Hornblower and the Widow McCool
Encyclopedia
"Hornblower and the Widow McCool" is a short story by C. S. Forester
, featuring his fictional naval hero, Horatio Hornblower
. It was published together with the unfinished novel Hornblower and the Crisis
and another short story, "The Last Encounter
". It is titled "Hornblower's Temptation" in certain US editions.
The story is set very early in Hornblower's career, in 1799 or 1800, after Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
, but before Lieutenant Hornblower
.
, HMS Renown under Captain Sawyer. The ship has just captured a French vessel, and one of the prisoners is recognised as Irish revolutionary
Barry McCool. Admiral William Cornwallis
gives Hornblower the distasteful task of arranging McCool's execution for desertion from the Royal Navy.
Hornblower agrees to send McCool's only possession, a sailor's sea chest with his name (B I MCCOOL) carved on the lid, to his widow, along with a covering letter, in exchange for a promise by McCool to make no attempt to incite mutiny by a final speech. (Hornblower is unwilling to prevent McCool from speaking by gagging him.) He is prevented from doing so when Renown has to hastily put to sea.
While at sea, Hornblower discerns a message hidden in an oddly clumsy poem accompanying McCool's letter, which allows him to discover a secret compartment in the lid of the chest, opened by moving the letters of the carved name in a sequence and in a manner revealed by the poem. The compartment - actually the whole lid of the chest - is stuffed with currency notes and secret correspondence to other Irish rebels (in fact "Everything one would need to start a rebellion", as Hornblower comments to himself). Hornblower first thinks of taking the money in the chest but, revolted at the spectacle of McCool's execution and believing the money to be French counterfeits, decides to spare other Irishmen from the gallows. He arranges to have the chest and letter thrown overboard.
Later he discovers that McCool actually left no widow, and the chest was intended to reach an Irish revolutionary society. As McCool's letter said, he remained "faithful unto death", though to the cause of Irish independence, not a woman.
C. S. Forester
Cecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
, featuring his fictional naval hero, Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
. It was published together with the unfinished novel Hornblower and the Crisis
Hornblower and the Crisis
Hornblower and the Crisis is a 1967 historical novel by C. S. Forester. It forms part of the Horatio Hornblower series, and as a result of C.S. Forester's death in 1966, it was left unfinished. There is a one-page summary of the last several chapters of the book found on the final page, taken from...
and another short story, "The Last Encounter
The Last Encounter
"The Last Encounter" is a short story by C. S. Forester, the final chapter in the life of his fictional naval hero, Horatio Hornblower. It was published together with the unfinished novel Hornblower and the Crisis and another short story, "Hornblower and the Widow McCool".-Plot summary:In 1848,...
". It is titled "Hornblower's Temptation" in certain US editions.
The story is set very early in Hornblower's career, in 1799 or 1800, after Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return, was published in 1937.-Plot introduction:Horatio Hornblower...
, but before Lieutenant Hornblower
Lieutenant Hornblower
Lieutenant Hornblower is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester, ISBN 1-85998-976-4.It is the second book in the series chronologically, but the seventh by order of publication....
.
Plot summary
Hornblower is junior lieutenant in the ship of the lineShip of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
, HMS Renown under Captain Sawyer. The ship has just captured a French vessel, and one of the prisoners is recognised as Irish revolutionary
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
Barry McCool. Admiral William Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
gives Hornblower the distasteful task of arranging McCool's execution for desertion from the Royal Navy.
Hornblower agrees to send McCool's only possession, a sailor's sea chest with his name (B I MCCOOL) carved on the lid, to his widow, along with a covering letter, in exchange for a promise by McCool to make no attempt to incite mutiny by a final speech. (Hornblower is unwilling to prevent McCool from speaking by gagging him.) He is prevented from doing so when Renown has to hastily put to sea.
While at sea, Hornblower discerns a message hidden in an oddly clumsy poem accompanying McCool's letter, which allows him to discover a secret compartment in the lid of the chest, opened by moving the letters of the carved name in a sequence and in a manner revealed by the poem. The compartment - actually the whole lid of the chest - is stuffed with currency notes and secret correspondence to other Irish rebels (in fact "Everything one would need to start a rebellion", as Hornblower comments to himself). Hornblower first thinks of taking the money in the chest but, revolted at the spectacle of McCool's execution and believing the money to be French counterfeits, decides to spare other Irishmen from the gallows. He arranges to have the chest and letter thrown overboard.
Later he discovers that McCool actually left no widow, and the chest was intended to reach an Irish revolutionary society. As McCool's letter said, he remained "faithful unto death", though to the cause of Irish independence, not a woman.