The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane

The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, 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 is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
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 himself in two volumes, entitled, "A Narrative of Services in Chili, Peru, and Brazil." Therefore, the seven chapters of the present work which describe these episodes have