It is more than probable that Captain Brenton was but one of many in his cheerful submission to his lot, as he was but one of many who experienced the same misfortune during the war; and that the same discipline of mind led to the same patience under trial in cases of which we know nothing. But his circumstances it will be admitted were peculiar; and it seems unquestionable that some higher influence than that of the causes referred to, is necessary in order to account for the calmness of mind he exhibited during the action, and for the cheerfulness which he displayed at the commencement of his captivity. Temperament might have done much, but in naming temperament, it seems fit to remind the reader of the shock which his bodily system had experienced by the accident that occurred, while the Minerve was fitting out. Concussion of the brain too often leaves long and melancholy marks of the injury sustained by that most delicate of all the elements which form the body. His professional zeal we have seen had led him to anticipate the moment of recovery, and to go to sea before he was capable of enduring the fatigues of service. Reluctantly, and under a conviction of the absolute necessity of repose, he had once left his ship and gone ashore; and when at last he resumed his command, and sailed from Portsmouth for the coast of France, it is obvious that he could hardly have been fit for service: and that it was the spirit of the man which at that moment raised him above the infirmities of the body. That in such a state of health he should have undergone the trial of such a night, as that on which the Minerve was lost; that he should have developed such a variety of resources for the purpose of rescuing the ship from the position into which she had run; that he should have met each crisis in the action, with such firmness and self-possession, is sufficiently wonderful. It is equally surprising, that after the excitement of the defence was over, he should have borne the fatigues and humiliations of the march without sinking under them; and I can not but think, that any one who takes all into consideration, will come to the conclusion, that much which seems admirable, much of that which seems surprising in his conduct; cannot be accounted for through temperament or natural energy. I believe it must be referred to that habitual reliance on God, which had been instilled into his mind in childhood, which had been retained through all the trials of his youth; which if it had not grown, as it might have done, had never been obliterated or lost; but which lived to be called into activity under peculiar circumstances; and which finally, through the mercy and longsuffering of God, became that faith which works by love; and made him capable of doing all things through Christ that strengthened him.
But the conclusion renders the example more valuable because it makes it more accessible. If all was to be ascribed to natural causes, to firmness of temperament and qualities peculiar to the individual, the portrait might be admirable, but it could not be generally profitable. The many, who make no pretence to such powers, would consider themselves released from all duty of imitating an excellence which they could not attain to; and all might feel that they were invited to follow a path, which it was uncertain whether they should be able to accomplish. But when we not only see an excellence described, which excites our admiration; but also see the sources and springs from which it is derived laid open; when we are allowed to feel, that many may attain to the eminence which is held up as our example, if they will but follow the course, and adopt the means that were made use of by those whom we admire; the advantage then is multiplied, or rather an advantage is realised which before was little more than problematical; and all will be encouraged to strive when there is a hope that all may be successful.
The casual note in the private journal of the subject of this memoir as to the uses of adversity, shews that he was conscious of the change that was gradually moving forward within him, and of the need in which he stood of strength and assistance from above. The life of excitement which he had hitherto led, was not favourable to the developement or growth of religious sentiment. The grace of God had kept alive the spark, that early education had kindled; and He, who will not bruise the broken reed, nor quench the smoking flax, had mercifully preserved him from the grosser contagion of the world, through the influence of that romantic attachment which added dignity to his youthful feelings, and that thirst for glory which accompanied it. But the process which protected him from what was evil, was not equally adapted to foster the growth of what is good. The activity of service, the absorbing interest connected with his profession in the time of war, saved him no doubt from the evil inseparable from a life of ease; but his situation as an officer offered no advantages of a religious kind, nothing to encourage serious thought or reflection. In continual movement he had no leisure for reading, no access to those means which are usually thought essential to moral improvement; no opportunity of knowing how other men feel and think on matters of a spiritual nature. In all these respects, repose was necessary; and we may perhaps now be allowed to trace the hand of providence in an event, which, afflictive as it was in itself, gave him that interval of rest, which he never would have consented to seek, or to accept if offered; and sent him for a time to meditate in the retirement of captivity, on the state of his own soul, and the real end and object of man’s being upon earth.
There can be no doubt that in a moral sense this calamity, for such it seemed, and such it doubtless was for a time considered by himself, was singularly beneficial. He then found leisure, and for the first time probably in his life, to review his own principles, to consider his own state, and to examine himself whether he was in the faith. It was a blessed opportunity, but it was well that he was prepared to improve it. Other men had it, but it is feared that few used it to the same purpose. If the root of the matter had not been in him; if religion had not been long known and truly honoured; if it had not already secured a hold on his heart and affections; the leisure which was given would have been employed as leisure too frequently is, by those who pass suddenly from the excitement of active life, in indolence or folly. His time would in that case have been wasted, the opportunity would have been lost, and the gracious purpose of God would have been frustrated as to the effect it seemed calculated to produce.
Happily for him, his mind was prepared for the trial. That habit of realising God in everything that happened, and of cheerful submission to his will, which formed a chief feature in his character, led in this case to resignation. Conscious that as an officer he had done his duty, he submitted to his lot with calmness; and instead of giving way to regret and despondency as if all was lost because he had been once unfortunate; he turned at once to the duties that were before him, and endeavoured to be the protector and benefactor of those, whom he might have been otherwise leading to victory as their commander. With this wholesome occupation the mind had no leisure to prey upon itself, and to destroy its own energies by comparing what might have been his state with that which was. Captivity ceased to be irksome. The future was no longer gloomy, while the present moment was profitably employed. The withdrawal from the anxieties and fatigues of actual service was salutary, and he felt its beneficial effects in mind as well as in body; and through the influence of religious feelings on a mind prepared to admit them, an interval which might have been past in murmurings and unprofitable recollections, became, as we shall see in the subsequent pages of the memoir, a season of calm enjoyment and of real permanent improvement.
CHAPTER VII.
REMOVED FROM EPINAL TO PHALSBURG, AND THENCE TO VERDUN.—SUFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE ON THE MARCH, AND EFFORTS MADE FOR THEIR RELIEF AND IMPROVEMENT.—THE REV. ROBERT WOLFE OFFERS HIS SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE.—MRS. BRENTON’S ARRIVAL AT VERDUN.—RESIDENCE AT CHARNI.—ILLNESS, AND PERMISSION GRANTED TO RESIDE AT TOURS.—CONDUCT OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT TOWARDS THE ENGLISH PRISONERS OF WAR.
The arrangements which have been mentioned, placed the officers and midshipmen in a state of comparative comfort; but it was otherwise with the crew. Upon the approach of winter, the seamen and marines being unprovided with clothes or bedding, and placed upon very slender diet, began to suffer severely. A little addition was made to their food by subscription amongst the officers, when they met as they did every week, at Captain Brenton’s lodgings, for divine service; and through the same fund a quantity of old tapestry, from some of the ruined houses in the neighbourhood, belonging to the ci-devant nobility, was purchased, as a covering for them at night.