Sunday, March 6, 2011

Seafaring Sunday: On The Blockade Circa 1809

Being Sabbath day, a church was rigged out and divine service performed on board the Caesar for the first time since I had belonged to her. The Rev. Mr. Jones, the chaplain, preached an excellent sermon. The ship's crew were very devout and attentive. The rear-admiral was on his knees at prayer time; but it was funny enough to see our captain, how fidgety he was: he neither sat nor stood, and was as unsteady as a weathercock. Some of our nobs thought that a man could not be a good seaman without swearing, but the admiral let them know the contrary.

~ from the journal of William Richardson, Gunner aboard HMS Caesar on blockade off the coast of France, 1809

Header: Blockade of Toulon 1810-1814 by Thomas Luny c 1830
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2 comments:

  1. Timmy!March 6, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    Ahoy, Pauline! That's a pretty funny little vignette... And a cool painting too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PaulineMarch 7, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    Ahoy, Timmy! I like that Gunner Richardson too great care noting the piety of his superiors. A little sarcasm, ya think?

    ReplyDelete