Online text of A Modern Telemachus
(Many thanks to Sandra Laythorpe and others)
Text kindly supplied by Amy de Gruchy,
and prepared for the website by Esther McGilvray
Publication
January to December 1886 in The Monthly Packet
vols 1 and 2 of the New Series, published by Walter Smith (late Mozley)
with the title A Modern Quest of Ulysses.
1886 A Modern Telemachus published by Macmillan.
Contents
According to the preface to the book, the tale is based
on an historical incident. In 1719 a French lady, the Countess de Bourke,
travelled by sea to join her husband in Spain. Her ship was taken by Algerian
pirates and then wrecked on the coast of North Africa. The Countess, her
young son and some of her servants were drowned, but her brother-in-law,
an abbé, her nine year old daughter, her maitre de hotel, and a
man and woman servant reached the shore only to be captured by savage
tribesmen. The little girl and the maitre de hotel managed to send messages
to the French consul in Algiers. He informed the local ruler, the Dey,
who engaged the help of a Muslim religious leader, empowering him to find
and ransom the captives and return them to safety. This was done.
C. M. Yonge made one major alteration in her version. A 'M Arture' who
was thought to have been drowned after saving the little girl, becomes
Arthur Hope Maxwell, a Scottish Jacobite exile, and the hero of the tale.
He rescues Ulysse, the countess's little son, from the wreck but they
are carried along the coast by strong currents and fall into the hands
of peaceful Moors. They are saved by a renegade Scot, and taken on board
a British ship which returns to the area of the shipwreck. The captives
have been taken into the mountains but have left a plea for help. This
is taken to Algiers. The authorities act on it, and Arthur accompanies
the rescuers and is re-united with the rest of his party and they then
return to safety in Algiers.
C. M. Yonge does not mention the Mathurines, a religious order devoted
to the rescue of prisoners of the Moors. Members of this order worked
to save the captives in the tale, though they did not take part in the
actual rescue. As C. M. Yonge explains in the Preface, when she wrote
the tale she was unaware of their activity, or that their account of events
was the one used by her source, though without acknowledgment.
Her narrative begins in Paris, with the formality and grandeur experienced
by the characters, before their slow-moving journey through France to
the Mediterranean. The action proper then begins with the voyage, capture
by pirates and shipwreck, all graphically described. The next chapters
give an account of the dangers and privations of the little girl and her
companions. The readers (like those of the serial) who have not read the
Preface, are then left in suspense as to their fate, while they follow
the fortunes of Arthur and Ulysse, which become no less exciting. The
tension is little slackened when Arthur reaches Algiers and increases
during the rescue attempt and is only finally released when the companions
reach safety and take part in a service of thanksgiving.
The two principal characters are Arthur, and the little girl, Estelle.
She is shown as a highly intelligent, courageous and imaginative child,
devoutly Catholic. Her favourite reading material is the lives of saints
whom she longs to imitate, and Fenelon's Télémaque which
also makes a great impression on her, and indeed an allusion to this works
provides the titles of the book and serial. (However, as C. M. Yonge points
out in a footnote in the serial (vol. 1, p. 7), 'the story is not intended
as such a parody of either the Odyssey or Télémaque as Love
and Life is of Cupid and Psyche'). While Estelle frequently compares a
situation with aspects of Télémaque her deeper religious
enthusiasm induces her to hope for and even seek martyrdom. However her
gentleness and ingenuity and fondness for very young children rather win
her favour with the tribe, and she leaves with some regret.
Arthur first appears as a tall, shy awkward eighteen year old. However
when danger comes he shows courage, resource and responsibility. He quietly
resists the attempts to make him renounce Christianity and by doing so
deepens his faith and awakens that of the renegade. His Scottish pride
at first makes a relationship with the latter a difficult one, but he
comes in time to feel not only gratitude but affection for the low-born
Scottish outcast.
The minor characters are well-drawn, particularly the Countess, a capable,
energetic young woman, intelligent and knowledgeable, but a prey to irrational
fears and premonitions. The Irish servant provides humour as well as being
a model of loyalty and courage.
The manners and dress of the period are important in understanding the
characters. Their dialogue is convincing and varied, from the formal exchanges
between the Countess and Lady Nithsdale to the prattle of the two children.
However, one major improbability consists the hero and heroine's ability,
after a period of only six weeks, to converse in languages previously
unknown to them.
The extremely varied scenery experienced by the travellers offers a series
of contrasts and parallels, the formality and grandeur of the Tuileries
gardens in which the tale opens, and that of Algiers, the pastoral richness
and peace of Provence with that of the Moorish villages, which contrast
with the wild mountains of North Africa. The African descriptions owe
something to one H. I. Arden whose 'A Few Weeks in Algeria' appeared in
The Monthly Packet between July and December 1886.
The tale is highly informative, particularly about the international
politics of the period, the customs and costumes, and the various geographical
locations. There is no explicit moral teaching. Failings which in earlier
works would have met with overt or implied criticism here escape censure.
The religious tone is generally benign. Episcopalian Arthur is amused
by the Irishman's trust in relics, but the faith of the Countess and Estelle
is treated with respect. The Muslim religious leader is described as venerable
and shows himself to be benevolent and effective. Muslims are shown as
devout and orderly in their lives and Tam, the Scottish renegade, is morally
improved by embracing their faith. The Dutch pirate captain, another renegade,
is considerate and courteous to the Countess and these two men escape
condemnation by the author. Indeed Tam's ignorance of Christianity, the
fault of Scottish Calvinism, is seen to excuse his turning to Islam. Arthur's
Episcopalianism is mentioned, but it is not shown as having any tenets
peculiar to itself. The only religious group to be condemned is the Scottish
Calvinists, bigoted and severe. Members of this group do not appear in
person, but have a catastrophic effect on the early lives of both Arthur
and Tam.
The texts of the serial and the book are practically identical. The same
minor errors appear in both. Only the name of an English Jacobite is substituted
for that of a Scottish one, at one point, a matter of minimal importance.
Further Reading
For contemporary reviews see L. Madden, 'J B Shorthouse and C. M. Yonge'
unpublished thesis, University of London Diploma in Librarianship. 1964.
Charlotte Yonge's own
Preface
to A Modern Telemachus
The idea of this tale was taken from , compiled, by a person named Scott early in the
last century—a curious book of narratives of maritime adventures,
with exceedingly quaint illustrations. Nothing has ever shown me more
plainly that truth is stranger than fiction, for all that is most improbable
here is the actual fact.
The Comte de Bourke was
really an Irish Jacobite, naturalised in France,
and married to the daughter of the Marquis
de Varennes, as well as in high favour with
the Marshal Duke of Berwick. In 1719,
just when the ambition of Elizabeth Farnese,
the second wife of Philip V. of Spain, had
involved that country in a war with England,
France, and Austria, the Count was transferred
from the Spanish Embassy to that of Sweden,
and sent for his wife and two elder children
to join him at a Spanish port. This
arrangement was so strange that I can only
account for it by supposing that as this was
the date of a feeble Spanish attempt on behalf
of the Jacobites in Scotland, Comte de Bourke
may not have ventured by the direct route.
Or it may not have been etiquette for him
to re-enter France when appointed ambassador.
At any rate, the poor Countess did take this
route to the South, and I am inclined to think
the narrative must be correct, as all the
side-lights I have been able to gain perfectly
agree with it, often in an unexpected manner. The
suite and the baggage were just as related
in the story—the only liberty I have
taken being the bestowal of names. 'M. Arture'
was really of the party, but I have made him
Scotch instead of Irish, and I have no knowledge
that the lackey was not French. The imbecility
of the Abbé is merely a deduction from
his helplessness, but of course this may have
been caused by illness. The meeting
with M. de Varennes at Avignon, Berwick's
offer of an escort, and the Countess's dread
of the Pyrenees, are all facts, as well as
her embarkation in the Genoese tartane bound
for Barcelona, and its capture by the Algerine
corsair commanded by a Dutch renegade, who
treated her well, and to whom she gave her
watch. Algerine history confirms what
is said of his treatment. Louis XIV. had bombarded
the pirate city, and compelled the Dey to
receive a consul and to liberate French prisoners
and French property; but the lady having been
taken in an Italian ship, the Dutchman was
afraid to set her ashore without first taking
her to Algiers, lest he should fall under
suspicion. He would not venture on taking
so many women on board his own vessel, being
evidently afraid of his crew of more than
two hundred Turks and Moors, but sent seven
men on board the prize and took it in tow. Curiously
enough, history mentions the very tempest
which drove the tartane apart from her captor,
for it also shattered the French transports
and interfered with Berwick's Spanish campaign. The
circumstances of the wreck have been closely
followed. 'M. Arture' actually saved Mademoiselle
de Bourke, and placed her in the arms of the
maître d'hôtel, who had
reached a rock, together with the Abbé,
the lackey, and one out of the four maids.
The other three were all in the cabin with
their mistress and her son, and shared their
fate. The real 'Arture' tried to swim
to the shore, but never was seen again; so
that his adventures with the little boy are
wholly imaginary. But the little girl's conduct
is perfectly true. When in the steward's arms
she declared that the savages might take her
life, but never should make her deny her faith. The
account of these captors was a great difficulty,
till in the old Universal History I
found a description of Algeria which tallied
wonderfully with the narrative. It was taken
from a survey of the coast made a few years
later by English officials. The tribe
inhabiting Mounts Araz and Couco, and bordering
on Djigheli Bay, were really wild Arabs, claiming
high descent, but very loose Mohammedans,
and savage in their habits. 'Their name of
Cabeleyzes is said—with what truth I
know not—to mean 'revolted,' and they
held themselves independent of the Dey. They
were 'in the habit of murdering or enslaving
all shipwrecked travellers, except subjects
of Algiers, whom they released with nothing
but their lives. All this perfectly
explains the sufferings of Mademoiselle de
Bourke. The history of the plundering, the
threats, the savage treatment of the corpses,
the wild dogs, the councils of the tribe,
the separation of the captives, and the child's
heroism, is all literally true—the expedient
of Victorine's defence alone being an invention.
It is also true that the little girl and the
maître d'hôtel wrote four
letters, and sent them by different chances
to Algiers, but only the last ever arrived,
and it created a great sensation. M.
Dessault is a real personage, and the kindness
of the Dey and of the Moors was exactly as
related, also the expedient of sending the
Marabout of Bugia to negotiate. Mr.
Thomas Thompson was really the English Consul
at the time, but his share in the matter is
imaginary as it depends on Arthur's adventures. The
account of the Marabout system comes from
the Universal History; but the arrival,
the negotiations, and the desire of the sheyk
to detain the young French lady for a wife
to his son, are from the narrative. He really
did claim to be an equal match for her, were
she daughter of the King of France, since
he was King of the Mountains. The welcome
at Algiers and the Te Deum in the Consul's
chapel also are related in the book that serves
me for authority. It adds that Mademoiselle
de Bourke finally married a Marquis de B-------,
and lived much respected in Provence, dying
shortly before the Revolution. I will
only mention further that a rescued Abyssinian
slave named Fareek (happily not tongueless)
was well known to me many years ago in the
household of the late Warden Barter of Winchester
College.
Since writing the above I have by the kindness of friends been enabled
to discover Mr. Scott's authority, namely, a book entitled .
This Order was established by Jean Matha for the ransom and rescue of
prisoners in the hands of the Moors. and her daughter
was published in the Catholic World, New York, July 1881. It exactly
agrees with the narration in The Mariners' Chronicle except that,
in the true spirit of the eighteenth century, Mr. Scott thought fit to
suppress that these ecclesiastics were at Algiers at the time of the arrival
of Mademoiselle de Bourke's letter, that they interested themselves actively
on her behalf; and that they wrote the narrative from the lips of the
maître d'hôtel (who indeed may clearly be traced throughout).
It seems also that the gold cups were chalices, and that a complete set
of altar equipments fell a prey to the Cabeleyzes, whose name the good
fathers endeavour to connect with Cabale—with about as much
reason as if we endeavoured to derive that word from the ministry of Charles
II.
Had I known
In time of the assistance of these benevolent
brethren IL would certainly have introduced
them with all due honour, but, like the Abbé
Vertot, I have to say, Mon histoire est
écrit, and what is worse—printed.
Moreover, they do not seem to have gone on
the mission with the Marabout from Bugia,
so that their presence really only accounts
for the Te Deum with which the redeemed
captives were welcomed. It does not
seem quite certain whether M. Dessault was
Consul or Envoy; I incline to think the latter.
The translation in the Catholic World .speaks
of Sir Arthur, but Mr. Scott's 'M. Arture'
is much more vraisemblable. He probably
had either a surname to be concealed or else
unpronounceable to French lips. Scott must
have had some further information of the after
history of Mademoiselle de Bourke since he
mentions her marriage, which could hardly
have taken place when Père Comelin's
book was published in 1720.
C. M. YONGE
Charlotte
Yonge's bibliography for A Modern Telemachus
Where did Yonge get the historical information
for her novels?
Here some details of the
authors and works that Yonge cites in her
Preface to A Modern Telemachus
Many of
these details are still quite skimpy – do tell us if you can supply
more details (especially websites)!
The Mariner's Chronicle: Containing Narratives of the Most Remarkable
Disasters at Sea, such as Shipwrecks, Storms, Fires and Famines: Also,
Naval Engagements, Piratical Adventures, Incidents of Discovery, and Other
Extraordinary and Interesting Occurrences. By Archibald Duncan. 1804.
"Contains accounts of the last voyage and death of Bering, the
destruction of the by a sperm whale (the inspiration for Melville's Moby Dick),
and a narrative of Captain Ross' Arctic expedition, among other tragic
occurances."
The Mariner's Chronicle
now back in print!
Originally published in 1804, The Mariner's Chronicle was
the first comprehensive collection of disasters at sea in the English
Language and was an immediate best seller. Now made newly available, these
stories of suffering and survival will have lost none of their resonance
for all those interested in maritime history. With an introduction and
notes by Nigel Pickford, author of The Atlas of Shipwreck and Treasure.
For full details and the text of Nigel Pickford's introduction, visit
the publisher's website:
.
COMELIN François, De La MOTTE Philemon, BERNARD Joseph.
Paris 1721.
Suivi de Première liste des esclaves chrétiens, rachetés
à Alger; avec le journal de leur route, et de leur réception
dans les principales villes du royaume Suivi de Seconde liste des esclaves
chrétiens, rachetés dans la ville et le royaume de Tunis,
etc... Suivi de La Tradition de l'Église pour le soulagement ou
le rachat des captifs.
P, Sevestre & Giffard 1721, Pt. in-8 de : portrait de Louis XV en
front., (8 ff.), pl. gravé H.T. (Le Rachat des captifs), 169 pp.
et une pl. dépl. entre les pp. 112 et 113 (Audience du Deï
d'Alger); LX pp., (1 ff.), 306 pp. et 3 ff. (privilège).
Victorian reviews and related material
1881 - An extract from this book, translated into English and entitled
Among the Moors, describes the adventures of the Comtesse
de Bourke and her daughter. It was published in The Catholic World,
New York, in July 1881. Making of America Books has placed this
article (and much else from The Catholic World archives) online.
To read Among the Moors, .
1887 - Review of A Modern Telemachus
Catholic World. Volume: 44, Issue: 262, Jan 1887, pp. 554-564
(A Chat About New Books by Egan, Maurice F.)
To read a facsimile of this review from Making Of America books,
Modern printed texts of
A Modern Telemachus
Many modern reprints of Yonge's A Modern
Telemachus are available on the internet.
Use Amazon or any search engine to compare prices
| 
