William Henry Giles Kingston

“ At two a.m. both ships weighed, the Hecla leading, and the crews being at their quarters. They slowly and carefully felt their way along the intricate navigation of the river, till they suddenly found themselves within range of the guns of a battery posted on a promontory before them, which was crowded with Russian soldiers—stout-looking fellows, habited in long grey coats and spiked helmets of steel, which glittered brightly in the sun; and the bluejackets now for the first time saw the enemy. ”

“ The bombardment of Alexandria, which commenced the war in Egypt, was of the highest interest to naval men; for here, for the first time, ironclad ships, armed with new and heavy ordnance, attacked forts mounted with the heaviest guns. A bloodless revolution had taken place in Egypt. The army, headed by Arabi Pasha, had quietly pushed aside the authority of the Khedive, and had become supreme in Egypt. The people at large were with the army, and regarded the movement as a national one; its object being to emancipate the country from foreign control. ”

“ The sun sinks below the horizon, and it is not seen again for months together; darkness is around him, and one dreary mass of snow covers the face of nature. The intense cold prevents him often from venturing beyond the shelter with which he has surrounded his vessel; or if he is tempted to do so, frost-bites may attack his hands and his feet, and deprive him of their use. Sometimes the Arctic explorer has had to journey for weeks together across the barren waste of ice or snow-covered ground, dragging his sledge after him, and sleeping night after night under the thin roof of a canvas tent ”

“ Captain Nares felt fully confident that the sea before him had for centuries remained frozen, and would continue for ages more in the same condition. His crew were all, more or less, suffering from scurvy.
As much resolution and moral courage is often exhibited in retreating as in advancing. Captain Nares saw that to remain longer in the Polar Sea, in the vain attempt to carry out the object of the expedition, would not only be useless, but would in all probability prove destructive to the lives of his gallant followers. ”

“ When they were moving about in daylight, they were obliged to crouch down like a herd of kangaroos, creeping behind the bushes and among the long grass, so as not to be seen by the enemy, to whom the whole island was then exposed to view. Had the Spaniards found out that they were there, of course they would have sent boats across to attack them, and would have fired on them from the forts; and though no doubt the bluejackets would have made a good fight of it with their rockets, the plan for preserving the fleet must have failed entirely. ”

“ The road at this point had been narrowed by an abattis of sharp-pointed bamboos, which rendered it impossible to deploy the whole strength of the column; indeed, the advance-guard, consisting of seamen and marines, marched with difficulty two or three abreast, and the field-guns were in the rear. At this moment a heavy and murderous fire was opened by the enemy upon the British troops, the Burmese being wholly concealed by the breastworks, and the British, on the contrary, entirely exposed.
Almost every man who approached the edge of that fatal creek was mowed down. ”

“ Well indeed may Englishmen be proud of men such as Ross, Parry, Clavering, Lyon, Beechey, and Franklin, and of others who have in still later days exhibited their dauntless courage and perseverance in the same cause—Collinson, McClure, McClintock, Sherard Osborn, Forsyth, and many more.
Nowhere can all the noble qualities which adorn the British seaman be more fully called forth than during a voyage in the Arctic seas, and the detention to which he is subject for years together on its ice-bound shores. ”

“ The pirate gave the boats an intimation of what they were to expect as they neared, by opening on them a heavy fire of round shot, grape, and canister, in so spirited a style, that after returning the compliment by a volley of musketry, the boats prepared for hard work. Animated by the show of resistance, each boat now emulated the other in reaching the enemy, the pirate continuing a sharp fire as they steadily advanced, the marines as briskly using their muskets. ”

“ We must picture to ourselves the sort of work these brave men had to go through, to do full justice to their perseverance and courage,—day after day travelling on, dragging their sledges across the frozen strait, often in the face of biting winds, encamping night after night with simply a tent to shelter them and a spirit-lamp only with which to cook their food or to afford them warmth. ”

“ Mr D’Aeth, who was the first to land, jumped on shore with his crew at the foot of the hill on the top of which the nearest fort stood, and at once rushed for the summit.
This mode of warfare—this dashing at once in the very face of their fort—was so novel and incomprehensible to the enemy, that they fled panic-struck into the jungle, and the leading men of the British could scarcely get a snap-shot at them. That evening the country was illuminated for miles by the burning of the capital, Paddi, and the adjacent villages. The guns in the forts were also taken and the stockades burnt. ”

“ Those only who have swam for their lives, when the arms have begun to ache, the knees refuse to bend, and the breath grows short, can tell the feelings of the two gallant young men, but more especially those of the brave Palmes. Spurred on by Smith, each time that he grew faint and weary, he nerved himself for fresh exertions. At last, as they strained their eyes ahead, the shore seemed to come nearer and nearer. They could distinguish the sandy beach and the green herbage beyond. On a sudden, before even he expected it, Smith felt his foot touch the shore. ”

“ The field breaks into thousands of fragments; huge masses of many hundred tons weight, and larger than his ship, are thrown up, one on the other, rising almost as if they had life, till they tower far above the sides of his vessel, and appear ready every instant to crush her, as she lies helplessly among this icy mass of a seeming ruined world. ”

“ When we leave the encampment, all is shrouded in darkness, and everyone naturally feels a little grumpy; but when the first streaks of dawn appear, and we have been an hour on the road, the welcome note is heard in the distance of the bugles sounding the ‘halt.’ With great rapidity it passes from regiment to regiment, and dies away in the rear. ”

“ The roar of the heavy guns of the fleet and batteries was tremendous, and on both sides cannon of vastly heavier metal than had ever before been used in war were sending their deadly messengers. The Egyptians stuck to their guns with the greatest bravery, but their skill was far from being equal to their courage, and the greatest portion of their shot flew high over the vessels; this was especially the case with the heavy guns, the lighter and more manageable pieces were better aimed, and the round shot continually struck the men-of-war but failed to penetrate their iron sides. ”

“ Still, slavers, when they have seen a chance of success, have often fought desperately; and the cutter’s crew on board the Lark watched with deep interest the approach of the two boats to the big schooner, not knowing what moment she might open her fire on them; but the slaver’s crew had not even the brute-like courage to induce them to fight in defence of their accursed calling, and, without firing a shot, they allowed the two boats to come alongside. Once having a firm hold of the slaver’s chains with their boat-hooks, the British seamen very quickly scrambled on board. ”

“ From the time of their start in April to their return in June, the days had been spent in dragging the sledges over a desert of ice-hills, which resembled a stormy sea suddenly frozen; half the time the men facing the sledges, and hauling forward with their backs in the direction they were going. ”

“ The Terrible and Samson dashed on inside the other ships, and engaged the northern forts in the most gallant manner. Nothing could exceed the steady way in which the Vesuvius carried her huge consort into action, nor the spirited manner in which the Albion engaged Fort Constantine. The Arethusa,—a name long known to fame,—urged on by the little Triton, well preserved the renown her name has gained, by boldly engaging the huge stone fort, at which, in rapid succession, broadside after broadside was discharged, the crew of the Triton coming on board to assist in manning her guns. ”

“ Far different was the condition of Arctic explorers now, than it had been when Franklin sailed on his fatal expedition. Then they had to depend entirely on their own resources; now, through the sagacity and forethought of those who sent them forth, depots of provisions and boats and sledges, and even huts, had been provided, to afford every possible means of escape should any disaster overtake their ships. ”

“ The Russian ship Gilyak was hit by a shell, and lost several men. She could not leave her moorings in consequence, and suffered severely from rifle fire from the shore, her losses during the action being the heaviest in the fleet, 2 officers and 10 men killed and 47 wounded.
The tide now rising, the ships boldly steamed amid a storm of shot and shell close under the forts. The German Itlis was seen constantly in the post of danger, and the gallantry with which she was fought evoked the admiration of all. ”

“ The new prize proved to be the Asp, a fit name for a slaver, though she was now effectually deprived of her sting. As soon as she was thoroughly overhauled, and all her forthcoming papers secured, the Spanish crew were sent below, and the man-of-war’s boats began towing the two schooners down the river. It was laborious work, after the incessant labour for so many hours the men had gone through; but a prize tows easily, and the gallant fellows cheerfully bent to their oars. ”

“ Cavalry dismount, infantry pile arms in the middle of the road, and for a few minutes the whole army disperses on each side of it. The favourite refreshment of officers is bread, cold tongue, and ‘brandy pawnee,’ which find their way out of innocent-looking holsters. And now we take off overcoats and monkey-jackets, which were needed when we started in the cold and damp night; the bluejackets fasten theirs over their shoulders, and the officers strap theirs to their saddles. ”

“ The allied admirals, indignant at the outrage, addressed a note to the Russian governor, General Osten-Sacken, pointing out the outrage which had been committed, and demanding “that all the British, French, and Russian vessels now at anchor near the citadel or the batteries of Odessa be forthwith delivered up to the combined squadron; and that if at sunset no answer or a negative be received, they will be compelled by force to avenge the insult offered, though, for humanity’s sake, they adopt the alternative with regret, and cast the responsibility of the act upon those to whom it belongs.” ”

“ On the south shore of the creek is a high hill. On the summit of this hill the Chinese had formed a strong fort of nineteen guns. A six-gun battery was erected opposite it, and seventy junks were moored so as to command the passage. The Chinese fully believed that this position was impregnable. The British squadron had rendezvoused a short distance below this formidable obstruction of the navigation. The admiral was on board the little Coromandel steamer, and before dawn on the 1st of June he led the way up the channel, towing a whole flotilla of boats, with 300 soldiers on board them. ”