The Washington herald., 1907-03-24


Lord Charles Beresford. British mem
Der Of the quartet. is as famous for his
deviltry when a youngster as for his
| admirable conduct at the bombardment
of Alexandra twenty-five years ago, when
/ his little gunboat, Condor, did what the
bigger ships couldn't do, sIieaeed the
Egyptian forts and hastsned. If not won,
/ the victory for the British.
| He is now sIxty-one, well set up, wen
! colored, and sturdy, but when he en-
tered the navy as midshipman, puny
lad of thirteen, he overheard one old
salt tell another as b. stepped upon
the deck:
| "Ere's another hossifer KEN on board,
/ Pm. but bless his cart, e ain't long ior
/ this world"
Before he was twenty the boy becarie
/ famous for his skill with his fists one
morning a corporal Of marines, who had
TO set the midshipmen out of bed at a
certain hour, called him. Beresford fail
| ed to respond The corporal called him
again. Then he sang out, Third and
/ last call; are you coming2"
Beresford spraug out of bed and sug
gested that the two should night it out
right then, on deck The corporal was
much older than the midshiDman and
decidedly burly, but be could not resist
/ the taunting challenge. Beresford says
that when they got through 'the cor
poral could see a little better than /
1 could" but he did so Well that no one on
/ the ship wanted to provoke another fight
/ with him.
/ Beresford has three medals for saving
/ drowning sailors, but he has saved the
lives of at least a dozen. so his admirers
I say. At Port Stanley, Falkland Islands,
a seaman who could not swim, overset
a boat. Without stopping TO take OFF
even his shoes, the yOuRgster grabbed
a line and plunged into the sea. He
/ saved his man. bat was too exhausted TO
get him on board without help Soon af-
/ terward Beresford jumped into the Mer-
I sey at Liverpool, and rescued a second
sailor. whip did not even thank him
! HUH He was such a little one, said
/ the sailor, on being asked why.
! The other had more gratitude in his
makeup. Fifteen or twenty years later
/ Beresford was speaking at a public meet
( ing in London. There was "a disturbance
near the door and the police started 20
/ put the disturber out. Beresford asked
what was the matter. and was told that
I
/ come to ne" said Beresford 1t was the
sailor who had been pulled out of the
water at Port Stanley
/ There are many stories about his prank
/ ishness. He has been arrested several
/ times Tor smashing windows and steal
( ing signs. and once, before he was an
/ admiral but after he was captain, ne in
/ duced the late Admiral Keppel long the
/ oldest officer In the British navy, 10 help
him steal the swinging parts OF a toll
gate which they carried to London
/ His historic theft Of the eagle that sur
mounted the American consulate at Hon
( olulu was committed in 1865. He came
! near losing his place in the navy then,
/ but kept it by mailing the eagle back il
/ its place. There is another story that he
| and the Marquis of Queensberry once
| tore the eagle from above the entrance
/ 20 another United States consulate. burn
ed IL, and danced q New Zealand war
( dance about the fire. but the story some
/ times places this consulate at Kingston,
Jamaica and sometimes in Santo Domin-
SO. an1 it may be apochryphal.
Beresford is as good a horseman as ne
/ is sailor, aud used often 10 play the
part OF gentleman jockey. Two or
three times he has been thrown and has
broken two or three ribs each time. Once
he fell twenty feet into the hold of q
{ ship and smashed himself ali TO pieces, so
that he is a much-mended man. Curl
OuSly enough. although always in the
thick of the fray when present az a bat
tie, he has never been wounded
! In 1884, at Abu Klea, in the Sudan
I where Sir Herbert Stewards forces en-
/ countered an overwhelming force of
Arabs. BerestOrd and his men had charge
! Of the machine gun, which moved down
I Ara f4e in, Ache
/ finished and the butchers bill Was TAX
/ en- account of, Beresford was the only
survivor OF the machine gun squad lie
was not even scratched and marvellous
stories of his charmed life We're c,rcu-
lated.
This fight took place in Loc1 WoIse-
ley's unsuccessful campaign foy the res
cue of Chinese Gordon at Khartum. That
/ campaign followed close upon the bonn
bardment of Alexandria in lSS2. when lac
won the title Of Condor Charlie" and
was honored by the signal, well done
Condor" from the flag ship He was re
warded by a promotion to a captaincy.
while the commanding admiral was made
a peer and received a huge money grant
BeresfOrd and his friends have always
/ claimed that he was not treated fairly.
Lord Charles Beresford n5s served sew
eral terms in Parliament; he was First
Lord of the Admiralty under Salisbury,
/ and he has written several hooks, al Of
them on practical and business topics.
It is greatly 10 his regret that he has
had no fighting TO do since war ships and
guns have reached their present high
state of development.
Beresford was an intimate friend of the
Prince Of Wales. now King Edward, un-
til Lady Beresford wrote letter, which
became famous. about Lady Brooke now
| the Countess OF Warwick when scandal
was busy with Lady BrOoAess name. Ber-
esford's telegram to the prince, declniu-
a dinner Invitation which most persons
would have considered a command. ''Sor-
~ l can't come, lie follows by post" is
famous.
So is the signal which he hoisted on his
ship in 1881 during naval review at SPIT
head, when the Queen was present: II ell
Lady Beresford to go on board the yacht.
where I will join her al once" BeresfOrd
meant no harm by this. signal, but ii was
such a grave breach of official etiquette
that he was forced 10 resign all his posi-
tions and get out of big affairs for a
time
There were four or five Beresford boys
and they have al been famous for their
recklessness. Lord William Beresford.
now the Marquis Of Waterford. married
Lily Price. Of Albany, whose first hus-
band was Louis Hammersly, and whose
second was the Duke of MARLBOROUGH.
Another brother it viii be remembered.
was Tancher, first in Mexico and then
in tie United States. whose death oc~
CURED few months ago. He left an
estate OF about d million dollars. which
Lord Charles has recently been engaged
in settling. and a, coiored wife. Lold
Charles has made many visits to e INIT
ed States, aad has been OutspoEan in ad-