by Roy Adkins
The old man knew that Madame Derikre had been receiving charitable assistance some months ago, and through this information Pierre found out the street where she lived, though he was convinced she was dead and that it was pointless discovering where she was buried. Boys insisted on continuing the search:We rapped at door after door, but could find no one in that street who knew the name. At length a person told us there was an old blind woman, bed ridden, living on the upper floor of No. 20. An inmate of this house volunteered to ask if two strangers would be admitted, and immediately ran up stairs, but, suspecting some deception, or that preparation might be made for our reception, which it was desirable to avoid, I quickly followed her up into a back room, when to my horror I saw in a corner, sitting erect on a stump bedstead and palliasse, a withered remnant of human wretchedness, quite blind, and partially covered with a dirty tattered garment, and a substitute for a blanket. Painfully disappointed as I felt at the sight of this distressed object, and evident as it appeared that we had again failed, I approached the bed, intending to give something as a compensation for my intrusion, and retire.39
Something made Boys stay and ask a few questions, which led to a conversation about the late wars with England. He then asked her if she had heard of prisoners-of-war:Encouraged by the ease and readiness of her replies, I then touched upon her age and occupation at that time. To all of which she surprised me with answers of remarkable clearness and accuracy, telling me she had assisted many young officers to escape, when she kept a public-house in the country. At length Pierre, who followed me up stairs, became very impatient, and asked if I was not now satisfied that this woman was the ‘veritable Aenglishe Reeker?’ Wait, was the reply (for seeing her miserable state, I could not entirely divest myself of doubt, and was anxious to elicit the truth), I have one more question to put, and then said to her, - ‘Tell me, what were the names of the first four English, you say, you assisted to escape?’ When, without the slightest hesitation, she quickly replied,—
‘EDWARD BOYS,
ROBERT HUNTER,
FREDERICK WHITEHURST,
WILLIAM MANSELL.’40
Boys was completely astonished by her reply:I hesitated for a moment, and then asked, if she had since seen this Edward Boys? She replied, ‘Not since his escape; but when I was in England, I was sent to the Admiralty, and there told he was employed in the West Indies.’ This again surprised me, at the same time that it dissipated all doubt as to her identity. After a moment’s reflection, and knowing she was blind, I told her to give me her hand. She did so. I then added, - ‘You have now the hand of Edward Boys!’ She paused—trembled—slowly raised her head, and rolled her full black eyes round the ceiling, as if bewildered, and struggling for sight to recognise the man whose hand she now held in firm grasp. I could no longer endure the painful sight of such wretchedness in one, to whom I felt that, in early life, I was indebted to safety from the enemy, and for my subsequent good fortune.41
Leaving the room, Boys promised to return within an hour, and gave orders for Madame Derikre to be washed, dressed and given her dinner. He went to a shop with the woman of the house and bought numerous articles of clothing for the old lady. On his return he found her clean and dressed, and sat with her for about four hours:Before I left, I told her she must now endeavour to make herself happy, as she would never again be in want, so long as I could minister to her necessities. That I should leave funds with a gentleman, or a banker, in Ostend, sufficient to give her, weekly, a franc a day, which should be continued during her life . . . To avoid increasing her apparent uneasiness of mind, I said, I must now leave you; to-morrow, my wife and daughters, who are at Bruges, will come and see you, and will carry out my promise should you survive me; therefore, I repeat, make yourself happy.’ I kissed her, and took leave.42
His wife and daughters were jubilant at his success, and the next day they all went to Ostend, as Boys related:We . . . found my poor old protectress sitting in the front room, clean and cheerful, ready to receive us, but unable to walk. My wife, daughters, and female attendant, were successively named to her, when to each she presented her hand, and had something pleasing to say, which had the effect of making a favourable impression, and showing she could appreciate kindness. Madame Derikre, having had time to reflect upon her change of circumstances within a few hours, described her feelings as so excited with gratitude when she went to bed, that she could scarcely believe her own senses, and feared that what had occurred was all a dream. When she was asked if she stood in need of anything else, she replied, ‘Nothing, my good friends;’ but, before we left the house, upon enquiry of the hostess, Madame Van Hecke, it was found advisable to add, to her property, a few necessary articles of bedding and linen to which she had long been a stranger. These were ordered, and Madame Derikre, as her wants were few, called herself the happiest woman in Ostend.43
News of the discovery of Madame Derikre soon spread, and Boys commented that others gave him money for her assistance and that she began to receive several visitors:She was occasionally visited by Pierre, the Commissioner, who gave friendly publicity of her discovery, and thus induced the English to see her; these generally gave her something, which was always transferred to Madame Van Hecke, who received all, and supplied all. By these contributions, Madame Derikre’s position, in the family, became reversed; for she was no longer a clog, but a profit: no longer a beggar, dependent on their bounty, with a pittance of eight francs a month from the parish, but one to whom all now looked up, desirous to please and to court. Whenever our own friends had occasion to pass through Ostend, she was sure to be visited, and complimented by them, which also had the effect of elevating her in the eyes of the natives; and, in some measure, restoring her to her former position in society. 44
Boys visited her from time to time and learned more of what happened to her after she had helped him and his friends escape. The last time he visited her was May 1849, and the following month, at the age of eighty-three, she died.After the massive upheaval of war, all Europe was changing rapidly. Steam power was spreading, driving machines for industry and trains and ships for transport. The era of sailing warships was over, and sailors would have to learn new skills and officers new tactics to fight the wars of the future. The conflict that had developed out of the chaotic attempt to spread the revolution beyond the boundaries of France had led to years of fighting and misery for millions of people. Although centred on Europe, it was truly a global war and would carry the title of ‘The Great War’ until it was surpassed by the horrors of World War I.
Napoleon’s ambitions, though, had the most far-reaching consequences. At the time he clawed his way to power it was still possible for other European kingdoms to rival Britain in gathering colonies, building trade links and amassing an empire. It was Napoleon’s desire to emulate the conquests of Alexander the Great that prompted a reaction from Britain, and as each French move was countered, territory was annexed and shipping destroyed or captured. Almost by accident at first, Britain found its territorial possessions and wealth increasing while its domination of world trade grew stronger. By the time of Waterloo no other European country could hope to match Britain in trade or command of the seas. The war that had begun as a response to the spread of revolutionary ideals on land had evolved into a war for all the oceans. Ultimately the massive empire over which Queen Victoria reigned was the unwitting gift of the French dictator who tried, and failed, to become Emperor of the East. As Sir Sidney Smith wrote in his prophecy to Napoleon, ‘Fortune’s wheel makes strange revolutions.’45
NOTES
PROLOGUE: WITH CANNON AND CUTLASS1 Long (ed.) 1899, p.284.
2 Dundonald 1861, p.93.
3 Dundonald 1861, p.94.
4 Dundonald 1861, p.93.
5 Dundonald 1861, pp.94-5.
6 Dundonald 1861, p.95.
7 Dundonald 1861, p.95.
8 Dundonald 1861, p.95.
9 Dundonald 1861, p.110.
10 Dundonald 1861, p.110.
11 Dundonald 1861, p.110.
12 Dundonald 1861, p.110.
13 Dundonald 1861, pp.110-11.
14 Dundonald 1861, p.111.
15 Dundonald 1861, p.111.
16 Dundonald 1861, p.113.
17 Dundonald 1861, p.113.
18 Dundonald 1861, p.112.
19 Dundonald 1861, p.112.
20 Dundonald 1861, p.112.
21 Dundonald 1861, p.112.
22 Dundonald 1861, p.113.
23 Dundonald 1861, p.113.
24 Dundonald 1861, p.113.
25 Dundonald 1861, p.114.
26 Dundonald 1861, p.114.
27 Dundonald 1861, pp.114-15.
1 : GATEWAY TO INDIA1 Las Cases 1835, p.59.
2 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.216.
3 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.216.
4 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.217.
5 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.220.
6 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.220.
7 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.220.
8 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.222.
9 Hyde de Neuville 1914, vol. 1, p.80.
10 Paris newspaper advertisement in The Times, 18 May 1798.
11 The Times, 7 May 1798.
12 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.296.
13 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.54.
14 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.49.
15 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, pp.15-16.
16 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.16.
17 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.56.
18 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.19.
19 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.19.
20 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.18.
21 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.70-1.
22 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.63-4.
23 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.31.
24 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.230.
25 Henry V, Act IV, scene III.
26 Nicolas 1846, vol. 7, p.60.
27 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.40.
28 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.71.
29 Ross 1838, vol. 2, p.208.
30 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.84-5.
31 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.85-6.
32 Thurman 1902, p.27.
33 Original Letters 1798, pp.48-50.
34 Desvernois 1898, p.105.
35 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, pp.44-5.
36 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, pp.42-3.
2 : BATTLE OF THE NILE1 Original Letters 1798, p.42.
2 Ross 1838, vol. 1, pp.210-11.
3 Original Letters 1798, p.44.
4 Original Letters 1798, p.44.
5 Ross 1838, vol. 1, p.215 footnote.
6 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.67.
7 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.67.
8 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.68.
9 Elliot 1863, p.9.
10 Elliot 1863, p.10.
11 Elliot 1863, pp.10-11.
12 Elliot 1863, pp.11-12.
13 Jackson (ed.) 1900, p.21.
14 Jackson (ed.) 1900, pp.21-2.
15 Elliot 1863, pp.17-18.
16 Jackson (ed.) 1900, p.22.
17 Ross 1838, vol. 1, p.217.
18 Ross 1838, vol. 1, p.217.
19 Elliot 1863, pp.12-13.
20 Jackson (ed.) 1900, p.73.
21 Jackson (ed.) 1900, p.43.
22 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.55.
23 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.55.
24 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.55.
25 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.55.
26 Du Petit Thouars 1937, p.551.
27 Ross 1838, vol. 1, p.221.
28 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.56.
29 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.56.
30 Nicol 1822, pp.185-6.
31 Nicol 1822, p.186.
32 Nicol 1822, pp.186-7.
33 Saumarez archive SA/6/155.
34 National Archives Adm 36/14817 (2nd entry).
35 National Archives Adm 36/14817 (2nd entry).
36 Wellcome Institute Library, Vol. 10 Western Ms. 3676.
37 Nicol 1822, p.187.
38 Nicol 1822, p.187.
39 Nicol 1822, p.187.
40 Original Letters 1798, p.233.
41 Original Letters 1798, p.233.
42 Elliot 1863, p.13.
43 Willyams 1802, pp.52-5.
44 Willyams 1802, pp.55.
45 Willyams 1802, p.55.
46 Nicol 1822, pp.187-8.
47 Nicol 1822, p.188.
48 Willyams 1802, p.59.
49 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.132, 141.
50 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.89.
51 Nicol 1822, p.189.
3: SIEGE OF ACRE1 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.55-6.
2 Elliot 1863, pp.14-15.
3 Knight 1861, pp.113-14.
4 Knight 1861, p.115.
5 Knight 1861, p.116 footnote.
6 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.74.
7 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.235.
8 National Archives FO 78/20, 85-88.
9 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, pp.236-7.
10 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.239.
11 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.249.
12 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.250.
13 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, pp.455-6.
14 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.122.
15 Original Letters 1799, p.225.
16 Historical Manuscripts Commission 1905, p.43.
17 Howard 1839, vol. 1, p.163.
18 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.230-1.
19 Parsons 1905, p.209.
20 Correspondance de Napoléon Ier Publiée par ordre de l’Empereur Napoléon III, vol. 5 1860 (Paris), p.373.
21 Barrow 1848, vol 1, p.271.
22 Howard 1839, vol. 1, p.199.
23 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.186.
24 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.187.
25 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.187
26 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.187.
27 Howard 1839, vol. 1, p.200.
28 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.187.
29 Howard 1839, vol. 1, p.201.
30 Howard 1839, vol. 1, p.201.
31 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.187.
32 Naval Chronicle 10, 1803, p.188.
33 Knight 1861, p.139.
34 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.230.
35 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.275.
36 Howard 1839, vol. 1, p.157.
37 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.278.
38 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.279.
39 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.285.
40 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.285.
41 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.295-6.
42 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.308.
43 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.243-4.
44 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, pp.293-4.
45 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.311.
46 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, pp.311-12.
47 Nicolas 1845, vol. 3, p.455.
4: FROM NAPLES TO COPENHAGEN1 Dundonald 1861, p.88.
2 Parsons 1905, p.6.
3 Knight 1861, p.140.
4 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.250-1.
5 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.265.
6 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, p.266.
7 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.266-7.
8 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 2, pp.304-5.
9 Original Letters 1800, p. 5.
10 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 4, p.177.
11 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 4, pp.74-5.
12 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 4, pp.78-9.
13 Barrow 1848, vol. 1, p.385.
14 Dundonald 1861, p.90.
15 James 1826, vol. 3, p.9.
16 James 1826, vol. 3, p.10.
17 James 1826, vol. 3, p.10.
18 Nicolas 1846, vol. 7, p.80.
19 Parsons 1905, pp.33-4.
20 Parsons 1905, p.50.
21 Parsons 1905, p.50.
22 Harris 1843, p.vii.
23 Elliot 1863, p.23.
24 Elliot 1863, p.23.
25 Parsons 1905, p.51.
26 Oman 1947, p.384.
27 Parsons 1905, p.51.
28 Knight 1861, p.
158.
29 Nicolas 1845, vol. 4, p.267.
30 The Times, 10 November 1800.
31 The Times, 5 January 1801.
32 Bourrienne 1829, vol. 3, p.270.
33 Nicolas 1845, vol. 4, p.279.
34 Fremantle (ed.) 1940, p.31.
35 Elliot 1863, p.27.
36 Fremantle (ed.) 1940, p.37.
37 Naval Chronicle 5, 1801, p.338.
38 Finlayson 1952, p.128.
5: WAR AND PEACE1 Pettigrew 1849, p.444.
2 Millard 1895, p.85.
3 Millard 1895, p.85.
4 Millard 1895, p.86.
5 Nicolas 1845, vol. 4, pp.307-8.
6 Millard 1895, pp.86-7.
7 Millard 1895, p.87.
8 Millard 1895, p.87.
9 Millard 1895, p.87.
10 Millard 1895, pp.86-7.
