Some time previous to this, the Suliotes, an Albanian tribe of Greeks, obtained information that Ali Pasha of Yanina was preparing to burn their villages as a punishment for some outrage they had committed; the whole population, therefore, abandoned their homes, and took refuge in Cephalonia. The small Peninsula of Asso was assigned for their temporary residence, and there they encamped. Their number, including women and children, was about 2,000, and they could muster above 400 fighting men. These readily entered into Lord Byron’s service, and formed the nucleus of the force he afterwards placed at the disposal of the Greek Government. They were remarkably fine men, and their costume was quite picturesque.
Dr. Kennedy, the staff surgeon at Cephalonia, was very desirous of delivering a course of lectures on the “Evidences of Christianity” in the presence of Lord Byron, who accepted his invitation for that purpose; and Colonel Napier offered one of his rooms for the occasion. There were only eight persons invited to be present—namely, Colonel Napier, Lord Byron, Dr. Kennedy, Colonel Duffy, Lieutenant Kennedy of the Royal Engineers, Dr. Cartan, a Commissariat Officer, and myself. The Doctor’s lectures were most interesting and valuable, and Lord Byron occasionally argued on various points. He did not believe, however, in prophecy, in miracles, or in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures; and at the conclusion of the third lecture he excused himself from further attendance, complimenting Dr. Kennedy by saying that he was the most gentleman-like Christian with whom he had ever held a discussion upon the subject. The other persons named continued their attendance to the end of the course of eight lectures.
At this time I obtained leave of absence to England, and Lord Byron entrusted me with the manuscript of the last portion of any poem he ever wrote, namely, the three last cantos of “Don Juan,” to be delivered to Sir John Cam. Hobhouse. I had a handsome portable brass bedstead which Lord Byron was desirous of having, and on that bedstead he died, in the fortress of Missalonghi, opposite the coast of Cephalonia, which withstood a long siege by the Turks.
It may here be mentioned the very general opinion held as to the character of the belligerents. The Greeks were considered a lawless race, in whose veracity or integrity no reliance could be placed. The Turks, on the contrary, although sometimes fanatical, were held to be a people of integrity, on whose word you might rely. Neither, however, were wanting in bravery.
The 8th Regiment was ordered home, and was stationed in the Citadel of Plymouth in the year 1826, where I rejoined it. While there, the great storm took place, by which twenty-seven ships were wrecked in Plymouth harbour, and the military barrack partially unroofed. At one spot eight ships were so jammed together that it was difficult to distinguish the wreck of one from the other. The storm commenced towards evening with great fury, and while I was on my way to the mess-room I met an old brother officer hurrying to get on board his ship before dark, as it was to sail next morning for Demerara. I persuaded him to dine with me at the mess, and that night his ship parted in two at the water-line, the upper works being new.
During the next year the regiment proceeded to Glasgow. At a previous period it had been employed there in suppressing some riots, and had fallen into bad odour. This had not then been forgotten. Great distress, however, prevailed at this time, and the officers and men subscribed a day’s pay towards their relief, which created a most amicable feeling towards them.
After passing a very agreeable year in Glasgow, the regiment proceeded to Londonderry, in the north of Ireland. While there, the great Ordnance Survey of Ireland, under Colonel Colby, R.E., was in progress; and a base line eight miles long—said to be the longest ever previously accomplished—was then completed. As a great scientific work it is very remarkable. It was necessarily on a dead level, bearing east and west, and was constructed by a combination of different metals, sliding in grooves, so that their expansion or contraction, caused by changes of temperature, indicated the true medium.
The great length of this line enabled the surveyors to take very distant bearings with perfect accuracy. At the same time, Mr. Drummond, of the Royal Engineers, discovered the celebrated light named after him, by means of which, exhibited from the summit of a high mountain in the County Tipperary, its accurate bearing was taken from the base line—a distance of 150 English miles. By this means, also, a bearing in Scotland was obtained for the first time, thus tying in the surveys of Scotland and Ireland. The survey of Ireland was constructed on a very large scale, and included the acreage of arable, pasture, mountain, and bog lands, besides being a geological survey. And it is a curious fact, that when the periodical work of twenty or thirty parties were sent in, the chief engineer sitting in his office could detect the slightest error in any one of them, and send it back for correction, so that the whole should tie in with the most perfect accuracy.
Leaving Londonderry, the regiment was next quartered at Enniskillen, situated on Loch Erne. The scenery in this neighbourhood is beautiful, and the hospitality of its numerous gentry could not be surpassed. Sir Henry Brooke, Bart., had a splendid mansion, including forty bedrooms. There were fox-hounds and harriers, and the hunting parties generally included three or four ladies. There was excellent shooting, and any number of guns with gamekeepers; good salmon and trout fishing, with plenty of tackle; and billiard tables. There was a succession of company during the season, each party being invited for three or four days, with horses and carriages for their use. The tenantry had been living on the estate for three or four generations, many of them wealthy, and to crown all the host and hostess were most amiable and accomplished persons.
A general order to the troops serving in Ireland was issued at this time, directing an officer and two sergeants from each regiment to proceed to Dublin to be instructed in the broadsword exercise, which they were afterwards to teach to the officers and men of their respective regiments. I volunteered to proceed on this duty, and became an honorary member of the mess of the Rifle Brigade. A very eminent swordsman, Mr. Michael Angelo, was the instructor at the Riding School of the Royal Barracks. The instruction lasted for four months, and was a very fine exercise, bringing every muscle into action. But the regimental drills afterwards were very troublesome, and occupied much time.