The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane

The Life of Thomas, Lord
Cochrane

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Tenth
Earl of Dundonald, G.C.B., Admiral of the Red, Rear-Admiral of the
Fleet, Etc., Etc., by Thomas Cochrane, Earl of Dundonald This eBook
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Title: The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald,
G.C.B., Admiral of the Red, Rear-Admiral of the Fleet, Etc., Etc.
Author: Thomas Cochrane, Earl of Dundonald
Release Date: September 2, 2004 [EBook #13351]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE LIFE OF
THOMAS, LORD COCHRANE, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD,
G.C.B., ADMIRAL OF THE RED, REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE

FLEET, ETC., ETC.,
COMPLETING "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN."
BY
THOMAS, ELEVENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, AND H.R. FOX
BOURNE, AUTHOR OF "ENGLISH SEAMEN UNDER THE
TUDORS," ETC. ETC.
IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I.
Published 1869.
TO MISS ANGELA BURDETT COUTTS, WHOSE HONOURED
FATHER WAS THE FIRMEST AND MOST CONSTANT FRIEND
AND SUPPORTER OF MY FATHER, DURING A CAREER
DEVOTED TO THE WELFARE OF HIS COUNTRY AND THE
HONOUR OF HIS PROFESSION, AND WHOM IT IS MY
HAPPINESS AND PRIVILEGE TO CALL MY FRIEND, THIS
WORK IS DEDICATED, WITH ALL RESPECT AND REGARD, BY
HER ATTACHED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT,
DUNDONALD.
PREFACE.
In these Volumes is recounted the public life of my late father from the
period to which the narrative was brought down by himself in his
unfinished "Autobiography of a Seaman." The completion of that work
was prevented by his death, which occurred almost immediately after
the publication of the Second Volume, eight years and a half ago. I had
hoped to supplement it sooner; but in this hope I have been thwarted.
My father's papers were, at the time of his death, in the hands of a
gentleman who had assisted him in the preparation of his
"Autobiography," and to this gentleman was entrusted the completion
of the work. Illness and other occupations, however, interfered, and,
after a lapse of about two years, he died, leaving the papers, of which
no use had been made by him, to fall into the possession of others.
Only after long delay and considerable trouble and expense was I able
to recover them and realize my long-cherished purpose.
Further delay in the publication of this book has arisen from my having
been compelled, as my father's executor, to make three long and
laborious journeys to Brazil, which have engrossed much time.
At length, however, I find myself able to pay the debt which I owe both
to my father's memory and to the public, by whom the "Autobiography

of a Seaman" was read with so much interest. At the beginning of last
year I placed all the necessary documents in the hands of my friend, Mr.
H.R. Fox Bourne, asking him to handle them with the same zeal of
research and impartiality of judgment which he has shown in his
already published works. I have also furnished him with my own
reminiscences of so much of my father's life as was personally known
to me; and he has availed himself of all the help that could be obtained
from other sources of information, both private and public. He has
written the book to the best of his ability, and I have done my utmost to
help him in making it as complete and accurate as possible. We hope
that the late Earl of Dundonald's life and character have been all the
better delineated in that the work has grown out of the personal
knowledge of his son and the unbiassed judgment of a stranger.
A long time having elapsed since the publication of the "Autobiography
of a Seaman," it has been thought well to give a brief recapitulation of
its story in an opening chapter.
The four following chapters recount my father's history during the five
years following the cruel Stock Exchange trial, the subject last treated
of in the "Autobiography." It is not strange that the harsh treatment to
which he was subjected should have led him into opposition, in which
there was some violence, which he afterwards condemned, against the
Government of the day. But, if there were circumstances to be regretted
in this portion of his career, it shows almost more plainly than any
other with what strength of philanthropy he sought to aid the poor and
the oppressed.
His occupations as Chief Admiral, first of Chili and afterwards of
Brazil, were described by