Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice-Admiral R.N. — a MemoirBiddulph, Elizabeth Philippa, Baroness
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Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice-Admiral R.N. — a Memoir
Biddulph, Elizabeth Philippa, Baroness
Hardwicke, Charles Philip Yorke, Earl of, 1799-1873
'They were allowed to depart with their arms. From all I have been able
to make out it must have been an attack which was intended but which
failed owing to their not getting over quick enough. They had 150 men
on the other side. These seven got over in a row boat, passed my sentry
on the beach running, a few minutes after the firing began from the
fortress the _Alligator_ was at quarters with her ports lit up, and a
rocket was thrown from the ship. All this showed that there was no hope
of a surprise, the others consequently went back.
'The next morning, thinking that their chiefs were slain or taken, they
upbraided each other, quarrelled and fought; many were killed and
wounded; among the former two captains, one of whom was a man that was
tried at Malta for piracy but escaped. I told those that came over that
if I caught them again here, they would be shot.
'Oct. 27.--Left the ship (on the information that the Pacha was about
to march) in the gig with a great chief, for Kesamos; on my arrival was
received by all the chiefs on the beach, and conducted with my
companion (Simpson) to Castelli (a small fortress about a musket shot
from the sea, the interior of which is a perfect ruin), where I was
ushered into a room up a ladder and followed by the chiefs, and the
armed population of the place, who quietly began plying me with
questions not one of which I understood, until a Greek of Milo appeared
who spoke a little English. Various were the questions asked: "Might
they fire on the Turks"; "could I get for them more time"; "why do the
Turks make war on us"; "might they hoist the English colours?" A great
deal of excitement was visible among this _canaille_ of a population
and I was in considerable apprehension of consequences, particularly as
there were present three or four of the captains whom I had ordered to
be shot if they put foot in Karabusa. At length after much detention,
terms were procured and I was permitted to depart saying that I would
do my possible to stop the march of the Turks for a few days. I left
Castelli as I had entered it under a salute of three guns. In five
hours we reached Gonia, a monastery situated on the coast of the Gulf
of Canea where we were most hospitably entertained, good fare and good
beds; our party was very talkative on Greek affairs. There were among
the party the Spakiote chiefs Vanilikeli and Chrisophopulos.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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