Chapter 13: Responsibility (Summer, 1859)

Charles spent the next days at the Admiralty House in Valetta, conferring with Fanshawe over their training cruise, the performances of ships and crews, and the plans for further exercises. They also discussed the evolving situation on the Italian peninsula. A large battle had been fought at a place called Solferino, between Piedmont-Sardinia and their French allies and the Austrian Empire. Casualties had been appallingly high, but the Austrians had been forced to retreat. Peace talks were now under way, with the Austrians bound to make territorial concessions. It certainly looked like Piedmont-Sardinia was on the verge of unifying Italy.

Fanshawe would send their reports with the next steamer, including his request to be relieved after two years, in early 1860, citing his deteriorating health. He and Charles also added a memorandum about the need to phase out the sail-only ships of the fleet or to convert them to steam.

Charles would add his own reports to the mailbag, mostly detailing the operations of the dockyard for which he bore responsibility, but also the first experiences with the new, enlarged dry dock. So far, the dock and its machinery had worked to everybody’s satisfaction. Citing Fanshawe’s and his own conclusions about the fleet exercise, he also proposed to add steam engine building to the Malta dockyard facilities, speeding up repairs and also the necessary changes to the Mediterranean Fleet.

Between the dockyard and Admiralty House, Charles was kept busy over the following weeks, but he always managed to return to Santa Venera in time to spend the evening with his family. Most weekends, the Tollivers had dinner guests now, as the August heat in Valetta enticed many of the resident British to spend an afternoon and evening at the Casa Leoni. Charles and Suzanne thus became prominent figures, and they gained a growing circle of acquaintances and friends.

Paulina, too, developed a standing within the circle as a witty conversationalist, giving her still fledgeling self esteem a much needed boost.

As August segued into September, Charles readied himself for the next fleet exercise. Sir Arthur was staying behind in Valetta, and thus it was Colossus that was leading part of the Mediterranean Fleet under Charles’s flag. Fanshawe and Charles had decided to leave the sail-only ships behind and to conduct the exercise with the screw steamers only.

The new orders from London had Charles combine the planned exercise with a deliberate show of force. The ministry felt that the protectionism initiated by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies was hurting the British business interests, chiefly the important trade in sulphur, and the brutal suppression of perceived revolutionaries by Ferdinand and his son Francis II added to the tensions. Thus, Fanshawe and, in extension, Charles had orders to sail a strong squadron through the Strait of Messina to convey the message that the Royal Navy had the wherewithal to strike at any time and with overwhelming force.

The first night out, they encountered a strange spectacle. Shortly after having turned in, Charles was woken by Winslow.

“Sir Charles, the Captain asks you to come on deck. Something strange is going on, Sir!”

Hastily putting on a coat over his shirt, Charles rushed on deck, only to be greeted by a powerful spectacle. The ship’s masts and yards were glowing in an eery, blue St. Elmo’s Fire whilst the northern sky was lit in a green light in what could only be interpreted as an aurora borealis, a polar light. Cries of excitement and fear came from aloft, and Charles could see that the lookouts’ hairs were glowing in an almost violet light.

“A polar light in the Mediterranean, Captain?” Charles asked incredulously.

“It started ten minutes ago, Sir Charles. I thought you’d wanted to witness this.”

“And you were right about this, Captain. It’s a lucky omen, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Sir Charles, according to superstition, it is.”

“Well, let us see to it that the hands also see it that way, shall we?” Charles asked with a wink, to which his flag captain nodded with a smile.

“Aye-aye, Sir Charles. It’s a spectacle to be sure!”

In this moment, Lt. Anson appeared on deck, carrying his painting utensils. The greenish light was bright enough for him to produce three watercolours of the phenomena in as many hours. Everybody stayed on deck until a bright dawn ended the spectacle. With an effort, Charles made himself function as an admiral again, and his orders soon made an end of the excited babble.

They were nearing the Strait of Messina and preparing for a quick dash through the narrows. To make the effect even stronger, Charles ordered the top hamper of the ships to be stricken, to reduce the effect of the headwinds, and then the fleet steamed through the narrow waters at full speed with the gun ports open and the crews at quarters.

Through his glass, Charles could observe hectic activities in the two forts protecting the harbour, with soldiers running to and fro, but he doubted that any of the antiquated guns would be able to hit ships moving at 11 knots.

Once he had the time for it, Charles and Anson sat down to write a report of the strange phenomenons of the last night. Afterwards, Anson produced credible copies of his watercolours which Charles planned to submit with his report.

Once through the Messina Strait, the steam was lowered, the topmasts were raised again, and the ships continued towards Naples under sail. They passed within sight of the Stromboli volcano, located on the eponymous island, and watched a minor ash cloud rising from the crater. On approaching Naples, steam was raised again and the sails were furled. The seven ships of the line steamed into the Bay of Naples at full speed, turning in a wide arc just out of range from the coastal fortifications and watching the responses.

Charles knew that on the eastern shore of the bay lay the ruins of the antique city of Pompeii about which he had read two books, and he would have loved to see the site himself. The shape of Mons Vesuvius was clearly discernible, of course, and Pompeii had to be near its eastern flank. Yet, it was not to be, and the fleet, after completing the turn, left the bay again.

Out of sight from the coast, Charles then had his fleet form single and double battle lines, both under steam and under sail, and he bombarded his captains with signals to test the response times. At night, he experimented with signalling using shaded lanterns and the Morse code used by telegraphs. This was something he and Fanshawe wanted to try since signalling in the darkness was notoriously unreliable.

He could imagine the signal mates and officers cursing him, but on the whole, the experiment went well. He could even imagine using bright gaslights even in broad daylight, but of course the use of lighting gas was not advisable in a wooden ship.

Lt. Anson was kept quite busy during this part of the cruise, noting down the results of the signalling practice and also keeping track of the fleet manoeuvres. When Palermo, Sicily’s capital city, finally came into sight, the fleet had completed the training program as planned. They leisurely sailed past the city in a perfect line ahead and just six to eight cable lengths from the shore, noting the positions of batteries and comparing them with earlier observations. When the Sicilian flag rose over one battery, Colossus duly saluted it and dipped her own flag, with the rest of the fleet following suit. The Sicilian commander was not be to outdone, and Charles’s flag received the customary eight-gun salute, too.

For the rest of the cruise, the ships utilised the favourable wind and continued under sail, reaching Valetta two days later at four bells in the afternoon watch. Accompanied by Captain Hearns and Lt. Anson, Charles had himself rowed to the quay from where the three men, eager to exercise their legs again, walked the short distance to Admiralty House.

Fanshawe received them immediately, and Charles noted that his superior was able to walk and stand on his leg and seemingly feeling no pain.

“Good day, Sir Arthur. It is good to see you recovered, Sir.”

“Thank you, Sir Charles! I am indeed feeling better, not the least since you filled in for me. How did it go?”

“Captains Hearns of course has the reports for you, Sir. Everything went as planned. We sustained no engine breakdowns or other mishaps, and as far as I know, all ships will be ready for service after coaling and provisioning. We encountered strange phenomena the first night out. St. Elmo’s fire in the rigging and a true polar light.”

“Yes, we observed it here as well. Amazing spectacle! How did the crews react?”

“We spread the word that St. Elmo’s fire is a lucky omen, Sir.”

“Splendid, Sir Charles. With Captain Hearns’s help, I shall peruse your reports. Perhaps, if you will be kind enough to dine with me tomorrow, we can settle the open questions, if any. Of course, Lady Tolliver and her delightful sister are also invited.”

“That is very kind of you, Sir Arthur. Second dogwatch?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“I shall send a billet tomorrow morning to let you know whether the ladies will be able to attend. I shall be at the dockyard, of course.”

“Perfect, my dear Sir Charles. Now, don’t let me detain you any longer, lest I incur Lady Tolliver’s wrath,” Fanshawe chuckled. “I am beginning to tell them apart, I mean Lady Tolliver and Mrs. Faulkes.”

“Not an easy accomplishment, Sir Arthur,” Charles smiled back. “For my part, I simply assume that the one who greets me with a kiss is my wife.”

It was a well worn jest by now, but Sir Arthur still found it hilarious. On this note, Charles was able to make his escape. A rented cab took him to the dockyard where he dismissed Anson and briefly informed Captain Waters of his intent to be at the dockyard in the next morning. Then he had Winslow drive him to Santa Venera and the Casa Leoni.

They arrived in what had to be the middle of a social function. At least five carriages were waiting in front of the mansion, with the drivers standing together in a group. One of the drivers was wearing a corporal’s uniform, and two dragoons were sitting in the shade of a tree. Somebody from the governor’s household had to be visiting.

Since the gate was wide open, Charles stepped into the small garden and entered the house. Voices could be heard from the garden in the rear, and this was to where he headed next. He found at least eight or nine ladies sitting at the garden tables and engaged in a lively discussion. He recognised the governor’s wife and his three daughters, but also the teacher, Miss Powell, and several other ladies, the wives and daughters of officers he had met.

It took a few moments, but then Paulina espied him. Rather than jumping up and racing into his arms, she had the presence of mind to nudge Suzanne who quickly rose from her chair to greet him.

“You are back!” she smiled at him.

“Yes, we cast anchor during the afternoon watch. Am I intruding into your social life, my darling?”

“Not at all!” Suzanne laughed. “You know the ladies, of course?”

“Yes, most of them anyway. Are you having tea with them, or is there more to this gathering?”

“Polly and I offered to host this meeting. There was a fire in the Santa Helena orphanage a week ago, rendering it uninhabitable. We are meeting to discuss ways to help the poor children.”

“That is laudable, my dear. Of how many orphans are we speaking?”

“Forty-three, twenty boys and twenty-three girls; the oldest are twelve, and the youngest are barely weaned. Lady Le Marchand tried to find new lodgings for them in Valetta, but so far her efforts were in vain.”

Charles thought briefly. The Army quarters were occupied with little room to spare, and in his own sphere of influence, there were three large hulks which were needed as receiving ships for the crews of ships that went into the dock. However, there was an additional hulked ship, HMS Druid, a former 46-gun fifth-rate built in the 1820s. There was no actual need for her, and she could easily house forty children. She could be moored across the inlet from the Navy Yard and inspected once weekly by the dockyard crews.

“We could moor the old Druid opposite the Navy Yard. She has a galley for cooking and more than enough room for those orphans. She can be used for temporary housing whilst that orphanage is rebuilt.”

“That is ... it’s wonderful!” Suzanne exclaimed, giving him a resounding kiss that set off audible giggles amongst the females. “You are the best husband!”

She turned to her guests. “Ladies, we may have an interim shelter for the children. My husband can provide one of the hulked ships in the harbour. It should be large enough, and there are cooking facilities on board.”

Lady Le Marchand rose quickly to shake Charles’s hand.

“That is a wonderful idea, Sir Charles. How soon might we have the use of that ... ship?”

“She’s a hulk, Madam. I shall discuss things with Captain Waters tomorrow and send a message to the Grandmaster’s Palace as soon as feasible.”

“Tomorrow?”

“I can only try, Madam. I have been at sea, and I must find out her current use first. We must also make her safe to use for children and the orphanage staff before we can make her available.”

“Of course, Sir Charles! Please forgive my impatience.”

“Not at all, Madam. You are impatient to do a good deed, and that is laudable,” Charles answered. “I shall do my best.”