Page:Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes.djvu/79

53 want of good manners. But the whole affair was a disgrace to the Ship and ought not to have happened under any circumstances. I could not help feeling presence of mind was wanting in those who had the Ship under their control.

At Cowes we had a pleasant time of it, made visits to Carrisbroke [Carsbrooke] Castle & the Isle of Wight, and admired its beautiful scenery, lovely to look upon, and probably is one of the most interesting. We also made a flying visit to Portsmouth and its Dock yard. At the former we made anxious inquiries for the "Blue Porticos" and beheld it with satisfaction and pleasure. This was later brought back by the entertaining stories of sea life in Mid Easy['s] adventures. I was much [struck] at the want of system in the English dockyard and the want of Arrangement. The wooden walls of Old England did not impress me with much respect. The Victory & other ships of note were laid up dismantled and, of course, it is difficult to impress one with much veneration for a small, dismantled hull. The Victory was of small dimension in our eyes, and the impression was how inferior to that of our own Ship, both in size and armament—yet a two decker, showing the progress that Naval architecture and efficiency for combat had made within the last 20 years.

At Copenhagen we were kindly received and permission accorded to us to visit the dock yards and the town, about which we drove. The position of the bombardment of Copenhagen and the forts and plan of attack was shown and described to us. The fort before which Capn River was killed in the attack, and the exhausted state of the English fleet when the city capitulated and the timely missive sent by Adml Nelson demanding the surrender; the moral courage and feeling which incited him to prove the position he had taken relative to granting an armistice; the anecdote of his deliberation and courtesys in sealing his dispatch was only equalled to his viewing the signal of Adml Parker with his blind eye and could not see it, seem to have been well known anecdotes. Had the Danes held out for a short time longer, the attack would have been withdrawn, and the Danes liberated from the disgrace of the capture, but the ruse of Nelson proved effective & the credit & honor of the day was with the English and adverse to the Danes. Such untoward and lucky incidents has frequently turned the scales of victory and brought about results unforseen and disastrous to the national pride.

After a few days stay at Copenhagen we set sail for St Petersburg, or rather, Cronstadt [Kronshtadt]. It was September [1818] and the Season getting late, and if the Guerrier had been by accident detained a few days, the ice might have prevented her escape or return. On our [trip] up the Gulf of Finland we passed through the Russian fleet of some 20 sail of Men of War from the 3-decker to the smaller class. We were then off Revel [Tallinn, Estonia], the afternoon was beautiful, and, as time was important, we carried all sail and passed the whole as if they had been at Anchor. We could not avoid making the Comparison