The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-05

one evening with the late Field Mar
shall Lord Wolseley, at the time COM
mander In chief Of the English army, he
informed me that Sir Pomeroy, who had
been one Of his most Intimate friends
was in the habit OF being seized at odd
and most inconvenient moments with an
invincible and uncomfortable desire to
sleep.
Wolseley declared that these Ats. for
tunately rare and known to but few of
his comrades, would come upon Sir
Pomeroy almost without warning and
the efforts which ne would then make
to combat this almost insane desire to
sleep would reduce him to a sort OF
mental stupor. from which ii was i'm
possible to arouse him. no matter what
means were adopted for the purpose
but which left him in full possession of
his physical faculties. Wols.ley de-
ciared that Colley must have been over
taken by one of these fits on Majuba
Hill, the sudden loss of his head and of
his ordinarily so brilliant faculties
which threw his command in disorder
at the most critical moment Of the con-
fict. resulting in defeat being undoubt-
eddy attributable thereto. Sir Pomeroy,
as every one knows. met with his death
bullet and hence was never able to
furnish any explanation of his momen-
tary alteration, accountable only in the
manner communicated to me by Lord
Wolseley.
The Field Marshal. who was one OF
the most erudite students OF military
history. ancient as we'll as modern. and
whose Magnum Opus was a work OF
the utmost research on the campaigns
of the First Napoleon. added when talk
ing to me about Coley that the great
French Emperor was afflicted In pre-
cisely the same manner as Sir Pomeroy
and that his defeat at the battle Of
Waterloo was attributable to the fact
that his brain had, practically speak
ing. stopped working. 1t was these at
tacks Of mental stupor. from which he
was wholly free until his disastrous
Russian campaign in 1912. that led to
the wild legends about his being at
times inca pacitated by drunkenness.
King Frederick Augustus OF SaNony.
like his father. the late King George.
and his grandfather, King John. before
him, suffers also from this strange NAL
ady which played so fateful a role In
the fortunes OF Napoleon and OF Sir
Pomeroy Colley. King Frederick Au-
gustus Is not yet so and Is otherwise in
perfect health. but suddenly falls fast
asleep at state banquets in honor OF
foreign sovereigns. at Cabinet councils
and even when on horseback at reviews.
his somewhat frequent tumbles from his
charger on occasions OF this kind being
attributable not. as has been unkindly
alleged. to intoxication but to mental
stupor resulting from an lnvincible de-
sire to sleep.
Sometimes when receiving a foreign
envoy in audience he will be discovered
in the act OF gently slumbering on the
throne. which Is to say the least discon-
| eerting. while at other moments when
speaking he will suddenly stop In the
| middle OF a sentence without any APP
parent rhyme or reason. remain appar-
| emily daZed for few minutes, and then
will either turn away or else will start
| talking about something entirely differ
ent. without apparently remembering
the former subject OF conversation.
Who does not remember the founder
ing Of the British battleship Victoria In
June. 1898. on the coas, OF Syria with
more than 600 men on board. many of
whom were literally sliced to pieces
by the cruel screws which continued
churning the water until the great IRON
clad finally disappeared beneath the
waves? The loss Of the Victoria is to be
explained only in the same manner as
the battle OF Majuba Hill. Admiral Sir
George Tryon, like Gen. Sir Pomeroy
Colley. was one of the most abstemious
OF men and experienced OF officers. a
commander. in fact. renowned for his
cleverness and his brilliancy. Those who
lii hi
down as the very one Of all their ac-
quaintances whose mental balance was
Of the best poise and whose sanity was
| the most sound.
Yet while on the bridge OF his flagship
directing the movements OF the Mediter-
ranean fleet of which he was in chief
command. he suddenly gave an order
for a manpuvre which it was at once
| apparent to every Captain Of the squad
| ron must result in disaster.
Maurice Bourke who was his flag Cap
tain and beside him on the bridge. Ven
tured probably on the strength of his So
cal position as brother and heir to the
Earl Of Mayo and as equ.r try to, the>Duke
of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg. to utter a
| word of remonstrance and to point out
| to l,s chief that a catastrophe must en-
to him, seemed to be in a state of
mental stupor, although he moved about
on the bridge as IL in full possession Of
! his physical faculties and few minutes
later. as Bourke had toreseen, the flag
ship was rammed amidships and sunk
by the Camperdown. flagship of Admiral
Sir Albert Markham, second in com
mand, and who had implicitly obeyed Sir
Georges signals.
| At the last minute, when the ship
was going down. Sir George Tryon
seemed to recover all his Wits urged
Capt. Bourke to save himself and dis
played a pathetcnlly paternal interest
in the safety of the midshipman on duty
beside him. whom he forced to don the
life preserver. thanks to which the boy
escaped.
The disaster would have been still
! greater and other ships would doubt
less have rammed and sunk one an
other had not some of the Captains
taken upon themselves to disobey the
signals Of Sir George. The iron nature
OF naval discipline may he perhaps best
Illustrated by the fact that these Cap.
tains were subsequently brought before