£500; and Sir John Perring, £200. The trustees were to go to market at the time and manner they might think most advantageous; and, they formed themselves into a Committee, to follow up her claim on Government. Their efforts in the latter respect were unavailing. Lady Hamilton removed to Richmond, and afterwards took lodgings in Bond Street. She was, however, soon obliged to secrete herself from the pursuit of her creditors; but, in 1813, was imprisoned in the King's Bench. From this confinement, after ten months, she was liberated by the kind assistance of Mr. Alderman Joshua Jonathan Smith, a man of most upright conduct, and kind heart and disposition. Threatened with an arrest on a coach-maker's bill, which was afterwards found to be a fictitious claim, she, however, fled to Calais, remained there in great obscurity, fell ill of an attack of water in the chest, and other ailments, of which she died, January 15th, 1815. She is reported, by an anonymous foreigner, to have died in the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church; and, to have taken the sacrament on her death-bed. This writer affirms Lady Hamilton to have embraced that faith a long time previous to her decease; and, asserts also in the most positive manner that, a Roman Catholic Priest had administered to her the sacrament during her confinement in the King's Bench This statement is, however, unconfirmed; and, from an account given to me by an English lady, Mrs. Hunter, of Brighton, whose kindness of heart and benevolence, brought her in contact with Lady Hamilton, in the closing hours of her life, I am not disposed to credit it. This excellent lady tells me that, at the time Lady Hamilton was at Calais, she was also there superintending the education of her son at the academy of Mr. Mills. She resided in the "Grande Place," and became acquainted with Monsieur de Rheims, the English interpreter, who persuaded Mrs. Hunter to take up her residence with him in his Château, which was visited by many English. When Lady Hamilton fled to Calais, Monsieur de Rheims gave to her one of his small houses to live in. It was very badly furnished. Mrs. Hunter was in the habit of ordering meat daily at a butcher's, for a favourite little dog; and, on one of these occasions was met by Monsieur de Rheims, who followed her exclaiming "Ah! Madame, ah! Madame! I know you to be good to the Englsh! there is a lady here that would be glad of the worst bit of meat you provide for your dog!" When questioned as to who the lady was, and promising that she should not want for anything, he declined telling, saying, that, she was too proud to see any one; besides, he had promised her secrecy. Mrs. Hunter begged him to provide her with everything she required, wine, &c., as if coming from himself, and she would pay for it. This he did for some time, until she became very ill, when he pressed her to see the lady that had been so kind to her; and, upon hearing that her benefactress was not a person of title, she consented-saw her, thanked her and blessed her a few days after she ceased to live! This lady describes her to me as exceedingly beautiful, even in death! She was anxious to have her interred according to English custom; for which, however, she was only laughed at, and poor Emma was put into a deal box without any inscription. All that this good lady states she was permitted to do, was, to make a kind of pall out of her black silk petticoat, stitched on a white curtain. Not an English Protestant Clergyman was to be found in all Calais, or its vicinity; and, so distressed was this lady to find some one to read the Burial Service over her remains, that she went to an Irish half-pay officer, in the Rue du Havre, whose wife was a well informed Irish lady. He was absent at the time; but, being sent for, most kindly went and read the service over the body. Lady Hamilton, according to the Register of Deaths, preserved in the Town Hall, died in a house, situate in the Rue Francaise, and was buried in a piece of ground, in a spot just outside the town, formerly called the Gardens of the Duchess of Kingston, which had been consecrated, and was used as a public cemetary till 1816. This ground, which had neither wall nor fence to protect it, was, some years since, converted into a timber yard; and, no traces of the graves now remain. Mrs. Hunter wished to have placed a head or foot-stone, but was refused. She, therefore, placed a piece of wood in the shape, as she describes it to me, of a battledore, handle downwards, on which was inscribed, "Emma Hamilton, England's Friend." This was speedily removed, another placed, and also removed; and the good lady was at length threatened to be shot by the sentinel if she persisted in those offices of charity. A small tombstone was, however, afterwards placed there, and was existing in 1833. Upon it, according to a little "Guide to Calais," compiled by an Englishman, was inscribed: Quæ Via in Gallica vocata Et in Domo, CVI. Obiit. Die XV Mensis Januarii, MDCCCXV. The Register of Burials commenced only in 1819. The British Consulate contains no documents relating to Lady Hamilton, but in the office of the Judge de Paix, there is an inventory of her effects, which were estimated at the value of two hundred and twenty-eight francs; besides fifteen francs found in a box with some articles of wearing apparel, and some duplicates of plate that had been pawned. The Earl Nelson came over to demand Lady Hamilton's property, but found only the duplicates of trinkets, &c., pledged, and which he wished to take away without payment He declined repaying any expenses that had been incurred.* During a visit to Calais, on his return from a residence in Germany in attendance upon his late Majesty William IV, and her Majesty the Queen Dowager, my estimable friend, Dr. William Beattie, visited the grave of poor Emma; and in the "Journal," published by him in 1831, has inserted some elegant and most feeling lies, though without mentioning the name of her to whom they arply. These we are obliged to reserve for our next number. THE SHIP, ITS ORIGIN AND PROGRESS, being a general History from its first invention to its latest improvements, &c.—By Francis Steinitz,—London: Allen & Co., Leadenhall-street. To say the least of it, as the world has it, this was a bold undertaking. Without enumerating half the particulars promised in the title page, the above are sufficient to convey to any reflecting mind the enormous magnitude of the project, demanding for it due execution the best information which maritime countries can supply, no ordinary amount of labour to sift and compile them, and no small capital, to introduce them to the world. So gigantic a design it would be unfair to expect to see fulfilled in a first attempt but making every allowance, we are bound to say that Mr. Steinitz, has overcome great difficulties, and evidently never tiring with his laborious task, has filled a large quarto volume of above 600 pages, with a most valuable History of the Origin and Progress of the Ship. To ourselves and *There are various accounts relating to the payment of the funeral expenses. My friend, Mr. Rothery, tells me that his relative Mr. Cadogan, to whom Horatia was entrusted, and by whom she was taken, after the demise of Lady Hamilton, to Mrs. Matcham, made the payments on this occasion, and also afforded much assistance to Lady Hamilton prior to her decease. Alderman Smith was also generous, on this occasion. our Nautical readers, this volume specially addresses itself, and our confined limits will impose on us the agreeable task of reverting to it in several of our future numbers. But we will attempt here a general outline of the author's plan. His first work on the Ship appears to have been written in another language, and for reasons which he gives, he resolved on its translation and publication in English. Hence, the present volume which grew, as it were to its present size from the insufficiency of its origin. Taking as his motto that "there is nothing whatever totally insignificant," he traces the origin of the ship from its earliest history, as well as the darkness of the early ages permit him, through the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans, and following the English from the Norman Conquest through the times of the Crusades to the present, the Venetians through the time of Columbus to the early Portuguese. Nor have even the Chinese been neglected. But for the present we must confine ourselves to the foregoing brief notice, promising our readers that they will find an ample source of information in the work before us, relating to all that concerns the origin and progress of that noble art of man, the ship. ADVENTURES IN BORNEO.-A Tale of the Sea:-Colburn, London. One of the most interesting stories of real life that we have ever met with, in which the chequered shade of eventful days is delineated with a master's hand, fixing the reader's whole attention, until he has scanned its closing page. NEW CHARTS. A List of published and corrected Charts from the Hydrographic Office Admiralty, in the month of January, 1849. TIDE TABLES for 1849, price 1s. 6d. STORNOWAY HARBOUR, (Hebrides,) Com. Otter, R.N., 1848. GALWAY HARBOUR, (Ireland) Co. G. A. Bedford, R.N., 1845, price 1s. 6d. SANDALIK GULF, (Archipelago) Capt. Copeland, R.N., 1834, price 2s. MEGALO KASTRON, (Candia Island) Capt. T. Graves, R.N., 1843, price 6d. TABLE BAY, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, Capt. Sir E. Belcher, C.B., R.N., 1846. MORETON BAY, (Australia, East Coast) Coms. Wickham and Stanley, R.N., 1839 and 47, price 1s. 6d. PORT CURTIS, 1s. 5d. Ditto Capt. O. Stanley, R.N., 1847, price GREAT SANDY ISLAND, SKETCH OF, Ditlo, Lieut. I. Dayman, R.N., 1847, price 1s. 6d. NORTHUMBERLAND TO PALM ISLES, (North-east Coast) corrected to 1848, Capt. Stanley, R.N., price 3s. CALLAO, BOQUERON OF, Capt. Belcher and Fitz Roy. R.N., 1840, price Is. 6d. SAN JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT, Capt. Kellett, R.N., 1847, price 2s. PORT SAN JUAN, DUNCAN ROCK, NEAH BAY, Dit o, 1847, price 1s. 6d. SOOKE INLET, (Vancouvers Island) Ditto, 1847, price 1s. 6d. ST. NICHOLAS ISLAND, Coronados and Colnett Bay, Ditlo, 1847, price 1s. 6d. [It is our painful duty to record with our obituary, the loss of that excellent officer Lieut. Gordon, lately commanding the Royalist. The high estimation in which he was held by the Hydrographer to the Admiralty, amply confirms the following outline of the important services he was render. ing to seamen, when he was overtaken by a fever, which terminated fatally. It is copied from the Singapore Times, for which we are indebted to an unknown friend.] LIEUT. DAVID MACDOUGAL GORDON, R.N.-It was our painful duty on Friday evening last to follow to the grave the remains of the late Commander of H.M.S. Royalist, Lieut. Gordon, whose death was caused by fever brought on by incessant and unremitting labour in completing the Admiralty survey of the Coast of Borneo. In the death of Lieut. Gordon the Hydrographical department has lost an energetic, persevering and talented officer, who fell a victim to over attention to the duties of his situation, and engaging in toils, far in excess of his physical strength; toils, which undermined a naturally robust constitution and hurried to the grave, one whose mind was so engrossed in completing the surveys he had undertaken as to forget the demands of health, and the relaxation indispensable to the human frame under a tropical sun. Lieut. Gordon was the second son of Colonel MacDougal Gordon, of Park House, Banff, in Scotland. After serving seven years in the Mediterranean as a Midshipman and Mate, he left England in 1842, in H.M.S. Wolf, to join the Agincourt, bearing the flag of Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane. Whilst on board the flag-ship he distinguished himself as a gunnery officer, and his talents recommended him to the notice of Admiral Cochrane, then naval Commander-in-chief on the India and China station, by whom he was appointed assistant-surveyor, to Captain Collinson of H. M. Brig Plover. This situation brought out the mental energies and talents of the deceased: he was actively engaged in surveying the group of islands adjacent to Chusan, and elsewhere on the coast of China. After serving as a mate for six years, Mr. Gordon, on March 24th, 1845, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. During the period taken up in these surveys on the coast of China an incident occurred which may be cited as an example of his extraordinary zeal, intrepidity, and perseverance. The circumstance took place at an island near Chusan, where the Plover was anchored. Mr. Gordon was sent to survey the back of a peninsula as far as he could proceed so as to return to the ship by dusk; the presence of several recfs made it impossible to make the circuit by that time. At dusk, to the utter astonishment of all on board the Plover, Mr. Gordon was seen returning from the opposite direction to that from whence he was expected. After having reported himself, he, in answer to the enquiries as to how he managed to traverse the peninsula, said he thought it best to make a day's work of the survey; having finished it, he with the assistance of his boat's crew, carried the boat about half a mile overland! A mind so resolute, and capable of contending with, and overcoming difficulties, required only a wider sphere for the exercise of its talents. On the departure of H.M. brig Plover for England, Capt. Collinson intimated to the Admiral the high qualifications of Lieut. Gordon as a surveyor, and the opinion of one so capable of judging received due respect. Mr. Gordon was immediately placed in command of 11. M. schooner Young Hebe, in which he rendered invaluable services to his country, by making exact surveys of the islands, channels, and passages at the back of Hong Kong. This latter task was so highly approved by the naval Commander-in-Chief, that H. E. resolved to employ so indefatigable and talented an officer in a wider field, and accordingly appointed Mr Gordon to the command of H.M.S. Royalist, in which vessel he surveyed the west coast of Formosa during the N.E. monsoon; a task which, in addition to the difficulties of the undertaking, was rendered still more onerous by the weather: during the survey the ship was battened down for six weeks. The successful labours of Lieut. Gordon pointed him out as the most competent officer to complete the survey of the Coast of Borneo, to examine those parts which had been omitted by Sir Edward Belcher. Exposure and the lack of fresh provisions made inroads on the strength of the whole ship's company, and the intense application of the Commander, in completing his survey of the rivers of Borneo from Sambas to Labuan, seriously affected his health. The Royalist was ordered by the naval Commander-in-Chief to Singapore, to enable her officers and ship's company to recruit their health; on her passage the vessel was dismasted, and narrowly escaped total destruction: reaching Labuan in safety, under jury-masts, the Royalist was towed over to Singapore by the H.C. steamer Auckland. On arrival at Singapore, Mr. Gordon was seized with an attack of remittent fever, which supervening on a constitution already enfeebled by exposure in a tropical clime, in a few days left its victim prostrate: he died on the morning of December 2nd. His earthly course had been marked by a kind, amiable, upright disposition, and his end realized the peace which virtue assures to those who follow in her steps. His remains were followed to the grave by his Honor the Governor, and other civil authorities, the officers of H.M. sloop Arab, the Flag-Lieutenant and Secre tary of the naval Commander-in-Chief, Lieut. Col. Carthew, and officers of the 21st M.N.I., and most of the European inhabitants of Singapore. SHIPWRECK OF THE LADY KENNAWAY -The King of the Belgians has conferred the Order of Leopold upon Capt. Jepsen, who commanded the Belgian corvette La Meuse, on the Portuguese coast, when the English vessel Lady Kennaway was wrecked, on the 19th of November, 1847, and the passengers were on the point of perishing. Capt Jepsen immediately went to the succour of the crew and passengers, and by dint of great exertion, and at the peril of his life, succeeded in rescuing from certain death the crew and passengers, to the number of twenty-six persons. He has also received from the British Government a magnificent large gold medal, in testimony of esteem and gratitude, and the crew of La Meuse has been presented by the British Government with the sum of £10. WHITEHALL, Jan. 15-The Queen has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the great seal of the United Kingdom, constituting and appointing the Right Honourable Sir Francis Thornhill Baring, Bart.; Rear Admiral James Whitley Deans Dundas, c.B.; Maurice Frederic Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Esq., C.B., Captain in her Majesty's navy; Lord John Hay, c.B., Captain in her Majesty's navy; the Honourable William Francis Cowper; and Alexander Milne, Esq., Captain in her Majesty's navy; her Majesty's Commissioners for executing the office of High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dominions, islands, and territories thereunto belonging. |