the

little

in a tone of

man by

mock

his side,

who

proved to be no other than David Garrick.

The Roscius diality

and

lightful to

received

me

air

of cor-

which was quite deAt length, Mr. Foote, and a

politeness,

me.

with an

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

number of other members having

259 arrived,

we

adjourned to dinner.

The

my

conversation to

great relief

general, before even the It

became

was removed.

cloth

seemed to be a favourite object with

several

of the members to bring out the peculiar vein

About

of Dr. Goldsmith. " produced the successful

this period

he had

Good Natured Man," and

other

Mr. Foote observed to

comedies.

him, that he wondered to see Goldsmith writing such stuff as these, after immortalizing his

name by and

pieces so inimitable as the Traveller, " the Deserted Village. Why, Master

Foote," said Goldsmith, with his rich Irish " in fine verses talk of

brogue

my

reply,

you

me

would never produce

can of porter; but since sense, as

you

call

it,

for

a beef-steak, and a I

have written non-

your bare boards, I can

afford to live like a gentleman."

Dr. Johnson,

head of the

who had

table,

taken his seat at the

then began, in a monotonous

tone of affected gravity and grandiloquence, to

pronounce a eulogium on that

it

folly,

was more pleasing, and, s

2

and to prove

therefore,

more

MEMOIRS OF

260 useful, than

good

sense.

In the course of the

evening, every conceivable variety of topic was

but in general, the subjects under

introduced

;

discussion

had some

reference,

more

or

less

remote, to the current literature of the day.

which to

me

They thus acquired an

interest

was peculiarly

from the connection

striking,

which subsisted between the topics of conversation and the speakers themselves, without

much

regard, probably, to the

undoubted

talent

with which the discussion was handled I

may

declare with unaffected

the whole scene was perfectly actors in

it

not

they declaimed.

less

At

:

for

sincerity, that

new

to me, the

than the topics on which the same time,

I

had nous

and propriety of exercising the peculiar talent which had recommended me as a candidate for admission

enough

to perceive the prudence

into the club.

sagacity to discover that I

pugnacious society, class,

no extraordinary had got into a most

It called for

who

like others

of their

had acquired an undoubted right to be

regarded as of the genus I naturally

irritabile.

regarded the introduction which

SIR I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

261

had thus obtained to the society of the great-

and to the enjoyment of what the excluded, still more perhaps than the

est wits of the age,

feast of reason

and the flow of

nary mark of distinction. full proportion

ed next day,

At

It

soul,'' as

no

ordi-

was not without a

in St. James's-street, at the even-

I

club.

" the

of self-complacency that I hint-

had spent having been duly

ing

as

were accustomed to consider

exclusives,

first,

at the

Pandemonium,

installed as a

member

of the

the communication was received

attempt on the credulity of

as a daring

after

my

more

fashionable acquaintance, particularly of those

who had

formerly suffered the mortification of

being black-balled by

men who assumed

but who,

of aristocracy in the republic of

letters,

beyond the sphere of wit and

intellect,

pretensions possession

a sort

had no

to excellence, nor in general to feed but " their

good

spirits

any and

clothe them."

In consequence of

demonium,

I

my

admission to the Pan-

had reason to congratulate myself

on other advantages besides the opportunity which

it

afforded

me

of passing an occasional

MEMOIRS OF

262 afternoon in a

new

brought me, in the

species of

enjoyment

much

first place,

;

it

better ac-

quainted with the powers and resources of my

own mind

;

and

it

made

disclosures of deficien-

cy as well as possession, which were ever

The new

wards of the greatest use to me. cies

spe-

of excitement which thus arose, brought

with ing

after-

it also

me

the additional advantage of inspir-

with a thorough disgust for the love

of play, which thenceforward I began to treat as

an unworthy and ignoble passion.

Nor was

it

only in

now began to rise. monium was a sort

my own

estimation that I

A fellowship in the Pandeof patent of nobility, which

afforded a ready access into those enlightened

which may with justice be regarded as the best society of London. Having once accircles

quired a decided taste or ambition for the en-

joyment of the best society which in

any situation of

down that

as

I believe

it

open to us

may be

laid

a rule of pretty general application,

we do

any thing

life,

is

not readily abandon that society for

inferior in value.

To wards

the end of the season

it

became

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

necessary for fessional

me

more of

to think once

and

duties,

263

my pro-

I prepared to proceed to

command

Dublin, to resume the

of

my

regi-

ment.

In the packet-boat,

at

Holyhead, I made

the acquaintance of a gentleman of

cannot speak as eccentric

less

character.

I

than a very original and

At

this

period he was

an ensign in a regiment quartered but,

whom

at

Cork,

by the name of Captain O'Beirne, he

will be recognised as a person afterwards well

known

the most distinguished circles of

in

society.

It

was

late in the

evening when

we

approached the Pigeon-house, and from the unskilfulness of the Irish boatmen,

not then, at

least,

in the world,

the most celebrated navigators

we were

all

ger of being drowned. jeopardy,

the

who were

in the greatest dan-

In the midst of our

attention of the boatmen was

grievously distracted by the exclamations of

my new

acquaintance, for a

manteau which he

him on board.

said

little

black port-

he had brought with

Every other individual was

exclusively occupied with the idea of self-pre-

MEMOIRS OF

264-

servation, as

At

fast.

the boat was evidently sinking

length,

by continual groping

in the

water at the bottom of the boat, O'Beirne recovered his portmanteau, soaking wet; and his extraordinary eagerness in the pursuit

from of

it,

deuce

I could it

not

resist

inquiring what the

could contain, to

make him

so very

" All the corn in Aigypt," uneasy about it ? was his characteristic reply. " Sixty guineas,

by Jasus

!"

The sum,

indeed, might well be

thought considerable in the eyes of a gentle-

man who had in

seen hard service as an ensign

the Austrian troops in

although a

man

Hungary

where,

of good family, he had

applied for service, in

common

with

those of his gallant countrymen,

cluded by their religion from rising to a

;

distinguished station

many

who

the

first

of

are ex-

hope

of

under their

own Government. Fifty years ago, the Irish packet-boats were

not quite so well provided with creature comforts as the

so that first

moving

on landing

palaces of the present day at the Pigeon-house,

idea was to direct

my

steps to

;

my

some snug

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

where

corner,

265

I could appease the cravings of

The

an excellent appetite. gle" which carried o

me

driver of the " jin-

me down

to town, set

an excellent eating-house, which he assured

at

me was

frequented by gentlemen of respect\

ability.

was shown

I

into a public room,

where, as every box was occupied, I walked

up to the fire-place. There I found two gentlemen seated at a little round table, close by the fire and seeing ;

my I

embarrassment

appeared from

for

want of

my travelling

a seat,

habiliments to be

a stranger, they were civil enough to

down with them

sit

and that

at their table.

make me I

them very agreeable companions, and,

found as is

generally the case in the best Irish inns, the

wine they were drinking was ing

made

to join

Hav-

a hearty supper, I did not hesitate

them

sat rather late,

in

excellent.

at

their potations

;

indeed,

we

but happily without engaging

any serious adventure.

When we

had parted

for the

master of the house conducted

ment

in the

me

night,

the

to an apart-

neighbourhood of the tavern, and

266

from him

whom

I learned that

the gentlemen with

had supped were two persons of the the one greatest note at that time in Dublin was known by the name of Hero Jackson, the I

;

by that of Buck English. Next day, before going to the

other

barracks,

which are situated in the neighbourhood of the Phoenix Park, about three miles from Dublin,

went

I

to pay

my

quaintances, and

two

respects to one or

among

others to the

ac-

Duke

of

who engaged me to remain with him dinner. At the Duke's table I had the

Leinster, to

number of

pleasure of meeting a sociates in arms, officer

my

old as-

and among others the general

who had asked

in the midst of the

so

many

questions of

me

cannonade at the battle of

Fellinghausen. I told the

Duke

of our perils at the Pigeon-

house, of the place where

of the individuals their

that

my

who had

I

had supped, and favoured

me

with

company on which his Grace observed, he would give me one piece of advice on ;

landing

liarity

was

among them.

fully justified

(The Duke's fami-

by the

closeness of our

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

267

former intimacy, which arose from his residence

some time

for

two

my

guest in

" In Ireland,

Geneva.) "

as

classes

of men,

you

who

associate,

you

whom,

will find," he said,

resemble each other

The Gentlemen

in nothing but in name. Ireland, with

of

of course, you will always

be men of the highest

will find to

honour, intelligence, and

spirit

but there

;

another class of bucks and heroes, are accustomed to distinguish Irish Jontlemen,

house at

my

and these

it

is

whom we

by the name of will

be prudent

for you, as far as possible, to avoid."

Of

had some years

this latter class I

wards a striking specimen left

me

which the

Duke

found the men of the world so deeply

imbued with the proper

men

of Leinster had

In no country that I have ever visited

taken. I

Drogheda, which

perfectly satisfied of the breadth of the

distinction

have

at

after-

as those of Ireland

truth, that

it

would be

:

attributes of gentleI

may add with equal

difficult in

any country

to find a parallel to the sort of character of

which

The

I

now

propose to give a specimen.

incident which occurred to

me

at

Drog-

MEMOIRS OP

268 heda took place,

as

have

I

said, after

I

had

been in some degree naturalized in the country,

and had become tolerably acquainted with the manners of all classes of its inhabitants. I had dined with Mr. Chester, a very elegant young

man, and

at that

time invested with the

Mayor of Drogheda.

of

go to the

theatre, in

I

my

had

left his

office

house to

ordinary dress, which

was the uniform of the 13th Light Dragoons. I

had been

when sat

for

a person,

down

to those

some time seated

whom

I

in the pit,

had never seen

before,

beside me, and who, by talking loudly

around him, discovered some indications

of his having drank a

little.

After some time he addressed himself to me,

and asked,

come that

in a taunting

manner,

there in that coat. it

was

my

chose to wear.

To

why

this I

I

had

answered,

ordinary dress, and such as

He

I

then continued in a more

bullying tone to ask

me what

I

meant

with that long sword I had with me. fortunate, perhaps, both for

him and me,

to It

do

was

that I

had not indulged very deeply in the At last he insisted on pleasures of the table.

at least

SIR

my

JAMES CAMPBELL.

'269

going to the door to speak with him, to

which

readily consented

I

;

but as his conduct

had attracted the attention of a great part of the audience, and among others that of my friend

Mr. Chester, who had just entered one

of the boxes, he left the theatre at the same

moment with

ourselves,

and immediately joined

us on our getting to the outside. it

best to begin the parley,

I

thought

by addressing my-

Mr. Chester, and begging of him to ask the gentleman why he had called me to the self to

door, as I

was not conscious that

I

had ever

seen him, until he had seated himself in the pit of the theatre. question,

abuse,

by me

In answer to this

Mr. Chester received a

of

volley

accompanied by a slap on the face

a

compliment which Mr. Chester immediately returned

but he was not permitted to take

vengeance in his

own

hands.

The mob having gathered round, and severe

mob

it

was, consisting chiefly

a very

of the

butcher-boys from the shambles, which were situated

immediately behind the

thought

it

best once

more

to

theatre,

have the

I

first

MEMOIRS OF

270

word with them, first

impressions

as,

are

with mobs particularly,

most

important.

My

speech was a very short one, but as Mr. Chester

was a great favourite in the town, the eloquence of Demosthenes could not have produced more instantaneous said,

head

"

is

!"

a

"

results.

Here," I

man knocking your Mayor on

The gentleman was

instant with

all

assailed

sorts of garbage,

probably have suffered

I

on the

and would

much more

had not Mr. Chester and

the

severely,

interfered for his

and partly by persuasion, partly by succeeded in rescuing him out of their

protection, force,

hands.

The man proved

not being

kilt

town betimes

to be a stranger,

and

outright, he prudently left the

in the morning.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER Leave of absence.

Visit to Ireland.

and

Low

the

Countries.

with a Frenchman.

Melancholy Sir

Spa.

Irwin.

Earl Carhampton. challenge.

singular

A

Lady

Gaieties of the

counter.

Passage.

I

The Author

Want

England,

Captain O'Beirne.

Quarrel

Departure

Prince D'Ahremberg.

Leave

Visit

Brussels.

Deserter.

Colonel Luttrel.

Author's Third Marriage. ridans.

XT.

for

Anecdotes.

Circumstance.

John

271

Elizabeth

Metropolis.

retires to the

A

The The She-

Macdonell.

Family Alliances. Irish

the

Popular fracas. Mr. Wilkes.

Fatal Ren-

Continent.

Tedious

of Provisions.

MUST now return

to

the

period

of

my

was never particularly fond of mere garrison duty, and it was not arrival in

Ireland.

I

long after I had taken up

my

barracks, that I applied for

ther

six

residence in the

and obtained ano-

months' leave of absence.

In that

time I went over to England, and from thence

MEMOIRS OF

272 to the

Low

Countries,

and

Brussels

at Spa.

making some

stay at

In the course of the

journey I again encountered

my

old acquaint-

ance of the packet-boat, with his portmanteau

much

better lined than

it

had been on the

His regiment had been sent abroad, but he had been left at home on the former occasion.

recruiting service

good luck

and by a continued run of

;

at play,

had succeeded

a little fortune of 15,000/.

in amassing

Unlike

all

other

gamblers, he resolved to stop there.

He money

said that

he had known the want of

and having arrived

severely,

point which would enable

him

future wants, he very wisely

at

the

to satisfy his

determined to

leave off play altogether, and to rest contented

found him to be a man pos-

with his gains.

I

sessed of

amiable qualities, and deeply

many

imbued with a strong affection for his relatives, of whom he had had several who had fallen on the at

field

Calais,

of battle.

we

agreed

Having met with him to

travel

together

to

Brussels, at that time situated in the Austrian territory,

and there

I

found that

a brother of

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

Captain O'Beirne was commander of an Imperial

From him -we had

regiment of cavalry.

a very

warm and

object of

my

cordial reception, and, as the

tour was not of a very pressing

nature, I allowed myself to be persuaded to

make some

With

all

little

his

two

stay with the

good

qualities,

brothers.

Captain O'Beirne

was a true Irishman, hasty and even violent in temper, but far from being implacable. One day, at the table-d'hote, he had a quarrel with a

French

had

fallen

other, I cannot tell

which

pression which

some

about

officer

offensive

ex-

from the one or the ;

for if the Irishman

was hasty, the Frenchman for promptitude and quickness in quarrel was not a whit behind him.

Like

flint

and

steel,

a slight collision

produced a hasty spark, but straight it disappeared again. There was something however extremely ludicrous in their manner of quarrelling, as well as in their

mode of recon-

was obvious that they had never seen each other before, and did not even know

ciliation.

It

each other's names.

Rising from the table,

they went immediately to the

VOL.

i.

T

field,

attended

MEMOIRS OF

274

by one

two individuals who were

or

whom

sitting

happened to be one. On reaching the ground, they instantly drew their swords, in spite of all remonstrances ; but

near them, of

when

I

about to engage, O'Beirne, as

just

if

some idea of impropriety had suddenly arisen in his mind, made a step backward, and addressing himself to the other, inquired with the " For greatest gravity if he was a gentleman, " it is only," he said, against such that I draw

my

sword."

To

great animation,

this the

"

Comment,

Chevalier de chateau, giron terre /" In

land

dit-il,

je suis

comme de

le

toute la

answer to a similar inquiry, O'Beirne,

with unbending

am

other replied with

seriousness,

" replied,

Sir,

I

descended from the ancient Kings of Ire-

The adjustment

!"

preliminaries afforded a

and by a

flection,

little

of these important

moment's time

for re-

address on the part of

the bystanders, the anger of the combatants was

Indeed, I have uniformly

speedily appeased.

observed, that pacified

;

men

and on

of true courage are easily

this occasion the

Knight of

Malta and the descendant of the royal race of

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

Connaught, having

satisfied

275

themselves

that

they were worthy of each others swords, forgot, I

verily believe, their original cause of quarrel,

and returned together, in the most amicable manner, to their place at the

table-cthote.

In the course of our journey to Brussels, I

had often occasion to observe a box in the

possession of Captain

O 'Beirne,

to be the object of his

which appeared peculiar care, but he

seemed unwilling to divulge its contents. On the morning of our arrival, he asked me to walk out with him, and

I

observed that his servant

attended us with this box of mysteries under his arm.

He led the way

he inquired for

him

alone.

to the barracks,

his brother,

where

and desired to

The meeting partook

see

in a peculiar

degree of that eccentric character at which I

have already hinted. The brothers embraced each other with the greatest cordiality, and Captain O'Beirne declared that piest

day of

his life

;

it

was the hap-

but, from the peculiarity

of his temperament, he would not in his haste

permit his brother to open his mouth, although they had not met for

many T 2

years before.

MEMOIRS OF

276

"*4

" to " I have taken the liberty," he said, bring

you a

from England of a couple the same time opening the box

trifling present

of razors

;"

at

and producing a very handsome

dressing-case,

He then drew most expensively mounted. forth a gold watch with chain and seals to match, of the value of which I could not form

any judgment

;

but Captain O'Beirne admitting

of no interval in the conversation, observed

most substantial workmanship in the world was what came from England.

that the

Throughout

this

scene

extraordinary

the

Austrian brother seemed in a state of bewilder-

ment, from the unexpectedness of the

visit,

and from the habit of considerateness and

deli-

which he had probably acquired from his long intercourse with the Germans. He then drew from the box a pair of the most eleberationj

gant pistols that could be placing

them

made

in

London, and

in his brother's hands,

with some

appropriate remark on his loyalty and valour,

rushed out of the room, saying that he would return on the following morning. tain

From

a cer-

dulness of perception, rather than from

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

277

any want of a warm or affectionate disposition on the part of the Austrian brother, he had never during the whole of this extraordinary scene enjoyed an opportunity of opening his

mouth

;

tunities

but I had afterwards repeated opporof observing that he was far from

being defective in the best and kindliest

feel-

ings of fraternal regard.

The

entertainments which were given to us

by Colonel O'Beirne were in the true Vienna fashion. The table was covered with all sorts of delicacies,

the wines were of the choicest

and most costly description, including oceans of

Tokay, and we never

real

sat less

than ten

hours at table, where abstinence or desertion

was equally a capital offence. At one of these entertainments

I

met with

the celebrated Prince D'Ahremberg, of Brussels,

and, indeed, he was only one of three of

that rank

A

who were

present on the occasion.

melancholy circumstance, attended with a

well as singular degree of self-possession, as self-devotion,

D'Ahremberg.

had

happened

Engaged

in

to

this

Prince

shooting in the

MEMOIRS OF

278

neighbourhood of Brussels with the reigning Prince,

ther,

and

his elder bro-

Sir

William

Gordon, the English Ambassador, he had the misfortune, in discharging his piece across a

hedge, to lodge face,

its

contents in his

and to deprive him

use of both his eyes.

in a Sir

brother's

moment

of the

William Gordon

having witnessed the accident, appreciated, as if intuitively,

sequences.

the whole of the distressing con-

He

rushed forward to the wound-

ed man, and pressing him in his arms, implored his

" the pardon, exclaiming at

he had unhappily committed."

who had done the deed ment.

When

sad mistake

The Prince

stood aghast for a

mo-

he did reach the ground to the

assistance of his brother, his

mouth was

stop-

ped by the friendly hand of Sir William Gordon; and in

effect,

although the truth after-

wards transpired, to the great credit of the feelings and the self-possession of the English

Ambassador,

it

happily never reached the ears

of the darkened Prince.

When

the period had arrived for

my

depar-

ture from Brussels, Captain O'Beirne was so

SIR

good

as to

JAMES CAMPBELL.

accompany

way he continued

me

to Spa,

279

and on the

to speak without intermis-

sion of his brother's

good

accompa-

qualities,

nied with other proofs of the warmest attachIndeed, I had heard the best confirma-

ment.

tion of these sentiments

from several of the

German

Colonel's brother officers in the

who spoke

vice,

to

me

ser-

of the elder O'Beirne

in the highest terms of praise as an excellent

and worthy man. After

we had remained about

a

month

Spa, I was reminded of the necessity for

at

my

return to Dublin, to attend to the duties of

my

regiment.

The

that time under

Irwin, a very

of the Bath,

forces in Ireland

the

civil,

command

were at

of Sir John

quiet man, and a Knight

who had

passed his

but had never seen a camp or a

Throughout the whole of

my

life at

field

Court,

of battle.

intercourse with

him, I can only speak of him as obliging and polite in the extreme.

At

this period there

was a good

sertion in the service, particularly

troops stationed in Ireland.

deal of de-

among

the

It proceeded, pro-

MEMOIRS OF

280

and convibably, from the habits of idleness viality of disposition in the

lower

classes of the

by he ready access the means of intoxication

native population, assisted

which they had to in the cheapness of

national beverage.

their

Whatever the cause may have been, the consequences which arose, out of a particular instance of desertion, were to

me

the source of a

great degree of uneasiness and anxiety.

grenadier of

my

and the reward

and

man

athletic

regiment had disappeared,

for seizing deserters being very

considerable, he

another

A

was met and recognized by

of the regiment, very powerful in

person,

and determined in

and equally resolute

character.

The

place where

they met was in a very blackguard part of the suburbs, called the Poddle-Guard, at least a

mile and a half distant from the barracks.

The man immediately collared and required him to come along house

made

;

the deserter, to the guard-

but be being also a powerful man,

a stout resistance.

In this he was en-

couraged and assisted by the mob, which in that part of

Dublin

is

of a class of the most

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

281

dangerous and desperate description. case like this, they

by a

a

would no doubt be excited

sort of spurious generosity, in

to rescue the

In

deserter

attempting

from the punishment

which awaited him. Such, indeed, was the state of feeling the populace, that sible in

it

among

was thought to be impos-

quarters of the city to take a

many

deserter into custody, even with a considerable

military force

man who had

but the

;

under-

taken the task on this occasion was not to be so easily intimidated.

He

drew

his sword, a

weapon of a peculiar form, then worn by the grenadiers, about two feet long, sharp on the one side, and notched on the other like a saw, but pointed, and so formed that used either to cut or thrust.

it

could be

Finding himself

about to be overpowered, by the crowd pressing upon him, and by the struggles of the deserter to

make

his escape

the circumstances,

of his

life

or death

;

sword about

it

for with him,

under

was probably a question

the soldier, after brandishing his

head, and

effort at intimidation, at length

making every made good the

MEMOIRS OF

282

which he had repeatedly vociferated, that he would rather kill the man than suffer threat

him

This he did by plunging his

to escape.

sword into the body of the wretched deserter, who fell upon it, dead, but forward, so as to create

some

difficulty in extracting the

weapon.

The mob, however, not being at all prepared for this fatal issue, stood for a moment at bay ;

and when they again began to press upon the soldier, he disabled several of the ringleaders

by cuts

in the less vital parts,

and

perate fashion actually fought his

in this des-

way

to the

barrack -gate, where he was received in safety

by the

sentinels.

It will readily

be supposed that the matter did

not end here.

In

the town

it

;

and

was brought to questing

my

fact, it

made

a great noise in

was not long before a message

me

from the Lord Mayor,

immediate attendance

at the

re-

Man-

sion-house. Fortunately for the peace of the city,

the chief magistrate, Mr. Bevan, was a greatest prudence

;

at once

of the

he was also most courteous

and gentlemanlike in

pened to be

man

his

deportment, and he hap-

my banker

and

my particu-

SIR lar friend.

I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

may acknowledge

283

that I shared

some degree the feeling of the soldier, and that I was not altogether free from that esprit

in

du

corps,

which made large allowance not mere-

ly for the impulse of self-preservation,

some

little

but for

excess of zeal in the discharge of

what was regarded as a military duty. At the same time, I flatter myself that

I

was

from being disposed to make use of any undue influence for the purpose of screening an offender from the punishment which might be far

due to him country.

for a violation of the laws of his

The

case,

however, was one of great

The popular ferment was such, that soldier who had committed the homicide

difficulty. if

the

had once more

fallen into the

hands of the mob,

he would certainly have been torn to pieces ; and it was far from being probable that he

would even have been

in safety after a regular

by a jury of his countrymen. On the other hand, it was still more problematical acquittal

whether the troops in the garrison, amounting to from four to five thousand men, would, under the excited state of their feelings,

MEMOIRS OF

284

permit their comrade to be brought to punish-

ment

or even to trial for the offence.

In these circumstances I desired the Mayor to let

under

me

have a written order to place the

arrest within the barracks.

man

had some

I

apprehensions regarding the safety as well as

mon gaol. ted a

com-

The attempt might either have

exci-

mutiny

probability the to the

him out

to the

the possibility of sending

for

its

prevention, or with equal

man might have

fallen a victim

temporary frenzy of the populace.

branch of the alternative was an

commander of the

evil

Either

which, as

garrison, I could not fail to

deprecate very deeply.

Next

day, as soon as

it

was

light, I

waited on

the Adjutant-general of the forces, the

Henry Laws Luttrel, hampton, whose name is so

able

Honour-

afterwards Earl Carintimately associated

with that of the famous demagogue Mr. Wilkes,

from

their

contested

election

at

Brentford.

Colonel Luttrel, while he shared in his father's eccentricities,

had at the same time a warmth of

heart and an ardour of temperament quite peculiar to himself.

The

father

and son had long

SIR

been

at

JAMES CAMPBELL. and

daggers-drawing,

it

285 is

known

that the Earl so far forgot himself, in a

fit

of

exasperation, as to send a challenge to his son to fight a duel. " If can

you

ther," such

were the words of

" nary message, I expect

The answer

&c."

am

again forget that 1

you

your

fa-

this extraordi-

meet me, &c.

to

of Colonel Luttrel was not "

less extraordinary.

Lord/' he

My

said,

"I

wish I could at any time forget that you are

my father." When I explained

to

him the

object of this

early visit, he entered with the greatest interest

and

zeal into the subject of

much

and seemed

it,

was disposed to do, in support of the feeling which had been Like a Highland excited among the troops.

willing to go

farther than I

feudatory, he was resolved to support the cause

of his dependant, whether right or it

wrong

was of course inconsistent with

temper

and character

halves.

He

to

;

and

his general

do any thing by

had been married to the daughter

of Mr. Boyd, the Wine-merchant, a great wealth, and of

still

man

of

greater influence in

MEMOIRS OF

286

the city of Dublin, and he said that he would

go

to

immediately

his

and

father-in-law,

through him, and Mr. Bevan, the Lord Mayor, get the

Colonel

trial

arranged as to secure what

so

was

Luttrel

disposed,

stretch a point in describing as justice. trel

was, in fact, indefatigable; the

ceeded, Mr. and, on the

Boyd became foreman of footing that the man had

self-defence, while

wound on

to

perhaps,

finally inflicting

Lut-

trial

pro-

the jury, acted in

the fatal

the deserter, a verdict was brought

in of justifiable homicide.

After

all,

to allow the

however,

man

it

was not thought

to remain in the barracks, so

that on the very night

caused

The

him

when

it is

of his

acquittal

I

to be sent out of the country.

interest

transaction

safe

is

which

Luttrel took in

the more to be wondered

remembered that

he was in violent

litigation

this at,

at this very time

with his father

regarding the possession of the family seat of Luttrelstown, near Dublin; a very pretty place,

handsomely ornamented with wood, which had been settled on the Colonel and his family in

SIR his

JAMES CAMPBELL.

287

The country-house time occupied commanded a

marriage settlements.

which I

at that

view of the grounds of Luttrelstown, and although an injunction had been obtained against

cutting

Lord Carhampton,

down any

to prevent

him from

of the timber on the pro-

from

perty, Colonel Luttrel,

his

knowledge of

was apprehensive lest the injunction should be disregarded and the beauty of the place defaced and destroyed.

the

He

Earl's disposition,

therefore engaged

me

the woods, and to let him

to keep an eye over

know on

the instant

that an axe should be raised in defiance of the

Lord

Chancellor's

fiat.

It

was out of these

family jars that the challenge arose of which I

have already taken

Dining one day

at the Castle, I

found myself

whose acquaintance had thus the happiness to make. She was

seated I

notice.

by a young

lady,

the youngest sister of the Earl of Antrim, afterwards

advanced

to

a Marquisate

the

Right Honourable Lady Elizabeth Macdonell. In due time the acquaintance ripened into friendship, and, in the ordinary course of such

288

MEMOIRS or

events, the lady

became

my

wife.

The mar-

ceremony took place during the

riage

Earl's

absence from Ireland, in the house of

Lady

Elizabeth's stepmother, the Dowager-Countess,

who had no

who

family, and

queathed a legacy of 6,000 children.

beth's

Dean of

to

The knot was

St. Patrick's,

This event

afterwards be-

Dean

took place

Lady tied

Eliza-

by the

Baillie.

the

in

month of

August, 1777, and the marriage subsisted for

Lady Elizatwenty years and one month. beth's fortune was just 10,000/. which, with 15,000. on

by our

my

part,

was

settled

contract of marriage.

been duly paid to

Lady

is

please

God

to fix the date

has

and the payment

amply secured

estate of Ardkinglas,

my

The 10,000

Elizabeth's children

since their mother's death,

of the 15,000.

on the children

to

as soon

them over as it shall

by the death of

their

father.

The

first

good deal did

;

year of our marriage I played a at the

Castle, as every

body then

and, with such good fortune, that at the

end of the year

I

found myself a winner of

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

some

At

2,000/.

not so good

Daly's Club

there,

;

I think,

289

my I

luck was

left

a few

hundreds.

When Lady accouchement,

I

Elizabeth expected her

first

was induced, from the incon-

venience of living in barracks at such a period, to

make

square,

a purchase of a house in Merrion-

where we continued to

our stay in child,

Ireland.

Elizabeth's

a daughter, died in infancy.

cond, Caroline, Sheridan,

and

Lady

reside during

who

is

teresting children, life,

all

and who

patriarch, with I don't

his

left a

father's

se-

wit

family of in-

whom are made me a

some of

and have

Her

widow of Thomas

the

inherited

eccentricity,

settled in

now

first

already sort of

know how many

great

Lady Elizabeth's third child, Alexander James, now Major Callander, was

grand-children.

also

born in Merrion-square.

Georgiana, so

from her godmother, the Duchess of Devonshire, was born at Bath, whither I had

called

been recommended to carry Lady Elizabeth, in

consequence of her delicate state of health.

Her Ladyship's second VOL.

i.

son,

u

Randal Macdonnel,

MEMOIRS OF

290

was born

many

at Craigforth

;

afterwards,

years

where

also

was born,

her youngest child,

now Lady Graham, of Netherby. Soon after we had gone to Merrion-square,

Frances,

the novelty of a masquerade was for the

first

time introduced into the gaieties of the Irish I

metropolis.

character of a

add some

had resolved to appear

German

doctor,

and in order to

zest to the personation, I

bill printed,

in the

had a hand-

which, under pretence of recom-

mending the nostrums contained some allusions

I to

to

professed

men and

manners,

which were calculated to excite a laugh if

sell,

;

and,

not witty in themselves, they had at least

the merit of being the cause of wit in others.

The masquerade, when conducted with and

spirit,

seems to

well suited to the

me

to be an

lively

taste

amusement

disposition

of the

Irish gentry.

The

ladies in general

have an admirable

taste

and the gentlemen have an opportunity of making some of those sallies, and

in dress

;

perhaps also of committing some of those extraordinary solecisms, which are supposed to be

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

291

On

so characteristic of the national genius.

the

evening to which I have just alluded, there

happened to dine with us the Ladies Ross and Stewart.

Lady

Stewart, had not intended to go

was induced to change her purpose on seeing that the rest of our party had to the ball, but

resolved on going.

It

was then too

fancy-dress prepared, and that I

it

late to get a

had been made a rule

no one should be admitted without a mask. then bethought myself of such of

my

ac-

quaintances as were likely to have any thing peculiar in their wardrobes ; and

that the

soutanelle, or

Dean of

St.

might serve

Patrick's,

it

struck

me

short cassock, of the

then Dean Cradock,

at least to excite the curiosity

exercise the ingenuity of the

company

;

and

while

the fine figure and elegant carriage of the lady

could

not

fail

attract

to

admiration inde-

pendent altogether of the accidents of dress. To the soutanelle was added a smart cockedhat,

with

feathers,

with diamonds.

some

little

and a cockade, fixed on

The

sensation,

party altogether excited

and the hand-bill which

I

ventured to distribute was afterwards thought

u 2

MEMOIRS OF

292

worthy of preservation by many of the

fair

fashionables of Dublin.

Some time

after the affair of the

a ball was given rison, at

masquerade,

the gentlemen of the gar-

by which it became

master of the ceremonies. event occurred on which

my duty to act as On this occasion, an

it is

impossible for

me

A

to reflect without a great deal of concern.

gentleman of the party, and 1 regret to say a

man, had indulged too freely at the dinner-table, and had engaged in a dispute with

military

some other

people, as to the place

should stand in a particular dance.

on to

interfere

from the ings

state of

had been

much

;

murmured

was

called

and, as was to be expected

excitement to which his

raised, I

in the wrong.

etiquette I

I

where he

feel-

found that he was very

The

trifling

point of

decided against him, and

when he

at

my

resolution,

I

expostulated

with him on the impropriety of his conduct.

He it

then made use of a harsh expression which

was impossible for

when

me

to

overlook

;

and,

I suggested the propriety of adjusting the

difference

on the following day, he

called

on

SIR

me

JAMES CAMPBELL.

293

defend myself on the instant.

to

It is

We

painful to dwell on such a subject.

ad-

journed into the next room, and decided the matter while our blood was yet heated.

proved unfortunate for

issue

and

not, as

me.

I

antagonist,

be supposed, very happy for

was induced to

the

to

may

my

Continent,

retire for a short period

and the

result

materially

influenced the subsequent events of

determined me, before

as it

land, to

The

my

my

life,

return to Ire-

exchange from the 67th foot to the

15th Hussars.

At

the port of Dublin I embarked in the

first

vessel I could find for the opposite coast.

The

vessel

which offered was bound for Park-

She was an old crazy craft, crowded with passengers of the class which is known by

gate.

the

name

people

gage

of grass-combers

who in

cross the

tain ed,

much

that

is,

those poor

Channel every year to en-

harvest-work,

have been so

;

and

whose numbers

increased since Great Bri-

and Ireland have been in every sense unitfirst by force of law, and since by force

of steam.

It

was then,

as it is

still,

with these

MEMOIRS OF

294

temporary emigrants

;

they had embarked

full

of hope, but with no money, and with a very scanty supply of provision.

Our

passage proved to be a tedious one

;

the

weather was calm, and the wretched inhabiof the forecastle became clamorous for

tants

I

food.

my

leg,

was lame

at the

time from a hurt in

and could not leave the cabin

sent for the Captain,

but I

;

and asked him how

it

happened that he should have come to sea without a reasonable supply of provisions for his passengers?

the people

when

all

The man

he had given

said

that he had promised

them

;

but,

the second day was advancing, and the

cravings of hunger had approached to the verge

of

human

sufferance, I sent for

him

again,

on knowing the exact quantity of which remained on board the vessel.

and

insisted

sea-

store

He

told

me

that he had

some two or three

barrels

of beef, with a corresponding quantity of bread

and

potatoes.

I then told

him

that I

would

not wait to witness the starvation of such a

crowd of human beings, while the means of supporting them were within reach, and that, if

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

295

he persisted in refusing to share his stock with them, I would certainly recommend

to the

it

grass-combers to help themselves.

The man was

at length

necessity of the case

be too great a

might be

;

brought to see the

but, that he might not

loser, as

well as that the

affair

him

to va-

settled amicably, I desired

lue his barrels of beef, and said that I

pay

for them, if I

found on our

would

arrival at

gate that he had acted properly.

By

Park-

his ac-

ceptance of this proposal, the man, I have no doubt, acted wisely and well.

It

is

impossible

to conceive any people, under similar circumstances,

behaving better or more quietly than

the Irish did on this occasion. afforded

me

Their conduct

a very high degree of satisfaction

;

and I have often since had a true pleasure in reflecting on their sincere and ardent, though

somewhat noisy expressions of gratitude, for a service which was certainly very trifling in its pecuniary value, but which, had

it

been with-

might have produced very painful consequences among a crowd of two hundred starv-

held,

ing people.

MEMOIRS OF

296

CHAPTER Return from the Continent.

Influence of Irish Gentry and

Priesthood over the Peasantry.

Mr. Fallan. lonel

Galway

Anecdote of Judge d'esprit. Irish justice. Visit to London.

Lord

Tyrawley.

Lord Antrim.

fair

trouts.

Hill.

Co-

exchange.

Ge-

Lord Ely.

Ec-

Unlucky Jeu

Administration of

Lady Elizabeth

Admiral Lord Howe.

ed at Court.

ON my

A

Strange metamorphosis. Athlone.

centricities.

families.

Irish beauty.

Ingenious method of horse-

Unpleasant incident.

neral Ginkle.

cer.

Old Milesian

Kelly, of Castle Kelly.

Moray, of Abercairney.

dealing,

XII.

present-

Anecdote of an

offi-

Lord North's Administration.

Ministers of State.

Anecdote.

return to Ireland, I joined the 13th

Light Dragoons, at Drogheda, and some time It afterwards marched with them to Athlone.

was in

this

neighbourhood that I had

first

an

opportunity of observing the nature of that influence which

is

maintained by the Catholic

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

297

gentry and the priesthood over the peasantry

The

of Ireland.

ancient Catholic, or Milesian

families, are in general impressed

that

with the idea

some time or other the land must return

to the

dominion of

its

former masters.

This

notion can hardly be said to be fanciful

it is

;

cherished at least with the greatest care, and the

evidence of their connexion with the land

much

served, with

is

pre-

anxiety, in their family re-

cords and genealogies.

The priesthood, again, are

equally convinced of the right of the Catholic hierarchy to the tithes and the Church-lands,

which are now clergy.

in the hands of the established

These ideas are carefully inculcated on

the lower classes

of ideas, are

;

who, by a

made to

be benefited by a

sort of affiliation

believe that they too

would

different order of things.

A jealousy has thus arisen against Protestant interference,

and

it is

carried to such a degree,

that the most ordinary question, if put military

by a

man, or by any one suspected of Pro-

testantism,

is

met with a

tation of stupidity,

sort of

dogged

and an impenetrable

affec-

silence,

which suggest the idea of an apprehension on

3JEMOIRS OF

298

answer

their part, that their

fresh

firmly in the State with little is

contented.

them more

or at least fix

grievance,

It

which they are

so

clear that their religion

is

the only tie which has strength enough to

bind these

classes together.

The laws which

exclude them from their share of the

and emoluments in the seem to

me

irritate,

and keep

as if

gift of

offices

Government,

they had been designed to alive the

irritation,

such restraints are calculated to excite high-spirited people

;

and

at the

which

among

a

same time to

bind them together by the most all

some

lead to

may

.effectual of

bonds, a sense of mutual suffering in a cause

which they are taught to regard

and

as sacred

inviolable.

It

is

cipation

in vain to suppose that Catholic is

to be a universal panacea for

the evils and is

exposed

;

all

galling

all

the sufferings to which Ireland

but one good consequence I

confidently predict from it; that

eman-

sense of

it

will

may

remove

wrong and oppression

which has hitherto been the medium through which the Catholic gentry have been compelled

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR to regard

By

299

Government of Great

the

Britain.

healing their grievances, you will infallibly

destroy that alarming system of organization,

by which the

energies of a whole people have

been placed at the disposal of a few daring

demagogues.

Roscommon

in general a pastoral county ;

is

and while quartered

men

at Athlone, the gentle-

of the 13th mixed a good deal in Irish

society,

among

particularly

those

gentlemen

who had any pretensions to the character Of this number were two, sportsmen. different as possible in character,

the ancient Milesian race. Fallan, than

whom

of Castle Kelly, his bottle quite

The one was Mr.

The

more

other was Kelly,

who kept hounds, but enjoyed as much as the chase. Hospi-

tality is a virtue

which seems

to be indigenous

was pracin the county of Roscommon, would be

in the Irish soil tised

as

but both of

there never lived a

worthy or amiable man.

of

;

and to say that

it

doing something like injustice to every other the happart of the island which I have had piness to visit.

The

tenantry must have often

MEMOIRS OF

300

been a good deal annoyed to find their pasture cut

up by a strong

of sportsmen

field

;

but I

have frequently had occasion to observe, that with a

man

like

never suffered a whereas,

if

Mr. Fallan

murmur

to lead us, they

to

escape

them

such a passport were wanting,

;

we

were sure to hear, in no very measured terms, of the injury which was no doubt done to their grazings and their stock.

Mr. Fallan,

as I re-

member, had a daughter, one of the most beautiful young women I had ever seen, but guided by a sense of what was due to her religion, and of the danger of domestic differences, sity

of

which too often creeds,

it

arises

from a diver-

was known that she had

been obliged to decline several advantageous matches. Kelly, of Castle Kelly, was

a

character in

He

had a manner of buying horses not uncommon in Ireland, by what is called

his

way.

handy -cap a kind of lottery, which every body knows. Mr. Kelly was very famous for his ;

transactions in that line,

many

of which were

arranged at a period of the afternoon which,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

301

with the hospitalities of Castle Kelly, inferred an absolute oblivion of all that had occurred. Colonel Moray, of Abercairney,

who

that

at

time commanded a troop of the 13th, had two very pretty horses, which Mr. Kelly took a liking to, and Abercairney to his great surprise,

found one morning that they had changed owners, after an entertainment at Castle Kelly,

which had served to

obliterate every trace of

The

the transactions of the evening.

was never a besetting

sin of mine,

bottle

but I too

parted with a horse at the Castle in the same sort of fashion.

The name of Abercairney to

my remembrance, which

the telling,

if it

brings an incident

would not be worth

did not recall an idea con-

nected with two early acquaintances, and trate

at

youth. Years'

the same time

Soon

War,

Abercairney,

the

heedlessness

after the conclusion of the

I

had some

who

like

illus-

trifling

of

Seven

dispute with

myself was travelling in

France, about some incident which occurred at a public entertainment, at

both been present.

We

which we had

agreed to go out to

MEMOIRS OF

302 settle the

matter in a neighbouring

old friend Fotheringham, of

tended by

my

Poury, of

whom

have had occasion to make

I

more honourable mention battle coats,

in

of Fellinghausen.

and the

field, at-

my

account of the

We

took off our

was terminated by a

affair

slight

hurt which Abercairney received in the hand.

While

readjusting our dress, Mr. Fothering-

ham

observed, that mine was a beautiful silk

coat,

but that

my

shirt

was

He

full of holes.

had just returned from Scotland, where his mamma had probably provided him with a

For

plentiful store of linen.

had had but silk coat

exchange.

six, so

and give

The

my

part, I

never

he proposed to take the

me

half a dozen shirts in

bargain was accordingly con-

cluded on the spot, and as some excuse for the whole transaction,

may be

it

as

remind the reader, that none of the least neither of the

well

to

three,

at

two combatants, had then

attained his twentieth year.

The town

of Athlone

is

celebrated in the

History of Ireland for the defence which

made

against the

it

Dutch General Ginkle, whose

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

303

family were enobled in consequence of his

mate

success.

Among

his troops there

who executed

eminent painter,

ulti-

was an

a picture of

great merit, in the foreground of which the

General and his horse were represented as large as life,

with a view of the town, the attack

and the scenery of the Shannon in the distance. This picture was universally ad-

upon

it,

mired

a

as

work of

art

through several hands,

it

;

and

came

after

Lord Ely, a man of

the possession of

a year in that neighbourhood.

passing

at length into

30,000/.

His Lordship

liked the picture and General Ginkle very well,

but himself and better, so

he had

his his

fox-hounds a great deal

own head

substituted for

that of the

Dutchman, and a pack of hounds,

with a

of sportsmen, in place of Athlone

field

and the troops minded of its

:

but you were strangely

re-

by occasional glimpses of the General's cuirass, which were seen to origin,

peep from under the hunting-dress, in which his

Lordship chose to be arrayed.

instance of in Dublin,

Lord

Another

Ely's eccentricity took place

where he had gone out to attend

MEMOIRS OF

304 his

Her

Countess on a round of shopping.

Ladyship had gone into a china-shop, and had

much time

occupied so

ing a number of

it,

that

articles,

impatient at the delay

good deal about

in choosing

;

and

reject-

Lord Ely got after fretting a

he turned round to the man

of the china-shop, and desired its

and

him

to send all

contents to his house, and the bill to his

steward.

After leaving Athlone, the 13th was quarter-

ed in various parts of Ireland. trouts of

Loch Corrib

At Gal way, the

are so plentiful

and so

cheap, that the soldiers were induced to eat of

them

in such quantities as to engender a dan-

gerous malady.

In

fact,

they lived entirely

upon fish, and after we had been some time there, I found that the hospital of the garrison was with

filled

sick.

In consequence, I made a

port on the subject to Government,

who

re-

refer-

red the matter to the consideration of a medical board.

The

ascertained

;

true cause of the disease was then

and the men immediately recover-

ed on our enforcing a complete change of

The

trouts of

Loch Corrib

are

immensely

diet.

large,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

and some of them are remarkable

305 for having a

gizzard like a turkey.

One

of the members of the medical board

was a very amiable young man, who practised his profession in Limerick. He had lived very

much with but had

the regiment

when

fallen into disgrace

quartered there,

with the

fair sex,

in consequence of a jeu cTesprit

which he had

been so indiscreet as to

Here are four

lines,

circulate.

by way of specimen.

Oh, what a sweet and pretty town Limerick

Where

is,

neither sly one, nor simpkin, nor slattern

is

;

would do your heart good, on the quay, as they walk

It

at

eve,

To hear them

The

so funny, so skittish, so talkative.

beauties of Limerick took the joke in such

dudgeon, that the poor doctor was fain to make his escape in the night-time,

He

settled afterwards, I think, in Chester,

did very well. I should

with a

loose,

shambling

Connaught

VOL.

i.

the

is

a person

gait.

first

circuit,

and

of gloss to the stanza,

By way

have added, that a simpkin

At Galway, the

and never return.

time Judge Hill went

he had the advantage of

x

MEMOIRS OF

306

reporting a maiden assize.

He

was

from

fresh

England, and although doubtless an excellent lawyer, was not yet acquainted with the character

among whom he was now

of the people

to ad-

minister the law, which he understood so well in

the abstract.

When he had taken

his seat

on the

bench, he delivered a very eloquent address to

A

the grand jury on the state of the calendar.

guard of honour had attended him,

as the King's

on

his arrival in the

was the custom

at the period, did

representative,

town, and

,

his person so long as

duty about he remained. In those

parts of the country

had

as

it

also

been customary

to surround the session-house with

during the sitting of the

assizes,

a

guard

and none of

the usual honours were withheld from the

English Judge on his

He

had

ever,

first

appearance

among us. how-

scarcely concluded his address,

when he turned round

to me,

a tone of becoming authority,

these soldiers ?"

I

in the open court,

new

and asked,

in

"What mean

was unwilling to say to him, that they were in some

measure intended for

his

own

protection

;

so I

answered, that they had been ordered out to do

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

him honour, and of the

to protect the administration

He

law.

307

then

me

desired

to send

them away, observing, with true English feeling, that he would have no soldiers near a court of justice, and that the law must protect itself.

The guard was under the immediate command of Captain Butler, an excellent officer, and a pleasant young man, of the Kilkenny family,

who

received the order I gave

a look and a leer, which told

more

him with

plainly than

words how well he appreciated the consequences. Immediately on the removal of the guard, a bustle was observed outside the session-house,

was ascribed to the crowd moving off with the soldiers. When the noise had subsid-

but

it

ed, the

Judge

be called

in.

desired that the prisoners might

On

this there

and the gaoler having made

was some demur,

his appearance,

the delay. interrogated as to the cause of

man

replied, that

was

The

he had brought the prisoners

from the gaol to the door of the session-house,

where he had of the court.

left

them

The

in charge of the officers

on the

first

x

2

list

was then

MEMOIRS OF

308

summoned

to appear, but

an answer of non

was immediately returned. the Judge was very wroth with his

At

est inventus

this

offi-

and saying that he would have it inquired into, he desired the next prisoner to

cers,

be called; but the same answer having been returned in succession for

Fisty

Teddy O'Marsh, and

OFlyn, and the whole

list

of culprits,

the learned Judge was forced to admit that, in

the wilds of Connaught, the supremacy of the

law stood in need of some subordinate aid its

protection.

From till

I

for

the period of

the time

when

my first visit

to Ireland,

I finally took leave of

had of course very frequent occasion to

England

Lady went

as well as Scotland,

visit

sometimes with

Elizabeth, and sometimes alone.

We

together, for instance, to be presented at

Court, on the occasion of our marriage.

another time, I was in of placing

my

one period

my

it,

London

eldest son

we made

for the purpose

George

at Eton.

a considerable stay

father at Craigforth

;

At

at another

At with

we went

SIR to

JAMES CAMPBELL.

309

Bath for Lady Elizabeth's benefit

the

at

waters.

While

there, at an assembly, I

had the

plea-

sure of

making the acquaintance of Admiral Lord Howe. He was a tall, thin-looking man,

with long, lank, grey hair. Without knowing who he was, I made an observation to him on the elegance of a lady's dancing,

seemed to

eye

with

great

whom

attention.

he

His

Lordship answered, in his quiet way, that he

was no great judge of such matters, but he believed that she danced very well. The

young lady was his daughter, Lady Altamont. She was quite worthy of the compliment we agreed in paying her; and

if

she had not, I

should probably not have hazarded any severe

remark on a

stranger,

consequences too

frequently

heedless observations. it

although

unpleasant

occur by such

In the present instance

led only to satisfactory results and an agree-

able acquaintance.

In those days,

it

was a practice among the

young men of the Navy, when an observation

MEMOIRS OF

310

was made which did not seem very to

make

a noise in the throat in imitation of

the bleating of a lamb.

Howe

credible,

was

far

It

known

is

that

from being loquacious

one occasion, in the ward-room of the

he said something which scepticism from a

officer

but on

;

flag-ship,

elicited this

young

Lord

mark of

at the

table.

His Lordship inquired of some one near him what the young gentleman could mean by that extraordinary noise?

It

was of course

explained to him, but no farther notice was

taken of

it

at the time.

however, among the

It

officers

was remarked,

of the ship, that

thenceforward the young gentleman in question

was frequently invited out of

to the table of the

youthful

his turn

Admiral, who, from

indiscretion,

had been

this

induced to

notice his conduct, inquire into his character,

and

ascertain his merit.

Lord Howe's at one

flag-ship, the

Magnanime, was

time discovered to be on

officer in great consternation

fire.

An

abruptly entered

the Admiral's cabin to announce the fact, and

with obvious marks of trepidation, he stam-

SIR

mered

JAMES CAMPBELL.

311

Pray don't be alarmed, my Lord, but the ship is on fire forward !" " I see, Sir," said

out,

Lord Howe, with a

coolness of sarcasm

in strict keeping with his general character

"

I see,

pray

how

Sir,

how

a

man

looks

He

does he feel ?"

who

is

afraid

:

then proceeded

with his usual self-possession to give the necessary orders for extinguishing the flames.

The connexion

of Field-Marshal Lord Ty-

rawley with the representation of Bath, a circumstance which brought

me

in

some de-

gree acquainted with his Lordship at a

He

earlier period.

number of natural of great merit

;

children,

it

as his son, for

I

letter

of them

men

my

whom

at

from him, brought

young man whom he

me by

The

many

and when I was quartered

to

commission in

much

was known to have a great

Reading, I received a a

recalls

described in

he had procured a

regiment.

object of this letter was to desire that

pay attention to the young man, him with proper sentiments', and see

might

inspire

that he conducted himself like an officer

a gentleman.

I

and

need not say that the request

MEMOIRS OF of the Field-Marshal was duly attended to:

but

my

name

present business with the

Lord Tyrawley

is

of

to notice that peculiar blunt-

ness and

humour, joined to political sagacity and military talent, which served to mark him as a striking

and

original character.

The

Cor-

poration of Bath had become dissatisfied with

the part he had taken in public

he had been

for

and sent him a subject, to

and by

letter of

their representative,

remonstrance on the

which he laconically replied

Mayor and ye,

some time

affairs, after

"

Mr.

Corporation, ye rascals, I bought

G

d

I

'11

sell

During Lord North's Marquis of Antrim was

ye

!"

administration,

sent for, to

nicate his sentiments to the

the

commu-

Government on the

subject of the powerful armament,

to upwards of 80,000

amounting which had been men,

raised in Ireland, for the

ostensible

purpose

of protecting the kingdom against foreign invasion.

From

duced by

by

it,

the system of organization pro-

this general

arming was followed

political consequences,

contemplation of those by

not certainly in the

whom

the spirit of

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

patriotism had been excited. it

was too

late,

313

They found, when

that they could not control the

energies of the powerful engine they had called into existence.

Lord Antrim was known

to

have great influence in the north of Ireland,

and although he had raised a large body of volunteers, he

new

was decidedly adverse to the

doctrine of arming the people en masse.

His Lordship was aware that self

had made mywell acquainted with the subject on which

Lord North

desired his advice, and he there-

fore requested that I should

London,

him

I

accompany him to

for the purpose of the better enabling

to supply the information required

by the

Government.

On

our arrival in town, Lord Antrim an-

nounced the circumstance to Lord North, who appointed an interview for the following morning, at twelve, at his residence in street.

We

found the Minister in

sitting in a flannel dressing-gown

Downing-

his cabinet,

and

slippers.

Lord Antrim had a becoming notion of his own dignity, and on observing the costume of the Minister, I saw that he drew himself

MEMOIRS OF

314

on

an expression

up, with

countenance

his

which Lord North endeavoured to remove, by saying,

me

find

" Don't be surprised, I

in this dress.

was

Lord Antrim, cajled out of

to

my

by an express have not yet had time to

bed, at four o'clock this morning,

from Spain, and I drink a dish of

and

I

then entered on the

which the interview had been de-

subject for sired,

He

tea."

must say discovered a very intimate

acquaintance with the general state of Ireland.

He made

number of pointed and

a

and

inquiries,

cretary to take

afterwards

called

pertinent

in

his se-

down the answers he had

re-

ceived.

When we

were about to take our

observed that dress

as the

attending the council. is

uninitiated

such

hour had arrived for

The no

office

of a Minister

and to the

must be matter of

surprise that

harassing duties should

ject of ambition.

greatest

his

sinecure,

certainly it

he

now he must have some more

upon him,

of State

leave,

names

in

The

become an ob-

passion

British

by which the

history have

been

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

prompted to seek

for immortality,

is

315 happily of

a character far too lofty to admit of the con-

tamination of the sordid love of gain, and I

hold in

it

to be matter for national exultation that,

more than one

instance, a British Minister

has been buried at the public expense.

MEMOIRS OF

316

CHAPTER St. Athanasius.

Strange interrogatory. Anecdotes.

character.

Apologue.

XIII.

A

Chan

of Tartary and the Pope.

"Military Maxims."

entitled

Remarks on

Political discussion.

Cork.

Countess

of

Caunitz.

Lord Fingal.

Lord Torrington.

Residence

The Duke of Dorset.

at

Brussels.

Irish

An old Work The Count

Obliging offer of the Author.

The

Progress of

Sackville Family.

the French Revolution.

Plunder of the Royal Household.

Set out from Paris.

Incidents and anecdotes of the

period. ford.

Colonel and

Lady Sand-

Lady Eleanor Dundas.

Singular

Arrival at Craigforth.

Colonel and

case.

MY worthy relative Lord Antrim

had nevei

been deeply read in polemical divinity, and on the occasion of a

bill

Irish Parliament, in

being brought into the

which reference was made

to the Thirty-nine Articles

and the Athanasian

Creed, he inquired of a venerable

member of the

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

bench of Bishops,

had been, of

whom

the house

" I can't

who

this

so" much

d old creed-making

St.

Athanasius

had been

my

tell,

the diocesan " but I think he

I

his

enactment, concluding

catechism by asking

a d

and object

as to the nature

of the proposed

?

317

said in

Lord," replied

must have been

rascal

!"

have already said something of the general

state of Ireland, a subject which, I fear,

is

very

imperfectly understood on the British side of

the Channel.

If I

now make some

remarks on the subject, I

my

flatter

additional

myself that

long residence in the island, and

timate acquaintance

among

all

classes

my

in-

of the

people, without any reference to religious distinctions,

views

I

will

in

some

measure justify the

have been led to adopt after a good

deal of reflection.

Perhaps

it

may

be objected, that in treating

of the Irish in their I

civil

and

social relations,

have already ventured, ultra crepidam, and

that I should have strictly confined myself to

those military qualifications with which I

be

supposed

to

be more

may

immediately con-

MEMOIRS OF

318 versant.

I

am

sure, that if I

could not have said

had done

any thing with

which was not highly in

their praise

so, I

justice :

as

to

the mere element of courage, I speak as an eye

when

witness,

do not

I say that bolder or braver

exist than the Irish troops

often had the honour to

which

have

command.

After a good deal of service as a I feel

I

men

drill officer,

myself fully justified in asserting, that a

soldier can

be made of an untutored Irishman,

so as to be able to produce

him

in the ranks,

on a

field

It

is

not necessary, in speaking of his character,

to

make an

of battle, in a very short time indeed.

invidious comparison between the

and the Scotch or English soldier; but in the management of raw levies, I would Irish

recommend

strongly

it

to the officers entrusted

with the administration of the ordinary of

details

discipline, to see that special attention

paid to those points of the soldier's

life,

be

which

are usually considered of subordinate importance.

This advice I would apply to personal

cleanliness, the

care of his clothing,

and the

quantity, quality, and regularity of his mess-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

319

These are points which, with

all recruits,

SIR ing.

require a regular superintendance

the Irish, the necessity for

it is

;

indispensable, if

desire to control his energies,

you him

a

good and

Of the

but, with

and make

efficient soldier.

Irish officers in the British service, it

would be

in

vain to add a word of praise.

Their merits are known, not in England only,

but in every country of Europe

;

and

I grieve

distinguished merits of the

to add, that the

noble race of Milesian gentry, to elsewhere alluded, are better

whom

I

have

known and

ap-

preciated in foreign armies, and particularly in that of Austria, than they are at I

may be

allowed to add, in vindication of

the Irish character, that idleness, is

far

which

is

the imputation

of

so often raised against them,

from conveying a just representation of

the habits of the lower orders. this purpose, the

poor Irishman's

of our great markets for labour. or a rail-road be set

on

Witness, to efforts in

any

Let a canal

foot, in the cheapest or

most distant corner of Great

you

home.

Britain,

and there

will find nine-tenths of the labour in the

MEMOIRS OF

320 hands of an

Irish colony, assembled

on the

first

indication of employment.

If I

remember

well, the

principal

which weighed with the Government

reasons

in form-

ing the communication across the North of Scotland, between the Eastern and seas,

Western

were to afford employment to the native

when they were justly be very much in want of it. But

population, at a period

supposed to

the Highlander's love of ease stood in higher of the

ratio to his industry than that

man, the

if

we may judge from

fact,

that the million

Irish-

the notoriety of of

money which

has been expended on the Caledonian Canal,

has

been earned almost exclusively by Irish

labourers.

At home, blamed,

if,

the Irish peasant can scarcely be

in general,

he

is

provision for to-morrow.

not able to lay up a It

is

an

evil, per-

haps, inseparable from the nature of landhold-

ing in Ireland, and

its

perpetual divisibility

into portions, far too small for the support of a

family, joined to the

warm and

sition of the people, that

we

sanguine dispoconstantly find

SIR

them shall

in a

JAMES CAMPBELL.

321

state of irremediable poverty.

not attempt to go so far beyond

as to agitate the question of a

the time

is

not far distant,

my depth

poor law, or

applicability to the state of Ireland

when

;

I

but

its

I trust

the British

public will have an opportunity of judging of their Irish brethren, after they shall

have ceased

to be

provoked by ignorance and misgovern-

ment

into the commission of acts which ap-

proach too nearly to insubordination and rebellion.

Remove, the country

at least, the ;

commute

acknowledged

evils

of

the tithes, and pay the

Protestant clergyman in some form, which will

not constantly remind his Catholic parishioner at least, de-

of the hardship of his situation

;

for office, stroy those disabilities

which point to

the great bone of contention between the leaders of the

two great

distracted parties in this

British capital

country.

and British enterprise

will then flow into every corner of the country,

with as its it

much when

level

will find certainty as that water

the flood-gates which opposed

are withdrawn.

VOL.

i.

Y

MEMOIRS OF

322 If there be

any idea more firmly fixed in

mind than another character, it

is,

on,

my

the subject of the Irish

that they

may be governed on

the principles of conciliation and good-will, as easily at least as

but

if

any other nation

you expect

to restrain

in the

them by

world

;

coercion,

and attempt to make them amenable to mere brute force, you will find in every bosom the elements of opposition.

No

doubt you will be

able to control them, just because their feel-

them

ings of resistance will impel

into action

before they have concentrated their strength,

But

or organized their numbers. less

it is

not the

true, that a church, extravagantly

endow-

ed, in the faith,

midst of a people

who

profess a rival

has contributed in a great degree to place

this island in a false position.

Treat the peo-

and gentleness, let every unnecessary cause of irritation be withdrawn, and I will venture to say, that a more loyal, indus-

ple with kindness

trious,

in

and contented people

any corner of

The

will not

be found

his Majesty's dominions.

old apologue of the sword and the loaf

of bread

is

peculiarly applicable to the Irish,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

323

whether considered nationally or individually. Menace him with the one, and you will immediately

put him on a

trial

of his strength

;

but

propose to him the other, and you at once en-

gage

all his

best feelings in your favour.

There

no one more firmly persuaded than I am of the facility with which England could crush a

is

rising in the sister-island.

I

would gladly avoid

any argument on the ground of apprehension, since that is only calculated to rouse an angry feeling

on either

on such a

when

side

but he

;

who

thinks well

subject, cannot fail to perceive, that

the country shall again be involved in a

foreign war, the present state of Ireland, even if it

did not break out into sores and blotches,

would leave

at least a

no prudent person

weakness behind which

will

be disposed to

dis-

regard.

As

to the influence of his Holiness the Pope,

I should be disposed to

measure

it

pretty

much

Chan of Tartary, who, when menaced with the fulmination of some

in the style of a certain

Pontifical anathema,

began to inquire into the

extent of his danger, and sat

Y

2

down very

con-

MEMOIRS OF

324

tentedly under the infliction,

when he found

army consisted of five hundred As men who mounted guard with umbrellas that the Papal

!

to the moral influence

which the old lady

is

supposed to possess over the members of the Catholic church, I hold

it

to be a

mere chimera,

which the French revolution has

effectually

dispelled.

The

nature of

military duties, while sta-

my

tioned in Ireland, was such as to leave in

possession I

it

applied,

of

sufficient

in the year

leisure.

me

Part of

1782, to the pre-

paration of a volume for the press, entitled " Military Maxims, illustrated by example,"

of which two editions, amounting I think to six

thousand copies, were published by Messrs.

Cadell and Strachan.

In consequence of health, I

was about

Lady

Elizabeth's state of

this period a

good deal in

England, particularly at Bath and Scarborough,

where

my

expenses were necessarily considera-

know

ble.

I

ing a

life

that

I

have been accused of lead-

of extravagance.

Those who have merely been informed that

SIR I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

325

have been successively in possession of two

considerable estates, amounting together to up-

wards of less

.4000 a-year, and that I have neverthe-

been subjected, on more than one occasion,

to pecuniary embarrassment,

may

very naturally

have fallen into the error without any intentional misconstruction.

But

it

will

be observed, that

fall

to

me

until the death of

Craigforth did not

my

father, in

1789

;

and that

I

did not succeed

to Ardkinglas until the death of Sir Alexander

Campbell, in 1810

may have

;

so that

arisen during

any

my

difficulty

which

father's life-time,

while I was tantalized with the hope of recovering the

.30,000 which was due

ment

uncle Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, can

to

scarcely

my

by Govern-

be ascribed to any very culpable degree

of heedlessness.

It will

be the object, indeed,

of some of the following pages, to show that I

have not wasted those revenues which have successively fallen to me.

In the mean time, having nothing to conceal, I

may

mention, that in 1785 I found myself

on to pay a sum of money which I could not command, and that I was on that account called

MEMOIRS OF

326

some time

to the Conti-

compelled to

retire for

nent.

Elizabeth was the intimate friend

Lady

of the Countess of Cork, and

somewhere mentioned that

I

I

think I have

had long been

quainted with the family of the Earl.

ac-

Her La-

Lord Torrington, was Ambassador at Brussels.

dyship's brother-in-law, at that

time the British

Lady Cork, having understood which

I

was placed, was

Lord Torrington

so

to have

the difficulty in

good

me

as to

apply to

attached to the

embassy in quality of secretary, Lady Elizabeth meanwhile remaining at Craigforth with the children.

In the course of

my

stay at Brussels, I

was

by the Ambassador on a mission to Vienna, where I had the honour of making the acquaint-

sent

ance of the celebrated Count Caunitz, and that circumstance afforded

me

a subsequent oppor-

tunity of doing a slight service to a

the noble family of Fingal.

member

of

When afterwards in

Ireland, at the table of the late

Lord Fingal, the

conversation chanced to turn on those religious differences

country.

which have Alluding to

so long distracted that his second son,

who was

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

present, he said that there

the hardships which result

327

was an example of from our not enter-

taining the same religious opinions with those of the Government. " Plunket is

" to be a soldier said,

;

resolved,"

and the Countess and

are willing to gratify his wishes, but

a loss to decide as to

That of France

ter.

he

what

service

we

I

are at

he should en-

I cannot approve of,

from

the danger of his being called on to draw his

sword against I

his native

country

;

and

at

home

cannot think of asking even an ensigncy for

him." I took the liberty of suggesting the Austrian

and the Earl observing that he perfectly approved of it, but that he had no acquaintance service,

with the men in power in that country.

I

.

men-

tioned the relations I had had with the minister,

Count Caunitz, and

that,

which had since occurred,

sume

had reason

had not forgotten me. Lord Fingal would give me

that he

that if

would address a subject. lost

I

from some events

letter to

I added,

leave, I

Count Caunitz on the

Having been permitted

no time

to pre-

to do so, I

in applying for the Count's protec-

MEMOIRS OF

328

by return of

tion, and,

had

post, the request I

made was granted but the young gentleman's own merits, and his connection with the house ;

him

of Fingal, would doubtless have procured

the appointment, independent of any application

on

The

my

part.

mission which had called

me

to Vienna,

me there for the greater part of the summer. At this period the Duke of Dorset detained

was the British Ambassador family of

now,

The

me

was from Lord George that I refirst commission in the cavalry, and

It

civility.

ceived

Paris.

always shown

had

Sackville

at

my

at a period

be useful to me,

when

it

their protection could

was not withheld.

The alarming symptoms which preceded the great crisis of the revolution were now in

full

activity,

Duke was

and

the

not attended

situation

of

the

with responsibility

merely, but with the most imminent personal peril.

His Grace was one of the most worthy

and amiable men that ever lived; being

much

business,

the

conversant task

with the

assigned

to

and, not details

him on

of the

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

eve of such a struggle he as

peculiarly arduous.

quainted with the tained

me

must have

ac-

which

de-

circumstances

abroad, -and finding that I

his diplomatic duties,

felt

The Duke was

be of some use to him

British

329

could

in the discharge of

me

he attached

to the

embassy in the capacity of one of his

secretaries.

When party

the violence

made

it

of

the

revolutionary

ultimately necessary for

leave Paris, he requested

me

purpose of winding up the

him

to

to remain, for the

of the em-

affairs

and conveying to him such information might appear to be necessary in making his

bassy, as

communications to the Government at home.

At

length, in consequence of the urgent re-

me by

monstrances which were made to

the

house of Herries, the worthy bankers, I made such preparations as would enable

my

me

departure on the shortest notice

have reason to believe that when I

;

to take

but I

finally left

Paris there were not fifteen British

subjects

behind me.

The Royal household had by

this

time been

MEMOIRS OF

330

stripped and plundered of

moveables. of horses in

An

of

my

two of the

Fitzgerald, had caught

he gave them to me.

Bastille, after the

I

The one

canine I called

taking of that prison, which

and

had witnessed;

after the celebrated

in

and

street,

that I was a fancier of the

knowing

rarest

of the

acquaintance,

King's dogs wandering about the

race,

its

His Majesty's magnificent stud particular, had entirely disappeared.

Irish officer of

name of

many

the other Poissarde,

fishwomen who had gone

such numbers to Versailles to bring the

King

to Paris.

to Craigforth,

and kept a breed of them.

out from Paris in a post-chaise, by Lisle, for

bankers, port, I

At

Ostend

who

made

;

I set

way

and by the advice of

succeeded in getting

me

of

my

a pass-

the journey in broad daylight.

every post I found the epidemic madness

of the period in full activity. little

me

These dogs I brought with

Dressed

in a

brief authority, the ignorant peasants of

the corps de garde seemed to think that they

evinced the true revolutionary

spirit

of unprovoked brutality and insolence

by ;

acts

a con-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

duct which,

need not say,

I

is

331

diametrically

opposite to every correct idea of the French

At

character.

one of the stations on the road,

some degree appreciate the sort of had to deal with, by observing that

I could in

person I this

Dogberry of the guard-house pretended

to read

passport with the greatest gravity,

same time holding

at the

an

my

it

upside down, from

idea, perhaps, that the bouleversement of the

period was to be universal. to discover that

best

consulted

my by

It

personal safety would be the

flattering

which were every where

admired their prowess

as

absurdities

and

I

how much

I

so prevalent,

did not hesitate to assure them

much

Englishman could admire to hasten to his

was not hard

it,

as a miserable

who was

own wretched home.

not without some

risk,

1

forced

Thus,

arrived at Ostend,

where another scene awaited me.

On

entering the guard-house with the tri-co-

loured cockade, which I had previously mounted for the sake of protection, I in Flemish, "

time

I

what

had been

side I

taught

was abruptly asked, was the

for ?"

By

this

necessity

for

MEMOIRS OF

332

Making

circumspection.

gentlemen, I

morning,

it

said, that as I

was

a low

bow

meant

to sail in the

the

to

not, perhaps, necessary that I

should adopt the sentiments of any party in a country which I was so soon to leave. This

answer T immediately discovered to be anything but satisfactory. ever, to look for a

It

gave

me

time,

how-

moment about me, and

to

observe that their cockade was different from

mine, as well as from that worn by the subjects of the Emperor, being a yellow badge with a lion

inscribed

Countries.

upon

it,

the crest of the

As something was

Low

said about the

liberty of Brabant, I concluded that these gen-

tlemen were disposed to have a separate revolution of their own. all

possible

liberty.

I

I therefore declared

composure that I too was for

Pulling out

begged them

my

their

tri-coloured cockade,

to supply

suitable to the cause

with

which

me I

with one more

was now disposed

to espouse. I conducted

able coolness,

myself throughout with

and above

all

toler-

with a becoming

degree of gravity, except that,

when they

in-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

vested it

me

with the badge of Brabant,

fitting to

retire in quietness to

possible to shut result

arising either

Next day boat to carry

my

my

inn

much

obtained to

I

for it

;

am

was im-

eyes to the danger which

from an

ill-chosen

from inadvertence or

expression, disgust.

I succeeded in hiring a fishing-

me

to Ramsgate,

where I arrived

and proceeded immediately

1789, a few weeks after

self

which

I

to

Lon-

This took place in the month of October,

don.

It

of joy

however, that I rejoiced

at the permission

in safety,

thought

honour conferred on me.

free to confess,

might

I

make some demonstration

at the great

more

333

my

father's death.

was not long, of course, until I found myat Craigforth, where I was prepared to live

the quiet

life

of a country gentleman, in the

enjoyment of the society of the neighbourhood, and of occasional visits from our friends at a distance.

Among

of receiving

others,

Lady

we had

Elizabeth's

the pleasure sister,

Lady

Rachel, and her husband, Colonel Sandford,

who remained with a half.

us, I think, for a

year and

MEMOIRS OF

334

Not

far

from Craigfortb, there resided an old

companion in arms, Colonel Dundas, of Carron Hall. He had been sent as a Commissioner by the Government to settle the limits of the British frontier in

America

;

in this mission

he

was accompanied by Lady Eleanor Dundas, and in the course of the long period which was occupied in discussing the numerous questions

which were agitated by the Commissioners on either side,

it

was necessary that Colonel Dun-

das and his family should repeatedly change their position

from one point of the line to

another.

After they had been

some time

the

in

Back Settlements of America, Lady Eleanor gave birth to a daughter.

Her

Ladyship's

health was far from being robust, so that she

was induced to employ a squaw of one of the aboriginal tribes as little

stranger being

was

left

the infant's nurse.

much

too

young

The

to travel,

with the squaw, under the charge

of a favourite domestic, and such was the

at-

tachment which the whole tribe had formed for their little pale-faced guest, that

it

was not

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

without the greatest

difficulty

wards persuaded to part with

when

335

they were after-

At

her.

length,

the period arrived for the return of the

family to England, a serious application was

made

for the restoration of the child

;

but she

was not given up until after a negotiation had been entered into, with all the formalities required by the laws of the

Certain casks

tribe.

of brandy, which were employed to accelerate the negotiation, were found to have considerable weight with the Indian plenipotentiaries

and on the part of the

tribe,

;

the child was

presented with a quantity of furs so very valuable, that

I

have seen a muff, worn by Lady

Eleanor, and formed out of part of the present,

which was

hundred guineas.

said to

be worth at

Such was the warmth of

the feelings manifested by savages,

that

a

least a

considerable

accompanied by the nurse,

these

untutored

body of them, insisted on carry-

ing the child to the shores of the Atlantic, a distance of five

hundred

where Colonel Dundas and

embark

for

England.

miles,

to the place

his family

were to

MEMOIKS OF

336

CHAPTER

XIV.

County of Stirling. Electioneering Anecdotes. Sir Thomas Dundas. Sir Alexander Campbell, the Author's Cousin.

Tempting proposal. Earl

of

Marr.

Its Rejection.

An

The

Arrest.

The Author reFamily Differences. His plan of surprizing Lisle. His

enters the Service.

Resignation of of

Command.

Lady Elizabeth.

The Marchioness of Antrim.

Dutens.

Domestic Arrangements.

Nelson.

Sail for the

A

Prize.

Death

Retires to Scotland.

Mediterranean.

Mr. Wright.

Mrs.

Lord Keith.

Lady

Captain Boyle.

Unpleasant Mistake.

A

Chase.

Arrival at Lisbon.

AT

the general election of 1792, there stood

as candidates

individuals

for the county of Stirling,

who were

two

so connected with me,

the one by relationship and the other

by

ties

of friendship, that 1 might have been considerably embarrassed as to the vote called

on to give,

if I

I

should be

had not been relieved by

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

337

the somewhat extraordinaiy terms in which I

was addressed by one of the were the

Dundas,

late

my

Sir

applicants.

These

Thomas, afterwards Lord

fellow-traveller

on

my

first

jour-

ney to Germany, with whom, up to this period, I had continued to live on habits of intimacy ;

and

my

cousin-german, the late Sir Alexander

Campbell, of Ardkinglas.

Although we had both been all our lives on service, we had never happened to meet, until, in the course of his canvass, at

Craigforth,

relative, the late

me

he waited on

by our mutual Mr. Lamont, of Lamont. As

accompanied

soon as Sir Alexander was presented to me, instead of asking, as I expected, in the ordinary

my

terms, for

vote and interest at the election,

he was pleased to draw himself up and to say " Colonel

me

to

Callander,

we have been

making the tour of the county, with a view

to

the approaching election, and have been tolerably successful in our canvass set I

;

but we have

you down against us"

know

Campbell should VOL.

i.

why Sir Alexander have set me down against

of no reason

z

MEMOIRS OF

338

him, except the terms of friendship on which I

was known to have lived with the But, in point of

candidate.

Dundas, out of

rival

Thomas

fact, Sir

respect, in all probability, for

the near relationship in which I stood to Sir

Alexander Campbell, had never asked

my

support;

cousin had put

him

in

it

at all events

interest I

that

so

me

for

if

my

had resolved,

I

power, to have given

my

my own

possessed with

vote, if not also the

my

brother-in-law,

Mr. Murray, of Polmaise, who was willing to be guided by

my

views in the matter.

on the instant I was

I confess that

degree taken by surprise.

But

in

some

Sir Alexander's

address admitted only of an answer of acquies-

and

by a silent bow, which may have partaken of some of that air of cence,

I replied

hauteur which I imagined to pervade the de-

meanour of

Sir

Alexander himself.

Our

first

interview was not therefore of the most cordial description reflect

;

but

that, after

I

have the

the heats

satisfation to

and animosities

which are too often engendered by a contested election were past and forgotten, Sir Alexan-

SIR

JAMKS CAMPBELL.

der and I came to a better understanding of

each other's character, and lived together on

becoming the near we were connected. habits

It is

known

number of

that in

electors

by which

relationship

a

Scotch county the

never very considerable,

is

and sometimes so small

as to give to the little

knot of freeholders some of the

less

favourable

characteristics of a close borough.

The elective

franchise in Scotland, although in

some degree

connected with the

soil,

infer the possession of

any

does not necessarily beneficial interest in

the land, beyond the barren qualification of

voting in the choice of a

ment.

At

Member

of Parlia-

this election for Stirlingshire, the

views of the rival candidates on the

politics

of the day were not materially different.

I

what they were. The ancient soubriquets of Whig and Tory have so do not pretend to

tell

often changed their acceptation, that I could

not venture to apply them practically ultimately giving

my

was

not

and in

interest, as well as

vote in the county, to Sir certainly

;

guided

z 2

my

Thomas Dundas, by

any

I

political

MEMOIRS OF

340

In acting from such motives

feeling whatever.

I have reason to believe that I

was not subject-

ing myself to any charge of singularity.

In a county like Stirlingshire, ference

is

interest of

not unfrequently subordinate to the

The trials

some powerful family.

strength produced eager,

political pre-

and I

by such

of

contests are not less

fear not seldom attended with even

a greater disregard of the amenities and courtesies

are

of life, than where the most violent partizans

arrayed against each

other in open and

declared hostility.

The on

family interests of the rival candidates

this occasion

were so nicely balanced, that

ultimately the election was decided

ponderance of a single vote. der's side, a

number of

On

by the Sir

pre-

Alexan-

recent qualifications had

been created by the careful subdivision of that abstract quality which, in opposition to the do-

minium

utile, is

distinguished, I believe,

among

name

of the

the lawyers of Scotland, by the

dominium directum.

had

not,

These parchment barons however, been long enough enrolled

SIR

on the to vote

In

list

JAMES CAMPBELL.

341

of freeholders to give them the right

when

the day of election arrived.

this state of matters it

was announced to

me, on the part of Sir Alexander Campbell, that if I

would only agree

to absent myself from the

election, so as to neutralize

would cancel the bond

my own

vote,

which

for 2,500

he

my

had granted to his father many years beand for the payment of which I had be-

father fore,

come bound

James Campbell

to Sir

in the

man-

ner stated in a former part of these volumes.

But the period had was possible

for

man

me to have supported

Alex-

I

;

from the redemption of such

to be deterred

a pledge

Sir

it

had previously pledged myThomas Dundas, and I was not the

ander Campbell self to Sir

already passed at which

by any

Thus the

allusion of a pecuniary nature.

election of Sir

ultimately carried

by a

not unnatural, under

all

Thomas Dundas was

single vote

;

and

it

was

the circumstances, that

the defeat of his antagonist should be ascribed to me.

On me

at least Sir

posed to pour the

first

Alexander was

dis-

overflowings of his wrath.

MEMOIRS OF

342

He

took immediate steps to recover

debt, and, as I have already said, this

my

father's

me

had

for

purpose arrested in the streets of Stirling.

The

late

who had

Earl of Marr,

not then been

restored to the ancient titles of his family, had

long been

him

my

intimate friend, and

rather than to Sir

readiness,

me

this

me

But

discharge the debt.

are too seldom associated

that I

His

emergency.

his assistance

and enabled

was to

Thomas Dundas

thought of applying in Lordship lent

it

with perfect

in the

mean time

riches

and

;

to

liberality

and although

I

was

never asked to repay the money, yet, in the

knowledge that

my

friend

circumstances, I resolved to in order to relieve

him of

need not say that

it

is

was not in sell

out of the army

his advances

;

for I

impossible to borrow

money, on the security of an fetters

affluent

estate

under the

of a Scotch entail, like that of Craig-

forth.

Colonel Pigott,

whom

I afterwards

met

at

Malta in the capacity of Governor, was the purchaser of my Lieutenant-colonelcy, and the price

which

I received for it

was 60001.

This

SIR

unfortunate

JAMES CAMPBELL.

contretemps with

343

Alexander

Sir

Campbell was otherwise prejudicial to

The

trimonial interests.

my

pa-

estate of Bontaskine

had been previously destined

for

me by my uncle

Colonel Livingstone, but in consequence of his

taking offence with the opposition I had thus

given to a fit

member

of the family, he thought

to express his displeasure

destination,

by

and bequeathing the

altering the estate to Sir

Alexander Campbell, who afterwards sold

it

for 11,000/.

Under the and

circumstances I have

after the sacrifices I

had made

a person possessed of such fluence as the late

very unnatural,

now

in serving

commanding

Lord Dundas,

when

stated,

it

in-

was not

the expedition was pre-

paring for Flanders, under his Royal Highness the

Duke

of York, that I should apply to the

Member

for

would be

useful to

me

as

in forwarding the views

I

" the ear but broken to the hope."

a number of

i

letters

now began to entertain of re-entering The word of promise was given to service.

which the

Stirlingshire for such

letters,

I received

but several of them were

MEMOIRS OF

344

addressed to officers younger than myself, and

none of them were ultimately

I re-

efficacious.

solved, however, to proceed to the head-quarters

of the army,

and joined

the siege of

at

it

Valenciennes.

In consequence of the possessed of the

town of

local

Lisle

knowledge

and

its

neigh-

bourhood, from a former residence there period of some duration

I

for a

from the habit I had

;

acquired of looking at fortified places with the

eye of a military

man and

an engineer,

who

enjoyed perhaps a secret pleasure in detecting the

weak

points of a fortress, as well as from

the information I obtained in the frequent excursions I

had made

adjoining country, the

I

as a

sportsman over the

persuaded myself

town might be taken by

Convinced of the so great an object,

that

surprise.

possibility of accomplishing I prepared a

the subject, and submitted

it

memorial on

to the consider-

His Royal Highness the CommanderIn the plans which accompanied the in- Chief. ation of

memorial, I had pointed

ovit

a fausse braie on

the flank of one of the ports, called "la Porte

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

345

de Malade," and knowing the fact to be

so,

meant that that should be the point of attackThe force with which I proposed to effect the I

was to

object,

of the

consist of

8000 Prussians, a part

army before Valenciennes, under General

Noblesdorff.

This preference on

my

part did

not arise from belief in the superiority of the Prussian troops over the British in any military quality, save that of a stricter discipline,

a consequent a more

probability

perfect

silence

in

and

of their observing

marching

to the

attack.

His Royal Highness was unfortunately surrounded by a number of young officers, many of

whom

had never seen

morial was at

first

service.

referred to Sir

The me-

James Murray

and Colonel Sellingen, whose principal objection to the plan

was a general one, that the

town being one of the

strongest places in

Eu-

To

this

rope could not be taken by surprise.

there was an obvious answer, that the superior

strength of a fortress had only a tendency to increase the confidence rison,

and that

if

a

and security of the gar-

weak point could be made

MEMOIRS OF

346

my

available, as suggested in

memorial,

tended that a fortress like Lisle was

I

con-

liable to

the danger of surprise in the direct ratio of

its

supposed security and strength.

The

fact of

thejausse

my

ready to pledge

braie,

on which

honour and

my

I

was

existence,

was next brought into question, and as it was not correctly represented on the charts and plans in the possession of the Commander-inChief, a doubt

was raised

as to the accuracy of

the principal circumstance on which

morial was founded. v

But here

my

me-

also I suggested

the probability, that the very circumstance of the ordinary charts being erroneous, might be

favourable to the execution of the plan.

number of minor

A

objections were then proposed

and refuted, but feeling that the gentlemen who sat in judgment on the plan were not the best qualified to decide their

arguments with

on less

its

merits, I treated

consideration than

perhaps was due to two young gentlemen

enjoyed so fidence,

much

and

I

who

of his Royal Highness's con-

have no doubt that

better have consulted

I

might

my own aggrandizement

SIR if I

JAMES CAMPBELL.

347

could have concealed from myself the un-

fortunate

want of experience on the part of the

commissioners, or could have forgotten that I

had myself been educated

in

the school of

Ferdinand of Brunswick.

The

first

and

conclusive,

lowed to

report on

my

memorial was not

after three days

had been

elapse, I learned in a quarter

I least expected to hear of

Duke had

thought

my

al-

where

plan, that the

necessary, before deciding

it

on a matter of so much importance, to consult with several individuals as to the propriety of hazarding the attempt.

Duke had

days, the this

At

the end of eight

not yet decided, but as by

time I perceived that the possibility of

effecting a surprise

had passed away,

plan had been breathed upon to so dividuals, I

thought

it

after the

many

in-

necessary to address a

Royal Highness, explaining in the most respectful terms the reasons which had

letter to his

induced

me

dertaking

:

to

my

terms as these

withdraw myself from the unletter

"

was concluded

Had

in such

the attempt been at-

tended with success, the honour would have

MEMOIRS OF

348

been to your Royal Highness

;

had

if it

failed,

the disgrace would have been wholly mine;"

and I venture to add, that the

Cremona was not the the

surprisal of

least brilliant action of

of Prince Eugene.

life

Seeing that I had thus no prospect of being

permitted to

make

my

services

available

in

the only field of exertion which was at that

time open to me, I resolved to return to Scot-

and continued to reside

land,

at

Craigforth

had the misfortune to become once

until I

more a widower.

Lady Elizabeth in the month of with

this,

befallen

October, 1797.

Compared

every other misfortune which had

me

through

insignificance.

whom

Callander died at Craigforth

To

life

seemed to sink into

the five

young

children

she had left behind her, the loss was

even greater than

it

was to me.

The

purity

of her religious sentiments, her natural good sense and politeness, her extensive

of the world, and above for

all,

knowledge

her strong affection

them, made the bereavement to such a

family an irreparable

evil.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

For some time

after

349

Elizabeth's de-

Lady

mise, I remained with the children at Craigforth

;

the two boys under the charge of a

young clergyman, and the the advantage of live

my

my

three girls having

Mrs. Compton, to

sister,

The

with them as a companion.

family at that time consisted of

son, the second child of

my

two daughters, who by

younger

to

eldest

time were both

married, but were too young, occupied,

my

marriage, and

first

this

rest of

too

or

much

undertake the charge of their

sisters'

education

George CaUander, by

;

this

and

my

eldest son,

time a Lieutenant-

Colonel in the army, was not yet a married

man, or

settled in

life.

In these circumstances

and well-meant

invitation

I

received a

from

my

warm

sister-in-

law, the Marchioness of Antrim, urging me, in the strongest terms, to send her three nieces,

that her Ladyship might superintend the completion of their education,

and give them the

advantage of her countenance on their entrance into general society.

ij

i

I

was

first

fully im-

pressed with the nature and the great

amount

MEMOIRS OF

350

of the obligation which the Marchioness pro-

posed to confer, but I confess that. I dreaded the influence of a splendid establishment on the

young minds of my daughters, and

I feared

might too readily imbibe notions of

that they

which might not be consistent with thenplace in society, and which afterwards might

life

not be easily eradicated.

I therefore declined

the proposal, with the unaffected expression of

my

warmest acknowledgments for the

deration which the Marchioness

the circumstances in which

my

consi-

had given to

daughters were

placed.

Another proposal was then made to me, from a quarter where, in ordinary circumstances, it

was

least

to be expected

;

but

it

was so perfectly consonant with the views I had adopted with reference to the future happiness

of

my

children, that

I

received

and accepted it with unmingled satisfaction. It came from the elder sister of my second wife,

who had

never herself been married, but whose

one word, was perfectly that of a gentlewoman. Mrs. Dutens proposed that she character, in

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

351

should become the sole governess and guardian of

my

three girls

;

and

as she

was just such a

person as I could unreservedly entrust with so invaluable a charge, I was too

much enchanted

with the proposal to hesitate a

moment

as to its

acceptance, nor have I ever had any cause to regret

my

concurrence in the arrangement.

At

the same time, I had the satisfaction to be aware that Mrs. Dutens' fortune

make

was so great

as to

the expense to which she was necessarily

subjected a matter of indifference to her.

At a very early period in the

army

I

had got a commission

my youngest

for

son, which, judging

from the ardour of his temperament,

I conceived

to be a profession well suited to his disposition,

and to the was

far

first

indications of a character

from being fully formed.

second son, James,

more peaceful

my

which

For

my

views were turned to a

profession

;

but

as

he advanced in

he repeatedly expressed a wish to go into the army. To gratify this wish, I had named

life

younger brother, who had by

him

in lieu of his

this

time conceived a decided preference for a

country

life,

and

for the practice of agriculture.

MEMOIRS OF

352

My

youngest son, Randal, I accordingly placed in a situation where his altered views were likely to be prosecuted with the greatest advantage

and

I

;

conducted James to his regiment, then

encamped near Canterbury, and embarked him He served in that war, and I for Holland.

may

add, without any excess of paternal partia-

lity,

that he has always served with reputation.

Few young men he has done

;

and

have seen so

much

service as

at the close of the war, as

he found himself in

will be seen in the sequel,

possession of the majority of the 91st regiment.

When my

domestic arrangements had thus

been completed, I

felt that

a

life

of retirement,

had ceased to be surrounded by a family whom I delighted, would be inexpressibly

after I

in

irksome to me.

It

was therefore with no

ordi-

nary feelings of satisfaction that I received from

my

early friend

and schoolfellow, Lord Keith,

a proposal to attend

command.

him

in his Mediterranean

Besides being highly seasonable at

the moment, and in every sense an offer well

worthy of

my

acceptance,

it

was particularly

SIR

353

me

to

agreeable

JAMES CAMPBELL.

came, as well as

from the quarter whence from the manner in which

it

it

was made. "

An

of your merit and experience,"

officer

Lord Keith was pleased

to say, "

must not be

lost to the service."

The time allowed me by Lord Keith

before

the sailing of the fleet was sufficient for deliberation,

to

but was scarcely

make my

me

able

the

me

preparatory arrangements to en-

embark with him

to

Queen

sufficient to enable

As

Charlotte.

went

in his flag-ship

soon as I was ready

to the

Admiralty to obtain the latest intelligence from the fleet, which I knew The answer I reto be under sailing orders. to start, I

ceived from the clerk to

whom

I

put the ques-

tion was, with a look at the weathercock, " Sir,

the Admiral has probably

by

this

time cleared

the Lizard." It

was never

my

custom on meeting with a

disappointment to lose time in bemoaning so I rejoined

by an inquiry

which was to VOL.

i.

sail

as to the

next ship

for the Mediterranean.

2

A

it;

To

MEMOIRS OF

354

my

this

interlocutor

promptitude of tain Boyle,

"

When

now

office,

at

with

replied,

"

the

all

The Cormorant, Cap-

Falmouth."

does she

sail ?"

"

be sent to Captain Boyle's despatches will him ten days hence, and you can travel as fast as they."

In the issue

it

proved fortunate for

I missed the fleet,

ship

it

;

enabled

collecting his

acting several

and

me

to oblige

Lord Keith, by

numerous despatches, and transmatters of business which he had his departure

In the meanwhile

tunate accident brought

Lady

that

passage in the flag-

my

been unable to complete before

from London.

me

Nelson, who,

me

when

in

also,

a for-

company with

she heard that I

should probably see her gallant husband sooner

than any

man

then in England, desired that

I

might wait on her on the following morning to receive her despatches.

Her Ladyship was

pleased to say some civil things of

Nelson, which certainly

him,

if I

may judge from

me

were not

to

lost

the services

Lord

upon and at-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

355

tentions I received from his Lordship during

my

After another

stay in the Mediterranean.

application at the Admiralty, I got with these

advantages to Falmouth, as fast as a chaise and four horses would carry me.

The Cormorant,

of twenty-two guns, was the

smallest post-ship at that time in the British

navy. Boyle,

Her commander, I had known from

the Hon. Courtney his infancy, as I

had

long been on intimate habits with the Earl and

Countess of Cork, and was acquainted with

most of

Mr. Boyle was a perfect

his relations.

seaman, and as brave as his course was

our route

first

own

sword.

directed to Lisbon,

we took

several prizes.

Our

and during

Two

sails

appeared in sight off Cape Finisterre, and I

had reason to remark the promptitude with

which Captain Boyle decided between the characters of the two vessels, the one of which was much larger than the one, although her hull was

other. still

The

smaller

under the hori-

zon, he pronounced to be a privateer, the other a prize,

which had probably just been taken by 2

A

2

MEMOIRS OF

356 her.

Taking

between them, he im-

his election

mediately gave chase to the prize, and took possession of her during the night.

In confirmation jecture, she

of

Captain

Boyle's

con-

proved to be an English West-

Indiaman, homeward-bound, and heavily laden,

which had been captured by the General Massena, a

the

French

Bay

In our cruize across

privateer.

of Biscay, the Cormorant had been

very successful.

The

ship's

company had been

and crew, that CapBoyle had considerable difficulty in man-

so thinned of its officers tain

ning

this valuable prize

;

so

much

so,

that he

was obliged to place her under the command of the schoolmaster.

We

afterwards learned that

she arrived in safety at Cork.

We lost of Lisbon

another valuable prize off the rock

by the

stupidity of the boatswain.

We

had pursued an enemy's ship for some time, and in the morning found her in the act of manning a prize, which

we

should have been

able to capture, but for the time lost in

which was

consequence of the blocks giving way, by which the gig was slung as usual astern.

SIR

By

JAMES CAMPBELL.

357

the time that this piece of slovenliness had

been adjusted, the

enemy was

shot of the

coming aboard of us, which made it necessary to withdraw our attention from the recapture of the prize.

The wind being

contrary,

Boyle

Captain

when

stretched across to the Barbary coast, and

we had made ship to bear

a sufficient offing to enable the

up

for the Tagus,

we found

our-

by a heavy frigate. After observing her some time, the oldest lieutenant, an able and excellent seaman, observed to

selves chased

Captain Boyle, that he thought the frigate in chase too heavy to afford any chance of a successful

encounter.

in the opinion of

tenant,

Captain

Mr. Mitchell,

and had expressed

avoid her,

when

Boyle

his

coincided

his first lieu-

resolution

his second, a very brave

honest seaman, of the

name

of Wright,

had been bred in the merchant prudently remarked that

service,

he did not

to

and

who im-

think

the ship in chase to be larger than the Cor-

morant.

In consequence of

this difference of opinion

MEMOIRS OF

358

his officers,

among

Captain Boyle informed me,

in the course of the evening, that

he was

re-

solved to keep steadily on his course, and to abstain

from

engagement.

found the

avoiding

an

Accordingly, next morning

we

any

at

attempt

frigate within a league of us,

weather quarter, when

was pierced

it

on our

was seen that she

for forty-four guns, while

we

only

carried twenty-two, of a calibre in all probability

gonist.

much

smaller than those of our anta-

On

taking the glass from his eye, he

it

to the secdnd lieutenant, observ-

presented

ing in gentle but emphatic

thought she seemed

was

larger.

so shocked at his

own

that he

terms,

Poor Mr. Wright indiscretion, that

he was unable to utter a word, and soon

af-

terwards the necessary order was given to clear the ship for action.

The circumstance which lated

affords

has just been re-

an excellent illustration of the

necessity, as well as propriety, of that

and even arbitrary power which the

commander of

is

supreme

vested in

a British ship of war,

of the admirable arrangements

to

which

and his

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

found in practice to

is

authority

opinion until

it

lead.

The

seldom heard to hazard an

inferior officers are

asked of them

is

a hasty expression

is

;

and when

found to produce such

important consequences, see the

359

not wonderful to

it is

extraordinary degree of caution and

circumspection, in practical matters, for which

the language of our seamen

so justly re-

is

markable.

In the present instance, no disastrous consequences

from Lieutenant Wright's The frigate proved to be the

arose

indiscretion.

Boadicea, a forty-four,

commanded by Captain

Reynolds, a worthy and gallant

was afterwards coast of

lost,

Norway,

expedition.

At

much

who

in a three-decker, off the

at the

the

time of the Danish

commencement of the

chase on the previous afternoon,

ed so

officer,

we had crowd-

canvass on the Cormorant as to

spring our main top-mast

;

and such was the

accuracy of observation on board the Boadicea, that the circumstance

and reckoned on

making

was immediately

seen,

as a sure indication of their

prize of the

unknown

ship.

360

,

MEMOIRS OF

Before reaching the

made one

or

two

Tagus, Captain Boyle

additional prizes, so that the

upon the whole had been highly successa circumstance which afforded me the -

trip

ful;

greater

from

satisfaction,

knowledge

I

Boyle was at the time

possessed, that Captain

in great pecuniary

the

embarrassment, in conse-

quence of an incorrect Court of Admiralty having condemned a valuable prize which he

had previously taken

or rather,

;

conse-

in

quence of a reversal of the judgment of the Court, and an order on Captain Boyle to re-

fund the money, at a period when from being convenient to do so. It

it

was

far

was necessary for the Cormorant to remain

some days in the Tagus, but Captain Boyle was so good as to hasten his departure, in consequence of the dispatches with which he

knew

I

was entrusted

spending a

few

for

days

Lord Keith.

at

Lisbon

After

we

again

and having shaped our course for Leghorn, we found Lord Keith in the midst

put to sea

;

of his preparations for the siege of Genoa.

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

CHAPTER Interview with Lord Keith.

Vessel

on

the Fleet. ral

The

Appointment

to

a command.

Arrangements in Lord Keith and Gene-

Catastrophe.

Siege of Genoa.

Palermo

of Naples.

Work

;

Manner of

of Mr. Brydone.

Ruins of Girgentum. Hospitable reception.

A

XV.

Dispatches to Lord Nelson, and the King

Massena.

quake.

Fatal

Fire.

361

The

rich Consul.

An

Travelling.

The people

of Ragusa.

The Author's journey. Aspect of the Country.

Inns.

Wines.

Sir

John Acton.

Disappointment

Queen of

Sicilian service.

Pecuniary arrangements.

Earth-

Naples.

AT my

interview with

first

Lord Keith,

and immediately on delivering my despatches, he observed that he had found a situation

which he had no doubt would be agreeable to me. Sir John Acton, at that time the Prime Minister of the

Lord Keith

King of

for

Naples, had applied to

the assistance of a

British

MEMOIRS OF

362

who might be

officer

a better state of order

Neapolitan troops in

and

capable of putting the

than they had hitherto enjoyed.

discipline

rightly in supposing that

Lord Keith judged

was very much to

this task

indeed, I had very

condition of the

little

force

my liking, although, idea of the wretched

I

was

called

on to

organize.

Thus

my

mo, but

in

immediate destination was Palerthe course of

Leghorn, preparatory Sicily, I

to

my my

short stay

at

departure for

was witness to a very awful accident,

in the burning of

Lord

Keith's flag-ship, the

was to have gone aboard of her that very day, had not Lord Keith detained me on shore to dine with the Austrian

Queen

Charlotte.

I

commander- in-chief, and between them.

to act as interpreter

This I had done on several

former occasions, as the Austrian spoke nothing but German,

a.

language with which

Lord Keith did not happen

to be acquainted.

We sat down to dinner at one o'clock, and not finished the officer in

first

course,

had

when an English

attendance on Lord Keith's person,

SIR (his

JAMES CAMPBELL.

command

Lordship always supported his

with considerable

state,)

apartment, in the

hastily

greatest

entered the

agitation,

to an-

nounce to Lord Keith that the Queen Charlotte

was on

The

fire.

lay at anchor about four miles

fleet

from the town,

off the island of

Gorgona, the

spot where the finest anchovies are caught.

Immediately on hearing gence

we

started

all

this

up from

alarming

and Lord

table,

Keith, calling for his glass, ran

up

intelli-

to the bal-

cony, from whence there was a full view of the

He

fleet.

had not looked many seconds, when

he dashed the instrument on the ground, and gave instant orders for boats to

he had been ashore,

many

craft as

of

whom

by

other

In

this

officers

were jumping into such

could be had, and going off to the

roadstead. find,

anticipated

assist.

I

got into the best boat I could

but the Italian

were in such a

sailors

who manned

it

state of consternation at the

shotted guns which from time to time went off, as

they were reached by the

fire,

and

at the

greater danger of the explosion of the maga-

MEMOIRS OF

364

was not without a great deal of

zine, that it difficulty,

accompanied with threats of personal

violence, that I could induce

them

to approach

near enough to be of use in saving some valua-

The number on board

ble lives.

at the time of

the accident amounted to 1,000 souls, and

all

that were saved were but 147.

The

accident.

It is

ship there

and

was occasioned by a very

fire

is

known

that on board a flag-

frequent occasion to

fire-guns.

For

trivial

make

signals

this purpose tubs are kept

on the upper deck with matches in them constantly lighted. for

As

the fleet was to have sailed

Genoa on the very evening of the

the usual preparations were in progress

accident, ;

and

haste or heedlessness, the people on board

in

had

tumbled a great quantity of the hay, which had just been brought for the use of the live stock,

on one of the tubs which contained the lighted matches. The fire was immediately communicated to the hay, and from thence with such rapidity to the combustible materials around,

that in less than a quarter of an hour past the

power of human agency

it

was

to extinguish

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

Lord

the flames.

365

Keith's pecuniary loss

very considerable.

He

lived, as I

have

was

said, in

a very magnificent manner, and his plate alone

was valued

more the tical

But he regretted

at 7,000/.

loss

of a valuable collection of nau-

and plans of various coasts and Of all the minor consequences how-

charts,

harbours.

Lord Keith

ever of this great calamity,

lamented the

ticularly

Bainbridge, the Charlotte, for ship,

still

first

whom

loss

par-

of his friend Mr.

Lieutenant of the Queen

he had just before got a

but who, from personal regard to

his pa-

tron and commander, had obtained his Lordship's leave to serve

on board the

flag-ship at

the siege of Genoa.

Lord

Keith's arrangements

had been

so far

advanced, that he did not permit the accident to interfere with the sailing of the

fleet.

He

embarked on board the Audacious, a ship of two decks, and sailed the same night on his destination.

Although Genoa, I

I

was not present

shall

at the siege of

be pardoned for communicat-

ing a circumstance which occurred immediately

MEMOIRS OF

366

after the capitulation,

from

able to the

of

feelings

its

my

being so credit-

Lord

old friend

The two Commanders, Lord Keith and French General, Massena, met on shore

Keith.

the

for the purpose of arranging the stipulations of

Massena proposed a number of conditions to which Lord Keith successively the treaty.

yielded.

At

Frenchman

length his Lordship entreated the

to ask

for nothing more, "

" has said,

defence," he

Your

been so honourable to

the French arms that I can refuse you nothing." It

was known that the garrison had been

duced to the

last

extremity.

allowance which remained to

few ounces of inhabitants

oil

re-

The only public the men was a

per diem, and

had been forced to

many

subsist

of the

on the

most disgusting garbage.

When

the

capitulation

was signed, Lord

Keith desired that three guns might be fired

from the mole battery.

On

this signal a great

number of

boats put off from the

the French

Commander, with some symptoms

of alarm, applied to

and

know

the

The Admiral

de-

Lord Keith

reason of their appearance.

fleet,

to

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

367

layed an answer until the arrival of the boats,

when they were found a supply that

visions,

to be loaded with pro-

must have

been

sin-

gularly seasonable to the starving inmates of

the garrison.

Two

days afterwards, I joined

my

old friend

Captain Boyle, on board the Cormorant, and sailed

with him for the shores of

destination of the

I

had

The

Cormorant was the coast of

Egypt; but Captain Boyle had Lord Keith to put me ashore where

Sicily.

letters to deliver to

orders from at

Palermo,

Lord Nelson,

and despatches from Lord Keith to the King, and to Sir John Acton. Instead of landing

me

at Palermo, as

he intended, Captain Boyle

was compelled, by adverse winds, and boisterous weather, to put me ashore on the opposite side

of the Island, at a distance of at least

two hundred miles from the After leaving miles from the

me

on the

capital.

coast,

about fifteen

town of Ragusa, Captain Boyle

proceeded on his destination, having received orders to cruize off the until

the

arrival

mouth of the

of the

fleet.

From

Nile,

the

MEMOIRS OF

368

variable nature of the coast, occasioned

by the

of the river, it has often periodical inundations

been found to be exceedingly dangerous, deceiving even the most experienced mariners.

On

this occasion it

was the

fate of

my

friend

Captain Boyle, and the Cormorant, to suffer shipwreck.

The

officers

and crew were saved

;

but they were immediately seized on the beach

by a horde of Arabs, and carried to Grand Cairo, where they were not liberated until the British forces were in possession of Egypt.

In travelling from the point where the Cormorant had landed me to my destination on the other side of the island, I enjoyed a favourable opportunity of seeing interior.

On

some

.part

the coast where I landed,

of the I

saw

only a single vessel, which was a Dane, taking

on board a cargo of corn.

I

was told that

was dangerous to undertake the journey

it

to

Palermo, without an escort of Campieri, whose business

it

is

to hire themselves out for the

protection of travellers.

The manner a

litter,

very

of travelling in the island

much

is

in

resembling a sedan-chair,

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

To progress

supported between two mules.

my

this fashion, as is

say,

with

friend

369

Lady

Nisbit would

certainly rather a tedious business

my

to carry

best diligence,

me

in

;

and

occupied eleven days

it

At Ragusa,

to Palermo.

I

found

the inhabitants just recovering from the alarm

of a recent earthquake. Island

;

and although, before the catastrophe

which I

to

20,000 the

district of the

seldom included in the route of the

is

traveller

This

allude, it contained

souls, I

name

as

many

as

do not remember to have seen

of Ragusa mentioned in the enter-

work of Mr. Brydone, or in any other book of travels. Hard by Ragusa, the road taining

is

still

to be

seen

Carthaginians, for

which was made by the the passage of

phants across the island able portions of

it

;

their

ele-

and, indeed, consider-

were in

my

time in excellent

preservation.

Speaking from that this

great

eighteen feet in

recollection, I

work of antiquity is about breadth. The stones of which

it is

composed, are of

feet

by two, and they

VOL.

I.

should say,

lava, of the size of three

are uniformly arranged

2 B

MEMOIRS OF

370 with

the

greatest

attention

to

symmetry.

Every other road in the island, which I had an opportunity of observing, of the name.

They

paths, for there

is

bringing

home

quite unworthy

are in fact

mere

bridle-

not such a thing as a wheel

When

carriage in the island.

the people of

is

I explained to

Ragusa the use of a

cart

in

their grain, they suggested the

impossibility of using

it

from the nature of the

country.

Although of the highest

fertility

the lava has been decomposed,

it

wherever is

yet so

and unequal in its general sura great measure to deny them the

stony, abrupt, face, as in facilities

of locomotion which are enjoyed by

the farmer in countries in other respects less favoured.

Their wheat, indeed, was seen to

grow in the most extraordinary situations. an inch of ground was

lost

Not

which could receive

a seed or carry a single stalk of corn.

There

was no where to be seen any thing approaching in extent to an and over ordinary paddock ;

what they basalt

called

their fields,

huge masses of

were scattered in every conceivable posi-

SIR tion

;

JAMES CAMPBELL.

371

but wherever the interstice between ad-

jacent rocks, or even the verge of a precipice

discovered a practicable situation for inserting a few seeds, the industry and care of the inhabitants were such as to leave none of these

favoured spots in

a

state

of

barrenness or

neglect.

In ancient times this island was the granary of surrounding nations, and

some measure to be

so

it

may be

said in

If not

of the

still.

quantity, I can speak with confidence at least

of the quality, of the

flour.

Not

far

from Ra-

gusa stand the ruins of Girgentum, an ancient temple, in very perfect preservation.

pretend to speak of ed, it

it in

but according to

do not

I

the style of the learn-

my

uncultivated

appeared to me, after seeing

many

ideas

remains

of antiquity, to be an admirable specimen of purity and proportion in architecture.

I

Although I had no introduction at Ragusa, had the good fortune to meet there with

much

kindness and attention from some of the

principal

inhabitants,

who

furnished

me

not

merely with the necessary information for pur2 B 2

MEMOIRS OF

372

my

with

letters

doors to ,

me

route to Palermo, but provided

suing

me

which opened many hospitable

in the course of

season of the year

corn harvest;

my

was some time

and the

being on the ground,

after their

of clover

after -crop

its

The

journey.

general appearance

was extremely beautiful and luxuriant. It stood about two feet high, and its colours were so singularly rich

and

remind

vivid, as to

me

very forcibly of a bright green cloth spotted over with drops of red currant

have another cultivated

grass,

high, with a yellow flower,

They

jelly.

about five inches

which

is

also

very

beautiful.

The

my

inns which I entered in the course of

journey were as bad as can be imagined

;

but their place was very well supplied by means of the letters which I had obtained at Ragusa.

Indeed I cannot sufficiently praise the hospitality I

I

met with

in every part of

my journey.

was allowed to want for nothing which could

contribute to

my

ease or comfort.

and chocolate were uniformly the mutton, as

it

generally

is

The

coffee

excellent,

and

in hot countries,

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

373

In the houses of the gentry

remarkably good.

the cookery was scarcely to be distinguished from the Italian but, from what cause I could ;

not ascertain,

it

frequently happened to

that the master of the house, for

brought the

whom

which produced

letters

pitable reception, never

made

I

my

me had hos-

his appearance.

In such cases the absence of the host was only

marked by

a

more

striking degree of obser-

vance and attention on the part of his domestics.

The

general aspect of the country had to

a very singular appearance

;

me

the richest spots of

verdure being suddenly interrupted by masses of lava, in various states Interspersed

among

of decomposition.

the rocks are patches of

which are subjected,

without

plain

ground,

much

regard to agricultural rotation, to a per-

petual succession of crops of corn. sense

the country

may be

In a wider

said to consist

of

mountain and valley; and upon the whole it presents the liveliest idea which can well be imagined of an island which has been called into existence at a period comparatively recent.

MEMOIRS OF

374

Wood

and water are not wanting to complete

and

the extraordinary picture,

in

favourable

situations there are patches of the richest pas-

Flowers are

rocks.

variety,

also to

be found in great

wherever the hand of the agriculturist

not substituted

has

crevices of the

up among the

ture to be picked

ductions.

Of

to

pro-

these I particularly admired the

passion-flower, reference

more valuable

his

and the

the

caper,

picturesque

without any effect

of

the

pickled berries on a boiled leg of mutton.

The wine of and

is

the country

is

in great variety

After I

generally of excellent quality.

had been some time

in Sicily, I sent

two hogs-

heads of red wine, called Marsalla, as a present to

my

mother.

Each of them contained some

three hundred bottles;

did not cost

and the two together

me more than

eight pounds.

arrived in safety at Craigforth in a vessel for Alloa, a port in the

They bound

immediate neighbour-

hood, and I was informed, that after being kept for

some time, the wine was very much liked by

the gentlemen of the neighbourhood for fulness of body,

and

claret-like flavour.

its

I sent

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

3?5

two hogsheads that the one might assist in paying for the duty and freight of the other the

;

and with them

I sent half a

which, although they cost

pounds a

piece,

dozen

me

were of the

silk

gowns,

only about two

finest silk I

had

ever seen.

The Consul

town of Marsalla had

the

at

amassed a fortune of 30,000. by the composition of a

wine which he

called Madeira, out of

several of the native white wines of his

diate neighbourhood.

appeared to

It

wholesome and palatable

;

but

it

imme-

me

to be

had ceased to

produce such great pecuniary returns to the manufacturer

in

consequence of other indi-

viduals having engaged in the trade.

On my

Palermo I was presented to his Sicilian Majesty by Sir John Acton, and was received, as at all Italian Courts, in the most flattering

arrival at

manner.

Keith, which in

I

The

letter

from

Lord

presented on the occasion, was

answer, as I have said, to an application

which had been previously made to ship,

his

for an officer duly qualified to

Lord-

put the

Sicilian troops into a better state of discipline

;

MEMOIRS OF

376

and

his

Lordship was pleased to write that I was I

possessed of the necessaiy qualifications.

was

immediately appointed Inspector-General of the troops

;

and the appointment was accompanied

with such a profusion of promises, that I could not think myself

less

than firmly fixed in the

service of his Sicilian Majesty.

Soon afterwards

me

Sir

John Acton applied

to

to undertake a duty of a different nature,

which was a survey of those parts of the island, and particularly of the coast which stood most in

need of defence.

Although not exactly

consistent with the nature of

my

engagement, to be

I did not object to the task, as I felt

it

one for which

and

my

early education as fitted

me.

The

tastes

and

habits,

my

an engineer, had peculiarly

nature of this employment re-

quired that I should be attended by numerous assistants,

and that

I should

considerable expense. outset with a

sum

I

be subjected to

was supplied

at the

of 600/. to assist in defray-

ing the current expenses of the undertaking

but

as I

;

was resolved to avoid the trouble and

responsibility of

keeping accounts, I insisted

SIR that the

JAMES CAMPBELL.

money should be

of a person authorised

who

should disburse

occasion

might

placed in the hands

by the Government, from time to time,

it

require,

377

as

and who should be ex-

clusively accountable not to

me, but to

his

em-

ployers.

This arrangement was accordingly adopted

and

I proceeded

belief that I

whom, ral

if I

with the survey, in the

;

full

was serving a Government, from

did not receive an adequate or libe-

reward, I should at least never be suffered

to be a pecuniary loser

undertaken. disappointed.

In

this,

by the

service I I

however,

After the

first

had

was sadly

payment of

600/.

no further supply could be procured from the Government. Unwilling that the work should be interrupted,

I

proceeded with

my own

funds

had expended about 5001. and then I returned to Palermo to ascertain the cause of

until I

this extraordinary

backwardness on the part of

the Government.

After a good deal of tergiversation, I was

in-

William Hamilton, the

duced to apply to

Sir

British ambassador,

on the

subject,

and with the

MEMOIRS OF

378

honesty and candour for which Sir William was

me

he recommended

so remarkable,

at once to

abandon the undertaking, and to incur no further expense on the credit of the Sicilian Govern-

ment.

It

was never denied by

that the 500/.

Sir

John Acton

which I had thus expended was

due to me, independent of any remuneration for the personal service performed but

justly

;

he excused himself and the Government by saying, that there

Royal treasury

;

was actually no money in the so that to this

hour the debt

remains unpaid.

The

rise

of Sir John Acton at the Sicilian

Court was somewhat extraordinary. ed

at

Naples an inferior

of war

;

but being a

He

arriv-

officer in a British ship

man

of insinuating man-

and a good person, he caught the eye of the Queen, and through her

ners, considerable ability,

Majesty's influence he rose to the high station in

which I found him in the councils of the

Sicilian Court.

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

CHAPTER Sir

William Hamilton.

The

Lady Hamilton's

influence.

Russian Ambassador.

Lord Nelson.

the

the

Pacha of Navarino.

a

Advice of

islands.

Introduc-

Arrive at Zante.

The

forces

Italian

Island.

Count Calamara.

execution of Calamara. descent.

The

Resolve to abandon

Interests.

Government of the

Assassinations.

Envoy.

Marshal

Lord Nelson's Proclamation.

English cruisers.

Command

British

Lord Keith.

Sail for Malta.

French and English

nians.

New

The Ionian

tion to General Abercrombie.

hoisted.

Lord Nelson.

Sicilian Court.

Extraordinary character of Lady

Sicilian service.

Lannes.

XVI.

His Sicilian Majesty.

Hamilton. the

37j9

British

corps.

colours

Alba-

Prevalence of crime. Conversation with

Inspect the Bay. Trial and French influence. Threatened

Measures adopted by the author.

Anecdote of

Priest.

WILLIAM HAMILTON had

SIR

many

been for

years entrusted with the charge of the

British interests at the Court of Naples; but

during

my

stay at

Palermo he found himself

MEMOIRS OF

380

superseded in the person of a gentleman, whose family connexions right to be liberally

was all-powerful

gave him an undisputed provided for. Lord Nelson

at the Sicilian Court, in con-

the boldness and

sequence of

address with

which he had brought off the Royal Family from Naples to Palermo at a period of the greatest peril but Lord Nelson's influence at ;

home, and the ambassador's own merits, were not sufficient to retain for Sir William

Ha-

milton the situation in which he had done so

much good

He

service to his country.

had, in fact, for a long series of years

governed

completely

No

doubt

this

was

the

latterly

Neapolitan

Court.

accomplished with

the assistance of his friend

Lady Hamilton,

and of the influence which that extraordinary

woman

and through the nister.

mind of the Queen, Queen over the Prime Mi-

possessed over the

But

these advantages were lost on the

arrival of Sir William's successor, as I believe,

made any

knowledge or content to

who

never,

pretensions to political

sagacity.

make himself

This gentleman was agreeable to the peo-

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR pie

among whom he was

berality of his table

entertainments his

;

381

placed by the

and the elegance of

li-

his

but his easy disposition, and

newness to diplomatic usages, were some-

what

strikingly evinced

by

his intimacy

The wily Mus-

the ambassador from Russia.

became

covite as to

permit

so attached to the British his secretary, a

with

M. de

la

to live at the hotel of the embassy,

envoy

Have,

and lend

his assistance in the details of official business I

could not

resist

!

the impulse of compli-

menting the new ambassador on his diplomatic address and inquired if he had not wormed ;

valuable state secrets from his foreign

many

secretary ful in

;

but with a simplicity quite delight-

any other character, I was informed that

he had no such object in accepting the services of

M. de Th2

la

Haye.

faculties of

to have been

While

Lady Hamilton

are

known

of a very high order indeed.

she remained at Palermo, if she had not

the appointment or the salary of a chargee d'affaires,

the zeal

she

earned

a

title

to

both from

and the dexterity with which she

MEMOIRS OF

382

continued to watch over the British interests.

She had made herself so necessary that

to the

moment

her Majesty could not pass a

without Lady Hamilton's company

who have

;

Queen,

and those

witnessed her extraordinary address,

or have fallen within the range of her fasci-

nating influence, will not wonder at the power

mind immeasurably higher

she acquired over a in

all

than

respects

that of

the

Queen of

Naples.

In these hasty notices of the Sicilian Court, I

must not omit to make a

the character of the King. to have designed

him

single

remark on

Nature appeared

for the apostolic duties

In the manual department of

of a fisherman.

the art he was acknowledged to be very expert,

and such was

his

anxiety to

maxims of industry jects, that

his

into the

instil

minds of

the

first

his sub-

the fish which he had caught with

own hands were

regularly exposed for sale

in the markets of Palermo.

Lord Nelson happened of Naples,

when

donment of the

to be at the Court

I finally resolved Sicilian service.

on the aban-

His Lordship

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

concurred

entirely

in

the

resolution

I

had

adopted, observing, that in his opinion, I might

do good service to the British Government by going to the Ionian Islands to confirm the

in-

habitants of the Republic in their attachment to the interests of England. sirable,

he

said,

It

to crush the attempts

the French were

making

all

which

to establish a rival

influence in the Islands, and he

that I should at

was most de-

recommended

events do what I could, to

which the

quell the popular commotions

col-

was very much disposed to adopt Lord Nelson's advice, but was anxious first of all to have the sanction of lision of parties

my

friend

had

created.

I

Lord Keith, who was

at that

time at

Malta. I

me

went there accordingly, and a proclamation addressed

carried with

by Lord Nelson

to the inhabitants of the Republic, for the in-

spection of

Lord Keith.

Its object

was to

as-

sure the inhabitants of the protection of the British

Government, and

its

general tendency

was to induce them to espouse the English terests in opposition to those of

in-

the French.

MEMOIRS OF

384

At

Malta, I found

and

also

Lord Keith

as I expected,

General Abercrombie, for

whom

I

had

likewise letters of introduction from several individuals of high rank in England.

Lord Keith agreed with Lord Nelson,

that

might be of the greatest use in bringing the Seven Islands under the protection of the Bri-

I

tish

Government, and he concurred in the

roboration of the powers I

Lord Nelson, object of

my

for the

mission.

cor-

had obtained from

accomplishment of the Before

my

departure, I

was furnished with such pecuniary means

as

were at their Lordships' disposal for enabling me to execute the task assigned me, and al-

though very inadequate to so considerable an object, I did not allow difficulties,

wanting in

nomy

myself to anticipate

but resolved to supply what was this respect,

by the

strictest eco-

money, and by the more delicate and im-

in the application of the

indefatigable zeal in

portant duties which I might be called upon to perform.

no time in embarking for Zante, in a Greek ship, which I engaged for that purpose. I lost

SIR

About

JAMES CAMPBELL.

the same time,

385

Lord Nelson returned

to

England, and soon afterwards Lord Keith conducted the troops to Egypt*

On my parties

arrival at Zante, I

engaged in actual

found the

rival

I

pro-

hostilities.

ceeded to the spot where numbers were engaged, and addressing them in the Italian lan-

guage, which

is

generally understood

among

the educated classes, I required them at their peril to lay

down

their arms, if they did not

wish to make Great Britain their enemy. this period, the

At

French party had become san-

guine of success, in consequence of the arrival of the Marechal Lannes, at Lecco and Otranto,

on the opposite coast of Italy, with seven thousand men. But although the French had thus been more readily excited to tumult, that there was

from the

little

forces

I

knew

danger to be apprehended

under the command of the

Marechal, in consequence of his total want of shipping, and of the impossibility, if he had,

of transporting the troops in the face of the

maritime force belonging to Great Britain constantly cruising in those seas.

VOL.

i.

2 c

MEMOIRS OF

386

In the mean time, I saw that lead

me

As

cue should

of soft and pacific

to the adoption

measures.

my

soon as I had quitted the con-

tending parties for the moment, I begged to

have a conference on the following morning with the heads of the party opposed to the interests.

English

I

pointed out to them the

personal danger they

by

persisting in

their opposition to a

which, they could not

dominant in the rounded; I

must individually incur

fail

to perceive,

power was pre-

by which they were surreminded them how long it was seas

any French ship had entered their harbours, and suggested, by way of contrast, the since

frequent visits they received from the 'English cruisers.

Many

of the persons to

dressed myself, enjoyed,

what

in

whom

I ad-

England we

are accustomed to call a considerable stake in

This was of course a tender

the country.

which

point,

I

pressed no farther than pru-

dence seemed to dictate

;

contenting myself

with a hint that their neutrality for a

little

while would ensure the safety of their property

;

whereas, if they persisted in opposing

JAMES CAMPBELL.

Sill

my

387

proceedings, I professed that I could not

answer for the consequences.

some measure prepared the minds of those at the head of the French After

party

had

I

for

ceeded to

in

quietness

and concession, I

pro-

publish Lord Nelson's proclamation

and caused

it

to be otherwise

made known

;

to

the inhabitants in general, that I was autho-

by the Commander-in-chief to require them to make their election of the French or rized

the English interests without delay, as necessary for

me

to

make an immediate

of the result of their deliberations to

command.

rior in

cided in

my

favour,

the British colours.

were never pulled

fit

crisis,

I

had de-

and immediately hoisted

From that period, they down until the conclusion

of the short peace in 1802,

ment thought

supe-

Having thus caught the

best to assume that they

it

was

report

my

tide of popular opinion at the proper

thought

it

when

to restore the

the Govern-

power

to the

native authorities.

My

next object was to place myself at the

head of the

forces

already in some degree 2 c 2

MEMOIRS OF

388

organized in the island.

two

corps, the

They

one Albanians, the other being

natives of Italy.

The

Italian corps

ed into two

battalions,

amounted

number

in

The Albanians were as it

is

in

and

all

was divid-

the Albanians

about

to

2000 men.

respects as irregular

easy to conceive, in discipline, dress,

accoutrements, and pay.

were hired by their individual merits.

officers

The

markable,

according to their

ensign by which they

was

somewhat

sort of neutrality in

asked, with

crescent, to indicate a

their religious opinions.

some expression of

surprise, for

the cause of these contradictory emblems,

was informed by one of their

coming

as

re-

bearing on the one side the cross,

and on the other the

I

men

In general, the

distinguished themselves

I

of

consisted

chiefs,

when that

they did from the mountainous

re-

gions of Thessaly and Macedonia, they were

not deeply versed in the mysteries of either

but were disposed to conciliate the good of their neighbours on both sides, by this

faith,

will

extraordinary combination of symbols.

The men, being mountaineers, were

naturally

JAMES CAMPBELL.

SIR

389

hardy, and I succeeded in a short time in

them

excellent soldiers of

;

nor had

making I

much

difficulty

in

prevailing on

subscribe

to

the political creed which I pro-

posed for

their

adoption.

their

captains

to

Heretofore, they

had been nominally in the pay of the presidency of the island; and being mercenary troops, in every sense of the word, I suggested

by placing themselves under my command, they would have a better paymaster to them, that

in the

King of Great

Britain, than in the pre-

sidency they had hitherto served.

Our bargain manner of the

was concluded according to the country, by the Albanian chiefs kissing the cross formed by my two thumbs, which was considered as an oath of fealty to me, as well as

of allegiance to the

My

King

my

master.

next attention was directed to the

ar-

rangement of the government of the island. Hitherto the supreme power had been vested in a self-elected

body

called a presidency, con-

sisting of five of the nobles, or principal

proprietors.

in

That

I

landed

might not be too abrupt

divesting these individuals of their supre-

MEMOIRS OF

390

I resolved to

macy,

keep up the form on which

government established. All that I proposed to do, was to increase the number of the board, and by calling in, for this I had found the

purpose, a certain proportion of individuals from

some

the other classes of the inhabitants, to create

of those salutary checks which, in the science of

government, are found to balance contending

and neutralize the influence of

interests

bitrary power.

To

the five nobles

ar-

who had

already been exercising the functions of go-

vernment, I added four individuals from the

commercial

classes,

and two of the principal

agriculturists.

The them

novelty of this measure was agreeable to

at first,

fancied

it

from the resemblance which -they

to bear to the British Constitution.

The similarity, indeed, was not particularly

strik-

ing to any one acquainted with the subject in the

first

instance, I

the sole power of nomination. period

it

intestine

;

as,

had individually exercised

But

at

this

would have been impossible, from the dissensions by which the island was

divided, to have arranged

any form of govern-

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

391

ment, consisting exclusively of the inhabitants themselves, which

could

have

exercised

its

functions in tranquillity.

In the mean time,

till

a better temper

among

the people, and more peaceful times should I resolved

arise,

to

employ

this

presidency as an instrument in

new-formed

my

hands for

reconciling the inhabitants to the British sway. I

now

explained to them that the arrange-

had made was only to be considered as temporary in its nature, and that the English

ment

I

were not disposed to interfere in the constitution of

any permanent government they might

afterwards think proper to adopt.

The im-

mediate emergency required some promptitude

on

my

part in effecting such an adjustment as

might keep the machine in motion until the impending causes of derangement had time to In the midst of war and confusion,

subside.

I could not, even if so disposed, have safely

appealed to the public voice, to determine by

whom, verned.

or

by how many they chose

to be go-

Besides, I have never indulged in

any

deep veneration for the boasted majesty of the

MEMOIRS OF

392 people

to

;

me, the voice of the multitude

is

the Greeks, any thing but oracular, and among

am

at least, I

well assured that the vox populi

is

not the vox Dei. administration of the government which

The

had thus been arranged was the next object of my care. For the sake of all parties, it was the necessary that the public should feel that reins of authority

hand

at

were now to be held with a

once firm and vigorous

;

above

all, it

was necessary that the people should be impressed with a proper sense of the strict impartiality,

and even severe

justice,

which was

henceforth to be expected under the auspices of

Great Britain.

To

this end,

an excellent opportunity was

presented to me, in the person of a notorious violator of every principle of the social pact,

who had

hitherto been screened

comfrom

by his rank and fortune. His name was the Count Calamara, a man possessed of

justice

revenues equal, perhaps, to 3000/. a year, a of great comparative that where his

amount

sum

in a country like

property was situated.

His

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

hands were so polluted with crime, that he had

committed not tions

than seventeen assassina-

less

crimes by far too

Greeks, and

which

common among to be

required

the

checked

by some striking example. One of Calamara's victims was his own brother-in-law, and assaswas not the only offence with which he was chargeable. His influence, however, with

sination

the former presidency had been such as to protect his

and

conduct from scrutiny or challenge;

but one instance

this circumstance affords

of the

many

self-elected

At

perversions of justice which that

body had

the time of

displayed.

my

the prisons of

arrival,

Zante were crowded with persons whose only offences, so far as I could ascertain, consisted in

then* being personally disagreeable to

the

members of the

presidency.

fore one of the first acts of

vernment, to this

was

there-

reformed go-

effect a general gaol delivery

numerous

My next

my

It

some of

class

object

of

of prisoners.

was to lay

great culprit Cdlamara.

my

hand on the

Finding that I had instituted an inquiry into some of his atrocities,

MEMOIRS

394

he had made a hasty flight from the

and took

was informed, with the

shelter, as I

Pasha of Navarino.

island,

In

my

voyage to Zante,

put into the bay, which has since been

I

dis-

tinguished as the scene of the destruction of the Turkish

fleet, for

the purpose of obtaining

and having waited on the Turkish commander, I had an opportunity of judging supplies;

At

of the capabilities of the place for defence. that time

it

was very

indifferently fortified

and

worse provided with guns, so that I was in-

duced to make some observation to the Pasha

on the

subject,

the supreme

and to express

my

surprise that

commander of the Turkish

force

Morea did not supply him more liberally with the means of defence. This conversation

in the

with the Pasha was recalled to

when

I

my

attention

afterwards learned that Calamara had

gone to him to evade the investigation which I had begun to institute into his conduct.

At Zante

there happened to be a store of

supernumerary guns, some of them

honey-

combed, indeed, and not very servicable, which had formerly belonged to the Venetian govern-

SIR

ment

and

;

it

JAMES CAMPBELL.

immediately occurred to

offer these to the

Pasha

395

me

to

as the price of Cala-

him

mara's surrender.

I therefore wrote to

say, that I could

supply him with means of

his fortifications

mounting

;

to

and, with some

expression of good-will, I begged his accep-

tance of a present of the necessary guns.

I

then added, in a cursory manner, that I had heard that a subject of his Britannic Majesty

word

stretching a point a little on the

-

subject

had taken refuge at Navarino, and that, if it was perfectly indifferent to him, I should be

by

obliged

Zante

his

man back

to

observing that, under similar circum-

;

stances, I should

service

sending the

be ready to render the like

him, as one of

to

bours, and the subject of a

ance with

my

my

nearest neigh-

power

in strict

alli-

Royal master.

After the indispensable preliminaries of an interchange of presents, the Pasha sending a Turkish pipe, and I returning pistols,

him a

me

pair of

the infamous Calamara was at length

put into

my

hands.

During the time

this

occupied, I had an opportunity of considering

MEMOIRS OF

396

what

be

should

whether

it

done

with

would be advisable

the

criminal

to keep

be able to prison until I should

him

in

communicate

with the Commander-in-chief, or whether

would not be

;

it

better, for the sake of impress-

ing the natives with a

deeper sense of the

British character, to execute justice

on so noto-

rious an offender with the least possible delay. I

had already observed

several

stances of the unsteadiness

the

Greek

character,

help feeling difficult

and

and while

striking

in-

versatility of I

could not

would prove a very govern, I became more and

that they

people to

more persuaded that the prompt execution of not Calamara would have the best effect ;

merely in deterring others from the commission of similar offences, but in inspiring the people at large

with a certain degree of awe and

spect for the

Having

re-

newly constituted government.

arrived at this resolution, I assem-

bled the presidency, and

communicated

my

sentiments on the subject.

Their concurrence

was ready and unanimous.

The

criminal was

immediately sent for from the vessel which

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

397

had brought him to Zante, and he was instantly shot in front of the main guard of the garrison.

however

The death

of the assassin was not

sufficient, as I conceived, to

meet the

ends of justice or expediency in a case like that

The Greeks

of Calamara.

are deeply impressed

with the sentiment that the burial of the dead is

an honourable and indispensable ceremony.

When

me

the friends of Calamara came to

after his execution to ask his

body

for inter-

ment, the request was positively refused, and it

was suffered to

stones

of the

lie

where

it

fell,

on the

flat

market-place, opposite to the

guard-house, for two or three days, with nothing

but a sheet for a covering. alone,

from

its

This circumstance

novelty as well as from

its

con-

nexion with a popular prejudice, had a better effect tions.

on the public mind than twenty execuAfter this great criminal had thus been

disposed

of, I

made,

as

was

my

duty, a report

of the whole proceedings to the in-chief,

and

I

Commander-

had afterwards the

satisfaction

of receiving his Lordship's approbation of what

had been done.

MEMOIRS OF

398

was not under any immediate

I

Although

apprehension of a descent upon the island from the coast of Italy, yet I had reason to believe that the

French commander

still

maintained

a correspondence with individuals of note influence at Zante and Corfu, the islands.

It

was necessary,

watchful eye over those

keep a

who were known interests,

to

among

there were several of high rank in the

priesthood.

It soon

little projects

ing,

principal

therefore, to

be favourable to the French

whom

two

and

and that

and at

became known

cabals

to

me

that

were constantly form-

Zante the Pope or Padre,

as

the chief ecclesiastic of a district or diocese was

had made himself very busy in fomenting the elements of disturbance and rebellion. called,

It is the

custom for the nobility and principal

inhabitants to kiss the

hand of the padre on

coming out of church.

The person whom

I

suspected of maintaining

a secret correspondence with the other side of

the Adriatic, was a fat old

of rather a

was of course regular in public devotions, and did not omit the

venerable aspect.

my

man

I

SIR

JAMES CAMPBELL.

399

observance of any ceremony which was consistent

with the station in which I was placed

the head of the government.

at

my

willing to lay

man

hand on the

of the island, as

create a certain

stir,

which

principal clergy-

would

it it

was un-

I

necessarily

was very desirable

I felt that

to avoid.

prompt justice might savour too much of mere military virtue, and I

my own

became somewhat jealous of

as a soldier.

I therefore resolved to proceed

in this matter with such a

quietness,

and

the clerical

habits

firmness, as

mixture of caution,

would

correspondents

of

at once satisfy

the Marechal

Lannes, that I was neither to be deceived nor trifled with.

Accordingly, in coming out of the principal church, I walked

up

to the padre

and kissed

hand with the usual ceremony but in place of passing on, as the custom was, I

his

;

retained

my

hold of his hand, and stood for

a few seconds without

At

this

he seemed not a

surprised. letter

making any little

I then said, that I

observation.

perplexed and

had seen

to the French Marechal,

his last

and that he

400 MEMOIRS OF SIR JAMES CAMPBELL.

must be aware

it

was impossible

me

for

to

overlook such a daring instance of hostility to the existing government. ecclesiastical

added, that his

I

rank would

have no influence

whatever in the consideration of his that, if

case,

and

he should presume to continue such a

him hanged on any ordinary malefactor. The

correspondence, I would have the instant like threat

was

happily sufficient

to

deter

this

zealous plotter from proceeding with his projects in favour of the

French, so that

satisfaction of crushing his

while yet in embryo, or

.at

I

had the

dangerous designs least before

had attained to any thing like maturity.

END OF THE

FIRST VOLUME.

LONDON PRINTED BY

S.

AND

:

R.

BENTLEY,

Dorset Street, Fleet Street.

they