At times both humorous and contemplative this diary of Samuel Whitchurch Sadler (1821 – 1886) recounts a voyage from March to September 1841 aboard the HMS ‘Revenge’ that touches at Crete, Malta, Syracuse, Bierut, and Tunis. Sadler would go on to write ten sea-based adventure novels aimed at young adults in the later nineteenth century and his flare for storytelling in this, his early writing at the age of twenty, is already apparent: ‘let me hope that the next twenty, if I am permitted to live to see them, may be spent differently – my last birthday was spent in Lisbon, the present one is [Crete], the next will be, - where ?’ The diary is accompanied by three watercolour paintings by his brother, Henry Whitchurch Sadler (d. 1845) that portray the HMS ‘Ringdove’, HMS ‘Pantaloon,’ and Dover Harbour. The brothers served together on both the ‘Ringdove’ and ‘Pantaloon’. To the best of our knowledge this diary is unpublished.
The diary begins with a remembrance of the Battle of Acre (1840, two pages), which had taken place the year before on November 3rd. It then picks up with the current journey through the Mediterranean and illustrates scenes of shore leave including a donkey ride past Mt. Etna outside Syracuse, exploring the Cave of St Paul and its catacombs by candlelight in Malta (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and visiting the Bazaars of Beirut among other adventures. The entries tell engaging stories but also reflect on themes of war, intoxication, family, Englishness, independence, dress, and local customs and people. Unlike other journals that may be dry or repetitive, this account shows the early skills of a witty narrator crafting well-told stories from his experiences.
The Voyage:
Early in the diary Sadler reflects on his time during the Battle of Acre: ‘I had a sort of feeling exactly as if I was going to be shot, merely because some diplomatic Gentleman at home, or rather in Europe, chose to fall out about some trifle, and I recollect heartily wishing they were here in my place.’ It seems to be this recollection that encourages him to ‘write in this little book just the thing that comes uppermost in your mind’ so that ‘you would sometimes put down a thought or two that may be of Service hereafter.’
The first account is shore leave on Crete where Sadler and his shipmates indulge in too much Cretan wine, ‘Apropos of dining, the wine that they generally give one in Crete, appears to the palate to be very mild and weak – but woe be to the [man] who presumes upon its apparent want of strength, he will dearly pay for his rash[ness] as more than one of my Shipmates can testify.’ During this account four pages are missing and were presumably removed by Sadler at a later date.
While in quarantine off the coast of Malta Sadler writes about home and a woman named ‘Mary’ (possibly Marion Elizabeth Merry who he would marry in 1856) who he is exchanging letters with. He also reflects on the recent declaration of Greek independence: ‘I am very much pleased at this and sincerely hope they will free themselves. Although we have been fighting for the Turk, yet still I cannot say I like them, they are such a [tyrannous] Cruel Set to all those who have the Misfortune of falling into their hands. … It is to be hoped that the Greeks of Crete … will put confidence in themselves, and themselves only, and recollect that “who would be free, himself must strike the blow”.’ He then admonishes himself saying ‘Bye the bye Master Sam, that is rather a hackneyed quotation, “mais n’importante” it is only for my own eye that it is written.’ The above quote he is referencing is from Byron’s Childe Harold, Canto II, but it was then later used in 1857 by Frederick Douglass.
After visiting Syracuse, he recounts for several pages a long adventure encompassing a visit past Mt. Etna and The Fountain of Athena. When Sadler and his shipmates come to The Fountain of Athena they are excited until they realize it is only full of ‘washer women’ and not ‘nymphs’. While on the two-day long donkey ride he launches into a full description of each person and their clothing. One leaf is missing from the account of the journey on donkeys, which they rode through the mountains to a village ‘at the feet of Mt Etna’. Here they meet up with other sailors and walk around the town followed by on lookers, have dinner, and go to the theatre. They arrive back in Syracuse at night and a festival is underway, including fireworks. This account comprises one of the longest passages in the diary.
The remaining entries are shorter but include an account of visiting the English consul in Beirut while the city is beset with plague, which also includes descriptions of people, the town, and the views of the harbour from the land. On the way back to Malta off the coast of Crete they see a large octopus from the boat. They again quarantine off the coast of Malta where he reflects on a previous visit where he was thrown from a horse. Once he goes on shore he has an encounter with Maltese marine artist Nicholas Cammillieri (1762-1860) whose paintings he ‘should very much have like to become a purchaser but could not afford it’.
The second visit to Syracuse on August 20th contains an upriver journey to harvest papyrus. Once they reach Tunis he tells about nice Bazaars where he comments that ‘the Rose water made here is considered superior to any other’. He describes the dress of the Tunisian troops as ‘an incongruous mixture’ of east and west which he feels ‘does not become the Man at all – if Saladin were to rise from the dead I think he would be inclined to laugh at the appearance of the Troops of the East at the present day.’ From the ship he sees the present Bey of Tunis, Ahmad I bin Mustafa (1806-1855) and gives a description of him commenting that he thought he was ‘a very intelligent man’.
Self-reflective, witty and engaging this diary and its accompanying watercolours portray a charming picture of the shore leave adventures of a young British naval officer at sea in the Mediterranean and North Africa during the Egyptian-Ottoman War.
