Hornblower Fic: L is for Letters
TITLE: Letters
RATING: G, General
WORD COUNT: 2350
SPOILERS: The entire CS Foresterverse.
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to CS Forester. I only play with it.
NOTES: Written for lokei's Hornblower Alphabet Soup Challenge. Thanks to my very wonderful beta reader sharpiefan. Any mistakes are my own. This fic is in pdf form; if you can't read the handwriting, typed version is below. =)
***
A new biography of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Horatio Hornblower is to be published later this year. In the meantime, the author has decided to release 10 manuscripts of Lord Hornblower's correspondence to the general public. They can be accessed below:
The Manuscripts
Download at Boxnet if you can't access the above link
***
Horatio Hornblower to Doctor Jacob Hornblower
H.M.S. Indefatigable, off Ushant
May 20th 1795
Father,
I have received your letter of the 12th and I was very sorry to hear that Mr Morrison passed away. Please give my condolences to dear Mary.
I have some news of my own. A few days ago I was transferred to the Indefatigable, commanded by Captain Sir Edward Pellew himself! In these few short days I have seen more action than I’d ever done in the several months I was aboard Justinian though I assure you, father, that it was by no means Captain Keene’s fault. We have been beating up and down the channel, especially in the area around the Bay of Biscay, looking for enemy privateers or frigates or merchantmen.
Captain P. is a stern, strict but admirable man. He never expects us to do something he himself cannot do, and I hear that he is admirably brave. The stories that some of the older sailors tell us midshipman are sometimes too fanciful to be believed if they were about any other captain.
I have made many friends already. Lieutenant Bracegirdle is a very jolly man who has been very kind to me. All of my fellow midshipmen on this ship have been very friendly. One Archie Kennedy showed me around the Indy (as everyone calls her) when I first came on board.
I am very glad to hear that you are in good health.
Your son,
Horatio
***
Lieut. Horatio Hornblower to Mary Morrison
H.M.S. Renown, Atlantic Ocean
October 24th 1801
My dear Mrs Morrison,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have been thinking about our conversation ever since I left Kent and I agree with you that mother’s death must have really shaken father. I know it is unseemly to speak ill of the dead, but I had always found him to be rather cold and distant. But from what you have told me, and the letter he left with his will, I believe I have come to understand him better than I ever had when he was still with us.
I cannot thank you enough for looking after him during those last weeks. It must have been extremely comforting for father, I think, to have a familiar face to talk to. Again I apologize for not being able to come until the last minute. Captain Sawyer does not like his officers to leave the ship while she is being fitted out. We have a new officer, a Lieutenant Bush. He appears to be a good sailor, efficient officer and a courteous gentleman.
We are on our way to the West Indies and I have to confess I am rather excited. You must think it strange of me to feel that way, for the Caribbean is well known for its array of mysterious and deadly illnesses, but the prospect of seeing a new part of the world is rather thrilling. However, and I hesitate to say too much in this letter, I am rather apprehensive about the voyage itself. Captain Sawyer runs a very tight ship.
I must go on deck presently for my watch, my dear, so I will conclude this letter now. Do look after yourself Mary, and I hope to hear from you soon.
With affection,
Horatio
***
Captain Horatio Hornblower to Maria Hornblower
H.M. Sloop Hotspur, off Brest
November 23rd, 1803
My Dear Wife,
I read with much Love and Affection your letters of the past month, and I am longing to hold you in my arms again. I despair of being so far away from Your Embrace and wish the sea was not so wide between us.
I received with much joy and happiness your news of our Soon to be Born Child and I am consumed with the agony of not being by your side, my Sweet Love, for the birth of our Little Cherub. Instead, my darling, I must be content with sending to you and our Heavenly Gift my Eternal Love and my Tender Kisses.
My Beautiful Maria, though I must resign my Aching Heart to staying with the Hotspur when our Beloved Child comes into the world, I must ask of you to consult a midwife by the name of Mary Morrison. She was, my Adored Wife, my Nanny during the years of my youth and I hold her in the dearest regard.
As for me, My Gentle Wife, I am holding up very well, but I cannot but help think how much more Blissful it will be if I could hold your Soft Body in my arms and to have your Sweet Head resting against my shoulder.
I am afraid that duty calls me away now. Both Mr Bush and Commodore Pellew send you and our Babe their Blessings. But know this, my Light of my Life. Both you and the Babe are consuming my thoughts day and night. I miss you dearly, Sweet Maria.
With much Love and Adoration,
Your Affectionate Husband, Horatio
***
Captain Horatio Hornblower to Lieut. William Bush
H.M.S. Atropos, the Downs
January 21st 1806
My dear Bush,
I have just received news and details about our victory at Trafalgar and Lord Nelson’s passing, and I heard that you yourself were present on the day, serving in the Temeraire. I heartily congratulate you on a most brilliant victory and I do hope that your injuries were not too severe.
I believe you will have received the papers about Lord Nelson’s funeral, which was a most spectacular affair. I had the fortune to take part in the organizing of the barge that conveyed his Lordship’s body up the Thames. Maria gave birth to our daughter, Maria, shortly after the funeral. She is a sweet little girl, Bush.
I understand that the Temeraire is presently stationed in Gibraltar to undergo basic repairs before returning to England. I have been given command of HMS Atropos, of 22 guns, and we are preparing to weigh anchor as I write. I have been ordered to join Collingwood’s Mediterranean fleet but I do not think that we will see very much action. I will be stopping at Gibraltar and I was hoping that if the Temeraire hadn’t left by then that you might honour me with your company at dinner.
Yours most sincerely,
Horatio Hornblower
***
Captain Horatio Hornblower to Lady Barbara Wellesley
H.M.S. Lydia, St Helena’s
June 3rd, 1810
My Lady,
I am writing to apologise for the circumstances in which we parted, and to beg for forgiveness and understanding. I hope you understand that I do harbour great affection for your ladyship and that if circumstances were not as they are, it would have given me great pleasure to court you.
However, given my situation, my status as a married man and my status in society as compared to that of your family’s, no benefit would have derived from a liaison, as brief it might have been.
I do realise, of course, that the fault lies mostly on my shoulders, and I apologise for it. Despite all that has happened, I do hope that your ladyship bears no ill will, and that we can still remain friends or at least maintain some semblance of cordiality.
I wish you a pleasant voyage home.
Yours most sincerely
Hornblower
***
Captain Horatio Hornblower to General Vidal
Monsieur le Général,
Les gardes me disent que votre Excellence êtes occupé. Alors, je vous écris pour demander quelque chose, s’il vous plait. Je veux voir mon premier lieutenant, Monsieur Bush, qui était blessé dans le pied pendant la bataille. Moi, je me fais du souci pour lui.
Je suis votre servant plus obéissant
Hornblower
Editor’s translation:
General,
The guards tell me that your Excellency is busy. So I write to ask something of you.. I want to see my first lieutenant, Mr Bush, who was injured in the leg during the battle. I am very worried about him.
I am your most obedient servent
Hornblower
***
Captain Sir Horatio Hornblower to Lieut. General Viscount Wellington, K.B.
12 Bond Street, London
December 28th 1811
My Lord,
I received your letter of the 12th and I thank you for your kind wishes. It gives me great pleasure to write to you as brother-in-law. I love and honour Barbara very much, and I will do anything within my power to ensure her happiness.
As Barbara would have told you, we first meet when I escorted her to St Helen’s after the yellow fever struck Panama two years ago. We had affections for each other then but of course my marriage and her engagement to the late Sir Leighton made continued acquaintance impossible. So while our engagement and marriage seems hasty to many in society, I do assure you that Barbara and I have known each other for a much longer period.
In regard to your questions, my father was a doctor and my mother passed away when I was young. I joined the Royal Navy late and served under Sir Edward Pellew as a midshipman. I was posted in 1804, just before Trafalgar. My recent incarceration and escape from France gave me ample opportunity to admire the scenery around the Loire and to improve my French, but yielded nothing that will be of interest to the Army about Bonaparte’s plans.
I wish you every success in the Peninsula, my Lord, and I very much look forward to making your acquaintance in the near future.
Yours truly,
Hornblower
***
Commodore Sir Horatio Hornblower Bt. to Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, Bt.
Smallbridge, Kent
July 1st 1812
Sir,
I thank you most for your most generous and kind letter of the 19th, and I shall be honoured to pass on your felicitations to Lady Hornblower. I must also extend my heartiest congratulations to your, Sir, in obtaining the Mediterranean command. I cannot think of a worthier Admiral to follow in Nelson and Collingwood’s footsteps. I wish you the very best in confounding the French!
My future command in the Baltic proves to extremely challenging; the constantly changing alliances of the Baltic States lends to an extremely volatile situation that could come to a head at any moment. I have heard rumours and whispers that Bonaparte plans to make a move up north against Russia. Extremely unlikely, given his current problems in Spain, but I would not put it past him.
I agree that my choice of Flag Captain was irregular, but Mr Bush is a good friend and an extremely competent officer. I’ve always thought that such an injury as his, sadly all too common in the service, does not necessary indicate an reduction in one’s ability to perform one’s duty. Besides, we have been through many commands together and I’ve always thought it a great comfort to have someone familiar around.
Yours sincerely,
Hornblower
***
Captain Sir Horatio Hornblower to Fanny, Charlotte and Patricia Bush
Le Havre, France
8th March 1814
My dear Misses Bush,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of your brother’s death in action three days past. He was killed in an explosion while leading an amphibious assault against a French siege artillery supply train. Unfortunately, we were unable to recover his body, but I shall be sending you what possessions he left in my care on the next ship to England.
William Bush was my dearest friend and the most loyal companion that one could ever hope to have. He was a good, brave and efficient officer and I do not think that there is any other man in the Royal Navy who can fill his shoes. He had to put with up with his share of misfortune and castigation yet despite all this he always held his head high and never wavered in his loyalty. It was an honour to have served with him.
I send you my deepest condolences, and if you are ever in need of anything, please do not hesitate to write to me.
Yours most affectionately,
Hornblower
***
Rear Admiral Lord Hornblower to Richard A. Hornblower
Admiralty House, Kingston, Jamaica
12th July 1822
My dear son,
By the time you read this, you would have heard about what happened to me last month. But do not worry, I have escaped unharmed and the pirates have been handed the justice they richly deserve. Now that I’ve had time to think and reflect, I remember your comment before I left for this command, and I smile at how astute you were. Pirates certainly did capture your Papa, and we certainly managed to locate a lot of their loot and return it to their rightful owners.
It’s good to hear that both you and your mamma enjoyed the trip to Stratfield Saye. It is most certainly a very grand house. I am sorry to hear that Bounce broke his leg but I really do not think that will prevent him from chasing rabbits in future. As to your request, unlike his namesake I do not think that he will be the type of dog who enjoys sailing, but you could always give him to Mary to take care of. Speaking of dear Mary, how is she? I do hope her arthritis isn’t bothering her too much.
I thank you for including the letter - it was from a good friend of mine who died during the war when you were very young. It was nice to see it again. It is strange, my dear Richard, how quickly memories of the past fade until it is nothing more than a whisper, a wisp of a memory that lingers at the back of the mind until something, like that letter you and mamma found, brings it up again. You are probably too young to understand this, my son, but when you grow up you will know what it feels like to loose someone you care about.
Anyway, duty calls and I must leave the rest of my reminiscing to another day. I hope this letter finds you and your mother well.
With much love and affection,
Your father, Horatio