The Tragedy of St. Helena

The Tragedy of St. Helena

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Title: The Tragedy of St. Helena
Author: Walter Runciman
Release Date: March 3, 2005 [EBook #15246]
Language: English
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THE TRAGEDY OF ST. HELENA
BY
SIR WALTER RUNCIMAN, BART.
AUTHOR OF
"WINDJAMMERS AND SEA TRAMPS," "THE SHELLBACK'S
PROGRESS," "LOOKING SEAWARD AGAIN," ETC.
T. FISHER UNWIN LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE LEIPSIC:
INSELSTRASSE 20 1911

PREFACE

In my early sea-life, I used to listen to the eccentric and complicated
views expressed by a race of seamen long since passed away.
Occasionally there were amongst the crew one or two who had the true
British hypothetical belief in the demoniacal character of Napoleon, but
this was not the general view of the men with whom I sailed; and after
the lapse of many years, I often wonder how it came about that such
definite partiality in regard to this wonderful being could have been
formed, and the conclusion that impresses me most is, that his many
acts of kindness to his own men, the absence of flogging and other
debasing treatment in his own service, his generosity and consideration
for the comfort of British prisoners during the wars, his ultimate defeat
by the combined forces of Europe, the despicable advantage they took
of the man who was their superior in everything, and to whom in other
days the allied Kings had bent in homage, had become known to the
English sailors.
How these rugged men came to their knowledge of Napoleon and
formed their opinions about him may be explained in this way.
Hundreds of seamen and civilians were pressed into the King's service,
many of whom were taken ruthlessly from vessels they partly owned
and commanded. Indeed, there was no distinction. The pressgangs
captured everybody, irrespective of whether they were officers,
common able seamen, or boys, to say nothing of those who had no sea
experience. Both my own grandfathers and two of my great uncles
were kidnapped from their vessels and their families into the navy, and
after many years of execrable treatment, hard fighting, and wounds,
they landed back into their homes broken men, with no better prospect
than to begin life anew. It was natural that the numerous pressed men
should detest the ruffianly man-catchers and their employers, if not the
service they were forced into, and that they would nurse the wrong
which had been done to them.
They would have opportunities of comparing their own lot with that of
other nationalities engaged in combat against them, and though both
might be bad, it comes quite natural to the sailor to imagine his
treatment is worse than that of others; and there is copious evidence
that the British naval service was not at that period popular. Besides,
they knew, as everybody else should have known, that Napoleon was
beloved by his navy and army alike. Then, after the Emperor had asked

for the hospitality of the British nation, and became its guest aboard the
_Bellerophon_, the sailors saw what manner of man he was. And later,
his voyage to St. Helena in the Northumberland gave them a better
chance of being impressed by his fascinating personality. It is well
known how popular he became aboard both ships; the men of the
squadron that was kept at St. Helena were also drawn to him in
sympathy, and many of the accounts show how, in their rough ardent
way, they repudiated the falsehoods of his traducers. The exiled
Emperor had become their hero and their martyr, just as impressively
as he was and remained that of the French; and from them and other
sources were handed down to the generation of merchant seamen those
tales which were told with the usual love of hyperbole characteristic of
the sailor, and wiled away many dreary hours while traversing trackless
oceans. They would talk about the sea fights of Aboukir and Trafalgar,
and the battles of Arcola, Marengo, Jena, Austerlitz, the Russian
campaign, the retreat from Moscow, his deportation to Elba, his escape
therefrom, and his matchless march into Paris, and then the great
encounter of Waterloo, combined with the divorce of Josephine and the
marriage with Marie Louise; all of which, as I remember it now, was
set forth in the most voluble and comical manner. Some of their most
engaging chanties were