Frigate Commander (30 page)

What am I distrest about? Why, if she is indifferent about me she may show my letter to her father and the family; I shall be laughed at by them, and they will have some cause to be offended. The part of a rejected lover, whose vanity led him to think a pretty woman had some love for him, when the utmost she felt was a friendship founded on long acquaintance from her childhood. This is the mortifying side of the picture. It is humiliating.

On the other hand, he also rationalized that if she did feel love for him, the letter might tip the balance in his favour. But then, there was a third possibility:

After all, my Mother will be so astonished that she will never venture to send the letter, nor will she ever have an opportunity of giving it to her, for her mother is always with her. I wish she had the letter at this moment in her own room, by herself, and let me know the worst.

By the 16th, Williams had sent the
Melampus
to cruise further west and to call in to Cork for provisions and water. At Cork there were a number of ships in port and Moore had the opportunity of catching up with some old friends and acquaintances, spending an agreeable time with
‘men that I like’
. He also learned that his brother, John, had been promoted to the rank of Major General;

This brother of mine is a rising man in the service; he possess
[es]
some of the best qualities of a soldier in an eminent degree, prudence, enterprise, great activity, cool and determined courage, with great presence of mind and a clear and sound head. With all this he is one of the most amiable fellows living, although, from his infancy, rather reserved until he knows his men. He is very firm and decided, and has the gift of being beloved by his men at the same time that they are kept in very strict discipline . . . I love him, and he well deserves all our loves, he is a very noble fellow.

Having completed her stores, the
Melampus
received new orders to head for Lough Swilly to join a squadron under the command of Captain Jonathan Faulknor in the frigate
Diana
. Faulknor was in search of several Dutch men-of-war which were reported to be waiting off Shetland for the homeward-bound Dutch Greenland trade. One of the Dutch ships was thought to carry fifty guns, while the rest were frigates. However, there were some doubts about the veracity of these reports – as there were also claims that the ships were Russian.

Moore set sail on 22 July, resolving secretly to stretch out to the westwards on his way round the west coast of Ireland, as this would put him in the track in which he had captured the
Volage
. Even so, he was pessimistic about taking any prizes this time. He was also a little surprised to find himself sent to the opposite end of the country, but decided that this was a ploy by the Commander-in-Chief to keep the
Melampus
on the Irish station. By sending her so far away from Cork it would be difficult for Kingsmill to issue any recall orders from the Admiralty. Moore was not displeased with this, for even though he thought there was little chance of prizes, he believed that if he were going to
‘do something’
, it was more likely to be on the Irish station than anywhere else. He was certainly glad to be further offshore, for six men had deserted within the last three months;

. . . this is very distressing to me, as I do not believe any Officer treats the men under his command with more kindness than I have always done, and those men in particular have been more indulged than any others. I have come to a determination never to forgive any man who leaves a boat, and on no account to pardon Desertion, which has prevailed to a very great degree in the
Melampus
ever since I have commanded her.

The recent desertions may have been due to another factor which he had previously mentioned; some of the crew may have been either United Irishmen, or at least in sympathy with them.

As they sailed past the north-west coast of Ireland, Moore was struck by the large number of well armed and well appointed letters-of-marque he encountered bound from Liverpool to the West Indies. He saw this as a consequence of the commercial health of that port, but in particular of the entrepreneurial spirit of its merchants. On the 28th, Moore turned the
Melampus
southwards towards Lough Swilly, conscious of the fact that neither he nor the ship’s Master were acquainted with this part of the Irish coast. Had he known his destination before he left England, he would have purchased the appropriate charts, because
‘The French Charts I have of these seas are very incorrect’.

Two days later they entered Lough Swilly to find that Faulknor’s squadron had sailed the previous day to search off Shetland, the Orkneys and the Faeroe Islands. As night was falling, Moore anchored, but was appalled when the ship was surrounded by boatloads of common people who crowded on board to try and exchange their fowls and eggs for old clothes. These impoverished people were reluctant to accept money for their goods, and were indeed mostly half naked or covered in rags. In spite of the high level of disaffection which was said to exist in the vicinity, Moore was both shocked and moved by their plight;

I hope when Government have succeeded in completely disarming the Rebels, that some wise and healing measures will be adopted in this Kingdom; I am quite ignorant on the subject, but I have no doubt that much reform is required.

Moore determined to sail after Faulknor the next morning, mortified with the thought that the squadron might fall in with the Dutch before he could join him. However, south of the Hebrides the wind dropped, and as they slowly drifted northwards, Moore could not help reflecting on the degradation of his native highlanders. In a romantic mood he concluded that the introduction of commerce had changed the character of the Scottish Highlander from

. . . hardy, high-minded, warlike shepherds and husbandmen

to

. . . knavish merchants, Pedlars, and wicked, debauched manufacturers . . . I never went through the narrow dirty streets In London where old iron is sold in one shop, candles and pickled salmon in the adjoining, old rags in a third, a retail butcher’s shop with the liver and lights hanging up opposite, without having my spirits sunk. Poverty in a large city is a thousand times more disgusting than in the country, and I think the poor of a city, independent of the effect of being bred in a crowd, more likely to be mean and vicious than the country labourers, who live
sub jove
in the expanse, and familiarized with the grandeur and beauty of Nature. This idea I have entertained for many years.

Off St Kilda the wind dropped again for twelve hours, and as they passed the Orkneys on the following day, Moore gazed dreamily at the passing mountains and thought of his beloved Ossian;

I cannot believe the Poems ascribed to Ossian are of modern composition, and I am sorry that Macpherson, instead of challenging Johnson to meet him in the field, did not furnish the world with better proofs of his being only the compiler and translator of these noble compositions.
⁶⁵

He was prepared to concede however, that if Macpherson’s work was fraudulent,

I do think it the most masterly trick that I have ever heard of in that way. But I believe Mr Macpherson to have acted perfectly fair in this business, and I certainly owe him much for the pleasure his researches have procured me . . .

Moore’s continued faith in the authenticity of the works of Ossian was in fact bolstered because he had learned that Napoleon had claimed Ossian as his favourite author. This, in turn, simply confirmed Moore’s belief that Napoleon was
‘the hero of the age’
. Another heroic figure also occupied his thoughts at this time: Admiral Nelson, whose fleet was now thought to be far up the Mediterranean where there were no friendly ports to provide aid in case of trouble;

. . . They are liable to many accidents, especially when led by so daring a character as Nelson. No great action was ever achieved without great risk, but I wish he were possessed of more prudence than he has the reputation of. His second, Trowbridge, I believe to be one of our first sea Officers; I am glad he is so well backed.
⁶⁶

After cruising for several days without seeing any sign of Faulknor’s squadron, Moore decided to turn back towards Lough Swilly. The following day, between Faeroe and Shetland, Faulknor’s ships appeared. Moore reported on board the
Diana
and Faulknor informed him the Dutch squadron had really been Swedish. There were new orders for Moore. He was to sail under the command of Lord Ranelagh
⁶⁷
, commander of the 18-pounder frigate
Doris
. Moore was pleased to have Ranelagh as his senior officer because he

. . . may not be so religious in keeping within the limits of his station as I have always been. I know he is a brave fellow, and not over rich – Good qualifications for a Cruiser.

The two frigates headed south through fog and drizzle; weather which Moore thought
‘the most dreary and uncomfortable at sea’
. Competing on different courses, Moore was glad to find that his
Melampus
beat the
Doris
close-hauled
⁶⁸
, but fell behind when sailing with the wind free
⁶⁹
. After some consideration he thought the
Melampus
was down by the stern, so set the crew to shifting stores forward in the hold, and after that she sailed as well as the
Doris
.

On 15 August they entered Lough Swilly to find orders to proceed to Belfast. It was also reported that two French frigates were on their way to land arms on the coast. Meanwhile, in the Lough, the
Melampus
was again surrounded by local people wishing to exchange produce for clothes. Moore had to forbid their coming on board and it becomes apparent that there were two reasons for this, both of which related to the welfare of the crew:

Most of our people would by degrees have parted with all their clothes for a few fowls, potatoes and the itch, which few of the Irish peasantry, that we have seen, are clear of.

The two frigates entered Belfast Lough on 25 August, with a hard gale in their teeth. There they learned that three French frigates had landed between 700 and 1,000 troops at Killala in County Mayo on 22 August, together with a great quantity of arms and ammunition.
⁷⁰
Faulknor, with the rest of his squadron, had already departed to make his way there. Moore cursed his ill luck, for Killala was on the north-west coast, some 100 miles south-west of Lough Swilly. If he and Ranelagh had heard the news while they were at Swilly, they would have fallen on the French frigates by now. While he was preparing to sail, a new report arrived that gave him greater cause for hope. A much larger force was said to be ready to sail from Brest under the command of Commodore Bompart, consisting of a 74-gun ship and eight frigates.
⁷¹
The eagerness of the two frigate commanders to get back to sea was now hampered by a north-easterly which pinned them in Belfast. While they chafed, waiting for the wind to change, Moore received letters from home. To his sudden relief, he read that his mother had decided not to forward his letter to Miss M. With something of a weight lifted from his shoulders, he opened a letter from his brother John who was now in Dublin, having just completed a campaign to disperse the rebels in the Wicklow Hills;
‘This he tells me he effected as much by kindness as by force.’

On the 28th, the two frigates sailed from Belfast in the evening, heading north-west between Fair Head and the Mull of Kintyre. There, Moore spoke to the Master of a Liverpool ship who said that he had encountered twelve ships sailing west-south-west, five leagues from Barra Head, and that two of them chased him. He was convinced they were not English, even though it was common for English frigates to chase their own merchantmen on suspicion. Moore went on board the
Doris
to discuss this information with Ranelagh and both became convinced that these were Bompart’s ships and that, as a consequence, the situation was very serious. Reaching Lough Swilly on the 31st, the two frigates called in to obtain the latest intelligence. The people of Mayo had risen in support of the French force landed on 22 August and there were now 4,000 under arms, they having inflicted a heavy defeat on Major General Hutchinson’s force at Castlebar
⁷²
. A heavy cannonading had also been heard off the coast, which was thought to have been Faulknor’s squadron engaging the first French squadron
⁷³
. At this critical moment, Moore had to act promptly to deal with one of his officers:

I am badly off for officers, and to mend the matter one of the principal of them has behaved in a late instance with such brutality that he is now under an arrest and I believe must be brought to a Court Martial; if so, I shall be deprived of any assistance that he might be of for some time.

A few days later, he noted in his journal,

I have settled the dispute with my Officer to my satisfaction, there is to be no Court Martial, but I am to get rid of him quietly.
⁷⁴

The
Melampus
and the
Doris
began to patrol between Lough Swilly and Tory Island, where they were joined by a Revenue ship under the command of a naval lieutenant. There was no sign of Faulknor and his squadron, and Moore had concluded that the cannonading could not be attributed to him. Despite a very hard gale the two frigates maintained this station for several days, while Moore filled his spare moments reading Sir George Staunton’s account of Lord McCartney’s Embassy to China
⁷⁵
. Moore did not enjoy the book though, as he didn’t like Staunton’s prose, and thought the narrative
‘forced and pedantic’
. On 5 September, Moore managed to get his hands on some London newspapers in which it was strongly rumoured that Admiral Nelson had defeated the French fleet in the Mediterranean, but there was no confirmation of this. On the 11th, the
Melampus
and the
Doris
put back into Lough Swilly where Ranelagh and Moore dined with General Cavan, who gave them an account of how General Lake had completely defeated the Franco-Rebel force at Ballinamuck on 8 September.
⁷⁶