"...I eat some Christmas pye and drunk all your healths..."
(click through for high res)
This letter, from the collections of the National Maritime Museum, has only a tangential connection to all things Hornblower, but it's so cute that I couldn't resist posting it here. The letter, dated 25th December 1806, was written by a twelve year old midshipman, George James Perceval, who later went on to become Admiral George James Perceval, 6th Earl of Egmont. Young Perceval begins his letter in a neat hand and a most respectful fashion, before going on to assure his parents that he has drunk their health on Christmas day. And as you can see, his respectful toasts appear to have taken quite a toll on his penmanship! I love the tipsy 'Merry Christmas' slanting off the bottom of the page :) Poor Percy, I hope he wasn't too hungover the following morning! Twelve might seem rather young for a boy to get roaring drunk on Christmas day, but Perceval was already a veteran of Trafalgar, having served aboard HMS Orion at the tender age of eleven. And the tangential connection to Hornblower? Well, Perceval went on to serve under Admiral Lord Exmouth as captain of the bomb vessel Infernal at the Bombardment of Algiers.
George James Perceval