CHAPTER III

THE SHIP OF HAPPIEST MEMORY

On the 25th of March, 1861, I was appointed naval cadet in the

_Marlborough_. As I climbed up her side by the hand-rungs, while my

chest was being hoisted in over all, I perceived two huge men looking

down upon me, and I heard one say to the other:--

"That white-faced little beggar ain't long for this world, Dick."

The speaker was John Glanville (called Clamfy Glanville), boatswain's

mate (of whom more anon), and he addressed this lugubrious remark to

Dicky Horne, the quartermaster, a very fat man. It was a far from

encouraging welcome to the sea; but the fact was that I had been ill,

and was feeling very cold as I climbed up the side of the ship. At

first, I was much disappointed at having been sent to a large ship, for

we youngsters had a notion that there were more freedom and

independence in a small ship; and besides, I wanted to go to China.

But I went to China all in good time.

The _Marlborough_ was the flagship of the Mediterranean station. She

was a wooden line of battleship, three-decker, launched in 1835, 4000

tons burthen old measure, 6390 displacement new measure, fitted with

single screw horizontal Maudslay engines. The length of her gundeck

was 245 feet 6 inches, her extreme beam was 61 feet, her maximum

draught was 26 feet. Her complement was 950, and she always carried

100 or more supernumeraries. She was pierced for 131 guns and she

carried 121 guns. She was {12} one of the first ships to be fitted

with wire lower rigging. In the _Marlborough_ the old 24-inch hemp

cable was used for laying out anchor at drill. It was the same class

of cable as that which was used in Nelson's time; it was superseded by

the chain cable.

The vice-admiral in command of the Mediterranean station was Sir

William Fanshawe Martin (called "Fly" Martin); the captain, William H.

Stewart; the commander, Thomas Brandreth: three of the finest officers

that ever lived. The captain of the Fleet was Rear-Admiral Sydney C.

Dacres, C.B. His duties were those of what we should now call a chief

of staff. The office was subsequently abolished; and it was always my

desire to see it restored.

Ships in those days were manned according to the number of guns they

carried. The theory was that if the boats' crews were absent from the

ship, there should always be sufficient men on board to work the sails

and the guns. The watch-bills were made out upon this principle, the

men being distributed among what were called the "parts of the ship."

In the case of a newly commissioned ship, the making out of the

watch-bills and assigning his place to each man, was the first thing to

be done. It was no small task, especially as no printed forms were

supplied for the purpose. The watch-bills were ruled and entered by

the officers on paper supplied by themselves, and were arranged upon

the tradition handed down for centuries. Even the signalmen supplied

their own pencils and paper. Each ship made its own arrangement. It

was not until 1860 that uniform watch-bills, quarter-bills and

station-bills were instituted.

[Illustration: H.M.S. "MARLBOROUGH," 1861]

The men were classed in the following categories, each "part of the

ship" being divided into port watch and starboard watch.

The Forecastlemen

The Foretopmen

The Maintopmen

The Mizentopmen

The Gunners

{13}

The Afterguard

The Royal Marines

The Idlers

The Forecastlemen were most experienced seamen. They wore their caps a

little differently from the others. They manned the foreyard, and

worked the foresail, staysail, jib, flying jib, jibboom, flying jibboom

and lower studdingsails.

The Foretopmen worked the foretopsail, foretopgallant and foreroyal

yards, foretopgallantmast, foretopmast and topgallant studding-sails.

The Maintopmen worked the maintopsail, maintopgallant and main-royal

yards and maintopgallantmast, maintopmast and topgallant studding-sails.

The Mizentopmen worked the mizentopsail, mizentopgallant and

mizen-royal yards, and mizentopgallantmast, mizentopmast and

mizencourse (if there was one), also the driver.

The upper-yard men were the smartest in the ship, whose character

largely depended upon them.

The Gunners, assisted by the Afterguard, worked the mainsail and

mainyard. These were generally old and steady men, who were not very

quick aloft. The gunners were also responsible for the care and

maintenance of the gun gear, side tackles, train tackles and the

ammunition. The senior warrant officer was the gunner.

There were only three warrant officers:--gunner, boatswain and

carpenter.

The Royal Marines were divided between fore and aft, working on

forecastle and quarterdeck. I remember seeing a detachment of Marines,

upon coming aboard, fallen in while the blacksmith, lifting up each

man's foot behind him, wrenched off and dropped into a bucket the metal

on the heel of his boot, lest it should mark the deck.

The Afterguard worked on the quarterdeck and helped with the mainyard.

They were the less efficient men and were therefore employed under the

eye of the commander.

{14}

The Idlers were not idlers. They were so called because

(theoretically) they had their nights in, although actually they turned

out at four o'clock a.m. They were artificers, such as carpenters,

caulkers, plumbers, blacksmiths, etc. They worked all day at their

several trades until their supper-time. They were nearly all old petty

officers, steady and respectable. It was part of their duty to man the

pumps every morning for washing decks. I made up my mind that, if ever

I was in a position to do so, I would relieve them of an irksome and an

inappropriate duty.

In action, the carpenters worked below decks, stopping holes with

shot-plugs, while many of the other Idlers worked in the magazines.

Among the Idlers was the ship's musician--unless the ship carried a

band--who was a fiddler. He used to play to the men on the forecastle

after working hours and when they manned the capstan. Personally I

always considered the name of Idlers to be anomalous. They are now

called Daymen.

Among the ship's company were several negroes. At that time, it was

often the case that the captain of the hold and the cooper were

coloured men.

An instance of the rapidity and efficiency of the organisation of the

_Marlborough_ occurred upon the night before she sailed for the

Mediterranean. She was newly commissioned, and she carried a large

number of supernumeraries on passage. We took out 1500 all told. A

fire broke out on the orlop deck; the drum beat to quarters; every man

instantly went to his station, to which he had previously been told

off; and the fire was speedily extinguished. The event was my first

experience of discipline in a big ship.

The nature of the discipline which was then in force, I learned on the

way out to the Mediterranean. In the modern sense of the word,

discipline was exemplified by the Royal Marines alone. I cannot better

convey an idea of the old system than by means of an illustration.

Supposing that a Marine and a bluejacket had each committed an offence.

The Marine was brought up on the quarter-deck before the {15}

commander, and the charge was read to him. The commander asked him

what he had to say. The prisoner, standing rigidly to attention,

embarked upon a long rambling explanation. If his defence were

invalid, the commander cut him short, and the sergeant gave his order.

"Right turn. Quick march." The Marine, although continuing to

protest, obeyed automatically, and away he went. He continued to talk

until he was out of hearing, but he went. Not so the bluejacket. He

did not stand to attention, not he. He shifted from one foot to the

other, he hitched his breeches, fiddled with his cap, scratched his

head.

"Well, sir," said he, "it was like this here, sir," ... and he began to

spin an interminable yarn.

"That'll do, my man," quoth the commander. But, not at all. "No, sir,

look here, sir, what I wants to say is this"--and so on, until the

commander had to order a file of Marines to march him below.

But both Marine and bluejacket had this in common: each would ask the

commander to settle the matter rather than let it go before the

captain; and the captain, to sentence him rather than hold a

court-martial.

The explanation of the difference between the old system of discipline

and the new is that in the sailing days it was of the first importance

that the seaman should be capable of instant independent action. The

soldier's uniformity and military precision were wholly unsuited to the

sailor, who, at any moment, might have to tackle an emergency on his

own initiative. If a seaman of the old days noticed anything wrong

aloft, up he would run to put it right, without waiting for orders.

Life and death often hung upon his promptitude of resource.

In the old days, we would often overhear such a conversation as the

following:--

Officer: "Why the blank dash didn't you blank well do so-and-so when I

told you?"

Man: "Why didn't I? Because if I had I should have been blank well

killed and so would you."

{16}

Officer: "Damn you, sir, don't you answer me! I shall put you in the

report."

Man: "Put me in the ruddy report, then."

And the next day the commander, having heard both sides, would say to

the officer,

"Why, the man was quite right." And to the man, "You had no right to

argue with the officer. Don't do it again. Now get away with you to

hell."

And everyone would part the best of friends.

The change came with the improvement and progress in gunnery, which

involved, first, the better drilling of the small-arm companies. In my

early days, the small-arm companies used to drill with bare feet.

Indeed, boots were never worn on board. It was of course impossible to

wear boots going aloft for a sailor going aloft in boots would injure

the heads and hands of his topmates. Occasionally the midshipmen went

aloft barefooted like the men. So indurated did the feet of the

sailors become, that they were unable to wear boots without discomfort,

and often carried them when they were ashore.

A sailor's offences were hardly ever crimes against honour. They

rather arose from the character induced by his calling. Its conditions

were hard, dangerous and often intensely exciting. The sailor's view

was devil-may-care. He was free with his language, handy with his

fists and afraid of nothing. A smart man might receive four dozen for

some violence, and be rated petty officer six months afterwards.

Condemnation was then the rule. Personally, I endeavoured to

substitute for it, commendation. For if there are two men, one of whom

takes a pride in (say) keeping his rifle clean, and the other neglects

it, to ignore the efficiency of the one is both to discourage him and

to encourage the other.

Before the system of silence was introduced by the _Marlborough_ the

tumult on deck during an evolution or exercise was tremendous. The

shouting in the ships in Malta Harbour could be heard all over Valetta.

The _Marlborough_ introduced the "Still" bugle-call. At the {17}

bugle-call "Still" every man stood motionless and looked at the

officer. For in order to have an order understood, the men must be

looking at the officer who gives it. During the Soudan war, I used the

"Still" at several critical moments. Silence and attention are the

first necessities for discipline. About this time the bugle superseded

the drum in many ships for routine orders.

There were few punishments, the chief punishment being the cat. The

first time I saw the cat applied, I fainted. But men were constantly

being flogged. I have seen six men flogged in one morning. Even upon

these painful occasions, the crew were not fallen in. They were merely

summoned aft "for punishment"--"clear lower deck lay aft for

punishment" was piped--and grouped themselves as they would, sitting in

the boats and standing about, nor did they even keep silence while the

flogging was being inflicted. The officers stood within three sides of

a square formed by the Marines. Another punishment was "putting the

admiral in his barge and the general in his helmet," when one man was

stood in a bucket and the other had a bucket on his head.

Very great credit is due to Admiral Sir William Martin, who reformed

the discipline of the Fleet. The Naval Discipline Act was passed in

1861; the New Naval Discipline Act in 1866. In 1871 a circular was

issued restricting the infliction of corporal punishment in peace time.

Flogging was virtually abolished in 1879. (Laird Clowes' _The Royal

Navy_, vol. 7.) Now we have proper discipline and no cat. In former

days, we had the cat but no proper discipline.

The men were granted very little leave. They were often on board for

months together. When they went ashore, there they remained until they

had spent their last penny; and when they came on board they were

either drunk or shamming drunk. For drunkenness was the fashion then,

just as sobriety is, happily, the fashion now. In order to be in the

mode, a man would actually feign drunkenness on coming aboard. In many

a night-watch after leave had been {18} given have I superintended the

hoisting in of drunken men, who were handed over to the care of their

messmates. To-day, an intoxicated man is not welcomed by his mess, his

comrades preferring that he should be put out of the way in cells. It

was impossible to keep liquor out of the ship. Men would bring it

aboard in little bladders concealed in their neckties. Excess was the

rule in many ships. On Christmas Day, for instance, it was not

advisable for an officer to go on the lower deck, which was given up to

license. I remember one man who ate and drank himself to death on

Christmas Day. There he lay, beside a gun, dead. Other cases of the

same kind occurred in other ships.

The rations were so meagre that hunger induced the men constantly to

chew tobacco. For the same reason I chewed tobacco myself as a boy.

Nor have I ever been able to understand how on such insufficient and

plain diet the men were so extraordinarily hardy. They used to go

aloft and remain aloft for hours, reefing sails, when a gale was

blowing with snow and sleet, clad only in flannel (vest) serge frock

and cloth or serge trousers, their heads, arms and lower part of their

legs bare. Then they would go below to find the decks awash in a foot

of water, the galley fire extinguished, nothing to eat until next meal

time but a biscuit, and nothing to drink but water.

Seamen often curse and swear when they are aloft furling or reefing

sails in a gale of wind; but I have never heard a sailor blaspheme on

these occasions. Their language aloft is merely a mode of speaking.

Although in the old days I have heard men blaspheme on deck, blasphemy

was never heard aloft in a gale. To be aloft in a whole gale or in a

hurricane impresses the mind with a sense of the almighty power of the

Deity, and the insignificance of man, that puny atom, compared with the

vast forces of the elements.

In later life, I once said to a young man whom I heard using

blasphemous language in a club:

"If you were up with me on the weather yard-arm of a topsail yard

reefing topsails in a whole gale, you would be {19} afraid to say what

you are saying now. You would see what a little puny devil a man is,

and although you might swear, you would be too great a coward to

blaspheme."

And I went on to ram the lesson home with some forcible expressions, a

method of reproof which amused the audience, but which effectually

silenced the blasphemer.

The fact is, there is a deep sense of religion in those who go down to

the sea in ships and do their business in the great waters. Every

minister of God, irrespective of the denomination to which he belongs,

is treated with respect. And a good chaplain, exercising tact and

knowing how to give advice, does invaluable service in a ship, and is a

great help in maintaining sound discipline, inasmuch as by virtue of

his position he can discover and remove little misunderstandings which

cause discontent and irritation.

The discomforts of the Old Navy are unknown to the new. The sanitary

appliances, for instance, were placed right forward in the bows, in the

open air. If the sea were rough they could not be used. On these

occasions, the state of the lower deck may with more discretion be

imagined than described. As the ship rolled, the water leaked in

through the rebated joints of the gun-ports, and as long as a gale

lasted the mess-decks were no better than cesspools. It is a curious

fact that in spite of all these things, the spirits of both officers

and men rose whenever it came on to blow; and the harder it blew, the

more cheery everyone became. The men sang most under stress of

weather; just as they will to-day under the same conditions or while

coaling ship. After a gale of wind, the whole ship's company turned-to

to clean the ship.

In those days the men used to dress in cloth trousers and tunic with

buttons. The men used to embroider their collars and their fronts with

most elaborate and beautiful designs. They had two hats, a black hat

and a white hat, which they made themselves. The black hats were made

of straw covered with duck and painted. Many a man has lost his life

aloft in trying to save his heavy black hat from being blown away.

{20}

The fashion of wearing hair on the face was to cultivate luxuriant

whiskers, and to "leave a gangway," which meant shaving upper lip, chin

and neck. Later, Mr. Childers introduced a new order: a man might

shave clean, or cultivate all growth, or leave a gangway as before, but

he might not wear a moustache only. The order, which applied to

officers and men (except the Royal Marines) is still in force.

Steam was never used except under dire necessity, or when entering

harbour, or when exercising steam tactics as a Fleet. The order to

raise steam cast a gloom over the entire ship. The chief engineer

laboured under considerable difficulties. He was constantly summoned

on deck to be forcibly condemned for "making too much smoke."

We were very particular about our gunnery in the _Marlborough_;

although at the same time gunnery was regarded as quite a secondary

art. It was considered that anyone could fire a gun, and that the

whole credit of successful gunnery depended upon the seamanship of the

sailors who brought the ship into the requisite position. The greater

number of the guns in the _Marlborough_ were the same as those used in

the time of Nelson, with their wooden trucks, handspikes, sponges,

rammers, worms and all gear complete. The _Marlborough_ was fitted

with a cupola for heating round-shot, which were carried red-hot to the

gun in an iron bucket. I know of no other ship which was thus equipped.

The gunnery lieutenant of the _Marlborough_, Charles Inglis, was gifted

with so great and splendid a voice, that, when he gave his orders from

the middle deck, they were heard at every gun in the ship. We used to

practise firing at a cliff in Malta Harbour, at a range of a hundred

yards or so. I used to be sent on shore to collect the round-shot and

bring them on board for future use. I remember that when, in the

course of a lecture delivered to my men on board the _Bulwark_ more

than forty years afterwards, I related the incident, I could see by

their faces that my audience did not believe me; though I showed to

them the shot-holes in the face of the cliff, which remain to this day.

{21} On gunnery days, all fires were extinguished, in case a spark

should ignite the loose powder spilt by the boys who brought the

cartridges to the guns, making a trail to the magazines. At "night

quarters," we were turned out of our hammocks, which were lashed up.

The mess-tables were triced up overhead. The lower-deck ports being

closed, there was no room to wield the wooden rammer; so that the

charges for the muzzle-loading guns were rammed home with rope rammers.

Before the order to fire was given, the ports were triced up. Upon one

occasion, so anxious was a bluejacket to be first in loading and

firing, that he cherished a charge hidden in his hammock since the last

night quarters, a period of nearly three months, and, firing before the

port was triced up, blew it into the next ship.

In those days, the master was responsible for the navigation of the

ship. He was an old, wily, experienced seaman, who had entered the

Service as master's mate. (When I was midshipman in the _Defence_, the

master's assistant was Richard W. Middleton, afterwards Captain

Middleton, chief organiser of the Conservative Central Office.) The

master laid the course and kept the reckoning. As steam replaced

sails, the office of master was transferred to the navigating officer,

a lieutenant who specialised in navigation. The transformation was

effected by the Order in Council of 26th June, 1867.

The sail-drill in the _Marlborough_ was a miracle of smartness and

speed. The spirit of emulation in the Fleet was furious. The fact

that a certain number of men used to be killed, seemed to quicken the

rivalry. Poor Inman, a midshipman in the _Marlborough_, a great friend

of mine, his foot slipping as he was running down from aloft, lost his

life. His death was a great shock to me.

The men would run aloft so quickly that their bare feet were nearly

indistinguishable. Topmasts and lower yard were sent down and sent up

at a pace which to-day is inconceivable.

I once saw the captain of the maintop hurl himself bodily down from the

cap upon a hand in the top who was slow in {22} obeying orders. That

reckless topman was Martin Schultz, a magnificent seaman, who was

entered by the captain direct from the Norwegian merchant service, in

which he had been a mate.

Mr. George Lewis, an old topmate of mine, who was one of the smartest

seamen on board H.M.S. _Marlborough_, has kindly sent to me the

following interesting details with regard to the times of sail-drill

and the risks incidental to the evolutions.

Time allowed Time in

by Admiral. _Marlborough_.

Min. Sec. Min. Sec.

Cross topgallant and royal yards 1 0 0 30

Down topgallant yards with royal

yards across 2 0 1 13

Up topgallant mast, cross upper

yards and loose sails 2 30 1 27

Shift topgallant masts from royal

yards across 7 0 5 40

Up topgallant mast and make all

plain sail 4 0 2 40

Up topgallant mast and make all

possible sail 6 0 3 0

Shift topsails from plainsail 6 0 4 50

In all boom boats from away aloft 7 0 6 0

Out all boom boats 7 0 5 40

Away lifeboat's crew 0 30 0 20

What Mr. Lewis means by "admiral's time," let him explain in his own

words. "When our admiral" (Sir William Martin) "was captain of the

_Prince Regent_, which was considered the smartest ship in the Navy, he

brought all her times of all her drills to the grand old _Marlborough_

along with him; and you know, my lord, that he allowed us six months to

get our good old ship in trim before we drilled along with the Fleet;

but we started to drill along with the Fleet after three months, and

were able to beat them all."

"Now, my lord," continues Mr. Lewis, "I come to one of the smartest

bits of our drill. When we were sailing in the Bay of Naples under all

possible sail, our captain wanted to let the world see what a smart

ship he had and what a smart lot of men was under him. From the order

'Shift topsails and courses make all possible sail again'"--which

really means that the masts were stripped of sails and again {23} all

sails were hoisted--"Admiral's time 13 minutes, our time 9 minutes 30

seconds. All went without a hitch, within 400 yards of our anchorage."

Mr. Lewis proceeds to recount a very daring act of his own. "We were

sending down upper yards and topgallant mast one evening, and it was my

duty to make fast the lizard. But I could only make fast one hitch, so

I slid down the mast rope and it turned me right over, but I managed to

catch the lizard and hold on to it, and so saved the mast from falling

on the hundred men that were in the gangway. No doubt if it had fallen

on them it would have killed a good many...."

What happened was that Lewis, in the tearing speed of the evolution,

not having time properly to secure the head of the mast as it was

coming down, held the fastening in place while clinging to the mast

rope and so came hurtling down with the mast. He adds that he "felt

very proud"--and well he might--when the captain "told the admiral on

Sunday that I was the smartest man aloft that he had ever seen during

his time in the Service." He had an even narrower escape. "I was at

the yard-arm when we had just crossed" (hoisted into place). "I was

pulling down the royal sheet and someone had let it go on deck, and I

fell backwards off the yard head-foremost. I had my arm through the

strop of the jewel block, and it held me, and dropped me in the topmast

rigging, and some of my topmates caught me."

Mr. Lewis himself was one of the smartest and quickest men aloft I have

ever seen during the whole of my career. The men of other ships used

to watch him going aloft. "My best time," he writes--and I can confirm

his statement "from ''way aloft' to the topgallant yard-arm was 13

seconds, which was never beaten." It was equalled, however, by Ninepin

Jones on the foretopgallant yard. The topgallant and royal yard men

started from the maintop, inside of the topmast rigging, at the order

'"way aloft." The height to be run from the top, inside of the topmast

rigging, {24} to the topgallant yard-arm was 64 feet. From the deck to

the maintop was 67 feet. At one time, the upper-yard men used to start

from the deck at the word "away aloft"; but the strain of going aloft

so high and at so great a speed injured their hearts and lungs, so that

they ascended first to the top, and there awaited the order "away

aloft."

The orders were therefore altered. They were: first, "midshipmen

aloft," when the midshipmen went aloft to the tops; second, "upper-yard

men aloft," when the upper-yard men went aloft to the tops, and one

midshipman went from the top to the masthead.

At the evening or morning evolution of sending down or up topgallant

masts and topgallant and royal yards, only the upper-yard men received

the order, "upper-yard men in the tops." The next order was "away

aloft," the upper-yard men going to the masthead.

At general drill, requiring lower- and topsail-yard men aloft, as well

as upper-yard men, the orders were: first, "midshipmen aloft"; then

"upper-yard men in the tops"; then, "away aloft," when the lower- and

topsail-yard men went aloft to the topsail and lower yards, and the

upper-yard men went aloft to the masthead.

These arrangements applied of course only to drill. In the event of a

squall or an emergency, the men went straight from deck to the

topgallant and royal yards.

Mr. Lewis's performance was a marvel. Writing to me fifty years

afterwards, he says:--"I think, my lord, it would take me a little

longer than 13 seconds now to get to the maintopgallant yard-arm and

run in again without holding on to anything, which I have done many

hundreds of times."

The men would constantly run thus along the yards--upon which the

jackstay is secured, to which again the sail is bent, so that the

footing is uneven--while the ship was rolling. Sometimes they would

fall, catching the yard, and so save themselves.

{25}

The foretopgallant-yard man, Jones, was as smart as Lewis, though he

never beat Lewis's record time. These two men were always six to ten

ratlines ahead of the other yard men, smart men as these were. One day

Jones lost a toe aloft. It was cut clean off by the fid of the

foretopgallant mast. But Jones continued his work as though nothing

had happened, until the drill was ended, when he hopped down to the

sick bay. He was as quick as ever after the accident; and the sailors

called him Ninepin Jack.

Another old topmate, Mr. S. D. Sharp, writing to me in 1909, when I

hauled down my flag, says:--"I was proud of the old _Marlborough_ and

her successor up the Straits, the _Victoria_. They were a noble sight

in full sail with a stiff breeze. No doubt the present fleet far

excels the old wooden walls, but the old wooden walls made sailors.

But sailors to-day have to stand aside for engine-men. Going round

Portsmouth dockyard some few years since, I was very sad to see the

noble old Marlborough a hulk" (she is now part of H.M.S. _Vernon_

Torpedo School), "laid aside, as I expect we all shall be in time" (Mr.

Sharp is only between seventy and eighty years of age). "I am doubtful

if there are many men in the Navy to-day who would stand bolt upright

upon the royal truck of a line-of-battle ship. I was one of those who

did so. Perhaps a foolish practice. But in those days fear never came

our way."

There speaks the Old Navy.

When a ship was paid off out of Malta Harbour, it was the custom that

there should be a man standing erect on each of the trucks, main, mizen

and fore. Many a time have I seen these men balanced more than 200

feet in the air, strip off their shirts and wave them. And once I saw

a man holding to the vane-spindle set in the truck, and I saw the

spindle break in his hand, and the man fall....

In the course of my experience, I have seen a man fall off the

main-royal yard, be caught in the belly of the mainsail slip down the

sail, catch the second reef-line with his {26} legs, and hold on until

a topmate ran aloft with a bowline and saved him.

I have seen a man fall off the maintopsail yard, and be caught in the

bight of the mainsheet in the main rigging, and run aloft again. And

this was at sea.

And several times I have seen a man fall from aloft to be dashed to

pieces upon the deck.

One of the closest escapes I have ever had occurred aloft in the

_Marlborough_. Being midshipman of the mizenroyal, I was furling the

sail, leaning forward upon the yard, gathering in the canvas, my feet

braced backward upon the footrope, when another midshipman, leaping

upon the footrope, accidentally knocked it from under my feet. For two

or three seconds I hung by the tips of my fingers, which were pressed

against the jackstay of the mizen-royal yard (the rope running taut

along the top of the yard to which the sail is bent) under which I

could not push my fingers, and then, at the last moment, I found the

footrope again. I have never forgotten my feelings, when I saw certain

death approaching while my feet were clawing about for the footrope.

When the hands were turned out to bathe, John Glanville, chief

boatswain's mate, would go up to the main-yard, stand with one foot on

the yard and the other on the preventive braceblock, and thence take a

header. The height was between 50 and 60 feet. Once he struck the sea

sideways, and was injured, so that he was never quite the same man

afterwards. But any other man would have been killed.

On another occasion, when the ship was hove-to for the hands to bathe,

the captain of the forecastle hauled the jib sheet aft, and the ship

began to glide away from the officers and men, myself among them, in

the water. Luckily all got on board again.

In the spirit of emulation, I fell into deserved disgrace at

sail-drill. In order to be first in the evolution, I secretly unbent

the foretopgallant sheet before the men arrived at the masthead.

Another midshipman did likewise at the {27} main. He was Arthur

Gresley, one of the smartest midshipmen aloft, and one of the best oars

in the Service, a splendid, cheery, chivalrous, noble-minded lad. We

were discovered; and, before all the men, we were ordered down on deck,

and were severely reprimanded for having endeavoured to gain an unfair

advantage, thereby staining the character of a ship justly noted for

her scrupulous fair play. I was taken out of my top, deprived of the

command of my boat, and disrated to cadet; and I had serious thoughts

of ending a ruined career by jumping overboard. I have never been so

genuinely unhappy before or since. But upon the following day I was

rated up again, and replaced in my top and my boat.

At first in the _Marlborough_ I was midshipman of the mizentop, and in

charge of the jolly-boat. The midshipman in charge of a boat learned

how to handle men. As he was away from the ship with them for long

periods, he was forced to understand them and to discover how to treat

them, thus learning the essential elements of administration. As all

my delight was in seamanship, I contrived to miss a good deal of

school. It was not difficult, when the naval instructor desired my

presence, to find a good reason for duty with my boat. I was

afterwards midshipman of the foretop, and when I was promoted from the

jolly-boat to the second pinnace, and to the command of the first

subdivision of the three-pounder division of field-guns for landing,

being placed in charge of one three-pounder gun, I thought I was an

emperor.

We used to land with the guns for field-battery exercises, setting

Marine sentries all round to prevent the men getting away to drink.

Returning on board, we used to race down the Calcara Hill at Malta to

the harbour. On one occasion, we were going so fast that we couldn't

turn the gun round the corner, and gun and all toppled over the wharf

into the water.....

I fell into another scrape in excess of zeal for marksmanship. We used

to practise aiming with rifles and {28} muzzle-loading Enfields, the

Service rifle of that day. We fired percussion caps without charges,

at little bull's-eyes painted on a strip of canvas, which was stretched

along the bulwarks below the hammock-nettings. The marksman stood on

the opposite side of the deck. Another midshipman and myself contrived

to fire a couple of caps as projectiles, which of course entered the

woodwork behind the targets, making dreadful holes. This appalling

desecration, involving the fitting in of new planking, was discovered

by the commander, Brandreth. His rage was justifiable. We were stood

on the bitts, and also mastheaded.

Captain Houston Stewart used to fish from the stern gallery when the

ship was at anchor. He tied his line to the rail, and went back into

his cabin, returning every few minutes to see if he had a fish.

Beneath the stern gallery opened the ports of the gunroom. With a

hooked stick I drew in his line, attached a red herring to the hook,

dropped it in again, and when the captain came to feel his line I

jerked it. He hauled it up in a hurry. Instantly after, he sent for

all the midshipmen; and, for some reason or other, he picked me out at

once.

"_You_ did that, Beresford," he said. "Most impertinent! Your leave

will be stopped."

Next day, however, he let me off.

Among the most delightful incidents were the boat-races. It was before

the time when fleet regattas were instituted. What happened was that a

boat would row round from their ship, to the ship they wished to race,

and toss oars under her bows in sign of a challenge. Then the boat's

crew of the challenged ship would practise with intense assiduity until

they felt they were fit to meet the enemy. The bitterest feeling was

aroused. Even the crews of "chummy ships" could not meet without

fighting. Hundreds of pounds were wagered on the event. In the

_Marlborough_ we had the cutter, _Black Bess_, specially built for

racing. Her stroke was John Glanville, the gigantic boatswain's mate,

who, when I joined the ship, told Dicky {29} Horne, the quartermaster,

that I was not likely to live long. He was the son of Ann Glanville,

the redoubtable West country woman who pulled stroke in the crew of

Saltash women that raced and beat a crew of Frenchmen at Cherbourg,

under the eyes of the Queen, the Prince Consort, the Emperor Napoleon

III., and the British and French navies. That notable victory was won

in 1858, when Queen Victoria, accompanied by the Prince Consort,

visited Napoleon III. The Queen and the Prince sailed in H.M.S.

_Victoria and Albert_, escorted by a squadron of men-of-war. They were

received by the French Navy. After the race, the Queen invited the

Saltash women on board the Royal yacht. Later in life, it was my

privilege to remove anxiety concerning her livelihood from fine old

Mrs. Glanville.

I steered the _Black Bess_, and we beat the two best boats in the

Fleet; and then we were challenged by the _St. George_. The _St.

George_ had taken the upper strake off her boat to make her row easier.

Now the stroke of the _St. George_ was George Glanville, brother to

John, and of the same formidable weight and size. The race was rowed

in Malta Harbour, over a 3½-mile course, and we were beaten. We could

not understand it; but beaten we were. That night George Glanville

came aboard the _Marlborough_ with a bag containing some £300 the money

put up to cover the stakes. George came to receive the stakes, and

according to custom he brought the cover-money to show that all was

above-board. To him came John his brother; and scarce a word was said

ere the two big men were fighting furiously, the bag of gold on the

deck beside them. They were torn apart with difficulty. Nor could the

respective crews be landed together for a long time afterwards. Next

year we beat the _St. George_.

When we lay in Corfu Harbour, the _Marlborough_ was challenged by a

crew of artillerymen. It was I think on this occasion that John

Glanville headed a deputation to me, asking me to be the coxswain.

{30}

"Well, sir," he said, "it's like this here, sir, if you'll pardon me.

Yew be young-like, and what we was thinking was whether you have the

power of language that du be required."

I said I would do my best. I did. I astonished myself. As for the

artillerymen, they rowed themselves right under. There was a little

seaway, and they rowed the boat under and there they were struggling in

the water.

"What! Yew bain't never going to pick 'em up?" cried John Glanville,

in the heat of his excitement.

I also rowed bow-oar in the officers' boat, the second cutter. I was

young and small, but I had great staying power. I could go on rowing

for ever.

When my leave was stopped--which did occur occasionally--I had a system

by means of which I went ashore at night. I lashed a hammock-lashing

round the port stern-ring, crawled out of the stern port, lowered

myself to the water, and swam to a shore boat, waiting for me by

arrangement. Maltese boats are partly covered in, and I dressed in a

spare suit of clothes. On one occasion, upon landing, I nearly--but

not quite--ran into the arms of the commander.

One night I went ashore, taking a painter and two men. We lowered the

painter over the edge of the cliff, and he inscribed on the cliff in

immense letters, "'Marlborough,' Star of the Mediterranean." Next

morning the whole Fleet, not without emotion, beheld the legend.

Another brilliant wit went ashore on the following night and altered

the word "Star" into "Turtle." My reply was the addition "Until the

'Queen' comes out." After this exploit I was sent ashore to clean the

cliff.

There were numerous horses in Malta, and the midshipmen and bluejackets

used to hire them for half-a-crown a day. When the horses had had

enough of their riders, they used to gallop down to the Florian Gate,

kick them off, and return to their stable. I heard one sailor remark

to another, {31} who, sticking to his horse, was bounding up and down

in his saddle:

"Get off that there 'orse, Jack, 'e's a beast!"

"He aint no beast at all," retorted Jack. '"E's the cleverest 'orse I

ever see. He chucks me up and he catches me, he chucks me up and he

catches me--why, 'e's only missed me three times in a hour!"

There used to be very bad feeling between English and Maltese. Both

sailors and soldiers frequently lost their lives on shore. The seamen

used to be stabbed, and the soldiers were sometimes thrown over the

fortifications at night. I have seen a dead soldier lying on the rocks

where he was thrown. A party of _Marlborough_ officers drove out in

"go-carts" (two-wheeled vehicles in which passengers lay on cushions)

to Civita Vecchia, to hear the celebrated Mass on New Year's Eve. The

Cathedral was the richest church in Europe until Napoleon confiscated

its treasure. Somehow or other, there was a row, and we were fighting

fiercely with a crowd of Maltese. A clerk of our party, a very stout

person, was stabbed in the belly, so that his entrails protruded. We

got him away, laid him in a go-cart, drove back to Malta, a two-hours'

drive, and put him on board, and he recovered.

At nine o'clock p.m. the seniors in the gunroom stuck a fork in the

beam overhead, the signal for the youngsters to leave their elders in

peace--too often to drink. Sobriety--to put it delicately--was not

reckoned a virtue. I remember visiting a ship at Bermuda (never mind

her name) to find every member of the mess intoxicated. Two were

suffering from delirium tremens; and one of them was picking the bodies

of imaginary rats from the floor with a stick, His case was worse than

that of the eminent member of a certain club in London, who, when a

real rat ran across the carpet, looked solemnly round upon the

expectant faces of his friends, and said, "Aha! You thought I saw a

rat. _But I didn't!_"

There was no rank of sub-lieutenant, the corresponding {32} grade being

a "mate." Many of the mates were men of thirty or more, who had never

gained promotion and who never would gain it. I remember an old mate

who used to earn his living by rowing a wherry in Portsmouth Harbour.

He was then (1862) on half-pay, with seniority of 1820. His name was

Peter B. Stagg, as you may see in the Navy Lists of the period. In the

Navy List of 1862, Stagg is rated sub-lieutenant, the rank of mate

having been abolished in the previous year.

Wisdom spoken by babes was not approved in the _Marlborough_. I

ventured to remark a thing I had observed, which was that the masts of

men-of-war were out of proportion tall as compared with the sails they

carried; or, in technical language, that the masts were very taunt,

whereas the sails were not proportionately square. I said that the

masts ought to be lower and the sails squarer, thus increasing the

sailing power.

"D--n it! Listen to this youngster laying down the law as if he knew

better than Nelson!" cried an old mate. I was instantly sentenced to

be cobbed; and received twelve strokes with a dirk scabbard.

It was true that the rig had been inherited from the men of Nelson's

day; but it was not true that I had pretended to know better than the

late admiral; for, since his death, the ships had become longer; so

that, whereas in Nelson's time the masts, being closer together, were

made taller, with relatively narrow sails, in order that in going about

the yards should not lock, in my time the reason for the disproportion

had ceased to exist. Very shortly after I had been beaten for the

impiety of thinking for myself, the merchant clippers adopted the very

plan I had in mind, lowering masts and increasing the size of sails and

thereby gaining a speed which was unrivalled.

I visited Corfu during my time in the _Marlborough_ when that island,

together with the rest of the Ionian Islands--Cephalonia, Zante,

Ithaca, Santa Maura, Cerigo and Paxo--was an independent State under

the protection of Great {33} Britain. In the following year, 1864, the

Islands were annexed to Greece. When the Great Powers agreed that a

sovereign should be nominated to reign over Greece, it was suggested

that, as the integrity of his kingdom could not be guaranteed, he

should be provided with a place of refuge in case of trouble. So at

least ran the talk at the time. In any case, Great Britain was induced

to relinquish these magnificent Islands, which she had won from the

French in 1809. Their loss was greatly deplored by the Navy at the

time; for Corfu has one of the finest harbours in the world; a harbour

in which a whole fleet can be manoeuvred. The Islands, moreover, had

magnificent roads, and were furnished with barracks, and in all

respects formed an invaluable naval base. Prince William of

Schleswig-Holstein was proclaimed King George I of Greece on 30th

March, 1863. The late King was a most admirable sovereign, whose

personal friendship I was privileged to enjoy. When I was in Corfu

there was a story current to the effect that when Mr. Gladstone came to

the Islands on his mission of inquiry in 1858, he delivered a superb

oration in the Greek tongue. He was, of course, an excellent scholar

in ancient Greek; but modern Greek differs in pronunciation and other

respects. When he had finished, the official in attendance, while

complimenting him upon his eloquence, observed what a pity it was that

Mr. Gladstone delivered his speech in the English language.

As I am writing, it is the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of the

late King Edward with Queen Alexandra, who is still spared to us. I

remember that on the 10th March, 1863, the _Marlborough_ was

illuminated with a dainty splendour I have never seen surpassed, even

in these days of electricity. Every port-hole was framed in sixteen

little Maltese glass lamps; the rails and yards were set with them; so

that, ports being triced up, and the ship being lit within, she was as

though wrought in a glow of mellow fire.

Early in the year 1863 I was ordered home, to my great grief. I was

discharged to the _Hibernia_ stationed in Malta {34} Harbour, to await

the homeward bound P. and O. mail steamer. Many years afterwards, when

commanding the _Undaunted_, I was tried by court-martial in the old

_Hibernia_ for running my ship ashore and was acquitted of all blame.

While waiting in the _Hibernia_ for a passage, I learned that the

_Marlborough_ had gone to the rescue of a Turkish liner, carrying

troops, which had run aground on the Filfola rocks, twelve or fifteen

miles by sea from Malta Harbour. I was so eager to see my old ship

again, that I hired a duck-punt and pulled all by myself to the Filfola

rocks. Fortunately the sea was calm, or I must have been drowned. I

found a party from the _Marlborough_ rolling the Turkish vessel to get

her off. Each British sailor took a Turkish sailor by the scruff of

his neck, and ran with him from side to side of the ship, until she

rolled herself into deep water. I had a delightful dinner on board the

_Marlborough_ and then I pulled all the way back in the dark to the

_Hibernia_. I was sad indeed that my time in the _Marlborough_ was

ended; for, in the words of George Lewis, my old topmate, "the dear old

_Marlborough_ was the smartest and happiest ship that ever floated."

I took passage home in the mail steamer, and was appointed midshipman

to the _Defence_ by Rear-Admiral Charles Eden, C.B., my "sea-daddy."

He very kindly said he wished me to gain experience of one of the new

iron ships.

NOTE

_The Old Navy_.--The _Marlborough_ was a survival of the Old Navy, in

whose traditions Lord Charles Beresford and his contemporaries were

nurtured. It was a hard-fisted, free-living, implacable, tragic,

jovial, splendid Service; it was England at her valorous best.

The present generation hardly realises that the naval cadets, who, like

Lord Charles Beresford, entered the Service in the mid-nineteenth

century, were taught their business by the men who had served with

Nelson. The admirals and old seamen of fifty years' service who are

alive to-day, therefore represent the direct link between Nelson's time

and our {35} own. When they entered the Navy, many of the admirals and

the elder seamen had actually fought under Nelson, and the Service was

in all essentials what it was at Trafalgar. Admiral of the Fleet Sir

Edward Seymour relates (in _My Naval Career_) that as a cadet he often

talked with Master-Commander G. Allen, who saw Nelson embark from the

sally-port at Portsmouth for Trafalgar.

The change from sails to steam was just beginning. Never again will

the Royal Navy be administered by men who were brought up in that stern

school, which produced a type of men unique in history.

The time-honoured divisions of the Fleet into Red, White and Blue were

still in use while Lord Charles Beresford was a midshipman. They were

abolished by an Order in Council of 9th July, 1864.

In the year 1858-9 there was only one admiral of the Fleet, Sir John

West, K.C.B. He entered the Navy in 1788, as a "first-class

Volunteer," as a naval cadet was then called. West served on the coast

of Guinea, in the West Indies, Newfoundland and the Channel in the

_Pomona_. He was midshipman in the _Salisbury_, 50, and the _London_,

98, and was in the _Hebe_, Captain Alexander Hood. He was lieutenant

in the _Royal George_, Captain Domett. He was present at the action of

Île de Groix of the 23rd June, 1795, under Lord Bridport. He was

promoted to captain in 1796. In 1807, commanding the _Excellent_, 74,

he was engaged off Catalonia, helping the Spaniards to defend the

citadel of Rosas, which was besieged by 5000 French. He was promoted

to rear-admiral in 1819, and to admiral of the White in 1841.

Here was an instance of an officer becoming a captain at the age of 22,

after no more than eight years' service; remaining a captain for 23

years; and a rear-admiral for 22 years; and in 1859 he was still alive

as an admiral of the Fleet, being then 85 years of age.

The Board of Admiralty in 1858-9 consisted of: the Right Hon. Sir John

Somerset Pakington, Bart., M.P.; Vice-Admiral William Fanshawe Martin,

who entered the {36} Navy in 1814; Vice-Admiral the Hon. Sir Richard

Saunders Dundas, K.C.B., who entered the Royal Naval College in 1814;

Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, K.C.B., who entered the Royal Naval

College in 1817; and the Right Hon. Lord Loraine, M.P.

A very brief survey of the services of the admirals of the Red, White

and Blue shows that they derived directly from the French wars and the

time of Nelson.

Admiral of the Red Sir William Hall Gage, G.C.H., had been

acting-lieutenant of the _Minerva_, when she bore the broad pennant of

Commodore Nelson; had fought in the battle of St. Vincent under Sir

John Jervis; and commanded the _Indus_ under Sir Edward Pellew in the

action off Toulon of 13th February, 1814.

Admiral of the Red Sir Edward Durnford King, K.G.H., in command of the

_Endymion_, watched 26 sail of the line and nine frigates put into

Cadiz on 16th April, 1805, and carried the information to Vice-Admiral

Collingwood, who was cruising off Gibraltar with four ships. He had

the ill-luck to be detailed for special service at Gibraltar on

Trafalgar Day.

Admiral Sir George Mundy, K.C.B., fought in the battles of St. Vincent

and of the Nile, and had a deal of other distinguished fighting service

in his record.

Then there was Admiral of the Red the Right Hon. Thomas, Earl of

Dundonald, G.C.B., whose skill in privateering amounted to genius. As

Lord Cochrane, commanding in 1800 the _Speedy_ sloop, 14 guns and 54

men, he captured in one year and two months 33 vessels containing 128

guns and 533 men. Among other spirited exploits, he boarded and

carried the Spaniard _El Gamo_, 32 guns, 319 men. Falling under the

displeasure of the politicians, his rank and his seat in Parliament

were forfeited. In 1818, he accepted the chief command of the Chilian

Navy, then of the Brazilian Navy, and then entered the Greek naval

service. King William the Fourth upon his succession reinstated

Dundonald in his rank in the Royal Navy.

Admiral of the Red Sir William Parker, Bart, G.C.B., {37} went with

Nelson in pursuit of the French Fleet to the West Indies and back in

1805.

Admiral of the White Sir Lucius Curtis, Bart, C.B., served in the

Mediterranean in 1804 and 1805.

Admiral of the White Sir John Louis, Bart., served in the Mediterranean

in 1804.

Admiral of the White John Ayscough was flag-lieutenant in the _Queen

Charlotte_, Lord Rowe's flagship, in the Channel in 1797; he afterwards

served with distinction in Holland, Quiberon, Cadiz, Egypt, the West

Indies; and, with two frigates and some sloops, protected Sicily

against the invasion of Joachim Murat.

Admiral of the Blue Sir Edward Chetham Strode, K.C.B., K.C.H., served

under Lord Hood in the _Victory_ in the Mediterranean, taking part in

the evacuation of Toulon, in the sieges of St. Fiorenza, Bastia and

Calvi, in Corsica. In August, 1794, he was lieutenant in the

_Agamemnon_, commanded by Nelson. He performed much distinguished

service until, in 1841, he attained flag rank and went on half-pay.

Admiral of the Blue William Bowles, C.B., entered the Navy in 1796, was

employed in the Channel and off Cadiz, in the North Sea, West Indies,

and North American station. In command of the _Zebra_ bomb, he went

with Lord Gambier to Copenhagen. In 1813, and again in 1816, he

performed excellent service in protecting British trade in Rio la Plata

and the neighbouring coasts.

Admiral of the Blue James Whitley Deans Dundas, C.B., entered the Navy

in 1799, took part in the blockade of Alexandria in 1800, and served

with distinction in the North Sea, Baltic and Mediterranean.

Admiral of the Blue Henry Hope, C.B., took part in the blockade of

Alexandria in 1800, and served in the Mediterranean.

Admiral of the Blue the Hon. Sir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew

performed long and gallant fighting services in the Dutch East Indies.

Admiral of the Blue Sir Charles Napier, K.C.B., etc. etc., {38} had a

most distinguished fighting record in the West Indies and on the coast

of Syria. In 1841 he represented Marylebone in Parliament, in which

respect, as in others, his career resembled that of Lord Charles

Beresford.

In 1854, Sir Charles Napier was appointed to the command of the great

fleet which sailed for the Baltic in the spring of that year. Admiral

Penrose Fitzgerald, who received his nomination to the Navy from Sir

Charles Napier, and who served in the second Baltic expedition of the

following year, makes some instructive observations in respect of the

treatment of Sir Charles Napier by the authorities.

"... The issue was really decided in the Black Sea, and both Baltic

expeditions were, practically speaking, failures. The admirals were

told by the Government that they were not to attack stone forts with

their wooden ships, and were then censured by the same Government for

doing nothing, when there was really nothing else to do. Sir Charles

Napier, who commanded the British Baltic fleet in the summer of 1854,

was shamefully treated by the politicians, and, being a hot tempered

old gentleman, he couldn't stand it. He got into Parliament as member

for Southwark and gave them back as good as they gave.... It was the

old story--the politicians shunting the blame on to the soldiers or the

sailors when they fail to achieve such success as is expected of them,

but quite ready to take credit to themselves for their magnificent

strategy and foresight when it turns out the other way.... When Sir

Charles was peremptorily ordered to haul down his flag, as a punishment

for not disobeying orders, he was superseded in command by Admiral

Dundas, who had been a Lord of the Admiralty in 1854...."

Sir Charles Napier requested the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, to

grant an inquiry into his case. He then addressed the following letter

to Lord Palmerston:--"I sent your Lordship my case, which I requested

you to lay before the Cabinet, but you have not favoured me with a

reply. I am aware of the various occupations of your Lordship, but

{39} still there ought to be some consideration for an old officer who

has served his country faithfully, and who has held an important

command. Had my papers been examined by your Cabinet, and justice

done, instead of dismissing me, and appointing one of the Lords of the

Admiralty my successor, you would have dismissed Sir James Graham and

his Admiralty, for treachery to me." (_Life of Sir Charles Napier_, by

General Elers Napier. Quoted by Admiral Penrose Fitzgerald, in

_Memories of the Sea_.)

Sir Charles Napier, remarks Admiral Fitzgerald, "thus gave his wary

enemies a chance of accusing him of disrespect towards those in

authority."

Admiral of the Blue Phipps Hornby, C.B., was promoted acting-lieutenant

from the _Victory_, flagship of Lord Nelson, to the _Excellent_, 74.

As captain of the _Volage_, 22, he received a gold medal from the

Admiralty for gallant conduct in the action off Lissa of March, 1811,

when a British squadron of 156 guns and 859 men defeated after six

hours' action a Franco-Venetian force of 284 guns and 2655 men.

Such is the tale of the admirals of the Red, White and Blue in the year

1858-9. Several of them had actually served in Nelson's ships; the

most of them had served under Nelson's command, when Lord Charles

Beresford joined the Navy.

In the same year, the number of officers receiving pensions for wounds

on service was 104.

Admirals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Vice-admirals . . . . . . . . . . 10

Rear-admirals . . . . . . . . . . 4

Captains . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Commanders . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Lieutenants . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Masters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Surgeons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Mates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Second masters . . . . . . . . . . 1

Paymasters . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

---

104

===

{40}

The total number of men in the Royal Navy in 1858-9 was 53,700: 38,700

seamen, 15,000 Marines. In 1912-13, the total number was 137,500:

118,700 seamen, 15,800 Marines. In 1810, the number of seamen and

Marines was 145,000: 113,600 seamen, 31,400 Marines.

{41}