WARNING TO IBRAHIM.-HOME LETTER. 475 His Britannic Majesty's ship, 'Asia,' off Navarin : September 21, 1827. That his Highness Ibrahim Pacha may have no doubts as to the intention of the Allied Sovereigns, Vice-Admiral Sir E. Codrington, Commander-in-Chief of his Britannic Majesty's naval force in the Mediterranean, has the honour to send his Highness copies of certain papers on this important subject by which his conduct is guided.* His Highness will see that the admirals commanding the combined forces have no other alternative but to carry the Treaty into full execution whatever may be the consequences. From Sir E. C. to Lady C. Off Navarin September 21. A large division of this fleet is out of port, and I am working up with a light breeze to get a little more au fait as to their movements. If the rest remain in, it will rather puzzle me, for I cannot dance attendance on both at a time, and my colleague does not appear. I have given a written explanation of what we have to do to each of the captains, and I have this morning made the signal to prepare for battle, so that although not altogether in war trim, thanks to the economy of the late naval administration, we are pretty ready for business. These are times when the feelings of the heart know no reserve, and mine tell me that they are devoted to you and to your children. My doing my duty to my country on this and such occasions is the natural consequence of those feelings, for how can I better honour you than by gaining the esteem of others, and so God bless you. 10 P.M. I will not go to bed without telling you how fortunate things appear thus far to have turned out for me. Unsupported by either of the allied squadrons, and having with me only two frigates besides the Genoa' and Albion,' I had made up my mind to impede, coute qui coute, the operations of the Turkish fleet. My plan was to prevent their coming out of Navarin by meeting the first of them at the entrance, and in case of refusal cutting their bowsprit rigging. Current carried us so far to the northward, that they were enabled to get out in the meantime. No longer having hopes • Extracts from his Orders. of seeing Admiral De Rigny, I sent in a letter declaratory of my orders, and my intention to enforce them on Turks and also Austrians who actually compose part of the expedition: and all with the prospect of thus possibly producing a war with those two Powers, when my instructions say I must not occasion hostilities, to avoid which so large a force is united. After weighing all the pros and cons--having made my decision, and having recorded that decision to my superiorswhilst proceeding to carry it into execution, De Rigny appears to windward of the Turkish fleet of which I am in chase, with his four ships of the line and some frigates; and beyond him the 'Pelican,' the Talbot,' and the Zebra,' a force which I imagine will induce the Turk to obey; whilst I am relieved of the risk and responsibility also in part, which I had undertaken in fulfilment of my duty. Nor is this all my luck; for Colonel Cradock, who came in the Pelican' with a proposal of my making a certain communication to Ibrahim which he considers of importance to the mission on which he came from England, found it comprised in my letters to that Pacha of yesterday and to-day. Even the fleet coming out, now that we have a force to manage them, is a turn of good fortune. For we shall now, probably, see them all together safe back in Alexandria, thus diminishing the power they had in this important situation. So much for to-night. E. C. If I appear to have devoted much space to letters detailing the state of things previous to the encounter at Patras and the Battle of Navarin, it is because these papers scem to lead up to the situation, and thus justify their insertion. They picture the multiplying difficulties, with their daily growing interest; the aggravation of suspense and anxiety caused by the want of due support; and the weight of responsibility thrown upon one whose sole training had been professional, and who was thus unexpectedly placed in a very perplexing and complicated diplomatic situation; and left to face alone not only the diplomatic difficulty, but the material power of a fleet of sixty-three vessels, whose movements he felt himself obliged to control and direct, with only his own small force of English ships. The difficulty of the position unfolds itself in the successive letters; the whole culminating in the dramatic incident of the French Admiral at last appearing with his ships CRITICAL SITUATION: AND RELIEF. 477 to windward of the Turkish fleet, just at the critical moment when all had been staked in the cause of duty, and credit or failure, success or reverse, seemed to hang in the balance of Fate. And yet this incident closed only the first act of this very stirring and exciting drama! APPENDIX. DEFECTS of H. M. S. Orion' after the Battle of Trafalgar : Fore-mast wounded. [Page 71.] Main-top-gallant-mast shot away. Black strake portrell sperquiting shot through. Hanging knee abaft the after port in the wardroom shot away. Transom and counter timber shot through, officers' cabins. Rudder casings, &c., injured. Top timber by the breast-beam of the round house shot through, larboard side. Staircase frame on the quarter-deck shot away. Sashes, and sash half-ports in the captain's cabin and wardroom, injured. Several strakes on the quarter-deck shot through. Several shot below water's edge. Anchor stock shot through. Short stuff between the ports damaged by shot. Boats in bad condition. Head ledges carried away. Captain C. to Admiral Sir Charles Cotton. [Page 220.] 'Blake,' of Villa Neuva: June 15, 1811. SIR, AS Captain Adam has informed you of the occurrences at Tarragona during my absence, up to the 5th June, I have only to add that although the French have advanced |