William Francis Lynch

“ Such is battle! and he who rushes into it, impelled by other than the highest motives, perils more than life in the encounter. It is a glorious privilege to fight for one’s country; but, the seaman or the soldier who strikes for lucre or ambition, is an unworthy combatant. As the day advanced, the weather became tempestuous; huge clouds, swollen with rain, rose in rapid succession, and sweeping over, discharged themselves in heavy gusts. A mist of varying density, wreathed along the coast, was here and there disparted by a bold promontory, or sharp projecting rock. ”

“ From amid this sound, frightful, yet stirring to the human heart, and appalling to every other creature, came other sounds, yet more harrowing — the shout of defiance, the shriek of agony and the yell of despair, — and fish, and bird, and every other living thing fled precipitately from the scene, leaving man, the monarch of creation, to slay his fellow man, the image of his august Creator! ”

“ Upon the debris on its western side, about one-third the distance from its northern end, the town is built, tier above tier, containing a crowded population of 15,000 souls, in a most contracted space. The houses, built of stone and covered with tile, are mostly small and incommodious, and their fronts are coated with a dark wash, to lessen the glare of the sun, which, from meridian until it sinks beneath the mountains of Andalusia, shines full upon them. ”

“ The soil is thin, yet exceedingly productive; but so great are the trammels, alike on agriculture, commerce, and every branch of domestic manufacture, that the people are deplorably impoverished. Numerous beggars, and the yet more painful sight of abject poverty peeping from beneath the ragged skirts of pride, everywhere greet the eye. ”

“ How transitory and fleeting is the life of man! In the midst of terrestrial cares, he is swept from existence, and the memory of the most favoured is scarce treasured beyond the first anniversary of his fall. ”

“ I do not mean to reflect upon the respectable part of the population of Mahon, for there is not a more kind-hearted or gentle people in the world. But ignorance of the language compels most of our officers to keep aloof from a society, which, if it do not increase the refinement of their manners, should at least protect them from moral degradation.
DISADVANTAGES OF MAHON
Apart from all moral considerations, there are political ones why Port Mahon should not be the winter rendezvous of our squadron in the Mediterranean. ”

“ Immediately north, on the first ridge of a mountain chain, which becomes more and more lofty in the distance until it is lost in the Sierra Nevada, is a rounded stone or semi-column, upon which, it is said, the Queen of Spain took her seat when the batteries opened upon the town and fortress of Gibraltar, solemnly protesting that she would not rise from it until the allied banners waved in the place of the blood-red flag of England. ”

“ Other places there are, sufficiently secure, less isolated in their position, less tempestuous in their winter climate, abounding with classical associations and teeming with inducements to scientific research, far superior to Port Mahon. A place famed for the facilities it presents for acquiring, and the cheapness of indulging low and vicious habits: — famed for the circumstance that the senior officers, and all who can be spared from watch, abandon their ships and reside for months on shore ”

“ Ill clad, lazy men, lounging in the sun; homely, dirty, dishevelled women, with yet filthier children, seated in the door-ways; and hordes of importunate beggars, who, the dogs excepted, are the only active inhabitants of the place, all too plainly bespeak an unhappy and misgoverned country.
AN INCONSIDERATE VOW
South-west of the barrier, on the northern margin of the bay, are the ruins of fort St. Philip, erected during the siege of Gibraltar by the combined land and naval forces of France and Spain. ”

“ Had he lived his noble nature would have freed itself from the thraldom of a syren, and casting aside the seductions of the beautiful daughter of sin, his after life would have been as morally great, as his early deeds were unequalled in daring achievement. ”

“ On these occasions, our depot was, and our squadrons mostly were, at this port, in a small island, two hundred miles distant from Toulon, the nearest point on the main land, and equi-distant from Gibraltar and Malta — all three strongholds of probable enemies. Its isolated position debars intelligence from the continent more frequently than once a month, and the first indication of hostilities might have been the summons of a hostile fleet. ”

“ With the exception of the upper part of the town, where alone the suburbs are, the confined and narrow streets and dwellings are badly ventilated; hence, in the summer season, epidemics are often rife and devastating. ”

“ First, on their invasion of Spain, when they subjugated its fairest and most fertile portion; and secondly, when, overcome by the wily Ferdinand and the peerless Isabella, they fled disorderly from a land they had held so long, and loved so fondly. The Martello towers erected along the coast, attest the fears long entertained, and the vigilance long exercised to guard against invasion.
2:30 P.M. The clouds and mist, driven before the freshening wind, have left us a clear atmosphere. ”

“ I therefore immediately interdicted all communication with the shore, and, as soon as the weather would permit, sailed for Port Mahon, where the flag-ship was, and where there are extensive hospitals. The sick man knew, however, that before it could be reached, he must pass the ordeal. His feelings can be better imagined than described. Prostrate with a disease as malignant as it is loathsome ”

“ We were favoured with fresh north-westerly gales, frequent rains, and a heavy sea, but there had been no great falling of the barometer. When under close reefed topsails and a reefed course, with a high sea running, the barometer had only fallen 1/14 of an inch. On the approach of an easterly gale, a few days previous to our departure from New York, it fell 7/14 of an inch. This day, tested thermometrical barometer, No 2: Temperature of air, 68°; of surface of the sea, 70°; of the sea, at 100 fathoms, 63°. Barometer, 30.6: Water boiled at 212.95. ”

“ Every day presents scenes calculated to make the philosopher moralize and the Christian weep. Alas! Poor Spain!
ANCIENT RUINS
FRIDAY, JAN. 28. Lieutenant Dale and I visited the talayots of Trepuco and Talatli, two Celtic ruins, with mounds and musae or altars. The first is in the midst of a circular fort with five bastions, behind which, tradition says, the inhabitants of the island defended themselves against the Moors. We thought the circumvallations more modern than the mound, or the musae or altars. ”

“ Ahead, is the blue expanse of the Mediterranean, held by the Romans, as its name imports, to be the centre of the earth. On either bow, is Calpe and Abyla, the pillars of Hercules, and termini of two continents.
GIBRALTAR
2:40. The strong current, and yet stronger wind, have propelled us so rapidly onward, that the “Rock” and the bay of Gibraltar are now in full view to the east and north. As the bay opened, the towns of St. ”