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THE SHIP THAT CHANGED
A THOUSAND LIVES

Over a century of history and stories

In memory of Lesley Reiter, Jean Dixon and all other friends of ‘Eye of the Wind’
who have crossed the bar.

A joint project of the friends of the Eye

Collected and published by Ina Koys
Second edition 2019
History is not written down by the ones who do it best.
It’s done by the ones who do it.

Kay Jaumees
Contents
2017: Sicily ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
She and I.................................................................................................................................................... 3
Us .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
1911 – 1973: The Early Years........................................................................................................................ 7
Lühring Shipyard ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Germany .................................................................................................................................................... 9
Sweden......................................................................................................................................................14
Account of Elsa Martinsson, daughter of Arthur Carlsson: .......................................................................16
1955 – Boys on board ...............................................................................................................................25
2017: Reunions .............................................................................................................................................33
1973 – 1976: Revitalisation ...........................................................................................................................39
Faversham .................................................................................................................................................45
Putting Eye of the Wind together..............................................................................................................48
The sailmaker ...........................................................................................................................................54
A first encounter .......................................................................................................................................59
1976 - 2000: World travels............................................................................................................................65
1976 - The first voyage ..............................................................................................................................66
1978 - Saudades ........................................................................................................................................76
Operation Drake 1978 – 1980 ..................................................................................................................85
Girls, No Bikinis! ......................................................................................................................................93
In between: The Eye’s first film job - ‘Blue Lagoon’ in 1979 ...............................................................98
A very brief memory of a very long voyage… ............................................................................................103
Visit at Lühring’s .....................................................................................................................................104
Bunnies all over ......................................................................................................................................108
Savage Islands / Nate and Hayes .............................................................................................................114
From One and All on the Eye of the Wind ............................................................................................117
Master fills the breach .............................................................................................................................120
Bruce and his fan club ............................................................................................................................126
1985 - In Cooks Wake............................................................................................................................127
Filming of ‘Tai-Pan’ ................................................................................................................................133
The Iwa Canoe .......................................................................................................................................138
1987 - Meeting the Locals .......................................................................................................................141
The Toa Maru wreck ..............................................................................................................................144
1987 S : O : S - Save Our Ship ................................................................................................................145
The last five months........ ........................................................................................................................150
1988 – First Fleet re-enactment ...............................................................................................................153
Teeth and how to deal with them ............................................................................................................160
1988 – The storm off Lord Howe Island ................................................................................................161
Ode To The Eye ....................................................................................................................................163
Newsflash ................................................................................................................................................165
Emma .....................................................................................................................................................166
10 December 1991 - Cape Horn, ...........................................................................................................170
Cape Horn voyage abstract ....................................................................................................................175
 Eye of the Wind diary entry - Cape Horn ...............................................................................................175
Irene's Mystery Tour...............................................................................................................................181
Refit in Gloucester ..................................................................................................................................183
No way! ...................................................................................................................................................190
White Squall ...........................................................................................................................................192
Cape town to Gloucester 1995 – 96 ........................................................................................................197
Fred's bit... ..............................................................................................................................................203
In the dock..............................................................................................................................................204
Two Italians on board .............................................................................................................................205
3 Weeks turned into 3 Years ..................................................................................................................216
Wheels on fire ........................................................................................................................................220
Captain’s log............................................................................................................................................225
Captain’s log............................................................................................................................................227
Nessie and the Tiger's Eye ......................................................................................................................229
A perspective from the Galley .................................................................................................................234
2001 – 2009: The Danish intermezzo .........................................................................................................239
Sunset voyage ..........................................................................................................................................240
The transformation .................................................................................................................................244
Eye of the Wind sailing with friends again? ............................................................................................248
Reunion voyage on Søren Larsen ...........................................................................................................249
Sailing summer of 2005 ..........................................................................................................................250
The journey home ..................................................................................................................................251
Eye of the Wind for sale again! ...............................................................................................................262
 Reminiscences ........................................................................................................................................263
Sad news .................................................................................................................................................265
At last: Eye now sold back to Germany!..................................................................................................265
2009 onwards: Back in Germany ................................................................................................................267
A ship with its own mind and soul – or how she came to get a Bavarian owner ......................................268
Supercargo to Denmark ..........................................................................................................................270
Getting into shape ...................................................................................................................................273
100-year celebrations...............................................................................................................................275
Hobart ....................................................................................................................................................276
Sydney ....................................................................................................................................................279
The Forum Media Party in Elsfleth ........................................................................................................282
Hooke and the Centenary Charter..........................................................................................................285
Leg one - the relaxed start ...................................................................................................................285
Party time in Hooke............................................................................................................................286
100 years old this year .........................................................................................................................288
Leg three - Great Yarmouth to Kiel ....................................................................................................290
Pirate Day ...............................................................................................................................................292
Refit in Turkey 2013 ...............................................................................................................................294
Preface ................................................................................................................................................294
Didim, Turkey 2013 ...........................................................................................................................297
Decisions ................................................................................................................................................312
How the Eye went into a bottle ...............................................................................................................313
Stockevik.................................................................................................................................................314
 Family visit in Sicily .................................................................................................................................316
Brigantes .....................................................................................................................................................321
Stamps ........................................................................................................................................................323
Manual ........................................................................................................................................................324
Models and replicas ....................................................................................................................................328
Nigel Woodstock ....................................................................................................................................329
Roderick Anderson.................................................................................................................................331
David Bond ............................................................................................................................................334
Thekla Borchert .....................................................................................................................................335
Frank ‘Franky’ Beerens ...........................................................................................................................337
Hans-Peter Bleck ....................................................................................................................................340
Texts ...........................................................................................................................................................341
Pictures .......................................................................................................................................................342
Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................................................344
For the second edition I also wish to thank: ............................................................................................345
Sources .......................................................................................................................................................346
2017: Sicily

|1
2|
She and I
There she lies. As black and beautiful as if no time
had passed since we first met in England, 23 years
ago. At first sight, I couldn’t really imagine we’d
ever come together. The gap was too wide between
my experience and what she had to offer. I
wouldn’t be able to afford it. Still, I could. Then, I
had no idea that within a short week at sea my life
would change. That may sound dramatic, but she
did that as a rule. She changed the lives of many
and it’s a bit sad I know only a couple of them.
Many of us first fell for her beauty, some had a
hard time re-discovering it. Dealing with her was
always about money, always about legal conditions,
very often about dreams and irrational decisions. It
is not reasonable anymore to continue with her af-
ter more than a hundred years. But so far, she has
always managed to find somebody to provide safe
haven. She survived the world she was built for.
She was a working horse in her early days, nearly
wrecked, evolved anew as an adventurer and now
enjoys her most distinguished time ever. What a
history. What a ship. Welcome back in the Sicilian
harbour of Palermo.

|3
Us
It is a funny situation. Returning to her after a couple
of years she looks almost the same as she did long
ago. Well-groomed, glossy, unmistakable. Still,
she’s a lady of more than a hundred years and it’s
not just time that has changed. On a picture, only
insiders could tell the difference between this era in
her life and some former ones. Indeed, when getting
closer, one finds her atmosphere changed so much
that I hardly find similarities to the time when I used
to sail in her. But that’s the way she survived. Going
through her history she changed her face many
times. And most likely, all her human companions
over the years believed that they experienced the
ship at her best.
We come aboard and feel at home from the begin-
ning. It’s only 6 years ago when we last sailed in her–
only a glimpse compared with the nearly 40 years
some of us know her. And now we find people who
are with her for 7 years now and regard themselves
as regulars. For good reasons – we did the same af-
ter a shorter time.
We’re here for a reunion. A threefold reunion: with
some old shipmates, with the ship and with her el-
der sister. Only a couple of years ago, we discovered
that she was also still extant, even though with a
pretty different history. Her sister began her life as
‘Meta’ and led a rather stable life as a cargo vessel
first in the North Sea and Baltic, later in the Medi-
terranean. The younger sister would be the Jack of
All Trades and often change her name.

4|
|5
6|
1911 – 1973: The Early Years

|7
Lühring Shipyard
In 1911, Lühring shipyard in Brake on the river
Weser in Germany had a good reputation for high-
quality steel vessels. 12 years ago, the first schooner
built of that new material was launched, already
with the unique shape that all following Lühring
schooners would take on: not like other smaller
sailing vessels of the time, more like the larger
barques and fullriggers. The ships were made for
coastal and estuarine trade as well as for Atlantic
crossings to South America. They were
Scheme of a typical Lühring Schooner
8|
the last vessel type that was often owned by its cap-
tain. Built to exceptional quality, they were easy to
handle, had a large cargo capacity and additionally,
were beautiful. Intriguing ships that would seduce
buyers, operators and customers for decades to
come. Lühring would be the last German shipyard
to build steel schooners even after the First World
War. For the following decades they went on with
the technology of the time until they shut down in
1988. Their shipyard was retained and the site is
still operated according to demand.
Germany
In 1911, a ship’s captain aged 24 entered the
Lühring shipyard. His name was Johann Friedrich
Kolb (born May 5th 1887) and he came from Fock-
beck near the Kiel canal, where his father Ferdi-
nand operated two schooners. On these,
Ferdinand trained his two sons and some of his
nephews, descendants of his brother who lived
nearby.
Johann Friedrich’s brother, Jürgen, had died in
1907 in the Pacific whilst with the four-masted
barque ‘Alsternixe’. Johann Friedrich was now Fer-
dinand’s only son.
Johann Friedrich Kolb sought a new ship. He had
lost his 3-masted wooden schooner ‘Maria’ on the
Weser river one after only a couple of months.
Now he wanted something more reliable, a ship
from the most reputable shipyard of the time.
Thus, he went to Lühring who were then in their
heyday. When entering the shipyard, the iron ves-
sel no. 114, the future ‘Meta’ was under construc-
tion. It had been ordered by the local shipping
company Oltmann, who only operated Lühring
vessels. Importantly, it was a sister to a ship they
already ran. There could be no better recommen-
dation for the design. Therefore, Captain Kolb or-
dered another copy with only 5 cm increase in
draft, thereby extending the displacement from
225 tonnes to 235 tonnes. Apart from that,
Lühring no. 115 would be a gaff schooner with 348
sqm sailing area: main sail (100 sqm), main gaff (28
Around the time Johann Friedrich Kolb was born,
this was the house of his uncle, who happened to
have the same name. Quite likely, ‘our’ Johann Frie-
drich Kolb grew up in a similar place.
sqm), fore sail (79 sqm), fore top (25 sqm), main
top staysail (19 sqm), fore staysail (32 sqm), jib (21
sqm), outer jib (18 sqm) and flying jib (26 sqm).
There was also a possibility for a running
foresquare. Her documentation declares her hull
as iron, but in fact, it’s steel. According to Herbert
Karting, that distinction wasn’t made in that time in
the same way as it would be today. She was regis-
tered in July 1911 in Hamburg as No. 4072. She
would be operated by 6 people. The quarter deck
had a length of 5.5 m, with accommodation below
and the galley was in a deckhouse behind the fore
mast. Friedrich Kolb named her ‘Friedrich’ – a
fashionable name at the time and traditional to the
Kolb family – and operated her himself. The Cap-
tain and First Mate lived aft, while four crewmem-
bers had their accommodation in the fore castle.
|9
10 |
The intention was to trade salt across the Atlantic
Ocean to La Plata, Argentina, and to return with
hide and leather. La Plata was a desired destination
at the time, but it’s uncertain whether Friedrich
ever went there. We don’t even know what else he
did or how long exactly he managed to sail on his
new ship. In 1914, World War I began, and his
skills were required by the German Navy. It is dif-
ficult to imagine that an independent skipper
sought duty on a warship, more probably, he was
drafted. Anyway, captain Kolb now was reserve AB
on the merchant raider ‘Greif’. No good place to
be, as the ‘Greif’ was sunk in the battle with HMS
‘Alcantara’ on February 29th 1916 off the Faroe Is- The battle of HMS ‘Alcantara’ and the merchant
lands. raider ‘Greif’ – artist’s impression

The death declaration of August 6 , 1916

th His parents declared him killed in combat some
months later.
That battle is judged one of the most important in
WWI. Apart from HMS ‘Alcantara’ it involved
two more raiders. It is well documented, and the
details can be read at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_29_Feb-
ruary_1916
Ferdinand Kolb had already given up his trade and
the fairly new ship of his son would rot away if
nothing happened. To prevent that, he sold the
schooner ‘Friedrich’ on May 10, 1916 to Friedrich
Mentz of Rostock, a couple of days after his son
would have been 29. Three months later, Ferdi-
nand and Maria declared their last son dead.

| 11
 Germanischer Lloyd 1922
The pursuit of the new owner Friedrich Mentz be-
gan in a discouraging fashion. The Mentz family
from Rostock seemed to be extinct. But the town
of Rostock’s archive is open to the public. Maybe
somewhere within the files I could identify a per-
son behind the name.
The traces go back a long way in Rostock history.
The oldest source I found was a last will dated
1476 by Abigail Dierks, nee Mentz. This was the
first time I ever heard of a German named Abigail.
Maybe her parents were Hanse traders with con-
nections to the London Steelyard? Anyway, she
Eldest known picture of Friedrich: 1923 in Rostock
12 |
was married to a court jeweller and did not need to
take precautions against poverty. For centuries, the
name Mentz appears every now and then, often
quoted as skippers, sometimes along with a barque
or different vessel with their family name. Then, start-
ing from 1850, favourable political conditions let the
Rostock harbour prosper and made it the busiest
in the Baltic. Good times for the ropemaker
Helmuth Joachim Friedrich Mentz to run a side
business as a ship broker. Maybe it did not remain
a side business: in the records of Rostock regis-
tered ships, his name appeared so frequently that I
stopped counting!
When his son Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig August
Mentz was born in 1881, ropemaking remained
the profession mentioned for his father. The ad-
dress book of 1916 records Friedrich Wilhelm
Mentz as ship owner and ship broker. In 1910, he
had purchased a steamer, but lost it in the same
year. Being the son of a rope maker, he may not
have been too happy with the upcoming steam
technology anyway. With ‘Friedrich’ he bought a
schooner without an auxiliary engine. This he re-
peated with several sailing vessels of around 200
registered tons. The register of the Rostock mer-
chant vessels ended in 1917, so it is not clear how
long he held on to unadulterated sail.
 As Siegfried
Borgward
later joined
the Nazi
party, his
photograph is
kept on rec-
ord.
A portrait of
Friedrich
Wilhelm
Mentz was
nowhere to
be found. But
despite of Siegfried Borgward, captain 1922-
bomb carpets 1924
in WW II
and the sometimes even more disastrous time of
East Germany, his home is still there, not even a
stone throw from the Rostock archive.
In 1924, Friedrich Wilhelm Mentz sold the
schooner ‘Friedrich’ to Swedish buyers.
Until December 25th of 1929 he went on with his
Rostock, Große Wasserstr. 21. A hundred years business of a ship owner and broker. Apparently,
ago it was the home of the Mentz family his demise at the age of 48 was highly unexpected.
Many vessels were sued for not having paid their
Contrary to his predecessor, Friedrich Wilhelm harbour fees and they could all reply that they had
Mentz apparently never captained his ships him- left this to their late broker. To play safe, the au-
self. In 7 years, he had at least 4 captains operating thorities confiscated his schooner-rigged screw
‘Friedrich’: F. la Roche (1916-1918), O. Elschner steamer ‘Geheimrat Mahn’ and it took two years to
(1918-1921), A. Peters (1919-1922) and Siegfried finally settle the matter.
Borgward (1922-1924).
| 13
Sweden
March 8 1924 Friedrich was sold to a ‘parten-
reederei’, a joint ownership of vessels, led by the
miller Axel Ageberg. The Scandinavian tradition
requires re-naming of ships whenever the owner-
ship changes, so the new name was ‘Sam’. In fact,
this was only an investment, as Sam was seldom re-
ally operated and spent most of its time on sale in
the Archipelago of Småland.
After two years, in 1926, Sam was sold for 24,500
Kronor to another ‘partenreederei’ from Stockevik
and re-named to ‘Merry’. This ownership would
last for 30 years, a time not yet beaten. It was a fam-
ily company formed by Nernst Arthur Carlsson (50
%) and his nephews Karl Henrik and Gustav Hen-
riksson (each 25 %). Arthur Carlsson later would
make people remember him for the next 80 years.
According to Anders Carlsson, the purchase was
made for her iron hull, that provided more storage
than wooden vessels.
Merry 1926
The Hendrikssons had operated a schooner be-
fore but apparently were not lucky with it. Maybe they also erected a rudder house with a rounded
they were seeking a new beginning when they front – according to the fashion of the time.
called their new ship Merry. Merry was modern-
ized and fitted with a 100 hp two stroke June For the next 20 years Merry would carry cargo,
Munktell. mainly across the Baltic, mostly timber and ce-
ment. The cement cargo was loaded in Gotland
From then on, Merry would remain in Stockevik and unloaded next morning in Stockholm. It
for 30 years. The leadership of the partenreederei would have to be discharged quickly to allow the
changed to Nernst Arthur Carlsson in 1932 and 60 nautical miles return the same day. This contin-
the engine was replaced after 11 years by a two- ued also throughout the Second World War.
stroke of Skandiaverken A.B. During these works,
14 |
From left: Johny and Arthur Carlsson, Gustav Hendrikssen and Axel Andersson

After the war, it was also timber for Germany, tak-

ing coal and coke on the return voyage. The season
normally began in March and ended around
Christmas, depending on ice.
After 13 years in charge, in 1939, Arthur Carlsson
passed on the captain’s position to his son Carl. In
the small village of Stockevik, Arthur stayed
around and sometimes joined the ship. Seven
years later, Carl took over the share of the Henrik-
ssons. The ship was now a father and son enter-
Nernst Arthur Carlsson prise.

| 15
 Merry as a trading vessel in a Swedish harbour, undated
Account of Elsa Martinsson, daughter of
Arthur Carlsson:
In Stockevik the season began in March, when the
ice broke. Sometimes, a tug would be called to
break the ship free. Then, she would sail maybe to
Bohus Malmön, Krokstrand for cobblestones. The
stones were traded to harbours in the Øresund or
Baltic. Later, when all the harbours became ice-free,
anything would be loaded including flour, grain, tim-
ber, cement, sand, limestone and bricks. Loading
was mostly done by the crew of captain, second
mate, cook and four mariners.
16 |
At home, the captain’s family was already well con-
nected to the ship – also via telephone from har-
bours. The children wrote letters to their father until
he came home for Christmas. Then, the whole fam-
ily would be busy clearing and cleaning the ship, pre-
paring it for the next season. It was a business that
employed the whole family. Sometimes, wife and
children would join the ship for some weeks in sum-
mer.
 At the home jetty in Stockevik
Coast freighters were the normal transport for the
area until improved roads and motorcars made an
end to this way of business. Eventually, Merry would
be the last trader at the island of Skaftö.
For the first years, dad spent all the season (March
to December) at sea. Later, he visited his family
sometimes in summer or when he was in the area.
The elder sons Carl and Johny worked on the ship,
Johny was their cook. When they came home again,
everything had to be ready. We had a pig to be
butchered for Christmas. All of its parts were used
in some way, fresh, cured, as liver pie and sausage.
One ham was to be smoked – this was something
that had to be outsourced. Everything else was done
at home with the meat grinder. Especially I remem-
ber the year when 2 days before Christmas we had
not yet hung up the fresh kitchen drapes and a
neighbour came in yelling ‘They’re coming, they’re
coming!’ At the beginning we did not understand,
but then we did: Merry was approaching and we
were not yet ready! We ran to the mountain and saw
her swerve and blow the horn. Dad was back! The
happiness was overwhelming, but now we really
needed to hurry up! When dad came home, he al-
ways brought something nice along, mostly edible,
but sometimes also other pretty small things.
Merry would spend the winter on the slipway of
Lyckan in Fiskebäckskil. That was the time when
we would meet and got to know our father. After
Christmas, the ship would be unloaded and some-
times, mum needed to make sure nothing would
be forgotten. As I grew up, I was allowed to pre-
pare for the ship. Socks needed repair and replace-
ment so we acquired knitting wool and a knitting
| 17
 Merry / LL36 in Iceland, Siglufjord, herring season of 1946

machine. We had to care for four men and all their it was good that the boys went along with ready-
clothing took a lot of time. We also knitted mittens. made clothing of wool jersey.
They had to have two thumbs, I don’t know why. At
There had to be striped beds in every bunk. Some
least 5 pairs were required by each man. It was the
were filled with straw, others with cotton nuggets
same with the socks: the whole drawer had to be
and everything had to be nice and clean when
filled anew. We stored all of that in an extra room.
Merry left next March. When she returned next
When everything was finished, the room was
winter, the straw was burned and the linen washed.
stuffed. It was an enormous task to complete. Dad
The pillows were filled with feathers, the covers
demanded his underwear homemade from flannel.
with cotton lumps. They also needed to be washed
He also wanted home sewn fisher shirts of striped
and repaired.
cotton. Also, the blue heavy-duty trousers had to be
made at home. He was painstakingly picky about his Mum was very correct about the washing. No gear
gear. And he also needed more formal attire for the that had been at sea would enter the house before
ship’s agents. We spent the whole season sewing. So the washing – she could not stand the smell of fish.

18 |
Hence, there was a lot of washing to do in the wash When dad came home we had to give account how
house. But there was no running water, so all of it the money was spent. Every year a person would
had to be carried in and out again. It was a really come to dad for the tax declaration. Then, the
tough job and it was freezing cold. And when we whole house was full of paper. I don’t think that I all
hung up everything, it sometimes took weeks to dry my life ever have seen that much paper before or
in a cold winter. This was a real nightmare. I would after.
not like to do this again.
Dad was always very keen to keep in touch with the
Before Merry went to sea again, also the ship had family while he was away. He told us everything.
to be shiny and clean. And then, all the gear we had When the route would change, he phoned the gro-
made was carried in. We always hired a person to cer. The grocer or his wife then came to us and our
help. Still, it took one or two days to clean every- job was to inform the families of the crews. Now
thing. and then, dad sent postcards. And as we grew
older, mum let us write him letters. He always kept
For the provisioning, we had baked for days. Eggs
our cards and letters.
had to be wrapped in paper and stored in jars, at
least 80 pieces. Then, the pickled meat and salted (from an interview in 1996)
herring we purchased from Arthur’s brother-in-law
in Grundsund. We had land in Valås and farmed
potatoes because dad liked to have them on board.
He was grateful for everything he could bunker
home as he wouldn’t need to care for that under-
way.
Once he was at sea, we did the office work. Mum
did the bookkeeping, even though she did not like
it. The kids were sent with several tasks to the bank
even before they turned 18. All the bills for oil, in-
surance, freight and other expenses for the ship
were sent to Stockevik. That was a big responsibility.
Then, we had to do statistics about the crew. How
long they worked, what they were paid, and so on.
Deck hands and cook earned 30-40 Kronor per The crew of the herring season in summer 1954
months and were employed for 10 months per year.

| 19
On a sunny Saturday on 29 June 1996, The Eye of
the Wind motored south, down the west coast of
Sweden, with Lennart Martinsson on board to pi-
lot the ship through a maze of islands, skerries and
canals.
The ship rounded into Gullmarsfjorden and drew
alongside the wharf at Fiskebäckskil on Skaftö, the
fishing village where she bore the nameplate
A part of the Skärhamn cargo fleet of 1939
20 |
‘Merry’ for twenty four winters when she was
owned by Arthur Carlsson, Lennart’s grandfather.
Late that blustery afternoon Lennart took the
ship’s company to Fiskebäckskil Kyrka, a small,
white, wind blown church with a bright interior and
intricately painted pews. Every surface glowed with
ships, mermaids and nautical motifs, testament to
centuries of maritime heritage.
 Elsa Martinson, daughter of Arthur Carlsson, at visit in 1996
Lennart told how Arthur Carlsson’s son Carl was
lost overboard in a Baltic storm when Merry was
trading timber during WWII. His body was recov-
ered on the Danish coast and brought back for bur-
ial. Carl’s funeral was interrupted by someone
rushing in with news of the wreck of a local boat.
The cold northern sea is an exigent workplace.
The following morning, Arthur Carlsson’s daugh-
ter, Elsa Martinsson, leaning on her cane, came on
board the Eye of the Wind. Elsa, in her eighties,
was exhausted by the walk but determined to
come. Young Hannah, blonde and lovely, came
with her to translate and to absorb the family lore
on board the ship her grandfather loved so well.
| 21
Sentence by sentence Elsa’s memories unwound,
from Swedish to English. She gleefully told how
she had been popular with the crew when she had
lived on Merry as a child because, they assured
her, Arthur was softer when she was on board.

Sitting in the upper saloon in a wispy halo of sunlit

silver hair, she had come to dispel any notion that
the ship’s ghost could be Carl Carlsson or anyone
other than Arthur. Some people had suggested that
Carl may be a candidate because he had died at
sea. She told the galley crew, who had all gone
quite still, that Arthur had died in her arms, at
home, in his bed, aged eighty three.
‘If there is a ghost, it will be my father: he could see
through the divide between worlds. One winter
morning he looked out the window of our house
and saw the neighbour’s little daughter dancing in
the snow. Later, the grief-stricken parents told him
that their daughter had died during the night.’
On that Sunday morning the ship, sitting alongside
that Fiskebäckskil wharf, where it hadn’t been seen
for decades, quietly vindicated Arthur Carlsson.
Elsa recalled, in a village where wooden ketches
had fished for centuries, the consternation when
Arthur announced his intention to buy an iron
ship.
‘Oh, Arthur Carlsson!’ they cried, ‘You would be
mad to buy an iron ship! It will rust! Iron is so
much heavier than wood and it will sink.’
22 |
The Skärhamn fleet in the 1950s
Unswayed, Arthur Carlsson informed the detrac-
tors that he intended to have a cosy wheel-house
on board his iron ship.
‘No! No! No!’ the other fishermen clamoured,
‘Have you lost your mind? You know how im-
portant it is to feel the wind on your face as you are
sailing through these complicated waterways! How
can you feel the elements?! How can you see every
little skerry? You will miss something and your
iron ship will sink to the bottom of the fjord.’
Undismayed, Arthur Carlsson let it be known that
his iron ship with the wheel house would also have
an engine.
‘Eeek, Arthur Carlsson!’ they shrieked ‘You have
completely lost your wits! What sort of fisherman
are you? The engine will break down and you and
your heavy iron ship will sink in the Skagerrak.’
Unperturbed, Arthur Carlsson, acquired Merry
and set to sea, warm and dry in his wheel house,
and when the wind failed or blew over his bows he
would furl his sails and use his engine to speed
back to port with his catch. He could steer through
narrow channels and go places that the hearty tim-
ber Fiskebäckskil fleet could not venture under
sail. Needless to say, he made a killing, fishing and
trading cargo.
The Skärhamn fleet in 1957
Elsa’s pale blue eyes were intense as she waved
across the vacant Fiskebäckskil docks and ob-
served that not a single ship from that fifty strong
fleet of splendid timber fishing boats remains.
Emotion dissolved her when watching from her
window the previous afternoon, her father’s be-
loved Merry come steaming into the fjord, the sol-
itary survivor of a long gone era.
Suzy Manigian
| 23
Starting from 1946, with Europe recovering after
the war, the Carlssons commenced a new business.
Together with fishermen from Mollösund they
fished for herring off the Iceland coast. To do that,
they obtained the fishing boat registration LL 36.
Fishing was successful until 1950, when the herring
catch failed. Northeast off the Iceland coast the
Norwegian fishing vessel ‘Senior I av Bergen’ col-
lided with her. Their helmsman had been blinded
by a light and the commander took the blame.
19,500 Kronor were paid to repair the damages.

24 |
1955 – Boys on board
And now it was mid summer of 1955 with sunshine
and beautiful weather! Frieda, my mum, my
brother Ingemar (11) and I (6) went to Malmö to
join dad along the east coast of Sweden north-
wards!
When we arrived in Malmö, dad and the German
ABs already waited for us. Their names were Die-
ter, Jochen and Moffi. I don’t remember Moffi’s
correct name anymore. But I do remember they
had brought a bunch of red roses for mum.
In Malmö we loaded flour sacks which came on a
conveyor belt out of the mill. Our broker arranged
a fishing tour for my brother Ingemar in the sound. Frida Carlsson and her son Rolf, around 1952
The catch was successful and Ingemar brought a
lot of cod.
weather cleared up and the sea was calm again.
We left Malmö in the afternoon or evening and I When we reached the Småland archipelago the
remember the sunset when we passed Falsterbo ‘Constance av Malmön’ came onwards from the
Canal. other direction. She was a three masted schooner
and dad went to the wheelhouse door and waved.
To get a really good view, I sat myself on a box of
He told us about the schooner. Mum, Ingemar and
lifebuoys. It was on the roof of the decks house. I
I were standing on the deckhouse waving. We
also had good fun twisting on the radio direction
knew the people on board. And all waved back.
finder. But dad had forbidden that, so I abstained.
It was the last time I saw ‘Constance’. She was ship-
The Hanö bay was flat as a mirror and the weather
wrecked near Stevens Klint on December 10th
was wonderful up to Kalmarsund. There, a thun-
1955. It was the day of my father’s burial and I re-
derstorm approached. Instead of going straight
member it was sunshine, dead calm and some de-
into the wind, we made fast in Kalmar.
grees below 0.
When we left again in the morning, there still was
high swell and I went sick. But bit by bit the

| 25
When we came close to the lightship ‘Västra I did what children do when tension builds up. I
Banken’ the engine was stopped and Ingemar went went down to the portside bunk as this one had
down to dad into the cabin. It was in the evening sliding doors I could close around me.
and he was off watch. Ingemar said he had sat on
When I woke up again, we were in the Öregrund
the clutch lever – just suitable for a boy to peep out
shipyard. In order to fix our average, Carl Martins-
of the wheelhouse window. I think it was his fa-
son came to Öregrund from Fiskebäckskil with a
voured place and he only left it during manoeu-
new crankshaft bearing. He repaired the engine so
vres. Anyway, he was there when he noticed that
quickly that the shipyard wanted to hire him on the
smoke came out of the exhaust pipe. A crankshaft
spot.
bearing had heated, even though he had recently
greased it.

Unknown boys with 4 years old Ingemar Carlsson and Jonas Olofsson in the background (1948)

26 |
Next morning we headed north towards Skellefte- boat on the beach. Dad explained that an Estonian
hamn. We lightened a part of the cargo and went had escaped all across the Baltic to Sweden in it.
back south to Umeå. Also there, I stayed aboard
When we came to Kalmar, the journey ended. It
playing while mum and Ingemar went ashore. I was
was a grey day, also regarding the weather. We said
on the deckhouse roof playing with my boat when
goodbye to dad and he had arranged that we were
a boy passed the quayside. I knew him from
taken to the railway station in a bus of the ship bro-
Stockevik. Last year he had stayed there with his
ker.
family. He and his brother had made friends with
Ingemar. Amongst others they had taken our open Rolf Carlsson
dinghy and sailed to Grundsund in it. At first, our
Olle Skogmann: ‚Merry of Stockevik‘
mum was shocked, but in the end, everything went
well. In the afternoon, the brothers came to visit
us. For that, I had cleared my playground on the
deckhouse and had put the timber back to it’s
place between the hatch frame and the bulkhead
of the engine room roof on port.
One may wonder what boys like us did while the
ship was at sea. One real pleasure was to climb up
the main sail with a ladder and build a bunk up
there. I found it terribly exciting being alone up
there. Sometimes, we rigged a mast ontop of the
stern hatch and asked dad for the Skandia and
Biffen pennants to use.
The cook aboard was Moffi, but on this journey he
received help from mum. For breakfast he fried
bread each morning and put a fried egg ontop. Still
today I think of him when ever I see bread like this.
In Norrköping we loaded pit props as deck’s cargo
for Germany. I didn’t like this deck’s cargo as I
needed to climb a lot to get from bow to stern or
back. When we cleared the port, we saw a little old

| 27
October 20th 1955, Merry was in heavy weather on
her way to Gothenburg. A light was mistaken for
the light of an oncoming pilot. Sailing towards the
light the ship touched ground off the Swedish is-
land of Tanneskar and broke her rudder. Without
proper rudder function, the ship couldn’t control
its heading, so the crew dropped the anchor, but
under such conditions, the ship came beam on to
the wind and started to drag. The anchor chain
jumped the gypsy on the windlass on running out,
a situation that couldn’t be controlled by the brake.
Merry drifted towards Donsö Svartskär. Carl Carls-
son, her captain and co-owner was midships, when
a large wave came over. The wave took him over-
board together with the deck cargo of pit props. Carl Carlsson
More than a month later, his body was found near
Skagen. He was 43 years old. crews said they had launched the life buoys. But all
the buoys were found onboard.
The whole affair was not only dramatic, it was mys-
terious, too. During the investigation, the German The wreck was salvaged. However Arthur, Carl’s
father, did not keep it and in May 1956 he sold
Merry after 30 years to another owner’s group led
1956 in Uppsala
by Gösta Daniel Olafsson in Grundsund. Their
brother Jonas knew Merry already as crew mem-
ber. In 1962, Arthur Carlsson died at the age of 80.
It is reported that Ingemar Carlsson disliked the
new home port of Grundsund as he would be
forced to see the ship run by other people. Now it
couldn’t be avoided. Still, the family would keep
their tie to the ship. Carl Carlsson’s son Lennart
Martinson would sail her again decades later, as
well as his daughter Hanna. And Rolf Carlsson
would later have the most highly unexpected

28 |
 Merry 1967
encounter with the vessel. Together, the Carlssons
spent 4 generations directing and accompanying
the destiny of one ship.
In Grundsund, Merry underwent a major refit. She
became a galleass – her first mast was taller than
the second. This type of rigging was popular espe-
cially in the Baltic area. She then was named ‘Rose
Marie’ and remained in the same business: mer-
chant shipping and again herring fishing off Iceland
as a sailing vessel.
At the beginning, there were about 80 ships in the
fishing trade. Then, the herring failed to appear,
the industry collapsed and only 3 fishing vessels
were still active in 1962. One of them was Rose
Marie.
In 1964, the time of commercial sailing vessels
seemed to be over. Her masts were cut down, mak-
ing her into a motorship. In 1966 she was renamed
‘Merry’ again and owned by a freshwater-based
partenreederei: John Julius Hätting of the island of
Torsö in the Vänern lake.
| 29
It was January 20,1970 when captain Lennart
Sandinge realized Merry would not be able to leave
the harbour on her own accord:
‘At the departure in the morning of January 20th,
1970 there were harsh ice conditions in the har-
bour. We hooked up Merry on the quarter of M/S
Faxeborg, to increase the engine power. After ap-
prox. 3 hours, we could disconnect and continue
30 |
by ourselves. The cargo was limestone powder, for
Surte Glasbruk (glass-mill).’
Off the island of Nidingen, the engine room caught
fire. The two crew members Lennart Sandinge and
Ceve Petterson abandoned ship and were rescued,
but Merry burnt down to the hull. She was not sea-
worthy anymore after that.
 Merry, burnt down.
Lars Gustav Bohlin’s insurance company took the
ship over. Everything looked like she was finished
and would go to the scrapyard. The time of small
cargo vessels was over and the 59 years old ship had
already done a good job.
Still, Karl Hilmersson, relative and close friend of
Carl Carlsson didn’t want to put up with this. He
knew the ship very well and was determined to pro-
vide a new life for her. It made him very happy when
buyers did come around. Still, as Rolf Carlsson
reports, they didn’t get everything. His brother Inge-
mar asked for the top lantern of the ship. When the
buyers arrived, Rolf was impressed with them and
for the first time ever, developed an interest in the
ship that was sold when he was 7 years old. From
this moment onwards, he began to collect infor-
mation about the ship that his father and grandfa-
ther had sailed. His collection of information has
been incorporated into this book. The lantern still
lives in his house.
| 31
32 |
2017: Reunions

| 33
34 |
We came here for a double or triple reunion. Of
course, after a number of years one wants to meet
and see the old lady again. We have a kind of in-
visible ship alive in our minds and memories, that
is personal to each of us and our history with her.
This ship is where ever we go and does not need
any planks or ropes. It enabled us to celebrate her
centenary on dry land, half a planet away. Our con-
nection is strong and survived the time when we
were actually sailing together. Some as owners,
many as crew, many more as voyage crew. We did
belong together and we still do. But this time, we
came together for a special occasion. During our
preparations for her centenary we found out about
her elder sister – more or less by chance. The
model she was built after had worked as a cargo
vessel in the Mediterranean for many years. When
this career seemed to be ending, enthusiasts re-dis
covered and purchased her. As the Eye was in the
area anyway, we would come in to visit and see how
the future Brigantes was shaping up. It was quite
likely that the two sisters would meet again for the
first time in 106 years.
For now, we are in a smaller harbour outside of
Palermo and have time to settle into our cabins and
the new ship’s routines. We are customers now,
not voyage crews. We do not need to do a thing
anymore. Our cabins appear much more luxurious
than they used to be. In 2001, a group of Danes,
consisting of Ole Johanson, Svend Friis-Hansen
and Gitte Bøgh, had purchased her. Ole was the
one with the money and only had a vague idea of
what sailing was like. Svend and Gitte already run
a schooner and supplied the naval skills. Their
contract was to drive Ole around for five years and
then take over ownership of the Eye.
Together, they had big plans of global voyages and
a lot of money. Some parts of the ship certainly de-
served reassessment after 25 years. A toilet and
shower in the cabin are definitely nice to have and
aircon would simply be great. Still, they opted for
3 bunks in one cabin and lockers that are very
small for one person and the gear for a week. It is
| 35
hard to figure out how this went along with their
plans of sailing around the world. Our old cabins
were smaller ones with only a sink – but had much
more storage. The luggage for weeks or months
onboard was conveniently stored. In some cabins
there was also ship’s storage under bunks, benches
and the flooring. It worked for many more people
than the small number she is allowed to take now.
Usually, we were in total 30 people, more on cer-
tain voyages. So there’s lots more room now with
up to 12 guests and around 8 crew. They now get
along with one cook and do not need to eat in shifts
as we did. The cooking is as good as it used to be,
but not as sumptuous. Now, I can finish every
meal. In former times, I probably never managed
that! We’re posh now and we don’t do watches
throughout the night. We have also aged a couple
of years, unlike the ship that seems to have stopped
aging.
In the evening, we all introduce ourselves to each
other. The ship’s language is still English, but a
fuzzy one. The native speakers are pretty much
summer and follow the Sicilian coast towards Tra-
gone. Instead, it’s a colourful mixture of Europe-
pani, our only fixed port of call. Then, after visiting
ans and others. For me it’s pretty convenient as I
Brigantes, we would decide what to do next. For
can use my native German on the ship now. But I
now, it was time to go to my cabin, next to the place
will forever benefit from that wild mixture of all
where I had my only encounter with Arthur: Ar-
sorts of broken and native English, Australian,
thur Carlsson.
Irish, Scottish and American that made me suffer
in the beginning. Now, I get dizzy sometimes be- Arthur was our faithful companion for a long time.
tween official English, informal German and local First, he was reported as a presence by young girls
Italian. We would leave the harbour tomorrow, who slept in the lower saloon - sometimes even
hopefully set some sails in the calm Mediterranean touching them. In 1988, there was open ship in

36 |
Sydney, Darling Harbour. A lady then approached
the crew. She said she was a medium. She noticed
the positive aura of the ship and the presence of a
ghost. The ghost would be a former captain and not
malevolent. He simply wanted to stay and wouldn’t
move on. Later people also saw him on deck wear-
ing a sou'wester.
As times went by, he even obtained a regular seat in
the lower saloon. In fact, one could study how peo-
ple look and feel when you tell them there’s a ghost
around - Flabbergasted! - mulling over what was go-
ing on, and your mental state. When I told people
of my encounter I could read in their faces that they
felt just like I did when the first person told me. But
indeed, Arthur was at times seen so regularly, that
he was even mentioned in the totally serious safety
instructions. Don’t light fire below deck, use the live
vest like this and don’t worry if you see the ghost.
Indeed, nothing evil was ever reported about him.
Arthur Carlsson apparently did not really leave the
ship, when he passed the captain’s position on to his
son Carl: Carl Carlsson, who later was washed over
the side. In the 1990s, when the Carlsson family vis-
ited the ship, they were not very surprised. Elsa, his
daughter, said ‘Arthur would never leave the ship,
of course he’s still on watch!’ Funnily enough, he
was only seen by females, no man ever spotted him.
But at least for me, in the beginning the ghost’s re-
ported friendliness didn’t help much. During night
watches one sits in the darkness on lookout at the
bowsprit and then does a regular check of gauges
and facilities under deck. These places can be eerie
in total darkness even without any ghost. But Ar-
thur’s appearance was indeed not eerie at all.
It was Easter Sunday, broad daylight and in the mid-
dle of the Atlantic Ocean. After lunch, I sat in the
saloon with my cabin mate. We had high swells so
it was somewhat difficult to hold oneself on to the
table and to do the diary. And of course, it is another
thing to be on deck under these conditions. They
would have to be very alert to remain safe up there.
And one time, when the ship rolled over, we heard
a man scream. A scream I never heard before and
do not intend to hear ever again. The scream of a
man who knows for sure that this is his moment to
die. But it wasn’t loud, like a radio turned low. Chris
and I gazed at each other. Did we lose someone?
Was somebody making the worst joke ever? When
the scream was over, we kept quiet for a moment
watching for alarm on deck and a man overboard
manoeuvre. But nothing happened. So we relaxed
and Chris said ‘That was an eerie one!’ Yes, it was.
But not anymore. As long as we thought somebody
was really dying, we were shocked. But it only was
the ghost – he was dead already, we couldn’t help
him anyway. Not in my wildest dreams would I have
guessed the encounter with a ghost could be a relief.
I hadn’t ever seen Arthur. Neither then nor now. I
did wonder whether he was here still but didn’t ask
anyone. At night, the ship is so quiet, he now could
walk about without being seen too often. Or calmly
leave his ship. The adventurous voyages are over,
the crew is alert with modern safety equipment. His
ship would be safe. He can rest.
| 37
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 The winter is fierce enough in Sweden to kill the animals that live
there, but he chose to go and conquer rocks where the climate is
more severe and the snow and ice much worse than in Sweden,
instead of trying to regain his beautiful provinces in Germany.
He hoped his new alliance with the Czar would soon make it
possible for him to retake them, and his ambition was gratified by the
thought of taking a kingdom from his victorious foe.
At the mouth of the river Tistendall, near the bay of Denmark,
between Bahus and Anslo, stands Fredericshall, a place of strength
and importance, which is considered the key to the kingdom. Charles
began its siege in December. The cold was so extreme that the
soldiers could hardly break the ground. It was like digging trenches
in rock, but the Swedes were nothing daunted by fatigue which the
King shared so readily. Charles had never suffered so severely. His
constitution was so hardened by sixteen years’ hardship that he
would sleep in the open in a Norwegian mid-winter on boards or
straw, wrapped only in his mantle, and yet keep his health.
Some of the soldiers fell dead at their posts, but others who were
nearly dying dare not complain when they saw their King bearing it
all. Just before this expedition he heard of a woman who had lived
for several months on nothing but water, and he who had tried all his
life to bear the hardest extremes that nature can bear resolved to try
how long he could fast. He neither ate nor drank for five days, and
on the sixth, in the morning, he rode two leagues to his brother’s,
where he ate heartily, yet neither his large meal nor his long fast
incommoded him.
With such a body of iron, and a soul of so much strength and
courage, there was not one of his neighbours who did not fear him.
On the 11th of December, St. Andrew’s day, he went to view his
trenches at about nine in the evening, and finding the parallel not
advanced as much as he wished, he was a little vexed at it. But M.
Megret, the French engineer who was conducting the siege, told him
the place would be taken in eight days’ time. “We shall see,” said the
King, “what can be done.” Then, going on with the engineer to
examine the works, he stopped at the place where the branch made
an angle with the parallel; kneeling upon the inner slope, he leaned
with his elbows on the parapet, to look at the men who were carrying
on the entrenching by starlight.
The least details relating to the death of such a man as Charles
are noted. It is therefore my duty to say that all the conversation
reported by various writers, as having taken place between the King
and the engineer, are absolutely false. This is what I know actually
happened.
The King stood with half his body exposed to a battery of cannon
directed precisely at the angle where he stood. No one was near him
but two Frenchmen: one was M. Siquier, his aide-de-camp, a man of
capacity and energy, who had entered his service in Turkey, and was
particularly attached to the Prince of Hesse; the other was the
engineer. The cannon fired grape-shot, and the King was more
exposed than any of them. Not far behind was Count Sveren, who
was commanding the trenches. At this moment Siquier and Megret
saw the King fall on the parapet, with a deep sigh; they came near,
but he was already dead. A ball weighing half-a-pound had struck
him on the right temple, leaving a hole large enough to turn three
fingers in; his head had fallen over the parapet, his left eye was
driven in and his right out of its socket; death had been
instantaneous, but he had had strength to put his hand to his sword,
and lay in that posture.
At this sight Megret, an extraordinary and feelingless man, said,
“Let us go to supper. The play is done.” Siquier hastened to tell the
Count Sveren, and they all agreed to keep it a secret till the Prince of
Hesse could be informed. They wrapped the corpse in a grey cloak,
Siquier put on his hat and wig; he was carried under the name of
Captain Carlsbern through the troops, who saw their dead King
pass, little thinking who it was.
The Prince at once gave orders that no one should stir out of the
camp, and that all the passes to Sweden should be guarded, till he
could arrange for his wife to succeed to the crown, and exclude the
Duke of Holstein, who might aim at it.
 Thus fell Charles XII, King of Sweden, at the age of thirty-six and
a half, having experienced the extremes of prosperity and of
adversity, without being softened by the one or in the least disturbed
by the other. All his actions, even those of his private life, are almost
incredible. Perhaps he was the only man, and certainly he was the
only king who never showed weakness; he carried all the heroic
virtues to that excess at which they become faults as dangerous as
the opposed virtues. His resolution, which became obstinacy, caused
his misfortunes in Ukrania, and kept him five years in Turkey. His
liberality degenerated into prodigality, and ruined Sweden. His
courage, degenerating into rashness, was the cause of his death.
His justice had been sometimes cruel, and in later years his
maintenance of his prerogative came not far short of tyranny. His
great qualities, any one of which would immortalize another prince,
were a misfortune to his country. He never began a quarrel; but he
was rather implacable than wise in his anger. He was the first whose
ambition it was to be a conqueror, without wishing to increase his
dominions. He desired to gain kingdoms with the object of giving
them away. His passion for glory, war, and vengeance made him too
little of a politician, without which none has ever been a conqueror.
Before a battle he was full of confidence, very modest after a victory,
and undaunted in defeat. Sparing others no more than himself, he
made small account of his own and his subjects’ labours; he was an
extraordinary rather than a great man, and rather to be imitated than
admired. But his life may be a lesson to kings and teach them that a
peaceful and happy reign is more desirable than so much glory.
Charles XII was tall and well shaped. He had a fine forehead,
large blue eyes, full of gentleness, and a well-shaped nose, but the
lower part of his face was disagreeable and not improved by his
laugh, which was unbecoming. He had little beard or hair, he spoke
little, and often answered only by the smile which was habitual to
him.
Profound silence was preserved at his table. With all his
inflexibility he was timid and bashful; he would have been
embarrassed by conversation, because, as he had given up his
whole life to practical warfare, he knew nothing of the ways of
society. Before his long leisure in Turkey he had never read anything
but Cæsar’s commentaries and the history of Alexander, but he had
made some observations on war, and on his own campaigns from
1700-1709; he told this to the Chevalier Folard, and said that the
MSS. had been lost at the unfortunate battle of Pultawa. As to
religion, though a prince’s sentiments ought not to influence other
men, and though the opinion of a king so ill-informed as Charles
should have no weight in such matters, yet men’s curiosity on this
point too must be satisfied.
I have it from the person who has supplied me with most of my
material for this history, that Charles was a strict Lutheran till the
year 1707, when he met the famous philosopher Leibniz, who was a
great freethinker, and talked freely, and had already converted more
than one prince to his views. I do not believe that Charles imbibed
freethought in conversation with this philosopher, since they only had
a quarter of an hour together; but M. Fabricius, who lived familiarly
with him seven years afterwards, told me that in his leisure in Turkey,
having come in contact with diverse forms of faith, he went further
still.
I cannot help noticing here a slander that is often spread
concerning the death of princes, by malicious or credulous folk, viz.,
that when princes die they are either poisoned or assassinated. The
report spread in Germany that M. Siquier had killed the King; that
brave officer was long annoyed at the report, and one day he said to
me, “I might have killed a King of Sweden, but for this hero I had
such a respect that, had I wished to do it, I should not have dared.”
I know that it was this Siquier himself who originated this fatal
accusation, which some Swedes still believe, for he told me that at
Stockholm, when delirious, he shouted that he had killed the King of
Sweden, that he had even in his madness opened the window and
publicly asked pardon for the crime; when on his recovery he learned
what he had said in delirium, he was ready to die with mortification. I
did not wish to reveal this story during his life; I saw him shortly
before his death, and I am convinced that, far from having murdered
Charles, he would willingly have laid down his life for him a thousand
times over. Had he been capable of such a crime it could only have
been to serve some foreign Power who would no doubt have
recompensed him handsomely, yet he died in poverty at Paris, and
had even to apply to his family for aid.
As soon as he was dead the siege of Fredericshall was raised.
The Swedes, to whom his glory had been a burden rather than a joy,
made peace with their neighbours as fast as they could, and soon
put an end to that absolute power of which Baron Gortz had wearied
them. The States elected Charles’s sister Queen, and forced her to
solemnly renounce her hereditary right to the throne, so that she
held it only by the people’s choice. She promised by oath on oath
that she would never secure arbitrary government, and afterwards,
her love of power overcome by her love for her husband, she
resigned the crown in his favour and persuaded the States to choose
him, which they did under the same condition. Baron Gortz was
seized after Charles’s death, and condemned by the Senate of
Stockholm to be beheaded under the gallows, an instance rather of
revenge than of justice, and a cruel insult to the memory of a king
whom Sweden still admires.
Charles’s hat is preserved at Stockholm, and the smallness of the
hole by which it is pierced is one of the reasons for supposing he
was assassinated.
 INDEX
Achmet III, Emperor of the Turks, 187;
receives letter from Charles XII, 188;
treats the king as an honourable prisoner, 189-196;
decides on war against Russia, 211;
imprisons Russian ambassador, ib.;
his letter to Charles XII offering to send him home with an
escort, 235, 236;
Sultan again declares war against Russia, 239;
again makes peace, 241;
sends money and directions for the King of Sweden’s departure,
244, 245;
sends peremptory orders to him to leave his territory, 251;
sends orders to put all the Swedes to the sword and not to
spare
the king’s life, 254;
sends troops to attack the king’s house, 255;
reads the petition presented him by de Villelongue, 276;
interviews him in disguise, 276, 277;
he banishes the Kan of Tartary and the Pasha of Bender, 277;
his farewell presents to Charles XII, 287
Alberoni, Cardinal, his dealings in Spain, 319;
sides with the Pretender, 325
Altena, burnt by General Steinbock, 282;
terrible suffering of the inhabitants, 282, 283
Altranstadt, peace concluded at, 130
Anne, Queen of England, concludes treaty at the Hague, 203;
her death, 293
Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, 17,19, 20;
concludes treaty with Peter the Great against Sweden, 34;
 besieges Riga, 46;
meeting with Peter the Great at Brizen, 58;
intrigues against, by opposing parties, 70-72;
forced to flee, 77;
endeavours to collect troops, 78, 79;
his army defeated at Clissau, 81;
at Pultask, 85;
withdraws to Thorn, 85;
is declared by the Assembly incapable of wearing the crown, 90;
his narrow escape of being captured, 91;
advances on Warsaw, 101;
victorious entry into, 102;
finally forced to retreat from Poland, 106;
is sent for by Peter the Great to conference at Grodno, 113;
arrests Patkul, ib.;
shut up in Cracow, the last town left him, 117;
writes to Charles XII asking for peace, 120;
his victory over the Swedes, 123;
enters Warsaw in triumph, ib.;
accepts Charles XII’s terms of peace, 124;
his meeting with, at Gutersdorf, 124, 125;
is forced to write a letter of congratulation to Stanislas, 125, 126;
and to give up his prisoners, 126;
returns to Poland after battle of Pultawa, 200;
his embassy to the Sultan, 239;
insists on Charles XII being sent away, 241;
his restoration to the Crown of Poland, 294;
his people force him to submit to the Pacta Conventa, 294
Azov, surrendered to the Porte, 224, 235

Baltagi Mahomet, Pasha of Syria, made Grand Vizir, 210;

has orders to attack the Russians, 211;
his answer to the Czar’s letter suing for peace, 222, 223;
his terms, 223, 224;
concludes a treaty of peace with the Czar, 224, 225;
his efforts to force Charles XII to depart from Bender, 229, 230;
cuts off the king’s supplies, 231;
 Poniatowski plots against him, 232;
his lieutenant is executed and he himself exiled, 233;
his death, ib.
Bender, Governor of, handsome reception of Charles XII by, 183
Borysthenes, escape of Charles XII and his troops to, after
Pultawa, 175, 176;
troops drowned while attempting to cross, 177

Calish, victory at, 122, 123;

Peter the Great’s commemoration of, 133
Calmouks, their country, 154;
detachment of, in Russian army, Charles XII’s narrow escape
from, 154, 155
Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia, forgets benefits received from
the Porte, and makes treaty with the Czar, 216
Catherine, wife of Peter the Great, her early history, 220-222;
persuades the Czar to sue the Grand Vizir for peace, 222
Charles XI abolishes the authority of the Senate, 10;
his character, ib.;
his marriage, ib.;
death of his wife, 13;
his cruelty to her and oppression of the people, ib.;
his death, ib.
Charles XII, his birth, early education, tastes and character, 11, 12;
anecdotes of, 12;
his accession, 13, 14;
takes the reins of power into his own hands, 15, 16;
his coronation, 16, 17;
sudden transformation of his character, 37, 38;
begins war with Russia and its allies, 39;
his skill and courage, 40, 41;
his first success in arms, 43, 44;
concludes the war with Denmark, 46;
his victory at Narva over 80,000 Russians, 49-54;
war vessels constructed by, 59;
his artifice to hide his movements, 59;
defeats the Saxons and enters Birzen, 60, 61;
his further successes against the King of Poland, 73;
refuses to see the Countess of Königsmarck, 75;
receives the embassy of the Polish State, 76;
arrives before Warsaw, 79;
his interview with Cardinal Radjouski, 80;
his victory at Clissau, 81;
enters Cracow, 82;
his accident and false report of his death, 82;
his success at Pultask, 85;
his indifference to danger, 86;
besieges Thorn, 89;
resists temptation of seizing the throne of Poland, 92;
offers it to Alexander Sobiesky, ib.;
receives Stanislas Leczinski and nominates him King of Poland,
97, 98;
takes Leopold by assault, 100;
joins Stanislas against
Augustus, 103;
his continual success, ib.;
his pursuit of Schullemburg, 105, 106;
his preparations for the coronation of Stanislas, 108;
present incognito at the ceremony, 110;
defeats Russian troops, 114, 115;
massacres his prisoners, 117;
enters Saxony, ib.;
visits the field of Lutzen, 118;
levies money and food from the Saxons, 118, 119;
his method for enforcing good behaviour on his troops, and their
severe
discipline, 119;
anecdote of, and soldier, 119, 120;
his absolute rule in Saxony, 120;
terms of peace offered by him to Augustus, 121;
his troops defeated by the Russians, 123;
account of his interview with Augustus at Gutersdorf, 124, 125;
his cruel sentence on Patkul, 127;
receives ambassadors from all parts, 135;
Duke of Marlborough’s interview with, 135-137;
his determination to dethrone the Czar, 137, 138;
his exorbitant demands on the Emperor of Germany, 138-140;
sends officers to Asia and Egypt to report on their strength, 141;
magnificence of his plans, ib.;
continues his hardy mode of life, ib.;
account of his visit to Augustus in Dresden, 142, 143;
alarm of his officers, 143, 144;
leaves Saxony to pursue the Czar, 147;
receives Turkish ambassador, 148;
starts in search of the Russians, 149;
enters Grodno, ib.;
arrives at the river Berezine, 151;
his stratagem, ib.;
leads his forces on foot and wins gloriously at Borysthenes, 152;
his haughty answer to the Czar, 153;
his narrow escape from detachment of Calmouks, 154, 155;
leaves the Moscow road and turns south towards Ukrania, 156;
his secret league with Mazeppa, 158;
terrible difficulties and hardships of his march, 159;
Mazeppa reaches him with only a few men left, 160;
is cut off from communication with Poland without provisions,
163;
extreme cold destroys a part of
his army, ib.;
miserable condition of his soldiers, ib.;
anecdote of, 164;
receives supplies from Mazeppa, 165;
advances on Pultawa, 166;
is wounded, 168;
battle of Pultawa, 169-175;
his retreat and escape, 175, 176;
his dangerous condition, 176, 177;
finally reaches the river Hippias, 181;
his narrow escape from the Russians, 182;
some of his troops captured, ib.;
handsomely received by the Commander of Bender, 183;
his letter to Achmet III, 188;
his journey across the desert to Bender, 190;
his life and occupation at, 192, 193;
his anger and disappointment at his treatment by the Porte, 194,
195;
angrily rejects the Sultan’s present, 196;
advice and money given him by new Grand Vizir, 198;
clings to the hope of rousing the Turks to declare war against
Russia, 199;
contrast of, with Peter the Great, 201, 202;
his numerous enemies, ib.;
starts to join the Vizir against the Russians, 218;
his rage at finding the treaty between the Vizir and the Czar
concluded, 225, 226;
rides back to Bender in despair, 226;
builds himself a large stone house at Bender, 229;
Baltagi’s efforts to force him to depart, 229, 230;
the king agrees only on condition of the Vizir’s punishment, 231;
his supplies cut off, ib.;
finds difficulty in borrowing money, 231, 232;
petitions the Porte to send him home with large army, 235;
letter from Achmet to, 235, 236;
refuses to go without an army, 241;
his courier seizes letter from General Fleming to the Tartars,
242;
the Sultan sends money and directions for his departure, 244,
245;
his letters to Sultan intercepted, 245;
refuses to listen to reason or to move, 250;
his supplies cut off, ib.;
barricades his house, 251;
prepares for assault, 255;
refuses all advice and offers of mediation, 253, 254, 257, 258;
his courage, 260;
defends his house
with only forty followers against the Turkish forces, 261;
his house set on fire by assailants, 262;
his coolness, 263;
he and his followers make a sally, and are taken prisoners, 264;
his reception by the Pasha, 265;
his chancellor and officers made slaves, 268;
retains his natural and gentle manner even in calamity, ib.;
is taken in a chariot to Adrianople, 269;
his officers redeemed by Jeffreys and La Mottraye, ib.;
has a sword given him, ib.;
is angry at hearing of the abdication of Stanislas, 271;
hears that Stanislas is a prisoner a few miles away, and sends
Fabricius to him, 272;
is removed to the castle of Demirtash, 278;
is allowed to reside at Demotica, 279;
stays in bed for ten months, 279, 280;
hears of the wreck of his foreign dominions, 280;
is taken ill, 284;
receives dispatches from his sister, 285;
sends arrogant message to the Senate in Sweden, ib.;
determines to leave and return home, ib.;
he borrows money to provide a Swedish Embassy to
Constantinople, 286;
receives presents from the Sultan before leaving, 287;
his journey, 287, 288;
preparations made for his entertainment in Germany, 289;
disguises himself and with one officer rides for sixteen days till
he reaches Stralsund, 291;
the loss of his dominions, 294, 295;
is besieged in Stralsund, 304-311;
his escape, 311, 312;
spends a day with his sister, 312;
raises money and recruits, 312, 313;
invades Norway, 313;
advances to Christiania, 318;
hears of Gortz and Gyllemburg being seized, 322;
 enters Norway again and besieges Fredericshall, 330;
his soldiers die of cold, ib.;
his extraordinary powers of endurance and constitution, 330,
331;
his death, 332;
description of, 334;
his religious views, 335;
his hat in which he was killed preserved at Stockholm, 337
Charles Gustavus, invades Poland, 10;
his conquests, ib.;
endeavours to establish absolutism, ib.;
his death, ib.
Charlotte, wife of Stanislas, crowned Queen of Poland, 110
Chourlouli, Grand Vizir, breaks his promise of help to Charles XII,
194;
Poniatowski plots against, 195;
the Sultan’s favourite helps towards his downfall, 198;
is dismissed and banished, ib.
Christian II, King of Denmark, 6;
driven from Sweden by Gustavus Vasa, 8
Christian III, King of Denmark, makes arrangement with his
brother
concerning the Duchies of Holstein and Sleswick, 18
Christine, Queen of Sweden, her character, 9;
her resignation, 9, 10
Clement XI threatens excommunication to those who assist at
coronation
of Stanislas, 107
Clergy forbidden by King of Sweden to take part in politics, 108
Clissau, victory of Swedes at, 81
Constantinople, its position as the centre of Christendom, 234;
Swedish and Russian factions at, 234;
bad policy of the Porte, 237
Copenhagen, Charles XII’s success at, 43, 44
Coumourgi-Ali-Pasha, favourite of the Sultan, his history, 197;
plots downfall of Grand Vizir, 197, 198;
secretly protects the Russian cause, 238, 239;
his plans, 240;
his intrigues, 277, 278;
made Grand Vizir, 284
Cracow, Charles XII, entry of, 82
Criminals, Turkish law concerning, 199

Danes, attacked by Steinbock and his raw recruits, 207, 208;

cut to pieces by, 208
Dantzig, punishment of, by Charles XII’s troops, 88
Delecarlia sends deputation to Regency at Stockholm offering to
go and
rescue the king, 209
Demotica, Charles XII’s residence at, 278 ff.
Diet, held in Poland and Lithuania, description of, 64;
duties of, 65;
summoned to meet at Warsaw, 70;
factions in, 70, 71;
breaks up in disorder, 73;
assembled by Charles XII, 83;
by Peter the Great at Leopold, and Lubin, 132, 133
Dresden, visit of Charles XII to Augustus at, 142, 143

Edwiga Eleanora of Holstein, wife of Charles X, her regency, 14-

16
Elbing, entered by Charles XII, 89
England, her neutral pose, 234;
secretly favours the Czar, ib.;
alliance of, with the Porte, 234, 235
Europe, state of, at the period of Charles XII’s return to his
 country, 292 ff.

Fabricius, envoy of Holstein, 251;

is persuaded of the integrity of the Kan and the Pasha, 252;
is anxious to mediate for Charles XII, but king receives him
coldly, 253;
he makes a last effort to save the king, 254;
is overcome at seeing the king a prisoner and with rent clothes,
268;
undertakes to ransom the prisoners, 269
Ferdinand IV, King of Denmark, 17;
attacked and defeated by Charles XII, 40-46;
treaty with, 46, 87;
renews his claim to Holstein, 202
Fleming, General, minister of King Augustus, his correspondence
with the
Kan of Tartary, 242;
letter of his seized by Charles XII’s courier, 242
Frauenstadt, battle of, 115, 116
Frederic, Prince of Hesse-Cassel, Charles XII marries his sister to,
301;
accompanies his brother-in-law in his expedition into Norway,
314
Fredericshall, besieged by Charles XII, 330;
death of king at, 332;
the siege raised, 336
French, regiment of, taken prisoners by Saxon troops, 116;
enter service of King of Sweden, 117;
further notice of, 331

Germany, its position at the beginning of 18th century, 203;

Princes of, conclude treaty of the Hague, ib.
Gortz, Baron, Charles XII’s premier, great scheme of, 314, 316;
the Czar approves of it, 317;
 sends secretly to interview representatives of Pretender’s party,
320;
his intrigues discovered, and is arrested at the Hague, 321, 322;
is set at liberty, 325;
his efforts to effect a peace between the Czar and Charles XII,
326;
hatred of Swedes towards, 327, 328;
seized after the king’s death and beheaded, 336, 337
Grodno, conference between Peter the Great and Augustus at,
113;
result of, ib.;
Charles XII enters town in pursuit of Czar, 149
Grothusen, Charles XII’s treasurer, gets possession by false
assurances of the money sent by the Sultan, 246;
goes out alone to address the janissaries sent to take the
King of Sweden, 256;
is taken prisoner and ransomed by the Pasha, 269;
accompanies the king to Adrianople, 269;
with him at Demotica, 280;
sent as ambassador extraordinary to the Sultan, 286;
fails to borrow money from the Porte, ib.;
killed at siege of Stralsund, 308
Gustavus Adolphus, his conquests, 8, 9;
his death, 9
Gustavus Vasa, 7;
his deliverance of Sweden from King Christian and the bishops,
8;
introduces Lutheranism, ib.;
his death, ib.
Gyllemburg, Count, Swedish ambassador, conspires with Baron
Gortz,
and is arrested in London, 320, 322;
set at liberty, 325

Hague, the, treaty of, 203

Holland, States of, conclude treaty of the Hague, 203;
neutral pose of, 234;
secretly support the Czar, ib.;
alliance of, with the Porte, 234, 235
Holstein, Duchess of, sister of Charles XII, dies of small-pox, 164
Holstein, Duchy of, 18;
its struggle with Denmark, 18, 19;
cause of, supported by Charles XII, 46;
renewed claim of Denmark to, 202
Ibrahim Molla, elected Grand Vizir, 279;
his history, ib.;
plans to make war with the Russians, ib.;
is pressed to death between two doors, 284
Ishmael, Pasha of Bender, sent to acquaint King of Sweden with
the
Sultan’s resolve that he must quit his territories, 241;
receives letter and money from the Sultan enforcing his orders,
244;
his fear and trouble on finding Grothusen had deceived him,
247;
his further interview with the king and angry departure, 249, 250;
shuts off king’s supplies, 250;
allows three days’ grace before the janissaries assault the
king’s house, 257;
offers prize to those who can take the king, 260;
he and the Kan fire the king’s house, 262;
the king is carried prisoner to his quarters, 264;
his reception of the king, 265, 266;
generously ransoms Grothusen and Colonel Ribbins, 269;
is accused by De Villelongue and banished by the Sultan, 276,
277

Janissaries, their mode of attack, 215

Jeffreys, English envoy, endeavours to mediate between the King
of Sweden
 and the Turks, 251, 253;
helps the king with money, 269;
with assistance of La Mottraye redeems the Swedish officers,
269
Joseph, Emperor of Germany, accedes to Charles XII’s exorbitant
demands, 138-140;
signs treaty in favour of Silesian Lutherans, 140
Joseph, succeeds Baltagi as Grand Vizir, his early history, 233;
the creature of Ali-Coumourgi, 233;
countersigns the Peace of Pruth, 234;
is accused by De Villelongue to the Sultan and deposed, 276,
277

Kan of Tartary, his dependence on the Porte, 212, 213;

his opposition to the treaty between the Turks and Russians,
224;
corresponds with the minister of King Augustus, 242;
swears treacherously that
he will be responsible for Charles XII’s safe conduct, 251;
his anxiety to commence the assault on the king’s house, 256;
fires the king’s house, 262;
is accused by De Villelongue to the Sultan and banished, 276,
277
Königsmarck, Countess of, sent to negotiate with Charles XII, 74;
the king refuses to see her, 75
Kuze-Slerp, his brave defence of Usedom, 302-304

Leczinski. See Stanislas

Leopold, taken by assault by Charles XII, 100;
Diet at, 132, 133
Levenhaupt, Count, Charles XII’s general in Russia, 147, 158;
his victory over the Russians, 160-161;
is pursued by the enemy, 161;
disputes the victory for three days against odds, 162, 163;
reaches the king without provisions, 163;
 at Pultawa, 171, 175;
reaches the Borysthenes, 176;
surrenders with remainder of troops, 178;
in triumphal procession of Czar, 205
Lithuania, two parties in, 69, 70
Livonia, its struggle for independence, 20, 21
Louis XIV, league against, 203;
carries on war after Charles XII’s defeat, 203

Margaret of Valdemar, Queen of Denmark and Norway, 6

Marlborough, Duke of, interview with Charles XII, 135-7
Mazeppa, tale of, 157;
made Prince of Ukrania, ib.;
plans a revolt, 157, 158;
his secret league with Charles XII, 158;
his loans and treasures taken and plundered, 160;
reaches Charles XII as a fugitive, ib.;
furnishes the king with necessaries of life, 165;
refuses the Czar’s offers, 165, 166;
escapes with Charles XII after Pultawa, 177;
his death, 194
Menzikoff, Prince, defeats the Swedes under General Meyerfield,
123;
at battle of Pultawa, 169-175;
comes up with the Swedes at the Borysthenes, 177, 178;
the Swedish force surrenders to him, 178
Moldavians side with the Turks against their prince, 217
Moscow, Peter the Great’s triumphal entry into, 204-206

Narva, besieged by Peter the Great, 48;

great battle of, 49-54;
taken by assault by Peter the Great, 110;
barbarity of Russian soldiers at, 111
Numan Couprougli, Grand Vizir, his incorruptible honesty, 198;
his advice to Charles XII, ib.;
turned out of office, 209;
his answer to Achmet, 210;
retires to Negropont, ib.

Oginski, head of one of the rival factions in Lithuania, 69, 133

Ottoman Porte, state of, 188;
influence of the Czar at, 193, 194

Paikel, Livonian officer, endeavours to save his life by disclosing

the secret for manufacturing gold, 129
Patkul, General, joins the Russian side, 113;
Czar’s ambassador in Sweden, ib.;
arrested by order of Augustus, ib.;
Charles XII insists on his release, 126;
his terrible end, 127, 128
Peter the Great, 17, 18;
his conquests, 21;
his education and early life, 24, 25;
his reforms, 26-29;
builds St. Petersburg, 32;
his barbarity, 32, 33;
concludes treaty with King of Poland against Sweden, 34;
his defeat at Narva, 49-54;
meeting and further treaty with King of Poland, 58;
takes Narva by assault, 110;
checks the outrages of his soldiers, 111;
lays the foundations of St. Petersburg, ib.;
invites Augustus to conference at Grodno, 113;
departs suddenly to check an insurrection, ib.;
his troops dispersed by Charles XII and Stanislas, 114, 115;
his troops victorious over the Swedes, 123;
his anger at and revenge of the execution of his ambassador,
130-132;
enters Poland with over 60,000 men, 132;