278 OBITUARY.-Captain Sir T. Staines. Two days after the final subjugation of Corsica, Mr. Staines was removed from the Lowestoffe frigate into the Victory, a first-rate, bearing the flag of Lord Hood, in which ship he assisted at the destruction of l'Alcide French 74, near Toulon, July 13, 1795. He afterwards served as mate of the signals, under the immediate eye of Sir John Jervis, by whom he was made a Lieutenant, and appointed to the Peterel sloop, July 3, 1796. In Dec. following, Lieut. Staines landed on the coast of Corsica, took possession of a martello tower, and threw the gun, a long brass 12-pounder, over a precipice into the sea. The Peterel was at that time commanded by the Hon. Philip Wodehouse, and subsequently by Lord Proby. In June 1797, Lieut. Staines obtained permission from the latter officer to attack a French privateer, which had violated the neutrality of Tuscany by taking forcible possession of several merchant-vessels. Two boats, containing twenty officers and men, being placed under his orders, he succeeded in carrying her, after a sharp conflict, in which five of his party were wounded. On this occasion he was personally opposed to the French comman der, who died soon afterwards in consequence of his wounds. The vessel thus taken mounted two long guns and several swivels, with a complement of 45 meu. In Sept. 1798, the Peterel, then at Gibraltar, under the command of Capt. Digby, was charged with dispatches from Earl St. Vincent, to be landed at Faro on the coast of Portugal, for the Lisbon packet. In the execution of this service, Lieut. Staines had a very nar row escape; the Peterel's jolly boat, in which he was proceeding to the shore, being upset by a heavy sea near the bar of Faro, by which accident four men, including the pilot, were drowned, and himself and the only other survivor exposed to the most imminent peril for upwards of four hours. On the 12th of the following month, the Peterel was captured near the Balearic islands, by four Spanish frigates. It was fortunately re-taken the next day by the Argo; but Lieut. Staines and the crew were carried off prisoners, first to Carthagena, and then to Malaga. Their escort used them with great severity, and Lieut. Staines received a sabre wound on the wrist. Having been returned to Gibraltar, a court martial was held, and after acquittal they were all returned to the Peterel. The Peterel was then under the command of Capt. George Long, who afterwards fell at Elba; on the 3d Feb. 1799, he was superseded by Capt. F. W. Aus [Septi ten, with whom Lieut. Staines continued In May 1799, the Peterel was sent to After Nelson's departure from Leghorn for England, June 1800, the Foudroyant received the flag of Lord Keith, under whom Lieut. Staines served as signal officer during the whole of the Egyptian campaign. The superior me. dal of the Turkish order of the Crescent (or more properly speaking, of the Star and Crescent) was presented to him for his services at that memorable period. On the 3d Dec. 1801, Lieut. Staines was appointed to act as Commander of the Romulus troop-ship, during the illness of Capt. John Culverhouse; and in her we find him employed conveying a detachment of the 54th regiment from Alexandria to Malta, where he rejoined the Foudroyant, Jan. 9, 1802. On the 15th May following, Lieut. Staines was promoted by Lord Keith into the Cameleon brig; and during the remainder of the short peace, Captain Staines was employed keeping up a communication between Malta and Naples ; but immediately on the renewal of hostilities with France, he entered upon a series of services much more congenial to his enterprising spirit. On the 28th June, 1803, the Cameleon joined Lord Nelson off Toulon, and af 1830.] OBITUARY.-Captain Sir T. Staines. ter a short cruise in the gulf of Genoa, Capt. Staines was sent to Barcelona, ostensibly to procure bullocks, but in reality to obtain all the information he could respecting the intentions of the Spanish government towards Great Britain; a convincing proof of the confidence that Nelson reposed in his ability and discretion. Capt. Staines returned to the blockading squadron on the 2d August, and was immediately detached to his former cruising ground, where he soon succeeded in capturing nine sail of merchant vessels, and a French packet from Corsica bound to Toulon; and on the 16th November, off Cape Corse, a French national vessel, mounting 12 guns, with a complement of 90 men. Between that period and August, 1804, Capt. Staines was most actively employed along the coasts of Italy and Provence, from Genoa to Marseilles. In September, he was sent up the Adriatic, with permission from Lord Nelson to cruise for three months. From December 1804 to the following April, he was principally employed affording protection to the Levant trade; and he subsequently accompanied a large homeward bound fleet as far as Gibraltar. On the 15th August, 1805, the Cameleon was obliged to throw all her stores of every description overboard, and to cut away three anchors, in order to effect ber escape from a Spanish 74. She was consequently paid off at Portsmouth in the following month, and Capt.Staines had the honour of dining with Nelson, on board his flag-ship, the day previous to his last departure from England. Capt. Staines attained post rank Jan. 22, 1806; but was not again employed until March 28, 1807, when he received a commission appointing him to the Cyane of 32 guns and 155 men, in which ship he was present during the whole of the operations that led to the capitulation of Copenhagen, and the consequent surrender of the Danish navy. After the departure of the British fleet, he was employed blockading Zealand, and affording protection to the trade still remaining in the Baltic, until Nov. 30, 1807, when he sailed for England. In Feb. 1808, Capt. Staines once more proceeded to the Mediterranean, and on the 22d May captured off Majorca the Medusa Spanish letter of marque, of 12 guns and 80 men. This was, we believe, the last armed vessel taken from that power by our cruisers. The Cyane and her boats had previously captured eight merchantmen of different descriptions. On the 3d June, Capt. Staines received a Jetter from the Captain-general of the Balearic Islands, stating that the inhabitants of Majorca had declared in favour 279 of Ferdinand VII., and requesting that he would repair to Palma Bay for the purpose of treating with the supreme Junta on subjects which might be advantageous to their respective nations. The Cyane accordingly proceeded thither, exchanged salutes with the Spanish garrison, and communicated with a deputation from the capital; after which Capt. Staines hastened with the gratifying intelligence to his senior officer, Rear-Admiral Thornborough, who immediately despatched Sir Francis Laforey in the Apollo frigate, to negociate with the Junta. For ten months from this period, the Cyane was almost constantly employed on the south coast of Spain, assisting the patriots, and annoying their oppressors. Whilst on this service she was repeatedly engaged with the enemy's batteries, and her boats made several captures. On the 20th June 1809, when Lieut.Gen. Sir John Stuart and Rear-Adm. (now Sir George) Martin, endeavoured to make a diversion in favour of Austria, by threatening Naples with an invasion, Capt. Staines was detached, with the Espoir and twelve Anglo-Sicilian gunboats, to cruise between Procida and Point Miseno. On the 26th the enemy's flotilla, consisting of forty-seven sail, was seen to approach; and a signal was made to the Cyane to prevent them from entering the bay of Naples. "Capt. Staines," says the Rear-Admiral in his official letter to Lord Collingwood, "executed that service with the same ability and judgment which he has shown upon every other occasion. Eighteen of the gunboats were taken, and four destroyed. No language which I am master of can convey to your lordship an adequate idea of the gallantry, judgment, and good conduct displayed by Captain Staines." In an action with the enemy's frigate on the 27th, Capt. Staines lost his left arm out of the socket, and was wounded also in the side; and as both his crew and vessel had suffered severely, the Cyane was sent to England to be refitted. In Rear-Adm. Martin's dispatch announcing this resolution, he stated: "It is represented to me that nothing could exceed the gallantry which was displayed by Captain Staines in all these several attacks, in which he was for three days (and with little interruption by night) engaged in a succession of battles." Capt. Staines arrived at the Motherbank, Oct. 16. 1809; on the 17th Nov. he obtained permission to accept and wear the insignia of a Knight of the order of Ferdinand and Merit, which had been conferred upon him by the King of Sicily; and on the 6th of Nov. 280 OBITUARY.-Capt. Sir T. Staines.-Capt. Nisbet, R.N. [Sept. he received the honour of knighthood from his own Sovereign. A pension of £300 was also granted to him on account of the loss of his arm. In April, 1810, several of the principal gentlemen in the isle of Thanet gave Sir Thomas Staines a dinner at Margate, and presented him with an elegant sword," as a mark of the very high admiration in which they held both his public and private character." A few days after this flattering entertainment, he was appointed to the Hamadryad of 42 guns, in which ship we find him successively employed, convoying a transport to the banks of Newfoundland (on her way to Quebec,) cruising off the Western Islands, escorting some troops, &c. to the mouth of the Tagus, accompanying a fleet of East Indiamen from St. Helena to the Downs, and cruising on the Irish station. His next appointment was, May 7, 1812, to the Briton frigate, in which he captured in the Bay of Biscay, during that and the following year, the Sans Souci French privateer of 14 guns and 120 men; La Melanie letter of marque; the Joel Barlow, an American vessel of the same description; and six unarmed merchantmen. He also recaptured an English ship and two brigs; drove on shore two coasting traders; and assisted at the capture of five American vessels, the whole having valuable cargoes. On the 31st Dec. 1813, Sir T. Staines sailed from Spithead in company with a large East Indian fleet; but off Madeira separated from his consorts in order to assist and protect a disabled Indiaman, with which he arrived at Rio Janeiro on the 19th March 1814. From thence the Briton was suddenly ordered round Cape Horn, in quest of a large American frigate, which he had not the good fortune to find. On the 28th August, 1814, Sir Thos. Staines took formal possession of Nooaheevah, one of the most considerable of the Marquesas islands; and thence returning to Valparaiso, steered a course which ought, according to his chronometers, and the Admiralty and other charts, to have carried him nearly three degrees to the eastward of Pitcairn's Island. He was consequently greatly surprised by its sudden appearance on the 17th September; an incident which enabled him to ascertain the fate of his Majesty's ship Bounty, which was lost by mutiny in 1789, and, it appeared, taken to that island, where the descendants of the mutineers still remain. (See the interesting narrative of the state in which Sir Thomas Staines found them, in our vol. LXXXV. ii. p. 597; also Lieut. Shillibeer's account of them in our vol. LXXXVII. ii. p. 340; and vol. LXXXVIII. ii. p. 37. Sir T. Staines continued in the Pacific, affording protection to the British interests, until April 1815. He then returned to Rio Janeiro, and on his arrival, in consequence of the conclusion of hostilities with America, received orders to accompany his commander-in-chief home to England. The Briton was shortly after put out of commission. On the enlargement of the Order of the Bath, Sir Thomas Staines was appointed a Knight Commander, Jan. 2, 1815. At the coronation of King George the Fourth, he was marshalled, in that character, next to James Alexander Gordun, who had also lost a limb in battle. On the 23d Oct. 1823, Sir Thos. Staines was appointed to the Superb of 78 guns; in the following month he convoyed part of the 12th regiment of foot from Portsmouth to Gibraltar; and subsequently visited Barbadoes, St. Vincents, Dominica, Bermuda, and Lisbon, at which last place he continued for a considerable time. The Superb was paid off Dec. 19, 1825. He had recently held the command of the Isis, and had returned home from the Mediterranean scarcely beyond a fortnight, when a disease (aneurism of the aorta) with which he had been afflicted for the last five years, and against which he bad borne up to the last, terminated fatally, to the great grief of his amiable widow and of every person who enjoyed the pleasure of his society, and to the unavailing regret of every inhabitant of Margate, by whom he was literally adored as a native character, who, by his bold achievements, had not only done honour to his King and country, but, as they felt, reflected credit upon them. He married, in May 1819, Sarah, youngest daughter of Robert Tournay Bargrave, Esq. of Eastry Court, Kent. CAPT. NISBET, R. N. Lately. In France, Josiah Nisbet, Esq. Captain R. N. stepson to the immortal Nelson. Captain Nisbet was the only son of Josiah Nisbet, M. D. of the island of Nevis, by Miss Woolward, niece to Wm. Herbert, Esq. President of that colony. The subject of this memoir, when first seen by his future stepfather, at that time Captain of the Boreas frigate, and senior officer on the Leeward Islands station, was only three years old; and from that time they entertained a mutual regard for each other, until Nelson became his legal guardian and instrucIn the war of 1793, Mr. Nisbet accompanied his stepfather as a Midship, tor. 1830.] OBITUARY.-Capt. Nisbet.-W. Pearson, Esq. man on board the Agamemnon of 64 guns; he continued with him during the many services performed in that ship, and completed under him his time as a petty officer. In the expedition against Teneriffe, Mr. Nisbet was with Nelson as a Lieutenant in the Theseus 74; and the affection entertained by him for bis patron is strongly exemplified by his conduct on the disastrous night of July 24th, 1797. Perfectly aware how desperate a service the attack upon Santa Cruz was likely to prove, before Nelson left the Theseus, be called Lieut. Nisbet, who had the watch on deck, into the cabin, that he might assist in arranging and burning his mother's letters. Perceiving that the young man was armed, he earnestly begged him to remain be-bind. "Should we both fall, Josiah," said he, "what would become of your poor mother! The care of the Theseus falls to you: stay, therefore, and take charge of her." Lieutenant Nisbet replied, " Sir, the ship must take care of herself; I will go with you tonight, if I never go again." In the act of stepping out of the boat, Nelson received a shot through the right elbow, and fell; Lieutenant Nisbet, who was close to him, placed him at the bottom of the boat, and laid his hat over the shattered arm, lest the sight of the blood, which gushed out in great abundance, should increase his faintness. He then examined the wound; and taking some silk bandkerchiefs from his neck, bound them round tight above the lacerated vessels. Had it not been for this presence of mind in his son-in-law, Nelson must have perished. Lieut. Nisbet then collected half a dozen seamen, by whose assistance be succeeded, at length, in getting the boat afloat, for it had grounded with the falling tide; and, himself taking an oar, rowed off to the Theseus, under a tremendous, though illdirected fire, from the enemy's batteries. In a private letter to Sir John Jervis, the first which he wrote with bis left hand, Nelson strongly recommended his youthful companion for advancement, in the following terms: "by my last letter, you will perceive my anxiety for * In a letter addressed to the commander-in-chief, a few hours before he set out upon the enterprise, he recommended Lieut. Nisbet to the protection of Sir John, and of the nation; adding, "the Duke of Clarence, should I fall, will, I am confident, take a lively interest for my son-in-law, on his name being mentioned." GENT. MAG. September, 1830. 281 the promotion of my son-in-law, Josiah Lieut. Nisbet, according to the wish of his father-in-law, was immediately promoted, and appointed to the command of the Dolphin hospital-ship, attached to the Mediterranean fleet. On Nelson's recovery after the loss of his arm, and return to join his former chief, he received the following letter from Earl St. Vincent, dated Dec. 11, 1798: "My dear Admiral-1 do assure you, the Captain of the Dolphin has acquitted himself marvellously well in three instances: in getting his ship out and joining us off Cadiz soon after we arrived; in conducting a convoy of transports with troops from Gibraltar to Lisbon; and lately, in pushing out to protect the stragglers of the convoy from England in very bad weather; and he also improves in manners and conversation, and is amply stored with abilities, which only want cultivation to render him a very good character." In a letter from Naples, dated-Dec. 24, 1798, Nelson thus writes to his wife : "The improvement made in Josiah by Lady Hamilton is wonderful; your obligations and mine are infinite on that score; not but Josiah's heart is as good and as humane as ever was covered with a human breast. God bless, him, I love him dearly with all his roughness." Capt. Nisbet's post commission bears date Dec. 24, 1798. He was promoted to that rank in the Thalia of 36 guns, which frigate he commanded on the Mediterranean station until the month of October, 1800. Previous to his return from thence, he appears to have given offence to his father-in-law, by remonstrating with him on his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton, an attachment which afterwards had the unhappy effect of totally weaning his affections from his wife. Captain Nisbet, we believe, has held no subsequent appointment. WILLIAM PEARSON, ESQ. Sept. 14. At his residence in St. Matthew's, Ipswich, and in the 68th year of his age, William Pearson, Esq. au eminent Solicitor of that town, for many years during the late war a Captain in the 1st regiment of the Suffolk Yeo 282 OBITUARY.-William Pearson, Esq. manry Cavalry, and brother to the Rev. Edward Pearson, D.D. late Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, a learned, pious, and exemplary divine. Mr. Pearson was distinguished for those essential qualities which adorn the character of man, and which deservedly conciliate the esteem of friends, neighbours, and acquaintance. A kindness of disposition and an urbanity of manners formed so prominent a feature in all his thoughts and actions, as not only to mollify and control the harshness of his professional duties, but to make even these subservient to the claims of friendship and benevolence. Throughout life, his integrity was unimpeached, his sentiments liberal and enlarged, his social qualities attractive, his love for literature and the fine arts refined, and his attachment to the cause of liberty, both civil and religious, firm and consistent. The virtues and excellencies of this amiable man are thus feelingly and accurately pourtrayed in the following beautiful sonnet, from the pen of the " Bard of Woodbridge:" "To W. P. If genuine love of freedom, testified Alike by words and deeds; if sterling sense, Pure taste, directed by intelligence, A heart replete with true benevolence; None would dispute it, might 1, unre- CLERGY DECEASED. Aug. 8. At Wantage, Berks, aged 49, the Rev. Cha. Tomkins Jennings. He was of Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated M.A. 1809. Aug. 11. In his 63rd year, the Rev. Tho. Best, senior Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. He took his degree of M.A. in 1794; B.D. 1804. Aug. 18. At the Rectory-house, Bradfield, Berks, aged 30, the Rev. Henry Stevens, jun. Vicar of Buckland, Berks, eldest son of the Rev. Henry Stevens, of Bradfield. He was presented to his living in 1828, by Mrs. Rawbone and T. H. Southby, esq. Aug 26. At the Glebe House, Gosfield, Essex, in his 77th year, the Rev. John Thurlow, one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County. He was educated [Sept. at Clare Hall, Cambridge, where he proceeded to the decree of LL.B. in 1786. In 1782, he was presented by the Nugent family to the Vicarage of Gosfield; and in 1787, by the Crown, to the Rectory of Chelmondiston, in Suffolk." Jaques, Rector of Willerby, near ScarboAug. 30. Aged 75, the Rev. Arthur rough, to which living he was presented by the Lord Chancellor in 1789. Aug. 31. At Steyning, Sussex, aged 87, the Rev. Thomas Green, D.D., Rector of Bramber with Buttolphs. He was of Magd. Coll. Oxford, M.A. 1766; B.D. 1776; D.D. 1782. He was the oldest member of Magdalen College, and was presented to the Rectory of Bramber, Sussex, by that Society in 1783. At Neath, Glamorganshire, the Rev. Rice Howell, M.A. of Jesus College, Oxford, 1785, Vicar of Llancarvan, co. Glamorgan, and Curate of Cowbridge and Llanblethian. He was instituted to the vicarage in 1827. At the Mitre Inn, Oxford, the Rev. H. Bagshaw Harrison, MA. late of Magdalen College, Rector of Bugbrooke, in Northamptonshire, and of Warmington, co. Warwick. Mr. Harrison took his degree of M.A. in 1788. Lately. The Rev. John Nicholl, B.D. of Jesus College, and formerly Rector of Remenham, Berks. He resigned the Rectory, which is in the patronage of Jesus College, in 1798, and was succeeded by the Rev. James Jane, B.D. of that Society. Mr. Nicholl took his degrees of M.A. 1771, and B.D. 1778. The Rev. John Thompson, Vicar of Framfield, Sussex; to which he was presented in 1808, by the Earl of Thanet. He was formerly a Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford; and graduated M.A. 1779. As a clergyman of the Church of England, as a scholar, and as a gentleman, he was justly respected and esteemed. He was a constant resident among his parishioners, and exemplary in the discharge of his pastoral duties. By his will he has bequeathed the sum of 2001. in trust, to be applied to charitable purposes for the benefit of his parish. of Bramley, Yorkshire: to which he was Rev. Robert Humphreys, Perpetual Curate appointed by the Vicar of Leeds in 1822. ley, Derbyshire, to which he was presented Rev. George Warrington, Rector of Pleasin 1793, by B. Thornhill, esq.; Vicar of Hope, in the same county; and a Canon in the Cathedral of St. Asaph, to which he was instituted in 1791. Rev. Hugh Hughes, Vicar of Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He was of Jesus Coll. Oxf. M.A. 1767; B.D. 1775. Rev. Stephen Ratcliffe, Rector of Kryne, Meath. Aged 35, the Rev. R. Black, B.D. Minister of Ely Chapel, and Curate of St. Andrew's, Holborn. |
