The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-09 00:00:00

PriNERAL OP LIEUTENANT-GENERAL
SIR CHARLES J. NAPIER.

-. txtnenians of old were justly reproached for
the indifference they exhibited to their great men
while living, and for the profuse adulation they
u towed on their memories when dead. Judging
_es
ior
history, however, one would think that in
he minds of those who served the State the latter
quality made full amends for the former, and eer-
illy there never was a time when heroes, legisla-
tners, politicians, and philosophers were found want-
henitogf w required by the exigencies of the times,
arse
ead the armies, the Senate, and the popular
eviamth_inenbolietse of the Republic, content as it seems
ruporaneous obloquy, and looking with
tideuce to the award of a just posterity. The
voices
of
the sons reversed the decision of the
andel; and men in their old age saw with clear
itit, undisturbed vision those virtues and lofty at-
_ u. tes to which they had been blinded by the
at-
Pa and jealousies of youth. We are not
"Au, lit to draw any comparison between ancient
-,wlens and modern England, but sure it is, that as
tar° after star dies out from among that bright
co constellation that has irradiated the paths of
0,111. ntlilY and navy in that " war of the
ants" which shook the civilised world, we act
as
Ithough we felt some regret that while its
light was still left to us we did not regard it
.'"
greater attention, and pay it a tribute of loftier
lLclunration. The people, so long as its brains are
livrr, bound up with cotton-twist, its heart stuffed
iazn calico, and its eyes blinded by steam, knows its
reat taen by instinct, but too often the recognition
made as it beholds their funeral obsequies. War,
n.t terrible necessity which is co-existent with the
wnividualities of states and empires, and which is
ily to be destroyed by the obliteration of all the
??g,raphical definitions which mark their limits, is
still the ultima ratio of nations, and he who can
st use the weapons of that dreadful and most
_,C,nehant rhetoric, will so long be invested with the
old heroic grandeur in the minds of his fellow-coun-
inen• We recognise in the warrior who vindicates
lie_.,nenour or defends the liberties of his native
one whom Heaven has gifted with special qua-
u'es for the holiest of objects. Whether- he be
‘4chthecl in the steel-plate of Sidney or the scarlet
t °I. a Napier, we do homage to the generous con-
„lige) the chivalresque spirit, the grand and simple
them of those fulmina belli which have cleft
44 cation,etic fieryway through the enemies of our name
ah
and have broken down their legions
pd turned the tide of victory around our banners.
moment the people of Portsmouth heard of the
overnent which was made to surround the simple
4251 unostentatious funeral of the conqueror of
~,71nde with some sort of popular sentiment, and to
re it a public character, which the wishes of the
ueeeased and of his friends seemed to forbid—at all
":eats, to 4eprecate—they joined in it with the
forinest entusiasm. It was no small matter
Rl;sogrt a number of people in "a nation of
Pkeepere to give up their business for a day,
and to forego all the pleasures and profits of the
Biter, as a mark of respect to the stern old
aoldier, who was not much "in fashion " of late
a ai's, and who oertainly was never very popular
rang our enemies, or "the universal friends of
inankind " either at Manchester or in India.
.gut the town of Portsmouth acted warmly and
l'eadilY the instant that the officer commanding
Pe garrison at the time gave them the initiative.te
last
ew of us who were present at the funeral of h
great Captain in St. Paul's at the close ofyear
can forget the " sensation" of sympathy andre-
tPeet Which ran through that vast multitude as they
elleld the veteran lieut.-general who had borne so
distinguished a share in the most daring and gal-
lant of the man daring and gallant actions em-
blazoned on the Ycolours of our Peninsular regiments
hobbling stiffly up the aisle, all seamed and scarred
dot
battered bbullet bayonet,. sword, and mus-
aet-butt, andbearing
There
about him the traces and
Proofs of his long and desperate service.
was a murmur at the moment—" There is Sir
Charles Napier !" and as one saw that eagle face,.
_that bold stpron eye-..caught, in fact, the " aqui-
line" expression othe whole countenance—he felt
there Was indeed a mighty man of battle" before
h
e
ilina• The feeling that he was so indeed—that
Was a great sol
thedier people and an excellent citizen, no
doubt prompted
of Portsmouth to ob-
serve the day of
his funeral with all honour, and
It_ must besaid that they have kept it befittingly.
For two hours before the cortege yesterday was ap-
pointed to pass nearly all the shops in the High-street
and along_ the_ route to the burial-ground were

closed, and all had their shutters up. - The inhabi•
tants of the remoter parts of the town of Gosport,
of the island of Southsea, and of villages and towns
all along the coast, left their houses and poured
into the streets, or procured seats in the windows
of houses commanding the view. All along High-
atreet the houses were crowded from the ground to
the roof,
and in many instances, indeed, even the
.._nouse-tops were occupied by men and children.
The ramparts- at theLandport, the Platform. Bat-
tery, and the ramparts by the beach, nearthe church,
Vera all covered by a dense mass of people. Pub-
licans and others hoisted flags half-mast high. In
fact, but for the attire of the ladies in the windows
and balconies, a stranger might easily have believed
that the town was sharing in some great national
e'alainity, or keeping a day of public humiliation,
~..1d the silence of the soldiery who lined the streets,
t-4d of the expectant thousands who thronged the
h°l3tPaths, would in itself have gone far to justify
la notion.
Ihe troops who took part in the proceedings were
Understood to be volunteers. No re pulsion of
•zerY kind was used to secure their attendance.
'iost of them came from Gosport, and it is just
Zoient to say that the little trip to Portsmouth
have cost each of the privates nearly all, if
no
for whole, available portion of his day's pay
and 3,000
to the ferry ! And yet between 2,500
therl of these much-abused and reviled privates of
e tritish army who are called such
,liard names
Lt.ke inealy-mouthed " Congressers, made the
4Z:ince cheerfully to do honour to one whose great
bv,3 and name were known to most of them only
n'eal'say
Th •
Phi
,e following is a copy of the garrison order
lea was issued on the occasion :
N;34 the occasion of the funeral of the late
tGheenneornal.
„ettlefiarles James Napier, G.C.8., to-morrow,
by •\;'lvlisafoned officers and men not previously. directed
tel earlesda.y's orders will parade, under thesiridceapataine
(battillubaltern of the day, in full dress, with •
Zang without instruments), and line the streets fromt
lalf. Pot-gates to the Garrison Chapel, to be
formed a
taat 1 o'clock p.m.
atre:taoe outward as the procession passes down
atnhe,
followß. Countermarch inwards, form fourdeep,
the abreast in that order, re-forming afterwards on
Aftt3.lernor's field before returning to their barracks.
right 'le funeral service the Royal Artillery, with
ytthei.r.
dent l'esting on the Landport-gates ; the 35th egi.
therl „°ll e their left, on the south side of High-street ,
RoYal Marines and Artillery Company s Royal
Gr.a.l4B:oB,aeaipre resting on the entrance gate to t
tl/417i.a:arppii:Fantnit:i:e Brigade, with their right on the Main_
; then the 79th Regiment, on the north side of
:o and 42d Re iment, with their left on the
klft e-41' Guard ; each cogrps will extend in singlo file
at aqua4:46 42d unite with those of their right and left.
Regiment will cross by the floating-bridge.
(1na,.,..."0r before 1 o'clock, and the Royal Marines at
T rPast m
41340;7 adititatlt-S of each corps will attend the Town-
et'ave„ °l6oe at 1 o'clock to-morrow, to receive and
t_ pith other necessary instructions.
t-
ig the ILa reference to the orders of yesterday (respec
tidtl arrangeme t f the funeral), officers will meet
-olere-eutenant-Golivserno or and Commander-in-Chieft at
Ahabitaat 13t airroa,t,kiptead of outside Landport-gates,
es,
ue re fait this order may appear, seemed to
tittle (eetfull_
y carried out, and punctual to the
it
dime
the measured tread of the soldiery
la he
)34 -"°wn the streets and spreading their chrni-
teetd, attclus:ono s along the side of the causeway was
on brought the people in renter masses
▪ I,roto cmne ciPal thoroughfare. Allalong High:street,
Garrison Chapel to the Landport gates,
7:4011,e• re
48. soon formed a living wall of regimental
• kie ',•Y In green and red and blue and white, with
4814,°1011r
c)f J erg
..facings and feathers brightening up
,13u relieving the sombre hues of the bank
ralber 118 at the rear. At the artillery barracks a
sirs, naval and military officers in full uni-
47serabled in order to join the procession
.; and
atte Ines Grail
Ganes am and the Lords of the Admiralty
The First at the
iboutwas
eplace till the cortege arrived.
dressed in a suit of mourning,
eflaziecl he 4reval Lords were in uniform. They were
vetcers of t, bY Commodore Schroeder and the
to kria ne Prussian. frigate Gefion and cor-
kuqhy auarna, and by g. Vandenbergh, the
Wasrespected prussian Consul at the
korte, Who
kroolleral cortege
left
in his consular costume. The
r_ the seat of the deceased General.
Ite4 xoataftZeir2 clock in a very quiet and unpretend-
foil 6 Plain lne hearse and mourning coaches
,r_ewieD 3,Eld unostentatious, nor was there any
OlLuss-I,oZ.ci Private vehicles, but all along the
idper-i" oj the route, from the mansion to the
litlte, the °I Portsmouth, a distance of seven
114 ecvered eici)llll,trY people had collected, and with
taZecl, and 4.le;a°B waited till the carriages had
te_ over t, en returned to their homesteads to
e4ro!ol the history of " the General," or ran
131pageg. '7,18 to get another view of the sombre
tpittiland the 11.1 e townspeople, too, poured out far
Nes the winl, its of their moats and ditches to
A tnet , 'gut, and the testimony to their good
%ut ',llversal.
d the 0,
clock the carriage containing the
ril°llrning coaches arrived at Land-