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Robert Suggate journal and commonplace book, 1874-1878.

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  • UPenn Ms. Coll. 831
    • This leather-bound, paginated memoir and commonplace book, which the author calls "My rough log very roughly kept," was written by Robert Suggate between 1874 and 1878. It is reconstructed from his memory and from a deteriorated journal that he kept on his voyage to China from 1830 to 1831. The volume includes copied poems; articles tipped in or fully pasted in; descriptive passages of islands and cities from Suggate's trip to Asia and of towns in England; and a detailed table of contents. Suggate describes his childhood, his fascination with the sea and fishing, and how his father brought him to Yarmouth, England where Suggate embarked on his first voyage on a small ship delivering flour to London. In 1830 Suggate boards an East India Company merchant ship named the William Lowther sailing for China to acquire a cargo of tea. Suggate records his experiences with the crew and describes the ocean, including such inhabitants as flying fish and jellyfish. He records an induction ritual, called the Neptune ceremony, for first-time sailors crossing the equatorial line. Suggate gives detailed descriptions of his encounters with the Chinese and discusses his excursion into the city of Canton, which was banned to foreigners. He also observes clothing and cultural symbols, in addition to witnessing a trade dispute between England and China as well as opium smuggling. Descriptive passages of islands and of cities and towns from his voyage follow the memoir, including a list of shells Suggate purchased on the trip. Continuing with his memoir, he explains that he gave up the life of a sailor in 1834 because he could not advance above ordinary seaman due to lack of navigational knowledge. Later in the volume are descriptions of towns and villages in England and recollections of events with his son Reginald. On pages 130-137 is the genealogical history of the Suggate family in another hand, possibly written by Reginald's stepson Herbert Frank Milne. In addition to the journal there is some correspondence from siblings of Robert Suggate, correspondence to and from Herbert Frank Milne, and memorabilia relating to the Suggate family.

    Pages

    p. 11
    Complete

    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.

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    p. 12
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    p. 13
    Complete

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    (11)

    Contents.

    Last edit almost 4 years ago by bweb
    p. 14
    Complete

    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]]

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    p. 15
    Indexed

    p. 15

    Pages

    70 Sumatra

    71 Macao and Lintin

    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

    81 Cromer in Norfolk

    82 Brighton

    84 A new Night-Mare

    87 Phoebe Hessel

    88 Shoreham, Worthing, Bognor

    89 Hastings

    90 Lowestoft

    92 The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads

    94 Gloucester City

    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

    107 Loddon and Brooke.

    108 Ipswich

    109-110 Southwold

    Last edit over 3 years ago by donna29
    Displaying pages 11 - 15 of 281 in total

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