LOWE, Sir HUDSON, was b. at Galway, July 28, 1769. His childhood was spent in the West Indies, where his father held a military appointment. Lowe returned to Eng land when in his twelfth year. Having entered the army, he served for some time in Corsica, subsequently at Lisbon and in Minorca. On the renewal of the French war, after the peace of Amiens, he was appointed to the chief inilitary command in the island of Capri. He was here unsuccessful, being obliged to surrender t,o the French, Oct. 16, 1808. He served for some time in the n. of Europe, and in Germany under Blucher. On Aug. 23, 1815, he was appointed governor of St. Helena, with the rank of lieut.gen. Previous to leaving England lie married, in Jan., 1816, Susan, widow of col. William Johnson. He arrived in St. Helena on April 14, 1816, Napoleon having been landed there on Oct. 17, of the previous year. It is impossible to conceive a situation in which the adequate discharge of a public duty more surely involved a heavy amount of private care and public obloquy than that which had fallen to Lowe. Had he for a single hour
relaxed the necessary vigilance, his own impeachment and another European war might have been the consequence. On the other hand, the due exercise of this vigilance entailed upon him every kind of annoyance which the peevish and irritable captive had it in his power to give. Even were it true that he exercised a needless severity in guard ing Napoleon, this might readily be excused when we consider how often it must have been utterly impossible for him to know what was unnecessary and what was not, and of how little consequence was the convenience of one man, who had already broken his parole, compared with the security of the whole world. On the death of Bonaparte Lowe returned to England, where his eminent services met with a very ungrateful return. In 1825 he was appointed military commander in Ceylon, from whence be returned to England in order to refute the charges brought against him by O'Meara and others. He died at London in very poor circumstances, in the 65th year of his age, Jan. 10, 1843.