A Ship Model in History
I found this
interesting reference to a ship model used for political purposes in
Thomas Carlyle’s classic “The French Revolution”. Carlyle’s dense
and descriptive work was written in 1837, and drawn from eyewitness
accounts and other contemporary sources. Referring to the Glorious
First of June 1794, when Admiral Howe defeated the revolutionary
French fleet, Carlyle waxes furious in his condemnation of Barrere,
a member of the Committee for Public Safety that ruled France during
the Reign of Terror. He compares Barrere to the great mountebanks
and phonies of history for the singular crime of spinning a military
defeat for political purposes. Here’s the passage, slightly edited.
Note that Carlyle, a Scot, refers satirically to the British as the
“enemies of human nature”.
“…what sound is this that we hear, on the first of June 1794; sound
as of war-thunder borne from the Ocean too, of tone most piercing?
War-thunder from off the Brest waters: Villaret-Joyeuse and English
Howe, after long maneuvering, have ranked themselves there; and are
belching fire. The enemies of human nature are on their own element;
cannot be conquered; cannot be kept from conquering. Twelve hours of
raging cannonade; sun now sinking westward through the battle-smoke:
six French Ships taken, the Battle lost; what Ship soever can still
sail, making off! But how is it then, with that Vengeur Ship, she
neither strikes nor makes off? She is lamed, she cannot make off;
strike she will not. Fire rakes her fore and aft from victorious
enemies; the Vengeur is sinking. Strong are ye, Tyrants of the sea;
yet we also, are we weak? Lo! All flags, streamers, jacks, every rag
of tricolor that will yet run on a rope, fly rustling aloft: the
whole crew crowds to the upper deck; and with universal
soul-maddening yell, shouts Vive la Republique, --- sinking,
sinking. She staggers, she lurches, her last drunk whirl; Ocean
yawns abysmal: down rushes the Vengeur, carrying Vive la Republique
along with her, unconquerable, into Eternity. … So has History
written, nothing doubting, of the sunk Vengeur.
“---Reader! Mendez Pinto, Munchausen, Cagliostro, Psalmanazar have
been great; but they are not the greatest. O Barrere, Barrere,
Anacreon of the Guillotine! Must inquisitive pictorial History, in a
new edition, ask again, “How is it with the Vengeur,” in this its
glorious suicidal sinking…? Alas, alas! The Vengeur, after fighting
bravely, did sink altogether as other ships do, her captain and
above two hundred of her crew escaping gladly in British boats; and
this same enormous inspiring Feat; and rumor “of sound most
piercing,” turns out to be an enormous inspiring Non-entity, extant
nowhere save, as falsehood, in the brain of Barrere! Actually so.
Founded, like the World itself, on Nothing; proved by Convention
Report, by solemn Convention Decree and Decrees, and wooden “Model
of the Vengeur”; believed, bewept, besung by the whole French People
to this hour, it may be regarded as Barrere’s masterpiece; the
largest, most inspiring piece of blague manufactured, for some
centuries, by any man or nation. As such, and not otherwise, be it
henceforth memorable.”