Part 1

LETTERS

WRITTEN IN FRANCE,

TO A

_FRIEND IN LONDON_,

BETWEEN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 1794,

AND

THE MONTH OF MAY 1795.

_By Major TENCH, of the Marines_,

LATE OF HIS MAJESTY’S SHIP ALEXANDER.

_LONDON_:

PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL’S CHURCH-YARD.

M.DCC.XCVI.

PREFACE.

The following Letters were written under very adverse circumstances, in a part of France remote from the beaten track in which travellers generally keep, and where curiosity has seldom led to observation. As connected with that stupendous object, which has concentrated the attention not only of Europe, but of every quarter of this planet where human communications reach, they are offered to the Public. A considerable part of the collection was unavoidably dedicated to matters which must, from their nature, be uninteresting to a majority of readers; but the author trusts to the importance of the subject to compensate for the poverty of the relation. Since his return to England they have been revised; and would have been earlier sent to the press, had not reasons of a private nature interposed to procrastinate his intention.

LETTER I.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

On board le Marat, Brest, 9th Nov. 1794.

A performance of those flattering promises, which we exchanged at parting, to meet for a few days in London, about Christmas next, provided the exigencies of service would permit, must be suspended for the present----to be fulfilled when----is one of those secrets of futurity, which I dare not trust my imagination to anticipate.

The wayward fortune of your friend has again[A] exposed him to be taken by the “insolent foe,” after an unsuccessful, but I trust not inglorious combat, against very superior force. This disastrous event happened on the 6th instant.[B]----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

To our great surprize, the enemy’s ships continued to fire upon us after our colours were struck. At first we conceived, that this unprovoked prolongation of hostilities arose from their not seeing that we had surrendered; but when their knowledge of this event could no longer be doubted, and the firing did not cease, some among us, joining to this conduct a recollection of the decree of the convention, which forbade quarter to be extended to Englishmen, were almost ready to believe, that it was designed to be executed upon _us_; and so irritated were our seamen, by this apparently wanton continuation of attack, that they had once nearly determined to renew the fight, and sell their lives as dearly as possible. At length, however, their firing ceased.

Knowing from sad experience, that in such a situation all distinction of property is confounded, and that the officers and public stores of the ship become at once the indiscriminate prey of the enemy and their own crew, I left the deck, and descended into the bread-room. There I had in the morning deposited one of my trunks, out of which I filled a clothes-bag with such necessaries as I thought would be most useful to me, and left it in the charge of my servant, while I endeavoured to save a part of what a very large trunk, lodged in the marine store-room, contained. But this resolution I was incapable of effecting. The cock-pit, which I was obliged to pass through, presented such a scene of misery, as banished every feeling, but sorrow and pity. I found myself encompassed at once by the dead and the dying. The groans of the latter, joined to the cries of the wounded, on whom operations were performing by the surgeon, and to the blood which overflowed my feet, filled me with horror and disgust.

“Sight so deform what heart of rock could long “Dry-ey’d behold?”-------- Milton.

It “quelled my best of man;” and, after two ineffectual attempts to penetrate across this stage of woe, I returned to my servant, and made a few farther arrangements of what was left to me.

By this time the French boats had boarded us, and taken possession of the ship. When I attempted to ascend to the deck, I found every hatchway guarded by French sentinels, who refused to let me pass. In vain did I expostulate with them; all the answer I could obtain was, “_Citoyen, tels sont mes ordres. Je suis républicain!_” At length I saw a French officer, and begged his interference, which, after some hesitation, was granted, and on his speaking to the sentinel, I was suffered to proceed to the deck, where I found all that confusion and disorder reigning which I had expected. The Admiral had, I learned, been already sent away. I enquired for the French commanding officer, and was directed to a respectable looking old man, to whom I presented my sword, telling him, at the same time, that I hoped, and trusted, we should be allowed to retain our private property, and be protected from pillage. He answered me, that we certainly should. I had, however, but just turned from him, when a French officer seized on my cross-belt, and demanded it. On my refusing to comply with this mandate, he said it was arms; which I denied, and bade him, if he thought I had not made a full surrender of those, to search me. To all the arguments and protestations which I could use, this gentleman thought proper to answer by force only; so that, finding farther resistance vain, I yielded up the belt to him, when his motive for diverting me of this dangerous implement of war, at once appeared----a large silver plate, which was attached to it, being the bait. This he very composedly took off and put in his pocket, trailing the belt carelessly along after him as he marched away.

The commanding officer being extremely urgent that we should quit the ship directly, I got leave to make another effort to recover some more of my effects; but universal plunder and uproar had now taken place. The store-rooms and cabins were broken open and pillaged, and the most brutal excesses committed. I was surprized to find the French seamen and soldiers even more forward than our own, in searching for wine and spirits, and equally eager to intoxicate themselves: a new trait in their national character.

About four o’clock I quitted the Alexander, carrying with me my bag, which was all I had been able to save, and was conducted, with several other officers, on board Le Marat, a name of ill omen, and not too predictive, thought I, when I heard it proclaimed, of the virtues of humanity and generosity. Here I found our gallant and respected commander, who introduced me to Captain Le Franq, the commander of the ship, by whom I was civilly received. This gentleman speaks very good English, which he learned in the last war, when he was a prisoner in England and in the East Indies. In a very candid manner, he repeatedly desired us not to be under any apprehensions about the treatment which we were to receive; for that if he, or any of his officers or men, should be found guilty of ill using prisoners of war, the republic would punish the offenders. When we complained to him of having been plundered, he protested, that he had given the strictest orders to forbid it to those who had boarded us; and that he was sure they could not be the authors of our losses, as his officers were all _gentlemen_ (he spoke in English) and his men in a state of the most exemplary discipline. We answered, that among the great number of boats which had boarded the Alexander, from every ship in the squadron, it was impossible for strangers to point out either the names or the persons, or the ships to which the parties might belong; and that we chiefly attributed our losses to the precipitancy by which we had been compelled to quit our own ship. Upon hearing this, Captain Le Franq very fairly and honourably proposed, that one of ourselves should be selected, and sent on board the Alexander, in order to bring away whatever could be found belonging to any of us. We thanked him for his offer, and embraced it; but the officer who went on this service was able to obtain very little. Some few articles, indeed, he _did_ recover; and to-day, as many more of us as chose to go again on a similar errand, were permitted, and French officers were sent with us, to enforce the order for a search: it was conducted in a very open and liberal manner, although it ended almost as fruitlessly as the former, the possessors of their newly-acquired property having taken effectual means to secrete nine parts in ten of it from our scrutiny. My large trunk, however, I discovered, close to the door of the store-room, wherein it had been deposited. I blessed my good fortune, and sprang to it: but what was my mortification, to find, that of all its former treasures (having closely packed it with my most valuable articles) nothing remained but two bits of black ribbon, serving to fasten my gorget!

We had been more than two hours in Captain Le Franq’s cabin, without having had any refreshment offered to us, when, at about six o’clock, supper was announced. The captain, inviting Admiral Bligh, and all of us, to follow him, led us into the ward-room, where we found the banquet spread, and all the officers of the etat-major, or ward-room mess, assembled. I was no stranger (as you know) to the customs of the French on land, which were never remarkable for delicacy and cleanliness; but I had never before seen their mode of living on board their ships of war. Our entertainment was served up on a large clumsy deal table, which was placed (to speak in sea-language) not fore and aft, but athwart ship, very awkwardly and inconveniently, surrounded by benches and lockers, and in place of a table-cloth was covered by a piece of green painted canvas. Sweet are the joys of hunger, on such an occasion! After a fast of thirteen hours, and that in a day of such unceasing agitation as we had passed, neither this circumstance, nor the garlic with which the meat abounded; nor a want of knives and forks, and a change of plates; nor the battling of the _mousses_ (dirty ragged cabin-boys) for the scraps which were left; nor the appearance of the company, who all sat with their hats, or red caps, on; nor their vociferation of the word _Citoyen_, the only title they used in pledging each other to republican toasts, could prevent me from making a most satisfactory repast. Nothing short of the evidence of my senses could, nevertheless, have made me believe, that so much filthiness could be quietly submitted to, when it might be so easily prevented. Indeed, a ship is in all situations very unfavourable to scrupulous nicety; but no description can convey an adequate idea to a British naval officer, who has not witnessed it, of the gross and polluted state in which the French habitually keep all parts of their vessels, if I may judge from what I see in this. And to complete the jest, Captain Le Franq has more than once boasted to us of the superior attention which he pays to the cleanliness of his ship.

In the course of our conversation at supper, we learned, that this squadron had been purposely dispatched from Brest, to intercept us on our outward-bound passage, being furnished with exact intelligence of the time we had put into Plymouth, and of our force and destination[C].

But to proceed with the adventures of your friend in a regular detail. After supper, Admiral Bligh, and those officers who had saved their beds, went up into the cabin, where places to sleep in were allotted to them, while a sail was spread below, for the majority who had lost their’s, in which number I was included. This humble couch, which was as good as circumstances would allow our hosts to furnish, or as we could reasonably expect, would have been perfectly satisfactory to us, had we been permitted to retire to it. But our entertainers, no longer checked by the presence of their chief, who had retired, and elated by victory, and by an anticipation of the triumph which awaited them at Brest, on the novel and glorious atchievement of capturing a British 74 gun ship, now called for a fresh supply of wine, and began to sing, in a loud key, republican songs, which were interrupted only by questions to us, that delicacy should have withholden them from asking. One of them, taking a candle in his hand, begged me to look at two prints of heads, as large as life, of Pelletier and Marat, “Ah!” said he, pointing to the latter, “behold the friend of the people! he who shed his blood for them!” I looked, as he had desired me, and thought I saw all the diabolical qualities, by which that monster was marked in his life-time, depicted in this portrait. Prudence, however, kept me silent. Poor Pelletier came in for no share of this gentleman’s eulogy; and as to Robespierre, they all spoke of him, and “_his reign_,” with great bitterness and detestation.

We were compelled to rise at a very early hour next morning, the sail on which we had slept being wanted. I would willingly have walked on the quarter-deck, according to the English custom; but it was so crowded by the men, and so greasy and slippery, that I found it impracticable. The captain, overhearing us talk on this subject, very gravely said, that he never allowed his people to eat between decks, but always made them do so upon deck, _in order to keep his ship clean_. When we saw that after these meals they neither scraped nor washed the decks, we were at no loss to account for the state in which we found them; and no doubt those whom it professionally concerned, duly noted this curious improvement in the œconomy of a ship of war.

About eight o’clock the boatswain and his mates went to the different hatchways of the ship, and summoned the crew in a loud voice, “_aux prières_.” My ignorance of what these _prayers_ might be, did not long continue. The quarter-deck was immediately thronged by men and officers, who with united voice sang the Marseilles Hymn, with a fervor and enthusiasm of manner which astonished me. I had heard it at a distance on the preceding evening; and upon enquiry learned, that it was thus publickly performed twice a day, by order of the government. The sublime music of this fine lyric composition, the gaiety breathed by the _Carmagnole_, and by many other popular airs which are continually in their mouths, during their most ordinary occupations, must produce a prodigious effect on the pliant minds of Frenchmen, and highly contribute to invigorate that spirit of idolatry for a republic, and that hatred and contempt of monarchy, which it is so much the interest of their leaders to encourage. I need not point out to you the good policy of such national establishments, and how deep a knowledge of human nature they manifest; perhaps no other country is so culpably indifferent to the foundation of similar institutions as our own. We fire, indeed, a few lazy guns on the anniversaries of the King’s birth, accession, and other similar occasions; but we never stimulate the passions of our soldiery, by recalling to their memories, in periodic exhibitions, the days on which their forefathers won the fields of Agincourt, Blenheim, and Minden; nor re-animate the ardent energy of our seamen, by public recitals of the victories of a Russel, a Hawke, a Rodney, and a Howe. And yet the histories of the greatest nations, both ancient and modern, sufficiently demonstrate the power of such exhibitions over the human mind; and justify me in affirming, that no people ever rose to superlative dominion who did not employ them. How would the flame of heroism be enkindled in our youth, on hearing these celebrations performed by the veterans of Chelsea and Greenwich! And what still more important sentiments would be diffused through the mass of our people, if they were frequently reminded of those glorious æras, when John was compelled to sign Magna Charta; and when the declaration of the rights of the people was made the foundation of William’s throne!

This digression towards a country, which busy remembrance points to with unceasing anxiety, could not be suppressed. To proceed with my observations here:----The republican spirit is inculcated not in songs only, for in every part of the ship I find emblems purposely displayed to awaken it. All the orders relating to the discipline of the crew are hung up, and prefaced by the words _Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, ou la Mort_, written in capital letters. The _bonnet rouge_, or cap of liberty, is erected in several places, and crowns the figure on the prow of the ship, which represents the demagogue whose name she bears, and on which is written an extract from the declaration of the rights of man. In the cabin (to which the officers are entitled to resort at all times) _Liberté & Egalité_ are pourtrayed in female characters, the former brandishing a sword, and the latter nursing a numerous offspring, with impartial attention to the wants of all. But a picture of another sort also caught my eye: it was pasted on the _outside_ of a door, which led to the apartment of an officer, and represented the prime minister of Great Britain conducting to a _guillotine_ his blindfolded sovereign. The person to whom it belonged, on seeing me regard it with mingled indignation and contempt, would have begun a conversation on the subject, had I not prevented him by turning my back and walking away. Indeed, next to the poor emigrants, Mr. Pitt, or “_Ministre Peet_,” as they always call him, seems to be the primary object of their abhorrence. Hated name! never breathed but in curses, never coupled but with execrations! To hear them, one would suppose that he is the only man in England hostile to their growing republic. Even Captain Le Franq, who has certainly hitherto behaved towards us with more delicacy than the other officers, did not scruple to call him “a Robespierre.” To argue with these people I find impossible; “but to be grave exceeds all power of face.” My only resource, on such occasions, is to ask some question foreign to the subject they wish to talk upon: even here I can make no progress; I am either repulsed by want of common knowledge, or bewildered in contradiction. Having established it as a maxim, that some degree of information may always be gained by talking to men of their own professions, I am as inquisitive as I modestly can be, about their naval institutions. But, if my question be heard by more than one, such shocking abrupt oppositions of opinion follow, and so pertinaciously does each party defend his assertion on the most ordinary points, that my only alternative, to prevent a perfect equilibrium of mind, is to place the little confidence left at my disposal in the champion who has been least violent and vociferous; agreeably to the old observation, which says, the still stream is the deepest. Their ignorance, indeed, upon almost every subject which has been stated, is deplorable. One of them, in pure simplicity of heart, asked me if London were as large as Brest? I was contented to answer him, by saying I had never seen Brest. He was greatly surprized, on being informed that London is a sea-port; and, to recompense me for my intelligence, told me Paris did not enjoy that advantage, as he had heard, for he confessed he had never been there. A second had read Shakespeare, “and did not like him; he was too _sombre_.”----“Pray, sir, do you allude to any particular play?” He seemed confounded; but, after some hesitation, said, “Yes, to _Paucippe_.”----“To Paucippe!” exclaimed I; “you mistake the name, there is not any of his plays which bears such a title.” He was confident he was right, and therefore I begged to know the fable of the piece, or the names of the other characters; but with them, this critical reader did not pretend to any acquaintance. I need not observe to you, that none of these officers had ever served in the navy of France, but in the most subordinate capacities, under the king’s government, except the captain, who had commanded a cutter under Monsieur de Suffrein, but who had nevertheless been bred up in the service of the East India company.

We anchored in Brest-Water about three o’clock this morning, and I presume to hope we shall very soon be sent on shore; but whether, or not, on parole, does not seem quite clear. They answer with great ambiguity, and apparent unwillingness, to all questions on this head, pretending that they are ignorant of what is customary, but assuring us that we shall be treated well. To be shut up in a prison, in this cold and dreary season that is coming on, is what I dread to look forward to. We frequently describe to them the parole which is allowed to all French officers in England. But, whatever is to be our lot, I shall not wonder at their taking almost any step to rid themselves of so numerous a troop of intruders on their society and table. Their own mess consists of sixteen persons, besides the captain, who lives in common with his officers, although this association, they tell me, is forbidden in their naval instructions; but it seems these little deviations are winked at, in certain cases, to prevent the too weighty tax of a separate table. We breakfast every morning at nine o’clock on _Gloucester_ cheese (taken out of an English prize) good brown bread, called _pain d’egalité_, which they bake on board, and a thin acid claret, of which the Frenchmen drink very liberally. This does not seem to argue the scarcity of flour among them, which has been so much insisted upon in England. A hint of this was dropped, and great derision followed, on their part, at the idea of starving such a country as France, by cutting off a few casual supplies by sea. We dine between twelve and one, and sup between six and seven o’clock. On all these occasions there is a sufficient quantity of provisions provided, though the dirty state in which it is served up, would disgust a Hottentot. I have mentioned before, that during our meals we are surrounded by filthy ragged cabin-boys, whose appearance, contentions and impertinence, are intolerable. Among this crew of little blackguards, two were pointed out to me as the son and nephew of _Delcher_, who is one of the representatives from the Western Pyrenees to the convention. It is certain, that when I challenged the boys with it, they confirmed it to me, and seemed to glory in their situation. I was also shown a third boy, about eleven years old, who is the son of an _emigrated nobleman_. In him, nature is not quite subdued: “_Le petit-------- pleure quelquefois_,” said one of the lieutenants to me.