These were done with help of a second Greek loan, contracted in London in 1825, for 2,000,000£ Out of this sum it was agreed that Lord Cochrane was to receive 37,000£ at starting, and a further sum of 20,000£ on the completion of his services; and that he was to be provided with a suitable squadron, for which purpose 150,000£ were to be expended in the construction of six steamships in England, and a like sum on the building and fitting out of two sixty-gun frigates in the United States. With the disappointments that he had experienced in Chili and Brazil fresh in his mind, he refused to enter on this new engagement without a formidable little fleet, manned by English and American seamen, and under his exclusive direction; and he further stipulated that the entire Greek fleet should be at his sole command, and that he should have full power to carry out his views independently of the Greek Government.
These arrangements were completed on the 16th of August, except that Lord Cochrane, not having yet been actually dismissed by the Brazilian envoy, refused formally to pledge himself to his new employers. In conjunction with Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, Mr. Ellice, and the Ricardos, as contractors, however, he made all the preliminary arrangements, and before the end of August he went for a two months' visit to his native county and other parts of Scotland, from which he had been absent more than twenty years.
One incident in that visit was noteworthy. On the 3rd of October, Lord and Lady Cochrane, being in Edinburgh, went to the theatre, where an eager crowd assembled to do them honour. Into the after-piece an allusion to South America was specially introduced. Upon that the whole audience rose and, turning to the seats occupied by the visitors, showed their admiration by plaudits so long and so vehement that Lady Cochrane, overpowered by her feelings, burst into tears. Thereupon Sir Walter Scott, who was in the theatre, wrote the following verses:—
"I knew thee, lady, by that glorious eye, By that pure brow and those dark locks of thine, I knew thee for a soldier's bride, and high My full heart bounded: for the golden mine Of heavenly thought kindled at sight of thee, Radiant with all the stars of memory.
"I knew thee, and, albeit, myself unknown, I called on Heaven to bless thee for thy love, The strength, the constancy thou long hast shown, Each selfish aim, each womanish fear above: And, lady, Heaven is with thee; thou art blest, Blest in whatever thy immortal soul loves best.
"Thy name, ask Brazil, for she knows it well; It is a name a hero gave to thee; In every letter lurks there not a spell,— The mighty spell of immortality? Ye sail together down time's glittering stream; Around your heads two glittering haloes gleam.
"Even now, as through the air the plaudits rung, I marked the smiles that in her features came; She caught the word that fell from every tongue, And her eye brightened at her Cochrane's name; And brighter yet became her bright eyes' blaze; It was his country, and she felt the praise,—
"Ay, even as a woman, and his bride, should feel, With all the warmth of an o'erflowing soul: Unshaken she had seen the ensanguined steel, Unshaken she had heard war's thunders roll, But now her noble heart could find relief In tears alone, though not the tears of grief.
"May the gods guard thee, lady, whereso'er Thou wanderest in thy love and loveliness! For thee may every scene and sky be fair, Each hour instinct with more than happiness! May all thou valuest be good and great, And be thy wishes thy own future fate!"
Those aspirations were very far from realised. Even during his brief holiday in Scotland, Lord Cochrane was troubled by the news that Mr. Galloway, the engineer to whom had been entrusted the chief work in constructing steam-boilers for the Greek vessels, was proceeding very slowly with his task. "My conviction is," wrote Mr. Ellice, "that Galloway, in undertaking so much, has promised what he can never perform, and that it will be Christmas, if not later, before the whole work is completed. No engines are to be got either in Glasgow or Liverpool. You know I am not sanguine, and the sooner you are here to judge for yourself the better. There has been no hesitation about the means from the beginning, but money will not produce steam-engines and vessels in these times."