^9VS



'K^ } y, !(■






O.i' 1])(^



:X^R"



i/-




M






•4 y



-■^-^^^gfl




Ex l.ihrit

c K. 0(;di:n




THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES



2 Lu< (



h>v^!^ efi^



4^



U^i



^ '^^.



f'i\yi ..' fv. ,,



' ^*'l ^x



L.




TH1-:



LAST FOUR DAYS



(•F TIIK



" EURYDICE."



By CAPTAIN E. H. VEMEY, R.N.




The Profits of thiN I'lihlication will be devoted to the Eiiryiiice Fund.

1878.
PORTSMOUTH.

GRIFP^IN & CO., 2, THE HARD.

(I'Hblishers by Af'f-ointnifnt to H.R.H. The Duke ^r F.cliuhur /:.)

LoHDOK Agents:— SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO.



VA

V R E FACE.

The few known details of the appalling catastrophe
whicli has overtaken a P.ritish Frigate leave many blanks in
the mind of the general reader ; to those who know the
daily life and rontine of a Man-of-war the pictinc is more
vivid.

The probable events of that sad Sunday, March 24,

1S78, and of the three preceding days are here briefly

sketched.

EDMUND H. VERXEY,

Captain, R.N.



Rhiaxv.\, B.angor,

March., 1S78.



1 (i7F,'?n:



" How gloriously her gallant course she goes
Her while wings flying never from her foes —
She walks the waters like a thing of life,
And seems to dare the elements to strife.
Who would not brave the battle-fire, the wreck.
To move, the monarch, of her peopleil deck." —

liyroHi Certair.



THE STORY OF THE
"EURYDICE."



THE " EUR\'1)ICI-:" was an uld 26-gun
frigate of 921 tons; what used derisi-
vely to be termed a " jackass-fri^-ate :"
she was the smallest class of frigate in the
Navy, and not much larger than the largest
class of brigs, but she had the advantage of
carrying a heavier armament, with better accom-
modation for the officers and crew. She
carried, therefore, two tiers of guns, one on
the upper deck, and one on the main deck,
while the lower deck was reserved for the
quarters of the crew. A frigate's main deck



6 The "Euryilice" Commissioned.



is a \vatcr-ti<;ht deck, comnuiiiicatiiv^^ with tlu-
lower deck only by hatchways in the middle of
the siiip. It is very usual to carry the main
deck ports open at sea in moderate weather,
because if she does ship one or two seas, no
harm is done be)'ond wettini^^ the deck ; the
water cannot i^^et below, as there are hiyh
coamings round the hatchways, and it only
runs off harmlessly lhrouL;h tlu- lee scuppers.
Indeed, frigates are built on purpose to fight
th(.'ir main deck guns, and carry their main
deck ports open at sea in all reasonably tmr
weather.

She was a peculiarly handy ship lor naviga-
ting^ in narrow waters — more bouyant than a
brig, and safer, from her higher freeboard ; her
main deck [)orts were about live leet above the
water line ; her draught of water at this time-
was i() feet inches, rathc;r more than it had
had been formerly; her twenty-si.\ old-fashionetl
^runs had been removed, and she carried four
64-pr. guns of a modern pattern.



Training Ship for Seamen.



WIkmi it was decided l)y tlic Admiraltv to
exercise in rniinini^-ships the ordinary seamen
attached to the Reserves in the home ports, the
Hurydicc was fitted out for that purpose, and
commissioned by Captain Hare, February 7th,
1S77.

The officers for this ship were specially
selected. Captain Marcus Augustus Stanley
Hare was born in 1S36, and entered the navy
in 1849. Previous to his promotion to Lieu-
tenant in 1857, he served in the Valorous^
Captain Claude H. M. liuckle. cm;., in the
Mediterranean. As Lieutenant he served in
the Calcuda, 84, on the China station, until
transferred in 1859 to the Chesapeake, "^i, o\\
the same station, in which ship he remained
lor two years. He then served in the
Chanticleer, 17, attached to the Channel
Squadron until the end of 1862, when he was
removed to the Trafalgar, 70, in the Mediter-
ranean ; after remaining in her for two years he
was appointed to the St. George, 72, Coastguard



8 Wise selection of the Captaiu.



sliip at Portland, whence he was promoted to
tlic rank of Coniniander, January ist, 1867.
He was Commander of the Roya/ Oak, 2^, Iron-
clad, in the Mediterranean, until January, 1872 ;
afterwards he commanded the Jhscawcn, 20,
trainin^-sliij) for boys at Portland, where he
shewed special tact and ability in dealing^ with
young sailors, and bringing them into shape ;
antl on February 13th, 1873, he was promoted
to the rank of Captain. I'Vom this short
statement it will be seen that he had been
constantly ai sea or on active service, lie
was known among his brother officers as a
painstaking and careful seaman, well skilled in
handling ships, and had received four medals
for his war services.

I*"rom many applicants he was chosen, out of
his turn, for this command ; but even the dis-
appointed ones admitted th.it a wise selection
had been made, and that among the junior
captains no fitter man could have been found
for so tlesirable and responsible a command.



OflScers of the "Eurydice."



His birth imposed on him a noble Hfc, for his
father before him had been a (gallant seaman,
and his mother was one of the rac(; of Stanley's
that lias given to the country so many heroes
and statesmen.

The First Lieutenant was an officer chosen
with equal care. Lieutenant Francis Hope
Tabor, served as Sub-lieutenant in th^AImoiatir,
34, iron-clad, Captain James G. Goodenough,
flag-ship in the Channel Squadron, until pro-
moted to be Lieutenant on May 19th, 1870.
As Lieutenant he served in the Narcissus^
28, wooden screw frigate. Captain William
Codrington, flag-ship successively of Rear-
Admirals F, Beauchamp P. Seymour, c.b., and
Frederick A. Campbell, with the Flying
Squadron, in 1870-71 and '72. At the end of
the latter year, he was appointed First Lieu-
tenant of the Crniscj', 5, Commander Alfred
T. Dale, in the Mediterranean, where he
remained for four years. The Cruiser was a
sail i no- corvette attached to the Mediterranean



10 A Smart Crew.



Fleet, as a iraiiiinL; sliip for youriL; officers and
seamen. aiiJ more than one captain in ihal lleet
had noteil Mr. Tabor as a young lieutenant of
no ordinar) promise. The special knowledge
and experience he had gained in the Ci'uisir,
while serving under one of our smartest
Captains, ami the liigh prolcssional reputation
he had made for himself, at once marketl him
out as the best man that couKl be found for the
more responsible post of First Lieutenant of the
Ejirydicc.

The other Lieutenants were all selected tor
their promise as good officers. Her crew
consisted of a small permanent complement of
experienced subordinate and petty otficers to
act as instructors, and the number was com-
pleted by as many ordinary seamen under
training as there was room lor. .Mtogether
she carried upwards of three hundred souls,
instead of the two luiiuired and iweiU\-tive
which luid been her complement in Ioiiik r com-
missions. She carried the same ballast as



Cruising in the Chaunel. 11



formerly, and a rather larger quantity of fresh
water for the use of the crew ; before she was
put in commission her stability was tested, and
found to be greatly improved since her last
service.

During the summer of 1877 the Eitiydice
was constantly seen cruising in the British
Channel, running through the Needles, or
passing through Spithead, always the picture
of a man-of-war, and handled in a seaman-like
manner.

In November she was sent on a cruise all
round the West Indies, and on March 6th left
Bermuda to return home with her now well-
trained crew, all in their early prime, the
choicest flower of the British Navy. Eurydicc
was to them a name of hope and promise : who
could have imagined that, {like her classic
namesake) she was to be lost when at the point
of being restored to home and country ?



THURSDAY.



oh ! what < .ui sanitify the joys of home

Like Hope'> gay glance from ocean's troubled form?"—

Syron'i C*rsair.



THURSDAY.



TI lURSDAY on board a man-of-war is some-
times called rope-yarn Sunday ; it is a day
when the work for the men is made as
light as possible. In the afternoon the Boats-
wain pipes "Hands mak(* and mend clothes !"
the men get out tlu-ir clothes and overhaul
them.

Part of the instruclion ot Ixn's and \x)uno'
seamen is tailoring, and almost every man can
make his own clothes. Of course there are
some who have a heaven-born genius for
cutting out. and these may be seen measuring
their shipmates with a knife-lanyard, according
to the mysterious traditions handetl down from
Benbow's time, which oive the distinctive cut



16 Seamen Tailors.

that marks the sailors trousers, — a i^arment
that cannot be produced on dvy l.md. The
edge of the cloth is l.iid i)arallel to a seam in
the deck ; the measurements taken with the
knife-lanyard are at once transferred to it, and
marked thereon with a i)iece of pipe-clay,
borrowed from the marines mess ; then the
bulging parts of the luiman form divine, are
marked out as a segment of a circle described
from a centre, and at a radius known only to
the initiated ; for this is the most important
part of all ; a sailor cannot wear braces, and
the fit round the hips is that which everything
hangs on, so on this is staked the reputation of
the cutter out. When the scissors come into
play, they must deftly follow the lines chalked out
for them, that the scraps may come in to make
a cloth cap.

A great deal of work can be put into a
pair of No. i cloth trousers, or a new serge
frock ; cunning embroidery rountl the pocket-
holes, and such work as is c.illed "clocks"



Artists at Work. 17



when applied to a hull's slocking. Litlle stars
are sometimes worked rouiul the eylet-holes
for tying- in the trousers behind. The herring-
bone sewing- on a serge frock may have much
mind thrown into it, but no such fancy work
may be allowed to deviate from tht; strict
uniform.

On a Thursday afternoon you may see an
artist at -work on the human skin ; a young
fellow with his sleeve turned up sits in front of
the operator, who is armed with a bunch of
needles tied to a short stick, and has his two
tins of colours, Indian ink and vermillion.
When Indian ink is not attainable, a mixture
of gunpowder and soot with oil is considered
very choice. And thus a man is tattooed with
an indelible mark, — perhaps his initials, or
those of the girl he loved last, or it may be a
ship in full sail, or a Burmese demon, and what-
ever he thinks suited to his own peculiar style
of beauty.

Besides his bag of clothes, every seaman has



18 Overhauling Ditty Boxes.



his "ditty-box," — a box something Hkc: a small
\vritini;-tlcsk. lie carries ihc key on his knife-
lanyard, and the box itself" is kejjt fastened up
between the beams over his mess. As the
Enorlishman's house is his castle, so the seaman's
ditty-box may be said to be /i/s castle ; it
is the only place he has under lock and key ;
there he keeps his needles and thread, his
buttons, his money and his letters, and the
photograph of his mother and sister, or maybe
of a dearer friend still ; all his littlt; home
relics, and any small gifts he i.s bringing home
from foreign ports. A sailor loves to overhaul
his ditty-box.

On Thursdax the- 21st, we ma\' be sure that
many a ditty box was overhauled on board the
Jiurydiic. In a sunny corner, under the shelter
of the weather gun whale, the young seaman
studied again the well-thumbed photograph of
the loving face that he thought would soon so
proudly and so tenderly welcome him home, or
again read for the last time such sweet gentle



Preparing Reports. 19

words as he hoped soon to heir in the well-
remembered tones. And when four o'clock
came, and the decks had to be cleared
up, the forecastle sweeper c^'ave him a
friendly prod with his broom, as he hurried all
his little <^oods into their box, and broke the
string of the bead necklace from Barbadoes.
As the lock clicked he thought how joyously he
would re-open it next week, and shew to the
dear circle at home the little treasures he had
gathered in the Indies.

That Thursday was a busy day with the
officers too ; the paymaster and his clerks were
preparing the demands for fresh stores and
provisions, and making out the papers for all the
smart young fellows to be drifted off to iron-
clads ; for, had they not heard of the warlike
preparations at home, and was not the
Admiralty, and indeed the whole country
counting on the return of the choice three
hundred ? The doctors were preparing their
medical reports to show how the health of the



20 Preparing for Admiral's Inspection.



crew h;ul prosjxTcd in their cruise; the iiavi
gatinL,r lieutenant was lookini^^ out the charts of
the Chops of the Channel, and ajj^ain refreshing
his memory from the sailing directions, thct he
might at once readily recognize any land or
lighthouse.

Thurstla)- afternoon is the first lieutenant's
holiday, but he would very likely use it to go
over the watch-hill again, and see that every
station was filletl up, and every i)reparation
made for the Admiral's insjiection, which would
be sure to take place on the Monday or the
Tuesda}-. And a strict ins{)ection it would be,
and ought to be ; the Eurydicc was com-
missioned to show these young seamen the
highest pitch of perfection and discii)line to
which a British frigate could be wrought, antl
nothing less would satisfy that captain or his
officers.

Thursday is the guest-night in a ward
room mess ; one or two of the junior ofticers
were dining there ; the stewarel was a trifle



The Captain's Journal. 21

reckless with his good things, for there was a
fair wind, and the voyage was nearly ovcrr,
and there was plenty more to be had at
Portsmouth. The ward-room servants were
getting ready the lists of clothes to be sent
to the wash as soon as the anchor should
be let go. The captain added another

paragraph to his report of proceedings, and
thanked God that no accident or mishap had
marred the success of this lengthened cruise so
nearly ended.



FRIDAY.



Kcef topsails, reef ! the nuistcr calls again.
'I'hr halyiirds and lop-bow-iiiics soon are gone.
To clue-lines and reef-tackles next they run :
The shivering sails descend : the yards are square.
Then quick aloft the ready crew repair :
The weather earings and the lee they passed,
The reefs enrotl'd, and every point made fast."

Fiilioner's Ship^.t-rfck.



FRIDAY



FRIDAY is the day specially devoted to
great gun exercises. As soon as morning
prayers are over the bugle sounds to
" Quarters for Exercise," and every preparation
is made for battle. The ma^razines and shell-
room are opened, dummy cartridges are passed
up, and all the motions are gone through as if
in time of action. The guns are loaded and
run out, and trained in such directions as may
be ordered. The men are armed with their
rifles, cutlasses, boarding-pikes and pistols,
and exercised in the defence of their own ship,
as well as in preparations for boarding an
enemy. On this Friday it was not so much
great quickness that was aimed at as accuracy
of detail. No doubt but the mm would work
quickly enough and toss their heavy 64-pr. guns



26 Sail Drill.

about like pl.i) lhinL;^^ under the cyr ot the
Inspcctini^ Officer; hut each one must know
and understand the detail of his duties, that no
question could lake him aback, and no chanj^e
to another number at the L;un find him un-
prepared. And the exercise of manning- and
armini^ the boats was gone through with every
preparation for sending them away at the
shortest notice, by day or by night. The men
were exercised at Fire-quarters, that they
might be ready to co[)e with what is the
deadliest foe on board a ship.

In the afternoon they were exercised at sail
drill, a drill so important that it forms part
of the routine of every day when weather
permits.

This drill consists in setting and in taking
in as rapidly as possible every sail that the ship
can carry ; a vessel may be seen with every
possible sail set alow and aloft, and in three or
four minutes all will be taken in except the
close-reefed topsails that would be carried in
a '^de of wind : or a sail is supjiosed to be



Perfect Organization. 27

split, and it is at once furled, sent down, and
replaced by a new one from the sail-room ; or
a spar is supposed to be sprung, when all sail
on it must immediately be taken in, the
yards on that mast must be sent down, the
damaged mast must be replact:d by a sound
one, the yards are again sent up, and the sails
set as before.

Or sometimes the life-buoy is let go as if a
man had fallen overboard ; then the sail must
be reduced, the ship rounded to, and a boat
lowered to pick up the life-buoy. These
exercises were of the highest importance on
board the Eurydicc ; she was specially com-
missioned to teach to these young seamen those
drills and evolutions, which even in a masted
ironclad can be but imperfectly carried out.

For a ship to excel in exercises aloft the
highest degree of organization is required ; thr
intricate tracery of ropes whose various pur-
poses are to the landsmen so hopelessly con
fusing, is to the sailor a beautiful and perfectly
adapted machine for controlling the spars and



28 Efficieucy in S<ail Drill.

sails whicli L;ivc life and motion lo his ship, as
his own sinews and muscles give motion to his
body. As our muscles are directed by reason
and instinct, so must these ropes be manned by
men familiar with the objects they serve. If a
sail is to be taken in men are stationed to let
go some ropes and to haul on others; the oldest
and most experienced men are stationed hy the
ropes to be let go ; those arc the most
important. If the man is tlurried, and loses his
head, and lets go his rope too soon or too late,
the sail may be sjjlit, the yard may be sprung,
and the safety of men, aye, and of the ship
herself may be endangered. For efficient sail-
drill it is necessary that every rope be
properly manned, and that the right man be
in the right place.

If the Ew'ydicc had one strong point, it
there was one respect in which she was pre-
eminently eftlcient, it was her sail-drill. If
there was one captain in the nav)' more than
iinother who would Ix- justilietl in carr\ing a
press of sail it was the Captain ol the Jiuryditc.



SATURDAY.



Three w ivcs snt up in tlic Liglithousc 'lower.
They Irimnicil the lamps as the stin went down,
They looked at the storm and they looked at the shower.
And the iiiKht-rack came rolling up ragged and brown,
F'or men must work, and women must weep.
Though storms be sudden, and waters deep
And the harbour bar be moaning."—

CliarUs Kiiigilfy.



SATURDAY.



ON the Saturday morning the first
business, \vhen the watch came on deck
at four o'clock, would be to bend cables.
When a ship is on a voyage, and far away in
clear blue water, the chain cables are unbent, and
stowed away in the chain-lockers ; they are thus
out of the way ; the rust does not stain the deck,
and the bows of the ship are in some
degree lighter and more buoyant ; the anchors
too are closely stowed and lashed. So when
the ship is leaving land, and the rattle of the
cable is heard as it runs down into the locker, the
sound tells tliat the sliip is speeding out into the
open sea ; and when the well-known sound is
heard of the cable being hauled up again on



32 Holy-stones and Scrubbiug-brushes.

deck, wc know \vc arc ncarin^ land and tliat the
anchors are being cleared away. And it that
noise awoke any one at four o'clock that
mornino; he turned over and went to sleep again
with pleasant ch-eams, for it was a sound that
told him of honie not very tar olt.

Saturday is tlie great cleaning day on board
a ship ; sounds of holy-stones and scrubbing-
l)rushes begin at four in the morning, Otficers
and men walk about without shoes and
stockings, and with their trousers turned up
above their knees in the cold grey morning,
wliile every now and tlien a wasii-deck l^ucket
tull of water dashes past with the recklessness
of a hansom cab in the Stran^l : ami the work
is not hurried, for there is no daily inspection
on a Saturday morning, aiul all the- forenoon
is devoted to thoroughly cleaning every part ot
the ship.

At about eight o'clock, when the mvn have
breakfasted, the same careful cleansing work
betrins below ; the lower deck and siore-



Perfect Cleanliness. 33

rooms arc well lighted up, and the smell of soap
is in the air ; the ladders are tiiriH^d wrong-side
up, that the traffic may not dim the whiteness
of the fresh-scrul)l)ed steps. At the top and
bottom of every hatchwa)- are swabs and mats
that you ma)^ wipe your feet, and as the day
wears on there reigns everywhere the dreary
comfortless aspect of perfect cleanliness which
is supposed to be its own reward.

All the m(;ss-traps must be polished to day ;
th:2 tin mess-kettles must shine like silver;
the hoops of the bread barges like burnished
gold. The mess tables are scrubbed as white
as a dainty table cloth, and every stain of
grease is removed. Where needful the white-
wash overhead is touched up, and each mess
vies with its neighbour — if maybe some word
of approval shall drop from the Captain's lips
on the morrow's inspection. Windsails are
passed down to dry the decks, and deck-cloths
are spread where there is most traffic.

In the afternoon the brass work receives
c



34 Forebodings of Happiness.



special altciilion : the i^uns arc polishctl till llu'\
sliinc like minors, aiul the brass corners on the
bitts, aiul the liand-raiis to the liatchways arc
all made bright and glittcrini^.

Hut what a special Saturday was this when
the Eurydicc was so near home ! How many keen
professional c;)es would be on her when she
reached Portsmouth. ( )f course the Inspecting
Offic(.'r v.ouKl \isit. and inspect every part of
the ship, the holds, the storerooms, even the
bilges ; but there would also be brother officers
come on board to see old friends and messmates,
and to criticise the smart liurxdiic, and there
would be identic and uncrilicising eyes prepared
to think all beautiful and jx-rfect in the shij)
that held some beloved son or brother ; and so
there never was a Saturday when the unavoid-
able discomforts were more readil)- put \\\> with,
t)r when all hands were so eager to brighten
and smarten up the craft they had learned to
trust cUid love so well.

There' was a carefulh -tended canary on board



Ready for Criticism. 35



that one young' fellow was taking home to his
mother, and the cage must be kept dry, and no
splash of salt water l)e allowed to fall on the
cherished ])ird.

The [)ainters were busy all the after-
noon, touching u[) any stains on the white
ribbon outside, or any marks made by the ropes
chafing the black gunwale, for the Eiirydicc
must to-morrow look her very best ; the twelve
life-belts in the cutter wanted touching up w^ith
a little white paint, and so they were hung up
in the fme drying wind.

When the men mustered at evening quarters,

to each was served out a clean hammock, for

nothincr sets off a smart fricjate so well as the

row of snow-white hammocks ranged along

each side in the hammock-netting. At eight

o'clock the first night-watch was set, and soon

after was heard the clear voice of the look-out

man, " A light on the port bow, sir," and the

voice of the officer of the forecastle repeating,

" a light reported on the port bow, sir ;" and

c 2



36 The Hands of God.



ihcn the oltici-r ol ihc watch rc:jJorts it lu ihcj
Captain, antl tlu: navii^Mtino^ lieutenant takes
bcariny;s of it. and every soul in the ship is
joyous, for this is tin; hrilliaiit revolvin*^ light
on the Start Point, antl the tirst sight of dear
old England after many months.

Perhaps the decfj-sea lead-line was got
ready, the sail reduced, and a cast taken of the
lead to fix accurately the position of th.e ship.
One light is ver)- much like another at night,
yet the paymaster, and the doctor and others
whose duties do not call them on deck, sleep all
the better if they go up and have a look before
they retire to their cabins. And many a sea-
man of the Watch-below, too, must have a look
at the Start Light before he turns in to his
hammock. " Thank ( jocI " is in many a heart,
if not on every lip, — as one of the lads before
leaving home, had said, " Mother, rough as we
are, we never turn in without giving ourselves
into the hands of God !"



SUNDAY.



'■ The powerful sails, with steady breezes swelled,
Swift and more swift the yielding bark impelled ;
Across her stem the parting waters run