The Fleet with which Roger had sailed had, owing to the tempest, had seven transports wrecked on the coast of Dorset with a terrible loss of life. It had then made another false start, during which thirty ships had been driven back into the Solent; so he was, after all, lucky not to have suffered an even greater delay in reaching Barbados.
That night he met the new C.-in-C. at dinner. Sir Ralph looked like a Highland terrier. He was purblind and was already sixty-two, but he still possessed tremendous energy and had earned a great military reputation by covering the retreat and evacuation of the British expeditionary force from Holland in the preceding winter.
Before him there lay a task which would have daunted a lesser man. Apart from the war in Saint-Domingue, there were major slave rebellions to be put down in St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and St. Vincent Demerara had to be taken from the Dutch as it was now being used to fit out French privateers; the Spaniards, too, although still technically neutral, were allowing Trinidad to be used for the same purpose; and, last but not least, Victor Hugues, the cause of all the trouble, remained the solidly entrenched master of Guadeloupe.
Sir Ralph heartily blessed Roger for having kept his island in good order and begged him to change his decision about going home. Roger firmly declined, but added that any man should be capable of doing the same provided he observed three maxims. Namely: to win the goodwill of the French inhabitants; to hang half a dozen people at the first sign of trouble, even if some of them should later be proved innocent, rather than allow matters to develop to a point where hundreds might lose their lives in a general conflict; and to place the health of the troops before any other consideration.
The General heartily agreed with him, and showed the greatest keenness with regard to the last recommendation. Apparently some imbecile in Whitehall had deprived the Scottish regiments of their bonnets and kilts and instead equipped them with broad-brimmed felt hats and duck trousers. The idea of this well-meaning theorist had been to protect their faces from the sun, and their legs from mosquitoes; but in the tropical rains this new uniform became sodden, and could not be dried for hours, with the result that pneumonia had now become a scourge second only to Yellow Jack. Roger readily acceded to Sir Ralph's request that on reaching London he should press Mr. Windham as a matter of urgency to have the Scots' bonnets and kilts restored to them; then he put in a good word for Colonel Penruddock as a capable and reliable man, and wished Sir Ralph success in the numerous campaigns he was about to undertake.
Two days later he set sail in a fast mail packet for England. She made an excellent crossing and landed him at Liverpool on February the 14th. Next day he took a coach to London, and the following evening was once more installed in Amesbury House; although to his regret he had learned on his arrival that Droopy had temporarily removed himself to Brighton in order to enjoy some winter sunshine. On the morning of the 17th, after a wait of an hour, he secured an interview with Mr. Pitt, and told him the reason for his return.
Having commiserated with him on his bereavement, the Prime Minister said: "From you, Mr. Brook, I need be at no pains to conceal that the Allied cause is now in a more parlous state than ever before; and my anxieties on that account, at times, near as much as I can bear. All that can be done with ships, men and money is being done already; so our best hope of better fortune lies in original ideas carried out by men who have the courage to apply them. You may be able to help us in this way. If so your return is doubly welcome."
Roger shook his head. "I fear I have nothing to suggest, Sir. I can only say that I have decided to accept your offer to have Mr. Dundas dispose of my Governorship for me, and am now ready to serve you wherever you feel I might prove useful to you."
"How well informed are you of the present situation?"
"But poorly, Sir. I left here in mid-November and got back to London only yesterday, so I know practically nothing of fresh developments which may have taken place during the past three and a half months."
"Then I will briefly review them for you." Mr. Pitt took a swig of port and went on: "The Austro-Sardinian army in Italy managed to old its own against General Kellerman until the late autumn. But since the French Commander was replaced by General Scherer, things there have gone far from well. At about the same time we relieved Admiral Hotham of the command of the Mediterranean Fleet and appointed in his stead Sir John Jervis. His major task has been to continue the blockade of Toulon; so he could afford to detach only a small squadron, under a promising young senior Captain named Nelson, to do the best they could to interrupt French communications with the Italian coast In consequence, and probably also because Carnot is once again directing the French war effort considerable quantities of supplies got through. The French, from being short of everything, were enabled to launch a new offensive.
"I am advised that General Scherer is no great master of war; but he appears to have several daring and capable corps commanders under him. Their names are Augereau, Serurier, Joubert and Massena. The latter, with some help from the others, inflicted a severe defeat on our allies at Loano towards the end of November. Fortunately for them, instead of taking advantage of this victory, General Scherer then decided to go into winter quarters. But now that spring approaches the outlook of the Allied cause in Italy is far from good. "With regard to the Rhine, you saved us there. On Pichegru's deliberate failure to take Heidelberg, General Jourdan's army was compelled to fall back. He recrossed the Rhine and retreated down the Moselle to Traabach. The Austrians followed but the winter has been so severe that by December neither army was in a state to fight further. On about the 19th they agreed an armistice, and Jourdan has established himself in a fortified camp on the heights above the town. Pichegru, meanwhile, had allowed himself to be thrown out of Mannheim. He then retired across the Rhine to his old lines at Weissenburg. There, on December the 31st, he too signed a winter armistice. But there has been a leak, or at least a suspicion, that he is no longer to be trusted. As far as I know he has not yet been arrested, but he has been suspended from his command."
"Then we cannot hope to buy further help from him."
"No; and when we attempted to bribe Jourdan we failed in it He hung our agent from the nearest tree."
"What of Russia?" Roger enquired. "Has the old Empress Catherine furnished the Austrians with the help she promised?"
"No. We now have little hope of her doing so, and I greatly doubt the capacity of the Austrians to get the better of General Jourdan in the spring: for now that General Hoche has again pacified La Vendee the bulk of the great army which has been tied up there for so long will probably be transferred to support that on the Rhine."
"May I ask, Sir, if you have further considered letting the French know through diplomatic channels that you would be willing to enter into negotiations for a peace?"
"We have gone so far as to consult with Vienna on possible terms which would be acceptable to the Emperor and to ourselves; but he is adamant on the question of the Austrian Netherlands. As you will recall, last October Belgium was divided into nine Departments and incorporated into France. This measure being so recent, it is highly improbable that the French could be persuaded to give these territories up yet the Emperor insists that their return should be a fundamental article of any settlement, and Britain could not desert her ally. Therefore no indication of our willingness to treat has yet been transmitted to Paris."
Roger nodded gloomily. "I asked only to ascertain if any move of the kind had been made. Even if it could be, and the terms were favourable, I'd place little hope on their acceptance. That is, unless there have been radical changes in the composition of the French Government."