Or, (^*/- ^j^^i^ ru^^ W'^ CL/t^ ^Jhc/^G^'^^ t^ U^n^ yJJZ /f- /^ MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS First Impression .... October igog Second ,, .... November igog Third ,, .... December igog Fourth „ .... March igio MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS BY AGNES WESTON FOURTH IMPRESSION JlonDon JAMES NISBET ^ CO., LIMITED 22 BERNERS STREET, W. 1910 Printed by Ballantvne, Hanson &' Co At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh DEDICATED TO THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE OLD AND NEW NAVY WHOSE FRIENDSHIP I VALUE FOREWORD THE ANCHOR WATCH On board our ships there is a watch called " the anchor watch " — the ship is lying at her moorings, and there is not much to guard against, but, all alert, the men are at their posts ; still there is a certain amount of leisure, and many a life story is told and many a yarn is spun during those quiet hours. I have been asked to write the story of my life, but how to do it amidst a whirl of work I did not know, and whether if written it would do any good I could not be sure ; however, I am taking advantage of a short " anchor watch " to put down a few recollections, and if they interest and stir up any person to work for God's glory, and for the good of others, I shall be amply repaid. AGNES WESTON. Royal Sailors' Rest, Portsmouth. vU CONTENTS CHAPTER I CHILDHOOD PAGE Old P'amily History— A Naval Hero — My Father and Mother — Called to the Bar — Little Folks' Picnics — My First School . i CHAPTER II GIRLHOOD School-girl Life — Ups and Downs — Happy Days on River and Seashore— The Crimean War— Captain Peel's Naval Brigade — The Residency, Lucknow 21 CHAPTER III WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? Rev. Canon Fleming — ConBrmation — Astronomical Work — Riding and Swimming — Our House on Lansdown— I Take up the Organ — Gloucester Cathedral — Dr. S. S. Wesley ... 34 CHAPTER IV TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK St. Stephen's and Work there— An Early Friend and Cambridge University— France— Italy— Hospital Wards— Working Men's Guild — Be you a Teetotaller ? 50 is CONTENTS CHAPTER V EARLY WORK IN THE SERVICES PAGE The 2nd Somerset Militia — Readini^ and Coffee Rooms — Savings Bank — Bristol and Wells Cathedrals — Classes and Meetings — Up and Down Lansdown Hill .... . .66 CHAPTER VI MY FIRST BLUEJACKET FRIEND Soldiers and Sailors— Sick Berth Steward of H.M.S. Crocodile^ Letters to Men of the Fleet — Invitation to meet the Men at Devonport — Miss Wintz — Our First Meeting — Her Family and Earlier Days — Her Life Decision 72 CHAPTER Vn OUR BOYS IN BLUE The Boys of H.M. Training S'ervice — Mrs. Winlz's Kitchen — Arthur Phillips^Quarter-Deck of H.M.S. Impregnable — Address to One Thousand Boys — Royal Naval Temperance Society— Admiral Sir W. King Hall, K.C.B.— H.M.S. Topazc and the Grog-Tub— A Rough Trip to H.M.S. Thalia— ^y Father's Death — Two Millions of Boys 8$ CHAPTER Vni THE REQUEST OF THE BLUEJACKETS, AND WHAT CAME OF IT Deputation from Gunboat Dryad— CXoso. to the Dockyard Gates and right among the Public-houses — The First Birds to Roost at the Devonport Sailors' Rest — Monday, 8th May 1876— Work at the Sailors' Rest — Carrying Government Stores . . 102 CONTENTS xi CHAPTER IX TO WALES AND THE MOUNTAINS PAGE Blood Poisoning — Pass of Llanberis — Snowdon and the Glydrs — Tiic Swallow Falls — At Work Again — Bodmin Gaol — Our Fighting Uog — The Arctic Expedition — Alert and Discovery — Monthly Letters to the Arctic Regions — Prince Edward and Prince George — Lieutenant Charles Prater, R.N. — Royal Naval Christian Union 112 CHAPTER X OUR PORTSMOUTH MUSIC-HALL Loss of H.M.S. ^«rv^//(r£r— Saturday Night Entertainments — Rats and Sewers — Site Obtained — One Thousand Guineas — " Coffee Pot " f. " Beer Jug "^Right about Face— Our Savings Bank — «« Impossible "and the "Growl Book" 122 CHAPTER XI THE CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES Shaking out a Reef — A Life Secret — Public-houses Carted Away — Our Big Coffee Palace — Ashore a/id Afloat and the American Navy — Under the White Ensign— A Tot too Much — Fighting Charlie — Nelley Abbey — Meetings from Land's End to John o' Groat's House I3S CHAPTER XII THE EGYPTIAN WAR Jack Ashore— "Well Done, Cottdor'"—Vix. Arabi the Teapot— The Wall that Jack Built — Church Congress, 1885 — Swiss Rambles, Schaffhauscn, Lucerne, Furka, Eggishorn, Zermatt— A Royal Visit to the Sailors' Rest IS* xii CONTENTS CHAPTER XIII THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED PAGE Loss of H.M.S. Serpent — Admiral H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh — Brave Men and True — First Aid — Meetings on Board Ship — The Royal Naval Exhibition, 1892 — Her Majesty Queen Victoria presents a Cabin — Sailors' Wives Half Pay . , 162 CHAPTER XIV SIGNALS OF DISTRESS The Loss of H.M.S. Victoria — George Edgcombe — Immediate Help — Stricken Homes — Fund Raised and Spent . . . 173 CHAPTER XV MY MOTHER My Mother — Her Life and Example — The British Women's Tem- perance Association — A Bicycle Accident — In Hospital — Kind- ness of Naval Friends 181 CHAPTER XVI MY SILVER WEDDING Twenty-five Years on Active Service — Admiral Prince Henry of Prussia — Foreign Governments — Under the Searchlight — South African War— Visit to ILM.S. T^rrz-^/t;— Launch of H.M.S. Ocean by H.R.H. the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll — Visit to H.R.H. the Duchess of Teck— H.R.H. the Duchess of York 188 CHAPTER XVII " SAY ' AU REVOIR ' BUT NOT GOOD-BYE " Naval Brigade for South Africa — Farewell Meeting on Board R.M.S. Briton — The Battle of Enslin — Ladymith and the 4.7 Gun — Christmas Puddings — Ashore and Afloat, and Monthly Letters to South Africa— The Dash on Pekin — H.M.S. Centurion — Prince George of Wales and Torpedo Boat No. 79 . . .196 CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER XVIII '• OUR BELOVED QUEEN " PAGE A Marvellous Reign — The Dean of Windsor — My Reception by Her Majesty at Windsor Castle — My Queen is my Friend — A Blue- jacket's Testimony — The Passing of a Great Queen- Empress — Borne by her Sailors — The Diamond Jubilee Block, Portsmouth — Its Opening by the Empress Frederick of Germany — The Passing Away of H.R.H. the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 1900, and of the Empress Frederick of Germany, 1901 . .211 CHAPTER XIX AMONG THE PINES Ilindhead— Our Little Chalet — The Degree of LL.D. conferred by Glasgow University— The Return of II. M.S. Terrible — Loss of H.M.S. Condor and Col/ra — Grief-stricken Families — Kindly Help— the Victoria Memorial Block, Devonport — Visits to American Warships — Visit from H.R.H. the Princess Henry of Battenberg — The Loss of H.M. Cutter ^^^zz;^— Visit to Cam- bridge University 225 CHAPTER XX "the sailor's wife, the sailor's star should be" At Safe Moorings — Captain of my Ship — Guilds of Sailors' Wives — Naval Disaster Fund— " Medically Unfit "—Cadet Corps- Sailors' Sons— Greenwich School— Mrs. Wintz's Home Call . 240 CHAPTER XXI UNDER THE SEARCHLIGHT Admiral Lord Charles Beresford and our Devonport Work — Our Services and Meetings — My Chum Jini— Royal Naval Tem- perance Society — Real Backbone — Our Boys in Life and Death 256 xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER XXII " there's sorrow on the sea " PAGE Lights Out — Loss of H.M.S. Tiger — A Snow Squall— Loss of 1 1. M.S. Gladiator — Jack a Comrade and a Nurse — Dr. Suzaki, LJ. Navy — A True Blue — Temperance Restaurant at the Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth 274 CHAPTER XXIII " THE FRENCH MAID " Capture of " Fi-ench MaiiV — Our Sleepers — A Tour round our Insti- tute — Kitchens, Engine-Rooms, Baths, Dormitories . . 288 CHAPTER XXIV HISTORIC SPITHEAD The Old Victory — The Coronation Fleet — Hospitality — Visit of Japanese Warships — Friendship — German Warships — Kindness of the Kaiser — The American Fleet — " L'Entente Cordiale" — Russian Ships — Liternational Courtesies at the Royal Sailors' Rest 299 CHAPTER XXV THE FAMOUS SIGNAL October 2ist — Lost in a Jungle — " Cease Firing" — Forty Years of Work — Christmas 190S — Royal Honours — I Live among my Own People — " God's Hand has been upon the Tiller" . . 319 ILLUSTRATIONS Agnes Weston Ensleigh, Lansdown .... The Late Dr. Dowkontt Showing Cabin to Mother Royal Sailors' Rest, Portsmouth Royal Sailors' Rest, Devonport . The Late Empress Frederick of Germany My Mother Royal Naval Barracks, Devonport — A R.N.T.S Meeting Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria Among the Pines Visit to a Sailor's Wife " At Home " to Russian Sailors . Our Cadet Corps Inspected on Board H " Indomitable" Old Sailors' Visit to H.M.S. "Victory" Trafalgar Signal, H.M.S. "Victory" His Majesty King Edward the Seventh PAGE Frontispiece 73 103 122 .M.S 138 160 181 189 210 225 241 257 272 299 319 326 XV MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS CHAPTER I CHILDHOOD "Home, lioniej sweet, sweet home." I HAVE seen tears run down rough and bronzed faces at our Sailor's Rest when the famihar strain of " Home, sweet home " has been played or sung ; it touches a sacred chord in every heart, as it does in mine, as I think of my early home, and the dear ones whose love encircled me there. When I first saw the light I do not pretend to remember, but the place was the metropolis of the British Empire, and our late beloved Queen Victoria was not only on the throne but had commenced her happy married life. I have always been thankful that the greater part of my life was lived during the reign of Victoria the Good, and that she took a personal interest in the work that God called me to do among her British bluejackets. It may seem to some that I ought to have been born within sound of the boatswain's A 2 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS whistle, and of the morning and evening gun, but it was not so. Dear, smoky old London was my birthplace on March 26, 1840. A lingering affec- tion for it has run through my life, and is strong now, although my sun is " swinging towards the West." My father was a Cambridge man, having taken his B.A. there with honours. He always thought that there was no University like Cambridge, and no College like Trinity, of which he was a member. He read hard, so hard that his sight failed him at one time, but his courage was so indomitable that he still continued working for his degree, although he was obliged to pay a reader to be eyes to him. Cambridge in the twenties and thirties, and Cam- bridge now, are very different places. I have heard my father speak of Dr. Whewell, Professor Sedgwick, and many another whose name became famous. The Rev. Charles Simeon was a power for good in those days, and the undergraduates used to crowd his church, sitting on the pulpit stairs or anywhere to get within sound of his voice, and his influence for God was not to be told. A romance attached to my father's University career. He loved the beautiful daughter of Robert Bayly, Esq. — Mr. Robert Bayly of the Western Circuit, Bencher of Gray's Inn ; but a Cambridge degree and a call to the Bar were all-important in the eyes of the prospective father-in-law, and the young man had to work for many years before Agnes Bayly became his bride. I have often heard him say that, like Jacob, he served seven years before the wedding bells were allowed to ring. CHILDHOOD 3 My father's family was an old family, with a pedigree stretching back through the history of England. We were never particularly great or grand, but those connected with us, with whom we were intertwined, are chronicled in our pedigree, now in the Harleian collection in the British Museum, as " an ancient and knightly family." "Handsome is as handsome does" is a sound proverb, always true. The Normans at the Conquest W'Cre very probably no better than the people whom they conquered, but there came over with Duke William a certain Reginald de Raoul de Bailleul, of good Norman family. His property was a castle in Normandy called Renoard. He came in for a share of the spoils, and was made Viscount of Shrewsbury, 1080, and was afterwards married to Aimeria, niece of Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury. Roger the Earl had adopted this girl, and showed great affection for her by treating her as a daughter. I cannot pretend to unravel such a love story, and the old chronicler, Ordericus Vitalis, gives me small help here, but Doomsday Book tells us that William the Conqueror bestowed upon Reginald four manors — Weston, Barton, Bruton, and Newton, to be held in capita en chef du roi. Reginald was evidently a fortunate man, and he became possessed, possibly through his wife, of no less than sixty-six manors, conferred upon him by Roger Montgomerie, Earl of Shrewsbury, his uncle by marriage, whose Viscount he became. Those old days were dark and stormy ones. The Earl of Shrewsbury and his Viscount were always fighting the W^clsh, and the large county conquered by the brave old warrior, the Earl of 4 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS Shrewsbury, still bears the name of " Montgomery- shire." Earl Roger was killed fighting the Welsh in the time of William the Second. Meanwhile another Reginald grew up, the eldest son of the first Reginald and Aimeria, and he held the lands in Normandy. He was doubtless young and rash, and, like many another young man, he espoused the cause of Duke Robert in his attempt to gain the crown of England. It was a very bad move for Reginald, for it cost him his castle of Renoard in Normandy, which Henry the First burned to the ground, and this ill-fortune sent him on a crusade against the Moors in Spain. The second son of Reginald and Aimeria, Hugh de Bailleul de Weston, succeeded his father in the English estates in the time of Henry the First. We pass through Ralph or Ranulphus, the third in succession in the time of Stephen, to Sir Hamo de Weston, a famous Knight Crusader in the stormy times of Richard Coeur de Lion. He went, as he considered, to do God's work in trying to wrest the Holy Sepulchre from the unbeliever ; and I like to think of him and another Crusader, whose story I must tell later, as belonging in those rough and warlike days to a band of men who hazarded and often gave their lives, although in an ignorant way, to God's service. Sir Hamo lies in the church of Weston-under-Lyziard, near Rugeley, with his feet crossed, to this day. Two generations passed, and another Crusader appeared upon the scenes in the time of Henry the Third and Edward the First. An interesting story is told about him. In one of the battles in the then far east he had a hand-to-hand CHILDHOOD 5 conflict with a Saracen standard-bearer ; Hugh, or Hugo de Weston, after superhuman efforts, killed the Saracen, and took the sacred standard. For this brave deed Prince Edward changed his crest, giving him a Saracen's head, with the death cry of the dusky warrior, '< / am spent," for his motto. The old crest, an eagle and the Saracen's head, were both used by the family, until the Earl of Portland returned to the oldest, the eagle, retaining both shields. The eagle is used to the present day, and although, being on the distaff side, I have no right to it, I like to think of my old forbears when fighting some of my own battles. We must hurry down the stream of time, past Sir John de Weston, Constable of Bordeaux, in the time of Edward the Second and Edward the Third, to whose memory there is an old stained window in Weston Church, to Richard Weston, the eldest son of Sir John by his second wife. So things come and go in this changing world. I hke to think of Robert Weston, Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the days of Queen Elizabeth, because he was a sincere and earnest Christian, served his Queen faithfully, and was esteemed by her. We never know how far a good man's prayers may travel for his successors. Richard Weston, the first Earl of Portland, was a different character altogether ; he was a collateral. His career as far as this world was concerned was striking. Knighted by James the First, he was made Privy Councillor, and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1624, created a Baron in 1628, Earl of Portland 163 1, and received the Order of the Garter in 1633. He was also made Governor of the Isle of Wight, 6 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS and Lieutenant-Governor of Southampton. Charles the First was much attached to him, but his Hfe ended in 1634, and he hes in the Portland Chapel in Win- chester Cathedral. Curiously enough his son Jerome married Lady Frances Stuart, daughter of the Duke of Lennox, and a ward of Charles the First, who gave her away, and Archbishop Laud performed the wedding ceremony. So the figures flit across the scene. This Jerome Weston had a son named Charles, who was killed in a naval battle against the Dutch in 1665. He was unmarried, and the title soon became extinct, to be revived again by William the Third, who bestowed it on the present holders, whose title became Dukes of Portland. I hope that I have wearied no one with these reminiscences. My father was much interested in our genealogical details, and used to say "that any vitality in the old stock should be used for God and for Good." There is not much naval element ; I wish there was more. Charles Weston, third Earl of Portland, was killed afloat ; but he was in the army, and the soldier element predominated in those old days. In my mother's family we had a brave sailor, Cap- tain Richard Rundle Burges, R.N., of H.M.S. Ardent. He was killed on the nth October 1797, also fight- ing the Dutch, cut in two by a chain shot, and his bravery and success were so great that Parliament voted a sum of money to erect a monument to him in St. PauFs Cathedral, where it stands, if I remember rightly, in the nave, in the south aisle. The inscription runs thus : — CHILDHOOD 7 " Sacred to the memory of Richard Rundle Burges, Esq., Commander of His Majesty's sloop the Ardent, who fell in the 45th year of his age while bravely supporting the honour of the British Flag in a daring and successful attempt to break the enemy's line near Camperdown, on the nth October 1797. His skill, coolness, and intrepidity immensely contributed to a victory equally advantageous and glorious to his country. "That grateful country, by the unanimous act of her Legislature, enrols his name high in the list of those heroes who, under the blessing of Providence, have established and maintained her naval superiority and her exalted rank among the nations." Such is the short simple story of a hero ; his monu- ment is not far from that of his brave commander, Admiral Lord Duncan. When in the smoke of the battle the signal came from Admiral Duncan that the Ardent should engage, Captain Burges did not think his vessel close enough, and he reserved his fire until he was so near to the enemy that every shot went home. Death was busy on board the Ardent. Hers was one of the smallest crews in Admiral Duncan's fleet, but her death roll was the largest — 148 men killed and wounded. Her stout oaken hull had 98 round shot taken from it, sufficient hard knocks for one day's battle. When Captain Burges fell his ship was surrounded by no fewer than five of her enemies, but she con- tinued to fight till quite disabled. In his despatch home Admiral Duncan wrote : " And here I have to lament the death of Captain Burges of His Majesty's Ship Ardent, who brought that ship into action in the 8 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS most gallant and masterly manner, but was unfortu- nately killed soon after. However, the ship continued the action till quite disabled. The public have lost a good and gallant officer in Captain Burges, and I, with others, a sincere friend." He was a fine officer, and it is recorded of him that he was a man of honour, integrity, and gentlemanlike and courteous manners, and he became one of the heroes of Camperdown. My cousin, Ellie Bayly (Edna Lyall), mentions that in the early part of her career, when downcast and disheartened by the chilling attitude of publishers, she received new impetus and energy while standing one dark day before the monument, and she felt that the success that had attended this old member of her family would, by God's grace, attend her if she persevered. She did persevere, and won a position in the front rank of English writers of her day. Ancient history having passed in review, I must begin with my own earliest recollections. My memory goes back to a time when I was a very small child, and when my delight was to ride round the room on my father's shoulders, clutching his hair. I am afraid that I was very much spoilt, as two elder children, Charles and Robert, died as babies, and when a third child, a daughter, was born and lived, the joy was very great. My father was then at the Bar, a member of Lincoln's Inn, where he had chambers ; he worked hard, but his great delight was to get back to his wife and little child. I have a shadowy remembrance of the romps that we had together ; few children could possess a kinder or more indulgent father — CHILDHOOD 9 my playmate as a child, my guide, teacher, confidant, and friend as I grew up. He was a very handsome man, with black hair, dark eyes, and good features — very like the picture of the old Earl of Portland by Van Eyck (some say Vandyke) that hung in our dining-room ; and he was also a very scientific man, becoming a Fellow both of the Geological Society and the Royal Astronomical Society ; best of all he was one who always looked from Nature up to Nature's God. He never believed that God's great books of Revelation and Creation could clash, even if they appeared to do so ; it was our duty to suspend our judgment, and we should see how wonderfully they would agree if we waited for more light on the book of Science, which might err, but God's Revelation never. Both my father and my mother, who was the dearest of mothers, were earnest Christians, having given their hearts to God in the early days of their lives, before their marriage, through the preaching of the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, at that time a most popular and earnest Evangelical clergyman in London. It required some courage in those days to avow yourself a decided Christian, and to do such work as visiting the sick and teaching little children. Young ladies in the twentieth century can do any- thing, and go anywhere ; in my mother's young days such things were not permitted for a moment ; if she went out she must be attended by a footman. Those were times before gas, before the London police, before railways and steamships, to say nothing of telegraphs and telephones. George the Third was lo MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS king, and Merrie England was anything but the comfortable and free home that it is now. Coaches did the journey between London and York, London and Exeter, &c.; the Bath coach was a crack coach, and "old mother Bristol," as the Bristol coach was called, was a smart turn-out. Young ladies spent a great deal of time at home, in old-fashioned housekeeping, embroidery, papier- mach6 and tambour work, and "slumming" was unheard of. A sedan-chair carried them to evening assemblies, and for journeys into the country it was either the public coach or posting. I have heard my mother tell of the delights of going on the Western Circuit with her father. At that time, about 1830, the judges posted in their own carriages, horsed at various stages ; the sheriffs met them at the borders of the counties, and the mayor and corporation of the city in which the Assizes were held, also met them in great state as they entered the city boundary, as representatives of the king. Mr. Robert Bayly used to take his wife and a daughter, on several occasions that daughter was my mother. I am afraid that the terrible outcome of some of the trials did not affect the young ladies or the young barristers. The Assize balls were duly held and, I doubt not, keenly enjoyed. My grand- father was a man of great acumen and forensic knowledge, and he was merciful withal ; he was a Bencher of Gray's Inn and loved his profession. Arrived at Plymouth from Exeter, the ladies of the party generally stayed with their relations who had settled there for many years, while the father pro- ceeded to Bodmin, I was favoured indeed in both CHILDHOOD II my grandfathers. On my father's side, Samuel Weston, descended lineally from the old stock, was an embodiment of a fine old English gentleman, full of probity and honour ; while my grandfather, on my mother's side, was a specimen of the old- time barristers of the land, a man respected and honoured. A young and beautiful girl was my mother, with life opening before her, when she was convinced, as I have said, of the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ, and became a true Christian ; the young couple, whose engagement lasted for seven years, were of one heart and one mind, and helped each other in the Christian life. In those old days Bloomsbury was a district almost sacred to the law ; instead of being, as now, noted for its hotels and boarding and lodging houses, it was peopled by gentlemen " learned in the law." Queen Square, Bedford Square, Russell Square, were mostly tenanted by Judges, K.C.'s, and others of high stand- ing and long purses ; the streets leading out of these squares were the abode of junior members of the profession. The means of locomotion were restricted, and legal men walked backwards and forwards to chambers in Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, or the Temple ; it was probably better for them than a rush to catch a district train from Belgravia or the suburbs. My grandfather lived in Queen's Square, and every house almost sheltered an historical name. I was born in a street leading out of Russell Square, where married barristers congregated, called Great Coram Street. I did not feel very proud of 12 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS my birth-place when I saw it a few years ago, and found how it had descended in the social scale. In 1836 my father and mother were married, and very shortly afterwards King William the Fourth died, and a young girl was called from Kensington Palace to the throne, to become the great Queen-Empress, and to deserve the highest of all titles, " Victoria the Good." Often and often in the twilight my mother used to tell us of the news coming to London in the dead of the night that King William had died at Windsor Castle, and then the next day, that bright June morning, the touching history of the breaking the news to the young girl at Kensington Palace, and the saluting her as Queen. Her first desire, expressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, " I ask an interest in your prayers, your Grace," was characteristic. The young Queen took all hearts by storm, and my mother's stories of the Proclamation, the Coronation, and, later still, the Queen's marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, afterwards the Prince Consort, were better than fairy stories to my childish ears. We were all brought up to be loyal, in a few words, to " fear God, and to honour the King " ; but my mother little thought that the Queen, whose advent caused her so much joy, would many years afterwards " command " her daughter's attendance at Windsor Castle, that she might hear about her work, and speak loving words of cheer that will never be forgotten. The marriage of the Queen took place very early in 1840, and my mother was able to see a good deal of the interesting ceremonial. All this I can only give from stories CHILDHOOD 13 told in after years on winter evenings when we loved to cluster round her knees. In 1842 a little brother, Robert Bayly Weston, came to cheer my solitude, a bright splendid boy, who would have made a history for himself had he lived, but God took him in 1848 when 5^- years of age. After him came my only sister Emily, and then another brother, Charles. We were a large and yet a small family, several brothers in heaven, and three of us here on earth. After the birth of my sister my mother's health, that had never been very strong, failed, and the unanimous opinion of her medical men was that she would not live long in London. At that time I was about five or six years old, and I have a shadowy remembrance of leaving the London house and being taken to Paddington, and thence by that new-fangled arrangement, the rail- way. Bath, years before, had been the fashionable place for the " cure," the great health-resort of Beau Nash and all the leaders of fashion. Those days had passed away, but still the old streets and promenades remained, the Pump Room and the Baths were still under the shadow of the Abbey ; outside many of the Queen's Square houses hung the great bronze extinguishers into which the link- men used to thrust their torches on carrying some lady of fashion into the wide entrance-hall on her return from rout, card-party, or ball. Bath had become a place for education, and houses and crescents climbed Lansdown Hill, which overlooked the city. My new home, and my home for many years, 14 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS was Sion Place, Sion Hill, on Lansdown, stand- ing prettily embowered in trees and lawns. This move was the first great event in my life, and the journey by rail in those days would leave a never-to-be-forgotten impression on a child of five years old. Our new home, with its country sights and sounds, fields and farms stretching away behind, became very dear, and when, in 1846, a little brother came to complete our family circle our joy was great. I can see that bright nursery now, and the night nursery behind, in which we little folks slept. Children's impressions are strong, and die hard. One of my remembrances of the day nursery, as clear to- day as ever, is the fact that two coloured pictures of typical bluejackets of those days hung on the wall — " Outward Bound " and " Homeward Bound " ; I was never tired of looking at them, and of thinking how much I should like to know those brave men, and to hear all that they had to say. I little thought then that I should count so many hundreds of England's bluejackets my friends, and should be proud to do so. From our nursery windows we had extensive views, and we used to think that the pine-trees on Coombe Down, away on the horizon, were palm- trees growing in Africa, and that the black thunder- storms that often came from the north were sent by the farmer whose homestead stood in that direction. My first deep sorrow was the death of my little brother Bobby. He was a handsome, bright-spirited boy, full of fun and frolic, and he and I were inseparables, and perfect pickles, delighting in every CHILDHOOD 15 kind of childish adventure, and, I am afraid, a terror to our nurse. I distinctly remember a journey to Brighton, and a happy time with our grandmother at Brunswick Terrace, now almost in Hove, then the sudden illness that came down as a " bolt from the blue," and death drew near, the first that I had ever seen. I remember how the dear little fellow repeated as his last words — " I think when I read that sweet story of old, When Jesus was here among men, How He called little children as lambs to His fold, I should like to have been with them then." Clasping a little ship in his hands that had been given him by his father, and with these sweet words on his hps, he was gathered home, and I sobbed myself to sleep heartbroken. Since then I have often thought how deep my parents' sorrow must have been — another little son removed to the Home above. Children have strange and often terrifying ideas about death, but we were taught so much about the Good Shepherd and the loving Saviour that heaven seemed very near. This was the last death in our family until my parents were taken home, each at a good old age. My sister Emily, my brother Charlie, and myself have passed through life together. Soon after my little brother's death, after we had returned to Bath, an incident occurred that left a very vivid impression on my mind. We had been promised a delightful trip on a bright summer day to Keynsham, a pretty village on the river Avon, near Bristol. My father always laid himself out to i6 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS make his children happy, and my mother, who was an invalid, and confined very much to the sofa, furthered all these trips, and delighted to hear what we had done on our return. How we counted the days and watched the weather as the eagerly looked for Saturday drew near. We were to get up early and to walk to Twerton, a country station not far from our house. Of course we could scarcely sleep, and at break of day we were peering eagerly from the nursery window to see what the day was like. O joy ! it was a bright, beautiful summer morning. Dressing and breakfast were soon over, and, carrying our luncheons, and my father slinging his geological basket and hammer over his shoulder, we were soon under weigh. Twerton was reached, and in those old days, when foot-bridges were not thought of, the line had to be crossed. I ran on, and when about half-way across, with a whistle and a roar, the Bristol express came round a curve right upon me. What happened I scarcely know, but I found myself in my father's strong arms, and heard his fervent " Thank God " as he snatched me from the jaws of death. Many a narrow escape I had in my childish days ; once running away in the Sydney Gardens, I was dashed headlong against a stone parapet, and was picked up by my horrified mother and a strange lady, whom we knew afterwards as the Countess of Cam- perdown, apparently dead. Once again, when out in a rowing boat on the Hamoaze, the harbour at Devonport, which in after years I was to know so well, a steamer came down CHILDHOOD 17 upon us, the boatman lost one of his oars, and could only row in a circle ; I can see the steamer now, looming above us, and her paddles cleaving the water. At the last moment our cries were heard, and the order was given to " reverse the engines " and to " port the helm," and we just escaped by God's goodness. And once again a careless marksman, with a rifle, fired across a public road down which I was walking ; I heard the sharp ping of one bullet as it whistled past my ear, and the thud of another as it struck a tree close by : but the loving care of God was over me yet again, and I was saved from sudden death. Many a happy picnic I can remember as the years of childhood passed on, to Wick Rocks, to Hampton Down, to Bradford-on-Avon by the barge on the canal, a grand water trip. Then we looked forward to summer holidays, with a month at Tenby or Ilfracombe, as the case might be. All these glorious outings were made of value ; we searched for fossils, for ferns, for sea-weeds, crabs, and sea-anemones ; and we were taught their names and habits, and shown their beauties. I only wish that I could remember now all that I learned of British flowers, ferns, grasses, mosses, and lycopods, as well as the wonders to be found on the sands and rocks and in the tide pools. The journey to either Ilfracombe or Tenby was always made by steamer from Bristol in those days ; the Avon and the upper part of the Bristol Channel were delightful, but if there was a capful of wind, once get the Flat and Steep Holnes astern, and the steamer B 1 8 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS became very lively, and we young folks somewhat taciturn. If the trip was to Tenby the dreaded Worms Head had to be doubled, and I remember to this day the awful feeling that the ringing of the dinner- bell evoked ; but once on dry land all the troubles fled away and the days passed like wildfire — digging and building sand castles to be washed away by the next tide, bathing, shrimping, hunting for anemones and crabs, all was delightful, until one day I seized a large crab not quite in the right place. He managed to get his big nippers into each of my thumbs, I was handcuffed by the crab, and shrieking with pain, I am ashamed to say, and it was only when he was killed that his grasp was unloosed. One of my most solemn early impressions was hearing a sermon at Immanuel Church, Weston- super-Mare, in which the preacher graphically de- scribed the Last Day and the Great White Throne, and besought us all to give Christ our hearts, and to flee from the wrath to come. I was much awed, and, in a childlike way, asked Christ to be my Saviour and to shield me in that day ; the impression faded away and became dim, but I have no doubt it was one of the many links in the chain of love that afterwards drew me to God. And here let me say that I believe in the con- version of children, early and decidedly. A child is never too young to learn to love the Lord Jesus Christ definitely, and to yield heart and life to Him. He blessed little children when on earth, and He blesses them now ; and if parents, instead of waiting till their children are grown up, would lead them to CHILDHOOD 19 the Saviour in their tender years, we should see much more vital Christianity. The faith and love of a child will enable him to grasp truth more clearly and decidedly than the grown man ; and if a mother would pray with her children, and encourage them to pray, as well as praying for them, many a young heart would respond to the infinite love of its Redeemer. When I was about nine years old I went to my first school as a day boarder ; it was very near my home, but I am afraid that, attended by my nurse, I " crepl like a snail nmmllittgly to school." The mistress was a Miss Spiller, of whom I have a shadowy remembrance, and of whom also I stood somewhat in awe. The house was bright and cheery ; I recollect the long garden stretching down to the High Common with its apple trees — sometimes in blossom, sometimes laden with fruit. Kindergartens were unknown in those days, and memorising was the principal thing ; the spelling- book and elementary arithmetic, also the copy- books in which the copies were set were in vogue. Many a blotted copy gave me bad marks ; and as to arithmetic, the smeared slate and tearful eyes often testified to my failure in the world of figures. I was, I am sure, rather a naughty child, full of fun, and I daresay that I was troublesome to my teachers, but I made, child as I was, some warm friends among my schoolfellows. I have no doubt that they could tell many tales " out of school " about me that I have forgotten ; but as I write the distant past unrolls itself faintly before me, and I can 20 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS see the old house, the old school, the dear faces of father and mother who were all the world to me, my little sister, and younger brother still in the nursery, on whom, I am afraid, in the first stage of school-girl life I wickedly looked down. These scenes pass before me as pictures upon a screen, and as such I try to reproduce them, simple as they are. CHAPTER II GIRLHOOD Childhood, with all its joys and sorrows, which are photographed on our hearts through hfe, seems so long, and yet how quickly it passes by. When I was about twelve years old I was pro- moted to another school in Somerset Place, Bath ; it was one of the best schools at that time. I was a very small and insignificant shrimp, and looked up to the senior girls with great awe and respect. As far as I can remember there were some thirty girls, the schoolroom was large, bright, and sunny, and the desks were ranged round it. Pianos resounded in every room, and masters came and went. It was a new and a large world to me, and brought its temptations and trials. Of course I duly took my place in a low class, and soon began to find the work pretty stiff, for it was " real earnest " ; school routine was composed of all work and little play. Croquet and tennis were not invented ; hockey, the horizontal bar, &c., would have excited a holy horror in the minds of the ladies that ruled our girls' schools, or, as they were called, " young ladies' establishments," in the fifties : a walk once a day round the Park, or up Lansdown Hill, two by two, graduated as to height, the tall girls 2X 22 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS first, and the young ones bringing up the rear, was considered exercise enough for young ladies : in the summer evenings it was supplemented by a stroll in a small garden at the back of the house. Our athletics were represented by a drill-sergeant, who came once a week and taught us stiff soldierly walking, and a French dancing mistress, who en- deavoured not only to teach us dancing, but to instil elegance of pose and deportment ; these lessons I thoroughly enjoyed as a little outlet for animal spirits, and a desire for more exercise than was thought suitable for young ladies. On the weekly holiday, however, the reaction set in, and with one or two chosen friends, carrying our luncheon, we used to make trips into the country, ostensibly for primrosing, blackberrying, nutting, and so forth ; then we climbed gates and hedges, and raced across fields like veritable tomboys, coming back bronzed, scratched, and torn, but supremely happy. I made many and true friends then, and we are friends now, and a familiarity and bonhomie exists between us that years cannot quench. There are few friends like school friends ; and there is, I believe, no discipline better than the school world, where everyone finds his or her level, where angles are knocked off, and lifelong friendships are made. I am afraid that I was by no means a pattern school-girl ; I was much too impetuous, daring, and given to frolic and practical jokes. My revered rhistress told me on one occasion that " I should bring down my parents' grey hairs (but they were not grey then) with sorrow to the grave." This statement troubled me for a GIRLHOOD 23 time, but as I saw no signs of impending sorrow at home I soon got over it. Our punishments were committing to memory passages from classical writers, writing so many hundred lines, drinking large doses of camomile tea, a very noxious de- coction said to improve the memory, and, in very bad cases, solitary confinement or expulsion. I am glad to say that I escaped the two last, but I had fre- quent experience of the three first, the camomile tea having imprinted itself most clearly on my memory. However, I got on with my studies, and rose from class to class, occupying the coveted position of head of the school before I left. Our studies included English grammar and spelling, composition, recita- tion, arithmetic, geography, and history, science as far as contained in Mangnall's Questions and a few other books, French, German, drawing, music, and singing ; this was about the curriculum, including, of course, religious instruction, for girls of my time. I had the great privilege of spending my Sundays at home, and they were in the best sense of the word happy days. As my memory travels back to my early childhood I have always a remembrance of happy Sundays ; nothing dull or gloomy was ever associated with them, and that not because we were good chil- dren and naturally enjoyed good things, but because the Christianity and sound common-sense of our parents made Sunday the happiest day of the week. We were more with them on a Sunday than on any other day. Our week-day games and books were put away on Saturday nights, and our bright Sunday picture-books and Sunday puzzles were brought out. Parents seem to leave their children 24 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS now on Sundays for " week-end " engagements, but in the old days the week-end engagements were at home. As Httle children the Sunday picture-book, or puzzle, which our father helped us to look through, or put together, while he told us the beautiful Bible stories, always made a happy hour ; then the pretty hymns for children just coming into vogue were delightful, and I can see the little party now stand- ing around the piano, while the mother played, and the children sang : « O that will be joyful," " A little ship was on the sea" "/ think when I read that sweet story of old," and many another, with more energy than harmony. As we grew older we were taken to church in the morning, and it was considered a treat to go to church, and later in the afternoon there was a stroll through the fields, and the honour of dining with our parents and not in the nursery. Yes, Sunday was a bright and happy day from start to finish, and this is what it should be. We went to All Saints' Church, where a little later Canon Fleming ministered for some years. About this time I had my first taste of travel ; it was on a very small scale, but I thought of it by day, and dreamed of it by night ; it was no less than a journey to Ross and a trip down the Wye by boat and waggonette — the beauties of Symond's Yat, and the grand view from the summit, the visits to Raglan and Goodrich Castles, and so on to Tintern. We were a party of four — my father in charge, and the three children. I have never seen Tintern Abbey since and I never want to, as I should prob- ably be disappointed. The picture is sharp and clear GIRLHOOD 25 in my memory, the bend in the river, the Abbey old and hoary standing on its green sward, and then, best of all, the visit to the Abbey in the moonlight. Sir Walter Scott said : " If thou wouldst view fair Melrose aright : Go visit it in the pale moonlight." The same may be said of Tintern. Flooded with moonbeams, its arches and pillars throwing deep shadows, and the whole structure clothed with the vague glimmering beauty of the light of a summer moon, which threw both the Abbey and the river into silver — all this was an experience not to be repeated. The next day on to Chepstow with its old Castle, and then back to Bath, my father's geological basket heavier than when he started. My knowledge of geology is very meagre, but it was my delight as a school-girl on half-holidays not only to help my father in collecting fossils (many an Encrinite, Trilobite, and Ammonite having been un- earthed by my quick fingers and sharp eyes), but I was also allowed to help him in arranging his collec- tion, sorting out, mounting, and naming under his supervision. He had a large collection, and fre- quently used to start on long geological trips to the coal measures for ferns and fossil trees, to the country round Lyme Regis, and other places, to the valley of the Thames, &c., for fossils belonging to the London clay, and so on. With hammer, chisels, and fishing-basket he would walk twenty and thirty miles a day, and would return, to my great delight, with his treasures. The country people looked upon him rather 26 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS suspiciously, and wondered what all this knocking about of the rocks meant ; it did not seem quite canny ! One old lady in the train complained grievously of a fishing-basket being brought into the railway carriage, and of the very disagreeable smell of the fish in the aforesaid basket. She was amazed when she saw the stones, and gave it as her opinion " that a man who carried stones about on his back must be somewhat crackit in the head." And so school life and home life passed brightly and happily on, without care or trouble or the slightest anxiety about anything. My young days were simple days, but happy days. School work grew as I worked my way up. I was fond of music and singing, and had the advantage of very good masters, and I was very fond of composition, which was then a strong point at schools. A subject was given and the girls had to write an essay upon it. These essays were read and judgment passed upon them, and marks given. Some of the girls were completely nonplussed, and would sit for hours, pen in hand, but no thoughts came. Here I was able to give a little help, although I can see now that I ought not to have done it, and am quite prepared to be lectured as to being under- hand and deceitful, yet I may truly say that this thought never occurred to me. The girls wanted help, and I was glad to give it. So I would write five or six essays on the same subject, each one different from the other. The girls read them and received their marks, and I was greatly improved thereby in composition. But looking back upon GIRLHOOD 27 it, I see plainly enough that they were sailing under false colours, and that the false colours were my own hoisting ; but, as I have said before, I was by no means a good girl at school, though I believe that I was fairly popular. We used from time to time to have grand suppers in various bedrooms, and sometimes in the box-room. I can see these suppers now 1 They generally took place when a box or hamper had come from home, although the rule was that these boxes and hampers were to be given into the charge of the housekeeper, and that each girl was to have a share. But that always seemed unfair, and besides that, the rare fun and excitement of a midnight supper was lost. The first point was to smuggle in the hamper and stow it away in a quiet corner. This was difficult, but not impossible, although there was always a danger that it would be found and confiscated. The friends were invited, and when the eventful night came, and girls and mistresses had retired to bed, the owner of the hamper would steal forth, and would unpack and lay out the supper to the best advantage. The danger of lighting the gas was too great, and candles were used, stuck round the top of a box. The supper was of course delightful, and the excitement intense ; the creaking of a board, the rustling of a leaf outside, or the scratching of a mouse would bring our hearts into our mouths. All the good things possible were bolted, and the rest swept into the hamper, and we stole away, white- robed figures, to our beds. On one occasion we were not to escape so easily. One of the mistresses woke up, and her room being 28 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS at an angle with the room in which the feast was going on, and the bHnd having been most carelessly left up, she espied a glimmering light, thought of fire, and proceeded to find out the cause. We were all in full blast, making speeches, when all at once a footfall fell upon our ears, and the next moment a tall figure, candle in hand, and severity on every line of her countenance, stood before us — we were caught in the act. In answer to my doubtless very improper sug- gestion that she should join us, she took all our names to report to the head mistress, confiscated our good things, and ordered us to bed. The next morning judgment fell upon us, and for several half- holidays we were writing out the impositions, in hundreds of lines from Shakespeare and Milton. The important and exciting day of the term was when the decisions were arrived at and the prizes given. The whole school was assembled, with many of their friends, and a concert took place, vocal and instrumental. I had to take part in both, and I literally knew what it was to feel my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth when I had to sing, and my hands trembled as if I had the palsy, and the music swam before me when I had to play. This stage fright gradually passed away, but for years it possessed me, and I never can forget my agony when, acting as honorary organist at St. Stephen's Church, I waited for the bell to cease chiming, knowing that then I must begin my voluntary. After our concert at school the head mistress read the 13th chapter of the ist Corinthians, to show us that the spirit of love, and not of jealousy, should GIRLHOOD 29 fill our hearts. I am afraid that we did not attend much to the Bible, as the fateful Prize List was about to be read. At last the secret was out, and one girl after another went up to receive her well-earned prize amidst the applause of her schoolfellows ; and then, O joy ! the holidays commenced, and we were free. And so the school years rolled on. The year 1855 was an eventful one for the country. With the year 1854 war was declared against Russia, and wild excitement reigned ; the soldier and the sailor, not thought much of in times of peace, were every- thing in time of war. Ships were commissioned and sent to the Baltic and the Black Sea, regiments marched to various railway stations to entrain for Portsmouth, Southampton, and other ports, from whence on crowded transports they sailed for the seat of war. Poor fellows, they went off amidst cheers and band playing ; but the siege of Sebastopol, and the terrible winter in the Crimea, where food and clothes were at a premium, and the men frozen to death in the trenches, left its mark upon thousands. We were all greatly excited, and worked hard to make warm things for the soldiers ; they probably never reached them, but we did our best, and re- joiced as we thought of the men enjoying our mufflers and comforters. Every scrap of news was caught hold of ; some of the girls had relations in the army, and the list of killed and wounded was eagerly scanned. I had no relatives in the Crimea, so the terrible news was shorn of its horrors to me ; but my time was to come. My two soldier cousins were serving 30 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS in India, although my cousin Charles, Captain, after- wards Major Weston, was in England with his wife and little golden-haired daughter at this time. No sooner had the black storm-cloud of the Crimean war rolled by than the blacker storm of the Indian Mutiny broke over the country, with its fearful massacres and unspeakable wrongs. General Wheeler, Commandant at Cawnpore, had lived in Bath, and we were acquainted with both himself and his charming daughter. Miss Wheeler. How little we thought what a sad fate awaited her, as in order to escape from the Sepoys she met her death. The well of Cawnpore will always be a sacred spot to every Englishman. My cousin Charles was ordered out to join his regiment, leaving wife and child in safe keeping at home ; when he got out, the regiment having become disaffected and having gone to pieces, he was given a post as captain (or in naval language, lieutenant), in the Naval Brigade, composed of bluejackets and marines, under the command of Captain Peel, R.N. The bluejackets' dash and gallantry just suited the young military officer. After a while there was a fort to be taken, and the command of the expedition was given into Captain Weston's hands. He drew out the plans with soldierlike care, and divided his men ; a detachment was to be led by himself, and another detachment was lying ambushed to take the fort in the rear. The night was dark, and all went well, until the commanding officer received a shot through the chest, which carried in a button and a piece of his uniform. He fell, and the bluejackets forgot all the arrange- GIRLHOOD 31 merits, and only thinking of avenging their captain, they charged over him ; the men in ambush joined them, and by force of dash and numbers they took the fort, spiked the guns, put the rebels to the sv^ord, and, dashing back, secured their wounded officer, and carried him to a place of safety. I have often heard him praise the bluejackets as "splendid fellows, but a little too hasty, and some- what forgetful of strategy " on shore. Be it remem- bered these were bluejackets of the olden times, but their pluck and courage was only equalled by their kindness and tenderness ; they nursed him under the doctor, if not with the skill of a trained nurse, yet with the gentleness of a woman ; and when he was ordered down the river to Calcutta, and thence to England, a party of them took him in the boat, and parted with him, after carrying him to his hotel, with tears in their honest eyes and parting cheers for their " soldier captain, who was the best officer they had ever served under." He returned to England looking very ill, with his arm in a sling and useless — X rays were not known then — and as month after month passed on it seemed unlikely that he would ever get the use of it ; but, staying at Dunrobin Castle, the Duke of Sutherland's seat in Scotland, one night a fire broke out ; the servants and all the gentlemen visitors manned the hose and the pumps ; the young soldier, in the excite- ment of the moment, thought nothing of his arm, and, after one moment of agony, pumped with all his might, and from that time the strength and power so long lost came back to him. This cousin is alive as I write these words, and is every inch a soldier and 32 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS an Englishman ; and although he might have wished that my work had been among the men of his own profession, he says : " Well, you can't do too much for Jack, who has done so much for me." My other soldier cousin was Captain Gould Weston (afterwards Lieutenant - Colonel Hunter- Weston) ; he was detailed to Lucknow under General Lawrence, whom he loved as a son loves a father ; together they went through the awful siege, and General Lawrence died in his arms. In those days news was slow in transmission, and often incorrect, and I shall never forget the anxiety we went through, not knowing the fate of our dear ones, especially Gould, shut up in the Residency. He was mentioned in despatches for bravery, as was Charles, and many of their plucky acts I may have forgotten, but one Lucknow incident imprinted itself on my memory. The water in the garrison had become tainted, and the one well of fresh water lay down a narrow pathway, which was so swept by the enemy's shot, that it was called " Death's Alley " ; every well was useful, but some dried up and others got tainted, and there was nothing fit for the women and children except this one ; the men, being stronger, could manage with other wells. Who would volunteer to go for this water and risk death ? I am proud to say that a young officer volunteered to do it, and fearlessly he went down " Death's Alley " ; he was seen by the Sepoys, and shot and shell whistled around and over him ; calmly he went and drew the water, and as calmly returned, untouched. " I thought of the women and children," GIRLHOOD 33 he said ; " I could not bear to hear them moaning, and the children crying for water." The joyful day when the skirl of the bagpipes heralding the approaching Highlanders was heard could never be forgotten. It was a joy indeed to welcome this brave fellow back, and it is my happi- ness and pride now to see the traits of the father in his son, Lieutenant-Colonel Aylmer Hunter- Weston, D.S.O., who distinguished himself in the Boer War by his gallant conduct. CHAPTER III WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? I WAS now between sixteen and seventeen years of age, and had been for some months at the head of the school, and the time came on for leaving. It was a time that I had looked forward to with great delight, and yet when it came I was sorry — sorry to leave the many warm friends that I had made, and sorry to embark on an unknown future. How true I have since found the words to be : " My barque is wafted to the shore By love divine : And on the helm there rests a hand, Other than mine." The Good Shepherd who had watched over me during the careless days of school life was going to draw me nearer to Himself. I did not know it, and should have repudiated it violently at that time. Although I was leaving school, and life stretched before me, I did not wish to be " religious " ; I had other hopes and other aims, and the future looked very rosy and golden. Just before this time a young clergyman, the Rev. James Fleming, afterwards Canon Fleming, was appointed to All Saints' Church ; he succeeded the Rev. Arthur Sugden, who was well known 34 WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 35 to us, and as school-girls are violent partisans, and have more heart than judgment, we resented the change, and thought that Mr. Sugden had been forced by the then Rector of Walcot to resign. Whether this was true or not I cannot say, but all the girls, myself included, were bitterly opposed to Mr. Fleming ; of course he knew nothing of this, but I carried my resentment so far that I would not listen to his preaching, but stopped my ears, and read novels during the sermons. Mr. Fleming's preaching, as I knew afterwards to my joy, was clear, faithful, and vigorous — Christ first, last, and midst ; and it told upon his congrega- tion ; the numbers increased until the church would scarcely hold them, but I was untouched still. How little we know the course of God's loving Providence. Had any one spoken personally to me in those days I should have resented it, for I was reserved and proud, and it would have driven me further off; but the Holy Spirit drew me on, and little by little I began to listen to the preaching, then I became interested, but I was hard and stony indeed. I knew that my parents were praying for me, and yet — no, I could not give up, as I thought, youth and society for Christ. And so some months passed by, and Mr, Fleming was anxious that I should join his confirmation class. If I was hard and proud, I was honest ; I had seen so many going forward to con- firmation, in which they would promise to renounce the world in order that they might come out at the Easter ball, that I went so far as to tell Mr. Fleming of my difBculties, and he most kindly and sympa- thetically entered into my feelings, and advised me 36 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS to wait until the rite should become a reality to me, and in the meantime not to forget prayer, and to study my Bible. This I did, and gradually the mists rolled away. I saw myself as God saw me, as a sinner indeed, only to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son, that cleanseth from all sin ; and as I rested my all upon the Saviour the burden of sin rolled away, and I realised the glorious truth that He had borne my sins, and that by His stripes I was healed. I was happy indeed, life had a new meaning to me. I remember writing a little note to my father and mother and telling them all about it, and how overjoyed they were. I found, to my amazement, that they had been praying for this from my baby- hood ; the next thing was to tell Mr. Fleming, and to ask to join the confirmation class. I need not say how kindly he welcomed me, and how he rejoiced that he had been the means of so much blessing to me, and so a friendship commenced between us, which grew and strengthened with years. It was a sad blow to us all when he went to Cam- berwell, but his success and popularity was always a joy. I met him from time to time, and spoke in his parish when he was at St. Michael's, Chester Square. He took the greatest interest in my work among the sailors, and became one of the Trustees of the Royal Sailors' Rests, which post he held until his death. He wrote me many a kind and loving note, and our friendship of over forty years was never marred by any misunderstanding. I often used to wonder that the man who could draw Sunday after WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 37 Sunday such congregations of all ranks — the aristo- cracy, Members of Parliament, thinking and scientific men, and working folk — did not become somewhat puffed up ; but he was always the same, the simplicity that was in Christ was in him ; there was no thought of self, the Master was his all in all, and his main desire was to hold the Lord Jesus Christ up as a Prince and a Saviour ; and whether he preached at Sandringham or at St. Michael's, or recited to our bluejackets and their wives in the large hall at the Royal Sailors' Rest, Portsmouth, his charming personality won all hearts. He has gone to his reward, and I value more than tongue can tell a message of love that he sent me just before he passed away. I duly went through his confirmation class, and was confirmed by the Bishop of Bath and Wells in Walcot Parish Church. It was a solemn service to me ; I felt the reality of it ; I had given my heart to Christ, and my one desire was to be used in His service, and I felt that confirmation enabled me to stand up boldly on my Master's side. The Bishop's earnest fatherly admonitions, the bright face of Mr. Fleming, my spiritual father, and the hand laid upon my head in blessing, all com- bined by God's help to make my confirmation a reality to me, and I began to try to do a little for Him who had done so much for me. I had a class in the Sunday-school, and a few old and invalid people that I used to visit and read to. The great Adversary never rests : if he finds that those that might have been on his side are slipping from him, and that he cannot hinder the light of God's 38 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS love shining in their hearts, he will try to throw dust into their eyes, and so it was in my case. Doubtless to a great extent it was my own fault ; I was becoming unwatchful and cold, slipping back ; outwardly all was the same, but inwardly darkness began to settle down. Higher criticism and new theologies had not come forward under those names, but the same temptation with which the evil one assaulted our first parents in the Garden of Eden, the doubting spirit, has always been current, and that temptation assaulted me. Dr. Colenso's works were published, and were attracting great attention, and geological science was used by some to undermine the teaching of the Bible. I read these books with avidity, and the darkness gathered round my heart, a sad contrast to the bright sunshine that was there before ; but as in the natural world, the sun was still there, although a London fog had settled upon my spirit. I suppose that we must all buy our own experience, and buy it dearly. I doubted everything, even the love of God ; for hours I used to wander about in the fields swallowed up in a maze of darkness, doubts, and fears, and almost despair. I quite allow that it must seem strange, as it does to me now, that I did not consult Canon Fleming, or my own father, who, as a scientific man, knew all these difficulties, had battled with them, and had come out on the sunny side. Whether it was pride or reserve in my heart I do not know, but I told no one of the storm that was raging within, and every foothold seemed swept away. I prayed and strove, was diligent in " good works," as they are called, and at WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 39 times happiness and tranquillity would come, and I heard what I now know to have been the voice of God's Good Spirit in my heart. Then again doubts, misgivings, sceptical delusions crowded my soul. At this time my father took up the study of astronomy, in concert with a great friend of his, a naval officer, who had a lo-inch reflector equatori- ally mounted in his garden. My father gave a great deal of time to the study of the heavens, and eventually started a 6-inch reflector of his own, and joined the Royal Astronomical Society, of which, later, he was elected a Fellow. Night after night we used to work this telescope, studying the mountains and ravines of the moon, Mars with his snows and strange markings, Jupiter with his satellites, Venus, the most brilliant of the planets, and Saturn with belt and satellites. At our house on Sion Place we were on classical ground, for the great Sir William Herschel had formerly lived but a bowshot from us, and had swept the heavens to such effect, coupled with his wonderful mathe- matical calculations, that he discovered the planet Uranus. I cannot describe the delight that this study gave me, and the wonderful views of God's might as Creator ; " that there must be a God behind all created things " was firmly impressed upon my mind, and the first words of the Bible became very real to me, " In the beginning GOD." An eclipse of sun or moon was a very busy time, or an occultation, or a transit, or the approach of a comet, or the study of Mercury, which must be just before sunrise. Many a night slipped away, 40 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS and many a daylight hour was spent in bed at this time of my life. I felt that I was not fit to teach others, which was very true, but God was teaching and training me. Our 6-inch reflector was an excellent instrument, resolving nebulae, and showing the binary stars of different colours. I seemed to live in fairyland, and the old words were often in my heart, " the undevout astronomer is mad." It is not surprising to myself that the mental and spiritual conflicts that I had gone through had some- what undermined my health. The family doctor was called in, and he prescribed fresh air, and plenty of it. I was to throw away books and to take to riding, swimming, walking, &c. &c. This was a very pleasant prescription, and my father soon made arrangements for me to carry it out. Riding had not been in my curriculum, or swim- ming either, but both these arts were to be learned, and ere long, dressed in the long riding habit then in vogue, with beaver hat and long feather, I was mounted upon a quiet nag, and under the care of a good riding-master, Mr. Cavill, an old cavalry soldier, I was soon learning to sit, to trot, to canter, and to explore the country round Bath. At last I was advanced to the control of a beautiful little mare with blood in her, " Jenny Lind " by name. She and I became very good friends. I had always a piece of bread or a lump of sugar for her, and her pretty head and bright eyes were turned to greet me, with an eager whinny, as I came out of the house. We knew one another, and felt one, and as I write I can almost hear the wind whistling past, as once on WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 41 the open downs we broke into a canter, and then into a gallop, clearing furze-bushes and ditches, sometimes to the consternation of the riding-master and other pupils, whose heavier horses could not keep up with the spirited mare. All this riding was, I am sure, a great boon to me, and so was the swimming, although I had to learn in the tepid mineral bath near the Pump Rooms. Still the art was acquired, and when in the summer we went to the seaside, my joy in that respect was complete — plain swimming, fancy swimming, treading water, diving for sixpences and other small things thrown into the sea. There are, I think, few more exhilarating and useful arts than that of swimming and diving, disporting yourself in a new element. If I had my will every boy and girl in the country should learn to swim. Time had slipped by since I had left school, and it was now, as far as I can remember, about the year 1859 or i860. My father began seriously to think of building a house on the top of Lansdown, some 700 feet above the sea. I know that one of the thoughts in his kind heart was that it would be good for me, as well as for my mother and for my brother and sister, who would go up and down the hill to school, and that also on the top of the hill he could build an observatory, with a larger telescope and a revolving dome. All this was a great delight, and the purchase of the land, the plans for the house and grounds, gave plenty of scope for thought and brain work. We left our old home in Sion Place for a house in St. James' Square, that had belonged to a friend 42 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS of ours, and my father and myself were up and down Lansdown every day, living in the open air, ajid watching the walls of our new house arise. About a quarter of a mile off Beckford's Tower, as it was called in old days, stood in grounds that were once lovely. The eccentric and wealthy William Beckford lived in Lansdown Crescent, but he wanted to build a high tower on Lansdown, in which he could collect works of art, and from which he could see another tower on his estate at Fonthill ; added to this he made a road from Lansdown Crescent to Lansdown Tower, up and down which he could ride without any one seeing him. I remember the awe with which, as children, we looked at the great nail-studded doors that guarded this wonderful road. Mr. Beckford seemed to think that the air of Lansdown would make him invulnerable, but he died in due time, leaving instructions to his daughter, the Duchess of Hamilton, that he should be buried in the Tower grounds near to his favourite dog. The Duchess solved the difficulty by giving the Tower and a large piece of land to the Rector of Walcot for the time being for a cemetery. It was duly consecrated, and is very dear to me, for both my father and my mother lie there side by side, awaiting the glorious morning of the resurrection. While our house was building, I took up the study of the organ ; the instrument fascinated me, the difficulties were great, especially the system of in- dependent pedalling, just coming into vogue ; but the joy of having not only one instrument, but a whole orchestra, by means of stops, at your command. WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 43 was so great that I determined, if it was possible, to master it. My uncle, Mr. Charles Fox, had a very fine chamber organ in his house, of some twenty stops and two and a half octaves of pedals ; he was very fond of organ music, and encouraged me in my desire, and a cousin of mine, a good organist, taught me the rudiments. On my return home after this visit to Plymouth, I was most eager to go on with the study, and my parents, both of them very musical, took the greatest interest in this new departure. I think from what I have heard since, that they considered that I had boundless energy which must be worked off, until God Himself should show the channel through which it was to flow. At that time J. K. Pyne, Esq., was organist of the Abbey Church, Bath ; I was placed under his professional teaching, and he took unfeigned interest in my progress. The organ was not in those days in the north transept as at present, but placed across the nave, at the entrance to the choir, on a handsome carved oak organ-loft. It was a fine instrument — three rows of keys and some fifty stops ; the original organ was built by Father Schmidt, but it had been added to from time to time ; still there were some stops, notably a stopped diapason, of exquisite sweetness. I studied Rink's Organ School, then advanced to Handel's Choruses, and J. S. Bach's Fugues. The Rev. Charles Kemble was Rector of the Abbey then ; he used his vestry as a study, and often used to walk up and down the aisles enjoying the music as I played piece after piece. I studied Thorough Bass 44 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS and Counterpoint, and worked up the history of music, and also the mechanism of the organ. This I wanted sometimes, when a note would begin "ciphering," or something would go wrong. I remember once hearing a story of a frightful noise as the wind was pumped into the organ at St. Margaret's Church, Bath ; fortunately the organist was only practising, not playing for a service. He lighted a candle, and went into the organ, to be met by a heavy body swinging through the air, and a cloud of dust, which put out his candle, and he honestly confessed that he left the organ more quickly than he entered it, just in time to see a large cat rushing down the aisle. After I had worked for some time under Mr. Pyne, as well as I can remember about the years '64 or '65, he proposed that I should aim higher, and, if possible, should become a pupil of the celebrated organist and composer, Dr. S. S. Wesley, of Gloucester Cathedral. Dr. Wesley was a man of genius ; he took but few pupils, and the idea of a lady pupil, I may say, as we became fast friends after- wards, was very repugnant to him. However, at the earnest request of his friend, Mr. Pyne, he offered to hear me play, if I would meet him at a church at Cheltenham, and then give his verdict. Accompanied by my mother, I went to Cheltenham, and found the church. It was open, and so was the organ, and the blowers were present, but where was Dr. Wesley ? He had been there, and would return again, if I would familiarise myself a little with the instrument. Stage fright and a strange organ were a terrible WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 45 combination ; however, I tried over one or two pieces, got bolder, pulled out all the stops, rang for plenty of wind, and embarked in Bach's Fugue in G Minor ; somehow or other I got on, fingers and feet flew over the keys, and when I closed I heard a deep voice from the church saying, " How soon can you come to Gloucester ? " It was Dr. Wesley, who had come into the church quite unknown to me, arriving, as my mother told me afterwards, when I commenced the fugue. We had a little friendly conversation, and he asked whether, although I was not going to take up the organ as a profession, I wished to be taught as an amateur or as a professional ? I told him that " I wanted hard, sharp training." " You shall have it," he replied grimly ; " come back with me to Gloucester, and I will ask the Dean to allow you to study upon the Cathedral organ." Gloucester Cathedral is a magnificent pile, with its stately Norman nave and lovely choir, and at that time, as at Bath, the organ was across the nave, at the entrance to the choir ; for effect there is nothing like it ; the full tones of the pedal stops, and the sweet notes of choir, swell, and solo organs are heard to grand advantage, not to be obtained, I think, when they are placed in transepts, or divided into two or three parts far from each other, as is some- times the case. Once at Gloucester I had not only to work, but to work hard, practising five hours a day. I soon became enamoured of the organ, and knew its every stop and beauty. Dr. Wesley was very good, but very strict ; a false note was agony to him, and woe 46 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS to you if you repeated it twice, but he spared no pains in teaching me, and was, I may truly say, kindness itself. Mendelssohn said : " Dr. Wesley is the greatest organist that the world has ever seen, or is likely to see." It was an education indeed to hear him play ; his voluntaries were all impromptu compositions. When the chanting of the Psalms came he would close his music-book, open his Prayer-book, and accompany the choir as only a man can who is a genius, and a deeply religious man. The anthems again were a treat, especially his own anthems, and among them perhaps the grandest was " The Wilder- ness." He greatly delighted in congregational sing- ing, and when the nave of the Cathedral was full it was grand to hear him peal forth the " Old Hundredth," every verse different, and also to hear the outburst of song from that grand congregation. He played all Handel's choruses from memory, without any music, and when he felt like it, at the close of the service, a magnificent chord would show that he was going to compose a fugue that no one had ever heard before, or probably would ever hear again, unless he jotted it down. All the musical people would remain, and would have a rich treat. He was singularly simple, and disliked the praise of great people, but would often smile at his pupils when they praised him, and say, " Well, I am glad that you liked it." One of my fellow-pupils was Kendrick Pyne, as he was called then, afterwards Dr. Kendrick Pyne, the organist of Manchester Cathedral. It was plea- sant to me, and brought back old times, to read WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 47 the well-merited eulogy pronounced upon him a short time ago, when he retired from the organist- ship of the Cathedral, by the Dean of Manchester. He was the son of Mr. Pyne of Bath, and my fellow- pupil at Gloucester : we could both of us tell a few tales of each other, if we cared to, I dare say. Having to practise for so many hours I was fre- quently in the Cathedral after dark, the only lights being in the organ-loft, and my own lantern by which to get out of the building. There were many ghost stories connected with the Cathedral, and one was the story of a warrior, I think a Crusader, who was buried under the organ-loft. The story was that he frequently appeared, always after dark, and walked down the nave, his mailed feet and spurs being plainly heard on the pavement, walking to the west end ; he would return up one of the side aisles, and his footsteps would suddenly cease at the little chapel where his grave stood. I had heard all this, and many other stories from my fellow-pupils, but I hope that natural pluck and, above all, trust in God, kept me calm. However, I was to be tested, as the sequel will show. One evening Dr. Wesley was giving me a lesson in the Cathedral after dark ; in the feeble glimmer of the lamps in the organ-loft the great columns of the nave looked vast, black, and mysterious indeed. I was studying a difficult piece of music with him, when a messenger arrived, to say that a musical friend was waiting at his house on important business. " Would you allow me to go for a few minutes," he said, " while you practise that piece ? I shall soon return ; " adding, as he went down the stairs, " I hope 48 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS you will not mind my locking you into the Cathedral ; we are not allowed to leave the doors unfastened." Despising as I did all supernatural fears, I replied, laughing, " Oh no, I have plenty to do, lock me in by all means," and I went on diligently studying the difficult music, without giving any thought to " spooks," even if they hailed back to the Crusades. All at once I heard a muffled footstep, and the organ-blower came out white and trembling ; he had heard it too. We listened ; the footsteps, evidently mailed, and with spurs on, became more and more distant, and almost died away ; but presently we heard them returning from the west end of the building ; they approached nearer and nearer, until they paused in the side chapel at the foot of the organ- loft stairs. I must say that I felt my flesh creep, and that something supernatural seemed near, but I crushed down my fears, and, lantern in hand, rushed down the stairs and saw — nothing. A few minutes later the clash of the keys in the door announced Dr. Wesley's return ; after a short time he detected something rather strange about me, and wrung from me the unwilling confession that I had not seen, but had heard the ghost. The story lost nothing, as may be imagined, from the organ- blower, and my fellow-pupils were very much awed, and determined never to practise after nightfall in the old building. The happy days of study and work at Gloucester passed all too quickly, and I returned to my home at Bath ; but my father was so pleased with the report that Dr. Wesley kindly wrote of me, that he promised me a chamber organ, with two and a half WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY LIFE? 49 octaves of radiated pedals and a nice number of stops, in the house that he had built. This organ was a great pleasure to me during the years that I remained at home, and it went with me to Devon- port and was put up in our hall at the Sailors' Rest. I found that all the various subjects that I had mastered were of the greatest use in my future work, laying a substratum of health and strength that I retain to the present day, and enabling me to supervise the bands and the music that are such an attraction to the bluejackets, their wives and friends, at the Sailors' Rests. CHAPTER IV TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK As I have before mentioned, my life has been lived out in the reign of our great Queen Empress. True, she has passed away for some years, and as I write I am still strong and active, and I think have years of life before me. I honour the King, who has been kindness itself to me, both as Prince of Wales, and since he has ascended the throne ; but I loved m}^ Queen, and I love her still, and when my time comes I hope that I may be able to stand at the post of duty to the end as she did. When God has a work to be done He trains the workers, and sometimes the training ma)^ seem long, but He never makes a mistake, and He clears the way day by day. The clouds and darkness that I have spoken of, the valley of the shadow of death through which I passed in earl}? life, was real solid training. " I KNOW now, in whom I have believed," and I am able to sympathise with, and sometimes to help others, who are plunging through the same darkness. Other experiences that I have passed through in my younger days have been made a blessing to me in dealing with the trials and tempta- tions that beset Jack's pathway, so that I can feel now that God by His power has made all things to work together for good and for His glory. ■;o o Q < O 5 TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 51 I am still dealing with the portion of my life running from about '61 or '62, when I was twenty- two years of age, to '73. I returned from Gloucester to our home on Lansdown. It was very dear to me for thirteen consecutive years, and it was the home to which my heart always turned when far away from it, until my mother's death in 1895. The situation was beautiful and I must try to describe it. It stood some 700 feet above the sea, the lawn sloped away, and the ground fell rapidly, the down stretching behind it. It justified its name of ^^ Ensleigh" — end of the lea — bestowed upon it, and the view from the lawn or windows on a clear summer's day is not easily described or forgotten. The ground suddenly descends, and the eye is carried over a fertile and beautiful valley to a fine range of hills, one interlocking the other — Hampton Down, Farleigh Hill with its tower, Little Solsbury, another picturesque hill, till about twenty miles off the panorama is closed by the chalk downs of Wiltshire, and the edge of Salisbury Plain, in- cluding the romantic Clay Hill, near Warminster, while far below rise the towers and roofs of the old city of Bath. The air was pure and exhilarating, and although the climb up Lansdown was stiff, we thought nothing of it in those young days. The move to the new home early in the sixties was a grand event ; the grounds were prettily laid out by Sir Joseph Paxton, and contained many beautiful trees and shrubs, with kitchen garden, stables, fernery, croquet-lawn, &c. — all these added to its pleasures. My father carried out his project of building an observatory and mounting a 9-inch reflecting 52 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS telescope, some lo feet long, with a revolving dome and clock-work arrangements to keep the object, whether moon, or star, or planet, in the field of the telescope ; his museum of geological specimens was below. On migrating to this new house our church be- came St, Stephen's Church, and after some changes, the Rev. Philip Eliot, now the Very Reverend the Dean of Windsor, had the pastoral care of the church and district; it was very pleasant to us, for he was the son of an old and valued friend of my father's. He was very earnest and zealous, an excellent preacher, and good parish clergyman. I took a class at the Beacon Hill Sunday-school at his request, and I think that I had experience in every age of childhood ; beginning with the infants, I then passed on to the boys' school, where, after experience in several classes, the unmanageables began to be handed to me. I liked these unmanage- ables very much, and at last I had a class that I would not have exchanged for any other in the parish. One of my fellow-teachers, who has become a life- long friend, was a Miss Walker ; her father had been high in the Indian Civil Service, as it is called now. She was a true Christian of very remarkable powers and intellect, and she was a great help to me both intellectually and spiritually. Some time afterwards she married Professor C. C. Babington, Professor of Botany at Cambridge, a man combining high in- tellect with earnest Christianity. They were most kindly in after years, and got me up splendid meet- ings in Cambridge in connection with my work. TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 53 I remember them very well. One was in the Town Hall, with the Vice-Chancellor in the chair, attended by "town and gown"; the undergraduates became so interested that they got up meetings in their own rooms. I recollect one at Trinity College ; the room was crowded ; six sat on a sofa built for four, four sat on two chairs, others on the floor, and yet others on the window sills with their legs hanging over the quad. These meetings were conducted with great decorum, the host saying a few words, and intro- ducing me ; they listened with breathless interest and seemed never tired. Sometimes these meetings were at eight o'clock in the morning, followed by breakfast, and sometimes in the afternoon, when five o'clock tea was de rigueiir. My only difficulty lay in the kindness of my hos- pitable hosts, who insisted on my tasting all the good things on the table, from Cambridge sausages upwards. I can see their young earnest faces now, and many a clergyman I have met in various parts of the country who has reminded me of the meetings at Trinity, St. John's, Jesus, Caius, and Emmanuel Colleges. Bishop Tugwell was going over our Royal Sailors' Rest, Devonport, recently, and he mentioned that he had never forgotten one of those college meetings which he had attended, and what an inspiration it had been to him. It is a great delight to me to think that God may have spoken through my simple story to young men who were coming forward to be our statesmen, legislators, clergy, and also dis- tinguished men in other walks of life. Through the kindness of my uncle, the late Mr. John Bayly, of Plymouth, I was invited to take part in a 54 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS most delightful tour about the year 1871. I was a '< little Englander " and never had been out of my native land, so the prospect of the journey was exhilarating indeed. The party consisted of my uncle, his brother-in-law, Mr. Windeatt, my cousin Agnes Bayly, and myself ; our luggage, by my uncle's orders, was to be limited. The route was to cross from Plymouth to Cherbourg by one of the ocean-going steamers, and then to travel first of all in Normandy. We waited at the Royal Hotel, Plymouth, for the signal that the tender would shortly put off. It was, I believe, about midnight when we stepped on board the big liner waiting for us in Plymouth Sound, and the only thing to do was to turn in. I slept soundly after watching the Start Lighthouse sink below the horizon, and at about four or five o'clock was rather roughly aroused by being rolled out of bed on to the floor. However, it was but the Race of Alderney, and a little movement was to be expected. Thoroughly aroused, I dressed, and, after a while, went on deck ; it was a glorious scene. The sun was dancing on the water, and before us lay the splendid breakwater or Digue of Cherbourg, and the town itself stretching before us with its dockyard, building slips, houses climbing the hills, &c. Here we were transferred to another tender, and the big ship pursued her course. Our tour in Normandy was most interesting ; we visited Rouen, Caen, Vire, Domfront, La Rochelle, and many another old place. The views of the castles interested me very much, for in the olden times a certain de Bailleul left his castle to follow Duke William to the conquest of England, while his TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 55 son, another Reginald, by following the fortunes of Duke Robert, had his castle razed to the ground for his pains. Leaving Normandy with its orchards, the Devonshire of France, and its peasants with their quaint dresses, we proceeded to Poictiers and on to Dijon. The picturesque volcanic district of Auvergne was the next halting-place — Nismes with its wonderful amphitheatre and Roman remains, Lyons, that beauti- ful city, and so on to Marseilles, the old port of the Phoenicians and the cradle of Christianity, and we were now on the shores of the classic Mediterranean. I do not remember how far the railway went on, possibly to Cannes and Nice, but certainly no farther, fortunately for me. The drive from Nice to Genoa along the famous Corniche Road is seldom enjoyed now, and it is not to be matched in the world. I forget how long it took us, but it was all too short — the sea with its exquisite colour, now blue, now like a peacock's breast, beating the rocks hundreds of feet below ; the long narrow valleys up which we drove spanned by a bridge, which we crossed and drove down the other side ; the olive trees, cork trees, ilex, and hardy palm. We stopped, I think, for a night at Bordighera, where the palm trees grow well, and, passing Monte Carlo with its lovely gardens and terraces, and its hideous gambling and ruination, that blot on the Mediterranean, we went on to Mentone and thence to Genoa. Genoa is redolent of the sea, and of the old days when the Genoese were masters of the sea, and their admirals unmatched. We stayed in the Genoese Admiralty of olden days, a palace turned into a hotel. You might ^^ dream that you dwelt in marble 56 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS halls" and wake up to find the dream true, and marble staircases into the bargain. After exploring Genoa, with its churches and all its wonders, we turned our steps once more north- ward, and proceeded to Milan. It was delightful to visit the picture-galleries, and to revel in the old masters, and also to see the churches, but the Cathedral, a dream in white marble, has fixed itself upon my memory, and also the view from the roof. Our next halting-place was Turin ; my memory is somewhat hazy as to Turin, although a royal palace, beautiful public gardens, churches, and picture- galleries were all duly visited ; but the following Sunday, which we spent at Susa, at the foot of the Alps, not very far from the entrance to the Mont Cenis tunnel, is photographed upon my memory. The tunnel was then making ; it took fourteen years to accomplish. The Sunday that we spent at Susa, before crossing the Mont Cenis, was one of those glorious days more common in Italy than in England — the deep blue sky and the white clouds that sailed across it, the woods of chestnut and other trees, and the rampart of the Alps glistening with snow, will never be forgotten. The next day we crossed into Savoy, and, surrounded by the grandest views, came past the lake of Annecy to Chambery, and so on to Paris. As our tour had been greatly prolonged, our stay in Paris was short ; and, via Havre and Southampton, we were soon on terra firma in old England again, after a most delightful trip. But I must return to earlier days. I was now no longer groping in the dark as to spiritual matters, TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 57 and afraid to utter truths that I had not realised myself ; and although feeling myself less than the least, I felt certain that God was training me for some life-work ; what it was to be, I did not know. There is an old English proverb, " Do ye nexte thynge," and I prayed to be shown what that next thing was, and to be able to do it. In the early part of the year 1868, through the kind interest of the chaplain, the Rev. E. J. Wright, I received permission to visit the patients at the Bath United Hospital. It was a joy to me to take the poor fellows flowers from our garden, or the woods, with a little text tied on to each, and in the summer beautiful roses. How their faces used to light up as I came into the ward with the basket, and carried it round from bed to bed. The chaplain arranged that I should hold a short, simple service in each ward, once a week. It con- sisted of prayer, reading a portion of Scripture, and giving a short address. I can see them now, some sitting near me at the table, some sitting up in bed, and others unable to move, still listening, a tear sometimes stealing over their faces. After this little service we had many a quiet talk. One afternoon I remember, while I was conduct- ing the service in the " Albert " ward, a poor fellow, terribly crushed by an accident in the stone quarries, was brought in. The trail of his blood lay on the floor over which he was carried, and a deep solemn hush came over us as he was laid on a bed, the screens placed round, and doctors and nurses gathered inside ; after examination they pronounced it to be a hopeless case. Hearing this, I asked the 58 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS doctor whether I might be allowed to speak to him. " Oh, yes," he said, " but you will do him no good ; he will never be conscious in this world, so it doesn't matter what you say to him." Armed with this per- mission I sat down by his side, and, asking God for the right word, and that he should be able to hear and understand it, for he was apparently unconscious, I put my hand on his shoulder and repeated the first text that came into my mind. '* God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Sort, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life'' After a short pause, I repeated it again ; he moved slightly, his lips quivered, and big tears rolled down his rough cheeks. This was my answer, and I felt that I could leave him, and who could say what passed between that soul and God. He died in the night without regaining more consciousness. On another visit I found a poor fellow lying in the Edinburgh ward, near his end. He mentioned Miss Marsh, and the loving words that she had spoken to him, and he sobbed bitterly as he told me of his wife and children, whom he was about to leave. I tried to point him to the Lord Jesus Christ as the object of his faith. We were disturbed by men from the other wards trooping in to the service, but after it was over, he beckoned me to him, and said earnestly, " I've decided to trust Jesus." Dear Miss Marsh, what a blessing she has been to thousands, and what a factor in my early life. Her books, " Life of Captain Hedley Vicars, 97th Regiment," " The Life of Major Vandeleur, Royal Artillery," " English Hearts and English Hands," TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 59 " Work among the Navvies at the Building of the Crystal Palace " — all these books stirred and helped me wonderfully. Miss Marsh has been a grand pioneer in women's work for God ; I owe her a debt of gratitude not to be told, and it was a happiness to me to receive a letter, dictated by herself, not long ago. She has lived to a con- siderable age, and earth will be the poorer when she leaves it. The coal-pits of Radstock and other places were not far from Bath, and are often the scenes of acci- dents of various kinds. One day as I went from bed to bed in the Albert Ward the cradle over one of the beds told of a fracture ; the view of the man's face was blocked, but when I got to the head of the bed, a white mask, with holes for eyes, nose, and mouth, met my gaze, and the nurse told me of a sad accident. The man was a collier and had been brought in from the Radstock pits. The accident had occurred in blasting ; both his legs were fractured, and his face blackened and burned by gunpowder. As far as I could judge by his voice he seemed glad to see me, and as well as he could he said a word about his wife and little children. I went in to see him every day. He was as simple as a child, but the doctors feared that he would die of blood poisoning as one of the fractures was com- pound, and the wonderful antiseptic treatment in vogue at the present day was not invented. I never saw his face, but I repeated to him as we talked together a little prayer of Miss Marsh's that I often used myself, " O God, wash me from all my sins in 6o MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS my Saviour's blood and I shall be whiter than snow. Fill me with the Holy Ghost, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." He repeated these words after me with deep feeling, and afterwards said, " I often say them to God at night when the ward is quiet." " Do you think that He hears you ? " I said. " I am sure He does," he answered. The next day the nurses said that the doctor thought that he was sinking. He had been asking for me. I went up to him and took his hand. I had to bend down over the white cotton mask to hear his words. " God bless you," he said ; " I'm very near death, but I'm not afraid of it now I've got Jesus." I went to see him the next day, but the sheet was drawn over his face ; he had just passed away. This hospital work was a real experience to me, and I carried it on until other work claimed me. I was asked about this time by Messrs. Drummond and Co., of Stirling, to weave any incidents into tracts and booklets ; this I did, and my pen began to be enlisted in good work. Messrs, Drummond, Messrs. Partridge & Co., and the Religious Tract Society published these little books, which obtained a wide circulation, and I hope did good. I still worked away at the Sunday-school under the Rev. P. F. Eliot. The unruly classes seemed to be my lot. A strong, rough character becomes a wonderful tool in God's hand whenever guided by the Holy Spirit. As time went on my senior boys continued to stand by me, and as they grew on to eighteen and nineteen years of age they were too old for TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 6i the school, and at Beacon Hill then we had no class-rooms. At Mr. Eliot's wish I moved first into the vestry of St. Stephen's Church ; the class increased, m.arried men joined, and we soon became too large for the vestry, and one of the members of the class offering his kitchen in Winifred Lane, we adjourned there, Mr. Eliot coming in to see us, and giving us every countenance and help. The kitchen was crowded, and much blessing in changed lives and homes fol- lowed these simple ministrations. The fame of it spread ; as our American friends would say, " it caught on," and a deputation of working-men waited upon me to ask whether I could not have a class nearer the parish church further down the hill. I could not give up my old friends in Winifred Lane, but the Rev. Canon Bernard, rector of the parish, kindly allowed me the use of the parish school- room in Guinea Lane after the school was over. I used to go first to Winifred Lane at three o'clock, then on to Guinea Lane for a five o'clock class, eating a sandwich as I went. The schoolroom at Guinea Lane formed a good centre, and the at- tendance was from eighty to a hundred every Sunday. I remember our opening Sunday well. There had been frost and snow and then a thaw ; this was caught on Sunday morning with an ice grip which turned it into a sheet of glass. Those that know Lansdown Hill will appreciate my difficulties. To get a wheeled carriage up or down was impossible, and to walk in the ordinary way, even with ice clamps, on such a hill was very difficult ; but a countryman suggested a simple remedy. >.■ 62 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS " Borrow a pair of your father's or brother's socks," he said, " and put them over your boots, and I'll guarantee that you will go and come back safe as a trivet." I followed his advice and got down safely, meeting a large body of men, and so this work prospered. After a while, about 1868, so much had grown out of the Sunday Class — Penny Readings, which were then in vogue, Temperance Work, Prayer Meetings, &c., that the schoolroom was no longer suitable. I had a good committee of working-men around me, and with my father's consent and approval we rented a Mission Room in East Walcot that just suited us. The men helped me to fit it up, and it was opened by a large tea meeting, to which every man might bring his " missus." It was a nice, bright, warm opening ; the " mis- suses," if they had been hostile before, were quite won over, and expressed their approval of the work in no measured terms. *' Well there, my Jim do like it ; as soon as he's washed and had his tea, then he do want to go off to Miss Weston's rooms, and now I see it for myself I don't wonder." " My Bill he likes it a sight better than the public-house ; he has given up the drink, and he says this is the public- house without the drink, and this is a wunnerful cup o' tea ; Miss Weston do know how to make it strong and sweet." " Keeps the men in a good temper," said another woman, " and gives them something to do and to think about ; we do thank you, Miss Weston, for looking after our men-folk." All this and much more was said at our socials, when husbands and wives came together, and better TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 63 still, I have an entry in an old diary which I will transcribe: "Tuesday, May 23rd. — Had a prayer- meeting ; there were only 1 2 men present ; they prayed most earnestly for a revival in their midst, nor did they pray in vain. The result was soon apparent ; many men were stirred up, a house to house visitation was proposed, and the more earnest- minded set to work to visit their fellow-workmen, and to induce them to come to the meetings." Once again: "Wednesday, June i8th. — The meet- ings still continue large and earnest, prayer is offered up. God has indeed been good to us, and many a man has testified that he has given his heart to Christ." And so, with the manifest blessing of God the Holy Spirit, the work went on. I was now fairly busy ; God had opened out to me lines of work. In the Hospital, at my Mission Room, teaching in the Sunday-school, and visiting in my district, also acting frequently as honorary organist. A friend of mine, now passed to her reward, Miss Williams, of Catherine Place, Bath, took me down to her district, which was in Avon Street, a very low part, a rendezvous of tramps, gypsies, and outcasts ; she had wonderful influence over these people, and she was what I was not at that time, a strong total abstainer. She saw the terrible evil of the drink, and the need to combat it, not only by talking about it, but by taking up the cross, and denying herself a luxury, that she might set her people a good example. I did not see the necessity of such a drastic measure ; I thought that I was under no temptation myself, and that the glass of wine that I took occasionally 64 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS did me good, and could do nobody any harm if they followed my example : " ifs " and " buts " are dangerous things. My friend got up a large temperance meeting in Avon Street, and she asked me to be one of the speakers, to which I willingly consented. The room was crowded, and the meeting was bright. I spoke, proving to my own satisfaction the evils of drink, and others much more fitted than myself spoke as well. At the close of the meeting several people came up to sign the pledge ; amongst others was a man, a chimney-sweeper, with plenty of marks of his profession upon him ; two friends were with him, one on each side. He had without doubt been " liquor- ing up " to stand the ceremony. " Our chum is going to sign the pledge," said one of his friends; '* he's about sick of the drink, and he's going to give it up, aren't you, Jim ? " " Yaas," answered Jim, "give me the pen." He stood for a moment balancing the pen in his hand, and, looking me straight in the face, he said in Somerset dialect, " Before 1 zigns, I wants to ask this lady one question. Be you a teetotaller. Miss ? " This was the crucial, the leading question that had been hanging over me ever since I had worked in the good cause. It was an awful moment ; what could I do, what could I say ? if only the floor would have opened and swallowed me up. But no such good luck ; the audience as well as the man waited for my reply. I had to say, " No, I am not exactly a teetotaller, but I only take a glass of wine occasionally." ** Right you are," answered my tormentor ; " that's exactly what I do ; I take a glass sometimes for the benefit of my TRAINING FOR LIFE WORK 65 health." "Nonsense, Jim," said his friends, "you don't take a glass, and you don't know when to stop ; give it up, man." " Nothing of the sort," he replied ; " I'll do what the lady does ; I shan't zign," and, throwing down the pen, he shouldered his way out of the room. My duty was plain, which was to take up the pen and to sign my name where his would have stood, and from that day to this, by God's help, I have kept it, and hope to do so all my hfe through. " I p7-omise Thee, dear Lord, that I will never cloud the light Which shittes from Thee tuithin my soul, and ?nakes my reason bright : Nor will I ever lose the power to serve Thee by my will : Which Thou hast set within my heart Thy purpose to fulfil — Oh let me drink as Adam drank before from Thee he fell.' Oh let me dritik as Thou, dear Lord, when faint by Sychar's well, That from my childhood pure fro?n sin of drink and drunken strife, By the clear fountains I may rest, of everlasting life.^^ This is a promise that I would that every Christian should see the way clear to make to God. I did not see it before, but at that meeting in a flash it was shown to me, and, as Frances Havergal said, " What you once see, you never can unsee," I always felt that by my inconsistency I had lost that man, and I prayed for many years that some one more faith- ful might win him. At last, after a lapse of thirty years, I heard that this very man was still alive, and had become a temperance man and a Christian. I thanked God and took courage when that good news came to me. E CHAPTER V EARLY WORK IN THE SERVICES Step by step I was led along into work in the great naval service of the country, a service for which I have always had a profound admiration. I think that some of the finest men of the world are to be found in the British navy, and whatever may betide, I feel that I may say, as Nelson is supposed to have done, if he could look upon the navy of the twentieth century, " My ships are cJianged, my guns are changed, but the spirit of my mer% remains!' I have always been glad that my work was not laid out in narrow lines. Every one serving in the navy is welcome at the Sailors' Rests, whatever his denomination may be, whether with a creed or without one. Our religious teaching is on the simplest lines, truly interdenominational. On the same broad lines men of the sister service, the army, are welcome to use our Institutes ; although, as there are Soldiers' Homes, we make no attempt to get them to come. Dockyardsmen are also on our trust- deed, but the wives, mothers, and widows of our naval men are always at home in our halls, our class-rooms, and our restaurants — all are planned for, and, as I said, all are welcome. The work being on this broad basis, it is not 66 EARLY WORK IN THE SERVICES 67 surprising that I should begin my work in the service by trying my hand at a little soldiering. The 2nd Somerset Militia assembled every year at Bath for their annual training, and in those days before the time of depots or camps they were billeted all over the town, mostly in public-houses. The chaplain, the Rev. A. L. Dixon, was a friend of mine, and was the incumbent of a densely populated poor parish in Bath. He was very anxious that something should be done for them to allure them away from drinking places, and we projected a coffee bar, with a nice large room behind for reading, entertain- ments, and meetings. An old friend of my father's, Colonel Pinney of Somerton, was colonel of the regiment, and his sister, Lady Smith, was deeply interested in every- thing for the good of the men. With such kind friends at headquarters, I had all the encouragement that could be desired. All my own spare cash I threw into the undertaking, and then I asked friends to help me, which they willingly did, the colonel and officers and Lady Smith giving most liberally. Suitable premises were secured, and the nice bright coffee bar, with its shining urns, coloured glasses, pictures, &c., seemed to draw the men at once. There was a tariff, and I acted as treasurer ; the takings were regularly banked, and proper accounts were kept ; then the reading-room was comfortably fitted up and well supplied with papers, games, &c., also with writing-paper and envelopes, and pen and ink, free. Many a love letter and a few lines to father and mother were written there. We had popular meetings every evening in the reading-room 68 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS — songs, readings, magic lanterns, step and clog dancing by the men themselves, and everything else that we could think of to give them pleasure. I can see the men crowding in now, and filling the benches, and never moving until we closed, a grand contrast to Jack, who is somewhat mercurial in his temperament. We had a smaller room for Bible-class and religious meetings, and they were well attended. Many of my kind friends helped me in various ways. The Sunday Bible-class, which was in the evening, I took myself, and also played the harmonium, and the testimony of the sergeants and the officers was that " now that the men had been taken in hand, and kept out of the public-houses during drinking hours, they were not like the same men." I see that one of the entries in my diary runs thus : " Monday, May loth. — The militia reading-rooms have been crowded this evening with men, including many non- commissioned officers. I spoke to them on * The good soldier of Jesus Christ.' Many remained behind to our prayer-meeting, and many signed the temper- ance pledge." When the training closed, with the Colonel's per- mission I presented each man with a New Testa- ment, and before they were disbanded they were drawn up on the parade ground, and I spoke a few words to them. Then accompanied by two sergeants carrying the baskets of books, I placed one in each man's hand. They gave me three hearty cheers for the books and all that had been done for them during the training, and also three more for all the kind friends that had helped so kindly. EARLY WORK IN THE SERVICES 69 When after some years I left Bath for work among the men of the navy, these coffee and reading- rooms were carried on by my sister. She had many more difficulties to contend with than I had, for the camping-ont system came into vogue, and she had to follow them to Lansdown, to Claverton, to the Black Down Hills, near Taunton, and elsewhere, but she developed the work, and now that such radical changes have taken place in army and militia organisation, she has given her time to work among soldiers, mostly of the Devonport and Plymouth garrison, and the little seed that I was permitted to plant in the sixties has, by her work and example, grown into a large plant. My sister, like myself, is a voluntary worker, and is only too glad to give all her income that she can spare to her work. These efforts among the redcoats led me to understand and appreciate some of the difficulties and trials of the army and those connected with it, and I kept in touch with many of the militiamen for some years ; a good many enlisted in the regular army and wrote to me from India and elsewhere. When the training was over and the men had left, and their letters were beginning to come to me, I was asked by a Clifton lady, Mrs. Fyffe, connected with the " Carus Wilson Soldier Work," whether I would do something in corresponding with Christian soldiers and sending them packets of nice reading every month. This seemed to link in with my militia letter- writing, and also to give me an opening to regions beyond, so I acceded to the proposal, and a list of about a dozen men was sent to me. I wrote 70 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS away, and every month packed and sent off my parcels, and very nice letters I received from the men. I am afraid at this length of time I have not any by me that I can quote from, but the men said how thoroughly they appreciated the Christian kind- ness and interest shown in them when so far from home. I went on with this letter-writing, &c., from about 1865 to 1868. All my other work went forward, and this was for a wet day and to fill in the time. Meanwhile I enjoyed my country home and garden and a good game of croquet, which was then played by old and young. My organ work was also very dear to me, and I visited Bristol Cathedral and Wells Cathedral, and as a pupil of Dr. Wesley's, with his recommendation, had no difficulty in getting full access to the organs. I remember at Wells playing a grand double chorus from Handel's oratorio, " Israel in Egypt " — " The wafers overwhelmed their enemies!" the rolling of the waters being carried out on the pedals. After I had got about half-way through I received a hurried message, I suppose from the organist or precentor, to say that I must " stop the waters " at once, or the tremendous reverbera- tions of the 32-foot and 16-foot pedal stops would shake all the glass out of the windows. I need not say that the rolling of the waters came to an abrupt close ! Meanwhile we were a very happy family party at our country house. My only brother was at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his father had been before him. My sister was at home, and she was, as she is now, active in good work. My father EARLY WORK IN THE SERVICES 71 was getting on in life, but was very vigorous, although an accident met with in falling from a ladder had robbed him of some of his activity. Still he was always at work in one way or another. He was a great linguist, and taught himself German that he might be able to read German astronomical works. He was not quite so able to climb into the cradle and work his large telescope, but he kept himself abreast of the times, and contributed papers which were printed in the proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society. My mother delighted in all his pursuits, and in her garden, although she was not very strong. It was good to see the dear old people reading and strolling about together ; theirs was truly the love that wears well. I used to go down to Bath every day, always walking, and after the meetings I walked up the lonely hill again, attended by my little bull-terrier dog who, with his fierce face and patch over one eye, looked the embodiment of a fighter, and was better than any policeman. No tramp or rough character would walk on the same pathway as myself and my dog, especially when they heard his low rumbling growl. I had him, however, quite under control, and he never had occasion to hurt any one. So in this happy life my years glided along, and though I had many friends in the army, I had none in the navy. CHAPTER VI MY FIRST BLUEJACKET FRIEND The time had come when the first Hnk of the chain was going to be forged, which was to bind me to the navy, and which was to separate me from home, and from those dear to me there. The naval Hnk had come above water, but, like every other link, it was a part of a chain of which we cannot see the beginning or the end. One of my soldier correspondents was ordered to India ; he wrote to me telling me that in a few days he would be at Portsmouth with his regiment to take passage in an Indian transport. I wrote him a few friendly, cheery words to Portsmouth, re- minding him of that Friend who is as near to us in India as in Aldershot. The troopship put to sea, and I expect that for a few days the soldier passengers were hors de combat ! Still, before they arrived at Bombay via Suez, my young soldier friend had become acquainted with the sick-berth steward of H.M.S. Crocodile, named George Brown ; he had enlisted under this name, but he was a Pole, with all the fine characteristics of the race, and his name was George Dowkontt. However, he bore the purser's name, George Brown, while in the service, and by that name I knew him in those early days. One day the two men were walking up and down n '/ Q H C/3 U Oi \a O < < o a: CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES 139 For some years I had Sailors' Rests also at Port- land and Sheerness, but the leases of these places ran out, and I did not renew. We had two, but we could not supervise four places properly ; two were as many as we could manage, and we decided that " what was worth doing was worth doing well," and so we stood by the premier ports of Portsmouth and Devonport. While I was planning and working for the men at home I did not forget those abroad. My correspond- ence was very large, and it is now larger still ; every month Ashore and Afloat and my Monthly Letter went hand in hand in their long journeyings to ships and sailors all over the world. It was marvellous to note the effect that they seemed to have on the seafaring community everywhere. The British and American ships lay side by side at Yokohama, Ashore and Afloat and a Blue Back got on board, and they were read and passed from hand to hand. The American sailors w^ere most anxious to have them, and consequently I wrote to the Secretary of the Navy Board at Washington, enclosed him copies, and said that if in his opinion they were likely to do good in their service, I would send them with pleasure. I received a letter from him saying that he had read them, and was confident that they would do a great deal of good, and if I would address them and send them to their receiving office in London, that they would gladly forward them to their ships all over the world free of charge. I have been in close touch with the American navy since that day. I have visited many warships, and have spoken to the men and boys, and have always 140 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS been so kindly received that I have felt quite at home under the '' Stars and Stripes," and received not long ago a very nice letter from the chaplain of one of the United States training ships. He says, " Our boys wish you to accept the little gift accompanying this letter as a token of appreciation of your many offices of goodwill towards them and your interest in their welfare. The boys read Ashore and Afloat and your Monthly Letters with great delight and interest, and will continue to do so as long as you send them. All the boys on our training ship are well acquainted with you through your letters, and should you meet any of them, they will be so glad to know you personally. Wishing you God speed in the work, I remain yours truly, Chaplain." The token that the chaplain speaks of was a beautifully bound volume of Longfellow's Poems, and a message written in it to the effect that " it came with the grateful thanks of the American sailor boys." We also send large quantities of the Ashore and Afloat and Monthly Letters to the mercantile service, deep-sea fishermen, coastguardsmen, and lighthouse keepers. The output at the present time is : Ashore and Afloat, 750,100 copies ; and Monthly Letters, 770,680 copies a year. The coastguard service is being gradually abolished. I for one am sorry ; the coastguards are so interwoven with my past life. Only men of good character could get in, and it was a comfortable little billet with its bit of kitchen-garden and whitewashed cottage for Jack ashore. The coastguard pacing up and down CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES 141 under the white ensign, with his telescope under liis arm, ready to do or to dare anything to save hfe in stormy weather, is known to many of us. We are sorry that these hving pictures ashore of the navy afloat should pass away. I have been to many of these stations, and always visit them regularly by means of my monthly packets. Many of the men are total abstainers and belong to the Royal Naval Temperance Society, and others are very earnest Christian men. Some have been turned to God in ways that we should call strange, but 1 think that one of the most beautiful stories from real life that was ever told me was what we might call " Under the White Ensign." I remember that glorious summer afternoon ; the Solent looked so blue, and the golden haze seemed to shimmer over our great iron ships, destroyers, and torpedo-boats — pictures of intellectual strength, swift- ness, and power — and the white ensign, our grand naval flag, floating lazily at the stern of the battle- ships, carried one's thoughts back to the time when Nelson, Collingwood, and a host of brave men main- tained old England's supremacy as mistress of the seas. My meditations were brought to an abrupt pause by a cheerful hail from a sunburnt bluejacket as he paced up and down under the white ensign that marked out the coastguard station. He was an old friend, and had served on board the Temeraire and many another of Her Majesty's ships. "Beg your pardon," he said, "but I couldn't let you pass. Fine day, isn't it ? The sight of that fleet warms me up, and makes me feel that but for the 142 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS wife and children I should like to do a bit more sea time. They do look grand ; and is it true, as I've heard, that every ship gets her Blue Backs and Ashore and Afloats ? Well, times have changed since I was a youngster." " Yes," I replied, as we walked up and down, " we have circulated a large number of Blue Backs and Ashore and Afloat this year." " Bless me," he cried, " every ship in the navy has her parcel, and a fellow from the Orlando told me that the men came round like bees when the parcel was opened, and they wanted a hundred more every month. And then you send them to the American navy and the merchant sailors no end. I'm glad that Johnnie gets them as well as Jack and Joe and Uncle Sam. ''Do you know," he continued, "it's a sight of good them papers do. Wherever they go men will always read them, if they read nothing else, because they come from Mother Weston. You must want plenty of shiners to do that. I'll give half-a-crown. I know the good that they do at our coastguard station. I wish I could give more. I owe all my happiness to a Blue Back." He suddenly stopped and seized the halyards. The sun was just dropping in the west like a ball of fire ; a puff of smoke, a report, and down fluttered the white ensign. " If you can wait a minute," said my bluejacket friend, " I will tell you about the Blue Back and this here old flag." I willingly waited while he made all taut and trim, and then, his watch being over, he told me his story. " Do you remember writing a Blue Back called CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES 143 ' The White Ensign ' ? It was all about this flag of ours, and the lessons it taught, and how we carried the cross all over the world ? The Union Jack in the corner, you said, taught Christian love ; the white ground was Christian hoIinesS; and the red cross was the Cross of Christ. " I was on the coastguard then, near Hastings, and as I read that Blue Back in the watch-room, tlie words they just seemed to sink into my heart, for no one knew better than I did myself what a sinner I was : I kneeled down and prayed when I had read that Blue Back. Next morning I was early astir, for mine was the morning watch — it was as beautiful a sum- mer morning as this is a summer evening — and I was just waiting to hoist the ensign. "The sun showed out of the sea, and up went the flag ; as she fluttered out in the morning breeze over my head there was the red cross on the white ground. I kneeled down on the beach, and I felt there and then that Christ was my Saviour, and His Cross my only hope." The westerly glow lighted up the rugged face of the bluejacket as he uttered these words ; and, grasping my hand, he turned away. From that day to this I have never forgotten this story from real life. It was very bright and cheery on June 13, 1881, to see the crowds of men who came to help to open the Portsmouth Sailors' Rest. At the present time it is much more than double the size than it was in '81. However, our naval friends were well pleased ; they said that we were commissioning the ship, that she was a noble three-decker, and that, once built, 144 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS the bluejackets would see that she went on floating. Many good speeches were made that night by bronzed sons of the ocean, and we did not forget to thank God, who had given us the place, and to dedicate it to Him. The same success continued to attend it as had attended Devonport. We have never found that the exclusion of intoxicants has driven away the men — very much the reverse. Our figures up to the present date show that more naval men have used our Sailors' Rests than can be chronicled at any Home where intoxicating drink is sold ; the steady men are glad to get a place free from drink, and the drinking men know that they will be cared for, and, if possible, helped into a better life. The house is open all night, and no man in hquor is turned away. We often see and hear strange things. "Three sheets in the wind. Mother," a man said as he lurched in. " Sorry you should see me like this, but it's a long lane that has no turning ; you'll see me a better boy yet." Another evening a man ingenuously said, " I'm sorry. Mother ; indeed I am, but I've been keeping my birthday, and I've had a tot too much ; you'll forgive me, and look it over ?" I could forgive him, but it was difficult to look it over, as he had already kept three birthdays in the same way in a fortnight. However, he came to the Sailors' Rest, and I hoped that the influence of the place might yet make a man and a Christian of him. I began to gather workers round me, who had been in the service themselves, and who understood the difficulties of those that they had to deal with. CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES 145 They visited them on board their ships, and invited them to the Sailors' Rest ashore, distributing also the Ashore and Afloat and Blue Backs. Lady-workers also kindly gave me their help ; many have come and have gone, some are working abroad, or in other hnes of Christian work, some remain with me. Early in the eighties Miss Brown came to me and devoted herself to the classes, meetings, work among sailors' wives, &c. ; she is still after all these years helping me in secretarial and other work, and is one of our trustees. I feel that I owe her a great debt of gratitude, and also to other true and earnest ladies who have been with us, or who are with us now. Portsmouth and Devonport, although not doing such a large and solidly organised work as they are now, were all alive and humming with men. I read in an old note-book these confidences from the men when I returned after a short absence : " We sat down nearly two hundred to tea, Miss Weston, last Sunday afternoon," said a young seaman ; " you should have seen us, we were full from stem to stern. You'll have to set to work again, and get bigger quarters ; we said we'd eat you out of house and home, and we're doing it." Another man says : " Aye, but the crowd at tea was nothing to the crowd at night ; we were packed like herrings in a barrel, and numbers had to go away. Why, on this reading-table," tapping it signifi- cantly, "six of us slept, and I was one of the six. Bluejackets can sleep anywhere ; and as to turning, they never want to turn — till they turn out." Some one overheard one man say to another : " Mind you come back to sleep here. I shall look 146 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS out for you." " But suppose," said his chum, '' I get a drop too much, Miss Weston won't have me here." " Yes, she will," was the prompt reply. " I've heard her say a dozen times that we were never to stop away while she had a roof to cover us, even if we were drunk. Look here, you see that red lamp over the sleeping-quarters, you make for that ; if you see Two red lamps, make for it, and even if you see Three." Some have blamed me for taking in men the worse for drink, but I have always felt that they needed all our care ; they were " somebody's boys." And if we copied the Master, we should not leave the poor fellow on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (even if it happened to run through Portsmouth or Devonport) who had fallen among thieves, and had lost his reason, and his cash, stripped, wounded, and half dead, and so I encouraged the police and others to bring them in. And sad sights we saw then, and often see now. I remember on one occasion meeting with an adventure, which showed me that personal influence was not to be despised. I was returning from Plymouth to Devonport in the tram-car, when it stopped to take up a herculean seaman who was several " sheets in the wind." He got in noisily, and dropped into a seat by a market woman, on whose shoulder he laid his head, and fell fast asleep. The tram conductor came round for the fares, and looked dubiously at the man, and concluded to pass him by. When he came to me I said, " I am sure that man will pay." " I daresay he will," he replied, " but I CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES 147 don't like to stir him up ; he'd be one too much for me, he's Fighting Charlie." I had not numbered Fighting Charlie then among my friends, though I was sorry to see a bluejacket in that condition, so I said, " I'll pay for him with pleasure." On went the car, and as it neared Devonport passengers got out, casting furtive glances at Charlie, who was now lying stretched at full length in the car. In those days the cars went half-way down Fore Street. "What will you do with him?" I said to the conductor ; " when you get to your journey's end, you'll have to turn him out or carry him back to Plymouth." "Oh, I guess me and the driver will contrive to get him out, and if he's sleepy he'll lie down in the gutter," As the car proceeded down Fore Street I thought I would try to speak to him, and so perhaps prevent a struggle ; standing over him I said, " Charlie, it's time to turn out, do you hear ? " He made no reply, but struck out with his fists. I kept in a safe place and said again, "Come along, Charlie, look alive." He opened his eyes and looked at me then, and jerked out, " Why, it's my Mother Weston 1 " " Yes," I replied, " it is your Mother Weston, and very sorry she is to see you like this ; now what are you going to do?" " I'll go with you wherever you take me," he replied. " You will leave the car quietly and you won't fight ?" " No," he said, " I'll do whatever you say." Rather incautiously I said, "Then you had better come with me." He was got out, but his 148 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS walking powers were very limited. I took him by the arm, and beckoned to a bluejacket whom I knew to go to the other side, which he did. Poor fellow, he certainly had no control over his legs ; they flew into the air or else his feet dragged on the ground, and I feared a catastrophe, which soon came, and in a moment I found myself in the street with Charlie on the top of me, and my sailor friend doing his level best to pull us both up. After a time we were on our way again, and close to the Sailors' Rest ; we managed to negotiate the swing doors, and he was soon on a couch sleeping it off. His horror and consternation the next day, when his mates told him of the episode in Fore Street, cannot be told. He came up to say how sorry he was, what a good father and mother he had, and that he would give up the drink. " As to you," he said, " you've been more than a mother to me ; and if I hear any one saying a word against you, if he is as big as a church tower, I'll knock him down." 1 have been looking over some entries in my old diaries about this date, and it is curious to read that we were so delighted with what we should call now our small receipts, and our sleepers, when we first opened at Portsmouth. It runs thus : " We are doing well, taking quite £6 a day over our counters, and housing 20, sometimes 30 men, every night." At the present time our receipts are £^^0, sometimes ;^6o or ^80 a day, and our sleepers 400 and 500 a night, sometimes 1000 when every bed is let, and men are lying on the floor. We are now building 200 more cabins at Portsmouth. CAPTURE OF THE PUBLIC-HOUSES 149 Well do I recollect an incident about this time which was amusing and might have been serious. It was Whit Monday, and a lovely day ; a monster temperance meeting was to be held in Netley Abbey, a most picturesque and romantic spot. The Blue Ribbon movement was at its height, and this was a Blue Ribbon meeting. Mr. William Noble, Arch- deacon, then Canon, Wilberforce, and others, includ- ing myself, were asked to speak. I went over with Miss Wintz, and we took a gallant band of blue- jackets, members of the Royal Naval Temperance Society. The old Abbey looked its best, with its traceried windows, the ivy framing them in, the blue sky above, and carpeted with green grass ; but, best of all, it was crowded with thousands of people. A large platform was erected under the east window, the meeting went on as usual, the speech of the eloquent Canon was of course the centre of the whole. At the close numbers crowded up to sign the temperance pledge, and to put on the bit o' blue. I was standing at the edge of the platform pinning on the ribbons, the bluejackets with their flag behind me. Suddenly the platform quivered, rolled like a wave of the sea, and went forward. I was flung far out among the audience, Canon Wilberforce was shot on the top of me, ruining his hat, and otherwise bruising himself, others were thrown in various directions, and some were considerably hurt. The first thing that I remember was scrambling up considerably the worse for wear, to see the Canon allaying the panic, by getting up on a chair and giving out the Doxology, in which we all more I50 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS or less joined. The bluejackets had kept their feet, and so had Miss Wintz, and they had gone down with their colours flying, all standing ! As I look through these old diaries I wonder how we got through our work, but we did. Now at Devonport, the next day visiting ships and speaking at Sheerness and Chatham ; travelling all night to hold a meeting the next day at Edinburgh ; then at Portland, going on board the Boscawen and other ships, and back to Devonport. I see that I mention several meetings in Glasgow. By the kindness of our friends we returned over the border richer by one thousand pounds. Before one of these meetings I was laid up with a bad throat, and was in bed all day, but I got up and went to the meeting, and managed to speak. The collection at that meeting was ;^I50, and so the work went on by leaps and bounds, year by year, as the prophet Nehemiah says, ^^ By the good hand of our God upon us." CHAPTER XII THE EGYPTIAN WAR From the time of the Indian Mutiny, when the Naval Brigade, under Captain Peel, K.N., did such good service, to the present day, our seamen and marines, landed, have done splendid work. With all due respect to Tommy Atkins, Jack can put his hand to anything, and in the earlier times the newspaper correspondents used to say that, while the soldiers were waiting sorrowfully for their commissariat, and their cooks, Jack would have made his fire, cooked his soup and bacon, and had even been successful at duff, had eaten the good things, and was dancing to the strains of an old fiddle ! In these modern days arrangements of course are much better, but as Jack adds to his accomplish- ments of laundry work and needle work that of a cook, he must always be " forrarder " than his brother in arms. The Egyptian War, including the bombardment of Alexandria, the taking of Tel-el-Kebir, the Gordon Expedition, and the fall of Khartoum, all took place in the eighties, and as the brave fellows in the ships and those landed in the Naval Brigade were our friends, and we were constantly hearing from them, writing to them, and sending them literature and »5» 152 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS comforts of every kind, we were deeply interested in all that took place. Commander Lord Charles Beresford, who so pluckily achieved fame in the Condor, was well known to me, for when I first went to Devonport he was Flag-Lieutenant to the late Admiral Sir Harry Keppel, G.C.B. Lord Charles is credited with many wild and plucky adventures; he is brave and chivalrous, and is an embodiment of what the British naval officer should be. His magnetic influence is wonderful ; he had only got to hold up his finger, and men in and out of the service would flock around him. " I'd go all over the world with him, if it were not for my two wooden legs," cried an old tar triumphantly. We hoist the signal, " Well done. Condor," once again at the close of his career, and wish him many more years of useful service to the navy, afloat or ashore. Personally he has always been a most kind friend to me, and has helped and advised me in many of my schemes for the good of the men. The stir and bustle preceding this expedition was great, and I could but encourage the men not to forget their little meetings for prayer and Bible readings when ashore, and to stand by their colours as teetotallers, members of the R.N.T.S. ; they promised that they would. Many a letter came from them, written on a drum-head, or a gun, or anything flat ; and most interesting those letters were. "We don't forget the Sailors' Rest at Ports- mouth " (or Devonport, as the case may be) ; " we often think of the meetings. When we bivouac we get a little away after the rifles are piled, and all are THE EGYPTIAN WAR 153 standing easy, and we sing our hymns out of the books that you gave us, and read the Christian Union portion, and talk about better things ; and often other men come round and Hke to sing too, and we give them the Blue Backs and Ashore and Afloat and they are so pleased to get them, and the soldiers often ask for them." Another man writes : " I must tell you about our teapot ; we call him Mr. Arabi, and when we come home we hope to show him to you. He has been with us all through the expedition, and we call him a lucky teapot, for we teetotallers who stick to him have had no sickness. Many a man who has gone in for his rum and water has been down ; they say that if the waiter is bad the rum takes all the poison out, but we tell them that we don't believe a word of it, for they have been in the hospital tent, but with our Mr. Arabi wc haven't been near it." Scientific teetotalism since those days has proved that Jack's personal conclusions were correct, that no amount of alcohol added to impure water will destroy the germs or bacilli, but that boiled water is immune, and so when I paid a visit to the Inconstant, on her return with members of the Naval Brigade, I looked with respect on Mr. Arabi, rather the worse for wear, displayed on a mess table ; the men gathered round all eager to tell me what a good friend he had been. He would not have done for afternoon tea in a lady's drawing-room. He was a " three-decker," and would make three brewings of tea at once, but he was awkward, rough, and showed signs of hard usage, but, looking at him from a utilitarian point of view, he was a true temperance 154 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS worker, a friend of Jack, and " a man's a man for a' that." Another incident I remember, that is very char- acteristic of Jack, occurred at this time. Water, when fresh, was precious, and there was a canal called the " Sweet Water Canal " ; fighting was taking place around, and it was a warm corner. Some shells had fallen near, and had destroyed part of the lining wall, so that the water was rapidly oozing into the sand ; the loss must be stopped at all risks. The Engineers were not on the spot to render aid, and the other military men could not wield a trowel, but Jack was sure that he could do it, and if it was a dangerous spot so much the better. Three times the number needed volunteered, and they marched off, carrying such implements as they could improvise ; arrived on the spot they set to work, and under the light of a full moon they worked all night. A stray shell pitched and exploded several times, but without doing any harm, and in the same way a rifle bullet pinged by ; when the sun began to show his rim above the desert the work was done and the fresh water saved. The officer in command was just going to order them to fall in and to march back to the encamp- ment, when " Please, sir, may we stand easy for ten minutes ?" saluted his ears. " Certainly," he replied, strolling away. On his return an object greeted his eyes that he had never seen before. They had spent the time in fixing an upright pole in the sand, and across it they had nailed a board that they had brought with them, which bore this THE EGYPTIAN WAR 155 inscription : " This is the wall that Jack built." And with hearty cheers they formed up, wheeled, and marched back to their tents. My diary tells me that I went on board the Ruby at Chatham. They had been guarding Suez, and seemed to think it rather a dull job, but they said, "Your little Blue Backs and your letters used to liven us up." From the Ruby I went to the Naval Hospital and saw the sick and wounded from Egypt, talked to them, and tried to cheer them. They chatted away, and told me many an anecdote that I have forgotten now ; one was about Lord Charles Beresford, which I have no doubt he would recognise. Looting of every kind was strictly prohibited, everything was to be honourably paid for. One day Lord Charles met a bluejacket who looked abnor- mally stout, and had some difficulty in saluting. "What have you got inside your jumper?" he de- manded. " Nothing, sir," was the reply. <' Stuff," rejoined Lord Charles, " you've been looting; now out with it." There was a convulsive movement under the jumper and a stifled cry. Seeing that concealment was useless. Jack pulled out Chanticleer. " Please, sir, he was sitting on a fence, and I says to him, ' Now then, you crow for the honour of old England, or it will be the worse for you.' I asked him three times ; he wouldn't do it, so, sir, I took him prisoner to do duty at the mess." I believe that Lord Charles kept his weather eye shut and said no more, and Chanticleer promptly found his way into the cooking-pot of the Naval Brigade. 156 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS In the year 1885 the Church Congress assembled at Portsmouth, and at the wish of the present Bishop of St. Alban's, then Canon Jacob, Vicar of Portsea, who was one of the secretaries, I was asked to read a paper on my work in connection with the navy. I am not quite sure, but I beHeve I was one of the first ladies thus honoured, although it is delight- ful to read the gifted speeches of ladies at these assemblies nowadays. I cannot say whether I was a curiosity or not, but I secured an audience quite dis- proportionate to my merits. The hall was crowded with clergy and others, and they seemed much interested in the account that I was able to give. An outcome of this meeting was a great gathering of naval men in our large hall at the Sailors' Rest in the interests of Social Purity. The then Bishop of Newcastle, Dr. Ernest Wilberforce, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, was in the chair, and several of the Congress speakers spoke as they alone could. The Royal Naval Purity Society was the fruit of this notable gathering of service men. The proverb, " All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," is true, when one is giving out one's best in brain and muscle in any cause ; a little respite is needed sometimes to keep the machine in good trim. And the years of unremitting work had left its mark upon myself and Miss Wintz ; true, we had our quarters on the edge of Dartmoor for short rests, but that was about all, and the time seemed to have come for a real rest. Our thoughts naturally turned to the " playground of Europe," Switzerland, dear to Miss Wintz as her birthplace. We were able at last to make all neces- THE EGYPTIAN WAR 157 sary arrangements, and, on a morning never to be forgotten, we started for Dover. The crossing safely accomplished, the all-night journey to Bale com- menced. I had never been in Switzerland, and a snow mountain was a sight I had never seen. In those old days railway carriages were not what they are now, and certainly the seats of the Calais- Bale Express were something like the pebble beach at Portland, and left painful reminiscences. But I shall never forget tne early dawn as we entered Switzerland. At last Bale was reached, and after breakfast we started for Schaffhausen and the Falls of the Rhine. It was nearly as interesting to myself as to Miss Wintz to walk once more in the grounds that had belonged to her family, and to stand on the terrace of the old Chateau where she first saw the light, looking over a view unique in all respects. The Chateau of Laufen looked dark and grim on the opposite side, and the beautiful country was framed in by the snowy range of the Bernese Oberland. We stayed two or three days, looking up the old town house and family records in Schaff- hausen, and finally left for Lucerne, not allowed to pay anything, for the landlord said " it was an honour to entertain a member of the old family." Arrived at Lucerne, we took steamer up the lake to a sweet little spot on the Axenstrasse, called Tell's Platte. The Uri Rothstock, and other grand moun- tains, among which thunder often rolled during our short stay, rose before us, and the lake in all its beauty lay below us. At the head of the lake was the town of Fluelen, fenced in by the St. Gothard Pass. 158 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS A trip up the Rigi was one of our pleasures, the Httle cogged railway carriages taking us to the top, and the sunrise next morning is stored away among life's memories. The magnificent panorama of snow mountains and the glorious tints must be seen to be believed, and also the grotesque appearance of the visitors, wrapped in blankets, &c., gathered to see it. We were anxious to go over the Furka Pass to the Rhone Valley, for we were bound for the Eggishorn, and, as a returning waggonette was also anxious for a fare, we started via Andermatt, the Devil's Bridge, and Goschenen. We toiled on, until at last on that hot day in August we got to perpetual snow at the top of the Pass, and oh, the air ! sal-volatile was nothing to it. The next day was as entirely on the down grade, as the day before had been on the up grade, past the Rhone Glacier, and on to Visp, where we paid off our waggonette, and began the long climb to the Eggishorn Hotel, to which we were bound. Here we stayed a week, making an ascent of the Sparrenhorn, from which we had a nagnificent view. We also made an excursion to the Aletsch Glacier and Marjolen See. This was our first glacier experi- ence, and the roping together, the narrow pathways we trod, with crevasses on each side, blue and deep, and then the little lonely sea-green lake, all took its place in our book of mental photographs. Meanwhile we were drinking in health day by day from the mountain air. The valley of the Rhone, dark and blue, lay beneath us, and magnificent mountains — the Weisshorn, the Matterhorn, the Dent THE EGYPTIAN WAR 159 du Midi, and others — towered up in front. I shall never forget a Bible-reading on the mountains, con- ducted by the Rev. E. W. Moore, one Sunday afternoon. The whole setting was so beautiful, our thoughts certainly were carried up to Nature's God. I am certain that not one of the large audience will ever cease to remember it. Our next halt was Zermatt. There was no railway then, and we determined to walk to Stalden, with knapsacks, and on to Zermatt, which we did. Zermatt was different to all that we had seen ; the weird, uncanny Matterhorn towering over it like a malevolent fiend, when seen in juxtaposition with the lovely Weisshorn clothed with snow. One expedition 1 can never forget — to the Riffel and Gornergrat. We started very early, and, as we were getting through the pine- woods, the sun rose. In a moment the great black peak of the Matterhorn glowed as with incandescent fire over and through the pine-trees, the tops of the Monte Rosa range put on the beautiful pink glow, while the valleys below were wrapped in purples and greys. We stayed for a night at the hotel, and, climbing to a high peak with some friends to see the sun set, we could not resist singing the Doxology with one accord. The next morning was spent in rambling by the Corner Glacier, and it very nearly came to pass that we never saw the sailors again. We got on the moraine, and in our ignorance embarked on the glacier. Presently we heard a loud report, and a crevasse opened almost under our feet. We made for the moraine, but, like a pistol shot, another cleavage occurred between ourselves and the shore. i6o MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS There was nothing to do but to sit down, which we did, and waited until some gentlemen, with guides, came and delivered us ; and then we heard that the Gorner Glacier was moving on at a certain rate of progression, and was never the same two days together, and, indeed, was very dangerous to traverse even with guides. From Zermatt back to the valley of the Rhone, and thence by Villeneuve and the Lake of Geneva to Lausanne, and home again. Two years later another short trip to Berne, Lake Thun, Interlaken, and Grindelwald completed our Swiss rambles. Our work has not allowed us to go out of England since, but our memories are stored with photographs of the lovely land of snows and glaciers, which will last all through life's journey. The year 1887 was the Jubilee year, and all the empire rejoiced with the beloved Queen-Empress, honoured, respected, and, I may say, loved by the whole world. This date was signalised to us by a message from the then Crown Princess of Germany, our Princess Royal, that she would much like to come over from Osborne to see ourselves and the Sailors' Rest. It was the first Royal visit that we had received, and, unused to Court etiquette, we were somewhat nervous, but the kind friendliness of the Crown Princess, and the deep interest that she showed in all the details of our work, soon put nervousness to flight. She was delighted with the place, which she inspected minutely, enjoying a cup of coffee handed to her by Miss Wintz. As I guided her through the Photo -Jo ■ B.r I \>tst, /ifinturff. f- THE EGYPTIAN WAR i6i reading-rooms, she noted the presence of a Bible on each table, among all the magazines and periodicals. Turning to me she said, " I'm so glad to see the Bible, the best book of all, among the papers, and I can also see that it has been well read." I told Her Royal Highness what I felt about the Bible. " Yes," she replied, " it is the crown of your work." The cabins immensely delighted her, and she told me about her sailor son, Prince Henry of Prussia, and remarked that she must give a cabin for his sake. The cheque for thirty guineas duly followed, and the cabin stands there to this day. I can see her now as she was on that occasion, wonderfully young-looking in her yachting costume, bright and sunny. How little one thought of the dark clouds that were even then hovering on her horizon. Expressing her pleasure and interest in all that she had seen, and promising to give Her Majesty, who was also much interested in the work, a full account, she said, as she bade me good-bye, in her bright impulsive way, " Ah, Miss Weston, if circum- stances were different, how much I should like to work with you." CHAPTER XIII THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED The opening of the last decade of the past century was signalised by the appointment of Admiral H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh as Commander-in-Chief at Devonport. The Duke, as a naval officer, had been interested in our work for many years, and had always encouraged me in it ; but a terrible national catastrophe, which I call " the ship that never re- turned," drew us together in mutual work for our countrymen and women, and opened out new interests to myself and those with me. On the 8th of November 1890, H.M.S. Serpent steamed out of Plymouth Sound for her distant station. She was a new ship, with all the latest improvements of the time ; my helpers had been on board as she lay alongside in the dockyard, and had started good work among the ship's company, and we knew them well as they went in and out of the Sailors' Rest. We bade them good-bye as they left, full of bright prospects for the commission. As I passed through the dockyard gates a bluejacket was saying good-bye to his wife. " Cheer up, Nell," he said, as he kissed her ; " take care of yourself and the kids, and I'll soon be home again." The officers and ship's company of the Serpent 163 THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED 163 little knew that they were steering into the jaws of death. Sunday, November the 9th, passed as the ship sped on her course. Monday the loth wore away, and the night settled down " black as a wolf's mouth," the ship plunging through the waves. The watch below were asleep in their hammocks, when all at once with a grating sound and a slight shock the ship struck, and then again with a violent shiver she crashed on the reef. ** On that awful night I was in the watch below," said one of the survivors ; " when she struck there was a little confusion as the men rushed on deck, but in a moment they fell into order ; not one flinched, every man obeyed the word of command and stood by the ship. The officers grouped to- gether on the bridge, the men in the rigging or on deck. " The next order was ' Lower the boats ' ; they were lowered, but instantly capsized. As a final resource the lifeboat was lowered, but she was seized like a toy by the mighty billows and was dashed to pieces. The Captain then spoke his last words : ' Save your- selves, men, the officers will stand by the ship.' " The last sight seen by those who have returned was a sinking ship, the men washed out of the rigging wholesale, the officers standing on the bridge and going down as she settled under water. Young lives were given up, and death came suddenly and swiftly ; they were only a few hours from old England, and their loved ones were sleeping peace- fully while they struggled with death. I shall never forget the shock at Devonport and throughout the country when the notice was posted i64 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS outside the dockyard and the Commander-in-Chief's ofBce : "Total loss of H.M.S. Serpent with all on board." Crowds of widows and mothers rushed to the Admiral's office, and that Admiral was H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh ; the day was dark and drizzly, typical November, and the wailing and weeping was terrible to see. The Duke came out bareheaded in the rain, and he told the poor sorrow- ful ones how much he sympathised with them, that he feared that the news was true, but all that could would be done. " He has a kind heart," said one poor soul ; " I saw the tears fill his eyes as he was speaking to us." The next day, true to his word, he summoned a meeting of those likely to take interest in such work and appointed his own committee. Miss Wintz and my workers meanwhile took immediate steps to search out the bereaved ones, and to help them immediately. When our seamen are drowned, as G. R. Sims truly says : — •' 'Tis not only the husband that's missing, 'Tis the children's daily bread." The man's pay stops at once, the poor wife or mother is crushed or stunned, and it is during these early days of sorrow and destitution that help is most needed. For some months we worked on this committee, and I went through all the cases per- sonally with the Duke, and can testify to his deep sympathy and practical business capacity, as we sifted all these matters. Subscriptions flowed in, a Serpent Fund was raised, and was placed in the hands of the Soldiers' and THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED 165 Sailors' Families Association. Not one penny of this fund was invested ; it has all been spent upon the people for whom it was collected, and is now almost, if not quite exhausted. A board of trustees was formed, and, by the Duke's wish, I was appointed a member. Only three men out of 176 were saved that night — Gould, Luxon, and Burton ; young men all of them. They shall tell their own stories, as they told them to me in the Royal Naval Hospital, where they lay wounded and maimed. Luxon grasped me by the hand as I stood by his bedside : " I'm one of your temperance boys," he said ; " I've never tasted strong drink. I was trained in H.M.S. Ganges in Falmouth, and joined the Royal Naval Temperance Society there, and then I came to Devonport, and the Sailors' Rest was a home to me. Aye, Miss Weston, I'm proud of the Boys' Medal that you gave me for sticking to temperance. Yes, I jumped overboard when Captain Ross gave the order, and I swam for life ; I'm a strong swimmer." Seeing the young fellow's arm crooked and fixed, I asked the reason. " Well," he modestly said, " I was trying to save a shipmate, and I got my arm round him ; I struggled for nearly an hour, and lost all power in that arm because of his weight ; and then a big roller washed him out, and he sank, and this arm was useless." As I looked at the stiffened arm, and the young boyish face, I thought that here was the stuff out of which heroes were made, and that useless arm seemed as great an honour as a Victoria Cross. I moved on and stood by the side of another i66 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS survivor — Gould. He looked at me with the tears in his eyes. " I never thought to see you again," he said, " but God has been very good to me ; it's a miracle that I'm here, and it is God alone who has saved me. You ask me how I was saved ; I will tell you. I was on watch and I had my cork jacket on ; when I jumped into the sea I was whirled round like a top in the water, and I sank for the last time as I thought. My senses seemed to go, and yet I could think clearer than ever in my life. All my past stood before me, and all the good and all the evil that I had done, and plenty of the latter. "And then, clear as a picture, I saw my mother, and she was praying for me ; I began then to pray for myself. I prayed for the pardon of my sins through the blood of Jesus Christ, and I prayed that He would save my life. In a minute or two I was carried against a rock : how I clung to it, and lifted myself out of the water, and how I thanked God for answering my prayer. As I held firm to the rock the waves struck my legs with such force that I thought that they must be broken, and then, O horror ! I felt the water rising ; it was the tide. " It rose to my waist, to my chest, to my neck. God ! was I doomed to be drowned after all ? Still 1 prayed, for life is sweet to a man, and as I prayed the tide turned. I was saved. " I took off my cork jacket, put it on the rock, and lying upon it in the midst of the storm, with the dead bodies of my shipmates washing past me, I slept from sheer exhaustion for hours. When I awoke I had no power in my limbs at all, but, by THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED 167 moving them, I got a little life into them, and at last I waded and crawled ashore." Burton was asleep, but I had heard enough from the other two men. Nearly twenty years passed before I saw Gould again ; he was out of the service and in the employ of the Corporation of Plymouth. He told me that although he had been enticed away by bad com- panions after he had left the hospital, that the Good Shepherd had gone after him and had brought him back to God ; and as he told the story that I had heard so many years before, in the hall of the Sailors' Rest, to a great gathering of sailors and their friends, it was indeed a time of rejoicing to me. I have been turning over the pages of my old diaries again, and I find that day after day, and year after year, Miss Wintz, Miss Brown, myself, and my devoted band of workers, went on steadily visiting ships, going from mess to mess, holding meetings on board, on the upper deck, in the flats, in the barbettes, anywhere. I went on board a ship at Portsmouth, and asked permission to have a meeting at the " top-gallant forecastle." The boatswain's mate went round blowing his whistle, and calling, " Miss Weston's come on board, and is holding a meeting on the t'gallant fo'csle ; those that like can come, and those that don't like can stay away." As I stood there I was surrounded in about two minutes by some seven hundred men. Two young fellows were running towards me to get within hearing, and I heard one say to the other, " Look alive, Bill, yer naval mother's come aboard, and she's i68 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS going to spin yer a yarn." I was listened to very attentively, and thanked at the close for the visit. Then at the Sailors' Rest we had endless meetings for the men, and also for their wives and children. As to travelling, Miss Wintz and myself were con- stantly on the rail. She would not only supervise the great Sailors' Rests at Portsmouth and Devon- port, but she would travel all over the country, organising meetings, returning to take up her work again, and to set me free to take these meetings which I accomplished, travelling by night very fre- quently, and speaking by day ; and yet, spite of all, we are well and hearty, and able to carry on our much loved work at the present time. In the year 1892 the Naval Exhibition was held in London in the grounds of Chelsea Hospital, the forerunner of many another exhibition. We were asked to exhibit, and were allotted a very good place. We erected a cabin, full-size, fitted with its bed, &c., a lifelike figure of a bluejacket stood under a flag- staff with his telescope : the whole scene was realistic in the extreme. We were also able to do something for the detach- ment of bluejackets told off for gun drill, feats of arms, &c. They wanted a sort of Sailors' Rest in the Exhibition grounds. I put up, with Miss Wintz's help and co-operation, a bungalow, close to the life- size model of the " old Victory." It was very pretty and picturesque, and the small garden in front was gay with scarlet geraniums and calceolarias. The flagstaff towered aloft, and the whole was roped in in naval fashion. The building consisted of a very brightly fitted THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED 169 restaurant, where tea, coffee, temperance drinks, confectionery, and food could be served at any time. A large reading and writing room, bright with pictures and lounges, filled the other side. Behind was a mess-room, where all the men on duty could sit down and dine. A small room I arranged for myself, and it was also used for Bible-reading and prayer. A cook's galley, with scullery and the usual ofTices, completed the minature Sailors' Rest. Out- side there was a verandah, on which, when off duty, the men used to sit and smoke, and play their man- dolines and banjos to the admiration of passers-by. The place was a success all round, although we gained nothing by it, but rather lost. It was a great help and comfort to the men. I was in London with Miss Wintz nearly all the summer to see that all went well, and to help them in every way. Many of the members of the Royal Family, brought by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited it, and were greatly delighted. Our present King, then the Prince of Wales, took an opportunity of presenting me to the Princess of Wales, now our gracious Queen, and the charm and kindliness of her welcome will never be forgotten. This additional work was heavy, but when we heard from the men what a real home the little place had been, we were all thankful that we had been able to run it. Returning to Portsmouth and Devonport, we continued our ordinary work, with the addition of the claims of many widows and orphans. One morning I received a note from the Duke, asking me to come to see him at Admiralty House. lyo MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS He had a communication from Her Majesty the Queen to the effect that he had interested her so much in our work that she would hke to do some- thing to distinguish the Sailors' Rests, and also on the expiration of his command, not very far off, to give a cabin to the building. I accepted both the kind offers with gratitude. In the first instance the Queen bestowed the title of " Royal " upon the Sailors' Rests, confirming it by Royal Warrant, and graciously saying " that it was a fitting title for a Royal work." This warrant was confirmed by King Edward VII. on his accession to the throne, so that we bear our title legally, and use the Royal Arms ; and we trust to be able to live up to it. The cabin given by Her Majesty has been, and is, an unceasing source of delight to the men. The Queen took great personal interest in its fittings, and wished to present her likeness, asking which one of the many taken would please them most ? I held a solemn convention over this matter. Some voted for the celebrated picture of her late Majesty, in widow's cap, writing a letter. Another man carried all before him when he said, " That was not the like- ness of the Queen at all ; there were plenty of widows in England, and they all wrote letters, but only one Queen ; " and turning to me, amidst loud applause, he said, "Would you tell Her Majesty this, Miss Weston, with our humble respects, and ask for one like a Queen — with a crown on her head and a sceptre in her hand ?" I felt constrained to tell Sir Henry Ponsonby all about it, and he wrote back to say that the THE SHIP THAT NEVER RETURNED 171 letter had been read to the Queen, who was greatly amused, and ordered one of her Jubilee portraits, duly autographed, to be sent. The brass plate on the door bears the simple inscription chosen by herself: "Given by Queen Victoria, 1895." The bluejackets all want to sleep in the Queen's Cabin ; sometimes a dozen will try to enter their names for one night. " It is good of her," said one bronzed fellow ; " it shows how she thinks of us and cares for us." A very important movement at this time, in which we played a considerable part, was a grand change and reform in the method of paying the Admiralty allotments, or " half-pay " as it was called, to the sailors' wives. Up to this time all the money was paid on a certain date at the pay office in the dock- yard, and the women had to come to receive it personally. There were no cars, electric or horse, in those days, and no motor 'buses, and the poor women had many of them to walk for miles through rain or snow, carrying a child, to get to the yard in time to answer their names. Wet through often, they had been known to faint in the waiting-room, or to get home only to go down with cold, rheumatism, and sometimes with pneu- monia. Fortunately our restaurant was open to them, and they crowded in for hot tea or soup. If any woman had arrived too late at the dockyard she had to make the wearisome journey again on what was called " Recall Day." The system was a relic of the old navy, and utterly unsuited to modern times. Mr., now Sir Hudson, Kearley, M.P., brought the matter before the Admiralty, and finally 172 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS before Parliament, and a Royal Commission, of which Lord Farrer was president, was appointed to inquire into the matter at Devonport. It was busy work getting the witnesses, sifting their evidence, and making all ready for the Com- missioners ; but we succeeded, and both Miss Wintz and myself attended to give evidence, and to hearten up the witnesses, who were very much tempted to turn and fly when they found themselves in official quarters. The result was all that we could desire. The system was entirely altered and the abuses done away ; and now every wife and mother drawing half-pay receives a Post-Office Order each month from the Admiralty that she can cash when she will at the nearest office, and the boon has been unspeakable. CHAPTER XIV SIGNALS OF DISTRESS The year 1893 will never be forgotten in naval annals, for on June 22nd H.IM.S. Victoria foundered in the Mediterranean, rammed by H.M.S. Camper- down during a series of evolutions off the Syrian coast. The fleet was a magnificent one, and was on this bright day steaming over a summer sea. Death seemed very far away. The Commander-in-Chief was an Admiral whose name was a household word for bravery and skill. An order was given, and in the attempt to carry it out the collision occurred that sent the Victoria to her doom. Struck by the Camperdown, she was cut nearly in two by her powerful ram. Orders were given and carried out with perfect discipline ; there was no confusion, no panic ; the doctors went to save the sick ; the ship's police brought up the prisoners, and the call sounded for the men to "fall in on the port side of the deck." They stood in serried lines, looking pale and anxious, the ship meanwhile filling and heeling over. But not a man tried to save himself until the order was given, and then many were more intent on saving others than in looking after them- •73 174 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS selves. The Admiral, Sir George Tryon, refused the life-belt that his coxswain brought him, and told him that while there was a chance he must save himself — the coxswain was drowned. A brave young midshipman, Mr. Lanyon, aide-de-camp to the Admiral, said '* that his place was to die with his chief " — he was among the lost. A diver, en- cumbered by his dress, was set free by his chum — the chum was drowned, but the diver was saved. " I never saw such a sight before," a petty officer wrote from the In exible. "The signalmen were carrying out their orders as if all was well, and as the ship went down they stood by the signals." I have a piece of the signal halliards that passed through the hands of these brave men as they calmly obeyed the last order and went down with the ship, standing at the post of duty. The chap- lain of the Vtdoria, the Rev. S. D. Morris, R.N., was a brave, true man and an earnest Christian. A survivor of the disaster wrote to me, " We do miss our chaplain ; he always had such a kind smile and word ; every one loved him." Mr. Morris died as he had lived. He was last seen trying to rescue the sick. On the tablet put up to his memory these words stand : " In the hour of danger and of death, when all were acting bravely, he was conspicuous for his self-denying and successful efforts to save the sick and to maintain discipline. Nobly forgetful of his own safety, he worked with others to the end, and went down with the vessel." An officer said, " When I last saw Mr. Morris he was standing by the men ; then seeing escape impossible, as she SIGNALS OF DISTRESS 175 made the fatal plunge and I leaped from her, he folded his arms upon his breast, and looking up to heaven, his lips moving in prayer, he died. The pluck and Christian character of these brave men is shown in various ranks. Another of our friends was a bright-eyed west-countryman named George Edgcombe. He came of a sturdy stock, and was trained for the navy at Devonport. We often used to see him at the Sailors' Rest as he came in with the tide of sailor boys that used to flow in and out of the building when they were ashore. I was so glad when George signed the temperance pledge, and determined to keep his life free from the snare of drink, and it was pleasanter still to see him in our dining-room, with a number of boys, turning over the pages of the Sacred Volume and learning the way to heaven. At last the news came that he was drafted to H.M.S. Vtdon'a, and away he went to Malta. Some years ago now, after speaking to a large audience in Torquay, I noticed a working man and woman waiting to see me ; the tears coursed down the mother's cheeks as she said : " Our George, before he went away, told us that we were to see you on the first opportunity. He said that you were a second mother to him, and the Sailors' Rest a second home. He did love you. VVe little thought when he went to join the Victoria that we should never see him again. "When he went away he said, ' Cheer up, mother, I'm going by God's help to carry out what I learned at the Sailors' Rest, so that you and father shall 176 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS never be ashamed of me.' " As the mother poured out her heart sorrow, the father stood by clenching his hands, and forcing back his tears. "We love you," he said simply, " because our son loved you, and you taught him to trust and serve his Saviour. He was eighteen years old the day the ship went down, a fine fellow, though I say it, and our only son. I give him," he continued with a great effort, "to his God, his Queen, and his country. I am content. I shall see him by-and-by." I could tell many more incidents, and also of the good work that was going on in the ship, where we had flourishing branches of the Royal Naval Tem- perance Society and of the Royal Naval Christian Union, but this must suffice. Death was sudden and unexpected, and after the ramming by the Camper- down the sea rushed in with fearful rapidity, and in a space of time, estimated at from ten to fifteen minutes, she settled forward, heeled over to the damaged side, turned bottom upwards, and carried down between three hundred and four hundred officers and men — " There is in the wide lone sea A spot unmarked, but holy ; For there the gallant and the free, In his ocean bed hes lowly." The great need at home was IMMEDIATE HELP. The husband or son gone, poverty, sometimes starva- tion, comes into the house at once, because naturally all pay ceases on the date of a man's death. In the case of the Victoria the pay was monthly, and would have been due a few days after the SIGNALS OF DISTRESS 177 catastrophe ; but this money went down with the ship. When half-pay is made out through the Admiralty by the man to his wife or mother, and he dies on active service, there is a Greenwich pension for the wife and children, and a gratuity for the mother ; but when money is sent by remittance, the man sending the sum that he can spare by postal orders, the wife, not being on the Admiralty books, is not recognised, and unless she can absolutely prove by letter that she receives the money regularly she gets no Greenwich pension. The widows and mothers crowded around us at Portsmouth. I had never witnessed such agony before, except in the case of the Serpent. The blow seemed too awful. Some utterly refused to believe it, others nearly lost their reason, one was partially paralysed. As they fiocked to the Sailors' Rest we were turned for a time into a Government office, sending and receiving messages to and from the Admiralty, hourly, as to the life or death of son or husband. One poor mother, who had been apprised of her son's death, received the joyful news through ourselves that, owing to a similarity of names, her dear one was alive, and her joy almost killed her. On Friday, June 23rd, the day after the ship was lost, we investigated the first case, and gave relief. In the case of the mother of one of the drowned men, whose rent was in arrears, the bailiffs were in the house a few days after the loss of the ship. We were able to save her home and, so to speak, to keep the roof over her head. Miss Wintz and myself organised a willing band of workers, and my friends M 178 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS sent me in liberal help, amounting in the aggregate to ;^2778, IS. 5d. I shall never forget the scenes of sorrow in the stricken homes. As I went into the darkened rooms and saw widows or mothers sitting there in their sorrow, often reading the last letter from husband or son, and the little children crying around, I felt in the presence of such awful and crushing grief that all that I could do was to weep with them ; and the edge of the trial was the keener from the knowledge of the terrible fact that money had stopped, and credit had gone, with the bread-winner. In a very few days I was pensioning one hundred families, which number soon increased. My desire was "to keep the wolf from the door" by a small weekly pension, until the Admiralty and national help should come. We opened a mourning depot to help them in this way. Our correspondence with the clergy and others all over England was very large ; every case was sifted out, that our relief might be as wisely given as possible. Sad to say, several little ones were ushered into the world in these days of sorrow, and our funds were needed for doctors, clothing, and nourishment. I could tell many an anecdote from real life of grand endurance, noble heroism, and patient suffering, that would touch every heart. The plan that I have adopted, and have followed out in the case of every naval catastrophe, is this — to send my workers instantly to visit all residing in Portsmouth, Devonport, or Chatham, and to communicate personally at once with all scattered over the country, with sympathy, and offer of help, SIGNALS OF DISTRESS 179 if needed, getting information from the clergy, ministers, and others able to give it. A sum of money is drafted from our own funds for use, until the special funds come in. In the case of the Victoria the Admiralty pensions commenced in August 1893, but those of the Royal Patriotic Com- mission not till November 1893, and in the case of mothers and dependent relations many were deferred until July 1894, one year after the loss of the ship. My own relief goes on steadily until other help is available, and then ceases, to avoid overlapping; but, as I firmly believe in spending the principal of these funds on the people for whose benefit they are given, I clear out my special funds to the last halfpenny. All services in my own case, and in that of my workers, have been gratuitous, and I have defrayed office expenses and postages. Of course, if this cannot be done, the liabilities of widows and mothers can be calculated to a fraction, office expenses of a reasonable character can be allowed for, and the fund spent upon the people for whom it was collected. This is, I believe, legal, and I am sure that it is reasonable. When, after this date, a Royal Commission investi- gated the working of the Patriotic Fund, I w^as called as a witness, and gladly gave evidence before a Select Committee of the House of Commons, taking up many widows of Crimean veterans who were in extreme distress, some in receipt of parish pay, while a large amount, many thousands of pounds, of Crimean and other funds was invested, and only the interest used. These old widows, most of i8o MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS them over seventy years of age, gave their evidence in such strange surroundings with great self-posses- sion, only asking that I would sit by them. One old lady had been a nurse during the Crimean War, and had been in the trenches, and knew Miss Nightingale. She was ruled out because she had married the sergeant of her choice a month or so too late. " Seems hard," she said ; " I would have married him sooner if I had known it, but it does seem bad to live on half-a-crown a week." Another said that " her husband had died for his country, and she was starving for her country," and so on. It was pathetic to see them, but the Patriotic Commission took them on their lists, and they rejoiced in a little more help. Many ships have been lost since that date, or have never returned. H.M.S. Condor, whose name, painted in the stern-sheets of a boat, was about the only record ; the Doterel in the distant Straits of Magellan ; the Cobra, who broke her back on a rock in the North Sea; the Lily, sinking in a typhoon in the China Sea; the Tiger and the Gladiator off our own coast. These and many more tell us the sad truth that " there s sorrow on the sea." CHAPTER XV MY MOTHER Some of the strongest and sweetest reminiscences of my life circle round my dear mother. I can truly say that I remember nothing but good of her, but I fear that no one could say this of me. Hers was a suffering life, a spinal affection keeping her on the sofa for many years, but she was always so cheerful and sunny that her sofa and sick-room were the brightest spots in the house. Her love for her husband and children may have often been equalled, but I am sure that it has never been surpassed. She was intensely musical, and in her early life had lessons from the celebrated Dr. Crotch. She was a beautiful pianist, and had a sweet voice. Indeed, when she was over eighty years of age, and nearly blind, she would sit down to the piano and strike the keys in a masterly manner, and, from memory, would sing airs from Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Lieder, &c. Her interest and delight in my work never ceased, and I know that she followed me incessantly with her prayers. After my father's death she continued to live at Ensleigh, the house that he had built, and the two little grandsons that came, Harry and Jack, were a great solace to her. From time to time I used i8i i82 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS to go home for a few days, and very happy times they were — of rest to me, and of pleasure to her. I told her of all my successes and my difficulties, as one can only tell to a mother. She was the tie that bound me principally to our home, which was broken up, and so ceased to be home, when she passed away. She was of firm and decided character. When over seventy years of age she heard Archdeacon Basil Wilberforce plead the temperance cause elo- quently in the Guildhall at Bath. He spoke very strongly upon the example that Christians should set in abstaining from alcohol on behalf of their weaker brothers and sisters; and although she had taken a small quantity of stimulant all her life, by doctor's orders, she then and there determined, for Christ's sake, to set as clear an example to others as possible. So at the close of the lecture she went forward and signed the pledge, giving up alcohol, and taking to milk. She lived to the age of eighty-five, and no ill effects, but rather the reverse, followed. The loss of her sight by cataract was a great trial to her, as were other infirmities of old age, but her spirit was bright and cheerful, and her faith in her Saviour, and love to Him, carried her over all the roughness of the path. Very painlessly, after a slight attack of bronchitis, she passed away on January 31, 1895. Her illness was thought so little of that, as I was down with influenza at the time, I was not summoned to her. My sister, who lived with her, nursed her with devoted care, and despatched the message to me telling me that she had been called home. Many MY MOTHER 183 reading this know the blank when the mother passes away, and I need not say that the trial was very severe to me ; but I rejoice now in the thought that I have both my parents in the land of light, and that in God's time I shall go to them. I shall not easily forget the journey from Plymouth to Bath for her funeral, during the tremendous frost of 1895. In the railway carriage the windows were not only hard frozen, but one's breath came down like snow. Miss Wintz, who followed me next day, could scarcely get through. The snow was deep, and the frost tremendous ; and in this Arctic weather we laid my dear mother to rest in Lansdown Cemetery, by the side of my father, and when we returned it was to an empty home. A few days later we left for Portsmouth, my sister accompanying us, to share a small country house about seven miles from Portsmouth, at Waterloo. My two nephews, one of whom was then in the army, were with me, and the youngest, Jack, who was at Malvern College, adopted it as his home during the holidays. About this time I became greatly interested in the work of the British Women's Temperance Associa- tion, headed by Lady Henry Somerset. Our sailors' wives had long wanted to join some society, and at that date they were not eligible for the Royal Naval Temperance Society. I inquired into the working of the B.W.T.A., and the result was that we became a naval branch. A band of most able and noble-minded women were at the head of the Association — Lady Henry Somerset, Miss Willard, Mrs. Pearsall Smith, Miss Gorham, Miss Agnes Slack, the Hon. Mrs. Bertrand 1 84 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS Russell, and others. I had the pleasure of giving them some personal help by speaking for them in Plymouth, London, Chester, Edinburgh, Oxford, &c. I can only say that I gained more than I gave. I was specially interested in Duxhurst, the farm colony started by Lady Henry Somerset for the reclamation of inebriate women ; the plan seemed so sensible and well-thought-out, that it made a fresh departure, which is followed now in various places. When the village was built, it occurred to myself and to the temperance bluejackets around me, that it would be very nice if the navy could raise the sum of money necessary to build a cottage. Ship after ship took up the matter, and the money flowed in, and shortly enough was raised not only to build the cottage, but also to furnish it. It was a proud moment for our naval temperance men when, on H.R.H. the Duchess of Teck laying the foundation-stone, two representatives, a bluejacket and a Royal Marine, were able to place the cheque and a purse of money upon that stone. The cottage has done good service, and I hope will continue to do so for many years to come. While at Edinburgh, in the autumn of 1896, helping the " British Women," I paid a visit to H.M.S. Caledonia, lying in the Firth of Forth, close to the great bridge. The boys crowded in their hundreds. The captain and officers stood by me on the quarter-deck, and I hope that many young lives were influenced on that day for good. The Caledonia is now non-existent, and the boys, as seamen, are serving all over the navy. MY MOTHER 185 After this work I returned to Portsmouth, and plunged into my ordinary routine, and I little thought of an event which was soon to happen, and which stopped all my activities for some time. I was fond of my bicycle, and was a very fair rider. One day in November 1896 I was riding about on Southsea Common, and, turning down the Western Parade, the front wheel became accidentally fixed in the tram-line as I tried to avoid a cab ; in a moment the bicycle was over, and I was in the road, having heard the bone of my left leg snap like a carrot, and, worse still, seeing that bone force its way out — it was just above the ankle. Two gentlemen most kindly ran to my rescue, and lifted me with the utmost care, placing me in the open cab that I had tried to avoid. I could only say, "To the hospital as fast as you can." I shall never forget the mortal agony of that drive, as the man whipped up his horse, and at last landed me at the door of the accident department of the Royal Portsmouth Hospital. I was lifted out and carried in on a stretcher, and doctors and nurses, including the matron, were soon around me. I remember the cutting off of shoe and stocking, and I felt so thankful that I was in the hands of Mr. Rundle, one of the best surgeons in Portsmouth. Those that have passed through the ordeal of the setting of a compound fracture know what it is. When the leg had been set, in kindness to help me to bear the reaction and to keep me from fainting, I heard the whispered order, "Give her some brandy." 1 86 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS I do not look upon the taking of alcohol as a sin when given as a medicine, but I thought of many men, and women too, to whom it was a great temptation ; they had, I knew, been helped by my example, and would be discouraged and thrown back if I took the brandy, perhaps not knowing the circumstances under which it was administered. So I said, " Please give me hot milk." And that milk, acting as a stimulant, gave me all the spur that I needed. I remained in the hospital, in a private ward, for two months. It was a novel experience to me to be fixed flat,* with a plank under the mattress, and the leg in steel splints, the cradle over all. I thought at first that I could not bear it, and that to lie like that for a month would drive me out of my mind ; and then the sweet sense of the presence of God filled my heart with a blessed calm, and in the surrender of the will to Him came rest and blessing. I would not have exchanged that hospital bed for a king's palace. For some days blood-poisoning was feared, but that passed by, and gradually the bones united. My bluejacket friends came to see me, and their sorrow was very touching. The Flag-Lieutenant brought me beautiful flowers from the Admiral, and kind in- quiries came from Royalty. It was a terrible shock to Miss Wintz, but she bore up bravely ; and Miss Brown and my fellow- workers did all that they could to carry on the work. Christmas passed in hospital. I was aroused on Christmas morning by a sweet concert outside my door, the nurses singing Christmas Carols, and my MY MOTHER 187 room was full of presents from the Christmas tree and from friends from far and wide. It was a critical moment when the doctors first examined me to see if the bones had united, and also as to whether I should ever walk again, except as a cripple. But all was right, and on a glorious morning in January 1897 I was carried down again, placed in a chair, and wheeled to Southsea, where I was ordered to remain awhile for sea air. Slowly, very slowly, recovery and walking power returned, and April saw me in our little home at Waterloo on crutches, but listening to the nightingales and rejoicing in the spring flowers. And so all things worked together for good. For the verdict of the doctors ran thus : " From this compulsory rest you will gain ten years more of working life than you would otherwise have had." And their prophecy has come true. And I met with the most enthusiastic and loving reception from the bluejackets and their wives, both at Portsmouth and Devonport, when I was in full working trim again. CHAPTER XVI MY SILVER WEDDING After twenty-five years married people celebrate a silver wedding, and it rightly marks an epoch in a life of real and loyal love, service, and companion- ship, a radiant fulfilment of a promise made in the morning of life. The year 1898 marked such an epoch in my own experience. Twenty-five years before, in 1873, I had heard a call, I believe from God, urging me to go forth from my home, and to give my life for the good of the navy. I was called to the great naval arsenal of Plymouth, in the beautiful county of Devon, as I have already described in this story of my life among the bluejackets, and I went to the port with which the names of Drake, Raleigh, and a hundred naval heroes are bound up, and from which the Pilgrim Fathers set sail to help in founding the great Republic across the water ; to this port my steps were led by an unseen Power. How much had happened in those twenty-five years ; a great work stood around me, which ex- tended throughout the navy, and by which thousands of lives had been influenced. Two splendid piles of buildings housed over a thousand bluejackets each night. The money had been sent to enable the 188 o H W U 2 c/5 h" IS < H OJ O a, 2 o > M Q w" u <; < ca > 2 < >< O Di MY SILVER WEDDING 189 buildings to be carried out. The lirst Sailors' Rest at Devonport was the outcome of a bluejacket's wish, and a bluejacket's prayer. All seemed so amazing, and I was so utterly incompetent, that my only feeling was, " to God be the glory." Twenty-five years before I met one who has been the help, solace, and inspiration of my life. Bright, sunny, and in the heyday of youth and health, she too counted the cost of the work and gave herself to it ; and together we have met the storms, and rejoiced in the success. For thirty-six years now we have been sailing in the same ship, of one heart and one soul, our only desire being to do God's work and will among our gallant bluejackets as long as health and strength are given to us ; but the year of our silver wedding happiness was marred in our family circle by the death of a sister of Miss Wintz, Mrs. T. T. Wing. She always, both before her marriage and after it, took the deepest interest in our work, and her husband gave it the kindest help ; I felt that I had lost a sister when she passed away. As I look back I feel that my silver wedding chronicles twenty-five years' work among our sailor lads ; this work has always been one of our sheet anchors. Why do men call me " mother," that sweetest of all names? Why do they write, as a man wrote to me in 1908, from a ship-of-war on a foreign station ? ' " H.M.S. Boscawen, Portland. "Dear Miss Weston, — I now take the great pleasure of writing to ask you for two of the photos that we had taken at the Rest. I hope that you will forgive me for asking for two, only one of my chums wanted one when he knew I was writing to you. I am certain you will oblige me. "Dear Mother (I might say), it seems so nice to have another mother to write to again, as I lost my poor mother ; we all thought about you last Tuesday around here, and wishing we were at the Sailors' Rest again ; but the time will soon come when I hope we shall be able to come again. Please excuse bad writing. — I remain yours truly, "JOHN H ." And I must give yet another, for a letter from a sailor boy always cheers my heart : — UNDER THE SEARCHLIGHT 271 " H.M.S. Black Prince, Mess No. 25, QUEENSTOWN, IRELAND. " Dear Miss Weston, — I now take the greatest of pleasure in answering your kind and welcome letter, which I received all right, hoping this will find you quite well, as it leaves me here at present. '• I am getting on very well, and I will soon be losing two of my chums, Nesbitt and Black. I am very glad to say that you send them letters and give them good advice. Nesbitt was the boy who asked me to lead a Christian life, and we used to meet in the schoolroom of an evening and read a passage out of the Bible and say a prayer each. I shall miss him when he goes. He is going with the brig next Monday, so I shall have to pull along by myself, and I do hope I shall succeed. " If I stick to God He will stick to me, and will see me all right, but it is hard work. If I turn to the right there is temptation waiting me, and if I turn to the left, go forward, or turn round there is temp- tation. And if your mates notice that you don't curse, they will mock and laugh at you, and try to make you curse. But if ever I fall I go straight to God and tell Him my trouble. " I thank you very much for the little book you sent me. When I read it I gave it to a boy who sleeps alongside of me, and he asked me would I be mates with him, and I said I would, and he asked me to say a prayer and let him follow me. The only prayer he knows is the Lord's Prayer, so I have started to struggle along with him, and proves successful so far. I must now close my letter, 272 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS so good-bye, and God be with you till we meet again. — I remain yours truly, " JAMES BARROW." Now how can these sailor lads die ? The search- light once again will show this up. One case out of numbers that I can remember. Not very long ago, in the daily papers, there was an account of the accidental shooting of a young seaman at a rifle range in Ireland, and his patriotic desire to be buried at sea. This young fellow was known to us, and was about to join our Royal Naval Christian Union. I give a letter written to me by the chaplain of the Albion : — " Dear Miss Weston, — One of our boys, James F. Coleman, expressed a desire three months ago to join the Royal Naval Christian Union. He filled in his paper on December i8th, so that we should have sent it to you in a day or so. " He was a good lad, but God took him to Him- self yesterday. While at pistol practice some one accidentally fired a shot that went through Coleman's chest. He lived from three o'clock until half-an- hour past midnight. It was impossible to save his life. He was a brave lad, for he was quite clear- headed for some hours before he died, and was peaceful and happy when told of the coming change. " He looked so bright when I whispered to him the first verse of ^Jesu, lover of my soul,' and after- wards he said, < Let my mother and sister know that I am dying, and send my ditty-box and cap to my mother, and my kit to my chum, and I should like, if it could be, to be buried at sea.' CQ < O Q 2 X Q < O CQ 2 O Q W H U UJ a, 2 7) Q, a o u H W Q D O UNDER THE SEARCHLIGHT 273 « He was so thoughtful and unselfish, a great ex- ample to me of the peace and love that fills the hearts of those who are close to Jesus. We said together ' The Lord is my shepherd,' &c. We may be sure that his Father had a bright home prepared for that sailor-boy. Will you write to his mother ? " I need not say that I did this, and received a sorrowful but loving letter back. The dying wish of the young sailor was reported to the authorities, who ordered that the warship Albion should steam out into the ocean, that he might lie in a sailor's grave. And so Coleman went home. We looked for him to be an earnest worker in the navy, but the Good Shepherd took him to the land where there shall be no more sea. CHAPTER XXII "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" When H.M.S. Eurydice went down off the Isle of Wight, her Captain, Captain Marcus Hare, R.N., went down at his post, and when, months afterwards, the ship was raised and towed into Portsmouth har- bour, his writing-desk was found, and in it, among a number of letters and papers, a piece of poetry which he had written in more than one album, ''There's Sorrow on the sea." All who know the sailor's Hfe know this full well. Sometimes the sorrow, as a great national catastrophe, bursts suddenly, and the smaller incidents, none the less sad, go to swell the dirge, " There's sorrow on the sea." Each incident and each catastrophe has its points of interest, whether ashore or afloat. Last year our hearts were stirred to their depths by the loss of the Tiger and the Gladiator, and by minor accidents to the Gala and the Britannia. When I think of the two first-named, I scarcely know how to write, my eyes and my heart are so full of tears. Disaster has succeeded disaster in our navy, and each one has told its tale of death. Here at Portsmouth, looking over Spithead and the Isle of Wight, I seem to be looking on a cemetery, a God's acre ; for within a few miles' radius how 274 "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 275 many of my friends sleep until the resurrection morning. One quiet day before Easter H.M.S. Tiger, with others of the big fleet of which she was a small unit, went out for night-manoeuvring with lights out, about eighteen miles to the south of St. Catherine's Light- house, on the Isle of Wight. The mimic battle began ; and how was it ? Who shall say ? The vast hull of H.M.S. Berwick towered over the torpedo destroyer, and, spite of all that could be done, the collision took place ; and the collision was destruction. The bows of the Berwick cut right through the ship, dividing her into two parts, which sank rapidly. The Commander gave all possible orders, including one for the men to save themselves, and he went down with his ship. In an instant the sea was a blaze of light as all the searchlights of the ships were turned on, and boats were pulling in every direction to rescue the poor fellows struggling in the water and sinking one after the other. There was no sign of panic or confusion, not at the moment of the crash, not when the ship parted asunder and went down under them. Ofiicers and men were true to the best traditions of the service, and the country has good reason to be proud of her boys in blue. In the water — one seizing an oar, others pieces of wreckage — they battled bravely with the waves, sing- ing out one to another to keep up courage, and that all possible would be done to save them ; and this after the Tiger had made her final plunge, her boilers exploding and adding to the horrors of the scene. 276 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS All in the fore-part of the ship were drowned ; the poor fellows in the stokehole had no chance, the hatches were fastened down, and the ship was run- ning under forced draught, going at tremendous speed. The spectacle on that dark night in the channel — the roar of the escaping steam before the ship foundered, the men ranged quietly at their stations and waiting for orders, and then the waters closing over them — such calm courage and steadfast obedience to duty makes us think well of our naval service. And what of the widows, the mothers, the fathers, not only in Portsmouth, but all over the country ? The thirty-three brave men, exclusive of officers, whose homes were desolated ? The little children whose fathers would never come back again ? The gunner of the ship was talking brightly to one of my people in the afternoon as he cycled from his home to go on board, little thinking that in a few hours he would be in eternity. Sad to say, all pay was stopped by death on that Thursday night in April, and our duty was very plain. We got the names and addresses, and we visited all living in the town, and communicated with all away. In local cases we were able to hand them at once the money that they would have received on the Friday night or Saturday morning, and we were also able to sympathise personally with them. The letters that I have received from the grief- stricken relatives would bring tears to every eye, and I was rejoiced to find that they seemed to value the sympathy more than the help. They told me how their boys used to talk at home of the Sailors' Rests, and what we either had done for "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 277 Ihcm or had tried to do ; and surely this was reward enough. I completed relieving as far as there was need, and I was glad to know that the fund in- augurated by the Mayor of Portsmouth had taken up the stricken ones, and would give pensions to all dependents. The balance of money in my keeping was handed over to the Mayor's fund. My work for the Tiger, which was first aid, closed then as far as money help was concerned. We had hardly recovered from this blow when another, quite as crushing, came upon us. An April day, when May had nearly arrived, was ushered in by snow, driven by a fierce cutting gale from the north-east. The snow was a blizzard ; at times no one could see more than a few rods before them. On this fatal Saturday a cruiser, H.M.S. Gladiator, was coming from Portland to Portsmouth, where she was due at four o'clock. She had passed the Needles, and was off Hurst Castle, when the ss. St. Paul, twice her tonnage and going at twice her speed, and more- over, it is said, carrying a steel ram, struck her in a vulnerable point, and she sank in twenty minutes. Some of the men were terribly injured by the im- pact, others were drowned ; the death-roll totalled twenty-six. The same obedience to duty was shown. The men mustered as if to quarters, and never attempted to leave the ship till the order was given and repeated by a warrant officer, who called out, " Every man for himself, and God for us all." And then the desolated homes, wives rushing down to the Commander-in-Chief, shrieking in agony, others stunned and mute. Again we put our organi- 278 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS sation to work, but here we had to face a great diffi- culty. We could not get the names and addresses of the men, whose homes were scattered over the country, as the books had gone down with the ship ; but the Admiralty and Commander-in-Chief were most kind, and supplied me with information as quickly as possible. The Mayor telephoned asking me to do all possible until he should be able to take it up with his friends. The Gala in the North Sea lost her Engineer- Lieutenant, who was killed in his cabin by the impact of the scout Attentive^ again manoeuvring at night with lights out. The Britannia lost three poor stokers by the bursting of a boiler. They were scalded and burned so terribly that they died. I have my Naval Disaster Fund, from which I was able to draw. My desire is that I may be always ready, not only to help such calamities as those of the Tiger and Gladiator, but smaller ones, none the less pathetic in that no one knows of them. Jack's kind-heartedness is proverbial and true. I received a letter from H.M.S. Hart, signed by repre- sentatives of H.M. destroyers in the China seas, en- closing the sum of £^2, is. id., asking me to take charge of it and to spend it for the maintenance of the two little children of a dead shipmate whose wife died a few months ago. The letter is signed by men of various ratings, and runs thus : — " H.M.S. Hart, China Station. " Madam, — We, the undersigned members of a committee formed for collecting contributions from the ''THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 279 torpedo-boat destroyers on the China Station for the benefit of two young children who have now become orphans through the death of their father, a leading stoker of this ship, who was accidentally drowned on May 6, 1906, at Shanghai, are taking the liberty of sending you the sum of £^2, is. id. collected, to be put to the best use for the children's good, which we have every confidence it will be in your hands. " These children had the misfortune to lose their mother a few months previous to the death of the father, and are now living with their grandmother. Trusting that we are not trespassing too much on your time and kindness of heart, we remain, yours faithfully." Then come the signatures of petty officers and men. There is a light side of Jack's life — merry Jack, as he is often called — but there is a tragical and sad side. A seaman — a petty officer — was dying in hospital, and some of my workers had regularly visited him. He had been one of my helpers. We had known him all through his life. He met his wife at the meetings at the Sailors' Rest at Ports- mouth, and they had a flock of little children. It was hard to go, a young man of twenty-nine years of age. " For myself," he said, " I am glad to go to be with Christ, but it is for my wife and little ones ; but Miss Weston will take care of them." The next day a telegram reached us telling us that the man was dead, and that his wife, not knowing of his death, was on her way to see him. Would we meet her and break the news to her ? 2 8o MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS One of my workers did so. She seemed perfectly stunned, and only came to herself as she gazed on the calm dead face of her husband. We took care of her, and in a day or two there was a naval funeral. Our wreath, with loving sympathy, was laid on the coffin, and the widow and her little child, with some of ourselves, saw him laid in a sailor's grave. Another sad accident occurred on board H.M. torpedo-boat Ferret. This was the case of a poor fellow, a first-class petty officer, falling overboard. He was promptly rescued, but life was extinct, and the doctors attributed his death to syncope, brought about by sudden immersion. Death appears to have been instantaneous. He left a delicate wife, to whom the news was broken somewhat suddenly. Her mind was nearly unhinged by the severity of the blow. "To think that he should go away well and strong in the morning, and I was expecting him back to tea " — no wonder that reason almost totters. The brotherly kindness, not only of the officers and men of the Ferret, but also of the torpedo flotilla, has been most touching, and shows naval camaraderie in bright colours. The Lieutenant-Commander of the Ferret and the Artificer-Engineer came to see me, and we had a long talk together as to the widow, and how we could help her in her sore strait. The m.en of the torpedo-boat and of the flotilla were anxious to do all possible themselves, so I offered that we would visit and cheer her as much as we could, and would also give her weekly pay until they were able to administer their fund. "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 281 One more life -story and I must turn to other themes. A bluejacket, another of our friends, was serving in the Mediterranean when he got bad news from home saying that his wife was very ill, and that her one desire was to see him. As he was a man of good character, his Captain gave him leave ; he was to go home in a returning ship, stay a few days, and return in another ship to his station. He wrote to his wife and told her that he was coming. When he arrived at Plymouth, he de- lightedly thought that he would steal home, and what a surprise it would be. He crept up the stairs, the door was ajar, he saw her looking better and sitting up in bed. ** Here I am, my lass," he shouted. With a cry of delight she threw up her arras, and fell back dead — joy had killed her. Poor fellow, he was broken- hearted, and returned to his station feeling that he had accidentally killed her who was the light of his life. Many an anxious heart has watched and waited through nights of storm and stress, and in many cases the husband or son came home no more. A little child, a member of my Children's Brigade, called out to his father one stormy night from his cosy crib in his father's dressing-room, " Dadda, the poor sailors are drowning," and the next minute, in his little night-shirt, he was kneeling by his bedside and praying the " Lord Jesus to guard the sailors tossing on the deep blue sea." Such pure young souls keep watch and ward over Jack. About the year 1904 an interesting incident occurred connected with the Russo-Japanese war. 282 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS As I shall presently narrate, we knew the Japanese sailors well, having often welcomed them at the Sailors' Rests, but we had not then met the Russians. Somewhere, I think in 1903, two Japanese ships of war sailed from Genoa for the far East, commanded by British officers and manned by British seamen. War had not then been declared, but it was trembling in the balance. It was a plucky thing to take those ships out, but it was done. The English surgeon failed at the last moment, but a Japanese naval surgeon took his place. On arrival at Yokohama Captain Paynter, of the Kasuga, offered the doctor the usual fee. He de- chned, saying that it was too much, and on the Captain pressing it, he said, " Send twenty guineas to Miss Weston, and ask her to use it some way for the good of the British Blue, whom I greatly admire, and if my name can be associated with it I shall be very pleased." A bath cubicle was set aside. The following letter came to me from Dr. Suzuki, this Japanese naval doctor : — " I.J. M.S. Yayayama, OFF PORT ARTHUR. "Dear Miss Weston, — I duly received your kind letter, and a copy of your monthly magazine Ashore and Afloat, in which I am glad to find a pretty story about me. I see that you have appropriated my contribution to a bath cabin, and I shall feel very happy if it is of use to your bluejackets. My sympathy and interest is very deep in your good work among the men. " Our navy has taken after you, and, to my great joy, 1 can tell you that now we have Sailors' Rests "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 283 in every port throughout Japan. Hoping that you will come to Japan some day to see how happy our bluejackets are in the Sailors' Rests, and wishing you every prosperity in your work, believe me yours very truly, "T. SUZUKI." I think that it may be thought that I paint the British bluejacket in too rosy colours. I ought to know something about him, for, as the Devonshire people say, I have wintered him and summered him for over thirty years. I know the bluejacket of the older times, and I know the bluejacket of the present date, and the great difference between them, which will probably be accentuated by time. The sailor pure and simple has disappeared with the sails that he used to manage. "Going aloft," " furling sails," " smart royal yardsmen," all these have passed away, probably never to return. Swedish drill and other athletics are relied on to keep up muscle in the present mastless ships. Education has advanced enormously, and has brought many advantages with it, and the clean, smooth-shaven face of the twentieth-century blue- jacket has replaced the bearded, jolly, happy-go- lucky face of the man of older type. To provide a home for Jack and to run it for him is not all easy sailing, and I do not advise any one who wants to have "a quiet time of it" to run a Sailors' Rest nowadays. I sometimes get blamed for things for which I am not responsible, but I have many brave and bold champions on the lower deck who stand up vigorously for me. 284 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS A friend of mine, travelling by rail, met a tall, powerful bluejacket, a stoker, going on leave. He began to talk about the Sailors' Rest, and said what a home it had been to him. " I'll tell you what," he continued, " I came to Portsmouth a drunkard, but Miss Weston took me by the hand and made me what I am. I hear her run down pretty well by some chaps on board, but I get up and I answer them, and explain it all to them. If they don't see their mistake and say they're sorry, then I up and lays them down quite gentle-like on their backs on the deck, and I don't hear any more of it. That's the best way to settle up these sort of things." I look upon the Fleetman as my friend simply because he is in the navy. I am only too glad to help him as far as it lies in my power, and I always speak well of him. The question has been put to me : A ''True Blue," what is he? The ''True Blue" taken at his best, and it is always well to look on the sunny side, is a very fine fellow. Bright, cheery, and sunny-faced, picturesque and stalwart, he stands true to his old friends, as he stands true to his country. Brave to a fault, he is ready to do or to dare any- thing ; the greater the danger the more eager he is to face it. When volunteers are called for the diffi- culty lies in the numbers that come forward. When a ship is in danger through some dreaded explosion, the " True Blue " is calm and obedient ; he never leaves his post. Brave Stoker Lynch rescued a shipmate at the cost of his own life. Chief Stoker Gee, late of H.M.S. "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 285 Blake, is of the stuff of which we are proud in our service ; he went through fire and steam four times to rescue Hfe, and brought out two men, but one, alas, was a corpse ; the chief stoker was terribly burned and scalded. The " True Blue " carries his life in his hand, especially since the introduction of machinery. He is possessed of that grand quality, self-reliance ; it is said that he is " sharp enough to see through a three-inch plank," and truly he is astute enough to meet danger and to see his way out of it. In his home the " True Blue " often shines brightly. Here is a house known to me. A sailor's wife, quite a young woman, is dying of cancer, her agonies are fearful, and she has passed through many operations. There is no hope, and her one wish is to see her husband once more. This wish is gratified, the ship has returned and has brought back the absent husband — a sad home-coming truly. What a clever and gentle nurse that man-of-warsman made, and how he soothed and brightened the last weeks of his wife's life ; but spite of his devoted care she passed away. Early in the year 1907 we were invited to take counsel with the then Commodore of the Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth, towards the starting of a coffee canteen for the men, or rather, perhaps, we should say a "restaurant," where meals and refresh- ments could be obtained at any time, and from which all intoxicating drink was to be excluded. Some years before we had been asked to do the same for the Royal Naval Barracks at Devonport ; we furnished the dining-room there from the Sailors' 286 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS Rest, and Miss Wintz gave all the information and training possible, and supplied a manager. This place worked splendidly ; the men thronged it and thoroughly appreciated it, and it went a long way towards keeping them steady. It was managed by a committee of officers and men, and was, after a while, taken in hand by contractors, and, as far as I know, is running satisfactorily now. Having this experience we were very glad to help Commodore Galloway and Commander Sinclair at Portsmouth. Miss Wintz threw all her energy into it ; the place, which was sombre and gloomy before, had to be entirely altered and made bright and attractive ; difficulties were great, and red tape was somewhat in the way, but all was triumphantly over- come, and one of the best temperance restaurants of "that date was opened in the Royal Naval Bar- racks, Portsmouth, and was speedily crowded with men. It was quite delightful to see how they appreciated it. Having done all this, and having got it into good working order, we retired from the scene. Miss Wintz somewhat done up with all the extra work that it involved ; but it was a labour of love to us. This restaurant was much admired by the Admiralty, by Royalties, and by highly placed naval officers, who were taken round by the Commodore, and it was so popular that it speedily became too small. Very soon afterwards the Admiralty voted a con- siderable sum of money, and a very much larger restaurant, gay with colours and the electric light, was built. Naval pictures of old sea fights and other "THERE'S SORROW ON THE SEA" 287 scenes decorated the walls, and the steaming urns, and the counters dressed with cold meats, pastries, buns, and all sorts of good things, welcome the blue- jacket to sit down and enjoy himself in this ^^public- house tvithout the drink." CHAPTER XXIII "THE FRENCH MAID" This title is, I acknowledge, a strange one, but the story of my life would be incomplete if " The French Maid" was left out. But who is " The French Maid" ? She was, and is not. " The French Maid" was a public-house in Chandos Street, Portsmouth, next to our Diamond Jubilee Block, and for many years this public-house was a snare to the men, and also to the boys of the 5/. Vincent, who used to come up to the Sailors' Rest every Sunday and Thursday. The St. Vincent, like nrost of the other training ships, has paid the debt of nature, and the boys have been transferred to the training establishment at Shotley. " The French Maid" was not much to look at, but I suppose would be termed a snug public-house, in a quiet side street. There was a drinking bar in front, and a small music-hall, with a stage gaudily dressed up, at the back. For many years we had been thinking about this public-house, and only wishing that it might come into the market, and that we might get it. We prayed about it often, but there seemed to be no sign whatever that it would come into our hands. The "Maid" was very dangerous to the susceptible •88 "THE FRENCH MAID" 289 sailors, and was well frequented. Many a fight took place outside in the street, and our building was more than once bespattered with blood and hair. Young seamen frequented it largely ; men, according to the police reports, from eighteen to twenty-two years of age, the very lads that one wants to save, for their own sakes, and for their mothers' sakes. At last an auspicious day dawned for us. The town authorities decided that " The French Maid" must be suppressed and her licence taken away, on account of a redundancy of public-houses in that neighbour- hood ; and then came on the moment for which we had waited and prayed. We made inquiries, and our movements were considerably quickened by the rumour that it might be acquired by an adjacent public-house, in a parallel street, anxious for ex- tension, to be used for billiard-rooms, &c. So we determined to secure it if possible, and now we hold it for our men. I made a great effort to advance the sum to pay for it, for it was then or never ; and the sight of the keys upon my writing-table was a very pleasant sight indeed. ** The French Maid" has ceased altogether now to attract bluejackets to evil, and will, I feel sure, do good in the future. I very soon received the money from my many friends to pay for it, and plans were got out for a large building to stand upon its site. This building adjoins the Diamond Jubilee block, of which I have already given some particulars, and it will contain two hundred comfortable cabins. I am always careful not to go into debt over buildings, and to expect the public to help me out. Some people say that it answers well for a society T 290 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS to be some thousands of pounds in debt. I do not presume to say what is best for a society, but I know personally that it would not do for me. Many years ago my accounts were once overdrawn, and we showed a deficit of some ;^7oo. It was not a very large sum, but, far from finding it interesting, my subscribers lectured me vigorously, saying that they thought that I never went into debt, that it was a very dangerous path for a personal worker to embark in, &c., &c. They, however, kindly sent the money to pay up the deficit, and I hope that I profited by their advice ; for although our ship has been in shallow water often, and our balance has been very small, we have never touched ground, but have always come out on the safe side. Miss Wintz often astonishes people by revelations of the number of men frequenting the Royal Sailors' Rests during the year, and their feats as trenchermen. She gives the number of sleepers in one year as 378,375. Our clerical staff worked out the following amusing facts from these figures. If the men stood with linked hands they would form a line 245 miles long, reaching from Paddington to Plymouth — this in a single year. The food con- sumed during this period was truly astonishing ; the oxen, sheep, pigs, &c., forming a procession nearly a mile long ; while the tea, coffee, and cocoa put away during that period would float a first-class torpedo-boat. It is only right now that I should act as cicerone, and take each one reading this book round our great Institutes ; and then I will endeavour, by picking Miss Wintz's brains, to tell of the methods by which we "THE FRENCH MAID" 291 have brought this organisation up to the point at which it now stands. I hope that it may be a help to some who are embarking on the same crusade, although I well know that every decade brings its changes and developments, and that experience is a commodity that each one has to buy for himself. To illustrate the truth of this, I will take my readers round the Sailors' Rest. The men are ashore ; it is a Saturday afternoon, and a great crowd blocks the booking-office, clamouring for beds, standing one behind the other, the queue stretching out and down the street. The tickets are issued as fast as the sixpences are laid down, until all the beds are exhausted, and then there is a groan among the waiting ones, as the placard is hoisted up, " All beds booked," some five or six hundred ; then shake-downs, tables, chairs, &c., or a plank-bed on the floor. After this glance at the booking-office, let us turn into the restaurant. As we are looking round on a Saturday evening in the winter, the restaurant is brilliant with electric light, and also with mirrors, colour, and silver urns. The marble-topped tables are crowded, and waiters are flying about. The restaurant being open to the public, we see not only bluejackets, but their friends, wives, mothers, and sweethearts, while a few perambulators tucked away show the presence of King Baby. The noise, whirl, and clatter is something that must be heard to be understood ; the lifts are working rapidly, and down the speaking tubes hurry the orders, " sausages and mash for three," " fish for six," &c. A small fish supper on these busy evenings means about five 292 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS hundred portions. No wonder at Devonport that we have to send the horse and cart to the Barbican, to meet the trawlers, and to buy up fish wholesale. For fish, eggs, sausages, &c., Jack shows an appe- tite begotten of the ozone of the ocean ; for if the public help him on the Saturday evening, he has it all to himself on Sunday, when outsiders are excluded. The neat little bill of fare from Saturday night to Monday morning runs thus — 1700 sausages, 2000 and odd eggs, 3000 rolls and butter, 80 gallons of tea, besides coffee and cocoa, 2 cwts. of bacon, 5 cwts. of fish, and endless smaller goods, bread and butter, tarts,cakes, &c. A turn will bring us into the Petty Officers' Coffee- room. This room is spacious and handsomely fitted up, with its separate staff of waiters ; and the petty officers, whose purses are longer, are to be seen indulging in roast fowl, grilled steaks, kidneys, and other luxuries. This room is also open to all ; but here the barrier drops, and, with the exception of baths, the rest of the building, with all cabins and sleeping accommodation, is devoted to the service. The Parcel Office on the ground floor is very busy, taking in parcels and giving them out ; a bluejacket rides up on his bicycle, takes a ticket for his machine, which is forthwith wheeled off to the bicycle store, and he drops into the restaurant, or into the reading or smoking rooms. As we go on, we pass through several reading- rooms, and also writing-rooms ; men are asleep on the lounges, reading papers or books, or having a friendly chat or discussion. The last reading-room is the largest, very bright and spacious ; here an electric piano discourses brilliant music or national "THE FRENCH MAID" 293 airs, and about twice a week a " Sing-Song " is held, in which the men take part. But we must dive into the basement, and see the kitchens, and all the machinery that drives this great business. Putting Portsmouth and Devonport to- gether, our staff numbers some two hundred men and women. Here is the kitchen. The chef and his staff, in their white caps, jackets, and aprons, are very busy, the stoves are full blast, and mighty joints of old English fare, roast beef, with its first cousin, corned beef, legs of mutton, and pigs galore; and the electric bell and speaking-tubes from the restau- rant and coffee-room are going hard. In another room the vegetables are washed and prepared ; then the larder, and a very spacious wash- ing-up room, connected with the restaurant by lifts, up and down which cups and saucers, plates, &c., travel, keeping three or four men fully employed. As we pass on we come upon the bakehouse, with a staff of first-class bakers. The room is lined with white tiles ; lighted by electricity ; and from its huge steam ovens an endless stream of new bread, rolls, tarts, tartlets, turnovers, custards, cakes, &c., pour forth. The bakers are at their posts at four o'clock in the morning, sometimes earlier. We follow the rolls to a room, where, under the natty fingers of women, they are split, buttered, and the nice slice of ham or beef inserted, making sand- wiches. Jack cares nothing for the sandwich that the delicate lady produces from her handbag, or for similar articles served at the railway buffet. " Shav- ings and trash," he murmurs ; *' a man wants to feel something between his teeth." 294 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS We must pass on ; the steady throb of a powerful engine begins to sound in the distance, but first the storeroom, which occupies all the space under the large hall, must be inspected. It is a model of clean- liness, and is like a great wholesale store — sides of bacon, sacks of flour, chests of tea, hogsheads of sugar, kegs of butter, and all the countless accessories that are needed every day are here. All supplies are drawn from this store, and duly checked. We now begin to see straps and whirling shafts. Here is the mineral-water plant, where gingerbeer, lemonade, and the hundred and one " ades " of various flavours, that go to make up temperance drinks, are made : machinery does almost all, even washing the bottles. There is the sausage machine at work, everything so bright and clean, the sausage meat all prepared on the premises ; one can almost say that the pig goes in at one end and comes out at the other — sausages ! Another whirling affair, producing a great deal of starch, is washing and peeling potatoes ; all this machinery is a vast help. Before we get to the engines, we must pause to look at the baths. Each bath is in its cubicle, and is a full-sized bath, of white glazed earthenware ; the hot and cold water taps are under the control of the bathmen ; radiators dry the towels. Each bath is lighted by electricity, and is kept scrupulously clean ; the same may be said of all the lavatories, with wash- ing basins, barber's shop, &c., on which I hav^ spent many thousand pounds. Gentlemen inspecting them say, " that they are equal to a first-class London club." I am describing all this as closely as I can, "THE FRENCH MAID" 295 but I do not wish to take any credit to myself, as all this organisation is the product not of one brain, but of many. We open a door on which is painted " No Admittance," and the heat and whirl of the engine- room is upon us. These engine and boiler rooms are very spacious ; the huge boilers supplying baths and radiators meet us first ; a large pump is working hard, pumping water from a great reservoir under our feet, to the tanks at the top of the building, and all over it. Farther on, an engine of 125 horse-power is working the dynamos which produce the elec- tricity to light the great buildings : we have some thirty-five arc lamps, which light the Sailors' Rest outside, the hall, &c., also any amount of incan- descent lights, and our " wiring," which extends for some miles if laid out straight, lights all parts of the structure, including the Diamond Jubilee block. As we walk underneath we can hear a band, sing- ing, and applause in the hall above. This is Saturday night, and the social is on, but other meetings are simultaneous ; a meeting for prayer in the small hall, and nice little gatherings of Christian and temperance seamen in the R.N.T.S. and R.N.C.U. club rooms upstairs. We have seen a great deal, but we have not seen the dormitories ; they rise tier above tier, and they are all ready for their occupants, all clean and trim, the night watchmen bustling about, and showing " early birds " to their beds. The large billiard-room, with several tables, is full of eager faces and talk, and the click of the balls : no gambling, 296 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS I am glad to say, to our knowledge, spoils the fine game under our roof. The Sailors' Rest is open all the twenty-four hours, and no one is turned away ; our aim is to get all possible under our roof, and to try to do the best we can for them, so that every man shall have a chance ; some are very lively, and give a good deal of trouble. The buildings are patrolled by four night watch- men, and as the morning comes on, bells are rung all round the dormitories, and the stentorian voices of the watchmen call, as on board a man-of- war, " Show a leg, show a leg, hurry up for the five o'clock boats." Then again later, " Hurry up for the six o'clock boats ; " and hundreds of feet are racing down the stairs. Breakfast is a pick-up — a cup of coffee and a roll, a cake, or a sandwich ; and laughing and talking, 500 or 600 men, in some cases 1000 or 1200, stream out of the building, and away to ships or barracks. I do not want to weary, but after this long tour it might be well to inquire the lines on which these great places are run, and the steps taken to ensure careful, methodical, and business-like working. The estab- lishment is worked in departments. The kitchen, the store, and dormitories ; the restaurant, the watchmen and engineers' depart- ments, have each a day and night staff of their own, and by this means none of the employes, except under the most exceptional circumstances, have to work more than eight or ten hours a day ; and on Sunday, as far as possible, everybody is allowed half time off. "THE FRENCH MAID" 297 Many people have written to ask me about our gentlemen managers, and would I recommend them some one of the same sort. As we have long since dispensed with these gentlemen, and have run the Sailors' Rests on the departmental lines, I regret I have not been able to comply with these requests. Miss Wintz is assisted by her first lieutenants, who have thoroughly mastered the work (one at Ports- mouth and one at Devonport). These ladies have the engagement and dismissal of the large staff entirely in their hands. The utmost contentment and happiness prevails among the servants ; the food is good, and the hours on duty are not excessive. The receipts are carefully checked by means of a cash register, and banked daily by an official from the office. Everybody, from the chef downwards, has to render a daily, weekly, and monthly return ; stock is taken every month, and a balance is struck after the allowance has been made for rates, taxes, depreciation. This system works admirably, and all leakages are quickly detected and stopped. The work is never-ending, but, as far as possible, all is done to ensure success, and the immense masses of men using the Royal Sailors' Rests bear eloquent testimony to the management. " No cup of tea anywhere like that at the Sailors' Rest," is the verdict of the sailors' wives, who crowd in with babies and children, after the Monday after- noon meeting, or when out shopping in the busy thoroughfare in which the Portsmouth Sailors' Rest stands. Our other departments are carefully organised. Our subscriptions and donations, which go to philan- 298 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS thropic and religious work, are under my immediate supervision. I receive all gifts personally, and am responsible for them until banked, my accountant and a staff of clerks sending all receipts and reminders ; the system of checking and counter-checking is carried through everything. All this has been in vogue for thirty years past, but it has been steadily built up on the foundation laid, and with, I think, good and solid results. CHAPTER XXIV HISTORIC SPITHEAD I HAVE called this chapter '* Historic Spithead." The windows of my room enable me to take it in in all its length and breadth. It is, I suppose, the most historic anchorage in the world, and is making history now. The old wooden walls used to moor here, and during wars with France and Spain awaited their orders or returned with their prizes triumphant, or sometimes struggled in almost done to death. The old Victory lay here when Admiral Lord Nelson, amidst the cheers of the people, left the sally-port at old Portsmouth to go on board for the last time before the battle of Trafalgar ; and here the Royal George careened over and foundered with her Admiral and " twice four hundred men." During the last few decades magnificent fleets of all types, including the more modern, have received the approval and inspection of the Sovereign ; and a fleet has only just dispersed which, I suppose, ha been the most up-to-date of all, to show the repr sentatives of the Press of our world-wide Empire something of the navy which we feel belongs to us all. But apart from our own ships, Spithead has been the gathering-place of warships of many nations. •99 7 300 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS Our King has been, and is, an Apostle of Peace ; he has travelled from Court to Court sowing not discord but goodwill, and, in consequence, the various nations have returned these visits in a friendly and kindly spirit. The French, the Japanese, the American, the Italian, the Spanish, the Swedish, and the Russian navies have all been represented. A slender thread of kindness will sometimes do good, and I have endeavoured personally, by means of the Sailors' Rests, to make all welcome. The warmth with which these little kindnesses have been received, and the pleasure that they seem to have given to officers and men, has been a great cheer to me and to all my fellow-workers, and my bluejacket friends have also backed me up loyally. We have had several visits from the Japanese, and have formed a friendship with their officers and men that I hope will not be broken ; and I believe that we shall in the future be somewhat closely connected with work among the men of the Japanese Navy. In 1902, when the Japanese squadron lay at Spit- head at the time of King Edward's coronation, we saw a good deal of the sailors at Portsmouth ; they came to the Sailors' Rest and were much pleased with it all. A Japanese clergyman was with us ; he used to visit the men on board their ships, circulating the Scriptures among them, and talking with them. We put a room at his disposal at the Sailors' Rest, to which he invited them when ashore, and together they studied and talked over the Word of God. There were several Christians on board the warships. I understood that one of the Japanese admirals and three captains of battleships were Christians. HISTORIC SPITHEAD 301 Admiral Gore Inguin was in command of the ships Asama and Takasaga, and he expressed a wish that a party of his men should see the Sailors' Rest, with a view to establishing a similar institution in Japan. I need not say that I was delighted to fall in with the proposition. So twenty Japanese sailors, with a warrant officer, came officially by the ad- miral's wish. We laid ourselves out for their enjoy- ment, and they appeared to be a very bright, merry party. After disposing of a good supper, they came upstairs to be received by Miss Wintz and myself. We spoke to them, and our words, being translated by the officer, seemed to please them greatly. After- wards they went all over the Sailors' Rest, and stayed the night, sleeping in the cabins. Meanwhile a great fleet had assembled at Spit- head, such a sight as has never been seen ; for fifteen miles those ships stretched in ranks at their moorings, all waiting to salute, and to do honour to their newly crowned King. Foreign nations were also sending ships to swell the throng. Among them Japan, our new ally, was represented by two cruisers and a gunboat. Mighty ships represented France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Russia, Spain, Portugal ; also ships of other classes represented Sweden, Chili, Argentine Re- public, Netherlands, Greece. I wrote to the captain of each ship, placing the Sailors' Rest at the disposal of the ship's company, and welcoming them among us ; but, alas, in every case but the Japanese, after the terrible blow of the King's sudden illness had fallen, one by one the ships stole away. 302 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS The next day a letter came from the Senior Officer of the Staff HJ.M.S. Asama at Spithead : — "Dear Madam, — By your kind permission I enclose a cheque for five guineas, which is a humble present to the Royal Sailors^ Rest from Rear-Admiral Gore Inguin of the Japanese squadron. This humble amount of money is purposed to be spent in any way which your authority thinks most appropriate. — Believe me, yours truly, "TAKASIU TAKASATA, " Senior Officer of Staff, Japanese Squadron.^* This pleasant visit in 1902 was followed by an- other in 1906, when the Japanese warships Katori and Kashima arrived at Spithead, and afterwards came into Portsmouth harbour. The Katori was the first to arrive, and as soon as she was berthed alongside, my workers went on board, and with the kind help of the Commander-in-Chief, I arranged for the men to be marched up to the Sailors' Rest for a reception, at which we hoped to make them feel at home, and to cement the bond between us. The next step was a visit which I was able to pay to the warship with Miss Wintz, by the consent and kind invitation of the commanding officer. Captain Sakomoto. We spent some time on board talking with the officers in the ward-room, giving booklets and our own publications, and talking with the men on the quarter-deck. They were all mustered on the quarter-deck, and a very interesting sight it was. They listened most HISTORIC SPITHEAD 303 attentively as I spoke to them, and ail that I said was translated by an interpreter. The official visits of the men to the Royal Sailors' Rests were very successful. We had the Rev. Mr. Warren of the C.M.S., a missionary from Japan, and Mr. Usichi, a Japanese gentleman staying with us, also Miss Ballard, a lady who had resided for many years in that country, and knew the language thoroughly. After they had marched in, headed by the band of H.M.S. Excellent, and had taken their places, I gave them an address of welcome, which was trans- lated by Mr. Warren. They listened attentively, often applauding. After that, a little party of sailors' children drilled on the platform with English and Japanese flags, and sang several pretty pieces, to the great delight of the audience. The Rev. Mr. Warren and Miss Ballard spoke earnest and good words to them, and they adjourned to tea, which was greatly enjoyed. After tea, before they left. Miss Wintz and myself handed a Japanese New Testament to each man. They promised us to read them carefully, and we pray that they may follow the precepts taught in them. Whenever they came ashore we were on the spot to welcome them, and to show them such hospitality as we could, and we were richly rewarded by their gratitude. An interesting fact came to light when I was on board the Katori. A Japanese booklet was presented to me, and I was told that it was a translation of one of my own books — " Under the Searchlight " — giving an account of the starting and working of our Sailors' Rests. This book had come into the hands of the Japanese 304 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS Government, who ordered its translation, and placed a copy in the hands of every officer and seaman in the navy. This led to the starting of their own Sailors' Rests, of which they have five for the men of their own navy. We found several devoted Christians in the Japanese ships, and several anxious to become Christians. There was one man, at least, who made a fresh start. He was a Japanese petty officer, and in his early days had been a hard drinker. He was engaged in the third blockading expedition at Port Arthur, and was wounded altogether twenty-four times. Sent to hospital, he lay there in great suffering for weeks, hovering on the brink of the grave, but while lying on his bed of pain he came across Chris- tians who taught about a God of love and a Saviour of sinners, and he quietly yielded himself to Christ. After he left the hospital, cured, he was among the ship's company sent to England to bring out the battleship Katori. Mixing with heathen men who jeered at his Christianity, he gradually grew cold and dead ; but, he said, as he sat in our hall and heard the words spoken, he saw how wrong he had been, and he joined us in prayer for forgiveness, confessing his sins, and thanking God very humbly for the renewed joy and peace with which his heart was filled. Just before the ships sailed, a deputation of petty officers and men from each ship came to see me. They wished to present to myself and my workers some magnificent Japanese embroidery, which they said was a small token of all that they felt towards us, with the following letter written in Japanese, which I give verbatim : — HISTORIC SPITHEAD 305 "Dear Miss Agnes Weston, — All of us, the Japanese petty officers and seamen of His Imperial Majesty's ships ^ Katori' and ' Kashima,' send out warm and deep thanks to you, the dear mother of our sailors, for your deep sympathy and kindness to our men, and for all that you have done for the British sailors for so many years. " Your love has been most self-sacrificing, and we humbly congratulate you upon your wonderful success. We have come to England, and we rejoice that we have looked upon our mother's face. We do hope that you will accept the embroidery that ive send, which comes from our own country, and is the humble gift of every petty officer and seaman on board the Japanese warships ' Katori ' and ' Kashima.' We sign ourselves, your true and devoted friends." (Here follow the signatures of officers and men.) I have lately received an interesting piece of news from Japan. When our Japanese friends were here, I felt how much I should like to be able to put something into their hands every month, like our Ashore and Afloat, to show them that they were not forgotten by their friends in England. My kind and indefatigable friend, the Rev, Charles Warren, of Osaka, Japan, made a good suggestion, that I should pay for a thousand copies of a magazine called the Light of the World, which would be a special edition to the Japanese Navy. He says : — " I am glad to be able to tell you that the first instalment of your gift of 1000 copies of the Light of the World hns gone out this month to the different naval ports. I have heard to-day from my workers at Kure u 3o6 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS that they had arrived safely, and that it would give them the greatest pleasure to attend to the distribu- tion. I enclose you a specimen copy. On the front page I have given an account of your life and work, condensed, of course, but I think that the chief points are mentioned. " On each of the looo copies is printed the Japanese equivalent of ' A Gift from Miss Weston.' I will let you know as soon as I get any further news." I shall be rejoiced indeed if these papers are re- ceived by the Japanese bluejackets in the spirit in which they are sent. If I find that they are liked, I will distribute them in the Japanese navy at intervals, or perhaps once a month. I am still further cheered and encouraged by a warm letter of thanks from the Japanese Warrant- Officers from Kure. I hear that my name has con- siderable influence with them. At Kure a large number of copies are distributed in the naval hospital, twenty copies to the Warrant-Officers' Club, twenty copies to a Christian Lieutenant, Captain of a sub- marine, who is delighted to distribute them to his men, and twenty copies to a Japanese lady who has started a Christian Home for bluejackets on a small scale, and which already has outgrown the house in which she started. This lady will, I believe, do a great spiritual work among the Japanese man-o'-war's men ; she seems specially adapted for it. I hope to continue in close touch with her, and to be able to cheer and en- courage her. We were really sorry when the Japanese ships left us. We have been associated with several Royal, HISTORIC SPITHEAD 307 National, and Imperial Navies — the French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, Russian, and American — and have friends in all, so that our work is assuming an international and imperial character, and, what is better still, several of these countries have started Sailors' Rests, copying more or less our Homes at Devonport and Portsmouth. Admiral Prince Henry of Prussia, speaking of our Sailors' Rests and work in the navy, said, after a few kind words of praise, " /« my opinion this is a truly Imperial work." The far East has occupied our attention, but other ships of war representing countries nearer at hand have visited us at Portsmouth and at Devonport. The visit of the German fleet to Plymouth in 1904 was a most interesting event ; all international courtesies and amenities are useful, and forge links in the chain that binds nations together. As soon as I heard of the visit of the German warships, I wrote to Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, the Com- mander-in-Chief at Devonport, telling him that we should be glad to take our share in the welcome, and suggesting to him that, as an act of national hospitality, we should like the men of the fleet to be our guests while they remained in the Sound. This invitation met with the cordial approval of Sir Edward, who promised to send my note of in- vitation to the German Commander-in-Chief as soon as the ships arrived. Amidst salutings on each side the big warships moored ; and among the signals one was hoisted in the fleet by Admiral Von Koester to the effect that, "Miss Weston cordially invited the men of the fleet to make the Royal Sailors' Rest their home 3o8 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS when ashore." And I can truly say that the invitation was responded to ; we were crowded out with the burly figures and bright smiling faces of the Teuton bluejackets, sober, gentlemanly, delighted with all they saw, and astonished, even after the invitation, at having nothing to pay. Outside we were bright with bunting and with the German national flags. We were as busy as bees. Music, singing, chattering, expressions of goodwill were heard all round. They quite understood that ours was a temper- ance house, and expressed their pleasure that it was so ; they were lost in admiration at its size, and at all the arrangements for comfort ; and it was a still greater astonishment to them to realise that it was the work of two ladies. They seized me by the hand and indulged in a succession of " Hochs " that verily rent the roof. We gave away our own literature and a quantity of German Gospels as souvenirs. On the last day of the visit of the fleet they flooded us out to such an extent that no food was left ; we searched the town for cake, buns, and bread, and requisitioned every bit, but still there was not enough. Miss Wintz, who speaks German, called a halt, and told the crowding men that we were run out of supplies, and would they go for a walk for a little while until we could lay in a fresh stock ? They took it very kindly, and to bridge the time over we got up a concert in our hall, which was hastily cleared of chairs, and filled with men, our band played, and a party of young men volunteers gave them some part songs. I felt that I had an opportunity now to say a few HISTORIC SPITHEAD 309 words of friendship and goodwill which possibly might not be forgotten. My German was altogether too rusty, but a fine young German sailor stood by my side, and as I spoke he translated my words. They listened most attentively, and then a German petty officer proposed a vote of thanks. He said that " When they saw the signal they all felt the kindness and friendliness which it implied. They thought it was very brave of a lady to invite the whole fleet, but they had accepted the invitation, and hundreds and hundreds of German sailors would never forget the Royal Sailors' Rest, Devonport, and the kind friends there. "More than that, the news would spread all through Germany, as every man had written and sent a picture post-card from the Rest to fathers and mothers, wives and sweethearts, saying how, far away from the Fatherland, they had found a real home." He concluded by calling upon all to give hearty cheers ; after this we sang the " PVafch on the RlitJie," the German National Anthem, and the British National Anthem, and bade each other good-bye. The fieet weighed anchor at five o'clock the next morning. I in my turn have received picture post- cards, and here is one : " Briefkarte. Kindest regards from two German brothers, who will never forget the welcome that yon gave them at Plymouth. — R. BerGER, Edward Staal." Truth, however, compels me to say that some of our British blues were jealous. " Why should Miss Weston receive the Germans, and be so kind to them?" questioned some stalwart seamen gunners. It was explained to them that it was done to make 310 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS them welcome, and to return in some measure the kindness shown to them by the German sailors at Kiel. " Well, suppose it's all right ; but we don't like to be turned out of our Sailors' Rest for them." I must, however, tell a story of one of our men, who was every inch a bluejacket, and a gentleman. He had just taken and paid for a ticket for a cabin, and he had secured the last. A German petty officer came up, and asked for a cabin, and was told that the last was gone. Disappointed, he was turning away, when our British seaman stepped up, and courteously handed him his own ticket. The German was profuse in his thanks ; and when the remark was made to the kind donor that he would probably have to be content with a shake-down on the floor, he replied, " It is the least that I could do ; these men are our guests." We had a very interesting visit from our German friends a year or two ago — November 1907 — at Portsmouth, when the Kaiser and Kaiserin visited our King and Queen at Windsor. The ships included the Imperial yacht Hohenzollern, the cruiser Scharnhorst, and the despatch - boat Sleipner. I wrote to the Kaiser, asking his kind interest in our work among his men, and telling him that we hoped to make the Royal Sailors' Rest a home for them, and to give a banquet on some fitting day. Although the visit of the squadron was very short, all this was arranged by the Kaiser's kind interest. My workers had free access to the ships, and we distributed about 1000 German Testaments and HISTORIC SPITHEAD 311 Gospels, and a large number of picture German text- cards. The men received them with great delight as souvenirs, and we could have distributed many more if we had had them. The day was fine when the men were marched up to the Royal Sailors' Rest to enjoy our hospitality. The tables looked very bright and pretty, and we had a number of our own bluejackets waiting to fraternise with their foreign chums, which they did right well. I gave them a short address of welcome, which was translated into German by an officer of the Hohcn- zollcrn, and was received with loud " Hochs." The banquet was thoroughly enjoyed, and was followed by a nice entertainment. By the Kaiser's direct orders, Admiral Ingenohl, Commandant of the Imperial yacht Hohenzollern, came to call upon me, and the kind feeling shown is expressed in a letter which I received from him a day or two afterwards, of which I give a translation of a portion : — " / desire to offer you my most hearty thanks for your very kind letter and the book which accompanied it, and I greatly deplore that I cannot express myself in your language, as my knowledge of it docs not extend so far. I wish to assure you that ivhat I had already heard of you and your blest work, and further what I saiv during my visit to your Home, the Sailors' Rest, has made a deep im- pression on me. This impression has been further deepened by the perusal of the book, ' Our Bluejackets,' by Miss Wintz. May your example find many followers in Eng- land and in Germany. — With deep respect, yours most truly, " INGENOHL, Rear-AdmiraV' 312 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS We bade adieu to our German friends with regret, and hope to see them again. Itahan and Spanish ships have visited us at Ports- mouth and Devonport. We have always received free permission to go on board these ships, and I have given '' At Homes " at the Sailors' Rests to the men, and I hope always to be able to do this. Our American friends are very specially welcome, and as they receive Ashore and Afloat and my Monthly Letters every month, there is a close link between us, as well as the strong international feeling which binds the White Ensign and the Stars and Stripes together. While this fleet was in Portsmouth we had a very bright and happy time. I telegraphed to Admiral Cotton, as the squadron lay at Kiel, and invited 400 men to a reception at the Royal Sailors' Rest, Portsmouth. The invitation was accepted cordially by the Admiral. On the day appointed the fine body of men marched up, the streets were lined with people, and the Sailors' Rest was dressed with bunting, the Stars and Stripes being conspicuous. We had the pleasure of receiving them, while the band played Sousa's march, " Stars and Stripes." We had speaking, glee-singing, recitations ; then refreshments were served, and we finally bade each other good-bye, after singing, with linked hands, " Aidd Lang Syjte." As they marched out, after three hearty cheers, the band played " Had, Columbia." My workers went on board the ships Kearsage, Chicago, San Francisco, and Malchias every day while they lay in Portsmouth Harbour, making friends with the men, influencing them for good, distributing HISTORIC SPITHEAD 313 Testaments and books. They took nearly a hundred pledges, and the demand for the Sailors' Testaments published by the Scripture Gift Mission was so great that our stock was exhausted. Just before the ships sailed, one of my workers held a Bible-class on board the Chicago, and the apprentices of the San Francisco sent me ten shillings out of their wages towards our building fund. We bade our American cousins good-bye with real sorrow. The American fleet departed, and we went on with our ordinary work, but after a time our lively friends and next-door neighbours, the French, desired to visit this country. They paid two visits at different dates, but the largest fleet came to Portsmouth in 1905. Our bluejackets were very excited about what they called the " Tcniy cordial." The arrival of the fleet in English waters was not to be forgotten ; thousands of people lined the three miles of Southsea beach ; a few trailers of smoke in the sky showed that our visitors were coming, then the fighting-tops emerged, and at last the ships them- selves, moving majestically on. No sooner were they in British waters than a spurt of flame and cloud of smoke was followed by the thunders of the whole fleet saluting the French Republic and Majesty of Great Britain, and they passed on to pick up their moorings off Cowes. After a day or so the fleet got under way, and this time the destination was Portsmouth. As is well known, the entrance to the harbour is very narrow, so the ships came on in single file, the Massena, flagship, leading. Here again the shore was black with cheering spectators, and the massed 314 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS bands crashed out the " Marseillaise." Curiously enough, one of the first to receive them was Nelson's flagship, H.M.S. Victory. She was dressed with colours, but there she lay as the ships passed — many a Frenchman raised his cap to the old ship, once the enemy, now the friend, of his country. About that moment a string of colours fluttered from the French flagship, which read that " Miss Weston would be delighted to welcome any French sailors that liked to come to the Royal Sailors' Rest." This signal was made at my request by the courtesy of the French admiral. And the signal did its work — the bluejackets came to us in hundreds. We had turned our large hall into a salon and cafe, little tables about, plenty of refreshments and temperance drinks ; the Tricolour was conspicuously placed, and the hall was gaily decorated. Two large mottoes occupied each end : " Bienvenue a la Flotte Frangaise," and "Vive I' En- tente Cordiale," and here we received our guests, and they made themselves entirely at home. Songs were given, and recitations, by English and French sailors, and also by ladies who kindly volunteered their services ; also feats of swordsmanship by Lieutenant and Mrs. Barrett. Our friends' appetites were considerable ; they con- sumed 34,765 rolls, cakes, and tarts, 5061 eggs, 2771 bottles of temperance drinks — which they observed were " very good, with no headaches in them " — also 20 sides of bacon, and 120 joints of beef and mutton. My workers visited the ships, and were allowed to give away our souvenir books, of which we issued HISTORIC SPITHEAD 315 15,000 on board and ashore. Crowds of men rushed for them, and said that they should read them, and send them home to their wives and mothers. The Daily Mail remarked : " The French and British paraded the streets arm-in-arm like sworn brothers. If their gait was not always steady, you may set it down to hospitality, which the occasion excused. And really there were remarkably few evidences of excess. Proof of this might be found at the Sailors' Rest, where Miss Weston is the good angel who shelters those who have succumbed to the temptation of the moment." " We have had no cases of drunkenness," was the statement of our interpreter. "A few men were sent to their ships in cabs, but it was not necessary to detain any. Hundreds of French sailors have visited the Home and have spent hours here. They are amazed and delighted with the warmth of their welcome. Many have never before set foot in England, and believed that the British were a cold and difficult people. Not a few imagined that English women were as the French caricaturist often depicts them. They have denounced the caricature, and are filled with remorse and admiration." Our happiest day was Sunday. We had announced a religious service in the afternoon, and had invited them to come, but we did not expect the 600 that crowded in. We sang hymns in French and English simultaneously. The British blues gave sacred solos and choruses. I spoke to them, and they listened most attentively ; the words came from my heart, and I hope went to theirs. We parted later in the 3i6 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS day, after a hearty vote of thanks had been proposed by a French chief petty officer, and enthusiastically carried by all present. We did thank God that we had been able to take our small part in furthering I' entente cordiale. Space will not admit of my chronicling the visits of several other foreign fleets, but I must say some- thing about a navy that has loomed large before us during the war in the East — I mean the Russian navy. Early in 1909 a Russian fleet appeared on the horizon. I watched them as they passed the Nab Light and steamed slowly through Spithead to the harbour, where they took up their moorings. The entertaining of 500 Russian officers, seamen, and marines at the Royal Sailors' Rest, Portsmouth, was a very pleasant event. It was a fine sight to see them march up, headed by the band. They filed into our hall, and soon took their places at the tables, where an appetising spread awaited them. In my unavoidable absence, Miss Wintz welcomed them in the names of ourselves and all our workers. The address was translated into Russian by an officer of one of the ships, and was received with great pleasure by the audience. After the banquet we had a concert, exhibitions of drill were given by the Royal Naval Cadet Corps, together with fencing and athletic displays by men of the Royal Marine Artillery. The Russians thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and took much interest in the drill displays, the sword exercises, and the musical marching by the girls, while they applauded every item in the programme. A party HISTORIC SPITHEAD 317 of British sailors was present to fraternise with the guests, and in every way the concert went off remarkably well. Our reception took place on Thursday, and on the Saturday, the day on which the squadron left, I received a signal from the Admiral commanding, asking if a deputation from H.I. M.S. Cesarevitch could be received. We were, of course, only too pleased to receive them, little imagining their kind thoughts to us. The Evening News says : " The deputation — three fine stalwart specimens of the Czar's Slav subjects — were accompanied by an officer to present them and to act as interpreter. This he did in a charming manner, bowing very low and kissing hands. He desired first to thank Miss Weston for receiving the representatives of the crews, who had come at the instigation of the men of the fleet to convey the unanimous appreciation of the whole fleet for the hospitable reception of over 500 of them in the beautiful hall at the Royal Sailors' Rest, and to ask her acceptance of a small gift as a lasting memento of the hearty friendship the occasion had engendered. " One of the trio (an electrician) then presented, with much profound salutation, a handsome silver- gilt vase inscribed with these words : — IN MEMORY OF THE KIND RECEPTION AT THE ROYAL SAILORS' REST FROM THE GRATEFUL CREW OF T.R.S. CESAREVITCH 3i8 MY LIFE AMONG THE BLUEJACKETS "The deputation made a complete tour of the institution, and expressed again and again their amazement at the vastness, the resources, the cleanliness, and the organisation of the huge establishment." We were all very much touched by the kindness of our Russian friends, and still more so when we ascertained that the gift not only came from the lower-deck of the Cesarevitch, but also from the lower-deck men of the other ships of the squadron, and that it had been quite their own thought, and not in any way prompted by the officers. The next day we watched the Ccsarevitch, Slava, Olag, Bogatyr, 2ind Admiral Makaroffy steam majestically away from Spithead until they were well down in the horizon. Many good wishes followed them, and earnest prayer that the 500 copies of Russian Scriptures scattered through that fleet might be good seed which in God's time would bring forth fruit in hearts and lives. It is remarkable to see how this international work has opened up, and I hope in the future we shall be able to continue and perhaps enlarge it in various ways. As in the case of Japan, one can never tell whereunto this sort of work may grow ; we can but sow the seed, and leave the result to a Higher Power, > O H U