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p. 11
A Forgotten Hero.
[[Lieut. C. R. Low]] writes from [[Chelsea]] to the Times as follows:"I trust that, even amid the pressure of important Parliamentary Debates and the crash of an Empire, you will find space to insert these few lines to the memory of a hero in the true sense of the term. On the 7th of January there passed away in his 91st year [[Captain Charles Boyce]], of the Indian Navy, who so long ago as the year 1815 performed a deed of unsurpassed valour in upholding the honour of his country's flag. On the 30th of June in that year [[Lieutenant Boyce]], then in command of the Hon. Company's brig [[Nautilus]], of 14 guns, was cruising in the [[Straits of Sunda]], when the [[United States]] corvette, [[Peacock]], 22 guns, [[Captain Warrington]], hove in sight. As [[Lieutenant Boyce]] had received notice of [[Mr. Madison]]'s proclamation of peace with [[England]], he made no attempt to shun his adversary, but sent a boat to inform [[Captain Warrington]] of the conclusion of peace. That officer, however, replied by hailing [[Lieutenant Boyce]] to haul his flag down as a token of submission, or stand the alternative of being sunk. But the gallant [[Boyce]] held the honour of his country superior to any other consideration, and although he knew that certain destruction awaited him in a conflict with an enemy of such overwhelming force, he deliberately preferred defeat to dishonour, and the reply that came over the water was a peremptory refusal. An action ensued and soon the gallant young Captain of the [[Nautilous]] lay proselate on the deck with a grape shot measuring 2 1/2in. in his hip, and his right knee and thigh bone shattered by a 32-pounder shot, while his first lieutenant, [[Mr. Mayston]], lay by his side mortally wounded. Feeling that his country's honour- dearer to him than limbs or life- was satisfied, and in order to save the useless slaughter of his brave seamen, he gave the order to the boatswain, the officer now in charge, to strike the flag. It should be borne in mind that when [[Lieutenan Boyce]] answered the insolent demand of the [[United States]] commander by an equally haughty refusal, his crew, owing to loss on active service, had been reduced to 40 officers and men, and of these two officers and a boat's crew had been detained by [[Captain Warrington]], so that he was pitting his handful of men against a crew of 220 seamen flushed with their recent victory over Her Majesty's ship [[Epervier]], of 18 guns. The [[United States]] Government recognized the illegality of the act of the commander of the [[Peacock]] by conferring a pension on [[Lieutenant Boyce]], and it was only a few days ago that the shattered frame of this brave seaman was carried to its last resting place at [[St. Calais, Sarthe]], in [[France]].
1878.
p. 14
Contents
Pages
1 My Grandfather
2 [[Carlton Colville]]
3 Leaves Home
11 The farewell to [[England]]
18 Crossing the Line
33 Land at [[Hong Kong]]
43 Funeral at Sea
49 The [[East India Company|East-India Company]]
50 Outward Bound "Goodbye"
51 The [[English Channel]] and "[[The Downs]]"
52 [[Cape Finisterre]]
53 The [[Equinoctial Line]]
54 The Albatross Cape Pigeon +c [etcetera].
55 Song of the Seagull
57 The Islands of [[Amsterdam]] and [[St. Paul's]]
58 The [[Straits of Sunda]]
59 The Island of [[Hong Kong]]
60 The [[Canton River]]
62 The English factory at [[Canton]]
63 The [[Zutphen Islands]]
64 The [[Cape of Good Hope]]
65 The Island of [[St. Helene]]
66 The Island of [[Ascension]]
67 Shells
68 The City of [[Canton]]
69 The [[Western Islands]] or [[Azores]]
p. 15
Pages
70 Sumatra
72 Sailors' Leave on Shore at Canton
73 Pulo Penang or Prince of Wales Island
74 Seamens' work when at Sea
75 Singapore
76 The Thames
77 The River Arun and Arundel
78 The Yare River
79 The Tyne River
80 From Newcastle by Land
82 Brighton
84 A new Night-Mare
89 Hastings
90 Lowestoft
92 The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads
95 The Range of Cliff from Lowesloft to Yarmouth
97 The Robin and the Snake
99 The Sea-Side walk from Gorleston Haven.
101 Tunbridge Wells.
102 Gravesend
103 The Pelican Island
104A Exeter, Exmouth, and Sidmouth.
104 Bath
105 Calne
106 Stamford
108 Ipswich
109-110 Southwold