In 1905, Felix Burns published a piano solo called Mignonette.
It has several parts, with changes of mood between the sections, and some of the characteristic rippling arpeggios and runs up the scale that Felix liked to write.
There is also a pretty illustrated cover – probably designed to appeal to ladies of the house who liked to entertain their friends and family on the piano.
Or is there more to it than that?
Mignonette is also the name of a yacht that came to a sad end in 1884. The yacht had been purchased in London, and the new owner engaged a crew of four to sail her to Australia. These were Captain Thomas Dudley, First Mate Edwin Stephens, Seaman Edward Brooks and a boy, 17-year-old Richard Parker. They duly set sail from Southampton in May 1884. However, the yacht had not been designed as an ocean-going vessel. The yacht was in trouble as soon as the it encountered rough sea, and beginning to be smashed apart by huge waves. Captain Dudley made the decision to abandon ship and ordered
the dinghy to be launched. With very little time to spare, the crew grabbed what essentials they could and only just got into the dinghy before the Mignonette went under. But when they checked their provisions, they had only two tins of preserved turnips and no water. They caught and killed a turtle, which kept them going for a few days and sometimes they could catch some rainwater in the turtle’s shell; but on the 18th day, they had had no food for seven days, and no water for five days. The crew began to discuss “the custom of the sea” – the sacrifice of one life to save the others.
Captain Dudley wanted to draw lots but Brooks would not agree. While the men argued, young Richard Parker was deteriorating. He had resorted to drinking sea water, which had made him ill and he was delirious. Dudley and Stephens discussed the fact that they had wives and families who depended on them. They came to an agreement; Stephens held the boy still, while Dudley offered a prayer for forgiveness, then cut his jugular vein with a penknife. The three survivors, including Brooks, who had objected to drawing lots, then caught his blood and drank it.
Six days later, on the 24th day of their voyage, the three were rescued by a passing German ship and taken back to England. They landed at Falmouth, Cornwall, where Dudley and Stephens immediately confessed what they had done. They were arrested and put on trial for murder.
Public opinion was divided; notwithstanding the horror of what they had done, there was sympathy for the view that if they had not killed Richard Parker, all the sailors would have died.
Brooks gave evidence against the others, and subsequently was not charged. The judge declared that necessity was not an excuse for such a terrible crime. Dudley and Stephens were found guilty and sentenced to hang. A poignant note at the end of the trial was the appearance of Richard’s brother, who was also a sailor, and who solemnly shook hands with Captain Dudley.
While the sailors were on trial, at the Polytechnic Hall, Falmouth, a travelling show was performing. The Zealandia diorama show used huge, beautifully painted canvases, which moved on rollers to give the impression of movement. Lighting, sound effects and dramatic music added to the effect.
The sailors on trial were unable to work, leaving their wives and children without breadwinners. Several public appeals were made on their behalf, including at the Zealandia show, where one of the evening performances was announced as a benefit show for Dudley and Stephens.
The show that week featured Miss Nellie Metherall, soprano, Mr. Watson Thornton, humourist, lecturer and author; Mr. Dan Everett, the Coloured Colonial Philosopher and Eccentric Comedian, Tom French, American song and dance artiste and comedian – and the 20-year-old Musical Director and pianist, one Mr. Felix Burns.
The benefit show included an appearance of the Mignonette’s battered dinghy – complete with blood stains – which was exhibited on the stage[1].
The two death sentences were later commuted to prison sentences of six months, without hard labour. Dudley and Stephens served their time and almost immediately went back to sea[2].
Hearing this piece through, it has a touch of theatricality about it. Could it be a re-worked composition from the days of accompanying Zealandia? Could its dramatic middle-section have been written to accompany the tale of the turbulence on that ill-fated sea voyage? Or is that all my imagination?
What do you think?