FOOTNOTES:
[46] Major Glynn (who stammered), at one of the county meetings at which Lord de Dunstanville had spoken with laudable pride of his ancestors having come over with the Conqueror, is reported to have said, 'We-ell-ell-ell, and, and wha-at of that, my lord? M-m-mine were here c-c-c-centuries before the C-c-c-conqueror was born.'
[47] They quarter the arms of Plantagenet (or at least formerly did so); and Davies Gilbert calls De Dunstanville 'a nominal barony of Plantagenet blood.'
[48] Playfair says that the first of this family of De Dunstanville, one Thurston Basset, whom we find on the Roll of Battle Abbey, came over with the Conqueror. From him sprang many families favoured by our kings, most of them now extinct. There is a grant of lands from King John to Wm. Bassett, and Cecilia his wife. In the 'History of the Manor of Castle Combe, in Wilts, with Memoirs of the Dunstanvilles,' etc., by Geo. P. Scrope, M.P. (privately printed by J. B. Nichols and Sons, in 1852), it is stated that Reginald de Dunstanville, Earl of Cornwall, was first Baron of Castle Combe. There appear to have been more than one of that name living in the twelfth century; one of them, perhaps the earliest, was also sometimes named Reginald Fitz-Roy, who was the son of Henry I. by Adeliza de Insulâ. Reginald, according to Mr. Scrope's pedigree of the De Dunstanvilles, married Havisia (or Beatrix), daughter of Caudor, the second Earl of Cornwall, 'ex Regio sanguine Britannorum.' Adeliza, the sister of Cecilia de Dunstanville, married another Basset, viz. Thomas, Baron Basset of Hedendon, 10th Henry II. This work contains much minute information about the early De Dunstanvilles.
[49] One of their sons, Gilbert, founded Bicester Abbey, in Oxfordshire.
[50] The name was also written Tydy, Tihidi, Tyhudy, Tehedie, etc. It is perhaps right to add here (although this is a sketch of the Basset family, rather than of the De Dunstanvilles) the following notes, which I have gathered from Carew: 'Walter de Dunstanvil appears to have had to furnish one knight in respect of his Cornish possessions. See "Evidentiæ Extractæ de Rubro Libro de Scaccario," 143.—Cornub. And Alan de Dunstanvill's name occurs in the "Nomina Baron: et militum et rotulis de feodis militum, vel de scutagio solutis regi Richardo Primo: in libro rubro scaccarii."—Cornubia (a.d. 1189 to 1199). There was, moreover, a Reginald de Dunstanville, a baron of the realm, temp. Hen. I., who is mentioned in the Testa de Nevill.
[51] William of Worcester writes in 1478: 'Turris Castelli Karnbree, Sir John Basset, chevalier stat.' Hals says (but I cannot conceive upon what authority) that this castle was built by the Brays, who came over with the Conqueror (and who certainly intermarried with the Bassets), and hence the name. But Carn Brea is the appropriate Cornish form of 'rock-crowned hill.' Parker attributes the Castle to Robert Fitz Hugh de Dunstanville—temp. Will. I.
[52] There is a monument to this Basset, amongst others, in the church at Illogan; on it is recorded that he died '19 Sept., 1739, æt. 25, descended from a Race of Virtuous, Loyal, and well-Allied ancestors, who for more than four hundred years have lived at their Manor of Tyhydy, in this Parish, in great honour and esteem.'
[53] In this latter post his brother, Sir Arthur, succeeded him. Sir Thomas, another brother, was General of the Ordnance to Prince Maurice; a major-general for the King; and commanded a division at the battle of Stratton; he was knighted in 1644.
[54] At greater length.
[55] If not on the field of battle itself, he was certainly on the way to it at Lostwithiel—hard by.
[56] The Pendarves property ultimately passed to F. Basset's relict, as old Alexander died without signing his will.
[57] He was created a baronet, 24th Nov. 1779; Baron de Dunstanville, by Pitt, 17th June, 1796; and Baron Basset, 30th Oct., 1797.
[58] A fine portrait of him, seated, is preserved in the Museum of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, at Truro. Sir John St. Aubyn has another portrait of him at the age of nineteen, in a 'Vandyck' dress, painted by Opie, after Sir Joshua Reynolds.
[59] His first wife was Frances Susannah Coxe, to whom Penwarne dedicated his volume of Cornish poems.
[60] It is perhaps worth while to notice here that a Private Act was passed (47 Geo. III. sess. 1, c. 3, 1807), to relieve him from certain pains and penalties for taking his seat in the House of Peers before making the oaths and declarations, etc., required by law.
[61] Forty-one of his surplus pictures were offered for sale at Christie's on 8th May, 1824, when six of them were bought in, and the remainder sold for £703 13s. He was an early friend of Opie, and attended the great Cornish artist's funeral in 1807; and it may be added that he placed in a chapel, which he built at his own expense, in Cornwall, an altar-piece by that eccentric artist, Lane, which was exhibited in the Royal Academy, 1808.
[ADMIRAL WILLIAM BLIGH, F.R.S.]
ADMIRAL WILLIAM BLIGH, F.R.S.
'His name is added to the glorious roll
Of those who search the storm-surrounded Pole.'
Byron.
The name of Admiral Bligh will always be associated with that painful episode in the history of the British Navy—the Mutiny of the Bounty—and the settlement of the mutineers on Pitcairn and other of the South Sea Islands; whence we still occasionally obtain news of their happy and flourishing descendants—happier far than their progenitors.[62] He is another example of a Cornish circumnavigator of the globe; the first being a Michell of Truro, who went round the world with Sir Francis Drake. Captain Samuel Wallis, R.N., of Lanteglos juxta Camelford, also sailed round the world in the Dolphin in 1766-68.
The Admiral was born, in all probability (though there has been some uncertainty on the subject) on the Duchy Manor of Tinten,[63] in the parish of St. Tudy, about half a mile south of the 'Church Town,' about the year 1753,—the son of Charles and Margaret Bligh; although I am aware that, according to another account, he is said to have been the son of John Bligh, of Tretawne, in the adjoining parish of St. Kew. The earliest connexion which I have been able to trace between this family and the parish of St. Tudy is, that they acquired some property here of the Westlakes, in 1680-81; but there was a John Bligh, or Blygh, at Bodmin, who acted as an assistant to the Commissioners for the Suppression of Monasteries, temp. Henry VIII. To this ancient town a branch of the Bligh family contributed four mayors between the years 1505 and 1588—indeed, the Cornish Blighs may be traced back as early as the reign of Henry IV. I am not sure whether or not Admiral Sir Richard Rodney Bligh, G.C.B, (who died in 1821), was a member of this family; but he was a Cornishman, as were some other naval officers of the same name.
Young Bligh—often called 'Bread-fruit Bligh,' from his having accompanied Captain Cook,[64] as sailing-master in the Resolution, on his second voyage round the world, in 1772-74, (in the course of which the fruit associated with his name was first discovered at Otaheite)—became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy; and, having obtained a high reputation as a skilful navigator, was appointed by George III. to command the Bounty, of 250 tons, on a voyage to Otaheite, in December 1787. After one or two ineffectual attempts to round Cape Horn, she arrived at her destination ten months after leaving England, and remained there for five or six months, the crew revelling in the natural beauty of the place, and enjoying an intercourse (which appears unfortunately to have been totally unrestricted) with the soft savages, its interesting inhabitants. On the homeward voyage, however, laden with plants and specimens of the bread-fruit, which it had been the object of the voyage to secure, with a view to its acclimatization in the British West India Islands, Bligh—who had made himself, by his irascible and overbearing disposition, obnoxious to many of those who sailed with him—was secured and bound by the majority of his crew; and, together with eighteen luckless sailors, was cast adrift on the 28th April, 1789, in an open boat only twenty-three feet long, and deeply laden within 'eight inches of the water's edge,' in which small, frail craft they sailed 3,618 miles. They had on board 32 lbs. of pork, 150 lbs. of bread, some wine, some spirits, and some water—but NO CHART:—
'The tender nautilus, who steers his prow,
The sea-born sailor of his shell canoe,
The ocean Mab, the fairy of the sea,
Seemed far less fragile, and, alas! more free.'
Not until nearly twelve months afterwards, did they reach England; after having touched at one or two islands, where they got a few shell-fish and some fruit, and at the Dutch settlement of Timor, to the east of Java, which they reached on 14th June, 1789, and where they obtained a schooner. Bligh arrived home on the 14th March, 1790, with twelve of his companions; the remainder having died on their weary, miserable passage.[65] To Bligh's skill, resource, and courage, were due the lives of all who were saved.
So astounding a voyage was, of course, the theme of conversation throughout the country; Bligh was immediately promoted to the rank of Commander, and soon afterwards to that of Post-Captain; shortly after which he got appointed, in 1791, to the command of another ship, the Providence, which was sent on a similar expedition to the Society Islands. On this occasion fortune was more favourable to the brave; he did not linger so long amongst the luxurious islets of the Pacific; and having entirely succeeded in the object which he had in view, on his safe return to England received the gold medal of the Society of Arts in 1794. The practical result of this voyage was, however, a failure; the quick-growing plantain being preferred by the West Indians to the somewhat insipid bread-fruit. As regards the mutineers, the Pandora was sent out to punish the ringleaders, some of whom her captain brought back to Portsmouth (notwithstanding having lost his ship on the return voyage near the north point of Australia); and at Portsmouth three of them were executed. Many of the mutineers, however, hid in the islands, whose charms, in the beauty of its scenery, climate, and 'gushing fruits,' and in the hospitable offers of its chiefs, and still more in the winning ways of the fairer sex, 'Nature and Nature's goddess—woman,' had proved too attractive to insure their allegiance to their duty. Byron's poem of 'The Island' is based partly upon the sailors' adventures, and partly on 'Mariner's Account of the Tonga Islands.'
Bligh also displayed great courage at the mutiny at the Nore, in 1797; on which occasion he was deputed to negotiate with the rebellious seamen, and is said to have performed that dangerous duty with singular intrepidity and address.
He was present at the memorable battle off the Dogger Bank, 5th August, 1781; fought under Lord Howe at Gibraltar in 1782; commanded off Ushant in 1794, the Warrior, of 74 guns; at Camperdown, 1797, when he was captain of the 64-gun ship Director; and also at Copenhagen, on 21st May, 1801, when he commanded the Glatton, of 54 guns (a ship's name still perpetuated in the British navy)—
'When to battle fierce came forth
All the might of Denmark's crown.'
At the close of this fight Nelson sent for our Cornish hero, and personally thanked him for the gallant part which he had taken in that glorious engagement. In the same year, in consideration of his distinguished services in navigation, botany, etc., he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1805 he was appointed Captain-General and Governor of New South Wales, and took up office in the following year; but his very arbitrary disposition and harsh notions of discipline, imbibed on the quarter-deck, and which, indeed, distinguished his character throughout life, were strongly resented by many of his subordinate officials, both civil and military; and, notwithstanding that his efforts (which were approved by Lord Castlereagh) seem to have been mainly directed towards preventing the unlimited importation of ardent spirits into the colony, on the 26th January, 1808, Bligh was deposed from his authority by Major George Johnston, of the 102nd Regiment, and those who served under him, and was imprisoned by them until March, 1810.[66] In that year he returned to England in H.M.S. Porpoise, as to the command of which he had a painful squabble with her captain—Kent. He obtained on 31st July, 1811, his flag as Rear-Admiral of the Blue; proceeding by the usual steps of promotion until he became Vice-Admiral of the Blue, in June, 1814. This dignity, however, he did not long enjoy at his quiet rural retreat at Farningham, in Kent, as he died in Bond Street, London, on the 7th December, 1817, and was buried (by the side of his wife—a Miss Elizabeth Betham, of the Isle of Man) at Lambeth, in the east part of the ground enclosing the church, and abutting on the Tradescant tomb. Mrs. Bligh was a woman of superior attainments; and her father is described as being the son of the Principal of some (unnamed) university, and himself a literary man, the friend of Hume, Black, Adam Smith, and Robertson. Bligh left six daughters and three sons, William, Henry, and Richard (the latter a barrister-at-law and author of several legal works) who sold the Tinten property, and thus terminated the connexion of this family with the county of Cornwall.
Admiral Bligh's epitaph records that 'he was that celebrated navigator who first transplanted the bread-fruit tree from Otaheite to the West Indies; bravely fought the battles of his country; and died beloved, respected, and lamented.'
He seems to have been a lenient and benevolent despot in his dealings towards the poor, of which many instances are recorded by J. D. Lang, Jas. Bonwick, R. Therry, and other colonial writers; and—a good sign—he was very fond of little children.
Dr. Alfred Gatty, tells us how, when he went as a boy to Farningham, Admiral Bligh used to take him on his knee, and let him play with a bullet that hung on a blue ribbon round his neck—the same bullet which he used as a weight for doling out the daily portion of bread to his crew and to himself during their long boat-voyage of nearly 4,000 miles.
The Admiral's hasty temper, his room full of books, and his sea curiosities, of course attracted the boy's attention, and more especially a scar on his cheek, about which the old gentleman told him the following story. When George III. at a levée asked him in what action he had been wounded, Bligh was obliged to acknowledge, with some confusion, that it was not a battle-wound; but that his father, in throwing a hatchet to turn a horse which they were both trying to catch in an orchard, accidentally struck him on the cheek.
As regards his family, the following additional remarks may prove not unacceptable:
Lady O'Connell, one of Bligh's daughters, seems to have inherited some of her father's spirit, for she is said to have defended him on one occasion with a pistol 'against rebels,' in Van Diemen's Land. Frances and Jane were twins. Ann was a beauty, but mentally afflicted. On one occasion the young ladies were followed home from Farningham Church by a stranger, who was the subject of a little hoax played upon him by the Misses Bligh. He had advertised for a wife, and they replied to the advertisement by requesting him to appear, blowing his nose demonstratively, in the aisle of the church; by which process he was to be recognised. But so were also Frances and Jane Bligh; for they found it impossible to conceal their laughter at the would-be Benedict's performance, and their dupe accordingly followed them home after the service. Here, however, he was received by the Admiral himself with such emphatic broadsides that the wooer very quickly 'hauled off.'
Bligh's House at Farningham was, and is still known as the Manor House; and having heard that it still contained a picture of one of the Admiral's sea-fights, I asked my obliging correspondent, Mr. H. G. Hewlett (then living at Mount Pleasant, Farningham), to ascertain the facts for me, with the following result:
'I sent over to the Manor House yesterday to obtain a report upon the picture; but, unfortunately, it is hung in the chamber of a maiden lady, who demurred to admitting visitors. They could only learn that it is a naval battle-piece, in which several men-of-war take part; that the scene is off the coast, and that several figures are wading to shore. Its size is about 3 ft. by 2 ft.; the carving round the picture, which is let into the wall, is said to be fine. The room is called Admiral Bligh's, and is supposed to be haunted by his ghost, which stumps about on a wooden leg! Miss K——, however, is not superstitious, it appears, and has not heard or seen the ghost!'
