Early in Oct. 1818, Captain Maitland was appointed to the Vengeur 74, intended to bear the flag of Rear-Admiral Otway on the Leith station; but in June, 1819, two line-of-battle ships being required for the service in South America, she was directed to proceed thither under the orders of Sir Thomas M. Hardy, with whom she sailed from Spithead on the 9th Sept. In the preceding month, Captain Maitland had the honor of dining twice with his present Majesty, then on an aquatic excursion.
The Vengeur being recalled in 1820, conveyed Lord Beresford from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, where she arrived on the 10th Oct.[1] From thence she was ordered to Naples, where Captain Maitland received the King of the two Sicilies on board for a passage to Leghorn, on his way to attend the Congress at Laybach.
His Majesty arrived at Leghorn, Dec. 20, and expressed his sense of Captain Maitland’s great attention during a very unfavorable passage of seven days, by personally investing him, immediately after his landing, with the insignia of a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Ferdinand and of Merit; in addition to which, he presented him with a very valuable gold box, containing his portrait set round with large diamonds, and wrote a most handsome letter, respecting the treatment he had received, to Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Moore, commander-in-chief on the Mediterranean station. The King likewise, through Captain Maitland, presented the Hon. Captain Pellew, of the Revolutionnaire, with a gold snuffbox, having the initial letter F on the lid; and a similar token of his regard to the commander of the French frigate, Duchesse de Berri, both of which ships formed part of his escort. He also ordered six thousand ducats to be distributed among their respective crews, viz. three thousand to the Vengeur, and fifteen hundred to each of the frigates.
- ↑ The Revolution in Portugal commenced a short time previous to the Vengeur’s arrival in the Tagus; and Lord Beresford being refused permission to land, was obliged to return to England in a packet.
1794, Aug. 1, 1798, and Oct. 21, 1805, (see Vol. I. p. 509, 270, and 205), besides performing other services of importance, was at length doomed, like the rock of St. Helena, to become a receptacle for the outcasts of society. She is now used as a depot for convicts at Sheerness.
