-f';'if>:f;
f'^i^;,
:?.rh' t\-;*t>f*«Af-A. 1,.,; ,.:;.; :>/
JANE AUSTEN'S SAILOR BROTHERS
'^ VICIi-AD^Ilf-.At, SIR FRANCIS AUSTEN, K.C.B.
/«' * »i » -» » * « ',
JANE AUSTEN'S SAILOR BROTHERS
Being the Adventures of Sir Francis
Austen, G.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet
and Rear-Admiral Charles
Austen By J. H. Hubback
and Edith C. Hubback
mdccccvi London: John Lane The Bodley Head, Vtgo Street, TV. New York: 'John Lane Company
Printed by Ballantyne <5r» Co. Limited Tavistock Street, London
TO M. P. H.
" I HAVE DISCOVERED A THING VERY LITTLE KNOWN, WHICH IS THAT IN one's WHOLE LIFE ONE CAN NEVER HAVE MORE THAN ONE MOTHER. YOU MAY THINK THIS OBVIOUS. YOU ARE A GREEN GOSLING ! '*
224848
PREFACE
Perhaps some apology may be expected on behalf of a book about Jane Austen, having regard to the number which have already been put before the public in past years. My own membership of the family is my excuse for printing a book which contains little original matter, and which might be described as '*a thing of shreds and patches," if that phrase were not already over-worked. To me it seems improbable that others will take a wholly adverse view of what is so much inwoven with all the traditions of my life. When I recol- lect my childhood, spent chiefly in the house of my grandfather, Sir Francis, and all the interests which accompanied those early days, I find myself once more amongst those deep and tender dis- tances. Surrounded by reminiscences of the opening years of the century, the Admiral always cherished the most affectionate remembrance of the sister who had so soon passed away, leaving
vii
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
those six precious volumes to be a store of house- hold words among the family.
How often I call to mind some question or answer, expressed quite naturally in terms of the novels ; sometimes even a conversation would be carried on entirely appropriate to the matter under discussion, but the actual phrases were **Aunt Jane's." So well, too, do I recollect the sad news of the death of Admiral Charles Austen, after the capture, under his command, of Martaban and Rangoon, and while he was leading his squadron to further successes, fifty-six years having elapsed since his first sea-fight.
My daughter and I have made free use of the Letters of Jane Austen^ published in 1884, by the late Lord Brabourne, and wish to acknowledge with gratitude the kind permission to quote these letters, given to us by their present possessor. In a letter of 18 13, she speaks of two nephews who " amuse themselves very comfortably in the even- ing by netting ; they are each about a rabbit-net, and sit as deedily to it, side by side, as any two Uncle Franks could do." In his octogenarian days Sir Francis was still much interested in this same occupation of netting, to protect his Morello
viii
Preface
cherries or currants. It was, in fact, only laid aside long after his grandsons had been taught to carry it on.
My most hearty thanks are also due to my cousins, who have helped to provide materials for our work ; to Miss M. L. Austen for the loan of miniatures and silhouettes ; to Miss Jane Austen for various letters and for illustrations ; to Com- mander E. L. Austen for access to logs, and to official and other letters in large numbers ; also to Miss Mary Austen for the picture of the PeferelinaLCtiony and to Mrs. Herbert Austen, and Captain and Mrs. Willan for excellent portraits of the Admirals, and to all these, and other members of the family, for much encouragement in our enterprise.
JOHN H. HUBBACK. July 1905,
IX
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. BROTHERS AND SISTERS I
II. TWO MIDSHIPMEN I5
III. CHANGES AND CHANCES IN THE NAVY. ... 28
IV. PROMOTIONS 41
V. THE " PETEREL " SLOOP 56
VI. THE PATROL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN ... 78
VII. AT HOME AND ABROAD 94
VIII. BLOCKADING BOULOGNE Ill
IX. THE PURSUIT OF VILLENEUVE I3O
X. " A MELANCHOLY SITUATION " I47
XI. ST. DOMINGO 164
XII. THE CAPE AND ST. HELENA 180
XIII. STARS AND STRIPES I96
XIV. CHINESE MANDARINS 212
XV. A LETTER FROM JANE . . ^ . . . . 22/
XVI. ANOTHER LETTER FROM JANE 243
XVII. THE END OF THE WAR 260
XVIII. TWO ADMIRALS 274
INDEX 287
X]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Vice- Admiral Sir Francis Austen, K.C.B. {From a painting in the possession of Mrs. Herbert A usten) . . frontispiece
The Reverend George Austen, Rector of Steventon {From
a miniature in the possession of Miss M. L. Austen) , . 8
Action between the English frigate Unicorn and the French frigate La Tribune^ June 8, 1796 {From a painting in the possession of Captain Willan, R.N., and Mrs. Willan). By kind permission of Miss Hill 22
Francis Austen as Lieutenant {From a miniature) . . 44
Sloop of War and Frigate {From a pencil sketch by Captain
Herbert Austen, R.N.) 64
Peterel in action with the French brig La Ligurienne after driving two others on the rocks near Marseilles, on March 21, 1800 {From a sketch by Captain Herbert Austen^ R.N.,in the possession of Miss Mary Austen) . 84
Topaz Crosses given to Cassandra and Jane by Charles
Austen {In the possession of Miss Jane Austen) . . 92
The Way to Church from Portsdown Lodge {From a
pencil sketch by Catherine A . Austen) . . . .108
Mrs. Austen {From a silhouette in the possession of Miss
M. L. Austen) 124
Order of Battle and of Sailing, signed Nelson. and Bront6,
dated March 26, 1805 132
xiii
List of Illustrations
PAGE
Order of Battle and of Sailing, signed Nelson and Bronte,
dated June 5, 1805 138
Captain Francis William Austen {From a miniature of 1806, in the possession of Miss M. L. Austen. The Order of the C.B. has been painted in at a later date, probably when conferred in iSi^) 156
" Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Austen, K.C.B.'s writing-desk " {From a caricature sketch by his daughter Cassandra, about 1840) 174
Cassandra Austen {From a silhouette in the possession of
Miss M. L. Austen) 184
Portchester Castle. The French prisoners were interned in the neighbouring buildings after the Battle of Vimiera {From a sketch hy Captain Herbert Austen ^ R.N.) 200
Captain Charles Austen {From a painting of 1809, in the
possession of Miss Jane Austen) 2 10
Jane Austen, from a sketch by her sister Cassandra {In
the possession of Miss jfane Austen) 226
Mrs. Charles Austen, nee Fanny Palmer, daughter of the Attorney-General of Bermuda {From a painting in the possession of Miss J afte Austen) 252
Captain Charles Austen, C.B. {From a painting in the
possession of Captain Willan, R.N., and Mrs. Willan) . 266
Jane Austen's work-box, with her last piece of work {In
the possession of Miss Jane Austen) .... 270
Memorandum, dated May 12, 1838, signed by Charles
Austen on taking command of the Bellerophon , . 274
Rear- Admiral Charles Austen, C.B. {From a miniature painted at Malta in 1846, in the possession of Miss Jane Austen) 278
Sir Francis Austen, G.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet, at the
age of ninety 284
xiv
JANE AUSTEN'S SAILOR BROTHERS
CHAPTER I BROTHERS AND SISTERS
No one can read Jane Austen's novels, her life, or her letters, without feeling that to her the ties of family were stronger and more engrossing than any others.
Among the numbers of men and women who cheerfully sacrifice the claims of their family in order that they may be free to confer somewhat doubtful benefits on society, it is refreshing to find one who is the object of much love and gratitude from countless unknown readers, and who yet would have been the first to laugh at the notion that her writing was of more importance than her thought for her brothers and sister, or the various home duties which fell to her share. It is this sweetness and wholesomeness of thought, this clear conviction that her ** mission '* was to do her duty, that gives her books and letters their peculiar quality. Her theory of life is clear. Whatever troubles befall, people must go on doing their work and making the best of it ; and we are not
c/;:/ Jai^.^'i^uken'^ Sailor Brothers
allowed to feel respect, or even overmuch sym- pathy, for the characters In the novels who cannot bear this test. There is a matter-of-courseness about this view which, combined with all that we know of the other members of the family, gives one the idea that the children at Steventon had a strict bringing up. This, in fact, was the case, and a very rich reward was the result. In a family of seven all turned out well, two rose to the top of their profession, and one was — Jane Austen.
The fact of her intense devotion to her family could not but influence her writing. She loved them all so well that she could not help thinking of them even in the midst of her work ; and the more we know of her surroundings, and the lives of those she loved, the more we understand of the small joyous touches in her books. She was far too good an artist, as well as too reticent in nature, to take whole characters from life ; but small cha- racteristics and failings, dwelt on with humorous partiality, can often be traced back to the natures of those she loved. Mary Crawford's brilliant letters to Fanny Price remind one of Cassandra, who was the ** finest comic writer of the present age." Charles' impetuous disposition is exaggerated in BIngley, who says, "Whatever I do is done in a hurry," a remark which is severely reproved by Darcy (and not improbably by Francis Austen), as an ** indirect boast." Francis himself comes in
Brothers and Sisters
for his share of teasing on the opposite point of his extreme neatness, precision, and accuracy. " They are so neat and careful in all their ways," says Mrs. Clay, in *' Persuasion," of the naval pro- fession in general ; and nothing could be more characteristic of Francis Austen and some of his descendants than the overpowering accuracy with which Edmund Bertram corrects Mary Crawford's hasty estimate of the distance in the wood.
** * I am really not tired, which I almost wonder at ; for we must have walked at least a mile in this wood. Do not you think we have ? '
" * Not half a mile,' was his sturdy answer ; for he was not yet so much in love as to measure dis- tance, or reckon time, with feminine lawlessness.
•* * Oh, you do not consider how much we have wound about. We have taken such a very serpen- tine course, and the wood itself must be half a mile long in a straight line, for we have never seen the end of it yet since we left the first great path.'
** * But if you remember, before we left that first great path we saw directly to the end of it. We looked down the whole vista, and saw it closed by iron gates, and it could not have been more than a furlong in length.'
*' * Oh, I know nothing of your furlongs, but I am sure it is a very long wood ; and that we have been winding in and out ever since we came into it ; and therefore when I say that
3
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
we have walked a mile in it I must speak within compass.'
** * We have been exactly a quarter of an hour here,' said Edmund, taking out his watch. * Do you think we are walking four miles an hour ? '
***Oh, do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.'
" A few steps farther brought them out at the bottom of the very walk they had been talking of.
** * Now, Miss Crawford, if you will look up the walk, you will convince yourself that it cannot be half a mile long, or half half a mile.'
** * It is an immense distance,' said she ; * I see that with a glance.'
** * He still reasoned with her, but in vain. She would not calculate, she would not compare. She would only smile and assert. The greatest degree of rational consistency could not have been more engaging, and they talked with mutual satisfaction.' "
It is in ** Mansfield Park" and in ** Persuasion" that the influence of her two sailor brothers, Francis and Charles, on Jane Austen's work can be most easily traced. Unlike the majority of writers of all time, from Shakespeare with his *' Seacoast of Bohemia " down to the author of a penny dreadful, Jane Austen never touched, even lightly, on a subject unless she had a real knowledge of its
4
Brothers and Sisters
details. Her pictures of the life of a country gentleman and of clergymen are accurate, if not always sympathetic. Perhaps it was all too near her own experience to have the charm of romance, but concerning sailors she is romantic. Their very faults are lovable in her eyes, and their lives packed with interest. When Admiral Croft, Cap- tain Wentworth, or William Price appears on the scene, the other characters immediately take on a merely subsidiary interest, and this prominence is always that given by appreciation. The distinc- tion awarded to Mr. Collins or Mrs. Elton, as the chief object of ridicule, is of a different nature. The only instance she cared to give us of a sailor who is not to be admired is Mary Crawford's uncle, the Admiral, and even he is allowed to earn our esteem by disinterested kindness to William Price.
No doubt some of this enthusiasm was due to the spirit of the times, when, as Edward Ferrars says, ** The navy had fashion on its side " ; but that sisterly partiality was a stronger element there can be no question. Her place in the family was between these two brothers, Francis just a year older, and Charles some four years younger. Much has been said about her fondness for ** pairs of sisters " in her novels, but no less striking are the ** brother and sister " friendships which are an important factor in four out of her six books. The
5
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
love of Darcy for his sister Georgina perhaps suggests the intimacy between James Austen and Jane, where the difference in their ages of ten years, their common love of books, the advice and encouragement that the elder brother was able to give his sister over her reading, are all points of resemblance. The equal terms of the affection of Francis and Jane are of another type.
Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor, Mrs. Croft and Frederick Wentworth, give us good instances of firm friendships. In the case of the Tilneys, confidences are exchanged with ease and freedom ; but in ** Persuasion,*' the feeling in this respect, as in all others, is more delicate, and only in the chapter which Jane Austen afterwards cancelled can we see the quickness of Mrs. Croft's perceptions where her brother was concerned. For so long as she supposes him to be on the brink of marrying Louisa Musgrove, sympathy is no doubt somewhat difficult to force, but '' prompt welcome " is given to Anne as Captain Wentworth's chosen wife ; and with some knowledge of Mrs. Croft we know that the ** particularly friendly manner " hid a warmth of feeling which would fully satisfy even Frede- rick's notions of the love which Anne deserved. But it is in ** Mansfield Park " that '' brothers and sisters " play the strongest part. No one can pos- sibly doubt the very lively affection of Mary and Henry Crawford. Even when complaining of the
6
Brothers and Sisters
shortness of his letters, she says that Henry is ** exactly what a brother should be, loves me, consults me, confides in me, and will talk to me by the hour together " — and the scene later on, where he tells of his devotion to Fanny Price, is as pretty an account of such a confidence as can be well imagined, where the worldliness of each is almost lost in the happiness of disinterested love, which both are feeling.
When Jane Austen comes to describing Fanny's love for her brother William, her tenderness and her humour are in perfect accord. From the reality of the feelings over his arrival and promo- tion, to the quiet hit at the enthusiasm which his deserted chair and cold pork bones might be sup- posed to arouse in Fanny's heart after their early breakfast, when he was off to London, the picture of sisterly love is perfect. We are told, too, that there was ** an affection on his side as warm as her own, and much less encumbered by refinement and self-distrust. She was the first object of his love, but it was a love which his stronger spirits and bolder temper made it as natural for him to express as to feel." So far this describes the love of William and Fanny, but a few lines further on comes a passage which has the ring of personal experience. In reading it, it is impossible not to picture a time which was always of great import- ance in the life at Steventon — the return on leave
7
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
for a few weeks or a few months of one or other of the sailor brothers, and all the walks and talks which filled up the pleasant days. ** On the morrow they were walking about together with true enjoy- ment, and every succeeding morrow renewed the tHe-d.-tete, Fanny had never known so much feli- city in her life as in this unchecked, equal, fearless intercourse with the brother and friend, who was opening all his heart to her, telling her all his hopes and fears, plans and solicitudes respecting that long thought of, dearly earned, and justly valued blessing of promotion — who was interested in all the comforts and all the little hardships of her home — and with whom (perhaps the dearest indulgence of the whole) all the evil and good of their earliest years could be gone over again, and every former united pain and pleasure retraced with the fondest recollection."
Some slight record of the childhood of the Steventon family has been left to us. Most of the known facts have already been told by admirers of Jane Austen, but some extracts from an account written by Catherine Austen in the lifetime of her father, Sir Francis Austen, will at least have the merit of accuracy, for he would cer- tainly have been merciless to even the simplest "embroidery."
The father, Mr. George Austen, was the rector of Steventon. He was known in his young days,
8
THE RKVP:REND GEORGE AUSTEN IN 1763
c •
• c c
c », r
€ c c c
Brothers and Sisters
before his marriage, as ** the handsome tutor," and he transmitted his good looks to at least three of his sons ; Henry, Francis, and Charles were all exceptionally handsome men. Indeed, neither wit nor good looks were deficient in the Steventon family. Probably much of Jane's simplicity about her writing arose from the fact that she saw nothing in it to be conceited about, being perfectly con- vinced that any of the others, with her leisure and inclination, could have done just as well. Her father had a gentleness of disposition combined with a firmness of principle which had great effect in forming the characters of his family. The mother's maiden name was Cassandra Leigh. She was very lively and active, and strict with her children. It is not difficult to see whence Francis derived his ideas of discipline, or Jane her un- swerving devotion to duty.
The elder members of the family were born at Deane, which was Mr. Austen's first living, but in 1 77 1 they moved to Steventon, where they lived for nearly thirty years.
The account of the house given by Catherine Austen shows the simplicity of the life.
** The parsonage consisted of three rooms in front on the ground floor, the best parlour, the common parlour, and the kitchen ; behind there were Mr. Austen's study, the back kitchen and the stairs ; above them were seven bedrooms and
9
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
three attics. The rooms were low-pitched but not otherwise bad, and compared with the usual style of such buildings it might be considered a very good house." An eulogy follows on the plainness and quietness of the family life — a characteristic specially due to the mother's in- fluence.
''That she had no taste for expensive show or finery, may be inferred from the fact being on record that for two years she actually never had a gown to wear. It was a prevalent custom for ladies to wear cloth habits, and she having one of red cloth found any other dress unnecessary. Imagine a beneficed clergyman's wife in these days contenting herself with such a costume for two years! But the fact illustrates the retired style of living that contented her." Even when she did find it necessary to provide herself with some other costume, the riding-habit was made to serve another useful purpose, for it was cut up into a first cloth suit for little Francis.
The following account of their upbringing closes this slight record :
" There is nothing in which modern manners differ much more from those of a century back than in the system pursued with regard to children. They were kept in the nursery, out of the way not only of visitors but of their parents ; they were trusted to hired attendants ; they were allowed a
lO
Brothers and Sisters
great deal of air and exercise, were kept on plain food, forced to give way to the comfort of others, accustomed to be overlooked, slightly regarded, considered of trifling importance. No well- stocked libraries of varied lore to cheat them into learning awaited them ; no scientific toys, no philosophic amusements enlarged their minds and wearied their attention." One wonders what would have been the verdict of this writer of fifty years ago on education in 1905. She goes on to tell us of the particular system pursued with the boys in order to harden them for their future work in life. It was not considered either necessary or agreeable for a woman to be very strong. ** Little Francis was at the age of ten months removed from the parsonage to a cottage in the village, and placed under the care of a worthy couple, whose simple style of living, homely dwelling, and out-of-door habits (for in the country the poor seldom close the door by day, except in bad weather), must have been very different from the heated nurseries and constrained existence of the clean, white-frocked little gentlemen who are now growing up around us. Across the brick floor of a cottage Francis learnt to walk, and perhaps it was here that he received the foundation of the excellent constitution which was so remarkable in after years. It must not, however, be supposed that he was neglected by his parents ; he was
II
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
constantly visited by them both, and often taken to the parsonage."
One cannot but admire the fortitude of parents who would forego the pleasure of seeing their children learn to walk and satisfy themselves with daily visits, for the sake of a plan of education of which the risks cannot have been otherwise than great.
The rough-and-tumble life which followed must have thoroughly suited the taste of any enterprising boy, and given him an independence of spirit, and a habit of making his own plans, which would be exactly what was wanted in the Navy of those days, when a man of twenty-five might be commander of a vessel manned by discon- tented, almost mutinous, sailors, with the chance of an enemy's ship appearing at any time on the horizon.
Riding about the country after the hounds began for Francis at the age of seven ; and, from what we hear of Catherine Morland's childhood, we feel sure that Jane would not always have been contented to be left behind.
Catherine, at the age of ten, was ''noisy and wild, hated confinement and cleanliness, and loved nothing so well in the world as rolling down the green slope at the back of the house." When she was fourteen, we are told that she ''preferred cricket, base-ball, riding on horseback, and
12
Brothers and Sisters
running about the country, to books — or, at least, books of information — for, provided that nothing like useful knowledge could be gained from them, provided they were all story and no reflection, she had never any objection to books at all ! "
This, if not an accurate picture of the tastes of the children at Steventon, at least shows the sort of amusements which boys and girls brought up in a country parsonage had at their command.
Perhaps it was of some such recollections that Jane Austen was thinking when she praised that common tie of childish remembrances. *'An advantage this, a strengthener of love, in which even the conjugal tie is beneath the fraternal. Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first association and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power which no sub- sequent connection can supply, and it must be by a long and unnatural estrangement, by a divorce which no subsequent connection can justify, if such precious remains of the earliest attachments are ever entirely outlived. Too often, alas ! it is so. Fraternal love, sometimes almost everything, is at others worse than nothing. But with William and Fanny Price it was still a sentiment in all its prime and freshness, wounded by no opposition of interest, cooled by no separate attachment, and
13
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
feeling the influence of time and absence only in its increase." That it was never Jane's lot to feel this cooling of affection on the part of any member of her family is due not only to their appreciation of their sister, but to the serenity and adaptability of her own sweet disposition.
14
CHAPTER II TWO MIDSHIPMEN
Both Francis and Charles Austen were educated for their profession at the Royal Naval Academy, which was established in 1775 at Portsmouth, and was under the supreme direction of the Lords of the Admiralty. Boys were received there between the ages of 1 2 and 1 5. They were supposed to stay there for three years, but there was a system of sending them out to serve on ships as '* Volunteers." This was a valuable part of their training, as they were still under the direction of the College authorities, and had the double advantages of experience and of teaching. They did the work of seamen on board, but were allowed up on deck, and were specially under the eye of the captain, who was supposed to make them keep accurate journals, and draw the appear- ances of headlands and coasts. It is no doubt to this early training that we owe the careful private logs which Francis kept almost throughout his whole career.
15
V /
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
Some of the rules of the Naval Academy show how ideas have altered in the last hundred and more years. There was a special law laid down that masters were to make no differences between the boys on account of rank or position, and no boy was to be allowed to keep a private servant, a rather superfluous regulation in these days.
Three weeks was the extent of the holiday^ which it seems could be taken at any time in the year, the Academy being always open for the benefit of Volunteers, who were allowed to go there when their ships were in Portsmouth. Those who distinguished themselves could continue this privilege after their promotion. Francis left the Academy in 1788, and immediately went out to the East Indies on board the Perseverance as Volunteer.
There he stayed for four years, first as midship- man on the Crown, 64 guns, and afterwards on the Minerva, 38.
A very charming letter from his father to Francis is still in existence.
** Memorandum for the use of Mr. F. W. Austen on his going to the East Indies on board his Majesty's ship Perseverance (Captain Smith).
^^ December, 1788.
"My dear Francis, — While you were at the Royal Academy the opportunities of writing to you
16
Two Midshipmen
were so frequent that I gave you my opinion and advice as occasion arose, and it was sufficient to do so ; but now you are going from us for so long a time, and to such a distance, that neither you can consult me or I reply but at long intervals, I think it necessary, therefore, before your depar- ture, to give my sentiments on such general subjects as I conceive of the greatest import- ance to you, and must leave your conduct in particular cases to be directed by your own good sense and natural judgment of what is right."
After some well-chosen and impressive injunc- tions on the subject of his son's religious duties, Mr. Austen proceeds :
" Your behaviour, as a member of society, to the individuals around you may be also of great importance to your future well-doing, and cer- tainly will to your present happiness and comfort. You may either by a contemptuous, unkind and selfish manner create disgust and dislike ; or by affability, good humour and compliance, become the object of esteem and affection ; which of these very opposite paths 'tis your interest to pursue I need not say.
*' The little world, of which you are going to be- >^ come an inhabitant, will occasionally have it in their power to contribute no little share to your pleasure or pain ; to conciliate therefore their goodwill, by every honourable method, will be the part of a
17 B
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
prudent man. Your commander and officers will be most likely to become your friends by a respectful behaviour to themselves, and by an active and ready obedience to orders. Good humour, an inclination to oblige and the care- fully avoiding every appearance of selfishness, will infallibly secure you the regards of your own mess and of all your equals. With your inferiors perhaps you will have but little intercourse, but when it does occur there is a sort of kindness they have a claim on you for, and which, you may believe me, will not be thrown away on them. Your conduct, as it respects yourself, chiefly comprehends sobriety and prudence. The former you know the importance of to your health, your morals and your fortune. I shall therefore say nothing more to enforce the observance of it. I thank God you have not at present the least disposition to deviate from it. Prudence extends to a variety of objects. Never any action of your life in which it will not be your interest to consider what she directs ! She will teach you the proper disposal of your time and the careful manage- ment of your money, — two very important trusts for which you are accountable. She will teach you that the best chance of rising in life is to make yourself as useful as possible, by carefully study- ing everything that relates to your profession, and distinguishing yourself from those of your
i8
Two Midshipmen
own rank by a superior proficiency in nautical acquirements.
** As you have hitherto, my dear Francis, been extremely fortunate in making friends, I trust your future conduct will confirm their good opinion of you ; and I have the more confidence in this expectation because the high character you acquired at the Academy for propriety of behaviour and diligence in your studies, when you were so much younger and had so much less experi- ence, seems to promise that riper years and more knowledge of the world will strengthen your naturally good disposition. That this may be the case I sincerely pray, as you will readily believe when you are assured that your good mother, brothers, sisters and myself will all exult in your reputation and rejoice in your happiness.
**Thus far by way of general hints for your conduct. I shall now mention only a few par- ticulars I wish your attention to. As you must be convinced it would be the highest satisfaction to us to hear as frequently as possible from you, you will of course neglect no opportunity of giving us that pleasure, and being very minute in what relates to yourself and your situation. On this account, and because unexpected occasions of writing to us may offer, 'twill be a good way always to have a letter in forwardness. You may depend on hear- ing from some of us at every opportunity.
19
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
" Whenever you draw on me for money, Captain Smith will endorse your bills, and I dare say will readily do it as often, and for what sums, he shall think necessary. At the same time you must not forget to send me the earliest possible notice of the amount of the draft, and the name of the person in whose favour it is drawn. On the subject of letter-writing, I cannot help mentioning how incumbent it is on you to write to Mr. Bayly, both because he desired it and because you have no other way of expressing the sense I know you entertain of his very great kindness and attention to you. Perhaps it would not be amiss if you were also to address one letter to your good friend the commissioner, to acknowledge how much you shall always think yourself obliged to him.
" Keep an exact account of all the money you receive or spend, lend none but where you are sure of an early repayment, and on no account whatever be persuaded to risk it by gaming.
" I have nothing to add but my blessing and best prayers for your health and prosperity, and to beg you would never forget you have not upon earth a more disinterested and warm friend than, " Your truly affectionate father,
** Geo. Austen."
That this letter should have been found among the private papers of an old man who died at the
20
Two Midshipmen
age of 91, after a life of constant activity and change, is proof enough that it was highly valued by the boy of fourteen to whom it was written. There is something in its gentleness of tone, and the way in which advice is offered rather than obedience demanded, which would make it very persuasive to the feelings of a young boy going out to a life which must consist mainly of the opposite duties of responsibility and discipline. Incidentally it all throws a pleasant light on the characters of both father and son.
The life of a Volunteer on board ship was by no means an easy one, but it no doubt inured the boys to hardships and privations, and gave them a sympathy with their men which would after- wards stand them in good stead.
The record of Charles as a midshipman is very much more stirring than Francis' experiences. He served on board the Unicorn, under Captain Thomas Williams, at the time of the capture of the French frigate La Tribune, a notable single ship encounter, which brought Captain Williams the honour of knighthood.
On June 8, 1796, the Unicorn and the Santa Margarita, cruising off the Scilly Islands, sighted three strange ships, and gave chase. They proved to be two French frigates and a corvette. La Tribune, La Tamise, and La Legere. The French vessels continued all day to run
21
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
before the wind. The EngHsh ships as they gained on them were subjected to a well-directed fire, which kept them back so much that it was evening before La Tamise at last bore up and engaged one of the pursuers, the Santa Margarita, After a sharp action of about twenty minutes La Tamise struck her colours.
La Tribune crowded on all sail to make her escape, but the Unicorn^ in spite of damage to masts and rigging, kept up the chase, and after a running fight of ten hours the Unicorn came alongside, taking the wind from the sails of the French ship. After a close action of thirty-five minutes there was a brief interval. As the smoke cleared away. La Tribune could be seen trying to get to the windward of her enemy. This manoeuvre was instantly frustrated, and a few more broadsides brought down La Tribunes masts, and ended the action. From start to finish of the chase the two vessels had run 2IO miles. Not a man was killed or even hurt on board the Unicorn, and not a large proportion of the crew of La Tribune suffered. No doubt in a running fight of this sort much powder and shot would be expended with very little result.
When this encounter took place Charles Austen had been at sea for scarcely two years. Such an experience would have given the boy a great notion of the excitement and joys in store for him
22
f € ,( < t
Two Midshipmen
in a seafaring life. Such, however, was not to be his luck. Very little important work fell to his share till at least twenty years later, and for one of his ardent temperament this was a some- what hard trial. His day came at last, after years of routine, but when he was still young enough to enjoy a life of enterprise and of action. Even half a century later his characteristic energy was never more clearly shown than in his last enterprise as Admiral in command during the second Burmese War (1852), when he died at the front.
Francis, during the four years when he was a midshipman, had only one change of captain. After serving under Captain Smith in the Perseverance, he went to the Crown, under Captain the Honourable W. Cornwallis, and eventually followed him into the Minerva, Admiral Cornwallis was afterwards in command of the Channel Fleet, blockading Brest in the Trafalgar year.
Charles had an even better experience than Francis had, for he was under Captain Thomas Williams all the time he was midshipman, first in the Dcedalus, then in the Unicorn, and last in the Endymion,
The fact that both brothers served for nearly i all their times as midshipmen under the same | captain shows that they earned good opinions. If •
23
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
midshipmen were not satisfactory they were very speedily transferred, as we hear was the lot of poor Dick Musgrave.
*' He had been several years at sea, and had in the course of those removals to which all midship- men are liable, and especially such midshipmen as every captain wishes to get rid of, been six months on board Captain Frederick Wentworth's frigate, the Laconia ; and from the Laconia he had, under the influence of his captain, written the only two letters which his father and mother had ever received from him during the whole of his absence, that is to say the only two disin- terested letters ; all the rest had been mere applications for money. In each letter he had spoken well of his captain — mentioning him in strong, though not perfectly well-spelt praise, as * a fine dashing felow, only two perticular about the schoolmaster.' "
No doubt Dick's journal and sketches of the coast line were neither accurate nor neatly executed.
William Price's time as a midshipman is, one would think, a nearer approach to the careers of Francis and Charles. Certainly the account given of his talk seems to bear much resemblance to the stories Charles, especially, would have to tell on his return.
*' William was often called on by his uncle to
24
Two Midshipmen
be the talker. His recitals were amusing in them- selves to Sir Thomas, but the chief object in seeking them was to understand the reciter, to know the young man by his histories, and he listened to his clear, simple, spirited details with full satisfaction — seeing in them the proof of good principles, professional knowledge, energy, courage and cheerfulness — everything that could deserve or promise well. Young as