r 
 
 
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 MEMOIR OF 
 
 COMMODORE J. G. GOODENOUGH, 
 
 R.N., C.B., C.M.G. 
 
MEMOIR OF COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 "Mrs, Goodenough has discharged her duty tenderly and bravely in 
 editing this very interesting volume." — Times. 
 
 "There is still left to us the bright example of his truly christian and 
 noble life, as depicted in these pages." — United Service Gazette. 
 
 "A singularly complete, noble, and beautiful character." — Broad Arro-w. 
 
 " Commodore Goodenough was a true christian hero in every sense of the 
 phrase."— G/ode. 
 
 " Such love as that of Commodore Goodenough revives faith in hun\^n 
 nature. "— Nonconformist, 
 
^^^ccc <^/^^. \/^^^ it^^^ 
 
 ^-^€^0~r:^, 
 
 C KKOAN VKXSX. A C» LOMDON 
 
MEMOIB OF 
 COMMODOBE GOODENOUGH, 
 
 I" 
 R.N., C.B., C.M.G., 
 
 WITH EXTRACTS FROM HIS LETTERS 
 AND JOURNALS. 
 
 EDITED BY HIS WIDOW. 
 
 T/IIJ^B EDITION. 
 
 CONDENSED. 
 
 London : 
 C. Kegan Paul & Co., i, Paternoster Square 
 
 i8;8. 
 

 (d^ 
 
 ** O Thou who for our sins didst take 
 A human form and humbly make 
 
 Thy home on earth ! 
 By Thy redeeming grace alone, 
 And not for merits of my own, 
 
 O pardon me ! " 
 As thus the dying warrior prayed, 
 Without one gathering mist or shade 
 
 Upon his mind. 
 His soul to Him who gave it rose ; 
 God lead it to its long repose, 
 
 Its glorious rest ! 
 And though the warrior's sun has set, 
 Its light shall linger round us yet. 
 
 Bright, radiant, blest. 
 
 COPLAS DE MaNRIQUE. 
 
 (The rights of translation and reproduction are reserved.) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Many of Commodore Goodenough's friends and 
 others having expressed a desire that some record 
 of his Hfe should be made public, the following 
 Memoir has been compiled. In it, it has been 
 the endeavour of the writer to show both his life 
 and his character as much as possible by his own 
 writings, or by those of others (not his near rela- 
 tions), who were intimately associated with him at 
 different periods of his life, and who could judge 
 of him perhaps more justly and more dispassion- 
 ately than could those in whose affections he filled 
 so great and so absorbing a place. 
 
 V. H. a 
 
 418392 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Childhood and Schooldays— Entrance into the Navy 
 — H.M.S. COLLINGWOOD— Four Years in the Pacific 
 —H.M.S. Cyclops— Coast of Africa— Royal Naval 
 College— H.M.S. Centaur— South America— Baltic 
 —H.M.S. Hastings i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 H.M.S. Raleigh— Voyage to China — Wreck of the 
 Raleigh— Fatshan and Canton— Appointed Com- 
 mander of H.M.S. Calcutta— P EI ho— Japan . . . 15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Second Voyage to China in H.M.S. Renard— Penang— 
 Peiho— Shanghai— Ningpo— Nankin— Suez Canal — 
 Commander of H.M.S. Revenge— Promotion . . 39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Special Mission to North America— Marriage— H.M.S. 
 Victoria — Mediterranean — H.M.S. Minotaur — 
 Channel Fleet— Temperance 61 
 
vili CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Work among the French Peasants about Sedan- 
 Committee ON Designs for Ships of War— Dieppe- 
 Naval Education— Appointed Naval Attach^. . 8i 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Appointed Commodore of the Australian Station — 
 Voyage to New Zealand— Fiji— Sydney— Melbourne 
 —Tasmania — Captain Cook— Adelaide— New He- 
 brides—Extracts FROM Journal 109 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 The Last Cruise 190 
 
COMMODORE GOODENOUGE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS — ENTRANCE INTO THE NAVY — H.M.S. 
 COLLINGWOOD — FOUR YEARS IN THE PACIFIC — H.M.S. CYCLOPS — 
 COAST OF AFRICA — ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE — H.M.S. CENTAUR— SOUTH 
 AMERICA— BALTIC— H.M.S. HASTINGS. 
 
 James Graham Goodenough was born on December 
 3rd, 1830, at Stoke Hill, near Guildford, in Surrey. His 
 father, the Very Rev. Dr. Edmund Goodenough, a son of 
 the Bishop of Carlisle, had lately resigned the Head Mas- 
 tership of Westminster School, and was at that time a 
 Canon of Westminster. His mother was a daughter of 
 S. Cockerell, Esq., of Westbourne. In the following year. 
 Dr. Goodenough became Dean of Wells — and there was 
 James Goodenough's home until he went to sea. 
 
 The Dean directed his children's education, and made 
 them share in his pursuits, whether of natural history, 
 architecture, or music ; and no doubt this assistance, the 
 early associations of his home, and the interest and beauty 
 of Wells Cathedral and the surrounding scenery, cultivated 
 
• • •.•• • • 
 
 .•- 
 
 2 /.'•;• 'C^M^QDf)kE\GCiOSEKOUGH. [Chap. I. 
 
 in James the love of architecture and music, and that critical 
 taste which could not be satisfied with anything short of 
 the best and purest in art, and which formed a source of 
 enjoyment to him through life. He often recalled in later 
 years one of his early lessons in perseverance and hardi- 
 hood. When about seven years old he used to ride with 
 his father. His pony had a habit of bolting in at the stable 
 gate, instead of coming round to the front door ; and on 
 one winter evening the Dean insisted on the little boy 
 riding up and down the road, till long after dark, and till 
 he had mastered his pony, and made him quietly pass the 
 stable door. 
 
 The accident of his godfather, Sir James Graham, having, 
 been First Lord of the Admiralty at the time of the child's 
 christening, had led Dr. Goodenough to choose the follow- 
 ing of the sea as the profession for his son James ; and the 
 boy's mind was from the first led to look upon the Navy 
 as his future career. From his earliest years he showed 
 determination and strength of character — even his elder 
 brothers and sisters were accustomed to abide by his de- 
 cision in a disputed matter, always recognising his desire 
 for justice ; and they remembered that when only about 
 eight years old he for some time voluntarily contented 
 himself with dry bread at the school-room breakfast, in 
 order to harden himself, and make himself more fit to 
 encounter any difficulties he might meet with in the pro- 
 fession which had been marked out for him. 
 
 At seven years old he went to a school in Berkshire, and 
 before he was ten he was sent to Westminster School, 
 where he remained till he entered the Navy, at thirteen. 
 
Chap. I.] WESTMINSTER. 3 
 
 Of his school life a schoolfellow and intimate friend thus 
 writes : — 
 
 " At the early age of nine and a half he was sent to Westmin- 
 ster school, in June, 1840. He was, as a boy, what he continued 
 to be as a man — honourable, true, tender-hearted, modest, brave, 
 and a hater of all things evil. There was something in his 
 society which raised others unconsciously, yet he was not one of 
 those boys who were never to be found out of bounds or in the 
 fighting green. On the contrary, while joining heartily in all that 
 other boys did, whether allowed or forbidden, he kept all real evil 
 from himself and his companions by a sort of natural force. 
 Every one liked him, and rejoiced at his successes in school and 
 on the water, which were extraordinary for so young a boy." 
 
 In these three years he passed from the third form to the 
 shell (next to the sixth form). Owing to the traditional 
 customs of the school, he was involved in one or two 
 severe fights, successfully beating boys older than him- 
 self. The only time he was severely punished at school 
 was for a systematic disregard of a rule which he con- 
 sidered an encroachment on the privileges of the scholars ; 
 he persistently rowed up the river on a whole holiday, not 
 presenting himself at the roll-call (or "early play," as it was 
 called) in the middle of the day, which he considered un- 
 fairly broke into his holiday. But he soon learnt to yield 
 to discipline and to obey orders unhesitatingly, whether 
 just or not. A few years later, when in the Pacific, having 
 gone on shore for a ride, on which occasions it was allowed 
 that a midshipman should leave his sword behind, he was 
 reproved by a superior officer for being on shore with- 
 out his side arms, and ordered on board his ship. He 
 
 B 2 
 
4 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. I. 
 
 immediately went on board, and lost his ride, rather than 
 remonstrate with his superior. 
 
 On May 7th, 1844, he obtained his appointment in the 
 Royal Navy. The examinations in those days were not 
 what they are now. He went down to Portsmouth, and 
 should have gone on board the "Victory " to be examined ; 
 but, as it was blowing hard, he was desired to sit down in 
 the flag lieutenant's office, given a sum and a piece of 
 dictation to do, and the examination was over. As the 
 " Collingwood," the ship to which he was appointed, was 
 still fitting out, the naval cadets were sent away on leave. 
 He came down to Portsmouth again early in the summer, 
 with his father and mother, to be confirmed (the Bishop 
 holding a special confirmation for those who were soon 
 leaving England) ; and in July of the same year he joined 
 the Collingwood at Spithead. His father had a house 
 in the Isle of Wight at the time, and a yacht in which he 
 constantly visited the ship, and in which, when the Col- 
 lingwood finally sailed for the Pacific, on September 7th, 
 the Dean and his family accompanied the old two-decker 
 for some distance down Channel. 
 
 In the Collingwood, Goodenough had the advantage 
 of being under officers who materially encouraged and 
 assisted him in his endeavours to advance in his profession. 
 The admiral, Sir George Seymour, interested himself in 
 the youngsters ; and the kindly presence of Lady Seymour 
 and her family on board the ship infused a refining influ- 
 ence and homelike feeling which were fully appreciated, 
 and never forgotten by the young boy thus early taken 
 away from the home that he loved. 
 
Chap. L] H.M.S. COLLINGWOOD. 5 
 
 In his captain, afterwards Admiral Sir Robert Smart, he 
 had before him a man of high professional ability, of the 
 purest integrity and elevation of character, — to whom 
 during all his life he looked up with reverence and affec- 
 tion. Captain Smart took the greatest interest in the 
 progress and wellbeing of his young officers, and young 
 Goodenough fully felt and appreciated the benefit that this 
 was to him. The favourable reports of the progress of the 
 young midshipman which periodically reached the distant 
 home, were highly valued at the time, from the known 
 conscientious judgment of his captain. 
 
 The naval instructor, Mr. William Johnson, was a man 
 of cultivation and ability, and who possessed the rare 
 talent, not only of teaching well, but of inspiring his pupils 
 with interest in, and liking for, their studies. Among the 
 many kindnesses shown by Mr. Johnson, one much appre- 
 ciated was that of giving the use of his cabin to those boys 
 who wished for quiet to read and study. Here many well- 
 spent hours were passed by young Goodenough, amongst 
 others the dinner hour on alternate days when at sea, on 
 which days, as he could not eat salt beef without feeling 
 ill, he did not go to dinner at all. 
 
 On the sailing of the CoUingwood, the naval cadets were 
 allowed to choose whether they would keep night watch or 
 not ; Goodenough at once elected to do so. Also, whether 
 they would study foreign languages as well as the ordinary 
 professional studies. These he also chose ; and to Mr. 
 Johnson's admirable teaching in this branch of study he 
 owed much of the pleasure which in after life he derived 
 from his thorough knowledge of French and Spanish. 
 
6 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. I. 
 
 Among his messmates were his connection and school- 
 fellow, and dearest friend, Clements Markham ; and many 
 others side by side with whom he rose in the service, and 
 for all of whom he always retained a specially affectionate 
 feeling in remembrance of the happy days passed together 
 on board the Collingwood, — the rides, the excursions. 
 Lady Seymour's Saturday picnics, and many other plea- 
 sures which were so delightful to all of them. It was a 
 great source of satisfaction to him, at the Naval Review at 
 Spithead in 1 867, that no less than six of the largest of 
 the ships were commanded by " Old Collingwoods ; " and 
 almost the last dinner he went to before leaving England 
 for the last time in 1873, was to meet a number of these old 
 shipmates. 
 
 He gives the following account of the commission of the 
 Collingwood : — 
 
 "The Collingwood touched at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, and the 
 Falkland Islands, reaching Valparaiso early in January, 1845, ^"^l 
 remaining there till March. Thence" sailing to Callao, Tahiti, and 
 the Sandwich Islands, where we passed two months very plea- 
 santly, returning to Tahiti for three weeks, and finally to Val- 
 paraiso in January, 1846." 
 
 He often remembered with amusement a little incident 
 which took place at Tahiti. That island had lately become 
 the possession of the French, who had enforced some rule 
 of silence in the streets after certain hours. One night, 
 after hours, an English marine, not quite sober, was loudly , 
 singing " Rule Britannia " as he sauntered along, when a 
 French sentry — to the great amusement of some English 
 
Chap. I.] PACIFIC. 7 
 
 ofificers who were passing — came up to him, touched him 
 on the shoulder, and said, with a meaning smile, "Mon 
 ami, it is too late to sing ' Rule Britain ! ' " 
 
 " The Collingwood remained at Valparaiso till April, then went 
 again to Callao, Payta in Peru, and San Bias and Mazatlan, in 
 Mexico. Thence she passed to Monterey in California, and to 
 the Hawaiian Islands again, where we passed another agreeable 
 two months, returning to Valparaiso in about February, 1847, 
 after sixty-five days at sea, seeing but two ships on our way. 
 Hence we went to Juan Fernandez and Callao, whence I went 
 with Sir George Seymour to the isles of Quibo Cocos and Gal- 
 apagos, and to Payta, in the ^Sampson,' returning to the Colling- 
 wood at Callao, and in her to Valparaiso, in December, 1847, 
 where we remained until relieved by the * Asia,' in April, 1848, and 
 then returned home by Rio de Janeiro, and paid off on August 
 1 2th, 1848." 
 
 The friend already quoted speaks thus of the Colling^ 
 wood days : — 
 
 " As a midshipman young Goodenough fulfilled the promise he 
 had given as a boy at Westminster. Always modest and unas- 
 suming, he naturally took the lead in everything; the best as a 
 linguist, in navigation, in seamanship, in gunnery, and all exer- 
 cises, and among the foremost in all expeditions. He took to sea 
 with him Burney's collection of voyages in the South Seas, which 
 he read carefully, and he thus acquired a love for such narratives 
 and for the achievements of daring navigators and explorers, which 
 continued to the day of his death. His messmates looked to him 
 as their leader, almost as their guide ; and none of them ceased 
 to look back with regret to those four happy years. Many a long 
 ride and exploring walk did Goodenough arrange and carry out 
 to achieve the seeing of some sight, the examination of some 
 
8 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. I. 
 
 noteworthy object that would have been missed without his clear 
 guiding head and bold lead. Several survive to cherish the 
 remembrance of the midnight gallops to Casa Blanca and Quil- 
 lota, the daring fording of the flooded Con-con, the dash out to 
 Pachacamac, which ended in a stopping of leave, and the wan- 
 derings on the coast of Mexico and California, in the Sandwich 
 Islands, and at Tahiti. He received his first lessons in surveying 
 from Captain (afterwards Sir Henry) Kellett, then in command of 
 the * Herald,' who kindly gave him some practical instruction in 
 Callao Bay and round San Lorenzo. 
 
 " On every emergency Goodenough's first thought was for 
 others. Once he and another youngster took a long excursion 
 among the wild ravines of Juan Fernandez. Scrambling through 
 masses of huge leaves, which concealed everything in front, 
 Goodenough was a few paces a-head. Suddenly his companion 
 heard a crashing sound, and as he crept forward Goodenough's 
 warning voice urged him anxiously not to follow. At the moment 
 he must have been in great agony. He had fallen down a sheer 
 precipice, and had sprained his ankle, besides being severely cut, 
 crushed, and bruised. It was twenty-four hours before he could be 
 found and extricated. His companion never forgot that warning 
 cry, which probably saved his life, and which added a feeling of re- 
 verence to his love for such a messmate. But such was Good- 
 enough's character, in pain or in danger his first thought was for 
 others." 
 
 On the paying off of the Collingwood, the Port Ad- 
 miral at Portsmouth asked Captain Smart to point out 
 any officers with whom he was specially satisfied ; and, 
 among others, Goodenough was brought forward. On his 
 certificate his captain wrote " An oflficer of promise." 
 
 The Dean of Wells had died in 1845, and on his return 
 to England, James Goodenough found his mother and 
 
Chap. I.] COAST OF AFRICA. 9 
 
 sisters settled at Loughton, in Essex. After six weeks' 
 leave at home, he was appointed, October, 1848, to the 
 "' Cyclops " (Captain Hon. G. F. Hastings), and sailed in 
 her for the coast of Africa. After touching at Sierra Leone 
 and Ascension, the Cyclops went to the Bight of Benin, 
 and visited every port on the coast — from Accra, on the 
 Gold Coast, to Fernando Po. Later, she went to St. Paul 
 de Loanda and the River Congo, till August, 1849, — when 
 his desire for advancement led him to ask permission to 
 return to England to compete at the Royal Naval College 
 for the lieutenant's commission, which was then annually 
 given to the mate who after a year's study passed the best 
 examination. He returned to England in the " Dart," in 
 December, 1849; ^^^ when paid off, went at once to the 
 *' Excellent," where he had to stay six months before join- 
 ing the college. In March, 1850, he returned home on a 
 month's leave ; and in June passed his examination and 
 became a mate. In July he entered the Naval College ; in 
 December, 1850, he had one month's leave; and in July, 
 185 1, passed his examination and obtained the lieutenant's 
 commission. 
 
 His principal rival was also his greatest friend in the 
 college, and they worked together in the most friendly 
 and affectionate emulation — a friendship which the unsuc- 
 cessful competitor generously continued through life. He 
 thus speaks of those days : — 
 
 " There are few, if any, the delineation of whose character 
 should be more inspiring to young men who are seeking after the 
 best and noblest things of this life and that to come .... 
 I have watched his career with such interest as to know that all 
 
lO COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. I. 
 
 the good and great qualities that then endeared him to me only 
 ripened and intensified as he grew older. I wish it were so with 
 all, but I fear that it is only the noblest who continue to progress 
 or even to retain the highest aspirations of their youth. The 
 time we spent together in the ' Excellent,' and at the Royal Naval 
 College, was one of close study and constant companionship, but 
 was very much without incident ; we taught in the Sunday schools 
 together; we read and prayed together every night, and what 
 little time was snatched from study was generally devoted to 
 walks into the country, to which a little sketching and a little 
 botanising added interest." 
 
 Another fellow-student thus writes : — 
 
 " It was my good fortune to have known him since the year 
 1850, when we were studying in the same class at the Naval Col- 
 lege; then I saw what a man amongst men he was, that his 
 actions were all guided by the purest Christian principles .... 
 a man who was ever manly, gentle, and kind, an officer as smart, 
 and a seaman as able as ever lived." 
 
 A former professor at the college says : — 
 
 " His conduct while with us was so uniformly exemplary, that 
 there was nothing in it of a chequered character. He had at 
 that early age the same devoted sense of duty that has marked 
 his career throughout his life, and he gave himself up to the sub- 
 jects of study not only for the sake of the reward which success 
 would give him, but for their own sake, and to enable him to 
 serve his country in an intelligent manner .... His was 
 a character that required but little moulding. What he was at 
 the last, the same he seems to have been at all times. His 
 superior intellect and steady, cheerful perseverance gained him 
 the first great step in his public life, by enabling him to win the 
 
Chap. L] ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE. II 
 
 lieutenant's commission — the only prize of scientific merit in 
 those days/' 
 
 During this period one of Goodenough's greatest plea- 
 sures was an acquaintance (slight as it was) with Sir 
 Edward Parry, who was then Superintendent of Haslar 
 Hospital ; and in later years he often spoke of the refresh- 
 ment it' was to him after his hard study to spend an hour 
 or two in that distinguished officer's company, or to attend, 
 as he often' did, the Bible readings which Sir Edward 
 Parry held every Sunday afternoon for the seamen in 
 hospital. 
 
 After obtaining his commission he was for ten weeks on 
 half pay, part of which time was spent in an excursion to 
 Switzerland, and part in a trip to Copenhagen, with the 
 late Captain F. Blackwood, R.N., to observe an eclipse of 
 the sun. In September, 185 1, he was appointed to the 
 " Centaur," bearing the flag of Rear Admiral Henderson, 
 commanding the South-American station. The Centaur 
 remained on that station, visiting all the dififerent ports 
 along the coast, till February, 1854. In this ship he inter- 
 ested himself in the ship's boys, whom he used to teach on 
 Sunday afternoons. The following extracts are from letters 
 written at this period : — 
 
 '• H.M.S. Centaur, Rio de Janeiro, 
 November litk, 1852. 
 
 " I do not make much progress in sketching, having finished 
 but few lately. My indolent nature prompts me to gaze on and 
 admire the wonderful magnificence, without daring to attempt to 
 copy it. That expression of Mr. P.'s, speaking of Wales, is a 
 
12 COMMODORE GOODENOUGB, [Chap. I. 
 
 very apt one. I mean ' If this is so much to be admired, how- 
 much more is there in that " other state " ' — and still more — If to 
 know and see a little of God's doings is a source of real liappi- 
 ness, how much more is to be obtained by what Dr. Milner 
 calls, in homely phrase, making God our * Summum Bonum ' — 
 the source of all our springs of action. 
 
 " I think I told you that two Quakers have come out here to 
 present an address to the Emperor on the subject of slavery. 
 They were well received, and thanked by the Emperor. I have 
 not been able to meet them yet, but hope to do so to-morrow if I 
 can find time." 
 
 *♦ Buenos Ayres, May \st, 1853. 
 
 " . . . . Thank you for a copy of Captain S.'s note. I 
 think with you that it would be not right to ask for a recall with- 
 out a definite appointment ; indeed, I would not at all wish it 
 were it offered. What I wish you have divined and done, viz., to 
 have my name known as an individual wishing for employment in 
 the surveying branch, being in a certain manner adapted to it by 
 the advantages often enjoyed at the college and elsewhere. This 
 failing, I must get an exchange or appointment to some sailing 
 ship as I best can, or else wait for another fresh commission. So 
 I think that nothing can be done unless an opportunity should 
 offer. To you, dear mother, to whom I wish all my thoughts and 
 doings to be known, I must say that I fear I have wished too 
 much for this change, and that I have thought and talked a great 
 deal too much of myself to the exclusion of others. So a truce 
 to it." 
 
 In February, 1854, at the breaking out of the Russian 
 War, the Centaur was suddenly recalled, and her crew 
 sent to other ships. 
 
 After a fortnight's leave, and after trying in vain to get 
 appointed to a ship going to the Black Sea, Goodenough, 
 
Chap. I.] BALTIC. 1 3 
 
 much to his disappointment, was sent to the " Calcutta " 
 (84), the guardship at Plymouth. Ships were wanted to 
 take troops to Bomarsund, and 150 officers and men were 
 sent from the Calcutta to the "Royal William" (120), among 
 whom was Goodenough. The Royal William embarked 1 500 
 French troops at Calais, and took them to Bomarsund ; and 
 after the capture of that place, returned to Plymouth with 
 1200 Russian prisoners. The officers and men returned to 
 the Calcutta, and Goodenough was reflecting how to get into 
 active service, when he hit upon the plan of asking to rejoin 
 the Excellent to requalify as a gunnery officer. This was 
 allowed, and in a month he passed from the Excellent 
 to the " Hastings " (60), Captain Caffin, as gunnery lieu- 
 tenant, in February, 1855, and went in her to the Baltic. 
 At the bombardment of Sweaborg, August 20th, 1855, 
 the Hastings was engaged with the battery of Sand- 
 haven ; and Goodenough was gazetted as having been in 
 her boats when engaged at night with the frigates moored 
 between the forts. Two men were wounded in Good- 
 enough's boat by the bursting of a rocket. The chaplain 
 of the Hastings thus records the impression that he made 
 on his messmates at that time : — 
 
 " He knew the fact that we were intended for hard service. 
 It was generally believed that hard fighting was in store for us, 
 and that the block ships, of which the Hastings was one, would 
 bear the brunt of it ; and he not only speedily got all matters con- 
 nected with his own department in order (for he was Gunnery 
 Lieutenant), but was always my friend and counsellor in every 
 scheme for the good of the junior officers and crew. He was 
 genial, kind, and sympathetic, and would help me at all times to 
 
14 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. I. 
 
 gain the end I had in view, without violating ship's rules and 
 naval discipline. He supported me in introducing the celebration 
 of the Lord's Supper, then almost an unknown thing on board 
 ship. By all of us he was much beloved, and, though a strict 
 officer, and very particular in matters of duty, he was known to 
 be so conscientious and scrupulous about doing his own work 
 thoroughly, that all admired and many emulated his high tone of 
 doing everything as unto God and not unto man. 
 
 " Twenty years have passed since then, but I have the impres- 
 sion still very distinct that I never met in my naval career one 
 whose thorough religious feeling impressed me so deeply, or any 
 one of whom I felt more sure that if life should be spared he 
 would rise to greatness in his profession, and be a blessing to 
 many, in whatever sphere he might be placed." 
 
 While he was in the Baltic he received the news of the 
 death of his mother, from cholera, while travelling in 
 Spain, for his youngest brother's health. On his return to 
 England, in the winter, he applied for six weeks' leave 
 to go to Malta to see his sister and brother, which was 
 refused ; and he then got permission to be put on half pay, 
 in order to be able to do so. He spent part of January 
 and February, 1856, at Malta, refreshing himself with, and 
 thoroughly appreciating, the highly-prized family inter- 
 course he so seldom was able to enjoy. 
 
 Of this brief holiday a friend thus writes : — 
 
 " How well I remember him in his first manhood at Malta, and 
 thinking that he unbent so naturally from the rather stem and 
 grave habit which had been described to me. One had the happy 
 feeling of being so safe with him, whatever was the subject in 
 hand ; however high people's spirits were, there would not be a 
 single word to regret." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 H.M.S. RALEIGH— VOYAGE TO CHINA — WRECK OF THE RALEIGH— FATSHAN 
 AND CANTON — APPOINTED COMMANDER OF H.M.S. CALCUTTA — PEIHO 
 — ^JAPAN. 
 
 After just two months' holiday Lieutenant Goodenough 
 returned to England, and obtained command of the 
 ** Goshawk " gunboat, at Woolwich, which he fitted out 
 and took to Portsmouth, and there joined the squadron 
 of gunboats under Captain A. C. Key, being present at 
 the great review at Spithead after the Peace. He was 
 then sent to Plymouth, and remained there till August 4th, 
 when he was paid off, and appointed first lieutenant of 
 the '' Raleigh " (50), bearing the broad pendant of Com- 
 modore Hon. H. Keppel. The Raleigh sailed soon after 
 for China, making a very rapid passage, taking only 
 thirty- five days from Madeira to the Cape, in part of 
 which she averaged 240 knots for nine days in succession. 
 On this voyage he began studying German, working at 
 *' Ollendorf " every evening. " For a moment," he says, " I 
 thought it would be possible to learn to write Chinese, 
 but a look at a dictionary soon undeceived me." 
 
 After a short detention at the Cape, the Raleigh 
 sailed again, making over 230 knots for thirteen days in 
 succession, touching at Penang and Singapore. On the 
 
1 6 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 way thither they passed to the north of Sumatra, which he 
 thus describes : — 
 
 " The heat began the first day we saw Sumatra, since which we 
 have passed through a narrow passage at the north end — a very 
 pretty thing, for it was not so wide as the mouth of Portsmouth 
 harbour at high tide, with high rocky sides clothed with trees, 
 like a gigantic gateway, to our station. Everything was dead still 
 as we passed through, except the loud hum of the cicadas. 
 Several canoes of Sumatrans were paddling about, and in the 
 afternoon a Chinese junk came past us — a regular junk, with eyes 
 on her bows, those odd-looking sails, and a high poop stuck about 
 with nasty-looking spears." 
 
 When within lOO miles of Hong Kong, on the 15th of 
 March, 1857, the Raleigh struck upon a rock not marked 
 upon the chart, and was run ashore not far from Macao, as 
 the only means of saving her. Lieutenant Goodenough 
 gives the following details of the occurrence in a letter 
 home : — 
 
 " KoKO Island, near Macao, April 22nd^ 1857. 
 
 " It was a great disappointment to us all. We had just got to 
 the end of our long journey, and were ready to go up to Canton 
 to disembark men, or go into action on board, and had won every 
 inch of the last part of our way with difficulty, when a vilain 
 rocher sticks its point through our bows, and in a few hours sinks 
 the ship, spoils our arms and ammunition, and keeps us at this 
 dull work of recovering her in a wet, unpleasant season. 
 
 *' We were coming into Hong Kong when we stnick ; the ship 
 was about twenty-five miles from it, and among some islands, close 
 to the great Ladrone, when she bumped on this stone, which was 
 not marked on any chart that we had, and which the surveyor 
 
Chap. II.] LOSS OF THE RALEIGH. 1 7 
 
 himself does not know of. It was equally distant from two 
 islands, Jongo and Palakiki, and a well marked rock. I was 
 writing when she struck, and of course ran up, and found a 
 crowd of pale, inquiring faces asking what was to come next To 
 my surprise she did not strike again, but glanced off, and still 
 moved through the water. No masts had come down, though 
 the shock was violent, and we had been going seven knots. Some 
 of the men were saying, 'She'll never recover that; it was an 
 awful blow, and no mistake.' I rather * pooh-poohed,' and said 
 to a petty officer, * Ah, she may stand many another like that.' 
 But I thought I would go down to the fore store-room, where the 
 shock seemed to have been. On getting down I heard a rush of 
 water, and when a light was brought, saw that the timbers were 
 evidently broken, and the inside planking all started, so that I 
 could thrust in my hand along a space 4ft. long by 2ift deep, 
 about 14ft. under water. As I was leaving the deck I heard the 
 Commander give orders to sound the well, and when the car- 
 penter had reported, he ordered him to rig the pumps. In the 
 store-room I got six of the strongest hands near to hand every- 
 thing out of the lower part where the leak was, and before ten 
 minutes they were over their knees in water. When the place 
 was clear I went down again, to make sure of the extent of the 
 damage, and thrust my hand in again. It was far too extensive 
 to hope to repair it even temporarily inside. The Commander 
 had given orders to prepare a sail to go over the bows, with a 
 view of letting it down weighted till it should be sucked into 
 the leak ; so after the place was full of water I went on deck 
 to direct its preparation. I found that the Commodore had 
 ordered one watch of the men to go to the pumps, and the other 
 to work the ship, make sail, &c. ; and after measuring the distances 
 on the chart from the nearest ports, and observing that the ship 
 was settling by the head, had determined to run for a beach on 
 this island near Macao, and to put the ship on shore here to pre- 
 vent her from sinking, as the leak was gaining fast upon the 
 pumps. The course was therefore altered, and sail was increased 
 
1 8 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 with the greatest coolness and regularity, Graham, whose watch it 
 was, carrying on the duty, while Gilford attended the pumps, and 
 I took what men I could gather to prepare the sail for the bows, 
 and in the intervals of altering the sails moved the forecastle 
 guns to the quarterdeck. At two o'clock, about one hour and a 
 quarter after striking, one of the chain-pumps broke, and the men 
 were set to work with buckets, but of course the leak now gained 
 faster than ever. My sail was now ready, but the Commodore 
 feared that it might not get correctly into its place, and that it 
 would stop the ship's way so much as to prevent our reaching the 
 flat ground we were steering for before she sank. We therefore 
 kept on trimming and making sail as we steered amongst the 
 numerous rocks and islands, and getting guns aft Earlier in the 
 day we had made out a frigate and steamer at anchor in Macao 
 Roads, and therefore commenced firing minute guns, and when 
 we saw them again hoisted the ensign, union jack downwards. 
 They were both French. The upper deck guns being all aft, I 
 began the main deck, when the Commodore sent down to salute 
 the French Admiral. This was done, and we had got several 
 guns aft, when about 3.30 we put her on the mud, driving her 
 into it as far as she would go with all available sails. The pumps 
 were now left, and a party of men sent to save the bread, which 
 was getting wet, and the remainder to take in the sails. In the 
 three hours and a quarter between striking the rock and taking 
 the ground she had made ten feet of water against all our endea- 
 vours to keep her free by pumps. This had deepened her till she 
 drew twenty-six feet of water, and as we had run into the mud 
 till we were in only eighteen feet, she appeared pretty safe. 
 
 " Five minutes afterwards the Commodore sent for me to assist 
 in speaking to the French Flag Lieutenant, who had come on 
 board, and told me to go to the French Admiral, ask for the 
 * Catinat' steamer to take me to Hong Kong, and there tell the 
 Admiral what had happened, and ask for assistance. In half an 
 hour after striking I was in tlie French boat. Unfortunately the 
 Admiral was on shore, and it cost us till half-past eight to get on 
 
Chap. II.] LOSS OF THE RALEIGH. 1 9 
 
 shore, and ask permission, and to get back to the Catinat, 
 which started in a quarter of an hour. The officers kindly gave 
 me a cabin to lie down in ; I was asleep by ten, and called at 
 three to be told that we were close to Hong Kong. I got up, 
 and when we anchored went to the * Calcutta,' the flag-ship, saw 
 the Flag Captain and Admiral, and told them all. The Admiral 
 instantly ordered a steamer to prepare to move, and when she 
 was ready sent her up the river with orders for the * Nankin ' and 
 'Inflexible' to come to our assistance; then got ready an old 
 vessel to come down and take our guns. Our friend Catinat 
 was to take me back at nine, but did not start so soon, so it was 
 four when I saw our ship again. I could not believe my senses. 
 She had sunk in the mud up to her main-deck guns, and I could 
 see no one moving on board. I found the Commodore on board, 
 his secretary, the chaplain, a guard of marines, and a boat's crew. 
 All the rest were on shore in ' tents. They told me that on the 
 night that I left she began to settle in the mud, and at seven 
 o'clock the water came up to the lower deck. The men took 
 their clothes and mess-traps on the main deck, and the officers' 
 things were moved out of their cabins into the Commodore's. My 
 old servant and my boy worked nobly, and saved nearly everything 
 for me, except some books. At eleven the water was over the lower 
 deck. Things remained thus till morning, when we went to the 
 French frigate to ask for assistance in transporting our men, and to 
 beg provisions for two days. At the same time we began unbending 
 our sails, and sending small spars on shore to rig tents, landing 
 boat guns, small arms, ammunition, and officers' and men's traps 
 and beds. The French Flag Captain came over, and with the 
 Master and Gilford, who was sent as beach-master, picked out a 
 good place for our tents, which the French began to rig, assisted 
 by a few of our men, who began to come ashore in each boat. 
 Visconti was there on leave from his ship, the * Virginie,' inter- 
 preting, rigging tents, and doing everything possible to provide for 
 our comfort. The French boat brought us a present from the 
 officers of wine, eggs, bread, and cooked fowls. We could not 
 
20 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 have done without their kindness and assistance. I found the 
 Commodore sitting on a raised platform above the deck, and after 
 we had talked about our doings, boiled some of our eggs, and 
 smoked a cigar, we lay down to sleep on the bridge. Early in 
 the morning I went on shore, and found a long tent with the 
 Commodore's things at one end, and then the officers* and the 
 men's at the other end. As there was work to be done on board, 
 the Commander gave the men some biscuit, took them away, and 
 left me with a party to put things in order. He had not been 
 gone ten minutes when a deluge of rain came down, filled a pond 
 which received the drain of a ravine, and made it overflow its 
 banks till the water burst through the whole length of the tent, 
 and nearly carried it all away. My party rushed out and dammed 
 the course of the torrent, tried to open a new course for it 
 through the sand, and saved the brass guns from being either 
 carried off or buried in the sand. 
 
 '* The rain lasted all day, but not so violently as at first, and 
 we made a new tent, which pleased me so much that I at once 
 put half the men into it when they came on shore again. On 
 Friday the Nankin and Inflexible came to us, and on Saturday 
 we sent 300 of our men to live on board the former. Captain 
 Corbett very kindly sent me a sheep. On Sunday the old hulk 
 'Alligator' came down, and we officers came to live on board her." 
 
 In May, Goodenough was given the command of a small 
 hired steamer, the " Honkong," with two large and four 
 small guns, and took command of her just before the battle 
 of Fatshan, which he describes in the following letter : — 
 
 " I took command of this craft, the hired steamer Honkong, 
 on Saturday morning, the 30th May. All Sunday I was running 
 up and down the river on various duties, and on Monday, at half- 
 past four in the morning, weighed to go into action, to take some 
 junks anchored in the Fatshan Creek, a branch of this river. 
 
Chap. II.] FATS HAN, 21 
 
 The junks were protected by a hill fort, and this was first stormed 
 by Captain Elliot after a small resistance. We then advanced on 
 the junks with four other gunboats, towing all the boats of the 
 squadron, silenced a four-gun battery on our way, and were just 
 within range when we got on shore. Can you conceive anything 
 more disappointing ? The Commodore, who had his pendant in 
 me, jumped into his boat, and away went all the boats to the 
 attack. The other gunboats passed me, and I felt thoroughly 
 sold. Nothing was to be done but to get off, and then to follow 
 the boats, which, after leaving a division to destroy the taken 
 junks, passed on to chase the Chinese flying in their boats. All 
 the other gunboats had got on shore not long after passing me, 
 and I passed them one by one ; but after a couple of miles got on 
 shore again, and had just hauled my vessel off, when I saw firing 
 ahead. I called out to cut our hawser. Young Harry Stephenson 
 seized a cutlass and cut it through, and we went on again, and 
 soon found the boats retiring from a strong force of twenty picked 
 junks moored across a narrow part of the stream. The boats 
 had pulled on after the capture of the first body of junks, and 
 ignorant of the existence of these twenty, in front of whom three 
 or four light leading boats suddenly found themselves at a turn of 
 the river. A heavy fire began directly our boats checked their 
 speed. The heavy boats with guns came up, but either touched 
 a bank or were carried by the current against those already on it, 
 and a sad loss followed. Major Kearney, a volunteer. Deputy 
 Quartermaster-General of the Army, was almost the first killed by 
 a round i8-pounder full in the breast, as he sat by the side of 
 Captain Leckie, in the Fury's gig. A round shot struck the 
 Commodore's galley, and she began to fill He stepped on the 
 thwart to keep dry till another boat came up, and another shot 
 passed under his feet and went through the bottom of the boat. 
 Victor was with him, binding the stump of a fine young Isle of 
 Wight man's arm. Another man had both his legs taken off, and 
 two others were wounded as she sank from under them. The 
 Commodore called out to save his pendant, and stepped into 
 
22 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 Captain Tumour's cutter, shaking his fist at the junks, promising 
 to pay them out for this in the afternoon. Graham, close to me 
 in the pinnace, had his jacket riddled by grape, and his legs 
 blackened by the wind of a round shot Two men's heads were 
 taken off by his side, and the blood from their poor trunks literally 
 covered him ; three or four others were wounded in his boat, and 
 the Commodore was persuaded to retire and re-form. Just then 
 we came up, and opened fire from our bow gun. The boats gave 
 us some of their wounded, which filled our mess-room and cabins, 
 and then dropped astern to re-form. The Commodore would not 
 allow me to advance any farther, and we had the disadvantage of 
 engaging at a distance all these fellows, who knew their range 
 accurately, and dropped some shot on board, taking off one poor 
 fellow's leg, and wounding another badly. After half an hour's 
 firing the junks began to retreat, and we followed. The boats 
 came up again, and gave the Commodore a cheer, and oflf he 
 dashed. The river got shallower, and we got a little beyond 
 where the junks had lain, and found it impossible to get any 
 further. We drew seven feet, and there was nowhere more than 
 six. Some more junks in a small branch creek opened fire at us, 
 seeing our mast-heads over the trees, and in about ten minutes we 
 drove them out, and tried again to get afloat. We could see the 
 Commodore taking and destroying junks as he went up, some in 
 the very suburb of the city of Fatshan, which stands in the same 
 relation that Manchester does to Liverpool, and has always been 
 a shut book to Europeans. We recovered the Commodore's 
 boat, which had floated up with the stream, and as soon as we 
 could we got down the river again to where the first junks were 
 destroyed. 
 
 " I had received many more wounded, nearly all very badly so, 
 and so I was ordered to take them straight to Hong Kong at once, 
 and passed a horrid night on the bridge. Put the sick on board the 
 hospital ship at seven in the morning; coaled, watered, and 
 started again at six in the evening, passed another night on the 
 bridge, piloting the ship, and reported myself to the Admiral at 
 
Chap. II.] SCENERY. 23 
 
 nine o'clock the next morning. I never was so dead beat in all 
 my life. All the way down I had the ringing of shot in my ears, 
 and the groans of a poor fellow with half his skull fractured and 
 carried away, who could not be removed; and coming up we 
 had two alarms of springing a leak, and I had actually steered for 
 a sandy place to put the ship on shore ; the first from the 
 injection pipe of the engine bursting, and the second from the 
 speed and immersion causing a shot to work out of a hole which 
 it had before stopped for itself." 
 
 Beauty of scenery always had a great charm for him, 
 and he took pleasure in finding out what it was that 
 pleased him in a landscape. About this time he thus 
 speaks of his first impressions of China, as compared to 
 what some of his family were enjoying while travelling in 
 Italy and Spain : — 
 
 " How I envy any one even of your fellow-travellers in Italy, 
 and how I could enjoy it with you. Long before I get home 
 again it will all be over, I am afraid, unless I would whisk myself 
 overland to join you. The scenes and climate, and, above all, 
 the associations, must be delightful. This country is totally 
 wanting in the last There are no scenes one remembers with 
 interest, no people who have spirited, free, or gentle natures to 
 give one an intent de coeur. The little one knows of the past 
 history here excites no interest or reverence. The impressions 
 of the character of the Cantonese, received on the spot, accord 
 completely with the ideas imbibed from reading Hue. Some 
 parts of the river are excessively pretty now. The rice plants 
 have grown up to a height of four feet or more, and are therefore 
 never covered by the tide, and they appear to keep the same 
 brilliant green until cut. Junks of all sorts move about with 
 their round-headed dark brown sails of matting, following the 
 windings of some creek, till they disappear or lower their sails 
 behind a mass of wide-spreading, dark-leaved trees, which the 
 
24 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 village people sit under in front of the waterside. Still in the 
 tropics one can never say that any part of scenery like this is 
 absolutely beautiful; for where light and atmosphere vary so 
 immensely with the time of day, what is dull at mid-day if it is 
 cloudy, or all of one colour if the sun shines, is full of tender 
 shades and pretty minute changes at early morning or sunset. 
 
 " I had your note from Madrid. I can quite understand your 
 not liking it after your visits to quieter places. I think that 
 to like a large town one ought to know many people intimately 
 in it, and have some one, at least, whose countenance changes 
 for you. In the country one is content with the scene and sky 
 which change for no one, but are always full of beauty and grace, 
 for those who love them. 
 
 " I have seen a man who has travelled through the heart of the 
 central provinces of China, going from Canton to Hankow. He 
 says that there were no traces of rebels there, but that all was 
 quiet — this is satisfactory. The country he describes is pretty 
 and varied, but never gets beyond the petitesse of the willow 
 pattern. Does not this account to you for their cramped, 
 dwarfed style of art. They have nothing that is really stupen- 
 dous or magnificent to set off against the work of their own hands 
 — dykes and canals — which are stupendous as works of human 
 labour, and in their intense self-love they prefer to pourtray the 
 quaint, grotesque weavings of their own fancies to copying the 
 beauties of nature, or rather of God's hand. They don't perceive 
 or admire the lovely changes of the hues of clouds or sky any 
 more than they can the harmony of music. Sharp contrasts of 
 brilliant colours please them best, and in the latter they cannot 
 go astray with all the carpets of brilliant flowers which the central 
 provinces possess." 
 
 In the same letter he gives an account of taking some 
 war junks, with regard to which action he was mentioned 
 in a despatch of Sir R. McClure s : — 
 
Chap. II.] CAPTURE OF WAR JUNKS. 25 
 
 *' There is an immense amount of piracy going on in a small 
 way right under our noses, and on Monday, the 4th, I went with 
 Captain McClure and boats of ' Esk ' to try and rout some out of 
 the shores of some islands. He was unsuccessful in his search, 
 but while he was away I saw a Mandarin boat of twenty-six oars, 
 and pulled after her in my gig and took her — a very pretty boat 
 of four guns, built exactly as most war junks that I have seen are, 
 like the plates of Venetian galleys in the sixteenth century in the 
 old MSS. in the Royal Naval College library. Just when I was 
 close to her, a junk, which I had taken from her seedy appear- 
 ance to be a merchant, fired some grape at me, and by the time 
 I had taken my first chase the fellow had got to a village, and I 
 did not think it right to follow him with only four men, so went 
 back to Captain McClure, got two of his boats, one with a gun. 
 He pulled in on one side of the village, while I went by another 
 branch of the creek to the right to join him. Finding no channel 
 I returned and was going up his creek to join him, for I heard a 
 good deal more firing than seemed due to the occasion. I soon 
 saw him coming out, firing as he retreated, and with a small 
 junk, like the one I had taken in the morning, in tow. My 
 paddles prevented my getting into the creek after all, and I 
 pulled in in the gig, and heard that McClure had boarded the 
 junk and tried to tow her out. The crew got behind their village 
 walls and fired jingals, and killed or wounded nine men, so he 
 set her on fire and left her, and when the gun-boat reached him, 
 went in again, firing a few shot to scare the crew off, and com- 
 pleted her destruction." 
 
 In September the " Honkong " was returned to her 
 owners, and Lieutenant Goodenough took command of the 
 *' Bittern," where he remained for a few weeks, when he was 
 offered to go as second lieutenant of the flagship, the 
 " Calcutta," which he accepted, as he would be in charge of. 
 
26 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 a landing party. While in the Bittern he describes a 
 dinner given to Captain Turnour, the late commander of 
 the Raleigh — 
 
 " Captain Turnour has not yet left ; and the day before yester- 
 day the officers and men at the fort, who are all old Raleighs, 
 gave him a dinner on his going home. They had caught a young 
 heifer a few days before on a foraging expedition ; another forag- 
 ing party went away and got a quantity of plank and shot some 
 pigs. They rigged a table for 1 70 people, which we found on going 
 up, covered and ornamented with evergreens and flags. A chair 
 came down for Captain Turnour to the landing-place, ornamented 
 with green, and with * a pleasant passage home,'&c., on a Chinese 
 paper over it ; and he was carried up with cheers to the table. 
 The heifer was roasted whole and was delicious, and they had 
 made a quantity of plum puddings of about fifteen inches diameter. 
 Johnson, one of our lieutenants, managed it all, and I never saw 
 anything better done. It would quite have borne comparison with 
 any tenant's dinner at home. I gave Captain Tumour's health 
 in a speech which I had to shout out, at the top of my voice. 
 After dinner, there were races, jumping, hopping, quoits, &c., on 
 flat ground without the walls ; and when it grew dark we sat in the 
 mess-room, once a joss-house, and heard songs and recitations 
 from the men who sat in a semicircle outside. The men waited 
 to carry Turnour in triumph to his boat again, and the leader 
 presented him with the visiting paper, begging him to keep it as 
 a memento. The mosquitoes are something frightful. I was 
 learning Chinese words just now from an old washenvoman, who 
 had brought my clothes, when she coolly hit me a slap on the 
 forehead, and quite gravely showed me a splendid mosquito on 
 the palm of her hand and told me its Chinese name." 
 
 In December, Goodenough landed at Honan Island, in 
 the Canton river. He thus describes the landing and 
 preparation for the taking of Canton : — 
 
Chap. II.] CANTON RIVER, 2J 
 
 We left the Calcutta on Saturday last, 19th, and came here 
 (Honan Island) in a gunboat, 200 men and officers, whom I com- 
 mand, with Gilford and Beamish under me, and a half dozen mids 
 and youngsters, among whom are two old Raleighs, Dupuis, and 
 Wilson. We are very happy in our quarters, which are a row of 
 large empty packhouses. On landing, we had to clear the rubbish 
 out of one of these, lay planks on impromptu trestles, cover them 
 with mats, and then forage for tables, stools, basins, quantities of 
 which were in the deserted houses in the neighbourhood. We 
 landed at half-past two, and at half-past five all was done, and the 
 men were having tea in their house, which they divide into port 
 and starboard side. We have a room which has served as an 
 office or something of that sort, and have arranged ourselves 
 pretty much as the men. Our occupation has been to send parties 
 making batteries or reconnoitring on the opposite side. We are 
 here on the south side of a branch of the river, the north side 
 being Canton city, about 1500 yards off. The Chinese have not 
 attempted yet to check our movements. One day I was with a 
 party at the French Folly, an island fort dismantled by us a year 
 ago, and within five hundred yards of the city wall. The Chinese 
 took no notice of us whatever while we cleared the ground and 
 began to make a pier. To make a good job of it I ordered some 
 of our boats to take some cargo junks which I meant to place, 
 sticking out from the beach filled with stones. Unfortunately 
 one of these was laden with salt, and the sanpans, who had held 
 aloof and picked up stray bits of wood, now closed in for the 
 handfuls of salt which the men threw to them. As it was neces- 
 sary to lighten her I let them clear her ; there was a rush of old 
 women and men and girls scrambling, pushing and digging at the 
 salt, not waiting long enough to take a whole bag, but burrowing 
 into the mass of about ;;^2oo pounds worth of cargo. Yesterday 
 we had a pleasant trip, reconnoitring from Tsimpoo, a village 
 from which Lord Gough attacked the heights last war. We went 
 within 2000 yards of their forts without drawing their fire, and had 
 a quiet view of some very pretty country, highly cultivated, and 
 
28 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 of some pretty gardens. 28th. Fancy what I have been doing 
 for the last two days — bill sticking ! I have been with H. Parkes, 
 the consul, sticking bills up, in Chinese, within 130 yards of the 
 walls, telling the people that we begin to fire to-morrow, and that 
 the city will be ours. We call on all good citizens to assist us, 
 when we shall be in possession, to maintain order and to keep 
 up the police of their districts. The people pressed round to get 
 the proclamation, and eagerly joking and talking to Parkes. At 
 one place we stuck them up on a triumphal arch, created in 
 honour of our having been kept so long out of the city. In 
 another a fellow was pestering for a paper, so Parkes said no, I 
 want to give them to respectable people. * Oh, then, pray hand 
 me one, and I will give it to one of those.* Whereat the crowd 
 laughed greatly. We shall not be engaged for two days; we scale 
 the wall which is twenty feet wide, and go along it till we reach a 
 gate which we open for artillery, and then wait for orders. I do 
 not expect fighting till we enter the city." 
 
 Of the taking of Canton no letter has been preserved. 
 Goodenough commanded the men and field guns of the 
 Calcutta in that engagement, and the following letter, 
 written in 1875 by a former seaman of the Raleigh and 
 Calcutta, now settled in Australia, alludes to this action : — 
 
 **Whcn the Commodore was in Adelaide, a few months ago, I, 
 an old and humble shipmate of his, and one who has stood in the 
 breach with him before to-day, met him in the street by accident, 
 and although seventeen years had passed since I last saw him, I 
 recognised my old commander. We had a short conversation, 
 and I begged for a visit, which he did me the honour to pay next 
 day, and had a quiet cup of tea with me and my wife ; and we 
 
 had an hour's delightful conversation When in the 
 
 Raleigh he had the soubriquet, among certain of the crew who 
 were not afraid * to speak evil of dignities,' of Holy Joe. I relate 
 this as showing his character as a young man. And at Canton, 
 
Chap. II.] TAKING OF CANTON. 29 
 
 where I formed one of the small company he commanded, just 
 before the conflict, standing with his face to the wall and sword in 
 hand unsheathed, I turned round and saw him in the act of 
 opening his eyes, I presume, after a short, mental prayer for 
 strength and protection. I have often read with admiration the 
 Bible story of Gideon and his 300 chosen Israelites. Comparing 
 small things with greater, I have often thought this brush at 
 Canton was of that ilk. The sixty men were composed of ten 
 men belonging to the Calcutta's field piece (Lieutenant Good- 
 enough had charge of five guns belonging to the Calcutta, but 
 only one was at that point, the other four being further back on 
 the walls of Canton) and fifty men belonging to the Esk, The 
 Chinese came trotting up the hill, waving flags, &c., and we had 
 expended every shot and shell with the exception of three rounds 
 of canister, with one of which our gun was loaded. After the dis- 
 charge, the rush at the foe was made, Lieutenant Goodenough, 
 singling out a big Tartar Mandarin. When fighting with him his 
 field-glass, which was slung round his neck, got in the way, and 
 by sheer strength he broke the leather strap and flung it away. 
 When the enemy were scared away we sought for and obtained it 
 again. There was a tall Tartar soldier who had a wound in the 
 thigh. Lieutenant Goodenough, I remember well, poured the 
 contents of his water-bottle in his mouth. That man's look was 
 a reward for the self-denial ; if a painter could have painted such 
 a look it would have created a sensation. A short time after this 
 I found a fine well and replenished our water-bottles therefrom. 
 The poor Chinaman laid till the next day. We sailors thought 
 that the most honourable position of the day was given by the 
 Admiral to the Calcutta's guns. We were placed in front of 4,000 
 marines, stretched out on a beautiful plain in three long lines, 
 before two forts on hills outside the city, and when the bugles 
 sounded the advance we scoured along the plain in front of all 
 and scaled the wall with ladders, some getting through one of 
 the gates — curious gates those eastern cities have — and dragging 
 our guns after us." 
 
30 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II- 
 
 A companion of those days speaks of Goodenough in 
 the following terms, alluding to this time : — 
 
 " ... a thorough good naval officer, who I felt was 
 always a good example to me, both as a messmate and shipmate 
 in all matters connected with our duty, not only in the drudgery 
 of peace time, but during the excitement of active operations 
 before the enemy, when I have often seen him exercise his 
 influence in checking licenses occasioned by the inexperience of 
 the young hands, unaccustomed to victory, and commended 
 afterwards by the older and superior bystanders." 
 
 Immediately after the taking of Canton, the Admiral 
 gave him a commission of acting commander ; and a few 
 weeks after he was promoted to that rank from the Admi- 
 ralty, and gazetted for service on that occasion. He was 
 at once appointed commander of the Calcutta. 
 
 In March the Calcutta went to the Gulf of Pecheli, 
 and Goodenough commanded her men at the capture of 
 the Taku forts, in May, 1858, where she lost one killed and 
 two wounded. The letter containing the account of the 
 engagement was unfortunately lost, but the following 
 extracts speak of what immediately preceded and succeeded 
 the attack : — 
 
 "H.M.S. Calcutta, March, 1858. 
 
 " At sea at last, in real truth ; for the first few days it gave me 
 an inexpressible feeling of relief to feel the ship moving under me, 
 to be able to look round without seeing that horrible Victoria peak 
 over one's head. The north-east monsoon is not yet over, so we 
 are beating up, and in our zig-zag course have sighted * Lurzon,' 
 various islands with grassy knolls and ravines, full of dark scrubby 
 trees, and to-day we are in sight of the north end of Formosa. 
 
Chap. II.] GULF OF PECHELI. 3 1 
 
 Yesterday a lovely bird was blown off, and perched several times : a 
 dark red body, with a long oval of green on the back, and a long 
 pink bill, perhaps one of the birds of Formosa celebrated for their 
 beauty." 
 
 " The military chaplain was on board here a few days ago, and 
 dined with us : Mr. Huleatt, an excellent man, with a manly, 
 straightforward, pleasant manner, exceedingly taking with the 
 men, who ought to adore him. I don't know if they do. At 
 Canton he has already got a reading room and a school, and dif- 
 ferent amusements, such as lectures for the soldiers and marines, 
 and has organised besides rice and soup kitchens for the poor 
 Chinese, of whom there are many, although there were foundling 
 and aged asylums well endowed long ago. Of course, with such 
 sharp people, he has a great deal of difficulty in dealing with rogues, 
 who counterfeit the tickets which he gives to the poor, and receive 
 quantities of rice. He made tickets and set his seal on them, 
 and in a very few days discovered a counterfeit. He seized the 
 man who presented it, and by promise of a reward found the old 
 woman who sold it to him, and the little girl who passed it to 
 her, and at last the manufacturer in the middle of his work, who 
 was handed over to the provost marshal." 
 
 '* We have a poor old Chinaman with us whom we are taking 
 back to his kin. He is a commercial traveller, and had been only 
 six weeks in Canton on the day of the bombardment. After the 
 place was taken, an English sentry shot him in the leg, which was 
 afterwards amputated at the hospital established by our medical 
 men. Huleatt, the military chaplain, a noble fellow, took care of 
 him, and brought him on board. The poor old fellow was miser- 
 able when we first began our bad weather, and took to opium for 
 a solace. He coiled himself up, lit a little lamp, and smoked 
 fifteen pipes running, then went to sleep, to wake fifteen times 
 more wretched than before, and smoke again. He can speak no 
 English, and not even the Canton dialect of Chinese, being a 
 Shanghai man ; and to find out at what time he would like to eat, 
 
32 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 my tailor Atrick had to sit down and >vrite the questions we asked, 
 and receive written answers." 
 
 ** April 22nd, 
 
 " We have just entered the sea of Pecheli, and it is blowing 
 hard and cold from north-east. We passed this morning some 
 rugged, barren islands, which lay about the entrance. There is 
 excitement in cruising about these seas, which are so little kno^\^^. 
 If we go right or left of the straight course, through foul ^^'ind, 
 any moment may bring us on an island or rock. Except the 
 * Bittern,' in 1855, I think no ship has been here since 1840. 
 There is no trade with Europeans ; the people are too poor to buy 
 any foreign luxuries, and no doubt are forbidden to sell us pro- 
 visions, so we shall be on short commons. We entered the yellow 
 sea with a smooth sea, ^d fresh clear sky, the sea streaked with 
 discoloured muddy patches ; and if there was a wind I have no 
 doubt it would shew its right to the name. The tides are so swift, 
 and their direction so little known, that navigation is only safe for 
 us by day; we are the largest ship that ever visited these 
 parts." 
 
 *' Off the Peiho, Mayy 1858. 
 
 " After three weeks' endeavour to negociate with the Chinese 
 court, we are going to take the forts which guard the entrance of 
 this river. All the time that we have spent here has been em- 
 ployed by them in strengthening their works, and bringing down 
 some men, among whom are some five hundred cavalry, so that 
 the loss of them will have a greater effect than if they had been 
 taken at first. Count Putiatine, who, having been here before, is 
 better acquainted with the people than the rest of us, has advised 
 them in vain not to offer resistance. They say, * we know the 
 English are very strong at sea, but on shore they cannot cope 
 with the Chinese. He has had a visit from Russian mission- 
 aries, belonging to the college at Pckin, who say that people there 
 are much excited, and that they have no doubt that the capture of 
 
Chap. 11.] PEIHO RIVER. 33 
 
 the forts will be followed by an instant desire to treat. They 
 came from Pekin by a fine broad causeway, by pursuing which 
 the distance to Pekin is shortened by one half, the river being 
 very winding. We are to go close in in gun boats and our own 
 boats to-night, and attack early to-morrow morning. I went to 
 look at the forts yesterday, and as we are not yet at war, was 
 allowed to look at them quite close, and see the place at which 
 it is intended that we should land." 
 
 " I was able to write to you from the forts, to say I was all 
 right. I embarked in * Coromandel,' and went to Tientsin the day 
 after I wrote ; stopped there three days, and came back here three 
 days ago. I have been reading Sir G. Streeton's account of the 
 journey of the embassy of Lord Macartney. Neither the river 
 nor the people have changed since then at all, and his quaint 
 story is a perfect guide book to them. We were four days going 
 up the sixty miles, as it was all new, and necessary to send 
 edaireurs a-head, besides which the French ships were frequently 
 aground. Our track was very winding indeed, and through a 
 perfectly level country, well cultivated, near the banks, with 
 barley, wheat, millet, and vegetables ; the villages, which are ver 
 poor, are built of sunburnt bricks (adobes), and there are fruit 
 trees in abundance. The people appear to be very poor and 
 dirty, and afraid of us ; ran to assist us if we wanted a rope 
 hauled, or to turn the vessel in the abrupt winds. The river was 
 full of large junks, which had brought and discharged grain from the 
 southern provinces. As the mandarins might at any moment set 
 them on fire, and send them on top of us or sink them to block 
 up the river, we turned them out. I have often wondered at 
 people speaking Chinese with such vehemence and gesticulation, 
 but found it was quite necessary. If you say a thing quietly they 
 repeat the last word, look at you, and think no more about it. The 
 interpreter was "telling me of this one day, and of ordering bul- 
 locks. * We want bullocks.' ' Bullocks.' * Let us have ten 
 
34 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 bullocks.' — 'have ten bullocks.' *Yes,' vehemently, *send us 
 down ten bullocks.' * Ah, send ten bullocks.' Immense gesticu- 
 lation and a screech, ' yes, go away and bring at once ten bul- 
 locks.' *Ah — ah — bullocks.' At last the interpreter screeches, 
 claps his hands, spreads his arms, and drives the people ofif like a 
 flock of geese. My stock of Chinese, and of patience, were both 
 too short for the work of driving the people off. All day was I 
 calling out, * Chu-la ! chu la pen. Ta kua ! Tung pa tung ? ' 
 On arriving at Tientsin we found a white flag flying ; soon two 
 deputations of merchants and tradesmen came off with petitions, . 
 setting forth that they had heard that the ship of our honourable 
 nation being refused leave to enter the river, had come in by 
 force. Now had we come to trade or to make war? If the 
 former, would we furnish a list of our merchandise, and they would 
 hasten to lay it before the Emperor, and get his leave to trade, 
 and give us whatever we asked. If we came for war, would we 
 give them time to remove their goods from the city. Probably 
 this was an offer to ransom the city. The only reply they got was, 
 
 ' 6 bullocks. 
 
 * 20 sheep. 
 
 * Fowls. 
 
 ' Fruit.'—' Bring.' 
 
 written by the interpreter on the back of a visiting card ; and in- 
 stead of extortions, they must have been pleased to find that they 
 were compelled to receive payment for their few things which they 
 wished us to receive as a present, that we might have become in 
 some sort their debtors. A joss-house was ordered to be prepared 
 for Lord Elgin, and was nicely fitted up in the Chinese fashion ; 
 it must be the same as that in which Lord Macartney was received 
 sixty years ago. We hear to-day that two plenipotentiaries of 
 higher rank and higher powers than any that have previously con- 
 ferred with English have arrived at Tientsin, and have opened 
 conferences with the European and United States plenipoten- 
 tiaries, who are all now there." 
 
Chap. IL] TIENTSIN. 35 
 
 ''June \Zth. 
 
 " My last fortnight has been spent in preparations of all sorts. 
 Preparations for going to sea so as to be ready on the Admiral's 
 return ; preparations for landing our men again in case we had to 
 march on Pekin, equipping them with defences against the sun, 
 with haversacks for their food, bottles for water, &c. — one need to 
 be half a soldier. Plenipotentiaries have been sent down to negotiate 
 with our ambassador, and the treaty was to have been finished all 
 but the formal signature to-day. Lord Elgin has been living at 
 the expense of the city. When we arrived there we selected the 
 best looking temple near, and ordered the townspeople to fit it up 
 in the best style. They did it immediately, for they were only too 
 glad that their city was neither attacked nor plundered \ and in a 
 short time the joss-house was cleaned, papered, carpeted with red 
 cloth and embroidered dragons, and furnished with square uncom- 
 fortable seats, with covers of the same sort of stuff. Thirty servants 
 were appointed and put in uniform, and I suppose the attention 
 we exacted made them think much more of our ambassadors. 
 
 " Tientsin has been visited, and proves a dirty, wretched place. 
 The suburb is the best part, and Lord Elgin's house happens to be 
 the best looking building in the place. Roderick Dew was pelted as 
 he walked along, and had to make the best of his way off with the 
 loss of his hat, and when a party of marines went up, the gate 
 of the city was shut in their face. However, Osborn got over 
 the wall with half a dozen blue jackets, and came down on the 
 flank of the astonished crowd, who were well belaboured with 
 cutlass and scabbard, and the gate was opened to the marines, 
 who marched through and round the place, and chastised some of 
 the most impudent looking. I have been trying to write to 
 Mrs. E. about her little boy, who died in this ship, and find it 
 easier to tell her about him than I thought it would be ; he was 
 so good and pure a little fellow that I could not but give her com- 
 fort in speaking of him. When such a thing occurs, one feels 
 how great is the responsibility on one's shoulders when there are 
 so many young boys to look after, tenderly brought up, and not 
 
 D 2 
 
36 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. II. 
 
 judges of their own fitness to stand fatigue or climate. Two others 
 were lying dangerously ill at Tientsin ; they are better now, getting 
 stronger ; both are charming boys, full of spirit and honour." 
 
 Early in August, the Calcutta having touched at 
 Shanghai, went for a short time to Japan — being one of 
 the first English men-of-war which had been admitted 
 there ; and the first impressions of Japan are thus de- 
 scribed : — 
 
 *' Nagasaki, August 6th. 
 
 " A rainy day, pouring in torrents, but even that cannot hinder 
 me from feeling pleased with the place and people. We came in 
 three days ago, on a lovely morning. The harbour is a long arm 
 of the sea ; rocky points jut out on either side, hiding strangely 
 shaped boats with bright sides and flags. The hills are cultivated 
 in terraces to the top, and at this season clothed with fresh tender 
 green of vegetables and corn. Clumps of dark trees stand in the 
 ravines and on the tops of the highest hills. We are the first line 
 of battle ship that has been here, and so are crowded with intel- 
 ligent visitors. It is really a pleasure to see them, they are so 
 polite and clean, and well-mannered. Many speak Dutch and a 
 few words of English, and ask questions incessantly. Yesterday 
 I went with the Admiral to call on the Governor, and lunched at 
 his house or dined there, at half-past two. We were placed on 
 chairs on one side of a room, floored with several thicknesses of 
 matting, and with mat sides ; the Governor and his suite were 
 seated on sofas opposite to us. The conversation was sufficiently 
 tedious, having to be carried on through two interpreters, from 
 English to Dutch, l)y one of our seamen, and from Dutch to 
 Japanese, by an interpreter, who spoke to the Governor on hands 
 and knees, and with his head bent. One would expect to find 
 this servile and disgusting, but it appeared to me to be merely a 
 form of respect, and tlic manner of speaking to the man on his 
 knees was always polite. Servants brought cups of tea, then 
 
Chap. II.] JAPAN 37 
 
 trays of sweetmeats, at which we nibbled ; after cups of water to 
 remove the taste, came very handsome black Japanese trays, with 
 a broth of fowl and vermicelli, broiled pieces of fresh pork, and 
 bits of fish on separate japanned platters, and a shallow red cup 
 of salt — very nasty. After pecking at these came another tray 
 with hard boiled eggs, a cup full of capital lobster salad, and 
 lobster floating about with tough mushrooms. Everything is de- 
 lightfully clean after Chinese dirt. Just now all the party who 
 were yesterday at the Governor's, were presented with their plates 
 of sweetmeats from yesterday's dinner, nicely tied up with tinsel 
 thread." 
 
 The Calcutta returned to Hong Kong at the end of 
 August, 1858. During all this time Goodenough suffered, 
 as did most people, a good deal from fever at intervals, and 
 once from a sunstroke, from which, however, he soon 
 recovered. About this time he thus speaks of the ship's 
 company of the Raleigh : — 
 
 " Hong Kong, December i^th. 
 
 " The old ' Raleighs ' hold together to the name and to the 
 ship wonderfully. We were only six months together, and were 
 separated a year and a half ago, yet the men still talk of being 
 Raleigh's, or Riley's^ as they say ; and on every ship I go on board 
 on the station, there is some fellow who comes up with a pleased 
 grin, to be recognised and nodded to. I never saw such esprit de 
 corps before among seamen. That sentence in the advertisement 
 for men, ' none but the right sort need apply,' first got the men a 
 good deal of abuse from other ships' crews, but finally separated 
 them from other men, and made them endeavour to earn the title 
 of the right sort." 
 
 In February, 1859, the Calcutta was ordered home, 
 and was paid off at Plymouth on August 12th of the same 
 
38 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. IL 
 
 year. Immediately on arriving in England, Captain (now 
 Admiral) King Hall proceeded to another command ; and 
 on Commander Goodenough devolved the task of paying 
 off the ship. She was dismantled with such rapidity as to 
 elicit a compliment from the authorities. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 SECOND VOYAGE TO CHINA IN H.M.S. RENARD — PENANG — PEIHO — 
 SHANGHAI— NINGPO— NANKIN— SUEZ CANAL — COMMANDER OF H.M.S. 
 REVENGE— PROMOTION. 
 
 On paying off the " Calcutta," Commander Goodenough 
 spent a few weeks with his relations in different parts of 
 England ; but his holiday was to be of short duration. 
 When he had been in England about a month, came the 
 news of the second and unsuccessful attack on the Taku 
 forts. Goodenough, feeling that the knowledge of China 
 which he possessed could be made of use, immediately 
 volunteered to return to that station. On the i8th of 
 September, just five weeks after he had left the Calcutta, 
 he writes to his sister : — 
 
 " I hope you will have half expected what I am going to tell 
 you. When I heard of the terrible news from China, I could not 
 do otherwise than offer my services to go out there again. I went 
 to the Admiralty therefore, yesterday, and saw Sir Michael Sey- 
 mour, who happened to be there, and he told me that I should in 
 all probability be employed." 
 
 A day or two after he was appointed to the command of 
 the " Renard " sloop, which was then lying at Sheerness, 
 and which he joined on September 22nd. The preparations 
 were hastened forward as much as possible. He left 
 
40 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 Sheerness on the loth of October, and finally sailed from 
 Spithead on October i8th, 1859, having been but a little 
 over two months in England. Of his doings in the Renard, 
 Commander Goodenough, in a short resume of his hfe, 
 written some years later, gives the follov/ing account : — 
 
 " I left England Oct. 1 8, and went to Hong Kong by way of 
 Teneriffe, Ascension, Penang, and Singapore. From Hong Kong, 
 in April, i860, I went to Chusan, and was at the second capture 
 of the Taku forts in June, afterwards taking command of a flotilla 
 of boats to Tongku and Pekin, my ship remaining at Tientsin. I 
 left Tientsin in November, and passed my winter partly at 
 Shanghai and partly in the Gulf of Pesheli, and in March, 1861, 
 remained as Senior officer at Shanghai and then at Ningpo, 
 which place I put in a defensible state against the rebels. Thence 
 in August I went as Senior officer to Nankin, and remained there 
 till Sir J. Hope allowed me to return to England in November, 
 1 86 1, which I did, meeting one of my brothers at Point-de-Galle 
 and the other in Egypt in January, 1862." 
 
 The reason for his returning to England at that time 
 was, partly that his health was weakened with being so 
 long in China — he was constantly suffering from fever and 
 ague — but still more that he felt he was losing ground pro- 
 fessionally from being so long away from England, and 
 getting behindhand as regarded inventions, or whatever 
 was new and active in the naval service. He was never 
 so happy as when fully employed, and often in writing 
 says, " Hard work, as usual, agrees with me ; ** or, " I am 
 fortunate in having always something to do ; " " For a 
 long time I have never been a week at anchor," and such 
 expressions as these. Having a constant desire to be 
 
Chap. III.]] H.M.S. RENARD. 41 
 
 always learning something-, as soon as he felt he had 
 mastered any subject, or any piece of work, and that his 
 full powers were no longer required, he sought for some 
 new object on which to expend them. 
 
 An officer who served with him in the Renard has 
 spoken of him and his influence at that date as follows : — 
 
 " Goodenough was a man not thoroughly appreciated by those 
 who did not know him intimately. His manner on duty could be 
 as uncompromising as his actions, and it required a man to know 
 him well to understand fully the stern truth with which he could 
 reprove negligence or wilful default ; but to those who had the 
 privilege of serving with or under him, his manner, whilst never 
 passing over a lapse of duty, was singularly loving and attractive. 
 There are many officers now serving (1875) who date their best 
 feelings for the honour and well-being of the service from the time 
 when they first came under Goodenough's fostering care. One 
 only had to try to do one's duty to ensure his kindly smile, his 
 readiness to condone any error in judgment, and his pleasant 
 way of showing the right thing to do. As a specimen of his at- 
 tractive qualities, the writer of this note, who was a member of 
 an ill-assorted mess in Goodenough's first regular command, 
 recollects that the only bond of union, the only thing on which all 
 were agreed, was their love and respect for the skipper. As a 
 specimen of his ability, the writer was present on an occasion, 
 when, without the slightest warning, Goodenough was called upon 
 to verify the nationality of several filibusters, which he did to their 
 astonishment, by speaking to them fluently in no less than seven 
 different languages. These were only two of the many good 
 qualities upon which want of space prevents enlarging. I am 
 sure that those who have served under him, whilst feeling pride at 
 having been associated with such an officer, can have no better 
 ambition than that they may in some degree resemble him." 
 
 The following extracts are from letters written from the 
 
42 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. III. 
 
 Renard, and from a journal kept while on board that 
 ship ; on the first page of which, after writing his name, he 
 had written : — 
 
 *' Teach me to live that I may dread 
 The grave as little as my bed." 
 
 "H.M.S. * Renard,' at Sea, December, 1859. 
 
 " We are in a free and exhilarating air, and have prodigious 
 appetites ; the misfortune is we have so little to satisfy the latter. 
 Two men are beginning to suffer from sore gums, from being so 
 long on salt meat. I send them carrots and turnips, but they 
 won't last long, and we have still a fortnight before we can sight 
 land. The weather is so lovely that I am beginning to paint and 
 polish ship and guns, and to exercise, and shall pop at a target 
 the first fine day. I have been thinking of what I should do if I 
 find we are at war, and if I fall in with a French steam gun-vessel, 
 and I have decided on having my long guns on the bow, and short 
 ones on bow and beam, commence firing and close ; load the last 
 round when at 500 yards with round shot and grape, and fire at 
 200 yards, then prepare to board, load short guns again with 
 grape, run alongside, fire, and board. My men begin to be 
 capital swordsmen, they are full of life and vigour, and their 
 instructor is blessed with good temper, which effects wonders. I 
 like them better every day. The officers, too, are all anxious to 
 make the ship shine amongst others: It is a long voyage on salt 
 provisions. Fifty days from port, and eighty from fresh beef, as 
 at Ascension we had only a couple of days' turtle. I send them 
 some compressed vegetables, and some tins of carrots and 
 turnips, which are very good." 
 
 " H.M.S. 'Renard,* March, i86a 
 
 " I am en route from Singapore to Penang, a second time, to 
 tow transports down, which seems to be about the most honour- 
 able and glory-compelling service that I shall have to perform 
 
Chap. III.] H.M.S. RENARD. 43 
 
 this campaign, as it seems probable we shall not go up to Tientsin, 
 and that the Taku forts may be taken by land forces in their un- 
 guarded rear. I found Singapore pleasant, though it constantly 
 rained. I used to dine at the table d'hote of the Esperanza hotel, 
 kept by a Spanish lady, a Sevillana, married to a French count, 
 who had plantations in Java, which failed to return him any 
 profit, and in their misfortune his wife took first one and finally all 
 the hotels in Singapore. After dinner I sat with her and Sir R. 
 McClure in the verandah, talking French, Spanish, or English, 
 according to the nationality of the last speaker, for there is an 
 innumerable variety of guests there." 
 
 *' March 22nd. 
 
 " Since I left Penang on Saturday last, I have towed the head- 
 quarters of the Rifles to Singapore, where I arrived at 2.30 a.m. 
 Went to see Sir R. McClure at 4 a.m., found him asleep with 
 windows open and doors locked ; leaped in through the window, 
 and slept till he awoke. He naturally thought I was a thief, 
 and came to the defensive attitude when he got up and heard me 
 jump to my feet. Started again at 6 a.m., and have just picked 
 up two more troopers with the remainder of the Rifles. Penang is 
 very odd and very amusing. The people are very anxious to be 
 attentive to us, and naval officers are at a premium here. 
 
 *' Last night I met some of my Rifles whom I towed in, and 
 find some of them knew W. at Benares. One H. had begun 
 life in the navy, where he spent five years, and did not enter 
 the army till twenty-one ; he found his naval education of great 
 use ; it has led since to his getting staff appointments. I suppose 
 his increased handiness may be owing to his having seen more 
 of service and life. It is interesting to hear these little things, 
 especially as you know how averse I am to special training for 
 either army or navy until the life is actually begun. I triumphantly 
 cite Lord Dundonald now, in support of arguments on this side. 
 He entered the navy at sixteen." 
 
44 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 " April Sth. 
 
 " I hope that I shall now start for Hong Kong, as this is my 
 fifth load and seventh ship full of troops, and I find it both 
 monotonous and fatiguing to myself and my men. I always 
 enjoy going in or out of Singapore. I pass through clusters of 
 rounded islands which have been partly cleared of their dark- 
 green trees, and their place supplied by fresh grass. Ridges of 
 rock run here and there into the glassy calm water joined by belts 
 of rich yellow sand, and junks with tanned sails, or prahs with 
 bellying white ones and a strip of red flag, pass between in every 
 direction." 
 
 ** Jutie yd. 
 "I left Hong Kong ten days ago, encountered a gale, and had to 
 anchor in various snug bays along the coast. Will you believe it ? 
 I was actually sick again. It was rather unexpected, for I had 
 hoped that I was well of that complaint for three years at least, 
 but the weather was really bad, and things flew about my cabin in 
 an alarming way." 
 
 ** In the Peh-tang-ho, August ^th, 
 " On the first of this month I was signalled to go in after the 
 gunboats as soon as I could find water enough. I followed, but 
 unfortunately grounded on a point just inside. It was a good deal 
 my own fault for not keei)ing a stricter look-out, but I was rather 
 jockeyed by another despatch-vessel on to the bank. There was no 
 firing, so it did not much signify in that respect, but I was much 
 vexed at looking clumsy in my first essay before the Admiral. As 
 we have not to fight here, the Admiral has set me to work to buoy 
 and mark the channel, which gratifies me in my present state of 
 humility after my mishap, as it is a business which requires care 
 and accuracy. I am always glad to have more to do. The 
 troops are all disembarking, and we make the village at tlie 
 mouth of this river our head-quarters and depot Provisions and 
 stores are being landed as well. A reconnaissance pushed out 
 
Chap. III.] H.M.S. RENARD. 45 
 
 two mornings after landing, and found a camp of 4,000 cavalry- 
 three miles off, who exchanged shots, wounding fourteen men, 
 and stood their ground. The cavalry are, as usual, the prettiest 
 sight in the army. Boats full of Probyn's and Fane's horse, have 
 passed in their blue and red turbans, sheep skins of burnt sienna, 
 and red cummerbunds. A gunboat went alongside a pier, and in 
 seven minutes and a half, sixty-one troop horses and men, all 
 accoutered, and with three days' provisions, were on shore, mounted 
 ready to engage an enemy." 
 
 *' August 22nd. 
 " It is all over, and except some half-a-dozen gunboats, no naval 
 men have heard the whistle of a shot. I am just recovering from 
 the labours of the day before yesterday. The road was in capital 
 order, and I walked to the camp, and as near as possible to 
 the point of attack. I intended to go right on, but a guard 
 and a staff-officer had been left behind at the camp, with orders 
 that no one was to pass except on duty, and all the troops not 
 engaged were confined to their own camps. I was sold, for I 
 had just put a bottle of claret, a tongue, and half a cheese in my 
 wallet to share with Barry or Bedingfeld. The next best thing 
 to do was to sit in the gate, and hear what was going on from 
 passers-by, staff-officers, wounded men, or artillery officers going to 
 the camp for ammunition. It seems that there were two ditches 
 to be crossed, and a mud loop-holed parapet to be scrambled over. 
 Some sappers and the marines were to carry a pontoon bridge 
 and scaling-ladders, and the 44th and 67 th were to storm. The 
 artillery kept up a fire for four hours, and the steamers advanced. 
 The Chinese kept up their fire to the last, and even after the 
 ladders were planted, pushed some men down with spears, 
 and shot several others with jingalls through their loop-holes. 
 Our Chinese coolies behaved very well, and were very useful in 
 carrying off the sick. Their step is very even, and their bamboos 
 have a light spring, which makes them the best stretcher bearers 
 possible. The French wounded went to the rear on ponies, or 
 
46 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. III. 
 
 walked three miles, whereas our hospitals were but one mile and 
 a half. In the afternoon a tremendous thunder-shower came on, 
 and ground, which thirty-pounders had gone over at a trot, 
 became laborious for a single horse. I started to return, and 
 walked six miles in the mud and wet, and then nearly gave in ; 
 but one of Probyn's gave me a cup of chocolate, and I trudged 
 on till eight o'clock, and begged a lodging from a kind doctor 
 of the 31st, out on picket, and hobbled in very stiff the next 
 morning." 
 
 ** September 22nd. 
 
 " I Started early to reconnoitre the river (Peiho), and rowed, or 
 tracked, my boats as high as a place called Yungtsun by 10 p.m., 
 forty miles. I went on till twelve, and then slept rather uncom- 
 fortably in the stern of the boat till 5 a.m., when I was rewarded 
 by 'a sight of the splendid range of hills at the back of Pekin. 
 Masses of Indian corn and millet, interspersed with villages half 
 hid under trees, led my eye to the foot of the hills. I tracked on 
 till eight, and was then obliged to return to time, having discovered 
 beyond a doubt, that small boats and large river barges could 
 convey the baggage of the army so far. I was on board my ship 
 in forty-eight hours from starting, having done ninety miles at 
 least." 
 
 *• Oefoder dth. 
 
 "The river transport is now in full force, and wc have about two 
 hundred boats, manned l)y eight hundred natives, and kept in 
 order by two hundred seamen and their officers. The boats are 
 chiefly those which are used in the salt trade, as they do not draw 
 much water : and when the owners found their boats pressed for 
 service, they grinned, and readily accompanied them. They were 
 really astounded when they were told that they should receive 
 two dollars a-day hire, but soon rose to the level of their new 
 situation, and sing out loudly that they have nothing to buy food 
 with if they happen to be a day in arrear of their pay. At first 
 
Chap. III.] H.M.S. RENARD. 47, 
 
 the boats were sent in small divisions in charge of a lieutenant, 
 but a fortnight ago a rumour came of bands of Tartars on the left 
 bank, and it was thought necessary to form a grand flotilla of 
 three divisions, with an escort of two hundred men. I went with 
 a division of ninety boats in all, taking my gig, and sleeping in a 
 covered boat which contained some cargo. Our first and second 
 days were over the same ground I had traversed in my gig, the 
 river winding between fields of maize and millet, and kept in 
 its course by high embankments of great age. Mud villages are 
 here and there on the highest part of the bank, with good vege- 
 table gardens around. The road constantly touches the river, and 
 the army having so far marched peaceably and with plenty of 
 food, we found the villagers most alert in bringing fruit and ice, 
 besides fowls and vegetables ; they called out ' Combien .? ' ' How 
 much ? ' with pleased faces, showing they had been well paid by 
 French and English. Everywhere along the banks labourers 
 were irrigating their gardens, or cutting their corn, as if no 
 English were near, and only gazed stolidly at us unless they had 
 something to sell. The alarm about Tartars proved false, and I 
 had no hesitation in walking along the banks. After two days' 
 constant journeying through corn, I was glad to see the hills 
 which I had caught sight of at my highest point on my first trip, 
 and to find some brick houses in the villages, and stone bridges 
 over small canals. The dwellings had hitherto been small mud 
 huts. Just above Yang-touw, and before reaching Ho-si-wo, I 
 came on a curious sort of flood-gates, apparently for irrigating a 
 neighbouring district. It was faced throughout with capital granite, 
 and had a well-finished white marble monument on its mound 
 to the north, standing on the back of a tortoise. The monument 
 is in three pieces : the upper represents twining dragons, the next 
 has an inscription, with a border of crabs and lizards in bas-relief, 
 and the foot is a fine large tortoise. I have seen such things 
 elsewhere, but never so good and perfect an one as this. There 
 had once been a roof over it, with the pole in front which always 
 accompanies a temple. I felt very much inclined to make a pri^e 
 
48 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. III. 
 
 of him for Sydenham, but was deterred by the idea of 'barbarians' 
 stripping the country, as well as by his serious weight. We reached 
 Ho-si-wo at noon on the third day, and stayed all next forenoon. 
 It was a town of 10,000 people, and quite abandoned. 
 
 " A party of French overtook me at four in the afternoon, while 
 I was halting to collect my boats, and a long way ahead of the 
 French boats. They each had a mule or a donkey, and presently 
 the owners came to claim them, and kotowed to me to restore 
 their property. I could not resist their wretched appeal, and as I 
 could not order, tried to persuade the Frenchmen to give them 
 up, and of course got an immense deal of impertinence from 
 them. I began with, *Come, give this poor devil back his 
 animal, since it is evident that it is his property, and not yours.' 
 * Ah ! ChtnoiSj c'est ct toi, hcin I prends ta mule^ and one gave 
 his up. 
 
 ** Another was rather drunk and stupid, and would not give his 
 up, till I threatened to wait for his officer and report him. The 
 last I tried to restore was led by a smart little chasseur, who I 
 thought would be well disposed. He began with * Who knows if 
 this is the right owner ? ' tiens, C/iinois ; and then he made the 
 beast start back when he tried to take him. I began to get angry, 
 and spoke bad French, said I would report him, and wait for 
 his officer, and tell him how he had behaved to me. The little 
 chasseur was perfectly cool : * Behaviour, vraimetit ! what 
 behaviour ? ' * Don't you see that I am an officer ? ' Really he 
 didn't know the difference of ranks, and took off his cap. * I 
 presume you do not give an order to me ; I shall present this 
 animal to my lieutenant : we are terribly in want of animals for 
 land transport ; if my General were here I should present it to 
 him. I am going back to join my convoy. Adieu^ inon lieute- 
 7iant — inon capitainey looking back over his shoulder, and making 
 a supplementary bow. I was angry, but laughing at the fellow's 
 coolness and impudence, when in ten minutes I saw the same 
 animal being led by one of our own escort, and was told that the 
 fool, who had just heard me find fault with the Frenchman, had 
 
Chap. III.] ■ H.M.S. RENARD. 49 
 
 actually given three dollars for it. Then I am afraid I was furious, 
 for the Frenchman had completely done us all, and the foolish 
 escort had to give up his beast and lose his money, which I was 
 just going to repay him in my softness, when he saw fit to be im- 
 pudent, and was punished instead of repaid. 
 
 " The Admiral has given me the business of landing provisions 
 and stores for the winter for the garrison of Tientsin, and it is 
 nearly half done." 
 
 " On the Bar of the Peiho, November igth, i860. 
 
 " I am rather astonished to find myself here, as I had just made 
 up my mind to pass the whole winter at Tientsin. So sure did I 
 feel about it, that I had begun a negotiation for a capital grey 
 horse, for riding to Pekin and other parts of the country during 
 the winter. The very next morning I met the Admiral, who said, 
 ' A fine high tide, Goodenough ; will you come and dine ? ' An 
 hour after he sent for me, and asked me in how short a time I 
 could get away, gave me my orders, and in five hours I was away, 
 with all my debts paid, pony on board, and with an odd feeling 
 concerning my own identity. The high water carried me success- 
 fully thus far, and I am now with F. Marten, waiting another rise 
 of the waters to carry me to the Fleet. I was surprised when I 
 neared the mouth of the river to find myself cutting through a 
 floating sheet of sludgey ice. It had formed on the flat ground in 
 the night, and had been carried into the stream by the high tide 
 in the morning. The thermometer during the night had fallen to 
 23°, with a biting north wind. Last night it was from east, and 
 with constant sleet, which has not yet melted from off my sails, or 
 the bastions of the Taku forts." 
 
 " November iWi. 
 
 " The ice is becoming a more decided obstacle. I have not 
 been able to get out, and am again at Taku. It is often difficult 
 to pull to the shore, but the Chinese push and pole their clumsy 
 boats, with fowls and ducks, and keep up a cry of 'How much' 
 
50 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 all day. Did I describe to you my Mahommedan baker at 
 Tientsin ? He lived next door to a temple on which we had a 
 guard. His cakes were so good that he attracted universal 
 custom, and before we left he had a vocabulary of English, French, 
 and Russian phrases which he brought out with great rapidity : 
 *Ingleez sponge-cake, pain de sucre; I say take sponge-cake, 
 dis done, no cash.' I used to find my ship's company there on a 
 Sunday afternoon, eating cakes and drinking tea. There are 
 numbers of Mahommedans all over this part of the country. At 
 Tientsin they have a handsome mosque, into which I went des-^ 
 calzado. The priests wear a turban and peaked cap, like those in 
 the illustrations to the Arabia7i Nights. They made great friends 
 with the Punjaubees who went to worship. All the bakers' appa- 
 ratus is a mud oven, two feet wide and a foot high, and a deal 
 board. As fast as white rolls can be baked they are put into 
 baskets and carried away on rafts made of five logs of wood 
 to our ships. Like all Chinamen, they learn our wants in an 
 instant, and get up a small trade. I hope that for once we may 
 do these people service without alloy, and be able to leave them 
 with a feeling that we have benefited them. It is pleasant to be 
 liked even by these poor fishermen, and it is always sad to feel 
 we often do wrong and violence, and that wherever we go our 
 visits are remembered with as much fear as pleasure." 
 
 •' Hope Sound, Miatow Island, Deconbcr 13M, i86a 
 " Will it bring you any nearer to China to see a mandarin's 
 card, eight or nine inches long, and in plaited folds ? I got it 
 yesterday by going to see the chief man of Tang-chu-fu, a large 
 walled town on the mainland, from which we want supplies, and 
 which from the beginning of the campaign was to be our head- 
 quarters in Shantung. It is a dreary-looking walled town, with a 
 picturesque fort, with a narrow entrance between two high piers. 
 A temple, with storey rising above storey on terraces, lies on a 
 tugged point on one side, and on the other a stony point leads 
 to a broad sandy beach, above which rise the walls and roofs of 
 
Chap. III.] TANG-CHU-FU, 5 1 
 
 the city. Range beyond range of purple and blue hills are 
 beyond, and on the top of the most distant is a temple and 
 pagoda dedicated to the ' Good Mother.' A small mandarin came 
 down to receive me, and begged me to walk into the temple of 
 the * Peaceful Sea,' while he told his chief that we wished to see 
 him; but we replied we wished to save time, and preferred to 
 walk. Our friend evidently expected a blowing-up from his 
 master for not having stopped us, and entreated us to remain, and 
 at the gate was reinforced by an old man with a seedy old felt 
 cap, who gave a dozen good reasons at the top of his voice why 
 we should not enter the town, but did not succeed in stopping us. 
 We walked smartly to the Yamun, and there, to our amusement, 
 met our old friend with a smarter hat and a blue button, and in 
 his best coat, smiling and grimacing a welcome. While our cards 
 went in we chaffed him on the soundness of his lungs, and hoped 
 he was not tired with his run, while he stolidly pretended not to 
 be the same man. He turned out to be the Commandant's aide- 
 de-camp. The Commandant himself is a pink button man, with 
 a stupid grave face, who gave us good tea and nasty sweetmeats 
 while we presented our letter from Prince Koum. Part of my 
 business was to announce that Lord John Hay, as the Admiral's 
 deputy, would come over to make an official visit, and I was to 
 manage that the Commandant should come to the beach to 
 receive him. He agreed at once to do as I wished, and to-day 
 Lord John Hay and I went over, with Captains Willes and 
 Day, of the ' Sphynx.' Both the Commandant and Prefect came 
 down in their dresses of ceremony — coats of real sable. We then 
 went through the city to the Yamun in the most ridiculous pro- 
 cession—Lord J. Hay and the mandarin in sedan chairs, the rest 
 of us on rough ponies with native saddles ; ragged ruffians carrying 
 red canopies, others beating gongs, and absurd boys in Chinese 
 felt pot hats carrying wooden swords. They went before and 
 behind us, howling like dogs baying at the moon. Guards of 
 ragged soldiers were posted at each gate, and fired a salute of 
 three guns as we passed. While Lord J. Hay did the business, 
 
52 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 Captain Willes suggested that the Commandant should give the 
 rest of us horses and a guide, and send us outside the towTi. A 
 sedate mandarin took us out, and was very officious in keeping 
 back the crowd and regulating our pace, when, to his astonish- 
 ment, away went one or two like rockets, pitching into their 
 beasts with sword scabbards, and of course the rest of us followed, 
 scampering along on the little rough ponies over uneven fields, 
 shouting with laughter. When we returned to the Yamun the 
 business was finished, and we went down to the beach, where 
 the mandarins said ' Good-bye,' and then went to a little look- 
 out on one of the high pier-heads, where they appeared very grand 
 and handsome in their silks and furs. I imagine it was intended 
 to be a most cordial reception ; generally every form has to be 
 stipulated for beforehand, and the number of times *Hwaylai* 
 (' come back') is to be said is laid down by the board of rites. 
 I hope the products of my mission will be fat mutton and 
 cabbages. The latter are just half-a-farthing a pound. I bought 
 some for my men, and told the man who sold them to keep the 
 change. To-day he grinned, and told the passers-by, ' That taya 
 gave me a dollar yesterday for 800 cash worth." 
 
 ** At Sea, December 14/A, 
 
 " I was ordered off at seven this morning to go to Shanghai ; 
 so I lose my mail. It has just passed me in the ' Ringdove.' It 
 is a curious sort of feeling to know as one passes the mail, there in 
 the corner of that craft's bread-room are my papers and letters. 
 It's all about Garibaldi, and whether he has gone on to Rome, or 
 whether he hasn't ; and yet it must go fifty miles, and I must go 
 a thousand before I can get hold of it" 
 
 ** December 16M. 
 
 <" It is one o'clock in the morning and I have just passed the 
 
 Yang-tze lightship to my satisfaction ; the tide was washing me 
 
 to and fro, and I began to doubt my position. * Lightship ahoy 1 
 
 HuUoa. I want a pilot.' 'Ain't got none \ they be all out Go 
 
Chap. III.] MIATOW ISLANDS. 53 
 
 on a-head full speed,' and that is probably all I and the lightman 
 shall ever have to say to each other. I hear W. calling the 
 *deep six/ and till he lowers to 'deep four' I can stay down and 
 wait for the chocolate Corporal P. is making for me." 
 
 " February I2tk. 
 
 " I am writing this off Miatow Islands, my search for ' Furious ' 
 having been in vain. I finished it by landing at the Shalin-tien 
 Island, about 500 yards long, where lives a hideous old priest who 
 serves a temple visited by crews of junks. The tide sweeps 
 strongly round it and throws up all sorts of waifs and strays from 
 the fleet, and the flowers and incense-sticks at the feet of his gods 
 were stuck into square gin bottles, and jars which held preserved 
 fruits. We had to launch our boat over a great sheet of ice in 
 order to land. We are excessively fortunate in being in this 
 glorious climate instead of Hong-kong or Amoy. I should be all 
 the better for passing five or six years in a temperate zone. I 
 find I cannot go on with impunity in the tropics." 
 
 *' It is a misfortune for our service, that as a navy, it is so long 
 since it had anything to do. There is an evident disposition in 
 the papers to depreciate the service, and they seize readily on 
 anything they can find fault with. I will not, for a moment, say 
 that no fault is to be found ; but harm is done by attributing the 
 errors to a wrong source, and the fruit of it will be that the 
 Admiralty will be at last goaded to apply the remedies of the 
 papers instead of gradually making reforms recommended by the 
 best oflicers. The question of pay is nothing compared to the 
 much greater ones of the Admiralty keeping faith with the men 
 in granting leave, allowing choice of stations and ships, and 
 sanctioning exchanges, and, above all, pursuing an even treatment 
 of the men. It is quite necessary now to form a permanent navy 
 of as many as can be obtained, who will live in barracks, as 
 Admiral E. proposes, and take part in dockyard work till it is 
 time for them to go to sea." 
 
54 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 " We may laugh cheerily at the wrongs we suffer at the hands 
 of the world ; they leave no sting except when we feel that our 
 own folly has brought them on us, and then but a slight one com- 
 pared with the misery of feeling that our wrongs to others are the 
 bad examples of feebleness we have shown. This misery would be 
 quite overwhelming but for the assurance of complete forgiveness 
 for Christ's sake." 
 
 " Shanghai, March i$th. 
 
 " The scoundrel rebels have come near here again, and are 
 burning villages in the neighbourhood. They have excited our 
 anger by enticing away a number of seamen of the fleet as well as 
 of merchant ships, by offering them sixty dollars down on the 
 nail, and sixty dollars a month pay. I suspect that the former is 
 all that they will get. The grog-shop keepers as usual are to 
 blame ; they offer credit to the men who are on leave, and who 
 get so hopelessly into debt that they close with the offer of bounty 
 in order to clear their debts. None of my men have gone yet, 
 as they have money enough to keep them going. In fact, they 
 have behaved very well. One man, who broke his leave, was 
 sent off by a fresh batch as soon as they found him, and he was 
 the only one. To-day, in publicly punishing a man who had left a 
 boat on duty, I said that I suspected some of his messmates who 
 were on leave had offered to treat him, and tempted him away, on 
 which all the men who had been on shore at the time asked to be 
 allowed to clear themselves from the imputation, and did so, 
 which I thought a good sign, and told them that I was glad they 
 were jealous of their good name, and that they felt themselves on 
 such terms with their captain that they could come forward 
 promptly to assert it." 
 
 *• Entering Gkfu, Easter-day. 
 
 "Going at full speed, and for once shaking a little. The 
 Reverend Father Monsignor Mouly is reading his newspapers, and 
 a French captain has got mine, so I can finish my letter. They 
 
Chap. III.] GULF OF PECHELL 55 
 
 came on board yesterday, and I am putting them both up, as 
 my officers have some English officers and an adventurer to take 
 care of. Monsignor has been twenty-seven years in China, 
 latterly as Metropolitan, and it was from his mission, the Vallee des 
 eaiix 7toires, that Hue and Gabet started on their travels. He 
 has almost forgotten his French, and was hardly understood at 
 the funeral of the murdered French over whom he pronounced an 
 oration. As Lent is over, I have the satisfaction of seeing him 
 pitch into my victuals with a good appetite. The French captain 
 is" quite a gentleman; he belongs to the staff, speaks English, and 
 is an agreeable fellow. I quite wish I were going to take them 
 all the way to Shanghai instead of to Gefu only." 
 
 *' Gulf of Pecheli. 
 
 " People are quite right in saying a return home damages one's 
 prospects, and so it does if one's prospects are all included in the 
 word promotion. But there are so many things besides promotion 
 which affect one's welfare that that ought not to have too much 
 weight. It were better to defer one's advancement for two or 
 three years than to pass them in inaction. I feel very decidedly 
 about the benefit of a return home, not for the health of my body, 
 but of my mind. I have lost sight of home things and home 
 feeUngs far too long already, and might not again have the oppor- 
 tunity of seeing Fred for years. Therefore I shall stand by my 
 intention to come home overland, if the Renard is not ordered 
 home by the mail of about March loth. I shall never wait for 
 bad health, for I am sure that if that fail it will be altogether, and 
 then it will be too late." 
 
 " I have had an eight days' trip into the silk country, which 
 has been exceedingly interesting and curious, — curious, as I have 
 been issuing my commands at various places to the rebels, or 
 Taepings, as though I was their chief. 
 
 " They had thought fit to interfere with people of ours and 
 boats bearing an English flag, and had taken a quantity of silk 
 
56 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. III. 
 
 which they were obliged to restore. The mulberries, like the vines 
 on the banks of the Rhine, are disappointing ; they are pruned 
 down to about six feet high, and being trimmed to grow as large 
 leaves as possible, bear very little fruit. The Changmaws (long- 
 haired ones) have nearly all the country, and though infinite 
 rascals, will overrun it without a check. I was mistaken for a 
 rebel myself, at a place where there were seventy boats of braves 
 of the Imperialist side ; they fled at the sight of my four-oared gig, 
 drowning several people in their panic, but when they saw that 
 my boat was quite alone, and found out that I was a friend, they 
 wanted to make me responsible for the death of the drowned, 
 blew up their matches, flourished swords, cut at me, and for ten 
 minutes I was thinking how many of them I should be able to 
 dispose of if I had lost my temper. Fortunately I kept it, and 
 my revolver in my pocket, and only flourished my umbrella, and, 
 thanks to an ebb current, drifted away from the place and the 
 tumult while talking to a magistrate who came down to see me. 
 
 " I am going to Ningpo to put that place in order against the 
 rebels, though I am forbidden to take an active part, i.e.^ to fire 
 on them. My business will be to trace fortifications, plant guns 
 and bully the mandarins into execution in their own cause, a 
 much more difficult task than fighting." 
 
 " Ningpo, July 14. 
 
 *' I live on deck altogether, only go to my cabin to dress, ride at 
 six round the town, breakfast in the PVench manner at ten or eleven, 
 and dine or not as the humour compels me at four, after which 
 ride or walk again, and go to see the American missionary, the 
 French smirs dc charitCy or other Europeans. There are some 
 charming sccurs. They have an Enfants trouvh establishment 
 under the walls of the town, with one hundred and thirty girls 
 from two to twenty years old, whom they teach to read, write, and 
 embroider. It was charming to see the affectionate manner of 
 these very poor, draggly, often deformed, creatures, with the quiet 
 neat, white-capped sccurs, A French bishop acknowledged to me 
 
Chap. III.] NINGPO. 57 
 
 that the baby tower is a system in China — an institution — and in 
 Ningpo there is more than one. I beUeve it is quite a toss-up 
 whether a poor deformed baby is taken to the Chinese baby tower 
 or to the En/ants trouves. I feel it a greater nuisance than before 
 not to be able to talk Chinese. The Chinese have no reserve, 
 and would talk or argue on any subject, and my daily visits to the 
 city throw me in the way of them. Even the priests are ready to 
 talk about their gods, and their manner of worship, while they 
 civilly give you a cup of tea, and a seat, and a water-jug. It is 
 excruciating to talk through a Cantonese pigeon English, but 
 better than nothing. I asked for the translation of a poetical 
 sentence written by the Governor of Nganhwin, and got for 
 answer in a sing-song voice, — ' He say, you know, that fresh 
 water, you know, come down top-side that mountain, he makey 
 wash that heart, you know.'" 
 
 " Ningpo, July. 
 
 " A French lieutenant came here a few days ago, and I showed 
 him about, and happened to visit a temple which has been newly 
 decorated. It was full of people, and chiefly of very well dressed 
 ladies of the upper classes, a very rare sight. They were not at 
 all frightened at the foreigners, and went from one god to another, 
 kotowing, and offering sticks of incense, attended either by a 
 patient husband, or an old servant, who held a reserve of incense, 
 and helped them along. The French lieutenant was convinced 
 that some of them were rather pleased with him, and I think one 
 was well pleased at being admired for her dress and coiffure. We 
 met her in several different chambers, but at last my friend's atten- 
 tion was taken oflT by a very modest pretty young wife, attended 
 by her husband, and rather plainly and simply dressed. Our first 
 friend was then piqued : she made little remarks to her servant 
 on the other's dress, followed her, and when she passed before us, 
 turned about, and stepped backwards and forwards as if she had 
 forgotten to burn incense before some one of the numerous gods. 
 Her hair was all drawn back, and finished behind with a false 
 
58 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 tail, like a dragon-fly's wings half folded, coming below her 
 shoulders. A blue silk gown with loose sleeves fitted close round 
 her neck, embroidered with gold and colours at the cuffs and 
 collar, and with a rich braid down the front and round the skirt, 
 leaving about a foot of petticoat beneath, with wavy broad belts 
 of pink, red, and purple needlework. Her little feet were just to 
 be seen when she walked, her real heel was a couple of inches off 
 the ground. A small mandarin came in while we were there in full 
 dress, with his servants, and went through the ceremonies as if he 
 were shewing the deities a polite condescension. The temple is 
 Tavuist, and is dedicated to one Shang-yu, a learned man who 
 was deified and made the patron of learning. He is the principal 
 figure, and the lesser ones are his disciples, and sundry interpo- 
 lated gods of thunder, rain, spirits of the air, and water. One 
 thing is curious ; at the main entrance is a furious red demon 
 with angry countenance and outstretched arms ; he is the door- 
 keeper of the temple, and, as in real life, petitioners to a Tavu-tai 
 or Gee-fu give a handsome present to the door-keeper of the 
 Yamun before they can gain admittance, so here the worshippers 
 make their first offerings to appease the hideous wretch." 
 
 •* Nankin, October 14M, 1861. 
 " I see strange sights. Turning a corner on Saturday, I saw- 
 two men struggling, and became aware that one man had the 
 pigtail of another strongly twisted round his left hand, while with 
 his right he was chopping off his head with a big knife. He 
 managed this in about a dozen blows, severed the remaining 
 flesh, and chucked the head away, leaving the trunk in the middle 
 of the street. A bystander went up to the head, lifted it by its 
 tail, and looked it in the face, to see if he knew it, but apparently 
 did not, dropped it, and went his way — and there it lay. People 
 standing thirty yards further on did not appear to remark any- 
 thing, and a small boy smilingly volunteered the information that 
 the beheaded one, who was very well dressed, was a thief, and 
 had stolen * quite a number of dollars.' 
 
Chap. III.] RETURN HOME. 59 
 
 " An American, who was once a missionary, lives in the midst 
 of all this rascality. He told me the Teenwang had given him a 
 robe, a crown, a title, and a sum of money. He lives in the 
 palace of the Kan-wang, the prime minister, and is no doubt 
 useful to him in settling differences with foreigners. The little, 
 lively, agreeable Dutch Baptist missionary, who came up with me, 
 assures me that the American constantly preaches and teaches as 
 he himself does, varying his employment by doctoring those who 
 come to him with horrible skin diseases. The chiefs here teach 
 the people on large sheets of yellow paper by proclamations, in 
 which they go, like the old Spanish plays, from Genesis to Revela- 
 tion, saying a litde on all subjects, but especially against idolatry, 
 and insisting that the sacred king, the Teen-wang, receives his 
 orders from heaven direct and cannot lie." 
 
 Commander Goodenough was relieved from the com- 
 mand of the Renard in November, 1861 ; and immedi- 
 ately started homeward by the mail. At Point de Galle 
 he had the great pleasure of falling in with his brother, in 
 the Royal Artillery, who was returning from service in 
 India, having met with a severe accident ; and at Cairo 
 the two met with their elder and only remaining brother on 
 his way to India, and the three spent a few days happily 
 together in Egypt. On arriving in Egypt, it was found that 
 a fortnight must elapse before the elder brother could arrive, 
 and Goodenough's restless activity made him plan an expe- 
 dition to the Suez Canal, the works of which were then in 
 their earliest stage. The two brothers descended the fresh- 
 water canal from Zagazig to El Ghisr in a flat-bottomed 
 boat, and following the line of the canal on camels, crossed 
 the shallow lake Menzaleh in a small row-boat, and so 
 made their way via Port Said to Damietta. 
 
6o COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. III. 
 
 Goodenough returned to England in February, 1862, and 
 remained unemployed till July, thoroughly enjoying his 
 holiday in the society of his relations — spending most of 
 his time in the New Forest, and, as long as it lasted, 
 deriving much pleasure and restoring his health, which had 
 been tried with work in a hot climate, in hunting — the only 
 sport of which he was excessively fond. 
 
 In July, his old captain of the " Collingwood," Admiral 
 Smart, then in command of the Channel Squadron, asked 
 him to come as commander of his flag-ship, the " Revenge." 
 In that ship he went, in August and September, to Kiel, 
 Stockholm, Riga, Copenhagen, and Christiana — a cruise in 
 which he took great pleasure, the officers being every- 
 where most kindly received, and finding much that was 
 interesting to see. In the winter the squadron went to 
 Madeira, Lisbon, and Gibraltar ; returning in March to 
 escort the Princess of Wales from Antwerp to England. 
 In May, the Revenge took Admiral Smart to Malta, to 
 assume the command of the Mediterranean squadron ; and 
 on arriving there Goodenough found his promotion to 
 post captain. He immediately returned to England, stop- 
 ping only a few days at Toulon to visit the dockyard. 
 The summer of 1863 was spent partly in Normandy, 
 partly in England — first at the meeting of the Ikitish 
 Association at Newcastle, and later in the New Forest. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SPECIAL MISSION TO NORTH AMERICA — MARRIAGE — H.M.S. VICTORIA — 
 MEDITERRANEAN— H. M.S. MINOTAUR — CHANNEL FLEET — TEMPERANCE. 
 
 He had, of course, been much interested in the struggle 
 then going on in North America ; and, looking at it from 
 a professional as vv^ell as a political point of view, had been 
 impressed with the desirability of an officer being sent to 
 that country to report. It was, therefore, with much grati- 
 fication that he found his representations had been so well 
 received at the Admiralty, as that he himself was nominated 
 to proceed on a special mission to North America ; and, 
 placing himself under the instructions of the British 
 minister at Washington, to obtain what information he 
 could with regard to the ships and guns there in use. This 
 call to service, interesting as it was, came at a moment 
 when he was loath to leave England again ; but he threw 
 himself at once into the spirit of his mission, and notwith- 
 standing another strong and engrossing interest, was able 
 to concentrate his attention on completing his own know- 
 ledge of the most recent professional improvements in the 
 establishments at home, before proceeding to examine 
 those of the foreign country he was to visit. 
 
 Within the fortnight he left Liverpool for Boston. From 
 Boston he proceeded to Washington, where he obtained 
 
62 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 permission to see the navy yards of the United States. 
 All of these he visited in succession, going also to Pittsburg 
 to see a big gun cast ; and early in April, in company with 
 two officers of the English army, who were in America on 
 a somewhat similar mission to his own, he visited the camp 
 of the Federal army before Charleston. He returned to 
 England on the 1st of May, 1864. His letters from 
 America treat principally on American manners and 
 politics, and on the contest then being waged in the 
 United States, and, therefore, are not of general interest 
 at present. A few extracts, however, will show something 
 of the under-current of his mind at this time, and of the 
 way in which he viewed the deeper aspect of all that he 
 saw and heard : — 
 
 *• Liverpool, December nth, 1863. 
 
 " I went on board the * Akbar,' a floating reformatorj^ where 
 the first person I met was an old shipmate, who insisted on 
 showing me all his arrangements for teaching and employing the 
 boys. It was really very interesting, and the good of it was shown 
 by one word of the master to my friend, an old boatswain in the 
 navy, who is his right-hand man. * They come to us convicted 
 rascals, but we don't find them so very bad, do we, Mr. L. ? * 
 Being out of harm's way they learn good habits, and stick to them. 
 Good begets good, as evil begets evil." 
 
 *' December QOthf 1863. 
 
 *' It is a happy thing to begin a day with such vivid poetry, so 
 rich and full of meaning, as that 5 th Chapter of Isaiah, especially 
 in the dreamy life of a passage, when one's thoughts are not 
 violently disturbed. How immensely humbling and still how 
 soothing they are. How one always feels the beauty of them 
 afresh, and in a new way from the last .... I have thought of 
 
Chap. IV.] AMERICA. 63 
 
 death sometimes witli a weary expectant wonder, and now it is 
 all so different. It seems more like the happy crown of life. I 
 was reading yesterday of Johnson's intense dread of death, — as 
 death, the end — and of his saying that every one feared death 
 whose thoughts were not occupied by some stronger feeling which, 
 displaced, did not conquer that one. I think that saying quite 
 true, and that the fear of death can only be blotted out by looking 
 beyond and upwards to the Hands which help us over. You don't 
 mind my talking of death ; for you would have me brave, and the 
 only real bravery is that which can look quite calmly and in cold 
 blood upon it. I should like to have the feeling which Captain 
 Bate had, a man like Sir Edward Parry, whose memoir you must 
 read if only for his coxswain's description of the morning of his 
 death." 
 
 " December 23;'^, 1863. 
 
 *' How beautiful those words are, ' Beloved, if our heart con- 
 demn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things,* 
 and it is understood ' knows all things to forgive, and to love us 
 still.' How true it is that love is strongest of all." 
 
 " Boston, December z^th, 1863. 
 
 " I find already much of what I have read of, of Yankee freedom. 
 Fortunately it amuses without irritating me, because I am pre- 
 pared for it, and though I dislike the manners, I like the inde- 
 pendence of spirit, which makes a man free spoken.'' 
 
 " Febrtcary 1st, 1864. 
 
 " What a long affair the Crawley court-martial has been, and 
 what a lesson the public ought to learn from it. That lesson this 
 evening (i Cor. xiii.) is full of thinking matter as any, and beau- 
 tiful indeed. How beautiful the embodiment of charity is. One 
 of the highest tests is, I think, ' thinketh no evil ; ' and one of the 
 highest attributes ' rejoiceth in the truth, believeth and hopeth all 
 things.' " 
 
64 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. IV. 
 
 "Newport (Naval Academy), February 2ird. 
 
 " This college is more advanced than our Britannia .... If 
 application and study are of any use, I'm afraid that these people 
 will have very superior men to ourselves in their navy. They 
 are working harder and more intelligently for it than we are . . . 
 but the boys don't seem to get exercise enough. I can't make 
 out that they have any games, or outdoor amusement either." 
 
 •' February 24/^. 
 
 " I have been to see the classes of midshipmen in their recita- 
 tion rooms. One class was at mechanics, and another was at 
 moral philosophy, of which I have never read a word, nor do I 
 ever wish to. It seemed so odd to hear certain rules laid down 
 drily, as guides for our actions, without a7iy reference to Chris- 
 tianity at all. A young fellow stood up, and was asked what 
 guide he would take to determine his course under certain cir- 
 cumstances. ' My conscience.' ' Are you quite clear on that 
 point, Mr. K. ? ' ' Quite sure, sir.' ' And should you be in doubt 
 whether it be right or not to do a certain thing, how would you 
 proceed ? ' * I would leave it undone, sir.' * Is that what Presi- 
 dent Edwards said, Mr. K. ? ' ' Yes, sir.' How incomplete — is it 
 not ? and how different from * If any man lack wisdom let him 
 ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not' 
 I could not help saying so to my friend the commandant, who 
 accompanied me." 
 
 "At Sea, April 2^h. 
 
 "An old clergyman preached a very good sermon on the 
 Lord's Prayer, and concluded very well by saying that our life 
 was like our voyage in all respects but one. At the end of the 
 voyage we should part perhaps never to meet again. At the end 
 of life there would be a great mustering, and we should be di- 
 vided, and only lovers and followers of Christ would go together 
 into happiness. 
 
Chap. IV.] HM.S. VICTORIA. 65 
 
 " Some one spoke the other day of love and duty, and which 
 was the higher motive. I think that love is the stronger, higher 
 motive, and that perfect love replaces duty, as it casts out fear ; 
 and if my love was always fervent enough, I should never feel it 
 necessary to obey a call of duty." 
 
 On the 31st of May, 1864, Captain Goodenough married 
 Victoria, daughter of William John Hamilton, Esq., to 
 whom he had become engaged shortly before leaving 
 England for America. The spirit with which he entered 
 on this new period of his life may be seen in the following 
 lines : — 
 
 " If God will, in His great love and tender all-providing care, 
 continue His guidance, if we can always only take hold of His 
 promises and love, we shall indeed live happily, because even 
 trials will appear in their proper light." 
 
 While travelling in Switzerland, in August of the same 
 year, he received a letter from his old chief, Admiral 
 Smart, who was then Commander-in-Chief of the Medi- 
 terranean Squadron, offering him the post of flag-captain, 
 with the command of his new flag-ship, the '' Victoria," 
 three-decker, which was shortly to be commissioned. This 
 appointment was everything that he could desire. Two 
 days after receiving Admiral Smart's offer he returned 
 to England. The Victoria was not quite ready for com- 
 mission ; but, in September, Captain Goodenough was 
 appointed to superintend her fitting out ; and on the 2nd 
 of November he commissioned her — the last sea-going 
 three-decker. 
 
 In a fortnight he was at Spithead, and sailed for Malta 
 on November 23rd. The Victoria was scarcely out of the 
 
66 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 Channel when she fell in with a violent gale, which — though 
 specially unpleasant in a ship where all was yet scarcely in 
 working order — Captain Goodenough hailed as a really for- 
 tunate occurrence, as helping everyone to find their place, 
 and to settle down to their own work. He arrived at Malta 
 in the middle of December, and was soon fully engrossed 
 by the close work of flag-captain to a large squadron. The 
 next six months were spent at Malta, with only cruises 
 of a day or two every month for exercise. During this 
 time Goodenough was interested, among other matters, in 
 the starting of the " Soldiers' and Sailors' Institute," a sort 
 of club and recreation rooms, where the men might spend 
 their time of leave on shore pleasantly and quietly, and 
 away from the temptations which they met with in their 
 ordinary resorts. He was always an advocate for giving 
 his men as much leave as possible, and at the same time 
 anxious to induce them to use that leave sensibly and 
 soberly. The success which has attended this Institute, 
 which was opened at the end of 1 864, has shown how useful 
 an undertaking it was, and how much appreciated by those 
 for whose benefit it was organised. 
 
 On the 1st of July the Mediterranean Squadron left 
 Malta for the summer cruise. The first place to which the 
 ships went was Barcelona, where Goodenough found his 
 knowledge of Spanish most useful. The Spaniards were 
 delighted at the sight of the big ships, and availed them- 
 selves freely of the permission to come on board, crowds 
 of them, mostly working and country people, coming every 
 day, and on the Sunday not less than 4000 visitors were 
 on board. 
 
Chap. IV.] ROSAS BAY. 6^ 
 
 From Barcelona the squadron proceeded to the Bay of 
 Rosas, also in Catalonia, celebrated by Lord Dundonald's 
 action. Of this place and its neighbourhood he thus 
 speaks : — 
 
 " Bay of Rosas, July 2'jth, 1865. 
 
 " This is only a village, and as yet I have only been to look at 
 the watering place, and to a funeral of a poor lad who died of 
 inflammation of the brain. I was afraid that it might be difficult 
 to get leave to bury him on shore, but I suggested to the governor 
 of the ruined fort that fifty years ago, when Spanish and English 
 fought side by side, no doubt many an Englishman was buried 
 there where he fell, and I claimed an honourable place for my 
 man. He consented at once, and the poor fellow was buried in 
 the rampart near a ruined chapel in the fort. The little place, 
 which has only 2400 inhabitants, or about a third of our ships' 
 companies, is quite overwhelmed with us, and the Gobernador de 
 la plaza declared to-day that eggs were selling by the pound — 
 shilling a pound. There are olives and grapes on the slopes, and 
 corn and gardens on the level plain." 
 
 ** August ^tk. 
 
 " I have been on shore to get leave for a head -board to be put 
 up to the poor young man whom I got leave to bury in the fort. 
 The governor was not to be found at first, so I went to the fort 
 to look for him, and near it found him on bis way to drink his 
 daily glass of water with Dona Anna his wife. He gave per- 
 mission at once, and we went together into the fort, and to his 
 little three-cornered garden with a spring of fresh water, which he 
 told me was so good that one might drink five or six glasses with- 
 out fear. During the afternoon I talked to a friend of the 
 Alcalde's, who came on board, an intelligent man, well up in the 
 history of the country, and he told me of another Ampiirias be- 
 sides the one that I went to yesterday, and the real Phoenician 
 colony, and declared that there is a museum of antiquities worth 
 
 F 2 
 
68 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 seeing, in which are pieces of money, earrings, amphorae, mosaic 
 pavement, &c. We went yesterday along about five miles of very 
 good road to Castellon de Ampiirias^ a very old town indeed, with a 
 church which was once a cathedral, almost in ruins, but in some 
 parts so handsome. It had been knocked about by the French 
 in 1800, who had stabled their cavalry in it, but there was a porch 
 and an altar of the same date, of marble, which were excessively 
 rich in ornament, and handsome, and like in style to a tomb of 
 a Duke of Medina Celi who was also a Count of Ampurias, with 
 a long line of descendants, who probably erected the whole to his 
 memory. The country is all corn and wine about there, and 
 looking rich, and the hills have that wonderful rich colour which 
 they have nowhere else in Europe." 
 
 From Rosas Bay the squadron proceeded to Italy, 
 spending a short time at Genoa, Spezzia, Leghorn, Castella- 
 mare, and Naples. The constant duties of a flag-captain 
 left Captain Goodenough but little time to go on shore at 
 these various places ; but a day at Pisa, an afternoon at 
 Pompeii, one or two hurried visits to the Museo Borbonico 
 at Naples, gave him intense enjoyment. Although he had 
 had few opportunities of seeing much cither of modern or 
 ancient art, yet whenever occasions presented themselves 
 for doing so, his intuitive feeling for what was true and 
 beautiful enabled him at once to appreciate and enjoy 
 what he saw, even though he had not the special know- 
 ledge on the subject which he would have desired. The 
 following letter gives an idea of his feeling for art, while 
 the natural beauties of the Straits of Messina equally 
 delighted him : — 
 
 " Naples, October list, 1865. 
 " What a pleasant day I have had, and how mucli I have seen,. 
 
Chap. IV.] NAPLES, 69 
 
 though my two hours and a half at the Museo Borbonico were 
 spent downstairs only, except one run at the end up to the pre- 
 cious objects' room, and the Cave Canem. We first went to the 
 Mosaic room, and I was astonished at the beauty of the small 
 ones, particularly the women and boy playing a tambourine, in 
 rather pale colours, and the rich coloured Hercules or pugilist, 
 who is on a dark-blue ground and has a cock under his feet, but 
 the first as art in design, the second as skill in work and placing 
 the colours ; but oh, how lovely delicate and graceful are those 
 monochromatic frescoes on marble ; there are only four. Those 
 girls playing knuckle-bones are lovely. I felt sure that a purer 
 taste than Roman had drawn those figures. They are so different 
 from the other gross pictures, but there was one figure of a Dan- 
 zatrice which I thought especially beautiful. Then we went to the 
 statues, and saw first the Balbi, which struck me by their great 
 expression ; then the coloured marbles, where the Diana of 
 Ephesus astonished me greatly — I thought some Egyptian God, a 
 regular Fetish. Then the lovely Greek vase, so like in shape, 
 though larger than that lovely one at Pisa ; and so suddenly we 
 were by the side of the Psyche. What a contrast again to all that 
 impure art. When the objects were impure, of course the art de- 
 clined, but when art was raised and ennobled by giving a human 
 resemblance to an ethereal essence, what a lovely result was pro- 
 duced; it is all ideally beautiful. Then I admired Aristides, 
 Eumachia, one and only one of all the Venus', but we so looked at 
 what we saw, that we forgot to ask for what we didn't see, and so 
 forgot the Toro Farnese, and lost it. Then to the bronzes. First 
 and before all, before the Dancing Fawn, is the Venus Anadyo- 
 mene, then the Narcissus, which is in the Fresco room, and Alex- 
 ander, which I cared for more afterwards than at first, and the 
 bust of old Seneca ; but there were many which I ought to but 
 could not find it in me to care for. By this time it was 2.30, so 
 we just ran upstairs into the Cave Canem room, in time to see a 
 custode shut the window and prevent our looking at the Onyx 
 Medusa. But what a pity to put the Cave Canem there. Its 
 
70 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. IV. 
 
 age (contemporaneous age) and respectability should have gained 
 it a better billet than to be trodden under foot by a crowd. 
 Then we took refuge in the shop downstairs, and all the copies 
 were so hateful to me that I really couldn't buy anything, but I 
 will be more sensible another day and buy a Psyche. We drove 
 aftenvards to San Gennaro and San Domenico, but I couldn't be 
 interested except in some details of sculpture robbed from Poz- 
 zuoli, and so on board. I had seen quantities of our men on 
 shore, and all very well dressed and quiet, many in the Museum, 
 but more driving in two-horse carriages, while we were in a cab." 
 
 ** October 24//;. 
 " . . . . I went to the Museum, saw the Papyri, which 
 speak for themselves ; then to the Cameos, Intaglios, &c., and 
 chiefly admired the Intaglios, to which you should give a whole 
 day ; then rapidly through the old bronzes, and passing through 
 some rooms of pictures, where we lingered a minute to look at the 
 St. Agatha and Guercino's Sibyl and a Magdalen, till a vile 
 copyist put his daubs in front of us and pestered us ; passed by 
 the models of Amphitheatres and Poestum, and went carefully 
 through the pottery. In each room the custodc had been very 
 civil and obliging, but this man was particularly so, and went 
 through the whole collection, pointing out to us the best objects. 
 He said that things were found every day, those from Piestum 
 excelling in drawing and design, those from Nola in varnish. I 
 could only go by what he told me, but to my eye the small gem 
 of the collection was a little yellow vase, with a single female 
 figure on it, from Sicily. Among others I liked the drawing of the 
 one with a fight of Centaurs and Lapithne, and I liked much the 
 general effect of those white, yellow, and light and dark red figures 
 on a black ground ; the little yellow one was of indescribable 
 harmony of outline and proportion. After this we went swiftly 
 through the picture rooms again, giving only one look to lovely 
 Santa Agatha again, for the fiends of copyists were upon us, and so 
 across to the Capi (Topera^ where I stayed till it was time to go ; 
 
Chap. IV.] STRAITS OF MESSINA. 7 1 
 
 in going out I just rushed to see the Toro Farnese, which is vil- 
 lanously placed, and then to the shop to buy a terra cotta of 
 Psyche — and a Seneca. Judge how I hurried through all ; I was 
 swept out from each place at the end, but I enjoyed it all greatly 
 nevertheless." 
 
 *' Saturday, November ^h, 1865. 
 
 " We are through at last, and have left Messina a little way be- 
 hind us. I lit up at two o'clock this morning, and began steam- 
 ing, and at six we were through the Straits, with a boiling surging 
 current against us. The morning has been so lovely. First, 
 there was such a lovely dark purple shadow on the Italian side, 
 after passing Scylla, then lovely lights on clouds on Sicily, and then 
 the sun got up and lit with rich orange and crimson all the moun- 
 tain tops and slopes over Messina. Then the houses on the hill- 
 side glanced in the sun, while still the lower town and the ships in 
 harbour were in a haze. Litde fires of blue wood smoke rose 
 near the white cottages standing on their terraced slopes ; the old 
 priest at the round grotto church tinkled his bell as we passed, 
 and then the eddy tide took us and we swept out quickly through 
 Charybdis, past all those forts and handsome rich houses, past the 
 light-house and into the open sea again. The fires were let out, 
 and here we are becalmed six or seven miles below Reggio. Etna 
 is capped with snow which comes down far on his sides, and a 
 good deal of vapour rises from his top." 
 
 The squadron returned to Malta in the beginning of 
 November, and there, after a short detention in quarantine, 
 Captain Goodenough had the happiness of seeing his eldest 
 child, a boy, who had been born vi^hile he was at Naples. 
 
 The second winter at Malta passed much like the first, 
 in a constant round of routine duties ; he seldom left his 
 ship before nightfall, being kept there, not always so much 
 by the press of work, as by the desire to be at his post 
 
72 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 should anything unforeseen occur ; and one occasion may- 
 be mentioned where the value of this course was clearly 
 shown. He had come on shore early one afternoon to a 
 concert, and when it was over, resisting the temptation to 
 stop on shore where he lived, true to his principle, he 
 returned to see that all was well on board. He had not 
 been there half-an-hour when a fire broke out on board one 
 of the ships, and the harbour being very full, he instantly 
 made arrangements for the whole squadron putting to sea 
 at once. The fire was soon extinguished, and this measure 
 was not needed ; but the preparations which he had taken 
 were such as to elicit a letter of approval of the Lords of 
 the Admiralty. 
 
 In May, 1866, Sir Robert Smart's command of the 
 Mediterranean Squadron having expired, he was succeeded 
 by Lord Clarence Paget ; and Goodenough's command of 
 the Victoria naturally ceased at the same time. He re- 
 turned to England through France, again spending a few 
 days at Toulon, mainly with the object of seeing some 
 new French ironclads which were then lying at that 
 port. 
 
 The next few months were spent quietly in England. 
 In September of the same year he received an offer from 
 the late Admiral F. Warden to serve with him as flag- 
 captain, when he assumed the command of the Channel 
 Squadron in the following spring ; and early in December 
 he was appointed to superintend the fitting out of H.M.S. 
 Minotaur, which was to be Admiral Warden's flag-ship. 
 The winter was passed in preparing this ship for sea, and 
 in the beginning of April she was commissioned. On the 
 
Chap. IV.] H.M.S, MINOTAUR, 'JT, 
 
 22nd of May she went to Spithead, and on this occasion 
 Captain Goodenough granted permission to the ship's 
 company to invite their relations and friends to go out to 
 Spithead in the ship, an indulgence much appreciated by 
 the men, upwards of 500 visitors coming on board and 
 remaining for several hours. 
 
 The Minotaur left Portsmouth on the 7th of June for 
 Portland. Shortly after leaving Spithead she passed, in 
 St. Helen's Roads, the Victoria, then returning from the 
 Mediterranean. The two ships passed close, the band of 
 the Victoria playing "Auld Lang Syne," and Captain 
 Goodenough's former officers collected on the poop of 
 his old ship to see him ; the first salute fired from the 
 Minotaur being the one answering that with which 
 the Victoria had saluted Admiral Warden's flag. At 
 the same time a tug was close at hand towing the 
 "Nankin," an old sailing vessel, the different types 
 and eras of ship-building being thus, as it were, grouped 
 together. 
 
 The first service performed by the Minotaur was to 
 accompany the Sultan across the Channel, in July, 1867. 
 Captain Goodenough had been much out of health for 
 some time, the consequence of a cold caught while fitting 
 out his ship ; and this last cruise in the Channel so unfitted 
 him for duty, that he thought it right to offer to resign his 
 appointment. This resignation, however, the Lords of the 
 Admiralty refused to accept ; but very generously gave 
 him two months' sick leave. He came to London, and after 
 three weeks of complete rest and good advice, was suffi- 
 ciently restored to be able to rejoin his ship at Plymouth, 
 
74 COMMODORE GOODENOUCH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 just before she sailed for Ireland, in September. He thus 
 expresses himself when at Cork : — 
 
 " Cork, September 2Zth^ 1867. 
 
 " I went to see some foot races, where were all the population 
 of Queenstown, and some of Cork. The vivacity and shouting, 
 and altogether different bearing of the Irish crowd amused me, 
 and the entire absence of the brutal surliness which marks the class 
 of people who are most interested in that sort of thing interested 
 me. I dislike more and more those people who abuse the Irish, 
 and complain that nothing can be done with them — and they have 
 such pleasant manners. I think it must be that they are not 
 borne down bodily and mentally by the wealth of their superiors 
 ever present before their eyes. Oh ! how I hate wealth. How I 
 hate rich houses and exclusive people, and every one who does 
 not open his heart to mean as well as rich people. How wonder- 
 ful the sympathy that some Irish natures have, and how one sees 
 what a source of comfort and peace their human sympathy is to 
 them. It is all the difference between a spring welling out fresh 
 clear water, and being ever renewed, and a stagnant pool receiv- 
 ing to itself all the refuse and evil drained from other minds." 
 
 After a short stay in Ireland, the squadron proceeded to 
 Lisbon, returning to England on the 20th of December, 
 the Minotaur coming to Portsmouth, and remaining 
 there until April, when the Channel Fleet went to Holy- 
 head, to accompany the Prince and Princess of Wales on 
 their visit to Dublin. 
 
 The summer of 1868 was spent in various cruises, with 
 occasional short stays at Portland or Spithead ; and in 
 August the squadron again went to Ireland and Scotland 
 — first to Londonderry, then to Belfast, and after\vards to 
 Greenock and to Milford, returning to Portsmouth in 
 
Chap. IV.] GLASGOW. 75 
 
 October. In these various ports, as has always been the 
 case, both officers and men were most hospitably enter- 
 tained ; and much enjoyment was derived from the visits 
 both to the towns and to the neighbouring country, though 
 from its being a wet and stormy summer, there was a good 
 deal of bad weather, which also means plenty of work 
 at sea. 
 
 At Glasgow an entertainment was given in which 
 Captain Goodenough was particularly interested — a dinner 
 to the meji of the fleet — and which he thus describes : — 
 
 " Greenock, September igth^ 1868. 
 
 " A dinner was given yesterday by the people of Greenock, to 
 the men of the fleet, which went oif capitally. The men (500) 
 marched up, headed by our band, and were all seated by two 
 o'clock, very comfortably. Then there was a delay, and till half- 
 past three they sat talking and listening to the band. No end of 
 porter and beer and cigars were placed before every one, but 
 though the dinner was a long time in laying no one touched either 
 bottle or meat till a clergyman was called on to say grace, and 
 then they fell to with a good will. 
 
 " The speeches after dinner are not half so well reported in the 
 papers as they were spoken, and they were not helped a bit. I 
 merely told them the day before that there would be one or two 
 speeches required, and that they had better go round the next day 
 to arrange with the other ships who should speak ; it ended in 
 their choosing a gunner's mate, and the signalman from this ship. 
 I went away after the ' Death of Nelson,' the refrain of which 
 was splendidly taken up by the whole body of men in the hall." 
 
 In November the squadron again sailed for Lisbon, that 
 port continuing as their head-quarters between their cruises 
 until their return to England, at the end of April, 1869. 
 
76 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 In December, 1868, Admiral Warden having been ap- 
 pointed to Cork, was succeeded in the command of the 
 Channel Squadron by Sir Thomas Symonds, Captain 
 Goodenough remaining with the latter officer as flag- 
 captain. 
 
 The following letter was written about this time : — 
 
 " H.M.S. Minotaur, May wth^ 1869. 
 
 " I am astonished to find even after the success of the govern- 
 ment, which generally carries the multitude, how strongly con- 
 servative all service people are .... I am surprised to find 
 so little economy or real reform .... Certainly we pos- 
 sess, as a people, no political foresight ; we are led into the wildest 
 schemes and follies by refusing to apply to politics the rules of 
 every day life. We go on persisting and believing that the French 
 will invade England, and so pitting our navy against theirs, and 
 trying to swell our little army to a force which can take a j^art on 
 the Continent, decrying or suffering others to decry the volunteers, 
 and every other movement which is akin to the spirit of the 
 country, and aping some one else's system. It seems to me that 
 education is the great question of the day, the question I should 
 study most if I thought I could get into Parliament. Educa- 
 tion will do something — not everything — to relieve pauperism and 
 to diminish crime, and something to stay the gradual process 
 which is to me undoubted — of the rich getting richer and the poor 
 poorer \ the distance increasing as it is, with increasing population 
 and strife for living, between grades; when the law, however 
 slightly, is made by and favours the richest and most satisfied 
 people. Education is the only way we have of enabling the lower 
 ranks of life — without surpassing merit — to raise themselves to 
 their proper level with the rich ; to make themselves, body and 
 mind, of such worth as to make the highest wealth of small com- 
 parative value." 
 
Chap. IV.] WILLHELMSHAFEN. 77 
 
 In June, 1869, Captain Goodenough was sent in the 
 Minotaur to the opening of a new North German dockyard 
 at the mouth of the river Jahde. This expedition was a 
 source of great interest, not only to himself, but also to a 
 small party of military and naval officers whom he received 
 permission to take as passengers. The Emperor William 
 was present himself, and after formally opening the dock- 
 yard, which received the name of Willhelmshafen, His 
 Majesty came on board the Minotaur, and remained a 
 short time inspecting her various departments. 
 
 The Minotaur returned immediately to England, and 
 after several short cruises in the Channel, the squadron left 
 Plymouth, in August, under the command of the Lords of 
 the Admiralty. With the exception of a stay at Cork and 
 at Milford, in October, 1869, the ships remained in the 
 South from August until the following May, 1870, visiting 
 by turns Gibraltar, Teneriffe, Madeira, and the Azores, 
 with agreeable interludes of a month or a fortnight at 
 Lisbon between the cruises. Captain Goodenough had this 
 winter the enjoyment of the society of his wife and children, 
 who came to Lisbon for some months. The following was 
 written in September, 1 869 : — 
 
 " I shall come away from Milford if I can get leave for my 
 men, but I won't go away on leave unless they do.' I want to 
 engraft that principle on my officers — that excellent rule of the 
 sea, by which the naval service is more excellent than any other — 
 that in all great hardships and privileges officers and men share 
 alike. That is a principle under which all discipline may progress 
 evenly and harmoniously." 
 
78 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 It is satisfactory to be able to add that the leave was 
 granted to officers and men alike. 
 
 It was during this winter that his attention was first 
 strongly directed towards the temperance movement. There 
 had been a decided feeling in that direction for some time 
 in the squadron, and meetings of various descriptions had 
 been held both at Lisbon and at Gibraltar, where the men 
 of the squadron were entertained by a Highland regiment 
 at a great tea. In the spring of 1870, Captain Goodenough 
 was asked to take the chair at a large tea-meeting given to 
 the seamen by some English residents at Lisbon, who 
 were promoters of the temperance cause ; and speaking 
 on this occasion, he told his hearers how much he ap- 
 preciated their efforts and wished them success — that 
 though he considered total abstinence a less high 
 standard than temperance, yet, looking upon it as an 
 extraordinary remedy for an extraordinary evil, he felt 
 that in many cases it was a man's only safeguard, and 
 the only means of saving him from ruin ; adding, that he 
 thought it right to tell them that, though he approved 
 and applauded what they were doing, he did not do it him- 
 self. In June, on the return of the squadron to Ports- 
 mouth, he was asked to a similar meeting at the Sailors* 
 Home in Portsea, and spoke in similar terms ; but on his 
 return from this second meeting, he came to the conclusion 
 that he could not, consistently with his own ideas of right 
 and wrong, continue to. advise people to do what he did 
 not do himself. Having already become much more 
 firmly impressed with the advantages of total abstinence 
 from intoxicating liquors — an opinion which gained strength 
 
Chap. IV.] TEMPERANCE. 79 
 
 with liim every year that he lived — he from that day, 
 though he took no pledge, gave up the use of all wine, 
 beer, or spirits ; and, except in case of illness, continued 
 to do so all his life. 
 
 He had at first, as he once expressed it in a letter, taken 
 the step out of sympathy with those who were doing what 
 they could to raise his men, and to make their path easier ; 
 but as he continued he found it of increasing value, not 
 only furnishing him with an answer to those who said — 
 excusing themselves, or others, for any excess — that it was 
 impossible to do without stimulants in hot climates, or 
 after much hard work ; but he also found his own health 
 improve, and when again in the tropics he observed that 
 he suffered less from the climate than he had ever done, 
 and that he was, as he said at a meeting at Sydney only a 
 few weeks before his death, " as much up to hard work, 
 as ready for any enjoyment, any exertion, or exposure 
 {even to passing a night under a tree), as I have ever been 
 in my life, and even more so." 
 
 In June, Admiral Sir Hastings Yelverton relieved Sir 
 Thomas Symonds in the command of the Channel 
 Squadron, and requested Captain Goodenough to remain 
 with him as flag-captain. The Channel Squadron joined 
 the Mediterranean Fleet, and cruised for a short time in 
 the Atlantic. The war just begun between France and 
 Germany is alluded to in the following letter from Vigo. 
 
 '^ August 2()th, 1870. 
 " You say that I say nothing about the war. What can I say ? 
 It fills me with grief and confusion to see the best passions — not 
 the worst, as writers say — supporting the continuance of war. 
 
8o COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. IV. 
 
 Whichever side wins, it is grievous and horrible. Feelings are 
 blunted, unfair dealing is suggested and believed in, and contact 
 with each other, which ought to dispel prejudices, is likely to 
 engender more hatred than at first. It is awful and horrible. If 
 there were a dynasty in France, it might end ; but now that the 
 prosecution of war is in the hands of the people, who can say how 
 far it may go ? The Times says it does not believe in Paris be- 
 sieged or resisting. I say that Paris and what we call the most 
 luxurious French society is infinitely more capable of a sacrifice 
 of what they acknowledge to be luxuries, than the virtuous English 
 society is of comforts which are the more costly of the tvvo. Our 
 Pharisaical self contentment is at the bottom of that argument 
 throughout. Ah ! it is better to have no possessions at all than 
 to run the risk of getting attached to them. How horrible to 
 belong to one's possessions rather than they should be our 
 property ! " 
 
 It was in this cruise that occurred the catastrophe of the 
 loss of H.M.S. ** Captain," almost immediately after which 
 the squadron returned to England. 
 
 In the month of October, Admiral Wellesley assumed 
 the command of the Channel Squadron ; and Captain 
 Goodenough was relieved on October 25 th, 1870. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 WORK AMONG THE FRENCH PEASANTS ABOUT SEDAN — COMMITTEE OF 
 DESIGNS OF SHIPS — DIEPPE — NAVAL EDUCATION — APPOINTED NAVAL 
 ATTACH1&. 
 
 Captain Goodenough did not, however, remain long 
 idle. The war had already brought many hardships to the 
 districts in which it had raged, and several English societies 
 were doing what they could for the relief of the inhabi- 
 tants, as well as of the wounded. Among them, the French 
 Peasant Relief Fund, under the direction of the Daily News ^ 
 which was working among the peasants about Sedan, had 
 just appealed for volunteers to assist in the distribution 
 of food which was being made in that neighbourhood. 
 Captain Goodenough offered his services, which were 
 immediately accepted ; and on November 8th started, 
 with his wife, for Bouillon, a small Belgian town, close to 
 the frontier, and about ten miles from Sedan. Of the 
 assistance which he then gave, Mr. Bullock Hall, the ener- 
 getic director of the undertaking, has lately publicly written 
 in the following terms : — 
 
 " In the dreariest period of the gloomiest of Novembers, when 
 autumnal rains were giving place to snow, and sleet, and frozen 
 winter fogs, and we whose business it was to convey food and 
 clothing over the slippery and almost impassable roads to the 
 
82 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 destitute in the villages about Sedan, were almost in despair at 
 the task we had undertaken, and were in sore need of encourage- 
 ment, there came in answer to our appeal for volunteers, a man, 
 the very sight of whom at once communicated new life to us. Here 
 was a man, the very model of an Englishman, with unbounded 
 energy, and combining extreme gentleness with an iron sense of 
 duty ; born to command, and with a genius for communicating the 
 love of order and regularity, which characterised him; a man 
 before whom one could only feel inclined to bow down ; here was 
 this man come to place himself meekly under orders, and to go 
 plodding day after day through snow and slush." 
 
 The following extracts from Captain Goodenough's own 
 letters give some account of the work done : — 
 
 '* Bouillon, November 2\st. 
 
 " I was in Sedan two days ago. The town looked dismally dull. 
 A few knots of people stood chatting at different points near the 
 bridge, and in the market place, and were probably deriving com- 
 fort from the report that the siege of Mezieres is raised. It is 
 certain that there was fighting on Thursday and Friday, and that 
 some Germans were driven over the frontier on that day ; but 
 fancy their being in ignorance of what had been done at a place 
 only twelve miles off, two days before. The only bright shops 
 were those of the patissicrs^ which, as usual, looked cheerful 
 enough. In scarcely any of the others was there more than one 
 jet of gas burning. I went into a bookseller's, who was so pain- 
 fully affected, poor fellow, when some German soldiers came in, 
 hewaslikea man with delirium tremens. One is almost afraid 
 to sympathise with them, they have sons or brothers in the Mo- 
 biles at Mezieres, and every shot they hear fired during the day 
 is a shock and pain to them. The expression of their faces was 
 like a continued moan, and as though they were saying, * How 
 long, O God, how long I ' in plaintive agony. This was the note 
 
Chap. V.] FRENCH PEASANT RELIEF FUND. Z^ 
 
 which struck me throughout, and which was continued and im- 
 pressed on me by the sermon we heard on Sunday at the Protes- 
 tant Church. It is the church of the Pasteur Goulden, who is 
 now in England, and the sermon was from the pasteur des 
 annexes, who has charge of the neighbouring towns and villages 
 where there is no resident clergyman. His sermon was on 
 I Tim. ii. i, 2, and he began by referring to his last sermon, in 
 which he enjoined the practice of charity among the many poor, 
 and desired his hearers not to be disheartened at being deceived 
 and imposed on by the people who sometimes came to them^ 
 and to prepare themselves by prayer to meet such cases justly, 
 temperately, and wisely. Then he went on to bid the congrega- 
 tion pray for all men — for kings, remembering that while St. Paul 
 wrote, Nero was emperor ; for all people — for both peoples in the 
 great war ; for the extension of brotherly spirit and kindness, 
 which would prevent the possibiUty of future wars, and breathe 
 a spirit of humanity into the conduct of this war ; for peace — ah ! 
 that we may have peace at last, as the fruit of our labours, peace 
 among all men, and wisdom in rulers to maintain it. And shall 
 we not pray for our dear country — that this war may do us good ? 
 Already we see it has done good ; we were living in too great 
 luxury. Our sons were growing up in enervating habits of idle- 
 ness and self-indulgence, were neglecting, and caring for none of 
 the manly virtues. Do we not already see a change ? Is there 
 not a greater love of country already apparent, and a growing 
 inclination to live for the good of the country, and not for our 
 •enjoyment? And before peace is made, before we are quite 
 triumphed over, may we not pray for a little success for our 
 -country. ' Oh, God ! a little success, only a little, so that we 
 piay not be utterly humbled and despised in the eyes of surround- 
 ing nations.' It was this cry of nature which was so touching to 
 listen to. All his sermon had been so wise, and so temperate — 
 not clever, but excellent, and all eloquence restrained by practical 
 earnestness ; and this little cry from the heart was enough to bring 
 tears to one's eyes. I went to see him in his vestry after service, 
 
 G 2 
 
84 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 for I wanted to ask if his Protestants in the different villages had 
 received their share in the distributions of bread, and I find 
 that all has been fairly arranged. Directly after church I started 
 for Bazeilles, through Balan. Balan begins at the gates of the 
 town, and in every bend of the long street the bullet marks on the 
 walls and shutters show that the ground was yielded bit by bit 
 A crowd of people with pannikins and jugs was collecting at the 
 door of a factory, and a long stream of young and old women 
 were coming from Bazeilles to get the soup, which Dr. Davis 
 pays for, and which Mdlles. Goulden, sisters of the pasteur, dis- 
 tribute. There is an interval of three quarters of a mile, and then 
 one sees Bazeilles. A single house stands at each end of the 
 village, I think they have been used as Field Lazareths. Every- 
 thing else is burnt. Here and there the walls seem sound 
 enough to allow of the place being fitted up again, but nineteen 
 out of twenty among the houses must be pulled down altogether 
 to be rebuilt. We soon fell in with some people, who were 
 saving some potatoes out of a cellar, which was letting in the rain 
 — a man and wife and two pretty little children, who came up to 
 us, and followed us about. The man had been a weaver, and 
 had a loom which was worth 200 francs, and on it a piece of 
 cloth within one day of being finished. He had gone off to 
 Belgium with his family on the day of the battle, and had re- 
 turned after a fortnight to find his house destroyed, and nothing 
 left but a little lean-to at the back of the house, which had escaped 
 the fire, and into which his pig had wandered from its stye. It 
 was very thin after a fortnight, still he turned it into eighty francs, 
 and so had enough to give him bread for some time. All this 
 was told with much cheerfulness and resignation both by husband 
 and wife. A little lower down we came upon an old man with 
 an axe, who had been chopping wood, and he at once began to 
 speak of, not his own, but his neighbour's misfortunes—the poor 
 widow with seven children, whose husband died three years ago, 
 and who had lost everything and was living in her cellar. Really, 
 until we questioned him, he never spoke of his own ruined 
 
Chap. V.] SEDAN, &-c. 85 
 
 house, and his five looms burnt, and his little lean-to, which he 
 had established out of his ruins, for his children and grand- 
 children. The cheerfulness and forgetfulness of self was * a lesson 
 to those who would be admonished.' From Bazeilles we crossed 
 a railway bridge over the Meuse, whose railways had been banged 
 by shot, and returned to Sedan by Wadelancourt, where Dr. Davis 
 is still giving soup. This morning I walked over here, round by 
 Floing, St. Menges, Fleigneaux, and Illy, thirteen or fourteen 
 miles through the forest. I found my first cure in all the difficul- 
 ties of arranging his distribution, and surrounded by women ; and 
 he appealed to me for aid, and to explain the intentions of the 
 society ; for the poor souls had all come, without exception, to 
 ask for bread. I had to say that we expected those who had 
 money to furnish themselves, and that we could only help the 
 destitute, and at last released the cure from them all. But he 
 had an excellent idea for helping the people. It seems that 
 the cloth dealers will buy small quantities of cloth, but will not 
 give money for it; and the cure, M. L'Alouette, showed me a 
 < bon ' for seventy-five francs (payable after the war). A woman 
 had brought it to him, to ask him to give her seventy francs 
 upon it, which he would not do, but lent her twenty francs upon 
 it, to be returned. * Now,' he said, if you would buy these, the 
 Commune would guarantee you against loss in case of the failure 
 of the merchants, and my people would retain their independence 
 and dignity, which are injured by their coming to beg for 
 bread.' There is really an opening for the very highest effort 
 of discriminating philanthropy, for, of course, mere charity has 
 a bad effect. I found the cure of St. Menges was much of 
 the same mind. At Fleigneaux I saw the schoolmaster of a 
 very dirty school. He had everything taken for an ambulance : 
 six pairs of sheets, and six-dozen of pocket-handkerchiefs. * You 
 see, I take snuff, and want a handkerchief every day,' he said, 
 by way of explanation. There were some Protestants here, so 
 I got a guide to take me to one family, and found a very nice- 
 looking, intelligent old woman, Madame Berthe by name, and 
 
S6 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. V 
 
 her son and daughter-in-law. They were quite content with 
 their distribution of bread, and, more than that, had had a little 
 work from one of the * anciens ' of the church at Sedan, and a 
 gift of a petticoat. At St. Menges I left ten francs with a poor 
 woman whose house had been burnt by a French shell, and who 
 had lost all her savings of sixteen years." 
 
 " November T/ind. 
 
 " From Sedan we walked to a village called Glaire : no 
 fighting took place there, but on the island formed by the bend 
 of the river and the canal, most of the French prisoners were 
 encamped, and the Bavarians were at Glaire for twelve days. 
 Here the farmers seem to have lost everything : one, the Maire 
 of Glaire, had driven 250 sheep to Iges for safety, and when 
 the camp came began to sell them ; but after getting 750 francs, 
 the rest were suddenly seized, and carried off, and he lost 6,500 
 francs' worth, as well as three horses and eight cows. All the 
 poultry of course disappeared, and all the oats and hay ; con- 
 sequently there is no employment for the farm labourers. He 
 told us he had always kept four servants, but that now he had 
 discharged three, and the fourth would leave in a few days. We 
 called on the cur^, and on two farmers, and on some workpeople, 
 some of whom were terribly poor. One old blind woman was 
 burning a soldier's boot on her hearth for want of fuel, for all the 
 wood in the place had been taken ; even the roof of a new 
 unfinished bam had been torn down to burn, while the doors and 
 shutters of houses and fann-buil dings had been used as shelter in 
 the camp. Another poor woman was very ill indeed, and had 
 'got so low from want of proper food that she was scarcely able to 
 take nourishment ; her husband was formerly employed at the 
 fUaturc^ was out of work, and they had four children. I asked 
 if she had seen a doctor, and found they could not afford the six 
 francs required to pay for one from Sedan. I advanced the six 
 francs, and sent two tins of preserved soup for her a couple of 
 days later. The cure promised to send me in a few days a list of 
 
Chap. V.] NEIGHBOURHOOD OF SEDAN. Sy 
 
 the persons most in need of clothes and bread. One of the 
 farmers of Glaire kindly drove us over to Iges, where we visited 
 the Maire. He, too, had lost nearly everything. All his cows, 
 sheep, and pigs, as well as wood— everything had been taken by 
 the unfortunate French prisoners who were encamped in the 
 neighbourhood, and who for days were on the verge of starvation ; 
 they even ate the potatoes and beet-roots which they dug up, 
 the latter of which brought on much illness, which has been in 
 some cases communicated to the villagers. At Iges, also, we 
 were assured that gifts of bread would be most acceptable to the 
 poor. 
 
 ^' On Thursday we started at about nine o'clock for Illy, Floing, 
 and St. Menges, where I hoped to make arrangements for baking 
 the bread on the spot, instead of having it sent to Belgium. Our 
 waggon, with the Union Jack flying, started at the same time laden 
 with 1 20 loaves, of five kilogrammes each, and six bags of coffee, 
 and a case of preserved meat. At Givonne I saw the cure, and 
 arranged to speak to the bakers on my way back. Soon after 
 leaving Givonne, a farmer from Glaire, who was returning with 
 us, having the day before brought us two strong farm horses, 
 which he lends for the winter, suggested our leaving the carriage 
 and taking a path over the hill to Illy. Path there was none, 
 but we went across the fields, and through the mud and clay, 
 seeing evident traces of large bodies of men having passed 
 that way, in the trodden-down ground and broken hedges. We 
 passed to the right of La Garenne, seeing some graves and still 
 finding a few dedns of the battle, we rejoined our carriage at Illy, 
 and drove to Floing, a large and formerly flourishing village, lying 
 in a hollow, between the heights occupied by the French and 
 German artillery, and though the balls were flying over the 
 village all day not a house was struck. 
 
 " We went straight to the Presbytere, and found the cure' just 
 finishing his dejamer. He was delighted when he heard that I had 
 come to arrange for a distribution of bread, as he said there was 
 very great distress in his village, which was all the more painful to 
 
88 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. V. 
 
 witness from the fact of the sufferers being persons who were 
 accustomed to be in easy circumstances, with plenty of well-paid 
 work. He explained to me that the cause of the distress was 
 two-fold ; — the occupation of the German army during twelve 
 days, in which time they had taken everything they could lay 
 their hands upon ; and, secondly, from the complete stoppage of 
 business in Sedan, on which the inhabitants entirely depend. 
 Sedan being a fortified town has not room for its many work- 
 people, and a very large proportion of the cloth-weaving is done 
 in the poor weavers' own houses. At this moment such is the 
 want of confidence in affairs among the manufacturers, that not 
 only will they not give work, but they are even sending away their 
 wool to be stored in Belgium, fearing lest it should be taken, 
 should the town at any time be unable to pay the Prussian re- 
 quisitions. The very few who still give a little occasional work 
 do not pay in money, but in bills payable seventy-five days after 
 the signing of peace, and the bakers will not take these bills in 
 exchange for bread. The cure told us that three-quarters of his 
 people were weavers. They are not in general thrifty till they 
 have been able to buy a house ; but once a steady workman has 
 his own little house, he may be considered safe and provided for 
 for life ; he no longer frequents the cabaret^ but every penny goes 
 towards the comfort of his house. But now most of these house- 
 holders have lost what little furniture and linen they had 
 managed to get together; the furniture was either wantonly 
 broken, or used for fire-wood, and the linen and blankets were 
 all taken by the soldiers, or for the wounded. In many cases the 
 only covering a family has left is the coarse sack which, formerly 
 stuffed with straw, served as a mattress. In one case a poor man 
 with fever was found covered only by a sack of shavings. The 
 curb's sister told us, that only that morning a person formerly 
 quite well off had come to ask if she could not give her a little 
 help, and she saw that she was wearing one of her husband's 
 shirts, having no clothes of her own left. In another case a 
 mother and daughter who had sixty pairs of stockings of their own 
 
Chap. V.] FRENCH VILLAGES. 89 
 
 knitting had lost them all. While we were talking, our waggon 
 arrived and stopped at the cure's to deposit some coffee and 
 preserved meat. The waggon was on its way to St. Menges, and 
 poor people of Floing seeing the bread, were sadly disappointed 
 when they found it was going on further. I, however, went at 
 once to call on the Maire, who received me most kindly, and 
 spoke in the warmest terms of the sympathy of the English. 
 Meantime the cure had sent for the bakers, of whom there were 
 five — one was represented by a pretty little daughter of eighteen, 
 almost the only young girl who had not fled during the battle. 
 The Maire and cure kindly explained the terms which I proposed 
 to offer to the bakers, and after a little demur on their part, and an 
 injunction from the cure, not to be behind-hand in helping their 
 neighbours, when foreigners, on whom they had no claim, had 
 come forward to help them, they consented to bake the 150 
 kilos of bread a day for thirty-five centimes a kilo. Part of this 
 was to be for Claire and Iges, small villages just across the 
 Meuse, which have no baker of their own. Each baker was to 
 take a baking in turn, which we thought would ensure the quality 
 of the bread being kept up to the mark, and would also make a 
 fair distribution of the gains throughout the fraternity. The cure's 
 sister was most glad to take charge of the preserved soup for some 
 fever patients. Having made our arrangements, and got the 
 contract for the bread signed by the bakers, we started for St. 
 Menges, Monsieur le Cure accompanying us part of the way, and 
 explaining to us most clearly the position of the armies, and the 
 direction of the Crown Prince's forced march, as well as the site 
 of the disastrous cavalry charges. In the village we met a French 
 lady, who had come in search of the body of her husband who 
 had fallen in one of the charges at the head of his regiment. 
 She knew what kind of wound he had received, and in the village 
 it was remembered that an officer of high rank, wounded in that 
 manner, had been buried on the heights above Floing. Accom- 
 panied by the Maire, she had the grave containing forty bodies 
 opened. The body was found and easily recognised by the 
 
90 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 peculiar wound, and by the white moustache. The poor marquise 
 wanted to embrace the body, but was held back by the kind- 
 hearted Maire, and it was immediately buried in the churchyard 
 in a place which she had chosen. 
 
 " At St. Menges we found the curd just returning from visiting one 
 of his sick. He had much to tell of the sufferings of his flock, from 
 the pillage of the Germans who occupied the village for ten days. 
 Only two houses were burnt, and these by the bursting of French 
 shells, which, he added, made it seem all the sadder. In his little 
 ante-room we found the three sacks of coffee and all the loaves our 
 cart had just deposited, and on the table two large knives ready for 
 cutting them up for distribution at eight o'clock the next morning. 
 He told us that the way he had made his list of those who were to 
 receive bread, when he first heard from Mr. Bullock of his offer 
 of sending it, was to go round to the different bakers and beg 
 them to show him their list of their customers. He then asked, 
 ' Are you still supplying all these people with bread ? ' 'Oh no, 
 to many of them we are obliged to refuse credit ; we know they 
 cannot pay us." He therefore then got a list of those families 
 who actually could not buy bread, and to them he distributed 
 that sent by Mr. Bullock. Here also I saw the bakers, and made 
 the same contract with them as at Floing. At another village 
 one of the bakers had lost his son as well as all that he possessed 
 on the day of the battle, and ever since had been so completely 
 disheartened that he had not held up his head nor done a day's 
 work since. The contract was given to him, and it was a comfort 
 to know that, within a few days, with his work liis spirits had 
 returned, and that he was quite an altered man. The cure of 
 St. Menges told us of a number of his people who had lost all 
 their clothes, and especially their blankets and sheets. In this 
 village the people are nearly all weavers, so that, till some work 
 begins again, they have no means of retrieving their losses. 
 
 "Scarcely a house seems to have been spared. One poor 
 German woman living at Glaire forms a solitary exception, and 
 now owns the only pig in the village, and if the inhabitants had 
 
Chap. V.] FRENCH PEASANTS. 9 1 
 
 the misfortune to leave their houses, then the havoc was complete. 
 The cure of Daigny told us that he was only absent twenty-four 
 hours, but returned to find his house bare — not only his plate, his 
 linen, his little batterie de cuisine had been taken, but his very 
 clothes, even his large three-corned hat. *• Je ne sais pas a quoileur 
 poiivait servir un chapeaii de pretre, mais ils Vont poiirtant pris^ 
 and the panels of his large wardrobe had been forced out with a 
 chopper, to make boards for the soldiers to cut up their meat 
 upon. And with all these there is a wonderfully resigned and 
 hopeful spirit abroad ; so many have said to me, ' Ah, if only it 
 was all over, and we did not see them any more, and could begin 
 to work again, we should forget the past and make a fresh start ; 
 but as long as they are here there is no hope of work, and 
 how are we to get through the winter ? ' In some cases the poor 
 have made a little money by seUing a few arms, &c., from the 
 battle-field, but that is pretty well all spent, and the prospect of 
 the winter is very dismal.'' 
 
 "Sedan, Novejubcr zy-d. 
 
 " This morning, after waiting to despatch some things to Fran- 
 cheval, and ordering another despatch of things to St. Menges 
 to-morrow, I came on through Francheval, Rubecourt, and La 
 Moncelle to Sedan. At La Moncelle the walls are covered with 
 shot marks, and a part of the houses are burnt. A list which M. 
 de Montagnac has had made gives fifty-nine families burnt out, 
 besides the Maison Communale. As I stood talking to some 
 men at the foot of the street, I counted forty-two bullet-marks on 
 the face of one house. M. de Montagnac's factory is half-way 
 between this and Rubecourt, and when I asked them about 
 bons and cloth, they said that he had kept his mill working 
 twelve hours a week, and had always paid ready money for work 
 or goods." 
 
 ** November 2^th. 
 " I started at eight o'clock this morning for St. Menges, and 
 found the cure in the midst of his distribution of bread, so waited 
 
92 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 while he finished it. He is unfortunate in having no organization 
 in his parish ; the last cure had quarrelled with the Maire and 
 the Adjoint, and the Conseillers Municipaux, who are all weavers, 
 and of the 2000 inhabitants not one is a rentier^ or in a position 
 to give tone to the Bureau de Bienfaisance, or to be able to devote 
 time to its affairs. There is, consequently, no organization for 
 relief, no subscriptions for a doctor to attend the sick, and the 
 cure is unsupported. He thinks, that by-and-bye, even his school- 
 master and the three smirs will have to ask for bread. They 
 have but ;£^2o a-year a piece, and even this is not likely to be 
 paid in January. 
 
 " As the bread was being issued, I obtained sad details of dis- 
 tress in some of the families — many were ill, and their illness was 
 aggravated by the want of good food. The father of a family of 
 six children, only one of whom could work, was away at Mtfzieres 
 as a Garde Forcsticr. Two poor women who came for their share 
 had been of the class oi pauvrcs ho7iteuses^ whose cases require 
 careful investigation, but now came openly to ask for relief. They 
 had kept the only caft^ of the place, and supported an old mother 
 of ninety-two, but since the first of September all custom had 
 ceased ; the Germans had smashed their windows, and taken 
 their beds, and they were, as we should say, * on the parish ; ' 
 that is to say, they would be on the parish if the parish had 
 anything to give them. 
 
 " The funds of the Bureau de Bienfaisance are usually 500 to 
 600 francs, and are derived chiefly from some land, and partly from 
 occasional market rents and levies on fetes at the Maison 
 Communale. This has not been a year for fetes, and, therefore, 
 the receipts have been small and the expenses large ; and the 
 Daily News Society will therefore put 200 francs into the CaissCy 
 in case the doctor is required, and more in case of need of 
 medicine. 
 
 " The society is now sufficiently in relations with SL Menges to 
 see to its wants during the winter. It receives now i5oolbs. of 
 bread a week, and 200 lbs. of bacon, and the committee of the 
 
Chap. V.] FRENCH WEAVERS. 93 
 
 Bureau de Bienfaisance have a store of preserved meat, and 
 * soup and bouilli,' of coffee and potatoes, to meet special cases. 
 At the mention of coffee the cure said, — * Ah, inonsieur, vous 
 parlez des elegances de la vie. Bread is the chief thing — if only 
 we had bread. There are many who eat nothing else.' After 
 the distribution I visited some of the cloth weavers. With each 
 family the story was the same. Their beds had been taken for 
 the wounded, and soiled with blood, or lost ; their clothes had 
 disappeared during the fifteen days' occupation by the German 
 troops; and the pig, which is kept by most of the weavers' families, 
 had been eaten. In each house a little work was going on, but 
 as it is paid for either in cloth or in written promises ' to pay 
 after the war,' there is a considerable loss to the workman in every 
 case. Before the war a good weaver made sixteen enseignes or 
 eighty-four metres of cloth in twenty-one to twenty-five summer 
 days, and was paid fifty francs for his work, the material being 
 supplied direct from the 'filatures,' which employ 100 persons in 
 addition to the 900 weavers, so that the families which I visited, 
 which had two or three looms a piece, could gain from thirty 
 to fifty francs a week. But they now suffer loss from three causes. 
 Firstly, they are paid by cloth which is taken into Belgium at a 
 loss of ten per cent, duty and at the cost of a long journey on foot ; 
 and, secondly, they lose much time both on these journeys and in 
 going to Sedan to fetch the threads which used to be brought to 
 their own doors ; but the worst feature of their case is the pro- 
 found depression into which the invasion of their soil, the loss of 
 their children, and the dread of some greater unknown trouble 
 yet to come, has plunged them. The people of this district are 
 of a gentle and cheerfiil disposition. The Hfe of a working man 
 was, perhaps, in no part of France more promising; and the 
 existence of a sympathy for their suffering among English people, 
 which is shown in gifts and visits, will be understood by those 
 who know the French character, to have a more than visible 
 influence on their health and spirits under the heavy trials of the 
 winter. The common distress has extinguished much selfish 
 
94 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 repining. I have not yet met with a case in which the speaker 
 referred, unasked, to his own peculiar hardship. A poor woman, 
 whose husband was just able to sit up after about fourteen days' 
 fever, showed me the movements of her loom, and after a few 
 strokes, said simply, '■ Je n^ai plus la force (T autrefois ; ' and after 
 trying to quicken the movement left off quite flushed by the 
 exertion. She had been used to work all day, but was weakened 
 by attendance on her husband, and indifferent food. They will 
 both have portion of soup and bouilli in future. She had taken 
 a piece of cloth, valued at twenty-seven francs, into Belgium a few 
 days ago, wrapping it round under her dress to escape the duty, 
 but had only succeeded in getting fifteen francs for it. Her whole 
 house was in wretched disorder and uncleanliness, and had never 
 recovered the invasion of the troops. In another house where 
 two looms were at work, a man had been more fortunate. He 
 had taken his fifty francs' piece of cloth into Belgium, and brought 
 back forty-five francs ; but at the cost of two days' travel, which, 
 in good time, would represent two and a half francs more. But 
 the workers at the * filature ' are in the worst condition, as they 
 can do nothing, or next to nothing." 
 
 " Noz'cinbcr 25///. 
 
 " To-day I have been to Floing. Thanks to the last as well as 
 to the present cur^, M. L'Alouette, and to the Maire, M. Amede'e 
 de la Brosse, who is greatly respected both here and in Sedan, a 
 capital organization exists in the village. 
 
 ** M. Alouette himself has a genius for organization, and the 
 sick subscrii)tion, which is but five francs a head a year, not only 
 pays the doctor, but also twenty-five per cent, of the medicines. 
 The whole village has a brighter appearance than St. Menges, 
 to which its nearness to Sedan, no doubt, contributes. The 
 population, and the proportion of weavers, are but equal to St. 
 Menges ; but at Floing there is a growing disposition among the 
 weavers to lay out their money in acquiring a separate cottage and 
 garden, and this practice, which has not only an excellent moral 
 
Chap. V.] COMMITTEE ON DESIGNS. 95 
 
 side, adds to the cheerful aspect of the place, as well as to the 
 agreeable manners of the people. It does not, however, put bread 
 into their mouths at this particular moment, and therefore the 
 same help in bread and bacon is given by the ' Relief Fund ' as 
 at St. Menges, as well as a portion of preserved meat and coffee 
 for special occasions. 
 
 " I have begged both the cures of St. Menges and Floing to 
 take care that all their parishioners know that they are helped by 
 an English society, so that the existence of friends abroad may 
 help in giving some little heart and hope to them in their dejec- 
 tion, and the latter intends to hold forth from the pulpit to this 
 effect on Sunday." 
 
 After giving what assistance he could at Sedan, he went 
 on to Thionville and Metz, where he remained a few days, 
 returning to England in December. 
 
 He was immediately after this, January, 1 871, appointed 
 by the Admiralty a member of a " Committee on Designs 
 for Ships of War," on which he served until July. 
 
 In February he went for a few days to Dieppe, to super- 
 intend unloading and transmitting to Paris the stores which 
 the English Government sent to the relief of that capital at 
 the end of the siege. 
 
 During this year of leisure, Captain Goodenough had 
 time to give expression in a public manner to the views on 
 the education of naval officers which had long been matur- 
 ing in his mind. The very considerable number of junior 
 officers, of different grades, who had successively passed 
 through the two large flag-ships he had lately commanded, 
 had afforded him many opportunities of judging personally 
 of the standard of education in our own service ; while a 
 long and intimate intercourse with officers of foreign navies 
 
96 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 had enabled him to make a just comparison between their 
 officers and our own. 
 
 He felt strongly our need of a more systematic combina- 
 tion of the education of the practical seaman and the 
 scientific officer, and the drawbacks of sending midshipmen 
 to sea at an early age, thereby taking them away from the 
 ordinary schools of the country, and from the companion- 
 ship of those who were looking forward to and preparing^ 
 for other professions than their own, and at the same time 
 limiting their grasp of all that goes to make a thoroughly 
 liberal education, and prematurely confining them in the 
 narrower groove of their professional career. 
 
 He read a paper " On the Preliminary Education of 
 Naval Officers," at the United Service Institution ; and 
 also wrote a more popular article, which was published in 
 " Eraser's Magazine." The following passages are from the 
 former paper : — 
 
 " I have been asked to offer to the members of this Institution 
 and through this Institution to the Naval Service, by means of 
 our very useful journal, some remarks on preliminary naval 
 education. They are the results of many years' obsen-ation, and 
 of much thought on the training of naval officers, in the course of 
 my service in the largest ships of Her Majesty's navy, during 
 which time I have become convinced of the necessity of our pro- 
 viding a much more careful and methodical course of instruction 
 for our officers than now exists, or has before existed. 
 
 " I have undertaken my task with some diffidence, but with the 
 assurance of the kind disposition of my brother officers to listen to 
 the ideas which have occurred to me, and to the facts which I can 
 put before them, though ill strung together, trusting that they 
 will connect them, and argue from them in better fashion than I 
 can pretend to do. Engaged as I have been in the active and 
 
Chap. V.] NAVAL EDUCATION. 97 
 
 practical performance of duties afloat for many years, I do not 
 pretend to read such a paper as I can conceive might be offered 
 to you on this subject by those who have studied the machinery 
 of teaching, and are acquainted with the ascertained results of 
 modern instruction in actual schools. Still, perhaps I may have 
 some knowledge of what results we ourselves obtain, and I may 
 have been able to estimate better than many others the effect of 
 our own recent changes, and of still more recent proposals ; for 
 having been convinced from a very early period of my career that 
 there was occasion to introduce more method into our system of 
 education, and to leave less to the chapter of accidents, and to the 
 undivided and often ill-directed efforts of the few who emerge 
 from the mass of the possessors of mere superficial knowledge, I 
 have naturally been confirmed and strengthened in my early views 
 — the progress and inventions of the last twenty-five years having 
 tended materially to methodise the practice of navigation and the 
 management of ships of war. 
 
 " I do not expect to convince any one ofi'-hand of the accuracy 
 of my judgment in the matter. My wish is chiefly to excite 
 thought and examination of the subject, and to evoke free dis- 
 cussion, not only here in this theatre, but in the journals and 
 periodical publications of the profession; for I am of those who 
 believe that more good than harm is to be attained by the dis- 
 cussion of most professional subjects, and that the power which 
 exists in all military services of suppressing or forbidding such 
 discussions should be exercised most sparingly and patiently. 
 
 " I should be guilty of an absurd and forced indifference to what 
 is passing around me, if I were not to say that an impression now 
 exists very generally in the service that the view which finds most 
 favour with regard to the training of officers for Her Majesty's navy 
 is, that the naval officer should be caught young, that he should 
 be made to devote himself to the details, and nothing but details, 
 of his profession from boyhood to youth, and from youth to middle 
 age, and that somewhere between middle age and old age he 
 should be deemed to be worn out, and be thrown away a pensioner 
 
 H 
 
98 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. V. 
 
 on the country's gratitude, unfit even to have a voice in the guidance 
 of the affairs of the service to which he may have been an ornament. 
 I say that such is the impression abroad, and I entreat those who 
 can show that it is not so, and who can contribute to remove 
 such, to aid in doing so, for such an impression is doing much 
 harm in all directions. It is weakening the desire for knowledge 
 and self-improvement in naval officers ; it is tending to narrow 
 and circumscribe the idea of responsibility of a naval commander 
 for all things coming within his ken, and to lower his conception 
 of his own position from that of a representative of his country in 
 all parts of the world, an agent of her policy, and a guardian ot 
 her commerce, to that of being a mere executive tool, whose only 
 argument is force. The naval reputation of this country has not 
 been achieved by men who held so mutilated a notion of their 
 duty as to be the mere executioners of their country's judgments. 
 I believe that I may boldly say that we have scarcely a man in 
 our naval history, distinguished as a naval commander in action, 
 who has not also been distinguished in some other pursuit, pro- 
 fessional or otherwise, practical or scientific ; but if we continue to 
 acquiesce in the meagre education which is at present pennitted 
 to naval officers, we must resign ourselves to the position of a 
 Chinese military mandarin, and be at the beck and call of civilians 
 and consuls, and to be hustled and forced into perpetual mistakes 
 in war. I would, therefore, here give a word of encouragement to 
 those who have felt the chill which is given by the indifference to 
 individual exertion out of the main line of routine of a continually 
 narrowing departmental system. I would say, * Don't be afraid 
 of discouragement in following up any line of study which your 
 taste leads you to choose. Nothing prevents your taste and your 
 study from running side by side.. Nothing that you can learn 
 will come amiss to you in your profession. Nothing which you 
 learn can be useless to you. More than this, if you wish to serve 
 your country as a commander of any force, great or small, you 
 must nourish yourself by study. Opportunities come in vain to 
 men who are unprepared. No visible smile may encourage you, 
 
Chap. V.] NEED OF SYSTEM, 99 
 
 but le del f aider a. Your day will come. The Danes always land, 
 ;pour qui salt attendre. Above all, don't fancy that the fiien of the 
 department of Government under which you serve are against 
 you. The tendency of a departmental system is stronger than the 
 men^ and they^ in many things, are as much chilled and bound by 
 it as you may fancy yourself to be. You are only chilled by its 
 influence now. One day you may be bound by it also, until the 
 day when the general spread of educated and instructed, willing 
 intelligence shall set us free from the bonds of system, while 
 giving us free use of its machinery. 
 
 ^< • • • • •• 
 
 ^* The warning which I would give, and it contains the whole 
 case, is this : that while all other circumstances of life at sea have 
 changed considerably in the last thirty years, the preliminary 
 training of our officers has not changed in its main features. It is 
 not merely that our materiel, whether in ships or guns, steam 
 engines or canvas, has changed ; it is not only that our materiel 
 has become far more complicated than of yore. If that alone 
 ' were the case, the system of a former age might supply the wants 
 of the day. No ! the change whose bearing we have failed to 
 acknowledge, even though we may have perceived it, is this : 
 that while formerly the conduct of ships at sea, their discipline, 
 and the handling of their materiel generally was based on the 
 experience obtained in the practice of individual lives from early 
 years, and on an acquaintance with external phenomena and 
 internal details which were not reduced to laws or elevated into 
 systems ; now we do possess rules and laws which greatly reduce 
 the value if they do not quite supersede the practical experience 
 of a single life. 
 
 " In every one of the varied practical duties of a sea officer this 
 is the case, whether in navigation or in discipline, in artillery or 
 in manoeuvring ; and I say that this constitutes the great change 
 in a sea life to which we have no corresponding advance. I say 
 that although those laws and systems exist, we still continue to let 
 the details which they include be painfully and only partially 
 
 H 2 
 
lOO COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 acquired by experience, instead of methodically teaching the 
 principles on which they are based. Such a course not only 
 involves the waste of many years of life, but also burdens the 
 mind with ill-assorted facts. The opposite course educates while 
 it instructs and enlarges the mind to receive much more solid 
 knowledge, as well as actually many more facts. I do not say 
 that there are not here and there talented young officers who have 
 made the most of their time, and of special and exceptional 
 opportunities ; but I do say that the mass are ill-taught in all 
 subjects, and particularly in those exclusively practical and pro- 
 fessional ones /or which the present system is sought to be 
 retained." 
 
 Speaking of the age of entry into the navy, he con- 
 tinues : — 
 
 " It has been said that early entry into the Service is associated 
 with all the traditions of the navy, is in accordance with its 
 historical recollections, and is in unison with the general tone of 
 professional feeling on the subject ; that it insures the obtaining a 
 supply of young officers at a time when their minds, being plastic 
 and docile, and their habits and modes of thought yet unformed, 
 they can be more easily inured to the peculiar habits of a sea life, 
 be more accustomed to its unavoidable privations and occasional 
 hardships, be trained up in attachment to their profession, and 
 be induced to adopt it heartily as their vocation in life. 
 
 " I am therefore impelled to ask if this opinion is sustained by 
 facts. Is it a fact that the education received at large or public 
 schools is such as to make boys less docile or plastic than is con- 
 sistent with their adoption of a profession of hardship ? Is the 
 habit or mode of thought which is formed at a public school an 
 opposite one to that demanded by the naval career, or incom- 
 patible with it ? Are the peculiar habits, the unavoidable priva- 
 tions, and the occasional hardships such as to turn the stomach of 
 a pubHc schoolboy? Is the age of seventeen or eighteen too 
 
Chap. V.] EDUCATION ATHS'T^AiklNGV'^ '.''> '--''ioi 
 
 late for a reasonably educated lad to accept and attach himself to 
 a career which combines much enterprise and interest with a 
 service of honour? And, finally, while early entry into the 
 Service is no doubt associated with its history and traditions, is it 
 in unison with the general tone of professional feeling on the 
 subject ? 
 
 '' I shall not go into details in explaining my own proposals for 
 preliminary education and training of naval officers, but the prin- 
 ciples on which I consider that that education should rest are 
 these : — First, that a distinction should be made between the 
 period of education and that of special training ; secondly, that 
 special training should be the business of the Government, while 
 education should be left to the care of the parents at the ordinary 
 schools of the country ; thirdly, that the handling of ships* sails 
 and boats, and the principles of command, should be methodically 
 taught, instead of, as at present, being left to chance observations 
 and the accidents of service; fourthly, that the young officers 
 under training in school ships should have no command except 
 over each other, and should count no sea-time, and that on entering 
 the service afloat in sea-going ships they should become at once in 
 some measure responsible officers, though liable to future examina- 
 tion, and to produce evidence of having done work after leaving the 
 training ships ; fifthly, that, in order to discourage cramming, all 
 entrance examinations should be confined, as far as possible, to 
 the subjects of study at advanced public schools, and that every 
 candidate should be required to bring with him certificates of a 
 year's good conduct from his last school. 
 
 " Why, I ask, is it necessary for the Government to undertake 
 the work of education as distinguished from special training ? Are 
 the schools of this country so bad ? Is it that their course of 
 instruction is so ill-suited to modern aims as to make it necessary 
 to set up a model Government establishment ? I think not. I 
 believe that a Government school cannot in the long run compete 
 in this country with our public schools, and therefore I wish to 
 
I o:>' : '•': GbAtMQD'OlRE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 see the work of education accomplished before the Government 
 begins that of special training. I regret the loss of individuality, 
 which is inevitable when all young gentlemen are passed through 
 the same course from the age of twelve years. Captain Sherard 
 Osborn, an officer of eminence, and of distinguished merit in our 
 profession as a man of varied experience of the world, and an 
 instance of most successful self-culture, and to whose opinion I 
 therefore attach great value, advocates early education apart from 
 special training, and deprecates the loss of individuality which 
 ensues from long continued running in the same groove." 
 
 In conclusion he says : — 
 
 *' I have been told that it is not desirable to make the navy a 
 scientific service. Science indeed ! We are far from that — we 
 are safe enough from any danger of that sort. I only wish for 
 such an education and training as shall enable our officers to 
 understand a few elements of the laws by which their ships float, 
 and move, and are guided ; such an education as will secure them 
 from asking the impossible in a ship, while it prepares them to 
 comprehend the simple phenomena and acts of nature ; and such 
 a training as will enable them to discharge efficiently the routine 
 duties of their profession, and to maintain an ascendancy over 
 those they will be called on to command. Don't suppose that I 
 speak of science. I speak of things which concern the safe navi- 
 gation, or, at least, the economic navigation of ships. I speak 
 of the bare elements, and not of any deep scientific acquirement. 
 And if I go a hair's breadth away from practical professional 
 topics, I may ask, What is the knowledge of military law ? — what 
 is the knowledge of the leading principles of the rules of evidence ? 
 — what of political geography? — what of our own mercantile 
 marine ? — what of maritime law ? I leave these questions to be 
 thought over by those who have sat as members of a court martial 
 — by those who have found themselves the servant of a consul at 
 some unexpected political crisis, or who have been face to face 
 
Chap. V.] NA VAL A TTA CHE, 1 03 
 
 with mutinous merchant ships. It is then too late to look into 
 the elements which should have been acquired in youth, and for 
 want of which the gravest errors are often committed in judging 
 of facts presented to our notice. Are we who go down to the 
 sea in ships, and occupy our business in great waters, are we 
 alone of all men only to see the works of the Lord and His 
 wonders in the deep, and not to comprehend them? Are we 
 alone, by reason of our isolation when on service, and our want 
 of preparation before it, to be debarred from examining, reasoning 
 on, and enjoying the wonders of nature and the diversity and 
 infinity of creation ? Can we be right in allowing so much 
 endowment and so many well-formed minds to lie fallow for so 
 long ? All reason, all analogy is against it, and sooner or later the 
 intelligent opinion of this country will dictate to our service what 
 it requires of us. I wish to be beforehand with the country. I 
 do not wish for that dictation ; and, to avoid being forced into 
 much that I should not approve, I wish to effect our reforms from 
 within, being confident that that character which I love, and 
 which has been described by a great statesman as the noblest and 
 finest this country can produce, will be enriched by culture, and 
 reinvigorated and nerved by mental discipline, and thus be fitted 
 to render as deep and lasting services to our country as those of 
 the great seamen who have gone before us." 
 
 In August, 1 87 1, Captain Goodenough was appointed 
 naval attache to the Maritime Courts of Europe, with 
 orders to visit the different arsenals of the Continent, and 
 to report to the Foreign Office upon the navies of the 
 European powers. He started in September for St. Peters- 
 burg, where he remained for some weeks. 
 
 Among the amusing anecdotes of which he had so ready 
 a store, was one of a visit to a factory which was to be 
 shown with much ostentation and pride as. having a 
 
I04 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 management exclusively Russian. After visiting the whole 
 of the works without being undeceived, the party repaired 
 to luncheon, when an unassuming individual coming into 
 the room was introduced by the director. " Oh ! I beg 
 your pardon, this is our Scotchman, Mr. A., taken over 
 with the establishment." To which the new comer, in an 
 unmistakably Scotch accent, added, " Yes ! Lot 99 ! " 
 Of St. Petersburg he writes : — 
 
 ** I haven't told you of the impression made on me by St. 
 Petersburg. I said to myself Asti-akhan ! ! as I drove past the 
 eastern-looking markets and bazaars ; and really there is a strong 
 tinge of eastern look and habit in the place and people. The 
 defect — as a town — is that every street and building except the 
 churches has a straight horizontal sky line, and the streets are so 
 wide that one can see this defect. Then the streets are horribly 
 paved, except those which lead from the palace to each theatre, 
 which are paved with wood at immense cost. Subject for moral 
 reflections ! I have been paying my last visit to the hermitage, 
 which is simply wonderful in its wealth, and admirable in its 
 arrangements. Such Rembrandts, such De Hooge's, Mien's, and 
 Ruysdael's, so beautifully placed and lit, and down stairs such 
 wonders of antiquities from the (ireek colonies on the Black Sea, 
 such gems of Greek art of all sorts. It is a delightful place, and 
 I wished that R, who is more worthy than I, had had the enjoy- 
 ment of it. A gallery full of Peter the Cireat's tools and work is 
 there also, and himself sitting on a chair in the middle. I really felt 
 some awe in looking at the man who is the author of everything 
 here, by mere eftbrt of will. Hardly anything has yet passed the 
 boundaries which he marked out as the future of his own town. 
 Academies, harbours and cjuays, palaces and gardens, were all 
 
 originated by him I am amazed at the way I talk of 
 
 spreading all over Europe, and wonder if I shall ever see or find 
 out anything of interest. I shall study /<r/w//;/r/ well, for I am a 
 
Chap, v.] RUSSIA. 105 
 
 bad hand at finding out secrets if they have any. Really, perhaps 
 the best thing one can do is to allay the foolish fears of aggression 
 which come up every now and then." 
 
 The following letter was also written about this time : — 
 
 •* St. Petersburg, October 10, 1871. 
 " I have been reading Sir John Pakington's very noble-minded 
 speech on Education, &c., at the Social Science Congress. I 
 hardly expected him to be so outspoken, but it shows to what 
 lengths an earnest man is carried who has faithfully and logically 
 accepted the conclusions to which his observation and reason 
 have led him. His speech will do more good among the young 
 Conservatives than a dozen from a Liberal speaker, and will gain 
 any number of votes for the Government. Anything that all the 
 Navy and Army of England can do singly and independently is 
 not equal to a hundredth part of the strength which would be 
 gained to the country by following Sir John Pakington's advice — 
 looking at it from that limited point of view alone. But what 
 a glory if we should lead the world in knowledge, in justice, in 
 brotherly kindness, and in goodness, — what an end to work and live 
 for, or to die for, even to contribute in the least towards it." 
 
 From St. Petersburg, going south, he visited Nicolayeff 
 and Odessa, whence three days and nights of railway 
 travelling brought him to Vienna ; from there he proceeded 
 at once to Berlin, arriving just in time to be present at 
 the debates on the naval estimates in the German Chamber. 
 From Berlin he visited Dantzig, Kiel, Willhelmshafen, and 
 a gun-foundry establishment at Egger. 
 
 At the end of December he proceeded to Paris, where he 
 remained for four months, acquainting himself with all the 
 details of the French navy, and renewing his former friend- 
 
I06 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 ships with many officers of that service whom he had met 
 with on different foreign stations. He visited by turns 
 Cherbourg, Brest, Rochefort, and Toulon. From one of 
 the French dockyards he brought back the following 
 story concerning the inauguration of the republic. Orders 
 having been received to announce the establishment of the 
 republic, an admiral mustered the crew of his flag-ship on 
 the quarter-deck, and informed them of the change in the 
 government, and that the motto of France from henceforth 
 would be " Libert^, Fraternite, Egalit^ ! " The men were 
 dismissed, and were leaving the deck, when he suddenly 
 recalled them, adding, " Seulement, mes enfants, souvenez- 
 vous d'une chose — c'est que la liberte n'embarque 
 jamais !"* 
 
 Of this continued travelling he says : — 
 
 " An old friend writing to me says, ' I hope your appointrrtent 
 is not to be your Capua,' to which I reply, * My only Capua is a 
 first-class railway carriage, and that has not many enticements.' " 
 
 Still we see that he could find pleasure in railway travel- 
 ling, too : — 
 
 *' Toulon, April 26fA, 1872. 
 
 " We left Paris yesterday. For the first time in my life I thought 
 tliat flat country between Paris and Dijon lovely. The fresh 
 spring leaves and grass have made it so. The moon was well up 
 as we came out of Lyons, and the effect on one or two reaches of 
 the Rhone was magnificent. I woke at Aries at five, just in time 
 to see the first rays of the sun lighting the walls of the amphi- 
 tlieatre, and at six caught the first glimpse of the Mediterranean, 
 
 * Only, my men, remember one thing — liberty never goes afloat 1 
 
Chap, v.] ITALY AND AUSTRIA. 107 
 
 calm and still, too calm to give back the deep blue of the sky 
 overhead." 
 
 The following, to one of his children, is of the same 
 date : — 
 
 " As soon as we arrived at Toulon, I went to see a French 
 
 admiral, whose name is J , who is a very brave man, and who 
 
 commanded a quantity of soldiers and sailors during the last war. 
 A very good man, and a great man,* whom we used to see in 
 Paris, told me that Admiral J was a good man, and a sin- 
 cere Christian, and I am sure that that is one reason why he is so 
 brave. A really good man is brave, because he knows that God 
 takes care of him, and will take care of him when he is killed, 
 eyen if that happens." 
 
 In April he proceeded to Italy, spending a week at La 
 Spezzia, where the new dockyard and arsenal were visited ; 
 and then went to Rome, in order to see the Italian Minister 
 of Marine. His business kept him but five days at Rome, 
 too short a time on a first visit to see much of its treasures 
 of antiquity and art ; but what hours he could spare from 
 work he eagerly devoted to visiting the wonders of that 
 city, which was to him a source of the greatest enjoyment. 
 
 After spending two days at Venice (which enchanted 
 him, and which he laughingly said was tJie place where a 
 naval attache ought to live), he crossed to Trieste, to 
 begin his report on the Austrian navy. Here he was 
 joined by his brother, Colonel Goodenough, R.A., who was 
 at that time military attache to the English embassy at 
 Vienna ; and the two proceeded to Pola, a beautiful spot 
 on the Adriatic, where is the great Austrian dockyard, and 
 
 * M. Guizot. 
 
I08 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. V. 
 
 where some artillery experiments were at that moment 
 being conducted. From Pola he proceeded to Fiume, 
 further south on the Adriatic, where the Austrian Naval 
 Academy is established. From thence the brothers returned 
 to Vienna, where Captain Goodenough concluded his 
 report on the Austrian navy. Thence he went to Constan- 
 tinople, following the course of the Danube to its mouth. 
 He arrived there just in time for the fairy-like illuminations 
 in honour of the Sultan's birthday. At Constantinople he 
 found several acquaintances, who welcomed him very kindly : 
 nearly all the young commanders of the Turkish ironclad 
 squadron having been attached as lieutenants to the Eng- 
 lish navy a few years before, having served in the various 
 ships of our Channel squadron. 
 
 From Constantinople Captain Goodenough returned by 
 Syra, Corfu, and Trieste to Paris ; and shortly afterwards, 
 in August, 1872, asked leave to resign his appointment, as 
 he did not wish, nor did he think he could, with much 
 advantage to the public service, go over the same ground 
 at once again ; and also he was anxious, as soon as pos- 
 sible, to return to the regular line of naval service afloat. 
 
 This was the first year of the Autumn Manoeuvres, and 
 Captain Goodenough threw himself heartily into the inte- 
 rest they afforded — first visiting various regiments which 
 were encamped in the neighbourhood of the New Forest, 
 where he was living ; and afterwards following the whole of 
 the actual manoeuvres on horseback. This was to him a 
 delightful holiday, and one which he enjoyed with all the 
 force of his varied powers of interest and appreciation. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 APPOINTED COMMODORE OF THE AUSTRALIAN STATION — VOYAGE TO NEW 
 ZEALAND — FIJI — SYDNEY — MELBOURNE —TASMANIA — CAPTAIN COOK — 
 ADELAIDE — NEW HEBRIDES — EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL. 
 
 Captain Goodenough spent the next winter in London 
 — studying, attending lectures, working both at gunnery 
 and other things connected with the naval service, till, in 
 April, 1873, he received from the First Lord of the 
 Admiralty the offer of going to Australia as Commodore 
 in command of H.M.S. " Pearl." This was a command 
 which for some years he had looked upon as one which 
 would specially interest him, and he at once began to 
 prepare himself for his new work, trying to learn as much 
 as he could of those seas, then quite unknown to him, 
 as he wished to arrive on his station possessed of all the 
 knowledge of it which he could obtain. He visited the 
 different missionary societies who were labouring in those 
 latitudes, asking for all the information he could get. He 
 at once set about collecting all the records of the early 
 discoverers and voyagers of the South Seas, and succeeded 
 in getting together a large collection of their works. 
 
 The Pearl was commissioned in May, 1873, and sailed 
 from Spithead in June. 
 
no ■ COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 The following is the draft of an address to the ship's 
 company of the Pearl on the day of commissioning, which 
 was spoken in somewhat similar terms : — 
 
 "Men! 
 
 '* We are this day commissioned for three years* service on the 
 most distant station of the world. Out of this three years, or 
 thirty-six months, or a hundred and .fifty weeks, or a thousand 
 days, whichever way we like to put it, we shall probably pass, 
 each of us, at least nineteen-twentieths, or say nine hundred and 
 fifty days, actually on board this very ship on whose deck we now 
 stand. 
 
 " You will thus see in a moment that it is of the utmost import- 
 ance that, in the few days of preparation that are left us before we 
 quit home, we should leave nothing undone which can in any way 
 contribute to our passing those three years with credit and profit 
 to ourselves, to each other, to the good name of our ship, our 
 service, our profession as seamen, and to our country. With this 
 reflection, let me remind you that the first impressions made on 
 people's minds are generally the most lasting ; that it is desirable 
 that from this day you should each produce an impression on 
 myself, and on your officers generally, that each of you is to be 
 trusted ; that each of you has a character to lose or to maintain ; 
 that it is desirable that we should as a whole make an impression 
 on the Commander-in-Chief and dockyard officers of this port, 
 that we are a well-conducted and smart ship's company, and that 
 we may hear after we have left the port that we are of the right, 
 and not of the wrong, sort 
 
 ** Each of you has some experience of the navy, and does not 
 need to be reminded of the rules of the service ; but there are 
 still some things on which the good order and comfort of every- 
 one depends. The first is, that every man should strictly, smartly, 
 and immediately obey the orders of his superior officer and petty 
 officer; the second is, that the greatest comfort to every one 
 
Chap. VI.] H.MS. PEARL. Ill 
 
 results from men returning punctually on board to their leave. 
 My experience is a large one, in large ships, and amongst large 
 ships' companies ; and I tell you, that a man who breaks his 
 leave is a source of discomfort, not only to himself, but to every- 
 one else on board the ship ; and that every petty officer and man 
 has it laid upon him as a positive duty to see that his messmate 
 and subordinate returns on board punctually to his leave. 
 
 " The last point on which I have now to remark is this : that 
 every man in the service has a proper way in which to make 
 known any request, or to ask any favour, or to state any com- 
 plaint or grievance which he is suffering under. Any personal 
 request ought to be made to the lieutenant of his division, or if 
 time will not allow of his waiting for divisions, to the officer of 
 the watch. If any number of men have any request to make 
 about one common object, they should make it to the petty 
 officers of the day, and the petty officers will bring it either to the 
 officer of the watch, or to the commander (accompanied by 
 the master-at-arms), at the time that they think proper. The 
 ship's company will look to the petty officers to acquaint them 
 from time to time with any rules and regulations which may be 
 issued. 
 
 " Now to back the arrangements which may be made for our 
 comfort : I found when I was last serving afloat that a very 
 excellent plan to follow was to have a canteen on board the ship, 
 to sell cheese and eggs, and other small luxuries, to the ship's 
 company ; and this I recommend you to do. The only thing 
 necessary is to have a little money to start with to buy stock, and 
 this can be very easily obtained," &c., &c. 
 
 During the voyage to this station, and on most of 
 his cruises in the Pearl and excursions on shore, he 
 enjoyed the companionship of his connection, the Hon« 
 and Rev. Algernon Stanley, w^hom he had asked to accom*- 
 pany him to Australia. 
 
1 1 2 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 Of his various cruises in that ship, Captain Good- 
 enough kept an accurate account in his Journal, some 
 extracts from which will, from time to time, be j^iven in 
 this Memoir, while a few letters to friends in England 
 record his observations on the Australian colonies. And 
 here, at the commissioning of his last ship, a few words 
 may be said of the way in which he regarded his men, 
 and of how he felt for them. It has been said, in a letter 
 before quoted, that he was a strict disciplinarian, and 
 that he never passed unnoticed a lapse of duty ; but his 
 sense of justice was such that those reproved generally 
 acknowledged him right. And though he seldom thought 
 it right to show it, yet he so looked at things from all sides 
 that he made allowances in his own mind and estimation (at 
 times incomprehensible to bystanders) for the difficulties 
 of the individual cases or characters with which he was 
 dealing. He had so ardent a desire to raise himself and all 
 that surrounded him to the high ideal he placed before 
 him, that he was ready to sacrifice anything, whether of his 
 own gratification or of that of others, for the attainment of 
 his object. The great moving spring of his life, of which he 
 spoke so openly on his death-bed — Love — the love of God 
 — the love of men — the love of right, of honesty, of purity — 
 carried him often beyond the consideration of the moment, 
 or the immediate consequences of what he did ; while he 
 looked upon his actions as a part of the great upward 
 striving which he sought to bring about, for his men, for 
 himself, for his service, for his country. 
 
 As he told his men at the last, he loved them — though, 
 with his almost stern ideas of discipline, he seldom allowed 
 
Chap. VI.] FEELING FOR HIS MEN. II3 
 
 himself to show it, or to reveal the intense tenderness of his 
 heart and feelings ; but he told his men, at a meeting given 
 by a temperance society in Sydney a few weeks before his 
 death, and where he was asked to address them, how glad 
 he was of that opportunity of doing so, not quite as he 
 would on the quarter-deck, but in the relationship in which 
 he felt towards them, and in which he wished them to 
 regard him — as their Friend, 
 
 Nothing gave him more pleasure than when an old 
 shipmate of some former ship would come to him, often 
 waylaying him as he crossed Southsea Common, with 
 some request or other, often difficult or even irripossible 
 to comply with ; but it gratified him to feel that his men 
 knew that he would serve them if it lay in his power. 
 A speech made to him by a very old shipmate one day 
 and which amused him very much, testifies to this feeling. 
 Coming to see him once on returning from a cruise, the old 
 pensioner, who was always welcomed in the cabin, greeted 
 him with, "Well, Captain Goodenough, sir! I'm proud to 
 hear the character your men give of you, sir ! After all, 
 we are all the same flesh and blood ! " 
 
 Another old pensioned seaman, talking to some people 
 he was rowing about of his blue-jacket experiences, hap- 
 pened to say he had sailed with Captain Goodenough, and 
 how gladly he had done so. " I suppose he was a very easy 
 captain } " said his hearer. " No," said the man ; " he was 
 very strict ; but when he punished a man he seemed sorry!' 
 And this is borne out by a rule he had made, when he had 
 rewards and punishments to give, of always seeing the 
 offenders first, and giving the rewards after — partly not to 
 keep the offenders waiting, and getting more uncomfort- 
 
114 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 able and hard every minute ; but also, as he expressed it, 
 not to leave himself with a bad taste in his mouth ! As 
 years went on he punished less and less, the results 
 being always satisfactory ; but where he thought a severe 
 punishment necessary and well merited, he was inflexible 
 in carrying it out. His ideas against corporal punishment 
 were most decided. 
 
 He also had strong views on the subject of leave, 
 always wishing to give as much leave as possible ; his 
 idea being to train the seamen to use, and not to abuse 
 their liberty and increased culture and their superior educa- 
 tion, which made them so different a class of men to the 
 seamen of a former generation. It was a source of great 
 pleasure to him one day, when accompanying some foreign 
 officers at some gunnery experiments, to see the surprise 
 of these gentlemen at the lucid and thorough explanation 
 of some intricate invention which was given by a gunner's 
 mate of the " Excellent." The gunner's mates were a class 
 whom he greatly regarded, and in the parting scene on 
 the quarter-deck of the " Pearl " he solemnly addressed 
 those belonging to that ship, telling them that he believed 
 that on the gunner s mates of the service depended much 
 of the future well-being and discipline of the navy. 
 
 He was eager about the establishment of canteens, 
 having found them answer very well in the two last ships 
 he commanded. He did not sanction the sale of beer in 
 these canteens, as he did not consider it in accordance 
 with the spirit of the Admiralty instructions, though he 
 would have been glad to do so otherwise, in the hopes of 
 its checking the use of spirits. He would gladly have seen 
 the issue of spirits abolished, as he held that many a boy 
 
Chap. VI.] VOYAGE TO AUSTRALIA, II5 
 
 received his first taste for drinking spirits from the ration 
 served out to him. At one time he took a good deal of 
 trouble to ascertain whether it would not be possible to 
 carry condensed beer — at least, in large ships — so as to 
 issue beer instead of rum. 
 
 The Pearl made a long passage to the Cape, and 
 thence a rapid one to Western Australia, and an equally- 
 rapid one to Wellington, New Zealand. Here, on Sep- 
 tember 17th, Captain Goodenough relieved Commodore 
 Stirling in the command of the Australian station ; and on 
 the departure of that officer he hoisted his broad pendant 
 as commodore of the second class. 
 
 At the Cape he was met with the sad announcement of 
 the death of his eldest sister, which took place very shortly 
 after he left England. The following letter, written not 
 long before her death, is interesting, not only as giving her 
 estimate of her brother's character, but from the almost 
 presentiment it seems to indicate of what was so soon to 
 happen — how, in little more than half the four years she 
 speaks of, the writer and the subject of her letter should 
 
 both have been called away. 
 
 "Lyndhurst, May^ 1873. 
 " Jem has just left us for Portsmouth. His last visit for so 
 long could not pass over without graver if not sadder feelings of 
 what might affect us in four years, and I think his noble lofty- 
 nature — so serene, so untroubled by little worldly ruffles, so 
 simple and so loving — never came home to me more forcibly, 
 It is impossible not to feel one is breathing a purer and larger 
 atmosphere in him, for his first thoughts are given to raising, 
 helping, improving, and ennobling all who come in contact with 
 him ; and, like all great hearts, he gives them credit for a large 
 share of his own disinterestedness." 
 
Il6 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 On leaving the Cape, course was shaped for Amster- 
 dam Island, a visit to which is thus described in tlie 
 Journal: — 
 
 August 2,0th. — Up at 4, when the ship had run sixty-four 
 miles; directly I came on deck, sure enough there was Amsterdam 
 Island two points on the starboard bow ; altered course for it. 
 Got the screw down and jogged along to windward. Wind 
 W.S.W. (compass) on land from S.E. to S.S.E. At 6 a.m. it 
 was daylight, and we were three or four miles from the nearest 
 point, and ran down to within half-a-mile of the cliffs, which are 
 evidently entirely of basalt, save at the point marked B in 
 D'Entrecasteaux's chart, which looks to be of a dark dull red 
 earth. The highest cliffs must have been 800 feet from the water^ 
 sheer and perpendicular. Both the top of rock B, and the highest 
 part of the island, were curiously pinnacled, by the destruction of 
 the softer parts of the rock, and the weathering of the remainder. 
 Multitudes of birds hovered and were perched on a spot on the 
 edge of the cliff. As we came round I saw a dead fish, and a 
 Cape hen and pigeons, mollymocks and albatross, and a hand- 
 some gull, like a small albatross, diving and pecking at it. From 
 B onwards the S.S.W. face of the cliff, forty feet high or so of 
 black basalt, glittered in the morning light, covered by incessant 
 spray, which did not permit lichen or grass to grow, and no doubt 
 broke the cliff away continually. The spray and vapour from the 
 air, coming from the warmer ocean, covered the land which 
 sloped up from the cliff to the summit witli clouds of vapour, which 
 I strongly suspect are the origin of D'Entrecastcaux's fires. Drawing 
 round from the S.S.W. to the S.S.E. face, the cliff was not so per- 
 pendicular, and more grass -covered. Some water oozed from 
 crevices, and a strip of vegetation showed the weep of water 
 here and there. Over the S.E. point appeared at last a tree, bent 
 at right angles by the wind ; and on the east face the same trees 
 showed in several hollows, and the grass which we had seen before 
 to cover the slopes became more tussocky. On the E.N.E. face 
 are some patches of red — veins of pozzuolana, I suppose. We 
 
Chap. VI.] AMSTERDAM ISLAND. 1 1 7 
 
 had been half a mile off all this time, but here were about three- 
 quarters, and I got a sounding in 1 20 fathoms — black sand. At 8.45 
 another cast in fifty-eight fathoms, shells and black sand. I went 
 to get a mouthful of breakfast while we turned round a patch of 
 kelp off the N.E. point, and had hardly drank a cup of coffee 
 ^hen a hut was seen above a beach which sloped to the water's 
 edge. I at once had boats prepared and turned round to land 
 under cover of the reef, where the surf seemed to break less. At 
 about 10, I took the whaler in with Sub-Lieutenant Elwyn, and 
 the cutter with Lieutenant Reade, and anchoring her outside the 
 •swell, took the end of a grass line over the whaler's stern and 
 pulled in to the rocks, just where, at a fault in the strata, some 
 loose lumps of basalt, rounded by the action of the sea, formed a 
 :steep, rough slope. The grass rope answered admirably. The 
 boat could be checked to an inch of where it was wanted to place 
 her. I went first and leapt out with my cane, and then hauled her 
 -off, and presently she came in and landed Elwyn. We scrambled 
 up and found at the top, to my surprise, a cabbage-garden full of 
 plants, growing rankly by the side of the stems of the flowers and 
 .seeds of last year. We pushed on near the shore, and after a 
 third of a mile came to a little cleared spot, which seemed to be 
 levelled as if to build a house or plant a garden. Here were the 
 bones of a goat or buck or sheep together, as though the beast 
 had died there, pieces of a white plate with a blue edge, and on a 
 couple of sticks a lot of grass laid to dry. Elwyn thought that 
 this was a grave, and, indeed, it looked like a viorai of a South 
 Sea island. But we turned it over and found hard ground under- 
 neath, and went on through high, tussocky grass, growing between 
 masses of scoria, and occasionally over hard ribs of basalt, with 
 the ridges in which it had cooled most strongly marked. The 
 walking was hard work, and we did not get on fast, but at last saw 
 the hut and flagstaff close to it. A well-worn path from the hut to 
 the water-butt, some ten yards off, led to the hut. I was prepared 
 to see something inside; I did not know what, but perhaps a 
 skeleton. An upset pigeon-house, some baricoes, and some 
 branches of trees lay around. The door was gone and I walked 
 
Il8 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VL 
 
 in, but it was deserted. It was well built, about 30 feet long and 
 14 feet wide, surrounded by a wall of pieces of tufa, cemented 
 with a sort of pozzuolana, and 4 feet 3 inches high, on which was 
 a good roof, well thatched, made with rafters of trees. The door 
 and window frames were well made. Through the door one 
 walked into a central room about 12 feet by 14 feet, and there 
 remained the frames of partitions cutting off a sleeping-room about 
 8 feet by 1 2 feet on each side. In each of these was the truck of 
 a bed and some bedding rolled up on each. By each bed was a 
 trunk, and while Elwyn looked at that on the left, I turned over 
 the one on the right, or to the north. My box was half full of 
 educational books (French), history, arithmetic, religious ; and all 
 had the name of either Eugenie Clochard or Melina Clochard. 
 In my box was no MSS. In Elwyn's box was a nondescript col- 
 lection. Two large round white French dishes, some covers of 
 vegetable dishes, the button of a woman's brown velvet jacket, 
 the Mysteries of Paris, and one or two other romances. Some 
 MSS. papers — one a receipt given by one Hubourg, on 3rd 
 February, 1868, tg M. Jacques Bastide; another, a diary in pencil 
 from 27th December, 1870, to 19th January, 1871, Thursday, 
 when it ends abruptly, after giving the date. 
 
 This is loose, thin paper, and begins at head of page : — 
 
 Le Mardi, 27 D^cembre, 1870. 
 Plantations et Cemis de diffcrentes graines aupres de la Case. 
 
 Le 2 Janvier, 1871. 
 Cemis de choux de Chine, choux rave, Chicoree, Radis, Celerie, Manioc, 
 Pomme de terre, Pistaches, Haricots, Fleurcyonnc, Framboiscs, Patol, 
 Vocm. 
 
 Mardi, le 3 Janvier, 1871. 
 Plantations, figues et Jem-jam. 
 
 Mercredi, 4 Janvier, 1870 (jxV). 
 Semance de Mais pour planter. 
 
 Jeudi, 5 Janvier, 1871. 
 
 Balisage pour le feu. 
 
 Pleine lune. 
 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
Chap. VI.] AMSTERDAM ISLAND. 1 1 9 
 
 In one of the printed books was written the name of a French 
 woman, He de Maurice, and under it " partie pour Madagascar." 
 Underneath the bed was an old gun unstocked, of French make, 
 double-barrelled and muzzle-loading, a pair of old boots, some 
 wooden flat pattens, and on the bed a couple of those travelling 
 chairs. 
 
 I remember no more, but that opposite the door was a board, 
 and a goat-skin, and some other wraps. The floor was just hard 
 earth, and though all was damp, the papers were not much 
 injured, and the roof seemed sound. Near and about the house 
 were marks of hoofs of cattle, and a fresh one of a calf or heifer, 
 and many of sheep or goats. A footmark of a full-grown bullock 
 or cow, and quite fresh, was down on the cabbage-bed. 
 
 The flag-staflf was nearly north from the hut, and just west of 
 this was a long deep reft in the rock, about twelve or fifteen feet 
 wide, and ten feet deep. This had evidently been used as lately 
 as the hut ; a screen of wattle barred the S.S.W. end up the hill. 
 On a ledge was an appearance as if it had been used for a sleeping 
 place. A lot of fowls' feathers lay about, a lot of goats' or sheep's 
 hair or wool, all wetted and matted, a quantity of limpet shells, 
 and some small crabs' legs and claws. I left a notice of our visit 
 in a soda-water bottle, and came away by rather a higher way 
 back, which was proportionately more rugged, fatiguing, and 
 difficult. The boat came in as before, and we both got in, 
 with no more than getting wet by spray and a green sea over our 
 ankles, and gathering some cabbages, some branches of trees, and 
 I carrying a fern which I found in the cavern. The ship had 
 moved about, and got soundings on a bank on which one might 
 anchor, from thirteen to seventeen fathoms. Leave was given to 
 fish, and the boatswain hauled up six fish of eight or nine pounds 
 each. Olive got one of thirty-six pounds — a rock cod. The 
 men and officers got thirty fish in two hours and a-half, though 
 the ship was continually moving : — 
 
 Rock cod, 9lbs. to 3olbs. — a splendid and excellent fish — an 
 angel fish ? 
 
120 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 A blue rock fish, 2olbs. to 25lbs. 
 
 A fish with pointed nose, with greenish-yellow bars longitudi- 
 nally. 
 
 One of the men hauled a great big fish to the top of the water, 
 and then lost him. The fish lay stupid for a few moments, and 
 the man went in after him from the bowsprit, on all fours like a 
 Newfoundland dog, laid hold of him in his arms, and called for a 
 line and hook to haul him up by ; but meantime the fish recovered 
 himself, and swam away, the man struggling with him in the water 
 all the time. I got on board at 12.15. Boats up, and made 
 sail from the island at 1.15 p.m. 
 
 What is the deduction to be made from all this? My 
 orders ran to examine the island and see whether any one 
 was on it. An explanatory letter accompanied the orders. It 
 was from G. Sohier, of Nantes, Loire Infe'rieure, to Messrs. Houlder 
 Bros., of Leadenhall Street, dated March loth, 1873, and con- 
 taining an extract from Galignani, of March, 5, 1873, copied 
 from the Melbourne Argus (no date) saying that Mr. F. R. Lee, 
 R.A., had arrived in Melbourne from England, July 20, 1872. 
 He had passed by Amsterdam Island, and found it impossible to 
 land on account of the heavy surf. While cruising close to the 
 island strange sounds were heard, as if proceeding from a fog- 
 horn or speaking-trumpet, and it was Mr. Lee's opinion that there 
 were people on the island, though all the efforts to discover 
 them or bring them within observation were vain. Mr. Sohier 
 suggests that these supposed people were people wrecked from 
 the " City of Sydney" — whence or whither I know not— and 
 that his brother, M. Philemon Sohier, and family might be of the 
 number. 
 
 Whether any persons were ever cast away or no, it is quite clear 
 that no person was there at the time that Mr. Lee passed, for they 
 must have been cabbage-eating people, and would certainly have 
 cut down the cabbages which I found in seed, ^^*hoever used the 
 hut last certainly used it and left it with the impression that they 
 would return. The bedding was rolled up, and the books and 
 
Chap. VI.] AM^i TERDAJM ISLAND. 1 2 1 
 
 china were all stowed in the boxes, with saucepans and gridirons, 
 ready to be taken away or to remain secure. 
 
 The idea of hearing voices, or a fog-horn, or speaking-trumpet 
 behind the surf is not possible. One would hear neither fog-horn 
 nor speaking-trumpet if a steam-whistle were nearer, and one 
 would not see a rushlight if it were placed on the further side of a 
 gaslight. The noise was probably that of the surf beating in 
 hollows. The seals make such a noise, but I saw none whatever, 
 and doubt there being any in October last. What, then, is the 
 history of the hut and its contents ? Vlaning the Dutchman saw 
 the island and named it in 1696. Dentrecasteaux gives a sketch 
 of it by Valentyn, who was Vlaning's chief officer, and says that 
 Vlaning landed, and could hardly keep the seals off. He was 
 obliged to lay about him with his musket butted. Horsburg says 
 that Vlaning anchored in sixteen fathoms black sand on the south 
 of the island. Dentrecasteaux, in 1792, also speaks of the seals 
 swimming in quantities near the ship. Colonel Collins, in his 
 account of the settlement at Port Jackson, says that a ship, the 
 " Ceres," arrived at Sydney, January 23rd, 1796, with four people 
 on board, two French and two English, who had been for three 
 years on the Island of Amsterdam, had lived on seals' flesh 
 for eighteen months, and had prepared some thousands of skins 
 of seals for merchandise. They had been landed by a brig, 
 which had been taken as a prize by the " Lion," and carried to 
 China. A M. Perron, one of the Frenchmen, was a very intelli- 
 gent person, and had kept a journal, and made sketches of the 
 island. 
 
 As at that time the names had somehow been reversed, and 
 S. Paul's was by some people called Amsterdam, and vice versa, 
 M. Perron may have been on S. Paul's — he gives no latitude 
 or position to Colonel Collins. M. Labillandiere says: — " Captain 
 Cook's charts have given the name of S. Paul's to the northern, 
 and Amsterdam to the southern island ; " but I have looked at 
 the general charts prefixed to both Cook's second and third 
 voyages : both give the northern island as Amsterdam, and the 
 
122 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 southern as S. Paul's. It is therefore certain that M. Perron 
 was on the island of £ Amsterdam, the north island, or very 
 nearly so. 
 
 The hut is solid, substantial, and well put together ; the roof is 
 well put on. There is hardly a bit of ship's timber in it. A top- 
 gallant studding-sail, or small topmast studding-sail boom forms 
 the support of the ridge pole at one end, but all the rafters are of 
 the wood of the island. There is not a particle of heavy or square 
 ship's timber about. It could hardly have been built by weakened 
 or distressed men, but rather by men at leisure and with lots of 
 food. As far as appearances go, it might even have been built 
 by M. Perron and his companions, as to its walls. But the most 
 probable is, that the sealing party of Frenchmen who are at S. Paul's 
 sent up here and prepared this for a fishing-station, and that this 
 journal was kept by one of them. They might very well have 
 lived in the cave while the hut was preparing, but in any case this 
 must have been prior to December, 1870. It is difficult to 
 account for the bits of women's dress, the girl's school-books, &c., 
 without supposing that people may have taken refuge here from a 
 wreck or abandoned ship, though it is also possible that the 
 fisherman sent here may have had a wife and children. It is not 
 likely though, and is more probable that some one has taken 
 refuge. It is also pretty certain that they were taken off over a 
 year, perhaps over two years ago, and that they had time to 
 arrange their traps before leaving. 
 
 Dentrecasteaux's i)lan was good as far as it went Hosken 
 filled it up, and got some soundings on the bank, so that a future 
 vessel will know where to anchor and land. I was inclined to 
 doubt Dentrecasteaux's fires, but a passage in the Diary, '* Le/eti 
 dans PErbCj^ set me thinking,, and it struck me that in March, 
 the time of Dentrecasteaux's passing, answering to our September, 
 the grass dries up, the under part of the thick tussocky stuff is 
 damp, and a spontaneous combustion ensues, which bums all the 
 loose grass, and makes a great smoke, but does no harm to the 
 roots, which soon begin to shoot again. I take it that the big 
 
Chap. VI.] SA VA GE ISLAND. 1 2 3 
 
 trees shown in Valentyn's drawing are a conventional sign for 
 vegetation. There were never trees on the windward side 
 of the island, where he places them, or anywhere but in the 
 hollows. 
 
 On leaving England, Captain Goodenough had been 
 instructed to proceed to Fiji, and there, in conjunction with 
 Mr. Layard, H.M.'s consul, to report upon the state of that 
 group, and on the advisability of the annexation of those 
 islands to the British Crown, on which subject he had 
 received personal instructions from the Ministry. Com- 
 modore Goodenough therefore, at once, on assuming his 
 command, proceeded to Fiji, paying a short visit to Savage 
 Island and to the Samoan or Navigator Islands on his 
 way. 
 
 The following extracts give some account of these 
 islands : — 
 
 November ^th. — At 5 a.m. saw Niue or Savage Island, long 
 and low. We ran to leeward and southward of it. The sea 
 breaking on the coast had all the appearance of breaking on this 
 side quite a mile from it, but this is not so, it is steep to. By 
 nine we were off the south-west point. The island seems of three 
 levels, the lower just above water, and bare from constant surt 
 breaking on it and through blow-holes. A canoe came off in the 
 south bay of two deepish indentations, and told us that Mr. 
 Lawes, the missionary, lived in the next bay ; so we stood on, and 
 at about 10 a.m. hove to in a bay, where we saw a grove of cocoa- 
 nut trees, a flag-staff, and a row of excellent houses, built in 
 Samoan fashion. 
 
 I went with Pay ton and A. Stanley, (S:c., in the whaler, and 
 
124 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 on landing found Mr. Lawes, whose house I walked up to 
 and found his wife. The people were having a Fono ; so several 
 members from each village were present, and quantities poured 
 freely into the house while we sat there, and shook hands 
 or rubbed their noses against the back of our hands. I was at 
 first shocked at seeing them crawl along the floor to speak to us, 
 and apparently kiss our hands ; but Mr. Lawes said it was thought 
 rude to pass in front of any one standing up, and that this was 
 the reason why they stole along in this fashion, which at first looks 
 grovelling. 
 
 After talking to Mrs. Lawes we went to look at the Fono, 
 and found it sitting under a grove of cocoa-nut trees, and 
 occupying a circle at least thirty-five yards in diameter ; not sitting 
 in a circle, but the men from one village in a group together, then 
 those of another village a little apart, all squatting on the ground, 
 and dressed generally in straw hats, and blue or red flannel shirts. 
 There is every variety of feature among these islanders, from flat 
 squab noses and almost woolly hair, to lank hair and aquiline 
 noses like a Peruvian Indian ; the latter the most intelligent look- 
 ing, but I think the former the most dignified when old. Heaps 
 of children were knocking about, and were covered with flies ; but 
 I did not see one scabby or leprous-looking man or woman, nor 
 any with elephantiasis. There was one woman with a goitre. 
 The best-looking and most orderly girls were dressed in long blue 
 cotton gowns, with a small white quatrefoil in it, and this was be- 
 coming. Some girls had wreaths of white flowers round their 
 necks, and some wore red flowers in their hair, with a spray of green 
 leaves, which was not unbecoming. 
 
 After two or three had spoken, and we had sheltered from 
 the rain, the natives asked me to speak to the Fono. So I asked 
 Mr. Lawes to interpret for me, and said : — " Men of Nine, I am 
 glad to have called at your island on a day on which I find 
 men from every village assembled, and that I thus have an 
 opportunity of seeing you all together. Every British naval 
 ofticer is glad to call here on his voyage, and to be ready 
 
Chap. VI.] SAMOA. 125 
 
 to give any advice or assistance which you may need. As I 
 stand here, I cannot but remember that it is just a hundred 
 years ago since the first Englishman who visited you — the great 
 Captain Cook, was driven from your shores by you, with spears 
 and clubs. He was succeeded by Williams, whom you would not 
 receive, but who succeeded after a time in sending people to teach 
 you. Now ! how great is the change ! Instead of spears and 
 axes, I see every one well clothed and well taught, and living in 
 good houses. 
 
 " To whom do you owe this, and how has it come about ? You 
 owe it to the men who came from England to teach you and to live 
 among you. You owe it to * Williams ' and ' Murray,' * Lawes ' 
 the elder and younger. What is the advice which I am going to- 
 day to give you ? It is to attend to the words and counsel of 
 Mr. Lawes. I have asked him what it is you are consulting upon, 
 and wherein you want advice, and he tells me this : that the 
 proper respect is not paid to the judges. Now I say this to you : 
 you that are young men must pay respect to the magistrates, and 
 you that are old must see that the young have good counsel in 
 this matter. Another point : Mr. Lawes says that some of you 
 speak of having a king. Is not your Fono enough? If the 
 men of the families of each village meet to discuss village affairs, 
 and if the village heads speak together in the Fono, is not 
 this enough to settle all your business without a king ? This is 
 all I have to say to you, and I wish you Alofa^ and God be with 
 you." 
 
 All were turned attentively towards me, but there was not a 
 sound of any sort from them. I ought to have said something to 
 them about peace, and the missionary afterwards told me that 
 there were two other questions : one was the introduction of 
 spirits, the sale of which has hitherto been forbidden ; and the 
 other is the question of the sale of land, which the natives have 
 been very much averse to hitherto, and have constantly refused. 
 I told him to advise the chiefs on no account to admit liquor to 
 be sold ; and that, as to land, they had better set about ascertaining 
 
126 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, .[Chap. VI. 
 
 ownership, and so avoiding strife ; also that, in any future sale of 
 land, they should keep large reserves which should never be sold at 
 all to any one, but kept as a common possession for ever. I forgot 
 to say that the man who came on board in the first bay, when 
 I asked his name, said "John Davis, Mr. John Davis," and 
 presently said, " May I go on shore ? " After speaking at the 
 Fono, I went for a short stroll with Mr. Lawes, over the coral 
 formation, which is everywhere on the surface, but which bears 
 wild bushes and trees, and also the guava, arrow-root, orange, 
 lime, and lemon, as well as cotton, which have been intro- 
 duced and grow wild. The missionary had two plants of a 
 very pretty sort of Lilium, called the Taro-taro, growing in front 
 of his house. 
 
 He told me that there are three whites on the island : an Ame- 
 rican and a German, both of whom are agents for Godefroy, of 
 Hamburg ; and an Englishman, on his own account. Cotton and 
 an edible fungus are the chief articles of export Cocoa-nuts are 
 in request as drinking-water, and therefore there is no export of 
 cobra, the drinking-water being bad and brackish very often. 
 Arrowroot might be made an article of export : it grows in abun- 
 dance. I left with Mr. Lawes some seeds of the fibre-bearing palm, 
 which Sir George Grey gave me, and which will probably do well. 
 Coming back to the house, Mrs. Lawes offered us cake ; every- 
 thing so fresh, neat, and bright At 12.45 walked down to the 
 boat, carrying off fans and a splendid sheet of Tapa,* given me 
 by Mr. Lawes. 
 
 Everyone carries his fan ; and, besides, men use a leaf of 
 a pandanus to shelter them from the wind. Made sail at 
 2.30, and went away, nine knots. The landing-place is not 
 at all badly imagined ; there is a channel cut or blasted 
 through the chain of coral, which forms a beach, " h flcur 
 iVcau." Saw a white bird, with one long feather in the tail and 
 orange beak. 
 
 * Native cloth, made from the bark of trees. 
 
Chap. VI.] SAMOAN CUSTOMS, 1 2 / 
 
 Novejuber ^th, Pango^ Paiigo Harhou7% Tiitidla^ Samoan Group, 
 — Went to bathe in a very good stream, under a waterfall \ 
 but it rained all the time, and we got back, very wet, at 
 7.30 A.M. 
 
 In P.M. I sent to all the English residents to come on board, 
 and also the American consul, to whom I paid a visit with Hast- 
 ings. He told many stories, which were very good, and particularly 
 as to the value of mats, of which he showed us one, very old and 
 fine, all worked by hand, worth, perhaps, $100; another, not so fine, 
 but, though worked by hand, quite 7 ft. by 8 ft., worth I25 ; others 
 worth $5 to $10. They were trimmed with red feathers of a 
 paroquet from Fiji. This led to his saying that he believed 
 that with mats, fine mats — which are to Samoans what old plate, 
 linen, land, title-deeds, honours of all sorts are to an Englishman 
 — you might make a renegade of the best Christian that Samoa 
 ever held ; that you could draw young men and maidens, and do 
 what you liked with them ; and that anybody acquiring power in 
 Samoa should burn all the old mats {vide Pritchard). He then 
 gave us a sketch of a marriage, — that it was always by elope- 
 ment, and that a girl married as she liked ; and that then her 
 friends sent after her, and made a present of mats to swell their 
 importance. 
 
 Also an imaginary case, to show the power of the sister's 
 son, the vasii^ as it is called in Fiji. The men of a family being 
 foreigners, the vasus or sister's sons, and indeed all the female 
 branch, are more or less spoilt children, and can have what they 
 like, any goods they can lay hold of. For instance, a boy asks 
 his uncle (maternal) for his gun, and the uncle says no. The 
 boy goes crying to his mother, " My uncle won't give me his 
 gun." The mother says, " His children shall rot, my curse is on 
 them ; their legs shall swell, they shall die." And she goes out 
 and tears her hair, and curses aloud, " They shall die, my curse is 
 on them." The people say, with their hand in awe upon their 
 mouth, " What is this ! how dreadful ! A curse is upon them ; 
 they have the sister's curse ! " And by-and-bye this comes to the 
 
128 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 brother's ears, who says, with his wife, " This is dreadful I get 
 mats, bring presents ! " And they heap up all they can and 
 carry it to the sister, and lay it before her and say, " Have 
 pity ! have mercy ! see us humble ourselves. Take all that we 
 have, but forgive and let us live, us and our children — take off 
 the curse ! " 
 
 But not only the sister's son, but all the family have a right by 
 custom to all that there is in a man's house, and even to the 
 house itself; and he told us that a chief, just the other side of the 
 first stream, east from Mataatu, built for himself a very good bread- 
 fruit-tree house — a very good house. His wife was a niece of old 
 BuUamacow, chief of Saluafata ; and Bullamacow, coming down 
 one day, says, " Dear me, what a nice house ! " " Yes," says 
 the othef, "and I have spent all I had, my savings and earnings, 
 and all that I had, to build it, and pay the carpenter's wages, and 
 I have nothing left." " Dear me," says Bullamacow, "how nice 
 that house would look on one side of my square ! " for he has 
 a square at Saluafata with houses round it, " Oh, don't say 
 that!" says the chief, "don't say that!" beginning to see what 
 is up ; but Bullamacow goes on hinting, and at last goes away. 
 The chief hopes it is all over, but in a week he suddenly misses 
 his wife, and finds from his son that Bullamacow has taken her 
 away, and that she is not to return ; so after a bit he collects 
 mats, and a lot of goods to fifty dollars' value, and goes up to 
 Bullamacow, who says, " Ah, how d'ye do ? your wife is up here 
 nursing her sick relations, and she is going back to-morrow to 
 you. What is all this ? " " Ah, this is a present for you, Bulla- 
 macow, to console you for parting with my wife again !" "Oh," 
 says Bullamacow, " what a pity that you should take such trouble, 
 and your wife going back to you to-morrow; but you hcpve an 
 empty canoe ! and she can now go back with you. She is all 
 ready." So she gladly enough comes back to her husband, who, 
 as he leaves Bullamacow, says, " Where did you think of placing 
 your new house?" for he is afraid that his wife will be taken 
 again ; and sure enough his fears increase, and the whole house 
 
Chap. VI.] KIDNAPPED NATIVES. 1 29 
 
 goes bodily to Saluafata, and is put up for Bullamacow, who has it 
 now. 
 
 Noveinber i^h. — At Apia I received on board four natives of 
 Mota Lava, to return to their country ; this is their history, as 
 given by an extract from the journal of the Rev. T. Powell, of 
 the London Missionary Society, Falealiti Upolu, November, 
 
 1873 :- 
 
 " Pango Pango, Tutuila, October 7th, 1872. 
 
 " This morning there arrived from Ithunea (eastern side of 
 Tutuila), four men, natives of the Banks' Islands, who have been 
 kidnapped, taken to Tahiti, kept there in semi-slavery, and who 
 finally made their escape in a fishing (?) boat. They name their 
 island Moti Lap, their village Laalap. Their names are Nwnbok 
 al Sine, Johnny. He is the youngest, and knows a considerable 
 amount of Samoan ; he is a chief Mira, brother of Numbok 
 Uln^ and Uaris. Their tale is as follows : — 
 
 " Their group and its neighbourhood consist of the following 
 islands, besides others, viz., Motiap, Amota, Vaunalap, Merlap or 
 Merilap, Arab or Arav, Santa Maria, Espiritu Santo, Malicollo, 
 Fan, and Tanna. A two-masted vessel called the ' Lusene ' cast 
 anchor off Motilap, twenty-five men went off to her, were wel- 
 comed on board, treated very kindly, and asked to remain for the 
 night. The offer was accepted, and next morning they found the 
 vessel under sail. At this time there were, besides themselves, 
 thirty-seven natives of Malicollo on board, but they do not know 
 how they had been obtained. The vessel next went to Arav or 
 Arab, and lay off and on. Here the natives were invited on 
 board to trade ; the men flocked on board, and twenty-five were 
 made prisoners ; the boat returned to the shore, and captured five 
 more, making thirty from Arab. The vessel next fell in with a 
 small canoe, with two natives of Amota in her. These were 
 dragged out of the canoe and taken on board, and the canoe set 
 adrift. Some of the natives of Arab were tied or put in irons, as 
 they manifested a disposition to swim ashore. At Merlap the 
 boat landed, and those in charge of her seized a man and a lad, 
 
 K 
 
30 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 and persuaded a woman to come on board to get something to 
 eat. At Santa Maria five more men were obtained, they were in 
 three canoes. They were pursued by boats, captured, and the 
 canoes set adrift. Thence the vessel sailed to Tanna, where the 
 natives stole a chest, and, in retaliation for this, one man was 
 carried off. Thus they had a party of 103, viz., 
 
 Malicollo . . . . 37 
 
 Motilap 25 
 
 Arab 30 
 
 Amota 2 
 
 Merlap 3 
 
 Santa Maria 5 
 
 Tanna i 
 
 103 
 
 " With these they set sail for Tahiti, were well fed on the pas- 
 sage ; one man disliked the food and cried ; they tied his hands 
 and feet and threw him overboard ; another became ill and died. 
 They were taken to a cotton plantation at Tahiti ; these men re- 
 mained, they say, working on the plantation twenty months. During 
 that period twenty of their own people died, twenty-seven of the 
 Malicollo men, and twenty-six of the Arab people, and all the others 
 except the woman and the Tanna man. Dysentery was the prin- 
 cipal cause of their death. When at Tahiti they went to the 
 cotton plantation at 6 a.m., without any breakfast, worked there 
 till 12, then rested till about 3 p.m., but had nothing whatever to 
 eat. From 3 till 6 they again worked, then went to their quarters 
 and had their first and only meal. They were fed on Indian corn 
 and bananas on alternate days. To each man was served out one 
 head or cob of corn on the corn days, the next evening each man 
 had two or three bananas only! Nothing more till the next 
 morning. No rice or biscuit, no meat or fish of any kind. On 
 Sundays they did no work of any kind, but had better food. A 
 dinner was given them at noon, of rice and salt fish one Sunday, 
 
Chap. VI.] ARRIVAL IN FIJI. 131 
 
 and rice and salt beef the next, and so on alternately. They 
 spent most of the day in sleep. No attempt made to teach them 
 to read. No worship of any kind held. The pay consists of clothes 
 at about the rate of 2s. worth a month. The five of their own party 
 who survived these twenty months' hard labour concluded that it 
 would be better to die at sea than to continue any longer there. 
 They therefore watched their opportunity and escaped in a boat 
 which had been in search of food and was left at anchor. There 
 were only ten cocoa-nuts in the boat, i.e., two for each man. They 
 were two months between Tahiti and Samoa. One of their number 
 died off the south end of Manua. They were lying low most of 
 the time, and did not feel hungry. The one meal a day system 
 seems to have prepared them for this ; they remained two months 
 at Manua, then came to Tutuila, where they remained three 
 months with the natives before they applied to me. They came 
 to me on the 7th of October, 1872, to request to be taken into 
 my family till a chance occurred of getting to their homes. One 
 of them knew Bishop Patteson, and had seen Bishop Selwyn. 
 Such is the account given by Johnny, and confirmed by the 
 others. They have behaved very well, and seem quite docile. I 
 hope the missionaries of their group may find them prepared to 
 accept Christian instruction in all its power." 
 
 He arrived in Fiji in November, 1873 : and the next five 
 months vv^ere spent, in company with Mr. Layard, in close 
 and arduous work — inquiring and examining into every- 
 thing that concerns the Fiji Islands, both with the King 
 and Government in the capital, and in cruises to different 
 parts of the group, everywhere assembling both the white 
 planters and the native chiefs, and hearing most patiently 
 their opinions and views, getting all possible information on 
 all sides. On the result of this inquiry was founded the 
 report which Mr. Layard and Commodore Goodenough 
 
132 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 made to the Home Government, and which was laid before 
 Parliament. These months in Fiji have been thus described 
 by an eye-witness : — 
 
 " He threw all his energies — and they were great, both physical 
 and mental — into the work in Fiji. He would take nothing for 
 granted ; personal inquiry and inspection guided him ; he went 
 from place to place, from island to island, seeing first one chief, 
 then another ; at one time going into the interior, to try and hold 
 personal communication with the mountain cannibals ; at another 
 visiting some plantation, tasting sugar-cane, examining cotton, 
 seeing everything for himself. So passed the months in Fiji, 
 ascertaining the capabilities of the country, the feelings and dispo- 
 sitions of whites and natives, all the time with such a genial 
 bearing, such courtesy and kindness to all, with such evident 
 power and knowledge, with such entire candour and truthfulness, 
 that all alike, white and coloured, honoured, trusted, loved him. 
 Especially was he dear to the Fijian chiefs, who had implicit 
 trust in ' the Commodore.' " 
 
 One of the many walks in Fiji undertaken with a view 
 to learning the feelings of the natives is thus described : — 
 
 February ist. — Sunday. All the neighbouring settlers came on 
 board, and to lunch. At 4. landed and went for a stroll ; got a 
 Kava bowl, &c. Ratu Kini had gone to Bau, but his son. Rata 
 Luke, is here, a very nice young fellow, with good manners. 
 His house was good, and his wife who sat reading her Bible, a 
 nice looking young woman. An old man with a broken ear came 
 in, who had brought the Lotu from Bau, fourteen years ago. We 
 seem to be more thought of and admired here than in other 
 places. We went into the stranger's house, a particularly good 
 one, and then to the teacher's house; and afterwards walked 
 along the coast to some villages, and picked up some good clubs, 
 &c. At a village two miles east (so deliciously cool), we met 
 Ratu Kini's brother, and sat down with him in a minor chief's 
 
Chap. VI.] FIJI, 1 33 
 
 hut. This man was 6 ft. 2 in. and Ratu Kini's brother 6 ft. 3 in. 
 We got friendly with the old rascal, who said that he had had 
 twenty wives, and that when he got tired of them he split their 
 heads with a club. He would not confess to having eaten man's 
 flesh, but he evidently had been an old rip who had lived riotously. 
 We went over from here to Messrs. Clark and Macdonald's 
 house ; a capital house built of concrete, the whole evolved out 
 of their own heads. It is really splendidly built, and as firm as a 
 rock. We here looked at the soil, and found to our surprise that 
 it is undoubtedly a limestone, full of crystals — above it a layer of 
 red earth of great value. The cotton crop is magnificent upon it. 
 Nothing can be finer for some cultivation, videlicet, Malta. The 
 limestone is very like that at the back of Malta — the so-called 
 marble of Malta. All this was most enjoyable, and not less so 
 our pole back in a canoe, gently poled along over the shoal 
 patches, while Ratu Luke told us that Orion was the two men car- 
 rying a burden; and that the moon was a man carrying a faggot, 
 and that when the faggot was burnt the moon could not be seen 
 (eclipse ?). The Pleiades were a bunch of papaws. He said that 
 Na Droga was peopled by two men landing on the western point 
 who took wives from the Kai Colos (mountaineers) and begat 
 sons and daughters. Got to the ship at 8.30 and brought Ratu 
 Luke to tea ; he behaves perfectly. 
 
 Towards the end of March, Cakobau and the other 
 chiefs of Fiji made an offer of cession of those islands to 
 the British Crown. 
 
 Commodore Goodenough's own views with regard to the 
 annexation of Fiji are thus expressed in a private letter, 
 written about this time : — 
 
 "H.M.S. Pearl, Levuka, Fiji. April i2tk, 1874. 
 
 " .... I cannot but look upon annexation as a positive 
 
 duty, putting aside altogether the great advantage of having Fiji 
 
 as a central station in Polynesia, in which respect the situation is 
 
 the very best which can be found. It seems to me a duty in 
 
134 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 many ways. In old times we constantly lectured the chiefs about 
 good government, we have interfered right and left with their 
 affairs, and we have thus caused them to look to us for support 
 with some confidence and to distrust themselves. 
 
 " Then our settlers have come, and, on the presumption that 
 they were all great people enjoying, the help of the British Consul, 
 they were received, and land was given them on terms which they 
 would not have got if the natives had not tmsted in us. In some 
 cases actual force was used to gain land to which an Englishman 
 had but slender title, and in others intimidation. 
 
 " The state of things is a good deal owing to our neglect also. 
 There is no doubt in my mind that had magisterial powers been 
 given to a Consul as recommended by Colonel Smythe, much of 
 the trouble and annoyance of the last few years would have been 
 avoided, and the Consul would have enjoyed the respect due to 
 him. That would have done five years ago, and the country 
 would have been kept quiet, though it would not have progresseii 
 under such an arrangement. Now it is altogether too late, and 
 annexation is imperative. The very indebtedness of the country 
 is partly due to England ; for, in the first place, difficulties and dis- 
 couragements raised by English officials caused expense, and the 
 subsequent help afforded by men of war to the Government kept 
 it from falling to pieces while it went on spending the money of 
 the settlers, and running them in debt to the amount of ;^6o,ooo 
 or ;^7 0,000. I think that these facts, added to my clear opinion, 
 that if Her Majesty's Government refuse, wc shall have* a break 
 up of Government, and repudiation of debt, and ruin to a good 
 many industrious people, justify me in saying it is now a positive 
 duty to undertake the government here, both for the sake of 
 whites and natives." 
 
 In the month of April the Commodore, left Fiji; he 
 stopped for a few days at New Caledonia, which he thus 
 describes : — 
 
 April 2^th. — At 5.40 saw the land of New Caledonia. As the 
 
Chap. VI.] NEW CALEDONIA. 1 35 
 
 day broke we saw the small sandy islets covered with fir trees, 
 and forming such a contrast to the cocoa-nuts of Fiji. There 
 were cocoa-nut palms, too, in sheltered bays. The hills looked 
 gaunt and bare. A good-sized waterfall, noticed by Brenchley, 
 showed its white zig-zag line in three leaps. We were in the 
 entrance of the Woodin passage by 8 a.m., and had passed Ndua 
 Head, an abrupt hill reft with water-courses, cutting deep clefts in 
 the friable soil. The fir trees, which looked of two sorts, a sort 
 of Norfolk Island, and a sort of Kauri, looked like May poles 
 (dressed), or gigantic hop poles, with a conical cap of leaves and 
 branches, but having apparently lost their early limbs, and having 
 put out branchlets up the stem, to take their place. Is it always 
 so ? or does this come from poor soil and strong winds ? At 
 three miles south-east of the entrance we picked up a pilot, a 
 capital young fellow, well up to his work. With the wind at east 
 he luffed us round the point, with all sails shaking, and took us 
 up to our anchorage very well indeed, about two cables outside a 
 corvette, and we were at anchor by 12.20. Boarded at once by 
 the captain of the port, &c., &c. 
 
 The whole place looks as if French money was being spent 
 with both hands, and I heard soon after that the home govern- 
 ment spends about 4,000,000 francs a year on the transportation 
 service. This for over 8000 transportes or condamnes^ and 300 
 deportes. Of the transportes there are 2000 on the island of Nou, 
 of whom 1 600 are sick, invalids, old, or incorrigibles ; in short, all 
 the worst of them. Others are in cainps about the country, 
 making roads or bridges, and a good many in Noumea. The 
 public works which they are about are considerable. A huge 
 barrack for artillery, a fine pier, filling in some marshy ground, &c. 
 
 Went at 2 p.m. by appointment to see the Governor, and found 
 an A.D.C. waiting to show me the way; was received with a great 
 deal of ceremony by the Governor and all his staff. 
 
 On board again, and walked at 4.30 with Stanley, passing from 
 a quarry on the east side to a pier on the west side of the town, 
 over undulating hills covered with long grass, with isolated gum 
 
136 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 and other trees of that sort, and bad smelling shrubs, descending 
 after all by the Governor's garden, in which are varieties of fir 
 trees, &c. Went at 8 p.m. to Government House, where were 
 various officers. 
 
 The Governor says he has more than 10,000 people to feed. 
 As yet there are not many cattle in the country, and most are too 
 far away for the consumption of the town and prisons. Beef is 
 now l\d.^ and mutton 3W. per lb. This at all events is cheaper 
 than at Fiji by 2\d. The 10,000 persons to be fed are the con- 
 fined portion of the 8000 condamnes and 3500 deportes^ also 1500 
 troops, infantry and artillery. Arranged to go to the Convict 
 establishment at Nou to-morrow. 
 
 April 2^th. — The French officers came at 7.15. Rain well set 
 in, and we had to go through it all. There are 1600 on the 
 island, 500 opposite the town, where they go to work, and 11 00 
 about two and a half miles from the town. They were placed at 
 this distance so as not to annoy the veritable colonists. Imme- 
 diately opposite is the peninsula Discos, on which are some 360 
 of the deportesy who are condemned to confinement ^ dans 
 line encemtc fortifiec^ and it was from there that Rochefort 
 escaped. 
 
 The interesting objects of the trip were, first, the garden of 
 the hospital, in which were some splendid banyan trees, one 
 (juite remarkable ; secondly, an old professor of mathematics at 
 Paris, who had taken part in the Commune. But the most re- 
 markable man here is Lullier, an ex-lieutenant of the navy. He 
 was a general under the Commune, and was always a fellow of 
 great energy. On being put on board the transport, he refused 
 to put on a convict dress ; no other was given him, and he re- 
 mained in a cell, with a floor eighteen inches wide (against the 
 side of the ship), for the whole passage, with a blanket for his 
 eniire covering. He has been in a cell for the whole time of his 
 stay here, five months ; altogether eight or nine months of cell. 
 The doctor said to him the other day, *' You had better come to 
 hospital, your legs and feet are swollen, and your face too ; you 
 
Chap. VI.J SYDNEY. 1 3 7 
 
 are a subject for treatment. You will only have to put on the 
 hospital dress ; " which is a convict hospital dress. " No," he 
 said, " I won't. J'aime mieux crever." They say he is at times 
 mad. 
 
 I was told that a party of eighty-six liber es had made 26,000 
 francs by sugar. 
 
 April 26th. — Drove in p.m. with Commandant Jacquemart to 
 the Model Farm. Found an Alsatian and his wife, who told us 
 how she had come out to make the acquaintance of the country, 
 with thirty-six others, and now all were married. 
 
 April 27M. — On shore by 6.30, and drove out to Monsieur 
 Joubert's establishment, to see sugar planting, &c. It is impos- 
 sible to make out the profit and loss on such a place, for con- 
 tinual assistance is had from the Government, in the shape of 
 labour of convicts. One good plan, which M. Joubert seemed to 
 have, was to give a lease of a bit of ground to individual men, 
 and then to let them cultivate it. He has a Chinaman, a Malabar 
 man, and a Polynesian, in competition ; of course the Chinaman 
 does the best. He says that he can't raise such cane as they 
 grow. I saw no large cane. All was in little pipes ; but he says 
 that the cane grown on new ground is always large, but with 
 little saccharine matter in it. He considers his cane quite ripe in 
 two years. It may be cut in eighteen months, but will not be so 
 good. The house neater and better than a similar house in Fiji. 
 On arrival, we had a most delicious bathe in the fine rapid stream 
 which runs at the foot of M. Joubert's ground, and is navigable 
 for a considerable distance. He sends his produce down by it 
 to Noumea. About twelve of us were in the water, English and 
 French. All the Frenchmen swimming as well as the English, 
 and a brother of M. Joubert's going about like an otter, some- 
 times holding himself down to the bottom by a weed or big 
 stone. 
 
 He reached Sydney in May, 1874, where he was joined, 
 a few days after his arrival, by his wife and children ; and 
 
138 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 here — after ten years of married life, in which he had been 
 continually moving about — he formed, in a house liberally 
 provided by the Government of New South Wales, his 
 first and only established and settled home. 
 
 The next two months were spent in Sydney, during 
 which time the Pearl was refitting, and her captain and 
 ofiicers had opportunities of becoming acquainted with that 
 beautiful city, and making friends with its kindly and 
 hospitable inhabitants. A member of that community 
 has thus spoken of the impression Commodore Goodenough 
 made in the society of Sydney : — 
 
 " The feature which struck every one most forcibly on his first 
 meeting with Commodore Goodenough, which was visible in the 
 very mould of his face and the expression of his eye, was resolu- 
 tion and fixedness of purpose ; and yet scarcely had this impres- 
 sion been conveyed to you, when it was succeeded by another, 
 for the desire to do good had fixed its divine seal upon that coun- 
 tenance in such deep and clear lines, that no one could mistake 
 it — it was not a mere desire to make people good, which many a 
 morose and imperious temper may lay claim to with some amount 
 of sincerity, but you saw that the wearer of that face found hap- 
 piness in goodness, and desired to make others the partakers of 
 his own experience. A man of great firmness of will often shows 
 it only by making the wills of others bow to his own, in other 
 words, a despot ; but this man's despotism was over himself, his 
 firmness was the instrument by which he moulded histown temper 
 and conduct, till it should become a worthy pattern for the imita- 
 tion of others. A despot loves command for its own sake, and in 
 order that those over whom he rules may respect him ; but he 
 cherished command as a means of making other men better, .and 
 with the aim of making every one subject to his authority, to 
 respect himself A friend of mine lately observed that there was 
 nothing more touching than to see him at a feast : he had often 
 
Chap. VI.] LETTERS. 1 39 
 
 met him when men, as they yielded to the exhilarating influence 
 of wine, dropped their sullen and selfish look, and became cheerful 
 and sympathetic \ but there sat the solitary water-drinker, from the 
 beginning to the end of the feast, his countenance lit up with an 
 intelligent smile, enjoying the company of his fellow men, by 
 reason of a far deeper bond than participation in the same plea- 
 sure. He had renounced this species of excitement, not because 
 he had found any harm from it, or believed that there was any 
 harm in it to men of ordinary self-control ; but he was a com- 
 mander of men, and with him command meant beneficence, and 
 command meant example, — 
 
 ' So did'st thou travel on life's common way 
 In cheerful godliness.' 
 
 Such is the address of Wordsworth to Milton, when he is moved 
 by the prevalent selfishness of his own age, to apostrophise him 
 as one whose return would bring things to a worthier condition ; 
 and it is the cheerful godliness of such men as our lamented com- 
 modore which does far more good to its generation by purging it 
 of its selfishness, than a legion of adventurous exploits." 
 
 The following letter gives some of the early impressions 
 he conceived of Australia, while it also shows how his mind 
 was ever dwelling on the highest interests of the Navy : — 
 
 " Sydney, Jjily \th, 1874. 
 " I have just been reading the naval debates of April, and am 
 amazed at the sudden tremor which has passed over the country 
 again about the navy. Probably by this time it is all over, and 
 the originators of the scare are beginning to be sorry that they 
 made their whole charge, horse, foot and artillery at once, leaving 
 no reserve to fall back upon when the weakness of their line was 
 established j I am always sorry for those party attacks. They 
 divert the proper attention of conscientious friends of the navy 
 from the real needs of the service, and cause those disquieting 
 spasmodic leaps in naval policy which are barren of real 
 
140 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 progress. Mr. Samuda seemed to be fully impressed with this, 
 but naval officers are apt to degenerate into a bitter tone when 
 they take up politics. 
 
 " The definite and resolute plan fixed upon by the German 
 Government is very instructive to us in that respect. The German 
 government have now three times laid down a Flottengrundtmg's 
 plan, each time preparing for its naval development over a period 
 of eight to ten years, and have gone on * ohne hast und ohne 
 rast,' till we are one day amazed at their success. This sort of 
 programme is one which would confer the greatest benefit upon 
 the future naval construction of the country ; and, that we have 
 not laid out a programme of the sort shews, I think — ist, the 
 inconvenience of the close application of the plan of attaching 
 responsibility for detail on the minister, as well as I fear the 
 general distrust in professional members regularly or specially 
 called in to advise the First Lord. 
 
 " When one considers that some elements of the defence of the 
 country have been planned and considered for long years ahead, 
 have been estimated for and carried on from year to year, one 
 ought to be encouraged, I think, to extend such a system to the 
 construction of a fleet, if not to the regulation of the number 
 of the personnel to be employed in it and on it I am thinking 
 particularly of the two great schemes of the enlargement of 
 the dockyards, and of the construction of fortifications. There, 
 in each case, the plans were long and carefully considered. 
 Total estimates of the work were made, and further revision 
 of plans has not been prevented. Certainly this plan did not 
 result in citlicr case in the wanton expenditure on the one 
 hand, or in narrowness of aim upon the other, nor in spite of the 
 immense advance in the construction of ships and guns since the 
 decisions in these two cases were made has the completed work 
 fallen short of present requirements. Of course I do not mean 
 that the plans of ships should form the subject of such consider- 
 ation, but rather that the outlines of ordinary expenditure, and of 
 the requisite force to be kept up for service in peace, and for war 
 
Chap. VI.] LETTERS. 1 4 1 
 
 reserves should be stated on such good authority as to remove 
 those subjects from disturbance by party contest. A plan of this 
 sort would confer a lasting benefit on the navy. A royal com- 
 mission appointed with this object would do as much good as a 
 royal commission on the * state of the navy ' — by the encourage- 
 ment which its very name would give to indefinite complaints and 
 indefinite aims — would do harm. 
 
 " I intended writing to you, however, not about naval affairs, 
 but to give you some of my impressions of things colonial. I am 
 first of all delighted with Trollope's great accuracy of impression 
 and honesty in conveying it ; in New Zealand he is especially 
 free from partialities, and his appreciations are wonderfully just. 
 New Zealand seems to me to have a great advantage socially, 
 more than politically even, in the provincial system. The ten- 
 dency of that system, as well as of the geographical features of 
 the country, will be to diffuse and break up the centre of popula- 
 tion, and to prevent the existence of any overgrown capital which 
 may some day domineer over the country here or in Victoria, and 
 divide society, as it is divided, for instance, in the great pastoral 
 countries on the River Plate into Porteiios and Estancieros. The 
 great danger attending such a division here being that such a 
 division would to a certain extent represent labour and capital, 
 the wool-growers being constantly in the hands of the merchants 
 and bankers. In one thing, however, I think Trollope wrongs 
 that is his insisting on the necessity of separation from the 
 mother country. If there be one thing on which people here 
 do agree, it is in the untrustworthiness of public men, and the 
 low state of public morality. The contests (political) seem to be 
 entirely personal, and there seems to be no division into parties 
 at present. 
 
 " Generally one feels very much as one did in most towns of 
 the United States, that with an abundance of social good-nature 
 there is a lack of culture, and a dearth of subjects of general in- 
 terest, especially among the colonial born. I should fear that 
 another twenty years will sensibly lower the highest grade of 
 
142 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 both the social and political tone, while perhaps the lowest may 
 be raised. 
 
 " The colonial born population is to the immigrant as six to 
 four, and the proportion of highly educated immigrants is smaller 
 than formerly, and though the public schools (equal to English na- 
 tional schools) are excellent, the attendance and instruction at 
 private and grammar (equal to English public) schools, is of course 
 very poor as yet. The young Australian is certainly rough, forward, 
 and self-sufficient, and this being the case I was surprised at the 
 amount of discipline maintained in the public school which I 
 visited the other day, and I suppose one must put the blame on 
 the home discipline. Those who take an interest in popular 
 education tell me that the countenance given to denominational 
 schools by the present regulations will certainly be withheld in the 
 next year or two. The moving causes being — firstly, fear of the 
 Roman Catholics and their ceaseless activity, which gives them a 
 share of aid beyond their present numerical proportion ; and, 
 secondly, the fact that the undenominational are incontestably the 
 best. I find that many of the Church of England clergy (who are 
 decidedly evangelical) combine with nonconformists in preferring 
 the undenominational school; these latter allowing an hour to 
 religious instruction per day, viz., 9 to lo a.m. 
 
 " I am bound to say that the great impression produced upon 
 my mind after seeing a little of this colony, and these colonies, is 
 a feeling of intense pride at what has been achieved by English- 
 men, and of pleasure at the sight of so much physical well-being 
 and independence of character — with less ostentation in our class, 
 and far less independence of manner (in the bad sense) among 
 the other, than I had expected. The town is very like a bit of 
 England. The houses are much after the fashion of Norwood, 
 with verandahs added. The streets and shops very much in the 
 style of Liverpool. But there is no squalidly poor quarter, no 
 section born and bred in poverty, and poverty seems chiefly the 
 result of extreme vice or extreme misfortune.** 
 
Chap. VI.] MELBOURNE. 1 43 
 
 The Commodore sailed for Melbourne in July. He 
 remained there but a short time, calling on his return 
 voyage at Launceston in Tasmania. With Melbourne, and 
 the greatness of its public institutions, he was much im- 
 pressed. The following letters show how much he saw to 
 admire in the colony of Victoria : — 
 
 " Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, August, 1874. 
 
 " I have run in here on my way up from Melbourne to Sydney 
 to send my letters to Europe. It is a change from Melbourne's 
 life and wealth. All is failure here. It reminds me, by its 
 poverty, of Milford and Pembroke, and it would be, but for the 
 trees, the same sort of looking place. I saw no drunken man in 
 Melbourne, here I have seen two ; and the population of the two 
 little villages abreast our anchorage is 300. It is just poverty and 
 misery, added to the bad type they have sprung from — viz., the con- 
 victs. You will be surprised at my having liked Melbourne so much, 
 but you would admire it too. You could not help feeling an 
 enthusiasm for the Englishmen who have settled there, and turned 
 the wild country into a place fit for people to live in, and have so 
 wisely and liberally spent their money. You would admire, too, 
 the perfect order and respect for minor observances which rule in 
 this society, which rules itself more than any other in Australia. 
 I have enjoyed my stay there above everything, and have really 
 felt to be among men who were shaping out a famous country. In 
 England I always supposed it to be rowdy, and that in politics 
 it was as bad as could be; but while I was there a most perplexing 
 thing happened — the Chief Secretary retired from ill health — and 
 here, where government is by person rather than by party, that is 
 far more likely to lead to a difficulty than a defeat ; but after four 
 days, when a new unknown man was to take the post, every one, 
 even the papers, agreed to help him to get on with his work, and 
 this although the retiring Chief Secretary is a man of great honesty 
 and tact, and is really a very great loss indeed. Certainly, politi- 
 
144 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 cally, Victoria stands much higher than New South Wales or 
 Tasmania." 
 
 " October 2isf, 1874. 
 
 " My visit to Melbourne was a very agreeable one. As some one 
 said, the people received the officers as though they were their long- 
 lost brothers; and it is really magnificent to see the progress which 
 they have made and the liberal use to which they turn their 
 wealth. In Sydney, and in most parts of England, one sees a 
 small, complete building, a town hall, a church, a library finished, 
 dedicated and destined to be too small from the day after it was 
 built — for ever ; but in Melbourne they have in every case had 
 plans laid before them of public gardens, of public buildings 
 equal to the wants of a great city, and they have then begun by 
 throwing out a great limb of the future completed work — and 
 using it. Their Academy of Arts is the most recent instance. A 
 piece of ground is allotted to it. In the middle of this ground 
 rises a rough, massive, prison-like looking place of black basalt, 
 with a door and no windows. The ground is rudely railed in. 
 But one goes in and finds one of the future series of rooms for 
 exhibition of pictures built and lighted according to proper rules 
 and proportions. Some day, when their society and funds in- 
 crease, this gallery will be one of several, and there will be an 
 exterior casing of committee and lecture rooms and offices. Then 
 the provision made for cricket grounds, foot ball, &c. ; it is very 
 grand to see how big their views are." 
 
 He returned to Sydney in August, and on September 1 2th 
 started again for Fiji, whither he conveyed Sir Hercules 
 Robinson, Governor of New South Wales, who was going 
 there to decide upon the question of annexation. This 
 measure was determined on soon after the arrival of Sir 
 Hercules Robinson; and on October loth, 1874, Fiji 
 became a British colony. 
 
Chap. VI.] NORFOLK ISLAND. 1 45 
 
 On the way up to Fiji a short stay was made at Norfolk 
 Island. 
 
 Septetnher i ^th. — Bulli coal getting better than the first coal in 
 use, which was Catherine Hill bay. But whereas the former 
 made no smoke, and little deposit in the tubes, and quantities of 
 ashes, this makes less ashes, more smoke, and deposit in the 
 tubes. 
 
 Making sail at 11 a.m., a fine lad fell from the main-top-gallant 
 cross-trees, just after letting fall the main-top-gallant sail. He 
 fell horizontally across the ridge rope, and broke his thigh, snap 
 short, the end coming clean through the skin, and making a 
 wound two inches long, bleeding frightfully, besides breaking his 
 arm and middle fingers. He was carried below and Messer put 
 him at once under chloroform. It was an hour before he could be 
 got on to the cot, with his leg pulled straight, poor lad, and his 
 arm and hand set. 
 
 We anchored at 6.15 p.m., having sighted Norfolk Island or 
 Phillip Island, forty miles off; at 1.30 p.m., Phillip Island, beauti- 
 ful from every point ; pearly and then opalescent. The trees were 
 visible on Norfolk Island a long way off. Went right up to an 
 inside billet, and saw the signal at the signal staff : " Pick up a 
 boat." A boat came and said the weather would be fine and we 
 could anchor, so I dropped anchor well inside the bearings. The 
 boat contained the chief magistrate, Fletcher Nobbs, and his 
 brother, sons of old Mr. Nobbs. Fletcher Nobbs, the best 
 harpooner and best-to-do man in the island. A ruddy beard, 
 though his mother and his grandmother were Tahitians. All the 
 Nobbs's I saw after had very fair and freckled skins, and brown 
 hair; Miss A. quite fair and pretty, and has been educated in 
 Auckland. 
 
 I asked Mr. Nobbs to ask about a family who would take care 
 of my poor lad, if the landing proved to be good enough. 
 
 September i2>th. — Fletcher Nobbs came off to breakfast and 
 reported the landing very good, so I determined to send the 
 
146 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 boy on shore, and prepared him for it. Went on shore with 
 His Excellency, and landed comfortably, sending off at once 
 to the ship to land the boy. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Still (of the 
 Melanesian mission) were on the pier to receive us, also Mr. 
 Nobbs, a fine dignified looking old man, with white beard, and 
 head well set on. A sprinkling of other people were there, but 
 not the crowd I had expected. I walked up and down with 
 Mr. Still, asking about his work in the Banks* Islands. When 
 we had walked some time the cutter was seen coming from the 
 ship ; we went down, and lifted the poor lad out with as little 
 knocking about as possible ; it was all very happily done ; he was 
 pulled in by twelve of the best oars in the ship, who gave way 
 easily and gently, but strongly and swiftly. He was soon carried 
 up, and to the house of Jonathan Adams, a fine stirring active 
 fellow, with a nice placid wife and a married daughter, — fine hand- 
 some people, — and put in a nice clean large room. 
 
 The " Pearl " returned to Sydney on October 24th. On 
 the 26th he was asked to uncover, on the following day, a 
 statue of Captain Cook, which had lately been erected 
 near Sydney, which he consented to do, delivering on that 
 occasion an address which \vas thus reported in the Sydney 
 Morning Herald, 
 
 {Extract from the Sydney Morning Herald, October 28///.] 
 
 After a short speech from the Mayor, he called upon 
 
 Commodore Goodenough to be kind enough to unveil the statue. 
 
 Commodore Goodenough said, *' Indies and gentlemen, I am 
 exceedingly glad to be able to be present at the invitation of the 
 Mayor of Randwick on such an important occasion as the un- 
 veiling of the first statue raised in these colonies to the memory of 
 Captain Cook. You will, when it is unveiled, see the great navi- 
 gator, fitly looking down over the bay in which he anchored some 
 hundred years ago, and to which he gave the name of Botany, 
 
Chap. VI.] CAPTAIN COOK. 1 47 
 
 because, as he stated, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander had collected 
 such a number of plants on the shores that bounded it, that the 
 name seemed especially fitting." 
 
 The ceremony of lowering the flag which had covered the 
 statue now took place, amid loud applause. 
 
 Commodore Goodenough then said, "Ladies and gentlemen, 
 as you are doubtless aware, on this day, 146 years ago, the great 
 navigator, whose statue has just been uncovered, was born in the 
 small village of Marton, near Whitby, in Yorkshire. On the 
 2 1 St of February, 1779, Captain Cook met his death at the hands 
 of the natives of a then obscure and just-discovered island of the 
 South Seas. During the short fifty-one years between those two 
 dates, a life was lived, and a character was developed, which has 
 served, and will long serve, as an example for all Englishmen 
 living in both hemispheres. That life was an example of diligence, 
 of industry, and of devotion to duty ; and the character which was 
 then developed was one which shows perseverance, constancy, 
 courage, and generosity. I do not propose to-day to enter into 
 all, or indeed into any of the particulars of the life of the great 
 man whose statue you see before you. There are others here who 
 will be far better able than I am to do so, but as I was asked by 
 the Mayor of this Borough to preside here, as senior officer com- 
 mandmg the naval forces on this Station, I cannot help pointing 
 out some of the qualities which I think distinguished this great 
 man, and which may be worthy of your imitation. As you may 
 have ascertained, James Cook was not born in circumstances, 
 and did not have an education which was calculated to prepare 
 him for the great future which was before him. He was bom of 
 humble parentage, and early chose for himself a career which birth 
 and circumstances did not seem to prepare for him. The choice 
 he made was made deliberately, not from boyish fancy, and the 
 result, as shown in his whole career, proved that it was a calm 
 resolution, not the wilfulness of a boy, that led him to follow the 
 sea. He early felt a great inclination for the sea, and at the age 
 of fourteen years, he apprenticed himself on board a collier, which 
 
 L 2 
 
148 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 was then trading on the east coast of England, and which was 
 called the * Free Love.' He continued steadily to follow the 
 profession of a seaman, first as a boy, then as a seaman before the 
 mast, and then as a mate, until at the comparatively mature age 
 of 26 or 27, the year being 1755, an event occurred which gave 
 a direction to his future career, and which showed the decision of 
 character which he possessed. Until that time, to outward ob- 
 servers, Cook showed no particular characteristics. As his 
 biographer has stated — his energy and genius have to be viewed 
 by readers chiefly in the light of his future achievements. We feel 
 certain, however, that until his twenty-seventh year, he was collect- 
 ing and storing in his mind materials for the career which should 
 follow. When he was twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, war 
 broke out, press gangs were formed, and Cook not being altogether 
 protected in his position as mate of a collier was in likelihood of 
 being pressed. He was not altogether destitute of friends or un- 
 protected. If he had struggled against fate, had he been pressed, 
 he might have escaped and returned to his friends ; but he boldly 
 took the step which led to fame. He went on board a man-of- 
 war, and in it he so recommended himself to his captain and the 
 officers of the ship, that he rose from before the mast to the posi- 
 tion of a warrant, and then of a commissioned officer. During four- 
 teen years of service he was not idle ; he had studied navigation, 
 Euclid, and read many odds and ends of books that had come in 
 his way. So rapid was his success from 1755 to 1762, that he 
 rose to the command of a ship in His Majesty's ser\'ice, and not 
 only this, but the duties that were intnisted to him were of an 
 exceptional nature. He was called upon to make hydrographical 
 plans and surveys of places on the North American coast. So 
 correct were the results of his work, that when his biography was 
 written, early in the present century, no corrections were found 
 necessary. And the same correctness applied to your own coasts 
 as visited by Captain Cook, for his surveys are even now to be 
 relied upon, and the names which he has given are still in most 
 instances retained. Even the latest gold diggings opened out in 
 
Chap. VI.] SYDNEY. 1 49 
 
 Northern Queensland has its port on the Endeavour river, so 
 named by Captain Cook after the vessel which he first com- 
 manded on these coasts. From 1762 to 1768 Captain Cook 
 commanded several small vessels in which he prosecuted hydro- 
 graphical surveys. So effective were his services in these respects, 
 that in 1768 Cook was chosen as the most fitting man in England 
 to conduct voyages of discovery in imitation of French vessels 
 which had about that period gone out on such voyages. He was 
 directed to go to the South Seas to examine the islands there, to 
 take observations of the transit of Venus across the sun's disc, 
 and to visit this then unknown continent. From New Zealand 
 he came to the coast of New South Wales. One morning in the 
 month of April he entered a bay which has since been and pro- 
 bably ever will be called "Botany" Bay — a bay, near whose 
 shores we now stand. If we could imagine Captain Cook ever 
 returning to the earth, with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander to botanise 
 once more on the shores of Botany Bay, with what delight would 
 they look round on this vast assembly which I see before me ; 
 with what intense delight would they look upon the comfortable 
 houses, numerous churches, and noble buildings which everywhere 
 surround us ! Captain Cook, as a man of great humanity, had 
 an intense love for his fellow creatures, and with what feelings 
 would he compare the mud and wattle cottage in which his father 
 lived with the comfortable cottages which every industrious man 
 in this colony can obtain for himself with fair labour ! With what 
 delight would they contrast the surroundings of Sydney with the 
 squalid districts which we, who have had the opportunities of see- 
 ing them, know to exist in the vicinity of large towns in the 
 mother country. You should consider your condition, and honour 
 the name of the great captain who first brought ships to these 
 shores ! I have already occupied your time too long, and will call 
 upon you in conclusion to thank, with three hearty cheers. Captain 
 Watson, the munificent giver of this first statue of the great 
 navigator in these colonies, to the community of which you are 
 members." 
 
150 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 For the next three months the Commodore was occupied 
 with refitting the schooners which are employed in cruising 
 in the South Sea Islands, and remained at Sydney. Early 
 in December he visited the two principal coal-fields of 
 New South Wales, as he was anxious to see for himself the 
 different kinds of coal in its natural state. Of these two 
 visits he gives an account in his journal, and he also 
 mentions them in the following letter : — 
 
 '♦ December 26t/i. 
 
 " We have just spent a very quiet, happy sort of Christmas. 
 It is, as you know, always a period of uncomfortableness on board 
 ship, and I cannot, as you also know, even in my exalted position 
 of " Commydore," forget my ships and men. But my men are 
 gradually answering to a quiet helm, and yesterday was one of 
 the best Christmas days I have seen. A French man-of-war was 
 here, and our men asked sixty of theirs to dinner. 
 
 " It has been very hot indeed, and we are beginning to feel the 
 summer ; but the differences from day to day are very great, and 
 after a hot day comes a cold wind. Three days ago the thermo- 
 meter stood at 91° on board till 3.30 p.m., when the wind sud- 
 denly changed and in thirty minutes the thermometer stood at 
 67°, which feels quite cold. But these changes are not so harmful 
 as those of Madrid or the south of France, because there the cold 
 wind is dry and takes all the moisture off the body which the 
 previous heat has generated. Here the hot wind is very dry 
 indeed and the cold wind is moist. The difference between a 
 dry and wet bulb thermometer is very great, 26° against 5° or 6® 
 in England, and tlierefore you can reduce the heat of a room 
 directly by using wet lattice, and you get your water very cool in 
 porous jars. 
 
 " It is marvellous to-day to see all the holiday parties out. 
 There is somewhere a residuum of poor people, wretched people, 
 and helpless people, but it is always by some fault or incapacity 
 
Chap. VI.] NEW SOUTH WALES. I5I 
 
 of their own as far as men are concerned, and I think nearly 
 always so in the case of women. To-day parties of fresh looking, 
 cleanly dressed people, are off in steamers all over the harbour to 
 favourite nooks, or are sitting on the grass on each of the grassy 
 points which stick out into the bay and divide the harbour into 
 coves, like Malta on a gigantic scale, and with the addition of 
 plentiful verdure. It is certainly lovely, and becomes so more 
 and more daily. You would be surprised to see, too, how old 
 some of the trees and even buildings look. The sandstone here 
 is not always very hard, and so the surfaces get early rough and 
 uneven, and creepers run with marvellous rapidity. One walk in 
 the Botanic Gardens, bounded by a curving line of ivied, sand- 
 stone wall, almost touched by an uneven line of old gum trees, has 
 a sentiment about it of loveliness. 
 
 " They have been planted there, forty years ago, in Governor 
 Macquarie's time, but are as large as English elms of seventy 
 years, and when one looks at them shielded by the wall, and sur- 
 rounded by the wreaths of foliage of imported trees and shrubs, I 
 have ^frisson, and I think of the natives and of the kangaroos 
 which once ran about here, and of the unsuccessful attempts to 
 rear and civilise the old inhabitants. If it failed, if the Australians 
 were miserable and low, so low that our people could not tolerate 
 them on any terms and looked on them as mere vermin, more is 
 the pity, and greater was the trial for us and for them, for cer- 
 tainly low and ferocious instincts have been developed, and cunning 
 and cowardly practices have been resorted to by us to put them 
 out, and so effectually that the present generation don't know 
 them, unless they live in the country away from Sydney. 
 
 *' I have been greatly interested by reading a sectional address 
 of Sir G. Campbell's at the Social Science Congress. Isn't it in- 
 teresting to see how those Indian servants, on their return to 
 England, take a broad, clear view of a social question. He went, 
 it is true, miles away from his subject, but showed what was of 
 more use and interest than if he had kept to it — the produce of 
 his study and thought on a disinterested mind removed from class 
 
152 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. VI. 
 
 influences of English society. A residence here would do any 
 English politician good; if only that he would get into the habit 
 of believing that in one sense Jack is as good as his master, that 
 he has as good a right to live, to speak, to combine, and indeed 
 to take or leave work, to be industrious or idle, as his master. 
 Hard doctrines for English masters who have and will long keep 
 the dessiis. I have been lately in the coal districts here, and have 
 been greatly interested in the social aspect of the mining country. 
 Here labour meets capital more directly and on more even terms 
 than in any other industry in the colony, and there have been 
 frequent fights. The two parties have at length come to a plat- 
 form, proposed by the men and assented to by the masters, which 
 is perfectly fair, just, and liberal. The masters and men agree to 
 meet and discuss every question on which there can be a differ- 
 ence before further measures are taken. A sliding scale of the 
 price of labour is fixed. When coal goes up the miner gets a 
 portion of the advance, when it goes down he loses a portion. 
 And a master — the sole master of one mine assures me that the 
 men's demands have always been just, and that after each fight 
 they have always been conceded. And here labour has the com- 
 mand. I should like those who fear the want of moderation of 
 the mass to know this. The manager of one mine, who is of the 
 old Tory school, struggles and fights with all this, and doesn't 
 know how to give way gracefully, and his men are dissatisfied and 
 unhappy compared with others. 
 
 " The great want here is comparative bildutig. These people, 
 miners and others, all rich and getting rich, have no sufficient 
 example before them of culture or elegance, or of the things which 
 soften life, and their children will grow up without them. It is 
 so in England of course, too; but here it strikes one more because 
 of the rapidly increasing wealth, and also because one sees people 
 starting unweighted by transmitted political and social drawbacks, 
 and one would like to see them rise without a check to one's 
 highest conception of virtue in a perfect society and then re-act 
 on the parent society of England. Ah ! how my kite has flown ! 
 
Chap. VI.] SPEECH. 153 
 
 my string will break if I go any higher ; but these speculations, 
 you know, had always an attraction for me, and I burn to know 
 the English people leaders in virtue, in justice, and in charity, and 
 capable of absorbing and transforming other lands and other 
 people into her agents of the highest civilisation." 
 
 About this time the merchants of Sydney entertained 
 the Governor at a banquet, in honour of the annexation of 
 Fiji. Thackombau, King of Fiji, who had just arrived at 
 Sydney, was present with • his two sons. In returning 
 thanks for the Navy, Commodore Goodenough made the 
 following speech* : — 
 
 " By the indulgence of our fellow-countrymen, this toast is 
 everywhere received with warmth and kindness. By your recep- 
 tion of it to-night, we trust that we, the representatives of the 
 Naval Service in this part of the world, retain the place in your 
 regard which we desire to occupy. Though you, gentlemen, in 
 this happy land, far removed from foreign alarms, can only wit- 
 ness an occasional array of mimic warfare, you do not forget that 
 the English Navy is still called upon in various parts of the 
 world, to fulfil its duties in actual service before the enemy. 
 When you drink this toast, we feel that you are thinking of us as 
 the representatives of a service, of which you have formed a high 
 ideal, and we remember that we have laid upon us the very diffi- 
 cult task of realising and maintaining the picture which you have 
 drawn in your minds. While thanking you for the honour that 
 you have done us, I think that you are not unmindful of the pre- 
 sence of members of another navy, a navy which is always 
 received with great kindness, and is justly so received in this 
 port ; a navy which has shared our labours during the last twenty 
 years, from the Black Sea to the shores of Japan — a navy whose 
 officers are among the most gallant and loyal gentlemen of 
 France. 
 
 " The flattering attentions with which you receive us, and almost 
 
 * Sydney Moi-ning Herald^ December lolh, 1874. 
 
154 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 overwhelm us, induce us to hope that we may really be links in a 
 great chain of sympathy which binds the Mother Country to 
 Englishmen in either hemisphere ; and if this be so, and if we 
 succeed in fulfilling such an office, may I be allowed to carry the 
 metaphor further, while I suggest that these great communities 
 are in some sort anchors, by which the great vessel of the English 
 state shall be moored and secured in future times of political and 
 social strife. In the course of my visits to the South Seas I have 
 found that there is a prevailing conviction of British even-handed 
 justice, and I trust, that that being so, the recent acquisition we 
 have made of new territory may be regarded as the fruit of the 
 confidence in that justice, which has prevailed in these islands. 
 It rests with the people of New South Wales especially, who will 
 have connection with these islands, either by family relations, or 
 by commercial relations, to justify the confidence which has 
 hitherto been exhibited. I trust, that throughout the intercourse 
 of the people of the colony with the native races, will justify that 
 confidence. It is not sufficient for the government to exercise 
 its power to secure even-handed justice to both races which are 
 under its sway, but it is also necessary for those who go to Fiji 
 for a time, to have higher interests and desires than those of 
 making money, and to endeavour to secure the welfare of the 
 people living there. I can bear testimony to the endeavours of 
 the late chief of Fiji to secure the welfare of his fellow-countr)'- 
 men, and you will feel with me that Thakombau is not only the 
 greatest chief, but in becoming the first Fijian subject of the 
 Queen, we may call him the first and best Fijian gentleman. If 
 I may be allowed to say it in his Excellency's presence, he has 
 shown himself unequalled in bis management of state affairs, the 
 most generous and the most faithful and the most delicate of 
 all managers of a great public enterprise. I look back with the 
 greatest pleasure and satisfaction to my intercourse with Sir 
 Hercules Robinson. His Excellency has told you of the custom 
 which exists in Fiji of the chief having a Mata-ni-vanua.* It 
 
 * A man to make speeches for him. 
 
Chap. VL] FIJI. 155 
 
 will not be necessary for me to ask the services of any such 
 gentleman, for his Excellency, in the most delicate manner, has 
 filled that important office towards myself and Mr. Layard. I 
 thank you for the way in which you have received the toast of the 
 Navy." 
 
 At an earlier hour on the same evening Sir Hercules 
 Robinson had thus spoken of the labours of Mr. Layard 
 and Commodore Goodenough in Fiji : — 
 
 " . . . . . . Ho\vever, on this occasion, I am happy to 
 
 say, it is my pleasing task to dwell more on the merits of others 
 than on my own acts ; and I am very glad to have this oppor- 
 tunity of publicly acknowledging how much the success of my 
 recent mission to Fiji is attributable to the skilful preparation of 
 the ground by those who preceded me, and the good qualities of 
 those with whom I had to deal. The labours of the late Com- 
 missioners — my friends Commodore Goodenough and Mr. Layard 
 — extending over five months, have not yet, I think, received the 
 appreciation they deserve. ... To them we are indebted for 
 
 the very complete information as to Fiji which we now possess. 
 . . . They produced a report which, to my mind, displays 
 great ability and research. I know it was of the greatest possible 
 help to me in the prosecution of the mission with which I was 
 entrusted, and I am confident that it will be for years to come the 
 text-book to which successful reference can be made by any one 
 requiring information as to the climate, resources, native customs, 
 and past political history of the new colony. Indeed, I can only 
 say that I have often felt ashamed, during the progress of my 
 negociations, of the extent to which I was profiting by the result 
 of the labour of those who preceded me. You, many of you, I 
 dare say, have seen what a good man the Commodore is across 
 country. Well, I felt when I was in Fiji, as if I were riding after 
 him over a stiff country, and that he having broken the top rails, 
 I was triumphantly galloping through the gaps." 
 
156 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 The following extract was also written by the Com- 
 modore about this time : — 
 
 " October 2\st. 
 
 " What you say of the lack of disinterested view is so true. I 
 am afraid that it abounds in England as well as in New South 
 Wales, &c., but I feel pretty sure also that when statesmen echo 
 this interested and selfish sentiment, and say, ' Why should Giles 
 Stiggins in Yorkshire pay for the deficiency of revenue in Fiji, to 
 help out a parcel of English who have chosen to settle there ? * 
 then they mistake the loud, selfish voices of mere hard-fisted 
 traders for the real desire of the English people. But this Fijian 
 business is quite a thing apart from any notion of extending our 
 power or wealth. It is simply a duty towards a very amiable 
 aboriginal race who cannot protect themselves against the inroads 
 of white planters unless they be helped by our Government. It 
 would be very well if we were to help the unhappy Samoans and 
 Tongans also. The former are plundered in succession by English, 
 Germans, and French, in spite of the remonstrance and friendly 
 efforts of every English naval officer who has been there to protect 
 them." 
 
 In January the Commodore left Sydney again for South 
 Australia, stopping first at Portland, in Victoria. At 
 Adelaide he met with the old shipmate of the " Raleigh " 
 and " Calcutta " days, whose letter has already been quoted 
 when speaking of the taking of Canton. 
 
 The following letter to a friend touches upon some of 
 the impressions of that cruise, the particulars of which are 
 fully recounted in the journal : — 
 
 *• Spencer's Gulf, South Australia, 
 " January 25M, 1875. 
 
 " .... I wish that you were here. You would so 
 thoroughly enjoy the sight of the great prosperity of the commu- 
 
Chap. VI.] PORTLAND, VICTORIA, 1 5 7 
 
 nities which have set themselves down here, and you would retain 
 a conviction of the value of our colonies and of the aptitude of 
 the English people for self-government, stronger than any which 
 unbeknownst to me, you may already have. You will, of course, 
 have read Trollop e's Australia and New Zealand^ then read 
 Ranken's Australia, and with a little more reading you will be 
 prepared for Froude's great book, for which I suppose that he is 
 
 now collecting materials but enough of myself, it is 
 
 much more agreeable to talk of these splendid colonies. I am on 
 a little cruise — stealing six weeks between repairing and re-com- 
 missioning the schooners — to see something of South Australia. 
 I have just touched at Portland, a fine bay with good anchorage, 
 on the limits of Victoria, and the first point in Victoria at which 
 colonisation was effected. The brothers Henty first had a whaling 
 station here, then brought some sheep, and at last fought their 
 way across a belt of light poor soil to the Wonnan country, forty 
 miles inland ; nearly the best land in Australia. Portland soon 
 shipped wool, but has now, since a rail was made to Ballarat, 
 ceased to do so ; but there is a pretty pleasant town, with good 
 stone houses, having 3,000 people. In England it would be a 
 village, but here, as the centre of a district, there is a mayor, a 
 town hall, a mechanics' institute, a gaol, a bank, three churches, 
 and a very nice public garden, well kept and well planted. In 
 riding out of the town I asked, * What sort of a man lives in this 
 cottage and in that ? ' Stone or brick cottages with good garden, 
 paddock, pig, horse or cow and cart. ' That is the baker's, that 
 is the carpenter's, this is mine, sir; I am the tailor,' and the tailor, 
 a Derbyshire man, was riding by me to accompany us to a kangaroo 
 hunt which we got up with the aid of the innkeeper, a man from 
 the Mendip hills, with a fine taste for greyhounds. The shore- 
 going part of our party were made up of these, of the tanner, and 
 the livery-stable keeper — an Irishman with a taste for liver- 
 coloured retrievers. I assure you that the party was a very 
 pleasant one. These men are not rough as you generally suj^pose 
 in England. There is an independence in their manner, but it is 
 
158 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH [Chap. VI. 
 
 the independence which I value — that of self-respect — not of want 
 of respect of others. Each of these men had come out here pen- 
 niless, sixteen to eighteen years ago, and was hired, the one as a 
 gardener, another as a stable hand, and so on. Each is now 
 independent. One has an inn, and keeps three or four good 
 horses, and two couple of hounds; another has a stable of eighteen 
 stalls and a farm, and so on. And the place is not without its 
 gentry. The brothers Henty each have houses, gardens, green- 
 houses, coach-houses, and pass the summer here. A Mr. Must, 
 the M.P., lives here altogether with his large family, save when he 
 attends Parliament ; and you have the doctor (only one, and he 
 has an idle time), the banker, and the clergy. 
 
 '■'■ By the way, Mr. Childers was member for Pordand in the 
 Victorian Parliament, and one of the first men I met in the street, 
 a little old'chap, who came out under the patronage of the Govern- 
 ment, in a pepper and salt drab coat and anklets, and therefore 
 had less than nothing on his arrival, not even his liberty, recalled 
 the days when he used to canvass for Childers, and showed me 
 the particular public-house which showed Childers' colours. * For 
 you see, sir, I came out here and began as a working man, and 
 now I'm wealthy ; but I always voted for a gentleman to repre- 
 sent me in Parliament.' This little old fellow even is owner of 
 100 acres of good land up country, besides some town lots. He 
 talked to me for half-an-hour, and then went off by coach to his 
 property, spreading abroad reports of my urbanity. I always was 
 a good listener, and find that to listen well is as popular an art as 
 to speak well, when people are already disposed in one's favour. 
 The well-being of litde towns like Portland is characteristic of 
 these colonies. 'J'here is plenty of land, so the Government re- 
 serves land for townships, and keeps sites for parks, churches, 
 and other public uses. The people themselves soon get together 
 a library and an institute, and in proportion to population books 
 are more read here than in England. This is not surprising. The 
 dregs of the people do not emigrate. Those who do have more 
 <interprise or more knowledge, or both, than the poorest class, 
 
Chap. VL] WALLAROO. 1 59 
 
 and it would be strange if the community were not more intel- 
 ligent, as a whole, than an English population ; as De Tocqueville 
 says of the United States, that there is no country which contains 
 ' aiissi pen de savafits et moins dHgiiorants.^ At Launceston, in 
 Tasmania, a town of 1,200 people, I was surprised at the public 
 buildings, &c., and at the size and frequency of the butchers' 
 shops, for every one eats meat three times a day. 
 
 "I finish this, January 27th, at Wallaroo, on the peninsula 
 which you perhaps never heard- of, though it is one of the richest 
 copper mines in the world, and has a total population of 19,000. 
 Well, this is a little rough to be sure. It is like a town in South 
 America — in Peru of Chili, Arica for instance. There is not a 
 drop of water bilt what is caught on the house roofs, and in hard 
 times by distilling at 3^-. a ton. Wages here are never lower than 
 7i". a day, and go as high as 14J"., which is not bad. Tributers, 
 2>., men who engage to work out a batch of ore for a certain per 
 centage of the net profits on raising it, get more as a rule, and 
 there is a solitary instance of a man and his mate making £,^00 
 in two months, or ^^9 1.2s. each day for the pair. This was 
 where, having bought the right to work a lode cheap, it turned 
 out of great value. Ores run to 30 per cent. This is better than 
 gold digging." 
 
 January i$th^ 1875. — Weighed from Sydney under sail at 
 9 A.M. ; but off Bradley's Point lost all wind, and had to steam. 
 Met the north east wind outside, which carried us to Botany, and 
 were met by a southerly, not strong. 
 
 January 16th. — Read Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa, which is 
 admirably written. It is something like a book of travel, and 
 takes its place beside Wallace's Malay Archipelago, or even before 
 it, in some points. 
 
 January 20th. — Ofi" Cape Otway [west of Melbourne]. Saw the 
 lights of Port Fairy at 10.30, and Portland (Victoria) at 2.30 a.m. 
 
 January 21st. — Anchored at Portland (Victoria) at 7 a.m. A 
 fine bay, very like Portland on the chart, but such a hot wind ! 
 
l6o COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 I went on shore at 9. Thermometer 114° in the street. The 
 editor of the Portland Guardia?t came up and told us all about the 
 place. It seems that a great deal of bark goes hence to England ; 
 Mimosa bark for tanning, but it is five years since a ship was 
 loaded for England direct. Everything goes hence to Melbourne 
 to ship. This little place, with its 2500 inhabitants, has its 
 botanic gardens, a number of good-sized buildings, banks, &c., 
 the usual assortment of churches, of which the Roman Catholic is, 
 as usual, the best in position and appearance. Wages are at yj. 
 to Sj-. a day to labourers ; 7^. and the mid-day meal is a common 
 wage ! ! 
 
 January 22nd. — Hastings proposed to have a day's kangaroo 
 hunting, and as we found it could be got up without much trouble, 
 we got it arranged. 
 
 We landed at i, and went to the livery-stables, where were 
 a lot of horses of all sorts, and we went out, eleven in number, 
 from the ship, besides eight men and lads from the shore. 
 Mr. Bevan of the London Hotel owned the hounds, and brought 
 out two yellow hounds, a sort of lurcher, or more like Scotch 
 deer-hounds, and a couple of black greyhounds, a half sheep-dog, 
 and a nondescript crossed ; there were also a capital Irish re- 
 triever and a cross-bred spaniel, eight hounds in all. A\'e rode 
 over a broken light soiled country for five or six miles to Cape 
 Nelson, and catching up one or two kangaroo on our way, what 
 are called brush kangaroo ; but rather refrained from following 
 them till we got on to where the country is open and clear of 
 timber and perfectly sound under foot. Really part of it is like 
 the New Forest, and both Goldfinch and I recalled bits which it 
 resembled. The rushes of the New Forest are represented by the 
 '' black boys," which bear a long bulrush-like flower, the heather 
 by many kinds of epacris^ and which are still in flower here, though 
 over in New South Wales. Our companions were nearly all 
 immigrants. The innkeeper had got his taste for greyhounds 
 from Somersetshire ; the tanner was from Yarmouth in Norfolk, 
 as also was an old man who acted as huntsman. The livery 
 
Chap. VI.] PORTLAND. l6l 
 
 stable-keeper was from Dublin, and is the breeder of some lovely 
 Irish retrievers of excellent blood, and a butcher came from 
 Derbyshire. We passed by several nice stone cottages on the 
 road, each with its pretty bit of garden, its paddock, cow, and 
 pigs, and I asked who owned them. One was a carpenter, 
 another a shoemaker ; all were tradesmen who have their shops 
 in the town or village. Here is comfort ; and these men had a 
 respectful independence which was very pleasing. Once on the 
 cliffs which look over the sea, we could see the kangaroo 
 splendidly, and soon split off into two or three parties, and had 
 splendid runs. The kangaroo jumped up right and left ; one had 
 to be sharp as a needle and to follow immediately, or else one 
 lost sight of them in a moment ; it was more like coursing than 
 hunting, and great fun. We brought home two whole kangaroos, 
 two whole quarters, six or seven tails, and left two or three on the 
 ground. We killed in all twelve brush kangaroos and one 
 forester^ a big fellow, who showed fight, and had to be knocked 
 over with whips. We all enjoyed it thoroughly, and after about 
 five hours on horseback, came back galloping like fury at about 7 
 o'clock, and so on board. 
 
 Of course there happened to be the bachelor's ball that 
 evening, to which a good many went. 
 
 January 23^^. — Went for a walk to the lighthouse ; walked 
 through the public gardens. Very nice gardens, very pleasant, and 
 well-ordered for a town of about 2500 people. There are great beds 
 of gladiolus, splendid geraniums, and lovely roses. Although the 
 third day's hot wind only ceased yesterday, I have a lovely nose- 
 gay of great big gladiolas, lilies, &c. There are some good pine 
 trees too, and an oak or two, and some variegated holly. De- 
 cidedly it is a good place. Coming back I met with Mr. Henty, 
 the first arrival here. Forty years ago last November he first 
 landed. He described his meeting with Mitchell and the survey- 
 ing parties. How Mitchell took him and his companions for 
 escaped convicts, and he took Mitchell and his party for bush 
 rangers. Then how he cut his way through the bush to 
 
l62 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 Wonnon country, which is the country of Victoria. I brought 
 him and various other people on board to luncheon, and after 
 sending them away at 3, got under way and stood out. Wind 
 S.S.W. veering to S.E. 
 
 January 2\th. — Passed Cape Northumberland at 5 a.m. 
 Running all day along low sand-hills. At 6 made up my mind to 
 run to the southward of Kangaroo Island, having had a first-rate 
 bearing of Cape Bernalli light at 4.30. Wind fresh, S.E. by 
 S., and going eleven knots. I had a lurking suspicion that there 
 might be currents, and left orders to be called at 2 to look out for 
 them. 
 
 January 25///. — But at 2 I heard a cry, and jumped up; a 
 man came to the door, and asked me what I wanted. I — *' What 
 is the matter?" He, meekly — " Breakers on the lee bow." And 
 I heard Hastings say — " Hands by both anchors." Coming on 
 deck there it was, the " Young Rocks," which I had steered to 
 clear by fifteen miles, and which we should not have been up to 
 by 3.30, were under the bows, with a raging surf upon them. We 
 hauled out south-west from west, and then saw the southern one, 
 with a high sea upon it; and at 2.30 were off upon our course 
 again. A lovely, clear, moonlight night. Saw Kangaroo Island 
 at daylight ; the wind freshening, and so thick that, after running 
 between Gambier and Thistle Island, I gave up the idea of going 
 into Port Lincoln, and went up towards Wallaroo. 
 
 Jantcary 26///. — Got into eleven fathoms at 7 a.m., and at 8 
 saw the Tipana Light vessel. Anchored at Wallaroo at 2 p.m., 
 and was boarded by the captain of the port, and arranged 
 to see the copper-smelting with him at 3.30. The copper pyrites, 
 which contains a large quantity of sulphur, is roasted to drive off 
 the sulphur. The ore is then crushed, and then sent to a furnace 
 for reduction, whence it comes out as rcgitlus^ with fifty per cent 
 of copper in it It is then put in a fresh range, and comes out 
 rough copper y with seventy-five per cent, whence it goes to be 
 reduced. A portion of this regulus is put in with the ore to flux 
 it A labourer earns here is, a-day, and the men who lead at 
 
Chap. VI.] WALLAROO. 1 63 
 
 the ultimate refining fijrnaces £/^ a-week. The men work tie and 
 tie — /. e., from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., and 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no 
 public school yet in Wallaroo ; and as boys get from li-. 6d. to 
 2,s. 6d. a-day, their labour is valuable, and they all work, without 
 much regard to Factory Acts, &c. We afterwards went to the top 
 of the town — ill-laid out and unimproved ; no gardens, nothing to 
 humanise or cultivate eye, taste, or mind; no supply of water 
 but what is drained from the surface into muddy tanks. 
 
 January 2']th. — Went at nine to Moonta by rail, and retiirned 
 at 5 p.m. a rail omnibus goes the whole way, and it is surprising 
 there should be no locomotive. Moonta stands 100 ft. high, and 
 the distance is ten miles. The populations of these places are 
 roughly — Moonta, 10,000; Wallaroo, 3000; Kadina, 7000; say 
 20,000 in the three townships. 
 
 This is the barest, driest spot conceivable ; since Valparaiso I 
 have seen nothing so dry. There was once scrub and grass, now 
 there is a relic of each, and much dust. All the timber having 
 been taken off for fuel for miles and miles, all is red hot and 
 dusty. The thermometer stood at 90° on board the ship at 7 p.m. 
 At Moonta, Mr. Hancock, the captain of the mines, met us, 
 driving a very nice pair of horses, and carried us to his office to 
 see the plans of the works. 
 
 The Moonta Company own all the land but that on which two 
 mines are situated, the Parramatta and Yatta. The lodes are 
 three, running N.N.E. and S.S.W., and each dipping at about 45** 
 from the horizon. At intervals ladders go down these shafts, and 
 at every fifteen fathoms, or ninety feet, galleries are driven. The 
 plans show — 
 
 I St. The horizontal projection of the drives. 
 
 2nd. The place on the plane of the dip of the stratum. 
 
 3rd. The surface survey. 
 
 These are kept up by practical men, who have the duty of 
 directing the drives and levels. There are also underground cap- 
 tains, who direct the whole works ; of these there are seven. 
 There are also foundries and smitheries above ground. Some of 
 
 M 2 
 
164 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 the men work tribute, and some work at so much for each ton of 
 stuff sent up ; and in each case the manager must make careful 
 assays, and must carefully price the stuff. With tributers he fixes 
 the per-centage of profit which the lode, from its general appear- 
 ance, ought to give to the tributer, and each two months it is put 
 up at that price. In the other case, the value has to be put on 
 each ton of stuff raised to the surface. Besides these there are 
 men who lay rails, others who drive shafts and do odd work. 
 Generally each man secures his own work by shores, &c. The 
 company pays for timber, but the miner for candles, gunpowder, 
 and fuzes and tools. When water is short, the company sells it 
 from its tanks, which are filled from surface drainage, or by con- 
 densing mine water, at \s. per hogshead, or -^s. per ton. Once on 
 tribute two miners made £,^00 in two months; this was, of 
 course, by a lucky hit, the claim being offered at a much lower 
 figure than it turned out to be worth. 
 
 We then all dressed in miner's dress and went down, candle on 
 hat, to the seventy-five fathom range ; and there, walking along a 
 level, came to a great excavation of very rich ore, twenty-eight 
 per cent, or more of copper, which looked purple and yellow and 
 peacocky, and all sorts of colours. The miners all pleasant and 
 civil, and seemed glad to see us. 
 
 Our dip down stairs took us a couple of hours. Mr. Hancock 
 was much more done than we were ; we ran up the last fifteen 
 fathoms, to the great astonishment and amusement of three 
 miners who were sitting at the top. 
 
 It seems that there was a strike here six months ago. The 
 management wanted to reduce the wages, and the men, as usual, 
 won. I was obliged to say that I was all for the men, and very glad 
 the wages did not go down. They do not seem to me the least 
 excessive. High wages mean to mc a prosperous people ; and of 
 course I wish to see them prosperous. There are about 1500 
 men and boys at work. It seems that the Government established 
 a township, and let the land on mining lease. By-andby the 
 miners built tiny cottages on the mining ground, setting them any- 
 
Chap. VI.] COPPER MINES. 1 6 5 
 
 how j so that now there is a town of Moonta, full of shops, 
 churches, post-office, banks, &c. ; and a town at Moonta mines, 
 whereat there is no shop or other public edifice, but one church ; 
 and the two are over a mile apart. The same thing happens at 
 Kadina, twelve miles in another direction. As every miner builds 
 his own house, they are rough, though comfortable, and set 
 at all possible angles to the meridian. They keep their houses 
 very clean inside, and as they always have big tubs of water after 
 work, are clean themselves. At Moonta township is a large 
 Wesley an church ; it has the predominance here ; a very neat 
 little English church ; and Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Bible 
 Christians, &c., &c., in great numbers. There is little drunken- 
 ness ', but, as in Wales, a good deal of keeping company of boys 
 and girls, &c. At Wallaroo port, where there are more Welsh 
 among the settlers, a Mr. D., an excellent man, has service in 
 Welsh every Sunday. By chance we spoke of the Aborigines, and 
 found that a few people were trying to collect them together on a 
 good piece of land, and to start them with a few sheep. As our 
 informant said, " It is the least we can do for them. We have 
 taken their country, and we ought to maintain them in an honour- 
 able retirement, like an old horse which you turn out to grass — 
 supposing we can do no more for them." 
 
 January 2W1. — Went to see the metal run from different 
 furnaces, then to the office and Institute, which has a library arul 
 little museum \ then out to Kadina, a large party of us, to see the 
 mines there. The manager said that when he came there, five 
 years ago, out of twenty-seven boys employed but nine could 
 read, and but seven could write. There is no public school at 
 Kadina yet, but he has established a library and reading-room, 
 and has built a church and schoolroom at one mine which is 
 isolated from the others, and goes there to hold school every 
 Sunday. Very hot indeed, but we walked about fearlessly in the 
 sun, and were photographed. At 4 we came down, and at 5 I 
 came on board, and found a host of people had profited by the 
 permission and fine weather, and had come on board in crowds. 
 
1 66 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 As they came in very few boats which went back at once for more, 
 by the time I came back the ship was full ; and when I sat in my 
 cabin I could hear, as they peered down the skylight, " Beautiful 
 flowers ! " in every variety of voice and tone, as they looked at 
 my Portland flowers, still fresh and lovely, great beauties of 
 gladiolus, geraniums, &c. 
 
 Weighed at 7 p.m. Beating and thrashing about all night; split 
 fore and mizen topsail and mainsail. 
 
 January 29M. — Beating all day down the western shore of the 
 Gulf. 
 
 January ^oth. — Got fairly to windward by 6 a.m., and kept 
 away between the islands for Port Lincoln, where we anchored at 
 1 1.45 A.M. A beautiful bay and anchorage, with hills of moderate 
 height running round, and an island barring the entrance. " All 
 the fleets of the world " might anchor in it in safety ; but, alas ! it 
 is the outlet to nothing, and is condemned to no further advance 
 apparently till railways are made and the land is thickly peopled. 
 It has but 400 people, but possesses a Church of England, 
 a Roman Catholic, and a Wesleyan Church ; an institute ; 
 also a good, roomy, pleasant-looking hotel. I sent on shore 
 at once, to get a trap to take us to Poonindie, the mission 
 station ; and we landed at i p.m., six of us, and were met by the 
 magistrate. 
 
 A fair trap came round, and off we went, pursuing Mr. 
 Newland, the farm manager, till he stopped at the gate of a nice- 
 looking vineyard, belonging to the clergyman of Port Lincoln. 
 Drove six miles along the sea-shore, by a first-rate road, and four 
 miles across a gravelly flat, with scrub, and came to the gate of 
 Poonindie, and found the chaplain there. The houses for the 
 natives are disposed down a sort of avenue, and consist of 
 generally one, and at most two rooms. The number of the natives 
 is small ; there are but fifty-eight men, women and children alto- 
 gether present, making, with sixteen out on job-work, seventy- 
 four. These they house and keep as long as they like to remain, 
 taking only good characters. They arc obliged to work, and 
 
Chap. VI.] PORT LINCOLN. . 167 
 
 receive wages for their work from 20s. a week downwards, the 
 best hands being paid by the week, and others by task. To look 
 after these there are five whites ; the superintendent, who is the 
 clergyman, the schoolmaster, the farmer, the cook and baker, and 
 the head ploughman. After paying their expenses, they pay 
 ;£'4oo a year into some fund, as a nest-egg, to enable the work to 
 be carried on without government assistance, or on reduced 
 government land in future. Three hundred acres of land were 
 under wheat last year, and an acre gave an average of five 
 bushels ; and they have 10,000 sheep. The policy is, I hear, dis- 
 puted (of having such a place) ; but it must be the right and 
 honourable thing to do, to provide an asylum for those people 
 who have been dispossessed of their land. The work seems to 
 be done with thorough good sense, and there are no luxuries. 
 Their great acreage of stubble and the sheoak standing in it 
 looked much like olives in the south of France or Spain. They 
 have a patch of very good land on their property, which is, alto- 
 gether, five miles square, or 16,000 acres. The country might be 
 very pretty in spring, as the trees • are scattered on the hill-side 
 like park land ; but the foliage is of the very dullest. Although 
 only ten miles from Port Lincoln, it answers better to pay the 
 steamer 5^-. a ton additional freight to bring the stores to Lowth 
 Bay, which is four and a half miles. 
 
 Drove back to Port Lincoln at 5.30. Met a squatter, who 
 lives half-way to Streakey Bay, and has no less than nine 
 Chinese shepherds, one of whom is married to a native, and 
 three to English women ; the children, he says, are not bad- 
 looking. 
 
 Jamiary-i^Tst. — The clergyman. and several others came off, some 
 to church and some to luncheon. They all say that owing to poison- 
 ing wild dogs and the disappearance of the natives, the kangaroos 
 have grown and increased so as to be a perfect nuisance, and eat 
 up the grass which ought to feed sheep. The squatters give 3^. 
 a piece for skins to get rid of them. They lately drove a hundred 
 into a stockyard, having first surrounded several hundred. Un- 
 
1 68 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 fortunately no one has dogs, or one might do something with 
 them. This is a poor country, though there is plenty of water ; 
 but there is good country in the Gaivler Range^ nearly straight 
 from Port Augusta to Muyt's Archipelago. Of course, Port 
 Augusta must be a great shipping place for wool some day. Six 
 ships have been there this year to load for wool. Port Lincoln is 
 at the end of a peninsula ; and as it is possible to ship wool 
 anywhere up each side of the peninsula, Port Lincoln will never 
 be a place worth speaking of, not, at least, till there is a railway, 
 when goods will be landed at this, the proper terminus. 
 
 Sailed at 5.30 p.m. for Adelaide. 
 
 February 1st. — Off Yorke Peninsula in a.m. 
 
 February 2nd. — A hard battle to fight our way up into these 
 waters. Anchored off Glenelg, the port of Adelaide, [capital of 
 South Australia,] at 6.30 p.m. Heard singing at 8.30, and, looking 
 out of my port, saw a little yacht coming along crowded with 
 men, and with large lanterns. The boat gliding along was very 
 pretty ; there was just an air to move it They sang " Die Wacht 
 am Rhein " and *' Lebe Wohl," passing backwards and forwards 
 under the stern, and I sent for the band to respond. As they 
 passed again I asked them to come on board, and they came and 
 sat in my cabin and drank a glass of champagne, with a " Lebe 
 Hoch," sung by the whole, to the Queen. They were German 
 tradesmen. They afterwards went on deck and sang again, and, 
 tlianking me, departed. 
 
 February 3r//.— Came up to Adelaide in welcome rain, which 
 was gladdening everyone. It filled the tank at Wallaroo and 
 Moonta with, they say, a nine months' supply of water. A 
 modest but very comfortable Government house. In p.m. rode 
 through a level peaceful country of some breadth under the hills ; 
 much of it had been under corn. Many vineyards, and some 
 neat quiet hamlets are dotted about — all very homelike, peace- 
 ful, and prosperous. Everyone has his own vine and his own 
 fig tree. 
 February /^th> — AVent to the gardens, which are the glory of the 
 
Chap. VI.] ADELAIDE. 1 69 
 
 place, and thoroughly nice. Perhaps they want size a little — 
 not absolute size, but open spaces. Dr. Schomburgh, the 
 curator, is brother of Sir R. Schomburgh, explorer of British 
 Guiana, and discoverer of the Victoria Regia. In this com- 
 paratively little garden they have a beautiful Victoria Regia, in 
 flower, in a very good tank, in a hot-house. 
 
 Each of these towns has its distinctive character — Melbourne 
 for magnificence, Sydney for beauty, and Adelaide for general 
 well-being; that is what strikes me, the general air of entire 
 respectability and well-being. It is like a well laid out, very 
 prosperous Cambridge, without the colleges, or Reading, or some 
 big town of that sort. There is abundant room. No houses 
 but the club, the banks, and the post-ofiice have a third storey, 
 or seem to intend to have one. There is abundant space, ample 
 water-supply, and everything about the place looks thoroughly 
 decent and respectable. 
 
 Rode in p.m. to a pretty village called Matcham — a most com- 
 fortable, prosperous, and quiet English-looking village (modem 
 English), with a devious lane j but, ah ! without a devious brook. 
 The post-office at Adelaide is a capital building — simple, solid, of 
 very good stone, and architecturally good and pleasing. 
 
 February 6th. — With the Governor to see Port Adelaide, which 
 has also its own little Ramsgate, in the shape of '' Semaphore." 
 It is really just like a little Anglesea, but a trifle more sandy. We 
 landed there on a little pier, on which were girls with flapping 
 hats, children with spades digging sand, and the whole story, as 
 though we had not left England at all. The day was delightfully 
 cool. 
 
 February Wi. — The Governor (Mr. A. Musgrave) came on board 
 oflicially. 
 
 February ^th. — To see the model school ; very good. 
 
 February i^t/i. — The Governor came on board at noon, and 
 we started at i p.m. steaming against a S.S.E. breeze. 
 
 February i^th. — Off Port Macdonnell at 11.30 a.m., and was 
 boarded by a boat with the harbour-master, with whom we landed ; 
 
170 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 saluted the Governor. The landing easy when there, but there is 
 but very little shelter indeed. The anchors holding the moorings 
 were put down by divers, who blasted holes in the rock with 
 dynamite, to put in the arm of the anchors. Four moorings in 
 fifteen fathoms. A nice little pier running into four feet. Six 
 lighters do the work of lading, each holding six to ten tons. The 
 place has exported 18,000 bales of wool, worth ;;£"35o,ooo, this 
 year, and has taken ^10,000 in custom's duties. Bark and 
 wheat also have been exported. There is a capital life-boat, with 
 its good house, &c., rocket apparatus, and so on ; and a crew can 
 always be got, as the people are all seafaring ; a good inn and 
 plenty of comfortable houses ; population about 400 in all. 
 Started for Mount Gambler, I, with the doctor, who owned a pair 
 of first-rate fourteen two trotters, and came along twelve miles an 
 hour, on an excellent road, metalled for about six miles with 
 limestone and the rest with a hard volcanic stone, as hard and 
 level as a billiard table. Mem. When people talk of convict-made 
 roads quote those of South Australia, where never a convict was 
 known to land ; they are the best that I have seen. Here, at 
 Mount Gambier, the season is later here than at Adelaide, and 
 we found some wheat still in the ear. They enjoy so much cool- 
 ness and moisture that potatoes are grown all the year round. 
 The land from the sea-side to Mount Gambier supports sheep, 
 and there is a certain amount of green upon it, but upon Mount 
 Gambier itself and slopes for five miles around there is an 
 immense area of volcanic mud soil, growing wheat, lucerne, 
 clover, potatoes, &c. Wheat is grown in pieces of one mile 
 square ; potatoes in 200 or 300 acre pieces. Mount Gambier 
 itself is a long, shoe-shaped succession of craters, with water in 
 them all. The road from Port MacDonnell winds cleverly over ^ 
 the top and along a crater edge, and one discovers the town a 
 mile north at one's feet on turning away from the lake. It is 
 certainly an emblem of prosperity and wealth. The materials for 
 building lie all about the place. A quarry of pink dolomite is six 
 miles off, and limestone is to be had anywhere. It follows that 
 
Chap. VL] MOUNT GAMBIER. 171 
 
 the best buildings are of pink, with white facings, and one's eye 
 takes in a large, handsome, Scotch church and manse, the former 
 in geometrical decorated, and with steeple ; a little gem of a 
 Church of England, highly ornamented, while on the left is a 
 very handsome hospital. Going down into the town one finds 
 comfortable houses on either hand, mostly of stone, and often of 
 dolomite, with gardens ; a capital hotel, a very pretty little bank in 
 excellent style, and a handsome institute. English bushes, trees, 
 and creepers abound, and roses are in profusion. It is a charm- 
 ing spot indeed. The Governor had to receive addresses from 
 sundry and various, and then we went for a stroll, up one street 
 and down another. Good shops, nice gardens, &c., seem all the 
 rule in this happy spot, where people must have got rich very 
 quickly or they would not have built the churches, odd fellows' 
 halls, &c., &c., which abound, for " Crescit amor nummi," and in 
 another generation people will hold on by what they have got, or 
 seek to increase their own comforts and not the public weal, I 
 fear ; as elsewhere. Back to the hotel and dined. The banker, 
 magistrate, clergyman, and doctor, who had come to meet us, 
 dined with us. 
 
 Their education is not here in a forward state. There are 
 languishing little schools doing no good, instead of a few good 
 ones. 
 
 Febrttary 16th. — Up at 7 and walked over the top of Mount 
 Gambier, a pretty sight. After breakfast drove to " Mooruk," the 
 property of Mr. Brown. They are getting twenty bushels of 
 wheat to the acre this year. We saw the wheat being stripped, 
 which seemed a wasteful process, but the manager said he could 
 afford to lose four bushels an acre by doing this, rather than hand 
 reap, and all the more that the sheep would glean the waste. He 
 was paying 15^. an acre, i.e., ^d. a bushel to have his corn cut, 
 thrashed, winnowed and bagged, supplying his own stripping 
 machine but not horses. Over most of his ground he has some- 
 thing else between the wheat, and turns in sheep and cattle 
 when the ear is stripped. The sheep tread in and break 
 
172 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 down the stubble, the cattle feed it off, and so it goes back 
 into the ground in one shape or another. He has two crops 
 and one fallow on this land. His sheep are cross-bred Lincoln 
 and Merino. 
 
 Left the Governor and party at a cross road, and came back to 
 the town, and we started in a dreadful old contrivance with two 
 very slow horses ] however, I made them go ten miles an hour 
 after the first five or six, and got down in an hour and three- 
 quarters. Found the excellent old pilot waiting, and went out in 
 his boat, blowing a little fresh at first but not bad. Steamed on, 
 the ship having remained under way. Head wind S.E. and 
 E.S.E. continually, with high glass (barom.). Lots of kelp float- 
 ing in deep water five and six miles from land. 
 
 February iWi. — Passed Wilson's promontory at 2.15 a.m. 
 
 February 20th. — Rounded Cape Howe at 10 p.m. 
 
 February 22nd. — Saw St. George's Head off Jervis Bay at 2 a.m. 
 Wind always N.N.E. to N.N.W. 
 
 February 22,rd. — Picked up our buoy in Farm Cove (Sydney) 
 at 2 A.M. 
 
 The Pearl returned to Sydney in February for a few 
 weeks, and early in April the Commodore started for his 
 first cruise to the New Hebrides. Ever since his arrival on 
 the station he had been anxious to visit these islands, and not 
 only to see the islands themselves, but to gain information 
 for himself, and on the spot, with regard to the labour traffic, 
 and to the kidnapping of natives by labour vessels ; but 
 until now he had been so kept by various duties to other 
 parts of the station, that he had been unable to visit the 
 New Hebrides, and this cruise was but a short one, of six 
 weeks' duration, at the end of which time he had again to 
 be at Sydney ; short however as his stay in the islands was 
 at this time, it was full of interest to him. He felt that he 
 
Chap. VI.] ISLAND OF TANNA. 1 73 
 
 was gaining much information that he could only learn for 
 himself on the spot, and he was fully engrossed with a 
 variety of subjects which presented themselves to him — 
 whether the hydrography, the state of the natives, the 
 geology, the botany, or the languages of the islands. 
 
 A few extracts from the journal will give some idea of 
 this cruise : — 
 
 April 24M. — Island of Tanna. Up at 5.30 and went off at 6.30 
 to the Volcano Yazur, in company with Mr. Neilson, a famous 
 walker and good companion. One " Washerwoman^^ a chief, met 
 us at the head of the bay with a few natives, and I waited till 
 the whole party of 145, viz., 100 seamen, 30 marines, 11 officers, 
 Stanley, Mr. Neilson, and two stewards and cooks had assembled ; 
 then told them to keep together and not to lose sight of the next 
 ahead ; also not to fancy when they got to the top of the crater 
 that, because they were tired and hungiy, it would be dinner- 
 time, but to wait till they got to the lake and had had their 
 swim. We then plunged into the bush, and went steadily for 
 from three and a-half to four miles to an open place under the 
 trees. Up to this the path was gently undulating, and through 
 reedy grass and forest, alternately passing some small and poor 
 patches of cultivation enclosed by reed fences. Occasionally a 
 very fine tree was passed, of the banyan kind, and one was 
 measured, about 90 ft. to 100 ft. in circumference at the apparent 
 base — all this being a mass of limbs, but this thickness was con- 
 tinued a good way up. On this cleared ground we halted, and 
 all hands came up. A native brought two water-melons, which 
 were shared, and a few cocoa nuts were brought. After ten or 
 fifteen minutes on again, up a steep path through fern and 
 lovely vegetation and on a steep ridge, and at last got on to 
 a small tabl^ land covered with screw pines. Every leaf and 
 every branch is now coated with volcanic sand, and the vege- 
 tation under foot is more and more sparse till one ^ comes 
 
17+ COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. VI. 
 
 abruptly on a broad mass of pink scoria with bits of white 
 crystalUsed matter bedded in it, just Hke the rocks round Port 
 Resolution. 
 
 As one draws near the foot of the cone, which is but 200 ft. 
 on this side, great squashes of light, brittle scoria are seen, 
 only recently thrown out, and looking as though one had taken a 
 lump of dough of the consistency of hasty pudding, and, after 
 working it, had thrown it down. Here and there were hard bits 
 when we got higher up, but the general character of the scoria was 
 more and more of this sort as we ascended the cone. After get- 
 ting to the top, we circled round, and sat down on the weather 
 side, all hands well up. The eruptions were moderate, but the 
 sight was fine, and the men thoroughly rose to it, and enjoyed it, 
 I think, with considerable pluck and zest. They abstained very 
 generally from eating, according to my recommendation, but a few 
 had a lunch of sardines, with which they were well primed. 
 The canteen proved itself to-day of very great assistance to 
 every one, and an immense quantity of food was taken thence 
 to-day. Eruptions seemed to take place chiefly from the .second 
 and third craters from the south, and steam to issue from the first. 
 Probably the depth of these craters, the visible depth to which we 
 could see, was 300 feet. At a good eruption we could feel an 
 indraught of air, and a slight shock to our lungs. The pieces, of 
 which the largest were not more than a couple of tons weight, 
 went up 600 feet and fell back ; some of the smaller pieces, and 
 up to perhaps half a ton, went with a side wind over a saddle, or 
 lip of crater to S.S.W., and very close to some of the men who 
 went along that way. The pieces assumed shapes like a tadpole 
 going up, and reversed coming down. One man brought me a 
 very hard bit of greenish stuff" which he found sticking into a piece 
 of lava scoria and broke off", and I brought away some pieces of 
 scoria, &c. We sat about forty minutes ; the appearance of the 
 craters gave me the idea that the centre of eruption is working 
 very slowly to the south-west. 
 
 From the top we went down to a large lake, a mile in length, 
 
Chap. VI.] VOLCANO YAZUR. 175 
 
 which either is evaporated, or loses itself in sand. The baro- 
 meter had made it 800 feet from the summit to the lake, and 
 the summit 1000 feet from the sea. This is, I think, correct beyond 
 a question. The slope of the cone was considerable, and I dare- 
 say 40° to the horizon. Nearly all is fine dust, but here and 
 there a lump of scoria has leaped over the edge and rolled down, 
 Indeed, we saw some doing so as we came along and after. Once 
 down, all hands were soon in the water, bathing and enjoying 
 themselves very heartily. Certainly a hundred and twenty people 
 must have been in the water at once. After that we had a muster and 
 found all present, and then all dined together, it being pretty 
 nearly 1 1.30 a.m. We had started at 7 a.m. from the landing place 
 at the head of the bay, reached the first halt at 8.15, and the 
 summit at 9.20. Left the summit at 10.10, dined at 11.30, and 
 left the lake at 1. 10 p.m. Reached the hot lake at 2.50, left at 
 .3.10, and reached the beach at 4 p.m. 
 
 While we were bathing a part of a hostile tribe came down and 
 threw out in a skirmishing order along the beach. Our fellows 
 (natives under Washerwoman) had been in a stew from the time 
 we left the first halting place, and had said, "You white men you 
 go first." To which Mr. Neilson replied, " We are close ; do you 
 show us the way." Every one of these fellows has a musket, and 
 even little boys carry arms capped, and with the hammer on the 
 nipple. 
 
 After dinner, I went over to these fellows with Mr. Neilson, 
 and though at first they were afraid and would not come, yet they 
 afterwards came up to speak. Before I went, our own fellows 
 said, " No give him 'bacco ! " wishing, I suppose, to keep it all 
 for themselves. Mr. Neilson asked, "What do you come for? 
 Why are you always fighting ? " " Oh ! they said, it is not our 
 fault, it is theirs.. Why are they always killing our people." *' No," 
 said Mr. Neilson, " you are always kilHng them." They said, 
 ^'They killed our chiefs son!" "How?" "They bewitched 
 Jiim, and are always bewitching our young men." 
 
 One superstition in this witchcraft might be turned to account. 
 
176 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. VI. 
 
 They believe that if fragments of food or bones are left uncovered, 
 the enemy will find them and use them for witchcraft They, 
 therefore, invariably bury them carefully. Is it possible that this 
 is a relic of a sanitary law? After a good spell we got up to go, 
 and walked through some luxuriant growth to a handsome (for 
 them) village, where a fine clear bit of ground served as the village 
 square, under the shade of splendid banyans. Here we eat cocoa- 
 nuts, my big knife in great request to open them, and had a dance, 
 the same as yesterday, on board. They seem to have but one 
 form. Nothing can be much lower than these people ; their 
 houses are but 5 ft. 6 in. under the ridge pole and filthy. Their 
 faces filthily smeared. They can only count to five, have no 
 manufacture whatever ; even their bows and arrows and clubs are 
 miserable, and their ornaments wretched. They have no desire 
 for clothes apparently, except coloured handkerchiefs. The article 
 which takes most trouble to make is, I suppose, the kawass, or 
 throwing stone, about a foot long and of the thickness of a thick 
 round ruler. I saw no tools, and suppose that they have been 
 superseded by European ones. 
 
 Hence to a green, warm lake, of rather stagnant water ; the path 
 lay through an unequalled valley for ferns ; lovely maiden-hair 
 trailed up and down over stems of trees, twenty and thirty feet 
 from the ground. I think some I got were handsome. Here we 
 had another halt, and thirty or forty bathed again ; hence to the 
 beach was an hour's smart walk, and was mainly by the path by 
 which we had come out. My boat was on the beach, and I was 
 on board by 5.20. 
 
 April 2,0th. — I arranged with Mr. Young to take a man of his 
 back to Pentecost Island. The story is this. Four men either left 
 a plantation or swam ashore from a vessel, and came to Oila. 
 Then in passing Ford's they persuaded a youth to join them, came 
 to the mouth of Havannah Harbour, took a canoe, crossed to 
 Deception Island, got some men from Davies's to accompany 
 them, took a big canoe, came across to the north end of Nguna 
 (Montague Island), and were all murdered and eaten but this 
 
Chap. VI.] NGUNA OR MONTAGUE ISLAND, 1 77 
 
 one, who got a canoe and paddled back to Havannah Harbour, 
 and asked to be taken in. 
 
 Mr. Young brought me some very good plants. I got all hands 
 on board, and weighed while it was light, at 4.15, and nearly lost 
 the wind. However, it continued ; and we crept alongside, and 
 to an offing. 
 
 May 1st. — Tacked at 4 a.m., and stood to south-east, and at 
 daylight found two schooners communicating with their boats. 
 Fired two guns, and they hoisted ensigns, and bore down and 
 found one to be the '* Jason," whose captain produced a log of 
 May I St. " Morning broke fine and clear. Noon, weighed, and 
 stood over towards Nguna." I sent Elwyn to ask him what day 
 it was ; upon which he stuck his hands in his pockets, and said, 
 "Why, Saturday, May ist." ''Then how," said Elwyn, "do you 
 make this out, when it isn't noon yet ? " " Why," he said, " you 
 don't know the difference between civil and astronomical time. I 
 can keep what time I like on board my own ship." The agent 
 was away under the land of Nguna; the other vessel was the 
 " Sybil," of Maryborough. 
 
 After dismissing all these people I stood in between Nguna and 
 Vate as far as was safe, as the wind was light; then went in 
 my galley with Messer and Stanley, taking the two natives. The 
 Pentecost men had pointed out the north end of Nguna as the 
 place where they were set upon. The master of the Sybil had told 
 me that he had picked up a boy who had swam to him from the 
 rocks of Nguna three days ago, and beheved him to belong to 
 Ambrym, which he says the natives call Burap. By 10.15 ^^^ 
 reached Mr. Milne's (the missionary) house, small but well built 
 on a concrete foundation, in a nice garden fifty yards from the 
 beach, quite pretty. The name of that part, or village of Ngima, 
 is Bali. He had heard of the landing and killing of these boys 
 of Pentecost, and had no doubt that if killed it was for the sake of 
 eating, and not to punish them for stealing bread-fruit ; and he 
 said, that though the people near him would not eat men, those at 
 the other end would do so directly. A lot of savage-looking 
 
jyS COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 rascals had followed us from the boat to the house, and sat there 
 listening. I asked Mr. Milne to let them know what we were 
 talking about ; and they declared that they never eat men, that 
 what happened at the other end of Nguna they knew very little 
 about. One carried on a conversation by signs with my Pentecost 
 man, whose name, by the way, I found to be Btdibasi^ ending by 
 biting at his own wrist, with upraised eyebrows, as a sign of inter- 
 rogation ; and on receiving an affirmative sign of upraised chin 
 from the latter, putting on a look of well-assumed repugnance. 
 The mouth and wrinkles on the nose would have made a splendid 
 article for Darwin in his " Expression of the Emotions in Man 
 and Animals;" and the wrist too — a juicy, succulent part, just 
 above the wrist. Two or three fellows spoke English, so I sug- 
 gested that two should come to act as my guides and interpreters 
 to the north end, which I now found was called U-tan-lan^ the 
 windy place, or the land (tan) of wind (Ian) ? a mile and a half 
 from the beach, and in a high position. One said he was sick ; 
 another, that he couldn't ; and a third said that he was afraid, 
 fairly ; so he then sent for his teacher, a native of Pele^ who came, 
 and proved a jolly, round, plucky individual, and said at once that 
 he would go. Mr. Brady, from Havannah Harbour, was here ; 
 and so I sent back Mr. Young's Aoha boy, who had served as 
 interpreter between me and the Pentecost man, by him. The 
 missionary says he has no fear or trouble \vith the natives now ; 
 but that, though they are ready to come and sit in the verandah 
 and talk about pigs and yams, directly he begins to talk about 
 religion they steal away one by one. He has no convert but the 
 teacher in Pele. Here to is jw, as in Fiji ; and banomai is 
 come. 
 
 At about 2.15 we started to come back, with now three 
 natives. Just as we were going Mrs. Milne brought in a man who 
 said that one of the lost boys was at a village called Vanua-tap. 
 We agreed to call for him. 
 
 Going down in the galley, by advice of our interpreter, we 
 called in under the village of MalamK to send a man thence 
 
Chap. VI.] A CANNIBAL VILLAGE. 179 
 
 to Vanua-tap. Both of these villages were on the top of the 
 cliff, which is here steep from the water's edge for 200 feet 
 or so. 
 
 Soon after, calling in at Vanua-tap, the boy came down, accom- 
 panied by half the village— a little thin wretch, tottering, with a 
 stick, and with an ulcered leg. As soon as he saw his comrade 
 he was delighted and went forward, and began chatting, and got 
 into the boat very content to be with us and to go to his own 
 land. I gave the chief and each fellow with us a lot of cloth to 
 pay them for their services and for coming with us and taking care 
 of the boy. We got back to the ship at about 2, and steaming 
 to northward, anchored in the bay of Na-ora-matua^ or north- 
 west bay, at 3.15, in thirteen fathoms coral and pebbles of 
 broken coral. I went away at once with six men, Messer and 
 Stanley, armed with revolvers, ordering Reade to follow with a 
 cutter's crew, also armed in the same way, in half an hour's time. 
 We plunged into a good but narrow path, rising on a gently- 
 sloping volcanic slope, immediately from the beach. The vege- 
 tation most lovely and luxuriant. We saw the smoke of the 
 village of U-tan-lan, not far below the grassy hill-tops, and half- 
 way up to the summit of the extinct crater of Tavana-kie, facing 
 the round hill of Tavatiilan. About half-way the natives had 
 built a neat little rest-house for Mr. Milne, half European. Some- 
 where here Ross Lewin had had a plantation, and I found a 
 coffee-plant with berries on the path, and a native, who spoke 
 Enghsh, told us that there were onions in the neighbourhood. 
 From this point the ascent was steeper, and we came on patches 
 of cultivation — poor patches — dry taro, yam and banana. I 
 saw no papau. By-and-by we came to a level platform — the 
 Malavaran, or dancing ground, as much as 80 yds. long by 
 40 yds. wide. On the nether side, or brink, stood a row of 
 handsome old casuarinas, evidently planted purposely, and in a 
 line. (Why should they not be as sacred as oaks ?) In the 
 middle of the ground was a group of native drums, or lallies, 
 which are erected, round which they dance, calling on their an- 
 
l8o COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 cestors, and striking the chief or ancestor whose effigy is stuck 
 up. Most curious and picturesque. 
 
 We only paused a moment, then went on to the village, which 
 is 200 yards above, and so placed among the boulders of volcanic 
 tufa that it might well be defended ; the last part is steep and 
 straggling, and most muddy — stiff, deep, black, volcanic soil. 
 The crotons, dracaenas, hibiscus and ferns wonderfully luxuriant. 
 Presently we were on the village-house platform, which has a 
 fence, and many of the people were there ; women, too, behind 
 the trees, looking on. I found the chief and shook hands, and 
 the interpreter began his story. The men looked rather fine, and 
 bigger than Vate' men ; but great brutes and rascals, I should say. 
 My interpreter had evidently sold himself to these fellows, and 
 was intending to make all square. He said what I had to say in 
 very {^^ words, having told a long story first in his o\vn tongue, 
 and from his own head, and then replied for them. " He say, 
 canoe come, seven or eight men. Canoe break, men nm away 
 bush. He no kaikai '"' him. He say, long time before he no kaikai 
 man. See he build house for Missi Milne. You see him." All 
 of whicli was undoubtedly lies ; but there was no help for it, 
 after some cross-questioning, but to say, in a fatuous way, that 
 man-eating was a very bad thing, and to go away to look at the 
 surroundings. There were three old skulls, and fourteen lower 
 human jaws, near the end of the hut. No end of bones of 
 turtle and pigs and fish hung from long strings in the hut, and 
 pigs' jaws all round the fences. I never saw a more curious and 
 picturesque place, or one with so decided a flavour of heathendom. 
 The whole thing gave spur to imagination : the idea on which 
 we came, the way of picking up our guides who joined us, one at 
 Malamt^ and one at Vanua-tap, the cries of the latter, calling to 
 his friends of the village, as we went up, * A-u — A-u — Au-u. Laia- 
 poi. Laia-poi. Laia-poi !" And then the huge ferns and other 
 growths all combined to make one remember it. Standing, too, 
 
 * Eat. 
 
Chap. VI.] A CANNIBAL VILLAGE. i8l 
 
 at ijiy point of view there was a vista to the right in which stood 
 a lovely red or purple brown croton, backed by a hibiscus in full 
 blaze. I brought away some ferns, and seeing a short-jointed 
 bamboo, made a native get me some roots to carry away, and a 
 young shoot. The original dress of these people seems to have 
 been a broad belt of fine matting round the waist and a maro. 
 They now cover the mat with European cloth, dyed yellow with 
 yellow ochre. This is all over Vate ; they all paint the face 
 black and red, and have for an ornament round the neck a pearl 
 shell, a plate, willow pattern, a top of a Holloway's ointment pot, 
 a tin cover. Many have bamboo combs in the hair with a 
 pattern scratched upon them. Their noses are large and wide, 
 the septum is pierced, and they carry in it a ground-down piece 
 of shell, a piece of bone — one had a piece of plate-glass (thick) 
 ground to a circle of five-eighths of an inch in diameter. Many 
 had armlets of tortoise-shell fitting tight. As a rule the limbs and 
 bodies are not well developed at all. Most of the men and women 
 are ugly, but some are what we should call hideous. One dirty 
 grotesque-looking wretch came near us, with a nose like one of the 
 hideous Chinese lap-dogs. After talking we left the place. Messer 
 sketched this house, called Rongavaz, and also the Malavdra, 
 on the way down. At the latter I asked for one of the figures, 
 and got the chief to give me one, a long thin one with a bad 
 sound. The natives said at first, " No belong every man ; he 
 belong chief," but went off directly to ask for it for me and helped 
 to root it out. The cutter's and galley's crews helped to carry it 
 down. Reached the beach at 5.30, and were obliged to wade 
 over a hundred yards of shore reef to launch the boat. 
 
 May -i^t'd. — Very uncertain weather all day and heavy rain. Got 
 in between Ambrym and Pentecost, and there under the land was 
 a white schooner with a French flag. Of course it was the 
 " Lconie," late " Mavis," and I sent for her master (an English- 
 man). He had an "Armement de Cabotage," and a "Permis 
 de depart." So I respected the flag, and told him he had better 
 go to Nounea at once. He said, " I heard that an order was to 
 
1 82 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 come out on the ist of March that no vessel was to go to sea 
 (from Noun^a) without a French captain, and so I went to sea 
 before the ist of March." He told me, and his log substantiates 
 it, that he left twenty-seven men at Havannah Harbour, and had 
 now twenty-six on board. His whole course is irregular. He 
 said two of his men had deserted here. I said, " Then I suppose 
 you detain them against their will ? " " No ! " he said ; " but if I 
 wasn't to force them to stop on board they would go directly, they 
 change their minds so." " Then how do you recruit them ? " I 
 said. ** I pull along shore, I, or the mate, and buy some yams or 
 what not, and then I offer them a knife or two knives, or a knife 
 and a tomahawk to come, and they give it to their friends, who 
 come down with them, and they come with me. The chiefs have 
 nothing to do with it; they have very little power in these islands." 
 The masters of the May Queen and of the Sybil had repeated 
 exactly the same thing to me, so that the voluntary recruiting is 
 all rubbish, and engagement is all nonsense. These people neither 
 understand why they go, nor where, or what they are to do, or 
 when return. They only care for the knife and the tomahawk. 
 Without throwing dirt at either the planter in Queensland, or the 
 master of the vessel or the agent, one may say, as between the 
 planters and missionaries and their influence, that the natives 
 learn the vices of civilisation from the plantation and the virtues 
 from the mission. Were one to throw a boy into a public school, 
 or still nearer the mark, a factory, without the influence of home 
 or tutor, or even dame, where would a lad be ? and where if sent 
 to college with heads whose chief aim is to raise their conception 
 of, and belief in, purity and charity ? 
 
 I sent for this fellow's interpreter, whom he had taken on board 
 a few days ago, and he came, and on reaching the deck was 
 paralysed by fear, seeing so many people moving about, and 
 couldn't move. Barnes led him along like a little girl, and he 
 came creeping up, and then shivered all over and began to 
 whimper. I sent for the little boy, but it was no good, he only 
 got qlut, " He makey fight mc." At last the man came and 
 
Chap. VI.] ISLAND OF MAR^, 1 8 
 
 J 
 
 recognised this captain, who said that he had left the boy with 
 Davies and the man with Young. The two natives looked at 
 each other, and then the one from the schooner said Aroa^ or 
 something like that, and they instantly fell to talking. His face 
 cleared up and all was right, though he still kept shivering. My 
 fellow made a bite at his own arm with a point and expressive 
 gesture at me, clearly meaning that the other thought he had been 
 brought on board to be eaten. Between them all we clearly 
 made out that these two fellows of mine came from a couple of 
 villages a few miles north of this south point of Pentecost, where 
 there is a fair anchorage, says this master of the schooner. 
 
 I let him go, and then resolved to stand off for the night, as the 
 homes of these two fellows were close to. 
 
 May 12th. — At i a.m. saw Mare and also a small island to the 
 north-west, having been drifted a long way ; also a fore and aft 
 schooner. It was calm, so I stopped, atd she drifted seven miles 
 west by 6 a.m. when I went on again. We were fourteen miles 
 from Mare. Got to North West Bay at 8.45, and pulled on 
 shore, opposite a wall and gate of an enclosure, but saw no pos- 
 sibility of landing. We had steamed in to half-a-mile of the 
 beach and had passed by a nasty knoll or two of coral, at about 
 one mile off— most dangerous and disagreeable. There may 
 have been five fathoms on them. A native came wading to us 
 from the shore, which is all coral rag, and piloted by him we got 
 to a good bay, with a very intricate channel, and so on shore. 
 The village is called I^oh, and is the chief village of the island, 
 being the head-quarters of the Mission Station. Mr. Jones, who 
 has made Mare what it is, was away on a visit of inspection to 
 the back of the island, but a lad took one of his horses and went 
 off to tell him as soon as we, />., Stanley, Perry, Messer and I, 
 decided to walk to Undine Cove. Many of these fellows could 
 talk English, and we found our way with them and with the 
 teacher, a nice fellow, with a pleasant, open face, and agreeable 
 manners. All the nice, pleasant, South Sea Island manners came 
 out : all offered their hands, some an orange or a cocoa-nut. 
 
184 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 The church is a famous great place, a T shape, and would hold 
 500 people ; and Mr. Jones's house is an elegant, pretty cottage. 
 He and his wife, and all but a servant, had been away for three 
 or four days, but every door of every room was open to the outer 
 air, and books, pictures, and knicknacks were in their places 
 undisturbed ; he must be a man of great tact and judgment as 
 well as skill. Each native house has its large compound, and its 
 wall of coral stones round it, with plenty of fruit trees planted 
 within it. A young man who told me that Mr. Jones had taken 
 him to England was building a store, close to a house which he 
 had already put up for himself of lath and white coral plaster, 
 with English windows. He rather frightened me by saying that 
 there was but two fathoms on those knolls off the bay, but I 
 looked at the ship and found that she had already turned outside. 
 We got a guide and went over the hills of coral, which is here in 
 three or four terraces. The top seems nearly level ; trees are small, 
 and ferns of six or seven sorts plentiful. The screw-pine has larger 
 leaves than I ever saw it with elsewhere. Cocoa-nuts abound on 
 the lower ledges near the sea, and there are some on the top, but 
 not many. Wherever we came on a i)atch of cocoa-nuts on the 
 top, there we found a fir-tree or two, which looks as if they had 
 been planted. If screw-pines would make good bags for sugar a 
 good business might be made. Perry found lots of employment 
 in catching butterflies, but a lovely blue and black could not be 
 caught, though it was plentiful. 
 
 After six miles or so, during which we had passed through two 
 or three cotton patches, we reached a cliff, which must be the 
 high point of the island, and not less than 500 feet. It is about 
 three miles, or perhaps five, from the nortli-west comer of the 
 island. Here the trees were larger ; cocoa-nuts which we passed 
 had their stems hollowed into a deep pouch which catches the 
 water as it flows down the trunk, and acts as a little well or stoop 
 fur drinking. A nice lad had met us half way, leading a donkey 
 with two boxes of oranges, &c. Directly he saw us he seized his 
 oranges, crammed them into our hands, and when I tried to give 
 
Chap. VI.] ISLAND OF MARE. 1 85 
 
 him a bright threepenny piece, called out, " No ! No ! No ! no 
 pay ! " holding his hands in the air. He immediately turned to 
 go with us, apologised for his only having a maro on, " because 
 he had been at work in the bush,^' asked to carry my bush knife, 
 and told me his name was James. Such a nice, frank, open- 
 faced boy. 
 
 On reaching this high part we found the sea before us on the 
 west coast. The view was lovely at this point. A steep slope 
 led to the deep blue sea. The straggling, but well made path, 
 with young cocoa-nuts on either hand, was very pretty. We ran 
 down it, and at 200 feet or so, found ourselves in the village of 
 Giuimha, which gives its name to the district. People rushed out 
 to meet us ; men to offer an orange or a cocoa-nut, women with 
 babies at their breasts, and heaps of children of all ages, from 
 tall, handsome girls, to little boys. We looked at the church, the 
 teacher's house, and a good, square public- house, eighteen feet 
 high in the middle and matted, all good of their kind, and then 
 accompanied by all the boys and girls, walked on. Very pleasant 
 to hear the laughter and fun of this tribe after the dull, driven, 
 sad, and bad look of the New Hebrideans. We now walked to 
 the foot of the hill near the beach. Each village has a wall and 
 gate to keep pigs from trespassing. 
 
 About ten miles in all brought us to Netjit or Nedtchet^ a village 
 in which Mr. Jones has a house, the old Mission House, and the 
 chief, Naisikne, also has an European one. At the house, part 
 of which has a second story, we found Mrs. Jones and a Mrs. 
 Carter, who gave us oranges and cherimoyas, and talked. Mr. 
 Jones was some distance off examining schools, and the natives 
 were up in the bush at work. 
 
 They had not known of our coming or would have come in 
 crowds to see an English Man-of-war. Some delightful answers 
 to questions were obtained in different quarters. One man was 
 asked, "Are you a Roman Catholic?" "No, sir; I am an 
 Englishman i " Another, " Is there any French authority on the 
 island ? " '*' No, sir ; but they talk of sending two gais d'armes 
 
1 86 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI. 
 
 and a corporal." Presently Mr. Carter came in. He lives here 
 and buys cotton and fungus from the natives, with calico and 
 tobacco. We soon after went to the shore, but the ship was 
 already three miles off up the coast, having sent in a boat to this . 
 very spot, which did not find us. Fortunately Mr. Carter had a 
 boat, and we took it at his suggestion, after trying in vain to make 
 a signal. A wretched American, hoseless and miserable, was 
 loafing on the shore, and a Tokilao woman, whose straight, flat 
 hair and yellow complexion looked horrid by the side of the 
 black girls of Mare. 
 
 We agreed that we had spent a most agreeable day, and that in 
 all our walks we had always rejoiced at having undertaken a trip. 
 But I was glad of this visit, as it revived my faith and interest in 
 the Mission work. Here is a grand result achieved by an intelli- 
 gent man, with twenty years' labour. He saw the generation 
 which is coming of age, born here, and they grew up under his eye. 
 They are docile, intelligent, and amiable ; and their frank faces are 
 a great contrast to the sad, slave-like asi)ect of the A pi or Aoba 
 boys. Perhaps they are more yielding, and when they have sur- 
 rendered are not so firm as a New Hebridean. Chi sal I wish 
 Mr. Jones had been there. He has eleven schools, and every 
 child in the island goes to school. Mrs. Jones did not know the 
 population. Each case is so surrounded by circumstances which 
 modify its condition, that one can hardly predict or lay do>\ni a 
 law about race, climate, or soil ; but one can safely say *' Blessed 
 are those who live on a poor soil like this, and who must labour." 
 Their labour is daily doing them good. It almost seems as if 
 Buckle's theory — which is drawn out too symmetrically for tnith— 
 may have something in it when applied to volcanic and fertile 
 islands, as against flat and poor soils like these. How very true 
 it sounds when comparing these with the New Hebrides — 
 " Happy are the people that are in such a case, yea happy are 
 they who have the Lord for their God." 
 
 Of his occupation in the islands about this time, we may 
 
Chap. VI.] NEW HEBRIDES. 1 87 
 
 quote a letter of the chaplain of the Pearl, which, though 
 already published, gives the impression formed on an eye- 
 witness of this branch of his work : — 
 
 "He had studied every known work on Australia and Poly- 
 nesia generally ; he was a man of broad views, and did not allow 
 the opinions of others to bias or prejudice him. Never content 
 with second-hand infonnation, he read for himself the records of 
 former voyages, so that the names of Cook and Flinders, of 
 Dentrecasteaux, and La Perouse were to him well known by 
 research, not solely as authorities upon which later works were 
 based. The islands had a special charm for the Commodore. 
 Imbued with the records of early discoveries, admiring Captain 
 Cook as a true pattern of a discoverer, as brave yet prudent, high- 
 minded, accurate, truthful, the Commodore seemed to think it a 
 worthy aim to try and supplement the discoveries of his great 
 predecessor. Life to him was a time for work ; he always wearied 
 of ease, and gaiety, and pleasant times when there was work to be 
 done. One work done, he sought for the next to do, never 
 seeming to think rest possible with work undone. 
 
 " The labour trade occupied much of his attention. Having 
 the responsibility of directing the commanders of the other ships 
 on the station, having to judge of and report on their acts, it was 
 consistent with the thoroughness of his character that he should 
 himself pay a lengthy visit to the South Sea Islands. In April he 
 made a short cruise through the New Hebrides and Banks' Group, 
 examining islands, collecting all information, aiding missionaries, 
 repressing lawlessness, trying to do justice both to traders and 
 natives, making his office a real power felt for good throughout 
 that part of the Pacific. He visited many of the islands, ever}^- 
 where trying to establish friendly relations with the inhabitants. 
 At each place he himself would land first, for he would never 
 allow others to run a risk which he would not share himself; then 
 by giving presents, of which he always had abundance, and by a 
 frank and friendly manner, would establish confidence. Then he 
 
1 88 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. VI. 
 
 would visit their villages, collecting all manner of curiosities, 
 always trying to obtain words of their language. He believed 
 that open dealing would always be successful, and unconscious of 
 a hostile motive himself, he hoped to inspire confidence in the 
 natives of the islands, so that they would be friendly to white 
 people, and that thus in time Polynesia would be safe ground for 
 missionaries, and all who might come with an honest purpose. 
 He never believed there was danger in landing within sight of 
 the ship, in a confiding, unsuspicious manner, and so would go, 
 with his boat's crew unarmed, alone or with officers whom from 
 time to time he asked to accompany him. He permitted and 
 encouraged other officers and men to land for shooting or fishing ; 
 in everything trying to establish confidence and friendly feeling." 
 
 He returned to Sydney at the end of May, to leave again 
 in three weeks for Fiji. The following letter was written 
 by the Commodore during this last stay at Sydney \— 
 
 " Sydney, June loth. 
 " I wish again, as I often liave, and do wish for that carpet of 
 the Arabian Nig/its^ that I might go to you for an hour and refresh 
 myself, with a good talk with you of all things knowable. We are 
 here by no means in the wilds, and have books, papers, and 
 everything else to instruct one as to how the world moves ; but 
 we have not, of course, except by letter, the running comment of 
 our living reviews, to correct our estimate of things that pass, and 
 to give us a close journal of family histories. On the whole, if I 
 had iho. wishing carpet, I think I should send it to you. It would 
 be so delightfiil to have you with me for a year. You would 
 delight in many things in these colonies, though some might offend 
 you. In New Zealand I think you would take great pleasure. 
 The great drawback to the future is that the people will gradually 
 work up into tropical regions of Australia, and lose their English 
 character, becoming employers of labour of an inferior race, and 
 then to a certain degree corrupted in their convictions about 
 personal freedom and independence. 
 
Chap. VI.] S YDNE Y. 1 89 
 
 " Fiji is a bad inheritance in this way, but Northern Australia 
 will be worse, and is fast becoming a Natal. The wretched 
 aboriginal natives are being exterminated fast, and will never be 
 able to tell their own inscrutable story ; but another, and a regu- 
 larly apprenticed servile race, will come either from the islands, 
 t)r from China, to supply a labouring class. Although I have been 
 two years from England I have seen as yet but very little of the 
 country, as I have been so continually brought back to Sydney, 
 our head-quarters, by one duty or another, and in the intervals 
 have been constantly in the islands ; but I hope to pay a good 
 visit to Melbourne next year, and to New Zealand during this 
 year. The former is held to be rowdy in England, but this is a 
 great mistake, and public sentiment is more law-abiding, sober, 
 as well as intelligent, in Victoria than elsewhere in these colonies. 
 Adieu ! I go again to Fiji to-morrow to accompany the new 
 Governor, and then to cruise among the Solomon Islands of 
 Mendana, the old Spaniard ; a perilous sea, but an interesting 
 one,* full of anh-es vast and picturesque spots. 
 
 " The * just above stands to mean that at that point I had to 
 break off, dress, go to a ball for two hours, and here I am again. 
 If the band didn't play so loud, I shouldn't mind going, for I 
 generally get a talk with some one. It is only 11.30 p.m. now, so 
 that our ball was not a very great dissipation. 
 
 " Have you got dear old again in your neighbourhood ? 
 
 If you come to speech of him, will you tell him that I speak of 
 him with affection. Dear old fellow ! it does one good to think 
 that there is so unselfish and kind a man on earth." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE LAST CRUISE. 
 
 Before proceeding to relate the events of the last 
 cruise of Commodore Goodenough, a few words of personal 
 description may here find a fitting place. He was a man 
 of middle height, of a spare and nervous frame ; his head 
 generally thrown back, his features sharply defined, with a 
 keen and piercing deep-set eye, and a prominent chin, 
 which spoke of strong determination, and of the iron 
 nerve which he possessed, while the lines of his mouth 
 revealed from time to time the tenderness of his heart. 
 
 Of his character and his abilities the reader will judge 
 by his own letters, and by his doings ; yet a few words 
 may here be said of some of its most marked traits. 
 
 Some of his friends have spoken of his tenderness, his 
 almost womanly power of sympathy ; others, of his force 
 of character and his grasp of mind, of the way in which he 
 seemed to take in the whole range of a subject at a glance 
 An eminent writer has said of him, that he showed in tliis 
 sifting and searching age that the most enquiring and 
 critical mind could be unitedwith the most devout and tender 
 heart. Others, v/ell able to judge, have called him a strong 
 and trusted leader ; a man dauntless, self-sacrificing, and 
 resolute ; watchful, and far-seeing — looking to the future no 
 less than to the present of his profession, his constant 
 anxiety being to elevate the religious and intellectual con- 
 
Chap. VII.] CHAR A CTER. 1 9 1 
 
 dition of the men under his charge, and especially the 
 younger officers, to whom he both felt and acted as a 
 father ; while, again, the strictness, amounting at times to 
 severity, of his discipline, and the uncompromising firm- 
 ness and decision of his actions, which formed so marked 
 a characteristic in him, and which were as clearly seen in 
 his countenance as was the opposite quality of extreme 
 gentleness, cannot be left unnoticed. But perhaps the 
 most strongly-marked features of his character were the 
 loftiness of his aspirations and the disinterestedness of 
 his aims. It was hard to him to understand that men 
 should act from interested motives ; it was impossible 
 to him, when a duty lay before him, even to apprehend 
 whether it would affect him personally ; and it gave him 
 almost physical pain when he was brought face to face with 
 dishonest or self-seeking intentions in anyone with whom 
 he was dealing. He believed in — and he clung to his faith 
 in — truth and honesty, and in human nature ; and this 
 made him singularly impatient of anything approaching 
 scandal, or even gossip ;* and it was this faith that enabled 
 
 * The following letter to the editor of a small colonial newspaper is cha- 
 racteristic : — ! 
 
 "My dear Sir, — lam much obliged by your note and its enclosures, 
 which I return. I never had any doubt of the genuineness of the documents 
 which you published in your paper. I am anxious, however, to let bygones be 
 forgotten as much as possible. I am satisfied that this is good policy as well 
 as good moral precept, and if I may venture to say so to you, who are expert 
 in the matter, it is good journalistic policy too. The public get tired of an old 
 personal controversy, however much a certain class of readers may relish a 
 present or recent scandal, and a battered antagonist becomes at last a hero. I 
 am satisfied that the reading public of your colony contains enough intelligent 
 educated men to support a high class of newspaper, in which no trace of per- 
 sonal hostility is seen, and I am satisfied of it, because I have seen it in a 
 smaller community than this. In the paper of which I speak, early and 
 
192 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 him to see the best side in other men's characters, and to 
 draw out the best points in those he associated with, 
 making them, as has been said by a distinguished man, 
 ** feel themselves distinctly the better for his interviews and 
 intercourse." 
 
 An instance of his uncompromising manner of viewing 
 things may be mentioned. Discussing one day with a 
 friend some of the difficulties of young officers with regard 
 to expenses and extravagance, his companion, a younger 
 man, spoke of being more careful. " No ! " he said, " it's 
 no use talking of being more careful, and trying to ease a 
 thing off; my principle is, that if I found a thing inter- 
 fering with my duty to my life, I would cut it off, root and 
 branch — make an end of it at once ; that is the only way." 
 
 copious 'news,' carefully selected, and judicious reprints, and bold and fair 
 examination of public policy were the chief characteristics. If it were neces- 
 sary to deal with the character of a public man it was done judicially and 
 without passion. But I have already said more than I intended, and will end 
 by oflering you for your next miscellaneous column, three extracts from a book 
 of autographs, to which M. Guizot, M. Thiers, and Prince liismark had been 
 invited to contribute. M. Guizot wrote ' Ma longue vie m'a appris deux 
 sagesses, Tune de pardonner beaucoup, et I'autre de ne rien oublier ; ' which 
 being shewn to M. Thiers, he added, ' Un peu d'oubli ne nuit pas a la 
 sinceritd du pardon.' Prince Bismark had further added, *J'ai appris dans 
 ma longue vie deux choses, Tune d'oublier beaucoup, et Tautre de me faire 
 pardonner beaucoup. ' 
 
 "Which being interpreted may be read : — 
 
 " * My long life has taught me to forget nothing, though I may forgive much.' 
 •* * To forget now and then does not lessen the genuineness of the forgiveness.* 
 •* * In my long life I have learnt to forget much, and to seek forgiveness for 
 many things.' 
 
 ** But this does not give \\\fi finesse of the original, which is entirely French 
 in its neatness and cleverness. Have you seen the speech of Mr. Froude's, 
 which I enclose ? It seems to me admirable, and worth your attention. I 
 was about sending it to you when I received your note." 
 
Chap. VII.] FIJI. 1 03 
 
 And yet, mixed with these great and even stern quali- 
 ties, there was in him, when he was free from the cares or 
 weight of work, a cheerfulness amounting to gaiety, a 
 light-hearted joyousness, which enabled him to derive in- 
 tense pleasure from the smallest things, and which made 
 him enjoy a holiday with a brightness and merriment not 
 surpassed by the youngest of his midshipmen. 
 
 It was a rare occurrence for him to speak of his inner 
 life and thoughts, and of his faith ; and therefore, to many 
 who thought they knew him well, the last few days of his 
 life were as a revelation, and they then first learnt what was 
 the secret spring of the life they had admired and revered. 
 
 The Commodore sailed from Sydney in the Pearl on 
 the 14th of June, in order to convey to Fiji the newly- 
 appointed governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, He intended 
 after leaving Fiji to visit the New Hebrides, the Solomon 
 Islands and Duke of York's Island, to stop a short time at 
 Brisbane, and to be back at Sydney in October ! 
 
 The passage to Fiji was a rapid one ; and after a stay 
 of three weeks in the Group, he again sailed westward. 
 On the day before he left Fiji an address was presented to 
 him by the settlers of that colony, a duplicate of one which 
 had been presented to Mr. Layard a few weeks before. 
 
 The following is taken from the Fiji Times of July 
 14th ;— 
 
 "The Pearl left en route for the New Hebrides yesterday. 
 Wherever she may cruise she will carry with her the hearty good 
 wishes of all Europeans in the group, for in the Commodore we 
 universally recognise so many noble attributes of worth, that they 
 have endeared him in the memory of us all. By his action in the 
 matter we are mainly indebted for annexation, for all his reports 
 
194 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 to head-quarters bore the unmistakable mark of truthfulness; 
 they contrasted with the prejudicial statements which had been 
 made against the white residents ; and they helped to clear away 
 the many erroneous impressions that had by malice and evil 
 speaking been formed in England of the Fijis. In another 
 column will be found an account of the presentation of an address 
 to him from the colonists, and we unhesitatingly say that never 
 was a more popular movement initiated than the offering of a 
 tribute of respect to Commodore Goodenough. 
 
 "ADDRESS TO COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. 
 " On Monday morning a deputation of gentlemen waited on 
 Commodore Goodenough, on board the Pearl, to present to him a 
 very beautifully illuminated address as an emblem of the respect 
 he was held in, and the services he had so generously rendered to 
 the Europeans resident in the Fijis by so nobly aiding them to 
 achieve annexation with Great Britain. The Commodore has 
 always been our friend, and his quiet and courteous bearing to 
 rich and poor alike, his evident desire to soothe and allay all 
 angry feelings when times were troubled and passions ran high in 
 Levuka, secured for him that prestige that he will carry wherever 
 he may be called upon to again so loyally serve his Queen, and 
 so justly his countrymen. The morning of Monday dawned 
 rather unpropitiously for going off to vessels lying at anchorage, 
 as a stiff wind was blowing from the south, and some heavy 
 rollers rendered the occupancy of a waterman's boat not the most 
 enjoyable pastime in the world. Eleven o'clock was fixed for the 
 meeting of the deputation, and at that hour Messrs. O. Cudlip, 
 Rupert Ryder, G. W. Richardson, H. Hunter, A. Martelli, G. L. 
 Griffiths, C. R. Fojwood, P. Sullivan, and Dr. Cruickshank met 
 and proceeded to Smith's wharf, where some boats from the Pearl 
 were ready to take them off — a graceful compliment on the part of 
 the Commodore, who, being apprised of their intended visit, had 
 placed a boat's crew at their service. Arrived on board, they 
 were received by Commodore Goodenough and his officers, and 
 
Chap. VII.] ADDRESS AT LEVUKA. I95 
 
 inasmuch as they all enjoyed the pleasure of his friendship already, 
 a cordial recognition ensued. Reverting to the direct cause of 
 the visit, Mr. Cudlip in a few well-chosen observations introduced 
 the deputation, remarking upon the honour they all felt at being 
 chosen to convey the expression of respect and esteem of all their 
 fellow-colonists to the Commodore. It was to them a proud 
 occasion to approach as deputies one who had so significantly 
 proved himself the father of England's youngest colony, as Com- 
 modore Goodenough. 
 
 " Mr. Rupert Ryder read the address and presented it to the 
 Commodore, which contained the following words : — 
 
 " 'To Commodore James G. Goodenough, R.N., commanding 
 Her Majesty's Squadron on the Australian Station. 
 
 " 'Sir, — We, the undersigned, residents in Fiji, beg to express 
 our appreciation of your services while acting as Commissioner in 
 conjunction with Mr. Consul Layard, for the purpose of enquiring 
 into the condition of this country. The happy result of which has 
 been the annexation of these islands to Great Britain, brought 
 about mainly by the firmness, diplomacy, and untiring zeal which 
 you evinced while carrying out the duties of your commission. 
 And we trust that you will be pleased to receive this Address as a 
 recognition by us of services rendered on your part, which very 
 substantially benefit us, and secures to our mother country a pos- 
 session we fervently trust will ere long rank as one of the most 
 valuable of her colonies. Your uniform unvarying kindness and 
 courtesy has won for you the esteem and respect of all. 
 
 "'Wishing you long life and every happiness, we have the 
 honour to be, sir, your obedient servants,' 
 
 " {Herefolloiv the signatures.^ 
 
 " The Commodore was evidently deeply gratified at this testi- 
 mony to his worth, and replied as follows : — 
 
 " ' Gentlemen, — I thank you very heartily for the kind Address 
 which you present to me. It is most gratifying to receive such an 
 expression of good-will from a body of my fellow-countrymen. 
 
 O i 
 
196 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 *' * In the enquiry which 1 came here to institute, I had the 
 happiness to be associated with an officer whose honour and 
 loyalty will long be remembered here. If, together with him, I 
 have helped to obtain fair consideration for this community, whose 
 character had been greatly misrepresented ; and if, by the cession 
 of this country to Great Britain, your interests are advanced, while 
 peace and increase are secured to our native fellow-subjects, I 
 shall look back with satisfaction to our protracted labours here. 
 
 " ' I thank you for your good wishes, and desire for the resi- 
 dents in Fiji, of either race and every rank, the health and 
 happiness which are due to industry and honesty of purpose, to 
 mutual respect and fellow-kindness.' 
 
 " The deputation were then invited to the Commodore's 
 quarters, and about an hour was very pleasantly spent in conver- 
 sation, in which the future of Fiji was very lengthily and pleasantly 
 discussed, the Commodore entering into all our industries and 
 resources, and really by his sound advice so freely and kindly 
 given, he stimulated the planters and merchants to renewed hopes 
 of happy days in store for us. With the interchange of mutual 
 good wishes and an early renewal of companionship with the 
 popular Commodore in Levukan waters, the deputation retired, 
 being conveyed again to shore in the boats considerately placed at 
 their disposal. 
 
 " We must not forget to mention that the Address was another 
 instance of Mr. Klinesmith's beautiful penmanship. The subjects 
 treated on in the heading and bordering were beautiful specimens 
 of etching, and display the taste and talent of the artist, whose 
 work elicited warm approbation from the officers who viewed it." 
 
 From Fiji the Pearl proceeded to Rotumah, the New 
 Hebrides, and the Santa Cruz group, full accounts of which 
 islands he gives in the journal, from which the following 
 extracts are taken : — 
 
 July 22nd f Havantiah Harbour^ Vate, — Landed at 7 a.m., 
 with Mr. Macdonald, and five natives to carry things. AN'ent 
 
Chap. VII.J HAVANNAH HARBOUR, VAT^. 1 97 
 
 up the valley for about four miles and a half, passing through 
 the village of Male Vau, the people rather frightened ; and 
 all, the women especially, so filthy and hideous, quite shock- 
 ing; the women smeared with turmeric and ochre. This all 
 on the flat, rising perhaps a hundred feet. We then rose nine 
 hundred or a thousand feet to the top of a great crete, and 
 found just the same coral rag at the top as at the bottom. 
 At three-fifths, or three-fourths, of the way up, I saw a piece 
 of coral with well-marked structure. What evidence of age ! 
 Only just the heart of the island seems to be volcanic, and all the 
 rest great, outreaching, uplifted coral beds, in four or five terraces, 
 and much worn and cut away. From the hill-top I suppose we 
 may have gone two to three miles more, making, perhaps, nine 
 miles in all ; and got to a small village, little more than a family. 
 There were but four men, five women, and two boys of seven to 
 nine years old — all hideous and dreadful alike. One man had 
 been in Queensland, and, except a few words of English, was quite 
 undistinguishable from the others. All were frightened when we 
 appeared. The women ran away, but they re-appeared after a 
 bit ; and we sat down to chat and eat our luncheon. I got a 
 good spear and a good club. The spear is called ola-?tgau — ola, 
 spear : ngau, the sort of spear. The club is called tipii soleh 
 — i.e. that sort of club. There is, they say, another sort ; but I 
 did not see it. We gave them some tobacco, and some of my 
 orange-coloured handkerchiefs, which took greatly. Never were 
 more filthy people. After lunch we walked to a waterfall. The 
 water runs over a soapy earth, like that at Suva in Fiji ; and 
 which is, I doubt not, the fine detritus from coral beds, not a 
 volcanic stone. Gathered a few crotons, then turned back, and 
 came a slightly different way, descending earlier to the yalley, and 
 passing at its foot, or nearly so, another village, Malasinga. I 
 first was seen by a man chopping wood, who fled in dismay and 
 seized his double-barrelled gun ; but soon recovered himself, and 
 all came out. They were about twenty or thirty in number, and 
 the chief, whose house I paced, thirty-four paces good, quite a 
 hundred feet long, but otherwise like others, was a more important 
 
198 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 person. He had five wives, and, so far as I could make out, no 
 children. The Brisbane man was a most objectionable, imper- 
 tinent chap, and was the husband of a woman who had been in 
 Fiji, and was more intelligent-looking and good-natured than the 
 others. She spoke a little English too. I only saw one child, of 
 about nine, a girl. The Brisbane man, however, got some cocoa- 
 nuts, and gave them to us. All the men were chewing kava, and 
 spitting into cocoa-nut shells, and spoke with their mouths full of 
 the great ball of filthy stuff. Hence down the valley, and 
 touched at another village on the stream, which is here clear, 
 sweet, and swift. Here all were frightened too. There was one 
 child of two years here. All these villages have their ancestral 
 lallies, and we passed four groups in decay, where villages had 
 once been, but were no longer — a wretched sight indeed. Count- 
 ing Esce?ia, this makes five villages, which have between them but 
 about two hundred people ; about six or eight children of over 
 four or five, and only about three below two years. In thirty 
 years there will be scarcely a single one left ; it is no doubt to be 
 attributed to infanticide, and to the procuring of abortion. 
 
 July 2$th. — Stood on till 3.40 a.m. ; then wore. The breeze 
 had been very fresh in the channel, but light under the land. 
 Made a tack at 7, and at 7.40 came to an anchor under Dip Point 
 (Ambrym), or to westward of it, on a beautifully regular bank of 
 soundings, in seven fathoms, black sand. The whole shore here 
 is just volcanic dust of centuries ; the point of the cliff is of the 
 same. The dust from the volcano fell continually on the deck 
 during the night, and one had a coppery smell in nose and mouth ; 
 but it is delightfully cool and pleasant. Many natives came down, 
 one waving a branch. Women, too, came to the beach ; but men 
 and women were apart. The men wore a mat girdle, with a red 
 ribbon ; the women, a titi of leaves. Men and women in groups 
 apart. A canoe was launched, bearing a man with a bunch of 
 cock's feathers, and came within a ship's length, then turned and 
 went on shore again. On her landing, the women ran along the 
 beach, breaking off boughs of trees and waving them. I saw an 
 
Chap. VIL] AMBRYM. 199 
 
 Albino— the lads walking with their arms round each other's 
 necks, the ^x\^ folatrant (this is more like Polynesia). 
 
 I landed with Perry at 2 p.m., close under the point. A crowd 
 of natives met us, filthy dirty and friendly, feeling our arms and 
 backs to see the size. One spoke English, and quickly gave me 
 a number of words, with very fair intelligence of my meaning."^' 
 We were asked at once to go up to the village, and went up 
 accompanied by a crowd, who wanted us to buy all sorts of things 
 in the way of food — yams, taro, cocos (root), bananas, cocoa-nuts ; 
 but offered no other things. One wore a bundle of pigs'-tails 
 round his arm, with a bit of mother-of-pearl, &c. ; another, brace- 
 lets, two inches wide, of tortoise-shell. Many had pigs' teeth. 
 In their ears were often curls of tortoise-shell, and about their 
 necks cords of a fine white fibre of, I think, screw-pine, with two 
 or three pigs' tusks, like horns, curling up and behind the neck. 
 
 I walked up to the village, and was shown the idols leaning 
 against a palisade of bamboos, thirty and forty feet long ; a screen 
 in front, of canes, and a roof overhead of light canes too. I after- 
 wards visited three other villages, and found the arrangements 
 identical. The idols are of fern-stalk, or of a sort of palm ; a 
 head, with eyes, nose, and mouth, gigantic, and with little arms 
 coming down from the hair. In one case there was a woman's 
 figure, with breasts ; the style is very New Zealand indeed. They 
 are coloured with anatto and lime, white and red ; eyes in con- 
 centric circles, or diagonal stripes. The dead are buried all 
 about, and I should imagine that this is again a worship of 
 ancestors, for many figures are standing about, some old ; and in 
 the first village of Wdkou there was a double set, one oldish and 
 one brand new. In the fourth village oi Lowea I afterwards bought 
 one, which was standing by itself and rotting, and therefore 
 twenty or twenty-five years old ; but its paint was pretty fresh. 
 But it is different from any other, having a beak made from part 
 of a root, and being of hard wood. They took two knives for it. 
 In each village a tall lalli, pointed and hollow, fonned a central 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
200 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 spot to the burial and idol-ground. The idols or ancestors each 
 had a stone, or one or more small circles of stones near ; and a 
 man who spoke a few words of English said that pigs were 
 brought there to be killed. At two of four villages the chiefs 
 house contained crooked knees of wood, fairly carved, which it 
 was explained to me were for the purpose of killing pigs ; and 
 at Lowea a man was pointed out to me as either the priest or 
 talking man, whose office it was to kill pigs at the sacrificial 
 stone, by striking them on the head. I imagine this to take 
 place at the great wake or fair or ceremony which, as in the island 
 of Vate', takes place after the figures or memorials of ancestors are 
 set up. At Vate, according to the Rev. Mr. Macdonald, it is 
 customary to have thirty days' feasting on the inauguration of new 
 lailies. The four villages which I visited are exactly alike in all 
 respects. The chiefs house has some distinction, being enclosed 
 by a fence or wall, called wdru-war ; and there is a public-house. 
 The houses are low, not more than 5 ft. 6 in. high for the chief, 
 and 5 ft. for the others, and grimy with smoke ; and things are 
 stuck up in the thatch of the roof for security. The women live 
 apart, I imagine ; but am not sure. Men have two and three, 
 and I was shown one man who had five, wives. Either to-day is 
 one of their own gala days, or it was because we had come that 
 every one was painted, the women more than the men, and in red 
 and white, horizontal stripes, spots, concentric chrcles, and thus : 
 
 too dreadfully filthy. When they peeped to look at us, they were 
 generally chased away by the men, who reviled them. They all 
 
Chap. VII.] VANIKORO. 20I 
 
 wore litis, called tlwiin. The men's girdle (of bark) is called 
 wdwa ; a narrow string of plaited grass goes over this, and is 
 called tel. 
 
 I walked along the beach from the point to the west, which is 
 all volcanic dust, to a bluff of conglomerate (yellow), not hard, of 
 mud and small bits of basalt. On the beach are consolidated 
 flat slabs of bits of coral, rounded bits of basalt as big as large 
 peas. The beach is all black basaltic sand. I should say the 
 whole is rising, without doubt. At each village was some fellow 
 who spoke English ; two had been in Fiji, three in Port Mackay. 
 None wished to return. Lots of very nice-looking pigs here. I 
 came off at 6. 
 
 July 26th. — Landed, at 9.30, at Wakou, and tried to get an 
 image, without success ; also a pig-killing stick, but in vain. Got 
 some adzes and a club (good). Met a man who had come in his 
 canoe all the way from Rodd's anchorage, or near it. He and 
 others gave me the names of all the villages along the coast. I wanted 
 to establish the fact of the existence or non-existence of tribal wars, 
 and asked, " Was he afraid ? " " Did they fight ? " And they all 
 declared that they were friendly, and never fought with any one, 
 and never eat men. I am inclined to believe this. When I 
 repeated this the man said, " No, no ; no kill man ! All same 
 missionary, no kill ! Port Mackay, very bad man ; he shoot, he 
 kill black fellow. No, all same here ! " 
 
 I saw by the way a skull which Perry bought, and at the chief's 
 house a piece of a human thigh-bone, shaped off to pare out the 
 inside of a cocoa-nut, and well polished. Coming off, Messer told 
 us that, while sketching, a boy stole up to him and measured his 
 nose with a straw, broke the straw off, and went gently and 
 thoughtfully away. 
 
 On the nth of August the Commodore landed at Vani- 
 koro, the inhabitants of which island have generally been 
 very unfriendly. He, however, met with a very satisfactory 
 reception, which not only pleased him, but strengthened 
 
202 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH, [Chap. VII. 
 
 his perhaps too great confidence in native friendliness if 
 only they were approached in a conciliatory manner. 
 
 August nth. — Weighed at 7.30 a.m., and sounded on no less 
 than three patches which were not on the chart. I took a cutter 
 and whaler away at 9, and ran inside the reef to a village called 
 Mumbola in the chart, and by the people now, and then on to 
 Payon and Nenna, and so out to the ship by 5.30 p.m. The sun 
 burning hot. The sea was very high when we started, and we 
 shipped quantities of water, baling for dear life as we went, till 
 inside the reef The chart seenis correct, but there are many 
 patches unmarked in the chart, and it would be very unsafe to 
 bring a ship in, besides being quite needless. As we got near 
 Mumbola we saw a canoe, and she beckoned us onward, so both 
 boats went in. A man came out to the cutter, so I got hold of 
 him, and gave him a sulu, and got him into the boat. He slapped 
 his breast, opened his mouth, which was full of betel nut (quite 
 crammed), and called himself Aiiki, chief The present of a sulu 
 was opportune. He was delighted, and waved it to his fellows on 
 shore, who were quite ready now to come and talk. His teeth 
 were black with chewing betel, and he kept on taking more, 
 tearing the nut, snatching the leaves and lime, and devouring in 
 haste like a beast of prey. These fellows had bows of six feet, 
 and arrows of four, well ornamented. My friend, who slapped 
 himself, and called me Aliki, again took me by the hand, and led 
 me to the public-house, thirty feet by twenty, with side walls and 
 posts carved with fish, of which I brought away a couple. We 
 then began to bargain. I got a paddle and some very pretty neat 
 mats. Perry got some words, and I a few, but it was not easy, as 
 about twenty-five fellows were round us, and all talked together, 
 bargaining, &c. An unhappy fellow covered with scales of a sort 
 of ringworm was the most intelligent. Some of these people were 
 much lighter than others, and there came down one light-coloured 
 man with cropped hair, famously got up with ear-rings, bracelets 
 of beads, armlets, leglets. A most picturestjue figure, but as wild 
 
Chap. VIL] VANIKORO. 203 
 
 as a hawk. He hovered outside the circle first, then came near. 
 I held out my hand ; he thought I wanted his girdle, and it was 
 long before I could make him understand that shaking hands 
 meant a friendly act. I offered him a small hatchet for his ear- 
 rings, which he gave me : a bunch of tortoiseshell rings and a 
 ring of shell in each. The dress is a bark girdle, with four or five 
 turns of a black rattan on it. A piece of tapa, thick and beaten 
 out of the Vau^ makes the maro. It was altogether a friendly 
 visit, and both sides were pleased. They were ready to part with 
 what they had, and were not suspicious in handing it over. We 
 saw no sign of a woman, save the fine mats, which I suppose they 
 had made. Some ship's canvas was in one hut, unused and there- 
 fore spare ; and a sheet of copper, thick, heavy, red copper, was 
 used as a door-sill to a hut. I am sorry I did not bring it away. 
 It was too thick for sheathing, and had moreover never been used. 
 Another sheet, but sheathing, and yellow metal, and torn from a 
 vessel's side, was used in like manner at another house. I only 
 went into one house' or two, and in these were a stone or two as 
 rudimentary Penates — round stones, and in one a skull was laid 
 carefully on a board over it. We parted " with mutual expres- 
 sions of good-will," as they would say, but which one can't say 
 here, as the form, where there is any form at all, is at most, *' You 
 stay I Igol"^ I imagine they said something of this sort. We 
 went on, eating our dinner, and ran down to Payon, near where 
 the "Sandfly" was insulted by a skull being laid on a piece of 
 tapa on a point. There is but one house, and that a poor one. 
 There was a skull — perhaps the very one — on a board over the 
 place where the household god is kept, the black stone. The 
 people of this village, probably sixteen or twenty, including 
 women and children, had all vanished (as they did to-day) up the 
 stream in a canoe. After looking about, and leaving a sulu on a 
 stick, we went on, seeing no hut, or canoe, or sign of inhabitant, 
 till past the extreme west point, where were two houses and a hut 
 
 * The only Fijian form for " Good-bye." 
 
204 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 for dead men's skulls, abandoned, as I suppose, six or eight 
 months ago. And this is all. The whole of Vanikoro at a 
 greater rate than this cannot have more than six hundred people 
 on it of any sort. Where are they ? I imagine excess in betel 
 nut, and excess in other ways, and child murder, and disease, to 
 have killed them all. The whole coast without exception is sur- 
 rounded by mangroves and *'tiri.'* None of it looks fit for man 
 at all ; the few sandy beaches are the least uninviting. In a very 
 few more years the last man will vanish. And then ? The island 
 is, I imagine, fit for very little. Cocoa and coffee may grow, but 
 how little ! And what a prospect as climate ! 
 
 Came away at about 4.15 p.m., and stood under sail in nice 
 smooth water right over the reef, carrying three feet, and getting 
 to the ship at about 5.15, tremendously burnt by the sun. Ran 
 away towards Santa Cruz under topsails, four and five knots. 
 
 \This is the last entry in the Jounial.'] 
 
 He had determined not to go to Nukapu, where Bishop 
 Patteson was killed, as he thought the risk too great ; but 
 he was particularly anxious to communicate with Carlisle 
 Bay, as an English man-of-war had, some months before, 
 been attacked there ; though he felt that there was a special 
 risk attending the landing at that spot, and he told one of 
 his officers later that before landing he had a feeling that 
 something might occur, and had, therefore, before leaving 
 the ship added a few words to an unfinished letter to his 
 wife, in the event of any accident. He at first intended to 
 go in in the ship, but finding there was not water enough, 
 he left the ship outside the reef and took in only boats. 
 The story of the landing he tells himself in a letter written 
 a few days later. The natives seemed friendly, and invited 
 him and the oflftcers who were with him to come into 
 
Chap. VII.] SANTA CRUZ. 205 
 
 their houses, then to accompany them to another village. 
 He started to do this, but after 300 yards thought it im- 
 prudent and turned back, ordering everyone to the boats. 
 When all but himself, two officers, and his coxswain 
 were in the boats, a native, four yards from him, shot an 
 arrow which struck him in the left side, and which was 
 immediately followed by a volley of arrows. He shouted 
 '' To the boats ! " and then rushed down, and, amid flights 
 of arrows, which wounded five men and himself again 
 slightly in the head, shoved off. 
 
 The ship was about a mile off. In the boat the Commo- 
 dore was very faint from the pain of his wound, which his 
 secretary, Mr. Perry, was sucking ; but he soon revived, 
 and came up the side of the ship briskly, desiring that the 
 wounded should be attended to ; the boats were hoisted 
 up, as he intended to sail at once. But, after his wound 
 had been dressed, and he had ascertained that no provo- 
 cation had been offered by anyone of his party, he 
 thought right to mark his displeasure at this act of 
 treachery by burning the few huts where the outrage 
 had occurred, giving strict orders that no life should 
 be taken or risked, and that blank cartridge should 
 be fired to scare the natives away before the sailors 
 landed. 
 
 This was done, and the Pearl sailed for Mota, to leave 
 orders for other ships before proceeding south, which the 
 surgeon pronounced a necessary precaution for the safety 
 of the wounded. 
 
 The Commodore was at once placed in the sick list, and 
 confined to his bed, except for a short time each day. The 
 
2o6 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 first two days he slept a great deal. He was cheerful and 
 hopeful, but fully realising and contemplating the danger 
 which he was in, and even the probability of a fatal issue ; 
 and those around him soon observed a settled calm and 
 deliberation in all that he said and did, which seemed to 
 speak of some great step or resolve taken. On the Sunday 
 he desired the chaplain to give thanks publicly at Service 
 that he and others had not been cut off suddenly, but had 
 had time to prepare for death, if death should come — to 
 use his own words, " for a deliverance, in the thought of 
 which, he had been led to look more closely into the things 
 which are hereafter." 
 
 On Monday and Tuesday he continued pretty well. On 
 Tuesday he sat up for some time, writing the following 
 letter. In it he speaks of being quite well but for a pain in 
 his back — this was the first sign of the fatal disease. While 
 he was writing this letter someone came into the cabin, and 
 he put it down with an unfinished sentence' — never to 
 resume it again. With the exception of signing some de- 
 spatches two days later, these were the last words written. 
 
 Off Santa Cruz, Thursday, August 12/-*, 1875. 
 
 I am going on shore* to the spot where the Sandfly was last 
 year, to see if I can't make friends with the unfortunates, who 
 
 • On the morning of the 12th the Pearl was off Carlisle Bay (Santa Cruz), 
 and the Commodore sent in two boats to take soundings. It was found to be 
 impossible to lake the ship in, and she then proceeded to Byron Bay, which 
 she entered. As soon as the ship was at anchor it was found that there was 
 scarcely room for her to swing in safety, and she immediately steamed out 
 again, returning off Carlisle Bay, when the Commodore went in with the 
 boats at about 2.0 p.m. 
 
Chap. VII.] SANTA CRUZ. 207 
 
 seem most friendly and anxious to be civil, by coming out to us 
 in canoes, and looking as if they wished to please. 
 
 Tuesday, August 17//Z. — But I was disappointed. I take it 
 they are an untractable people, without much respect for 
 authority or for each other. I wrote the above on Thursday 
 thinking that in the very remote possibility of anything occurring 
 you should have my last word. I went on shore with two boats, 
 but as I got near the shore I saw a number of canoes hastening to 
 the place at which I was going to land, so made signal for a third 
 to follow. As we drew in to the shore canoes came about us, 
 eager, vociferous, and friendly, and with a rather villanous look. 
 They are big compared to some other islanders about here, are 
 not at all dark, some being very light, and with very light hair ; 
 but betel-nut chewing is universal. All mouths are full of a 
 chocolate and black masticated mass, and teeth are as black as 
 jet, with great lumps of the lime with which they chew the betel 
 adhering as "tartar" to their teeth. After touching the beach,"" I 
 remained for some minutes in the boat, so as not to alarm the 
 people by too sudden moves or gestures, and gave away some 
 pieces of calico, bargaining at the same time a knife or two for 
 some pretty matting. Gradually they seemed to be less timid, 
 and one man came up with a present of a little yam, and I gave 
 him some calico, with which he seemed pleased.t They then 
 began to beckon us individually up " to their village close to, and 
 we went up with all precaution, keeping our eyes about us, and 
 the third boat's crew remaining on the beach. It came on to rain 
 
 * The boats were at first nearing the shore at a place rather more to the 
 right than where they eventually touched, but a native, waving a green bough, 
 motioned to them to come further along the beach, and then with his bough 
 pointed to a spot for the boats to land, and which was immediately below the 
 stone wall presently mentioned. 
 
 t The Commodore offered a man a piece of calico for something. The man 
 made signs that he wanted three times as much calico, upon which the Com- 
 modore gave him all he asked for, at the same time declining to take what the 
 man had, saying to some one near, ** You see he understands my way of 
 dealing ; he sees I am a chief." 
 
2o8 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 heavily, and at their invitation we went into the houses nearest 
 the beach,^'' and under cover of a half-finished house. But after 
 a time (for the rain was heavy, and for half an hour), I began to 
 notice that they looked round, and withdrew themselves from 
 every roof where we were, and were inclined to separate from us. 
 Meantime the rain cleared up, and a man was very eager that I 
 should accompany him along the beach to, as I suppose, the next 
 village. The others remained by the boats, and I called eight or 
 ten round me, and followed the man. However, after three 
 hundred yards or more of beach f I saw the village a long way off, 
 and said, '' Oh ! this isn't quite prudent ; I must set an example 
 of sticking to the orders which I have given. We'll visit the 
 other village by boat ;" and I tried to explain to my native friend 
 tliat I would do so, and all of us turned back. As I got near the 
 boats I said, " Order every one into the boats ;" and seeing every 
 one near, turned to see if any were behind me. I saw Harrison 
 up a little passage between a stone wall and the side of a hut, and 
 but just above the white coral sand beach, and went up to him to 
 see what he was about and to be with him. He was bargaining 
 for some arrows with a tall man, who held his bow in his left 
 liand, and was twiddling his arrows in a rather hectoring way, as 
 I thought. Casting my eye to the left, I saw a man with a 
 gleaming pair of black eyes fitting an arrow to a string, and in an 
 instant, just as I was thinking it must be a sham menace, and 
 stared him in the face, thud came the arrow into my left side. I felt 
 astounded. I shouted, "To the boats!" pulled the arrow out, 
 and threw it away (for which I am sorry), and leapt down the 
 beach, hearing a flight of arrows pass. At my first sight of them 
 all were getting in and shoving off, and 1 leapt into the whaler ; 
 tlien feeling she was not clear of the ground, jumped out, and 
 
 * While in the house, the Commodore got some stones, and, arranging 
 tlicm oil the ground, he tried to get some numbers from the natives ; only 
 one entry appears in his note-book — lium , five. 
 
 t A number of natives accompanied them, some following, some in the 
 bush on the right. 
 
Chap. VII.] THE ATTACK. 209 
 
 helped to push her out into deep water, and while doing so 
 another arrow hit my head a good sharp rap, leaving an inch and 
 a half of its bone head sticking in my hat.'^' I ordered the armed 
 men to fire, and instantly they fired the arrow flights ceased. I 
 looked round, and the boats were clear of the beach. Perry 
 immediately chewed and sucked my wound, and on my coxswain 
 and cook saying they were hit, sucked their wounds too, which 
 were quite slight. I asked, "Are all in the boats?" and was 
 answered by Jones, the coxswain of the first cutter, " All in, sir ! 
 and I'm wounded.'' For a moment there was a doubt about 
 Harrison, and I was just turning back when I saw his white coat 
 myself in the other cutter, and ordered the boats to pull to the 
 ship. Some of the men saw a native, who had wounded this 
 Jones in the leg, drop wounded himself from a tree whose branches 
 reached over the beach on to the sand. My only object in firing 
 was to stop their arrows and to drive them off, and I went back 
 to the ship, an'd hoisted the boats up, intending to do nothing to 
 them. 
 
 Messer came at once, and dressed my wound, burning it well 
 out with caustic, and putting on a poultice. The arrow seemed 
 to have struck the rib,t and having been pulled out at once, no 
 poison (supposing there to have been poison on them) could have 
 become dissolved in the time. 
 
 Hastings then came, and a tete 7'eposee I decided that it would 
 be better to mark the insult in some way, and sent him in to burn 
 the eight or nine huts of the village, taking care to run no risk of 
 hurting either our own people or the wretched islanders.+ All 
 
 * Six in all were wounded : the Commodore, his coxswain, and his cook (in 
 the whaler), the coxswain of one of the cutters, and two young seamen named 
 Rayner and Smale, one in each cutter — these two last fatally. 
 
 + This was afterwards found not to have been the case. The arrow pene- 
 tfated about an inch, but in a slanting direction, and the wound not more than 
 half an inch deep. 
 
 X The Commodore desired a blank volley to be fired before any one landed, 
 to frighten away the natives, and to ensure no life being taken. He repeated 
 this order three times. 
 
 1" 
 
210 tOMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 this was done. The way of it was judicial enough to satisfy me, 
 though it didn't satisfy the officers at all, or the men either. When 
 Hastings came back I consulted what to do, and came to the 
 determination to go back to Mota, and to leave orders for the 
 Nymphe, and then to go south either to Brisbane or Sydney, as it 
 would be a fortnight at least before I could get about enough to 
 follow up the examination which I was making of the islands, 
 supposing all was well — and supposing that the arrows were 
 poisoned, and that tetanus appeared, then the very best climate 
 would be wanted to give us all the least hope of recovery. The 
 arrows did not look to be poisoned, and if they were, were 
 probably too short a time in the wounds to let the poison take 
 effect ; but it was possible, and should be guarded against So I 
 turned and steamed to Mota,* and thence under sail to where I 
 am now, off the north end of New Caledonia, so cool and fresh, 
 
 and all doing well To-day is Tuesday, just five 
 
 days ; it seems but a day. In five days more we shall be able to 
 say that all danger of poisoning is over ; but from the first moment 
 I have kept the possibility steadily before me, so as to be pre- 
 pared ; it is very good to be brought to look upon a near death 
 as more than usually probable, .... The weather is 
 lovely, and entirely favourable to the little wounds, which are 
 absurdly small. My only trouble is a pain in the small of my 
 back, which is a little against my sleeping. I am exceedingly 
 
 well I have asked Perry to put out a statement 
 
 for the papers, so that we may have no outrageously foolish 
 stories. I can only imagine the motive to have been plunder, or 
 a sort of running-a-muck. I don't feel 
 
 That evening the Commodore became uneasy ; he passed 
 a very restless night, getting no sleep until he had a 
 soothing draught. On the Wednesday morning early the 
 symptoms of tetanus became more marked, and by the 
 
 • Against a strong licatl wind. 
 
Chap. VII.] ILLNESS. 211 
 
 middle of the day were undoubted. He had desired, some 
 days before, to be told as soon as any alarming symptoms 
 should occur ; and early on Wednesday afternoon he was 
 told that tetanus had set in. He received the announce- 
 ment in silence, and with perfect calmness, merely asking, 
 after a little while, how long it was likely to last ; and as 
 one or another of his officers came in to see him he told 
 them that he was going to die, adding immediately that he 
 had no fear, but perfect trust in God. The spasms became 
 gradually more frequent and more severe ; but he had, on 
 the whole, a quiet night, his officers watching by him in 
 turns. He occasionally wished to be read to from the 
 Psalms for a short time, but spoke little, and slept between 
 the spasms. 
 
 The same thing continued during Thursday morning, 
 •except that by this time the suffisring was very much more 
 severe, and the exhaustion and oppression in breathing 
 greater. Early in the afternoon he wished for more air, 
 and was helped to the after-cabin ; but becoming very faint, 
 he was assisted back to his bed. He, soon after, said to 
 those who were with him, " I gather from your manner that 
 I am going to die soon ; if so, I should wish to see all the 
 officers, to bid them good-bye/' 
 
 They all assembled, and he spoke to them at length, taking 
 an affectionate farewell of each, telling them howhe had loved 
 them all, how he had seen in each something worthy to be 
 loved ; and saying a kind and appropriate word of encourage- 
 ment to each one, showing how well he knew their indi- 
 vidual characters. He told them of his happiness in the 
 love of God, of his readiness to die : bidding each one kiss 
 him as a token that no hastiness on his part was unfor- 
 
212 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 given by them. He then desired to take leave of the 
 ship's company, and insisted on doing so, though it was 
 feared at first that it might hurt him. He said : — " If 
 I can only turn one soul to the love of God, if it were 
 but the youngest boy in the ship, I must do it. Perhaps 
 when they hear it from the lips of a dying man they will 
 believe it." 
 
 He was carried out in his chair, wrapped in blankets, 
 and laid on a bed on the quarter-deck, the ship's company 
 being all around him. He begged the men to smile at 
 him, and not to look sad. He told them that he was 
 dying, and therefore he wished to say good-bye to them. 
 He told them that he had had a very happy life, and now 
 God was taking him away before he had any sorrow. He 
 told them how happy he was in the sense of God's love 
 and in the conviction that whatever happened was accord- 
 ing to God's will ; and he exhorted them most earnestly to 
 the love of God, saying, " The love which GOD Himself 
 will give you if you trust Him is very great ; it will guide 
 all your goings and doings." He begged them to try 
 and resist when on shore the temptations to sin, which 
 led them to break their leave and desert. " When you 
 are tempted," he said, " think of the love of God." 
 
 He begged the older men, who had influence over the 
 younger ones, to use it for good ; adding, " Will you do this 
 for my sake 1 " He begged the forgiveness — or rather he took 
 for granted \\\(^ forgiveness — of any who might feel he had 
 been mistaken in his dealing with them, assuring them that 
 he had always loved his ship's companies, even those among 
 them whom he had punished, for that he had always seen 
 some good even in the greatest offender. " As to those 
 
Chap. VII.J LAST HOURS. 213 
 
 poor natives," he added, " don't think about them and what 
 Ihey have done. It is not worth while ; they couldn't 
 Know right from wrong. Perhaps some twenty or thirty 
 years hence, when some good Christian man has settled 
 among them and taught them, something may be learnt 
 about it." 
 
 After again speaking of the vastness of God's love, he 
 said, " Before I go back to die, I should like you all to 
 say ' God bless you,' " which they did ; and he then said, 
 '* May God Almighty bless you with His exceeding great 
 love, and give you happiness such as He has given me ! " 
 
 He then shook hands with all the petty officers, having a 
 special word for each ; and then — again saying " Good- 
 bye " to all — he was carried back to his cabin. He had 
 spoken for twenty minutes or more ; his voice, which was 
 very weak at first, became quite strong and clear as he 
 went on. On getting back to his bed, he said, " Well, I 
 suppose there is nothing more to be done now, but to lie 
 down and die quietly ! " 
 
 , He soon fell asleep, and his strength never returned. 
 He had said he thought he should die in three hours, but 
 twenty-four passed before the end came. The spasms 
 became much more violent, but were never as severe as is 
 often the case in tetanus. All through they were much 
 subdued by his immense force of will and self-control, and 
 with the help of sedatives he slept between, and took all 
 the nourishment that was offered to him. But through all, 
 his patience, his faith, his entire acceptance of the stroke as 
 being the will of God, never failed for an instant ; he never 
 complained of the pain ; he was constantly smiling, even 
 during the spasms ; his one theme was the love of God ; 
 
214 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 and the only complaint that was heard was, that he had no 
 breath left to praise God for all His mercies. He con- 
 stantly asked after the others ; he knew that two of the 
 men, Rayner and Smale, had tetanus, but did not know 
 that Rayner died on the Thursday night. Smale lived till 
 the Saturday morning. 
 
 He had studied the subject of tetanus, and seemed to 
 anticipate greater suffering even than he endured. He also 
 seems to have thought over different phases of approach- 
 ing death, for he said, " If bad words were heard from him, 
 those with him were to leave him, as it would not be his 
 spirit speaking." Also that he had thought that, at the 
 last, some dark picture of his life might rise up before him ; 
 instead of which God would only let him dwell on the 
 words, " With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of 
 turning." These words, he said, were a little window which 
 God had opened to him in Heaven ; and he said to the 
 chaplain, " If in pain I cannot smile, let me see you smile, 
 and do you repeat those words." And to these words he 
 always responded with a smile or a word, up to within a 
 very short time of his death. 
 
 At the time that he was very faint on the Thursday 
 afternoon, he was given some brandy-and-watcr. When 
 he put it to his lips he looked up with a smile, saying, 
 **Why, this is pure brandy-and-water. I oughtn't to be 
 faithless at the last." And, turning to the surgeon, he 
 said, "Do you think I ought to drink it.^" and only took 
 it when begged to do so. The same evening he said to 
 one of those near him, " If the pain gets much worse, do 
 you think it would be a want of faith if I asked for more 
 brandy > " 
 
Chap. VII.] DEA TH. 2 1 5 
 
 So entirely did he feel himself in God's hands, that he 
 was prepared to accept whatever was sent. He said at one 
 time, " I have often used bad Avords in my life, but now 
 though the pain is so great, I couldn't use bad words if I 
 wished ; I'm not allowed to. Everything is so smoothed 
 for me — the pain only seems to come when I am able to 
 bear it." 
 
 After the Friday morning he spoke but little, though to 
 the last he responded when directly spoken to. About 
 noon he woke up from a short sleep, looking a little 
 dazed. He said, " I have quite forgotten all about 
 everything." Then, seeing the commander by his side, he 
 turned to him, saying, " Hastings, you will do all that is 
 right ; " and then, having given up all his earthly charge, 
 he dropped back, and took little notice of anything more. 
 
 He died at a quarter past five on Friday afternoon, 
 August 20th,* so quietly and peacefully that the exact 
 moment was only perceptible to him who held his pulse. 
 
 The Commodore had given directions that the Pearl 
 should not go on to Sydney without first sending a telegram 
 to announce his death. A boat was therefore sent in to 
 Port Stephens, about ninety miles north of Sydney, on 
 Sunday afternoon, and the news telegraphed ; and on 
 Monday morning, about an hour after the tidings had been 
 received, the Pearl steamed into Sydney harbour, with 
 yards scandalised, and the ensign and broad-pendant 
 flying half-mast. 
 
 The news created a profound sensation, and the greatest 
 sympathy and interest were evinced by all classes. In 
 
 * In lat. 30° 19' S., long. 156° 55' E., about 500 miles from Sydney. 
 
2l6 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. YII. 
 
 a few hours the following Gazette Extraordinary was 
 
 published : — 
 
 " Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 
 2yd August, 1875. 
 
 '* His Excellency the Governor, with feelings of deep regret for 
 the public loss sustained, announces to the Colony the death, on 
 Friday, August 20th, from wounds received at Santa Cruz, on the 
 12th of the same month, of James G. Goodenough, C.B., C.M.G., 
 Captain and Commodore commanding the Australian Station. 
 
 " The funeral procession will move from Milsom's Point, North 
 shore, at three o'clock p.m. to-morrow, August 24th, and his Excel 
 lency, with a desire to show every possible respect to the memory 
 of the deceased, directs that the public offices should be closed, 
 and invites the attendance of all officers of the Government. 
 
 " By his Excellency's command, 
 
 " John Robertson, Colonial Secretary'' 
 
 The funeral took place on the following afternoon, 
 Tuesday, August 24th, at St. Leonard's cemetery, on the 
 north shore of Sydney harbour, and was attended by the 
 Governor of New South Wales, the crews of H.M. Ships 
 Pearl, Sappho, and Renard, a large number of volunteers, 
 and several thousands of the inhabitants of Sydney, as 
 well as by his wife and two sons. 
 
 The coffin of the Commodore (which bore the inscrip- 
 tion, " Commodore James Graham Goodenough, died 
 August 20th, 1875, aged 44 years,") was placed on a gun- 
 carriage covered by the Union- Jack, and with his sword, hat, 
 epaulettes, and medals on it ; and was drawn by his galley's 
 crew. The coffins of the two young seamen (neither of 
 whom was more than eighteen years old) were placed side 
 by side on a second gun-carriage. The Commodore's two 
 little boys followed immediately after the coffins. 
 
Chap. VII. BURIAL. 2 1 'f 
 
 The cemetery is about two miles from the landing-place, 
 and quite in the Bush ; and there the three graves had that 
 morning been dug by a party of marines from the Pearl ; 
 side by side, that of the Commodore being the centre one ; 
 and there were laid to rest the three sailors who had fallen 
 in the same manner — the Commodore resting in death as 
 he had lived, as he had died, in the midst of his men. 
 
 The following verses, which appeared in the next morn- 
 ing's paper, speak of what was felt by many in that 
 community : — 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 Commodore Goodenough. 
 
 Slowly the long procession moves, with solemn muffled sound, 
 Ere one of England's noblest men is laid in new- world ground. 
 Yea, bear him to the sailor's grave with every mourning rite, — 
 Perished he yet more bravely than hero in the fight ! 
 For, when the utmost yet is done that public grief can show. 
 Not half expressed the deep respect that in each heart must flow. 
 Ah, truly by such holy dead our virgin earth is blest. 
 We pray our sons may worthy be one day by him to rest. 
 
 Another martyr added to the heathen's cruel score, 
 
 One who, within the sailor's heart, Christ's healing mission bore. 
 
 A man of whom, nor ytt frotn whom ne'er one unloving word 
 
 Throughout his pure peace-breathing life by human ears was heard. 
 
 Not long he dwelt among us ; but noble natures spread 
 
 Their influence quickly, and on all their hallowing radiance shed. 
 
 Of those who loved him, who can tell the burden of their cross? 
 
 And those who knew not still must mourn the country's deep-felt loss. 
 
 God of the world. Thy ways are strange ! Thou takest thus the man 
 Whose noble life would seem the most to help in Thy great plan 
 Of good for all Thine erring children— one whose very face 
 Spoke of strong Godward aim, with calm soul-winning grace — 
 A chief who held as holy charge all those beneath his power, 
 Who judged their souls — not mere machines — with the immortal dower 
 Of choice 'twixt right and wrong, and led them on straight for the right, 
 Sparing not self so he might guide by pure example's light. 
 
 And yet, oh Lord, Thou niakest bare the place which none can fill, 
 But leavest those for lengthened years who, more than useless, still 
 
2r8 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VI i. 
 
 Blight by their evil contact ! No, we cannot see the Why, 
 The Wherefore of Thy work. Earth's shadows dim the mortal eye ; 
 We can but trust the all-wise Father, and e'en by that very death 
 Of peace and love — when. Christlike to the end, with ebbing breatli. 
 He all forgave his foes — perchance some wakened hearts were blest, 
 Whom their loved Commodore shall watch with joy from his far Rest. 
 
 August 24. 
 
 The feeling shown on the receipt of the news at Levuka 
 in Fiji, was most marked : not only were shops and places 
 of business closed, but even all the bars were immediately 
 shut up for the rest of the day. A public meeting was 
 called, and numerously attended (the Governor presiding), 
 to express the feeling of the great loss which the colony 
 had sustained, and the sympathy felt by its inhabitants for 
 the death of the Commodore ; and the following message 
 from the Governor (Sir Arthur Gordon) to the Legislative 
 Council was shortly after published in the Fiji Royal 
 Gazette, giving so faithful and so appreciative a description 
 of the Commodore, that it forms a fitting conclusion to 
 these pages : — 
 
 " The Governor is confident that every member of the Legis- 
 lative Council shares the deep sorrow with which his Excellency 
 has received intelligence of the death, on the 20th ultimo, of the 
 late Commodore James Goodenough, C.B., C.M.G., Commanding 
 Her Majesty's Ships on the Australian Station. 
 
 " Gifted with great natural ability, possessing an amount of 
 general culture rare among the members of a profession the 
 arduous duties of which leave little time for acquirements not 
 directly connected with their discharge, and combining in an 
 unusual degree largeness of view and gentleness of disposition 
 with restless energy and force of will. Commodore Goodenough 
 was no ordinary man, and a career of eminent distinction seemed 
 evidently to lie before him. 
 
Chap. VII.] MONUMENT. 2 1 9 
 
 *' Although not confoundhig the labour traffic with the abuses 
 by which it has been sometimes disgraced, Commodore Good- 
 enough had a keen sense of the evils inflicted under colour of it, 
 to which he had himself been a witness, and both felt and ex- 
 pressed the strongest sympathy with the natives of Polynesia. 
 
 " Like Bishop Patteson, he has fallen by the hands of those 
 whom he desired to befriend ; and, like Bishop Patteson, has but 
 too probably been a victim of the sins of other men who have as 
 yet escaped all human punishment. 
 
 " His public services, his intimate connection with the events 
 which led to the assumption of British sovereignty over these 
 islands, and the deep interest he took in the welfare and develop- 
 ment of the new Colony, are known to all ; and the Board, his 
 Excellency has no doubt, will desire to record its sense of the 
 loss which has been sustained by the Colony, by the service of 
 which he was a distinguished ornament, by the British nation, 
 and by the Queen. Those only, however, can fully appreciate 
 the true magnitude of that loss, who, like his Excellency, have 
 had the advantage of Commodore Goodenough's close personal 
 acquaintance, and know by how high a sense of duty both to God 
 and man every act of his public and private life was regulated. 
 " By command, 
 
 " A. E. Havelock, Colonial Secretary. 
 
 " N ASOVA, September i6tk, 1875." 
 
 The monument to Commodore Goodenough and his men 
 consists of a freestone base on steps, surmounted by a tall 
 marble cross, over the Commodore's grave, and two smaller 
 crosses, with their names and ages over the seamen's 
 graves. In the centre of the marble cross is carved Santa 
 Cruz, and round its base are the words oftenest on the 
 Commodore's lips during his last hours — "God is Love; " 
 " With whom is no variableness^ neither shadow of turning^" 
 
2 20 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 On a marble slab, let into the block of freestone below, 
 is the following inscription : — 
 
 HKRK SLEEPS 
 
 JAMES GRAHAM GOODENOU-GH, 
 
 ROYAL NAVY, C.B., C.M.G., 
 
 CAPTAIN AND COMMODORE 2ND CLASS, 
 
 COMMANDING THE AUSTRALIAN STATION. 
 
 BORN 3RD DECEMBER, 183O, 
 
 fAT Guildford, Surrey. 
 
 DIED 2OTII AUGUST, 1875, 
 
 AT SEA, 
 
 ON BOARD HER MAJESTY'S SHIP " PEARL," 
 
 FROM ARROW WOUNDS 
 
 RECEIVED ON I2TH AUGUST OF THE SAME YEAR, 
 
 • AT Carlisle Bay, in the island of 
 Santa Cruz, 
 
 WHICH he was VISITING 
 
 for the PURPOSE of ESTABLISHING FRIENDLY RELATIONS 
 
 WITH THE NATIVES, 
 
 WHO, NOT KNOWING WHAT THEY DID, KILLED 
 
 THEIR TRUEST FRIEND. 
 
 HE SAILED AWAY TO DIE, 
 REFUSING TO ALLOW A SINGLE LIFE TO BE TAKEN 
 IN RETALIATION. 
 
 IN HIS LAST DAYS 
 
 God was abundantly glorified, 
 
 having revealed himself to his servant in grkat lovk. 
 
 his death was a triumphant victory. 
 
 on either side of him 
 
 RESTS 
 
 A Seaman 
 
 WHO DIED IN THE SAME MANNER. 
 
 ERECTED BY 
 
 HIS WIFE 
 
 AND 
 
 THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF 
 
 II. M.S. •• Pl-ARl." 
 
Chap. VII.] CONCLUSION. 221 
 
 Of the feeling and sympathy shown in England on the 
 receipt of this sad intelligence, it is scarcely necessary to 
 speak. 
 
 The public prints contained many testimonies to the 
 elevation of his character, and to the variedness of his 
 abilities ; his friends and brother officers bore witness to 
 his genial and loving disposition ; while from many pulpits 
 his consistent life and happy death were commented upon. 
 The Dean of Westminster made them the theme of his 
 sermon in the Abbey on All Saints' Day, concluding 
 with the following words : — 
 
 " He rests far away, with other gallant sailors, in the burial- 
 ground of Sydney, in Australia. But he, though dead and far 
 away, yet speaks to us here. He tells us by his life what a happy 
 and glorious thing is a good and Christian service of our country 
 and our fellow-creatures. He tells us in his death that it was 
 the great love of God that sustained him in that happy life, and 
 in that agonising but triumphant death. Englishmen ! — young 
 Englishmen ! — soldiers ! sailors ! — yet not soldiers nor sailors, nor 
 young men only — take courage from his example. When you are 
 tempted to think goodness a dream, or the love of the Almighty 
 a fable, when you are tempted to think lightly of sin, or to waste 
 your time and health in frivolous idleness or foolish vices, or to 
 despair of leading an upright, pure, and Christian life — remember 
 Commodore Goodenough ; and remember how in him self was 
 absorbed in duty, and duty was transfigured into happiness, and 
 death was swallowed up in victory." 
 
22 2 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. [Chap. VII. 
 
 COMMODORE GOODENOUGH'S LAST DESPATCH. 
 
 "H.M.S. 'Pearl,' 
 •* At sea, lat. 25° 2' S., long. 159° 7' E., 
 « Sir, " 19/^' August, 1875. 
 
 " I have the honour to report, for the information of the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, my proceedings since the 
 date of my last general letter, No. 212, dated 31st July, 1875. 
 
 "I left St Bartholomew Island on the 2nd August, and pro- 
 ceeded northwards, calling at Cape Lisburn and St. Philip and 
 St. Jago Bay, in Espiritu Santo, on the 3rd and 4th, Mota on the 
 9th, and Vanikoro on the nth, and arrived off Carlisle Bay, in 
 Santa Cruz Island, on the 12th instant. 
 
 •* I wished particularly to communicate with Carlisle Bay, 
 where the Sandfly was attacked in September, last year, in order, 
 if possible, to open a friendly intercourse with the natives. I 
 therefore steamed off the entrance of the bay in the Pearly and, 
 finding the harbour too small for the ship to enter, I took two 
 cutters and a whale-boat in to a village fronting the entrance. 
 
 "I landed with precaution, accompanied by several officers, 
 made some presents, and bartered with a few things the natives 
 brought down. 
 
 " The natives were in good numbers. Several of them had put 
 off from different parts of the beach in canoes, some of which 
 met the boats on their way to the shore. 
 
 "After remaining on shore three-quarters of an hour, and 
 feeling satisfied with the advances which had been made, I 
 ordered the party to prepare to leave for the ship. 
 
 " Every person was in, or close to the boats, except myself, Lieu- 
 tenant Harrison, R.M.L.I.,and Mr. Perry, my secretary, when a man 
 standing between two huts, about four yards from me, fired an 
 arrow, which struck me on the left side. I turned at once to the 
 boats, which shoved off, receiving, at the same time, two or three 
 flights of arrows, which struck five of the men and myself a 
 
Chap. VII.] LAST DESPATCH. 223 
 
 second time on the head. To stop the attack, a few shots from 
 revolvers and rifles were fired, and the flights of arrows ceased, 
 one native having been struck by our fire. 
 
 " I then proceeded on board. My first impulse was not to 
 molest them ; but, on considering the case, and being satisfied, 
 after inquiry, that no person whatever on our side gave the least 
 provocation, I thought it better to send in four boats, and burn 
 the village where the attack had been made. 
 
 *' The wounds appeared all slight ; but as the arrows may be 
 poisoned, and the cases may terminate fatally, I thought it best to 
 proceed at once southward, more especially as the object of my 
 cruise has been to gain personal information, and I shall now be 
 unable, for some little time, to attend to my duties. 
 *' I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 " (Signed) James G. Goodenough, 
 
 " Captain and Commodore 2nd class, 
 
 " Commanding Australian Station. 
 " To the Secretary of the Admiralty. 
 
 "P.S. — The Commodore died on the 20th August. I have 
 thought it right that I should state on this letter that it was dic- 
 tated to me on the 13th August, seen by the Commodore in its 
 present state on the 14th August, and signed by him, as it was, 
 on the 19th August, the day before he died. He wished to sign 
 it without any alteration being made in the last paragraph, as it 
 now stands. 
 
 ''(Signed) W. Wykehaisi Perry, Secretary. 
 
 *'2i August, 1875." 
 
 CRADBIRY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
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