Page 139 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

nections lay far away in Guernsey (he had few, if any, acquaintances outside of the island), a foreign name (most likely a pronounced French accent), and insignificant fortune, which were almost insurmountable obstacles to success. At that time, and not abolished completely until 1870, purchase of commissions for ranks up to and including Colonel was the only route to become an officer in the infantry and cavalry (with very few and quite specific exceptions). That meant that wealthy, young, inexperienced, and often quite untalented men could attain high rank, leaving poorer junior officers, albeit vastly more experienced, as subalterns.
Le Marchant, however, was determined to overcome his disadvantages with his presence and personality alone which, according to the post-contemporary account (in 1841) of his sec- ond son, Denis, were considerable. In Dublin he began to gain friendships and acceptance into the rarefied late 18th century society, from which he might otherwise have been excluded. For example, he formed an acquaintance which afterwards ripened into a close friendship, with George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, the 1st Mar- quess of Buckingham, current Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and one of the most respectable noblemen and statesmen of the day.
But on arrival in Gibraltar with the repayment of the £200 loan hanging over him, Le March- ant was obliged to use every possible expedi- ent to save from his pay. He withdrew from the Mess and lived in total seclusion,
Plaque at 6 Church Street, High Wycombe
not surprising given that the remedies of the time included regular dosings of ‘Jesuits’ bark’, purging, bleeding and blistering! He was sent home to Guernsey on the ‘sick list’, his parents shocked by his gaunt, jaundiced features.
Engagement to ‘Polly’ Carey
But he was glad to be home among friends and family. On his speedy recovery, he frequented the town (St Peter Port) and particularly the newly-built Assembly Rooms. The young Le Marchant, tall and undeniably handsome in his regimentals, was an enthusiastic dancer and soon caught the eye of a young and very pretty Guernsey girl called Mary Carey, known to her family as ‘Polly’. True to his impulsive nature,
thereby incurring the dislike of his
brother officers. Being unaware of
the cause of his poverty, rumours
abounded about his personal cir-
cumstances and he gradually sank
into general disrepute. However,
using his considerable strength of
character, Le Marchant used all of
his leisure hours in Gibraltar developing a con- siderable talent for water-colour painting, draw- ing and music. These were the dreariest years of his life, but some of his paintings of Gibraltar and the Barbary Coast (a term used at the time for the coastal regions of North Africa) became instrumental in his first and probably most impor- tant advancement in the world.
After three years in Gibraltar, Le Marchant devel- oped a serious bout of yellow fever, for which Gibraltar at the time was notorious, and from which he had difficulty in recovering. This is
they were soon engaged. She was the eldest of fourteen children of a highly respectable neighbouring family to the Le Marchants. Her father, Jean (John) Carey of La Bigoterie in Berthelot Street, St Peter Port, was a Guern- sey Magistrate (Jurat). Neither parties were ‘of age’ in normal circumstances to marry and so marriage was consid-
ered an imprudent step.
Although Le Marchant eventually won over Mary’s father, Le Marchant Senior took a more serious view of the match (he felt marriage for a ‘boy’ of twenty was out of the question), and promptly packed his son back off to Gibraltar and his regiment!
The cavalry officer and first advancement
Le Marchant returned to the ‘Royals’ for a fur- ther and final year in Gibraltar. By this time, the reason for his impecuniousness had become
He withdrew from the Mess and lived in total seclusion
HISTORICAL 137