ently served under his orders with great
distinction. At this time Hastings raised a company of fifty men, whom
he armed and equipped at his own expense. But as his actions on shore
are not immediately connected with the great results of his services
to Greece, we shall confine this sketch exclusively to the share he
took in the naval warfare. He served the campaign of 1823 in Crete, as
commander of the artillery; but a violent fever compelling him to quit
that island in autumn, he found, on his return to Hydra, that Lord
Byron had arrived at Cephalonia.

It was of great importance to the Greek cause that the services of
Lord Byron should be usefully directed, and it was equally necessary
that the funds collected by the Greek committee in London should be
expended in the way most likely to be of permanent advantage to
Greece. The moment appeared suitable for one who, like Hastings, had
acquired some experience by active service, both with the fleet and
army, to offer his advice. He accordingly drew up a project for the
construction and armament of a steam-vessel, which he recommended as
the most effectual mode of advancing the Greek cause, by giving the
fleet a decided superiority over the Turks at sea. It appeared to
Hastings that it was only by the introduction of a well-disciplined
naval force, directly dependent on the central government, that order
could be introduced into the administration, as well as a superiority
secured over the enemy. It is not necessary to enter into all the
professional details of this memoir, as we shall have occasion to
state the manner in which Hastings carried his views into execution a
few years later. Its conclusion was to recommend Lord Byron to direct
his attention to the purchase or construction of a steam-vessel, armed
with heavy guns, and fitted up for the use of hot shot and shells as
its ordinary projectiles.

Neither Lord Byron nor Colonel Stanhope, the agent of the Greek
committee, seem to have appreciated the military science of Hastings,
and the plan met with little support from either.

The Greek government shortly after this obtained its first loan in
England; and, during the summer of 1824, Hastings endeavoured to
impress its members with the necessity of rendering the national cause
not entirely dependent on the disorderly and tumultuous merchant
marine, which it was compelled to hire at an exorbitant price. It is
needless to record all the difficulties and oppositio