a famous prison-ship escaper
in old calais there is or was a rue tom souville. no foreigners and not many calaisiens know who tom souville was, or what he had done to deserve to have a street named after him. the answer to these questions is so interesting that i do not hesitate to allow it a chapter.
about the year 1785, tom souville, aged nine, was, in accordance with a frequent custom of that day, sent to england for the purpose of learning english in exchange for a little english boy who came over to france. he was quartered in the house of the rev. mr. wood, of dover, whose sailor brother took a great fancy to the little stranger, and made him his constant companion on cruises up and down the channel, with the result that tom souville got to know the channel coasts thoroughly, a stock of learning which he afterwards made use of in a fashion little dreamed of by the old salt, his mentor.
at christmas 1786, after eighteen months’ happiness at dover, he returned to calais, and in obedience to his irresistible bent, joined the navy. in 1795, the formidable, with tom souville on board, was taken by h.m.s. queen charlotte, off isle-croix, after a fight in which she lost 320 killed and wounded out of her complement of 717, and tom with his captain, linois, of whom mention will be made later in this work, were taken to portsmouth. tom souville refused to sign a parole form, so was put into the cachot of the diamond hulk; but only for a short time, as he was soon exchanged. however, in 1797 he was again captured, this time on the actif, and was confined on the crown hulk.
of life on the crown he gives the usual description. he speaks of the prisoner professors (who were known as the 104‘académiciens’) being obliged to give their lessons at night, as the noise during the daytime made teaching impossible. but as no lights were allowed ‘tween decks after a certain hour, they saved up the fat of their ration meat, and put it into an oyster-shell with a wick of cotton threads, fencing it round with clothes. sometimes the air was so foul that the light went out. if they were discovered, the guards destroyed everything, books, paper, slates, pens, &c.
souville mentions one thing i have not noticed in any account of prison-ship life, that there were french women on board, ‘de basse extraction et extrêmement grossières’.
he emphasizes the incapacity and brutality of the british doctors, and particularizes one weiss (not a british name, one is thankful to note!) as a type. he says that the orthodox treatment of the prisoners from san domingo, who were suffering from the vomito negro, was to plunge them into icy water!
a system of signalling and holding conversation between one prison ship and another was carried out by the carpenters, who had their benches on the upper deck, a regular alphabet being arranged by means of hammer knocks and shifting the position of the benches. he is the first also to mention that theatricals were performed on a prison ship; the pieces given being a two-act vaudeville, les aventures d’une voyageuse sensible, and a drama in five acts, la fiancée du corsaire. the orchestra consisted of a flute and a violin; the female dresses were lent by the ladies of portsmouth and gosport, who also came as spectators. but the chief amusement, he says, was to vex the authorities as much as possible, to call the captain, who had an inflated sense of his own importance, a mere turnkey, to make songs on him, and above all to play tricks at the roll call, so as to create confusion and bewilderment.
the attempts to escape were very frequent, and this in spite of a recent savage threat that for every prisoner who escaped two should be hanged. souville describes a daring escape which inspired him to action. a cutter laden with powder was alongside one of the hulks, waiting for morning to discharge into the egmont man-of-war. lieutenant larivière and four or five other prisoners managed to slip out 105of the crown and board her. they found the crew fast asleep, tied and gagged them securely, and adopted their clothes. at daybreak they hoisted their sail, larivière giving loud commands in english, and passed by the egmont, waiting for her powder. she hailed them to stop, but they crowded on all sail, and although the alarm was signalled, and they were pursued, they crossed safely to roscoff.
as souville, when he refused to be put on parole, had openly declared that he would escape at the first opportunity, he was carefully guarded. thanks to his excellent knowledge of english he made friends among the bluejackets of the guard, and especially with one will, whom he had helped with money when his mother’s home was threatened to be broken up for debt.
so he started the delicate and difficult operation of boring a hole in the ship’s side, large enough to admit the passage of a human body, above the water line, yet not too near the grated platform running round the ship, continually patrolled by guards. he counted on will’s aid, and confided his scheme to him.
the very next morning he was conducted to the black hole, and was informed that his design had been betrayed, and he instantly guessed that his supposed friend will was the betrayer, as he alone was in the secret. whilst in the cachot he found a mysterious note merely saying that at a certain hour on a certain day the high tide would be over the mud-banks which had proved fatal to so many fugitives from the hulks. in the cachot with him were three men who had successfully shammed madness in order to get sent to france, and who were about to be liberated. one of them, whose form of assumed madness had been to crow day and night like a cock, gave tom a clue to a hole he had commenced to bore in the event of his sham madness failing.
souville found the hole, finished it, and on the date named in the note slipped out, and started for a three-mile swim towards a light ashore. after much labour, he negotiated the mud-banks, and landed. exhausted, he fell asleep, and was awakened by a man. he sprang to his feet and prepared to defend himself from arrest; but the man impressed silence, and pointed 106to a fisher-hut whence a light shone, evidently that to which he had steered at first, but of which he had lost sight during his long struggle in the water.
he entered the hut and found will! the whole affair, the arrest, the cachot, and the mysterious note turned out to be will’s plot, who explained that if he had not divulged the secret of souville’s first escape-hole when it was known that he had discovered it, he would probably have got a thousand lashes at the triangles, and that to atone for it he had conveyed to the cachot the note which was the means of tom’s escape.
no time was lost in completely disguising him, and he started. as he passed along the smuggler’s cliff path he heard the guns which proclaimed the escape of a prisoner. at 9 a.m. he passed kingston, and got to farlington on the chichester road. here he put up at a lodging house, replying to suspicious inquiries that he was from london, bound for an american ship coming from dover. from here he took coach to brighton, and in two days was at dover. at dover he waited two more days before he could find a neutral ship to take him across, and then quietly smuggled himself on to a danish brig bound for calais, and hid under a coil of rope on deck. whilst here the admiralty people came on board to search for fugitives, and one of them actually sat on the heap of rope under which he was. the brig sailed, and then, to the astonishment of the master and crew, tom presented himself. at first the master was disposed to put back and give tom up, for the penalties were heavy for harbouring escaped prisoners, but the promise of a handsome reward and tom’s mention of influential friends overcame his scruples and tom was safely landed.
he went home, got the money, of which he gave 1,000 francs to the skipper, 500 francs to the crew, and 500 to the fisherman who landed him.
souville now started the privateering business which was to make him famous, and during the years 1806 and 1807 won for his glaneur a reputation on both sides of the channel. at dunkirk he distinguished himself on shore by saving two lives from a runaway carriage which had been upset into the port. he then changed to the général paris, and made a number of rich captures, but on november 30, 1808, was captured off 107folkestone by two corvettes and a cutter, and found himself on the assistance prison ship at portsmouth. on the assistance he made so many attempts to escape that he was changed to the crown. here he met an old shipmate, captain havas, of the furet privateer, but from policy they agreed not to let it be seen that they were friends, and they lost no time in setting to work with saws made of barrel-hoops, and bits of fencing foils for gimlets, to make a hole a square foot in size through the nine inches of the wooden ship’s side, and, to avoid the noise they made being heard, they worked while the english soldiers were scrubbing the decks.
by the beginning of january 1809 the hole was ready. january 9 was a suitable day for this project, being foggy, and the only obstacle was the bitter cold of the water. they had saved up rum, and grease wherewith to rub themselves, and had a compass, a knife, a flask for the rum, and a waterproof fishing-basket to hold a change of clothes. at midnight they opened the hole; havas slipped out, and souville followed, but in doing so made a slight noise, but enough to attract the notice of the sentry. they swam away amidst a storm of bullets fired at random in the fog and darkness. souville was soon caught by one of the boats which at the first alarm had put out from all the hulks. havas hung on to the rudder of a portuguese ship under repair, and paused to rest. when all was quiet, he climbed up, boarded the ship, crept down to the hold, got under a basket, and, utterly worn out, fell asleep.
a cabin boy coming for the basket in the morning, at the appearance of a strange man under it was terrified and cried out. havas rushed up on deck, but at the mouth of the hatchway was met by an english soldier who promptly knocked him down, and he was secured.
the adventurers got a month’s black hole, and when they were released found the precautions against escape were stricter than ever. in may 1809 the news came that all the prisoners taken at guadeloupe were to be exchanged. havas and souville determined to profit by the opportunity, and bought two turns of exchange from soldiers, with the idea of getting away as guadeloupe prisoners. but, in order to pass the sentry it was necessary that they should have the appearance 108of having served in the tropics, so they had ‘to make themselves up’, with false moustaches and stained faces. this was effected, and at the signal of departure the two adventurers joined the guadeloupe contingent and were taken ashore. but on the jetty stood captain ross, of the crown, scrutinizing the prisoners.
‘you didn’t expect me here, my man,’ said he to havas, at the same time taking hold of his moustache, which came off in his hand. ‘never mind; although i am in duty bound to take you before commodore woodriff, i’ll ask him to let you off; if i don’t you’ll sink my ship with your eternal hole-boring through her!’
he meant what he said, for, although somewhat of a martinet (so says the biographer of souville—henri chevalier), he was a good fellow at heart, but woodriff, who had been in command at norman cross in 1797, was of another disposition: ‘un de ces moroses anglais dont l’air sombre cache un caractère plus dur encore que sévère.’ he refused ross’s request, and even admonished him for laxity of vigilance, and so our friends were sent back to the crown, and got another month’s cachot. then they were separated, havas being sent to the suffolk and tom souville to the vengeance. six uneventful months passed; then the prisoners of the suffolk and vengeance were transferred to the san antonio, and havas and souville were re-united, and took into partnership étienne thibaut. the commander of the san antonio was an affable scot with a soft heart towards his prisoners. he took a fancy to havas, often chatted with him, and at last engaged him as a french teacher. captain b. had a pretty wife, ‘belle en tout point, blonde, grande, svelte et gracieuse,’ and a charming little girl, possessing ‘de bonnes joues roses, de grands yeux bleus, et des cheveux dorés à noyer sa tête si un ruban ne les e?t captivés sur son cou; enfant pétulante et gaie, fra?che comme une fleur, vive comme un oiseau’.
havas makes friends with the child, but aims at the favour of the mother. being a dashing, attractive, sailor-like fellow, he succeeds, and moves her sympathy for his fate. finally mrs. b. promises that he shall go with her to a french theatrical performance ashore, as her husband rarely quits the 109ship except on duty. so they go, one fine spring day, she and havas, and a scots captain r. with them to save appearances, first to the hulk veteran where they learn that the play, to be acted in portchester castle, will be racine’s phèdre, and that it will commence at 4 p.m.
they attended the play. an old caulker played theseus, phèdre was presented by a novice, and hippolyte by a top-man, which probably means that it was ludicrous. after the play, captain r. went into the town, leaving havas and mrs. b. to enjoy a beautiful springtime walk together, winding up with refreshments in an arbour which mrs. b. had engaged. all this time, however, havas was not so intoxicated with the delightful novelty of a tête-à-tête walk with a pretty englishwoman on a lovely day in a fair country, as not to be making mental notes of the local geography.
during the long continuance of the fine weather, which was all against their project, the three men made preparations for escape, and particularly in the manufacture of wooden skates for use over the two great mud-banks which separated the hulks from the shore, and which had always been fatal obstacles to escaping prisoners. at length the long-looked-for change in the weather came, and at 1 a.m. on a wild, stormy morning havas and souville got off (in the french original i find no allusion to thibaut), well furnished with necessaries, including complete suits of stylish clothing! once they were challenged, but the uproar of the storm saved them, and, moreover, the sea, even in the land-locked part, was so high that the sentries had been withdrawn from the external gallery. it was a hard struggle, but they reached the first mud-spit safely, got over it on their skates, swam another bit, and at the second mud-bank had to rest, as souville was taken with a sudden vertigo. finally, after three terrible hours of contest with wind and wave, they landed. thence they made their way into the fields, washed and scraped the mud off, and with the stylish clothes transformed themselves, as the account says, into ‘elegants’.
for four hours they walked until they struck the london road, along which they tramped for an hour, that is until about 10 a.m., and breakfasted at an inn. at 3 p.m. they reached 110petersfield, went boldly to the best hotel, dined as became gentlemen of their appearance, and ordered a post-chaise to be ready to take them to brighton at 4 a.m.
they were three days on the journey to brighton! souville’s admirable english was their protection, and the only inconvenience they experienced was from the remarks of people who contrasted their elegant appearance with the small amount of luggage they carried, consisting of a pocket-handkerchief containing their belongings.
they arrived at brighton at 10 a.m. on a sunday morning. the duke of york had arrived there to review the troops assembled at brighton camp on account of bonaparte’s threatened invasion, so that the town was crowded with soldiers and visitors, accommodation was not to be had, and no chance of sailing to france was likely to be offered. so they decided to walk on to hastings, a risky proceeding, as the country swarmed with soldiers. they walked for a day and a half, and then resolved to drive. for the night they had lodged at an inn which was full of soldiers, all of whom were incited by rewards to look out for spies, so they shut themselves in their room with food and two bottles of port, and busied themselves with mending and furbishing up the elegant clothes, which were beginning to show signs of wear and tear. the next day they left by coach; their fellow passengers included a faded lady of thirty, a comédienne, so she said, with whom souville soon became on such excellent terms that she gave him her address at hastings, and on the next day he went for a pleasant walk with her, noting carefully the lie of the country and looking out for a suitable boat on the beach in which to get over to france. boats in plenty there were; but, in accordance with the admiralty circular, inspired by the frequent appropriations of boats by escaping foreigners, from all of them masts, oars, and sails had been removed. so our friends resolved to walk on to folkestone. they reached the ‘bay of rice’ (rye bay?) and had to pass the night in the open, as there was no inn, and arrived at folkestone at 6 p.m. the next day.
during these stirring times of war between britain and france, the french privateers and the english smugglers found it to be to their mutual interests to be good friends, for not only 111were the smugglers the chief carriers of escaped french prisoners, many of whom were officers of privateers, but they were valuable sources of information concerning the movements of war-ships and likely prizes. in return the french coastal authorities allowed them free access to their ports for purposes of the contraband trade. during his career afloat souville had done a good turn to mr. j. p., an english smuggler captain living at folkestone, and mr. j. p. promised that he would requite this at the first opportunity. and so tom determined to find him at folkestone. his excellent english soon procured him j. p.’s address, and there the fugitives had a royal reception, dinner, bed, a bath the next morning, fresh clothes and a change of linen. at breakfast they read the news of their escape and of the big reward offered for their recapture in the local newspaper.
they spent five happy days under this hospitable roof, waiting for favourable weather, and for their host to procure them a suitable boat. this came about in due course, and after a farewell banquet, the party, consisting of souville, arm-in-arm with mrs. p., havas with her sister, j. p., and three friends, proceeded to the beach, and at 9 p.m. souville and havas embarked for calais, where they arrived after a good passage, and had an enthusiastic reception, for it had been reported that in escaping from the san antonio, they had been engulfed in the mud-banks.
tom souville lost no time in resuming his privateering life, and continued to be most successful, amassing money and gaining renown at the same time, but in 1812, when on the renard, having in tow a brig prize of 200 tons, he was again captured, and once more found himself on the crown prison ship, in ‘southampton lake’. the crown was still commanded by ross—called in the original (which is in the form of an interview with souville by eugene sue) ‘rosa’, that being the sound of the name in french ears. ross was a fine old fellow who had lost an arm at trafalgar, but he hated the french. ross, knowing tom souville’s fame, ironically conducts him personally over the crown, pointing out all the latest devices for the prevention of escape, and tells tom that he will have a corporal specially told off to ‘attend to him’. he offers to 112allow tom to go ashore every day if he will give his parole not to attempt escape, but tom refuses.
on the crown tom finds an old friend, tilmont, a privateer captain, and they at once set to work on a plan for escape. one morning captain ross sends for tom and quietly informs him that one jolivet had sold him the secret of the hole then in the process of being cut by tom and tilmont, and as he tells him this they walk up and down the lower deck together. whilst they are walking there is a great noise of tramping overhead. ross asks what it is, and tom replies that the prisoners are dancing. the captain calls an orderly and tells him to stop the dancing, ‘the noise is distressing to monsieur here,’ he adds sarcastically. tom is annoyed and begs he will allow the poor men to amuse themselves, but the captain is obdurate. presently the noise ceases, and to tom’s horror he hears in the ensuing silence the sound of tilmont working away at the hole. however, it did not attract the captain’s attention. the truth was that the whole affair, the betrayal of the hole, the dancing on deck, and the interview with captain ross, was of souville’s arranging. jolivet got ￡10 10s. for betraying the secret, which he at once paid into the ship’s ‘escape fund’; he had made it a condition that souville and tilmont should not be punished; the dancing on deck was arranged to be at the time of the interview between the captain and tom, so that the noise of tilmont’s final touches to the work of boring the hole should be drowned.
a few days before this, one dubreuil had attempted to escape, but had been suffocated in the mud-bank. on the morning after the interview above described, the bugle sounded for all the prisoners to be paraded on the upper deck. here they found the captain and officers, all in full uniform, the guard drawn up with fixed bayonets, and on the deck in front of them a long object covered with a black cloth. the cloth was removed, and the wasted body of dubreuil, with his eyes picked out, was exposed.
souville was called forward.
‘do you recognize the body?’ asked the captain.
‘yes,’ replied tom, ‘but it does not matter much. he was a bad fellow who struck his mother.’
113the horrible exhibition had been intended as a deterrent lesson to the prisoners in general and to souville in particular, especially as it was known that he and dubreuil had been lifelong acquaintances in calais, but, as far as tom was concerned, his reply sufficiently proved that it was thrown away on him, whilst among the other prisoners it excited only disgust and indignation.
tom souville’s escape was arranged for that same night.
it was quite favourable for his enterprise, dark and so stormy that the hulk rolled heavily. tilmont made tom take a good drink of sugar, rum, and coffee; the two men greased themselves all over thoroughly; round tom’s neck was an eelskin full of guineas, in his hat a map of the channel, in a ‘boussole’ tinder and steel, a knife in the cord of his hat, and a change of clothes in a little leather bag on his back.
overboard he slipped (tilmont’s name is not again mentioned, although he greased himself, so i presume he did not start. there are many instances of poor fellows, after much elaborate preparation, being deterred at the last moment by the darkness, the black depths below, the long swim, and the extreme uncertainty of the result). it was a hard, long struggle in the wild night, and throughout appeared the face of dubreuil with its empty orbits before the swimmer. however, in two hours and a half he reached land. he rested for a while, cleaned the mud off, changed his clothes and started to walk.
in nine days he reached winchelsea, walking by night and hiding by day, for this time his clothes were not of the ‘elegant’ style, and the land was full of spy-hunters. he went on to folkestone, and rested by the garden wall of a villa in the outskirts. as he rested he heard the voice of a woman singing in the garden. at once he recognized it as the voice of a captain’s wife who had been of the merry party at j. p.’s house on the occasion of his last visit to folkestone, called her by name, and announced his own. he was warmly welcomed, there was a repetition of the old festivities, and in due course he was found a passage for calais, where he arrived safely. once more he trod the deck of the famous renard, and was so successful that he saved money enough to buy a cutter on his own account. he soon became one of the most famous channel corsaires; and 114in addition a popular hero, by his saving many lives at sea, not only of his own countrymen, but of english fishermen, and in one case, of the crew of a british ship of war which had been disabled by foul weather.
then came the peace of 1814; and when, after waterloo, friendly relationship was solidly established between the two countries, tom souville, only at home on the ocean, obtained command of the cross-channel packet iris, which he retained almost up to the day of his death in 1840, at the age of sixty-four.
