Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Yes, The (capitalized in MS)the outbreak at the Nore was put down. But not every grievance was redressed. If the contractors, for example, were no longer permitted to ply some practices peculiar to their tribe everywheresome practices peculiar to their tribe everywhere] In assessing the seamen's grievances that led to the Great Mutiny, HM euphemistically describes the short-shrifting of the "contractors" hired by the Navy to supply basic needs as "some practices peculiar to their tribe." But the phrasing is a revision of HM's more direct original: "their immemorial iniquities." Click on thumbnail to view leaf image., such as providing shoddy cloth, rations not sound, or false in the measure; not the less impressment, for one thing, went on. By custom sanctioned for centuries, and judicially maintained by a Lord Chancellor as late as Mansfield, that mode of manning the fleet, a mode now fallen into a sort of abeyance but never formally renounced, it was not practicable to give up in those years. Its abrogation would have crippled the indispensable fleet, one wholly under canvas, no steam-power, its innumerable sails and thousands of cannon, everything in short, worked by muscle alone; a fleet the more insatiate in demand for men, because then multiplying its shipshipsships] HM's original use of the singular is not a known nautical usage and is a likely mis-writing. MEL emends to "ships," as do HS and NN. of all grades against contingencies present and to come of the convulsed Continent.
Discontent foreran the Two Mutinies, and more or less it lurkingly survived them. Hence it was not unreasonable to apprehend some return of trouble sporadic or general. One instance of such apprehensions: In the same year with this story, Nelson, then Vice Admiral Sir Horatio, being with the fleet off the Spanish coast, was directed by the Admiral in command to shift his pennant from the Captain to the Theseus; and for this reason: that the latter ship having newly arrived on the station from home where it had taken part in the Great Mutiny, danger was apprehended from the temper of the men; and it was thought that an officer like Nelson was the one, not indeed to terrorize the crew into base subjection, but to win them, by force of his mere prescencepresence &and heroic personalityheroic personality] HM originally wrote "his heroic personality," deleted "personality" in ink, and added "prescence" above it also in ink. Later, he deleted "prescence" in pencil and inscribed "mere prescence & magnetic" before "heroic" with the idea of canceling "heroic" to give "mere prescence & magnetic personality," but though he erased "magnetic" and retained "heroic," he neglected to restore "personality," resulting in "mere prescence & heroic." Since the sentence would be incoherent as it stands in MS, MEL restores "personality." back to an allegiance if not as enthusiastic as his own, yet as true.
So it was that for a time, on more than one quarter-deck anxiety did exist. At sea precautionary vigilance was strained against relapse. At short notice an engagement might come on. When it did, the lieutenatslieutenants assigned to batteries felt it incumbent on them, in some instances to stand with drawn swords behind the men working the guns.